DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the OCs introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated).
Thanks to Crazyeight for beta-reading. Also, thanks to Chaos Blademaster for being my 300th reviewer.
DIMENSIONS
BOOK SIX
Tricks
By Blazing Chaos
CHAPTER 45
The Trick to Pursuits
SUNDAY, 24th OCTOBER 2010
Streets of Minato Ward
10:35 JST
"Hold on tight," Stingmon warned, Ken gripping tightly onto his partner as the pair leapt into the air. The bug-like Digimon volleyed off various buildings, making his way higher and higher before landing on a short skyscraper. Ken couldn't help but gasp as he was let down onto the flat roof, now about 200 feet up, and with a view to match. The view of Tokyo Bay and Odaiba was blocked only by other skyscrapers, some running far higher than theirs. Unfortunately, Ken was quickly forced to realise they weren't here to sight-see.
"See any sign of them?" he asked his partner, who was currently scanning the streets and skies below for some sign of one of Hawkmon's forms. Yolei wouldn't follow on foot, she would know that she had absolutely no chance of catching up, so she would've gone back for Hawkmon. This bought them some time, but without knowing where she would be coming from, they couldn't manage an effective escape.
"Not yet."
"Hmm…" Ken said anxiously, worried that they would be sneaked up on. He glanced over his shoulder, half expecting to see the warrior's sword looming and ready to strike. Fortunately, that was not the case, but it was evident that every moment was important. Should they hide, cower in fear and just await her arrival, or should they run, hoping they could put some decent distance between them and the extremely fast warrior? They certainly couldn't fight, Ken had already decided on that. Even if she weren't his girlfriend, even if she weren't his friend, she was still a human, and they had always been an absolute no-no for attacking.
Periodically, his mind wondered why that was so. Why were Digimon expendable, killed merely for being confused upon arriving in the human world, whereas humans would be spared? Sure, there was no legal system to deal with Digimon, and they would inevitably be found guilty by a judge unused to such cases, but it still seemed…wrong.
"Ken, this area is far too large. She could approach from anywhere."
"I guess we have to hope Hawkmon can hold onto control of their form, or at least delay her."
"So you are not expecting him to be able to talk some sense into her?"
Ken paused, his mind rushing back to those frantic moments when she was trying to attack him with a fire extinguisher. The fury, the lack of care for his words or their relationship, the determination…she wouldn't be stopped by words so easily. Something else was in control of her, and possessors didn't tend to let their plans be bent by simple talking.
"I'm afraid not, no."
Stingmon's took a step forward as he braced himself, his eyes panning across the sky in front of him in a desperate search.
"Did you see them?"
"I'm not sure Ken, but I don't think we're safe here anymore."
Ken looked behind, the Hypnos Towers looming in the distance above most others. He turned again, formulating a plan in his mind to deal with the current situation. He needed help, and he needed it fast.
"Then we'll head to Shinjuku Park, there is always someone there. They should be able to help us."
"Yes, and even if there isn't, we're at least putting some distance between us and them. Hold tight."
Ken stepped forward into the waiting arms of his partner, gripping on tight before Stingmon leapt into the air, before making a controlled descent down into the city below. Despite the fact Stingmon looked recovered, on foot would be safer right now. It would avoid them sticking out like a sore thumb in the rooftops above, even if it would be slower.
Whether it would be enough to hide from a warrior like Valkyrimon was another matter entirely.
Shinjuku Park, Shinjuku Ward
10:35 JST
"Takato, we're falling!"
"No, that'd be me. I'm so sick of carrying you I've decided we can all walk. Okay?"
"But I'm too tired to walk."
"Quit complaining Guilmon, we've been through worse together."
"Like…oof…owie, that hurt!"
"I dropped you, like, one inch! Toughen up for god's sake!"
"Aw…Takato, Chaos is being really mean to me."
"Oh, go cry to good old good guy Takato why don't ya?"
"But you're the same guy? Aren't you?"
"Takato, how the hell do you stay quiet through all of this?"
Takato hesitated, brought out of his trance and back into control of his own body. He frowned, a saddened look on his face as he crossed his arms across his stomach. "Sorry…just thinking about Rika…" he mumbled, anxiously glancing to the paths behind them.
"Why am I not surprised? Look, kid, you've got to lighten up a bit. She's just under someone's spell or something, so all we've got to do is find the moron, beat them to death and we're done, just like always."
"But we don't even know where to start!"
"Never stopped you before."
"Yeah, but that's not the only thing that worries me."
"What, the fact she's pregnant? Oh come on Takato, I'm not stupid, I'm sure as hell not attacking her and I know you certainly won't be either. Heck, it's my baby too, even if I wasn't allowed any say in it."
"Yeah, but it still worries me."
"Of course it does Takato, and I know as well as Rika does, as well as Jeri, Henry, and every other one of your friends does, that once you're stuck on one of these worry rampages, there's very little anyone but you can do to get you out of them. So let's get your mind off things, and run like hell."
"You say that so casually."
"When you're my age, you've run like hell so many times it just becomes second nature."
"You? Scared of something?"
"Uh…no…no, nothing but…um…"
"Nothing but what?"
"Pinecones."
Guilmon and Takato both raised eyebrows in bewilderment, glancing to each other in confusion.
"HOW CAN THEY TELL THE WEATHER? TELL ME THAT, HUH?! Freaky pieces of…"
"Shouldn't we be running?"
"Good point."
And with that, Guilmon and Takato turned on their heels and ran as fast as they could, well, as fast as an injured dinosaur and a non-athletic sixteen year old could run. Thick rain clouds had begun to climb over the trees lining the path, and people seemed to all be running in the opposite direction, perhaps to escape the oncoming storm.
Takato glanced over his shoulder, wondering fearfully if Rika and Renamon were on their tail by now, or, worse, Sakuyamon. With Rika and Renamon working together to kill them, they didn't have a chance. He just had to hope that they had the benefit of timing, although it was becoming clear that, thanks to their lack of speed, they certainly didn't have that.
Nonetheless, as they turned the corner, running into a plaza, they did have one form of timing. Bad timing.
"What the…" Takato gasped, seeing Ryder standing menacingly (as much as he could with crutches, at least) over a fallen Mari. She growled angrily in response, glaring eyes occasionally darting about in search of an escape. Aside them, Donmon lay on the ground, seemingly unconscious with blue electrical sparks flitting across his form from something embedded in his head.
"Whoa, what did we interrupt?"
"Takato, Guilmon!" Ryder gasped, looking around to see them before a look of relief graced his features. "I'm so glad to see you!"
"What's going on?" Takato asked, his eyes darting about to try and put some sense into things. Ryder was about to respond, but then he noticed the injuries, the scruffiness and the general fatigue that his friends were showing.
"Rika attacked you too, huh?" he asked, frowning as Takato's eyes widened in realisation.
"Yeah, and Renamon too," Guilmon added.
"So do you mean that Mari's trying to kill you then?" Takato asked, trying to get his head round this new revelation. If Mari was also on a killing spree, that changed everything. It meant that whoever was doing this to them had intentions beyond simply killing himself, Guilmon and Chaos.
Click.
Ryder was about to reply when he heard the noise, an all too familiar noise, and one that brought a devastating revelation to him. He'd been so focused on talking to Takato that he'd forgotten to keep an eye on Mari, and now it was evident she had the weapon.
"I think we should take that as a yes."
"Mari, stop!" Takato called, Mari blinking in surprise and looking over to him, confusion embedded in her features as Ryder scrambled to his crutches. He began to make a run for it, but managed little more than an awkward hobble.
"Huh? Why?"
"Mari, something is controlling you and the other girls," Takato explained, his eyes locked with the girl's as he dearly hoped that he could talk some sense into her. He knew, however, that in reality that was unlikely, but at least he could buy his friend some time.
"What do you mean?"
"Rika and Renamon attacked us!" Guilmon blurted.
"Yeah, and now you're attacking Ryder. Isn't it obvious? Something is making you attack the ones you love."
Mari hesitated in her act, her mind flashing back through the past few hours as she fought with the idea in her mind. Something controlling her? How? When? Whatever gave them that idea?
"You're wrong," she said monotonously, raising the gun again and aiming it at Ryder. Ryder stopped in his tracks, holding his breath as he saw the gun aiming straight at him.
"Don't do it!" Takato yelled, not knowing whether to try to cross the distance and attempt to stop her, risking his own life in the process.
"I want to do this," Mari said, determination flashing through her eyes as she attempted to steady the gun. Periodically, she wondered why her hand was shaking. Why was she so nervous? She hadn't had this problem before, what was going on?
It didn't matter. It was time to get this over with.
BANG!
Ryder gasped in pain as he felt a burning sensation rip through his arm, forcing him to tumble to the ground as he lost a hold on his crutch. Guilmon and Takato's eyes widened in horror at the sight blood beginning to pour from their friend's limb.
"Ryder!" Takato yelled, rushing across the plaza to his fallen friend. This was just too much. His friends were killing each other, and god-only-knew what kind of situation the rest of his friends were in.
Ryder ran his hand along his arm, his fingers soaked in his own blood as they found the hole. He bit into his lip, trying to cover it and stop the bleeding. He heard his heard beat as he lifted his hand in front of his eyes, staring at the blood, the red stain.
"Ryder, are you okay?" he heard Takato's voice echo, his mind elsewhere. A blue blur and a red blur appeared at the edge of his vision, looking over him but not quite registering.
Mari growled and bit into her lip again, readying another shot. Her agitation had made her miss, but she wouldn't be doing that again.
She raised the gun, her hand still shaking but quickly steadied by the other hand. What was wrong with her? On the SDCO firing range, in combat, in crisis situations, she'd never had problems like this, so what was wrong now?
She brought herself back to reality, looking across to her orange-wearing target. Her mind forced her to stop, seeing two other things in the way.
"Takato, Guilmon, move!" she ordered, her voice desperate and panicky.
"No!" Takato replied bluntly, turning his head round and glaring into her eyes as he cursed himself for not having taken any kind of First Aid. "Mari, please, think a second here. You have to calm down!"
"I…I…I…" Mari stammered, a moment of clarity shining through her mind once again as she wondered what on earth she was doing. She was trying to kill Ryder, the boy she loved and who loved her in return. Why? What had suddenly made her think this way?
And, in the process, she was en route to kill another of her friends. She'd injured her partner, she'd hurt Ryder's partner, and she'd scared so many people. Was she possessed? Was that the reality of… ?
A sharp pain ripped through her mind, forcing her away from those thoughts as she concentrated on her aim, changing targets.
"I'll kill you too if you're getting in my way," she spat, pulling back the trigger.
BANG!
Involuntarily, Takato rose his hand, the bullet slowing in his mind before colliding with a searing wall of red and orange. His hand glowed intensely, the shield becoming more dome-like and expanding around him and his injured friend.
Annoyed, Mari fired off more shots, each hitting the shield and bouncing off with a white burst of light.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
"Ryder, you're bleeding badly," Guilmon noted, turning his attentions to something Takato was too distracted to see. Ryder had moved into a seated position, his hand covering his wound as blood seemed to rush from his face.
"The shield's stable," Chaos reported, Takato looking down as his clutched fists faded back to their normal pink. To his relief, the shield around them stayed intact, providing a dome of safety, for now at least.
Ryder wrenched in horror as he raised his hand, looking at the wound and the bullet sitting within, pressed against the bone. He tried to look away, but his mind locked onto it, the surreal nature of the situation never quite going away.
"Oh geez," Chaos groaned, seeing the task at hand as he looked over the injury. "Hold out your arm," he said, looking the frightened boy in the eye.
"Uh…" Ryder mumbled, going to hold his arm out before wrenching in pain as the bullet dug into his flesh. He retracted it, before Chaos' grabbed his hand, pulling it out tightly and causing more pain.
"Sorry, but you don't have time to waste with crying," he spat, biting into his lip as he looked carefully over the injury, a few more bullets pinging off the shield. The sound was deadened, sounding almost electrical in its effect.
Ryder tried to take his mind off the pain as Chaos stuck his finger into the wound, the digit glowing red as a blast of destructive energy pulsed down it. "What are you…?" Ryder began, before wrenching in pain again as the bullet was disintegrated into nothing.
"Right, that's the bullet dealt with, now we need to cover the wound," he reported, Takato watching from behind Chaos' eyes with a sense of awe at how he was dealing with things.
"What with?" Ryder asked, his voice still frantic and panicky as he continued to feel blood seeping from him.
Chaos didn't respond with words, instead reaching out and ripping off a large portion of Ryder's orange sleeve, a thin line of energy circling round it to make the cut as clean and quick as possible. Ryder's eyes widened in horror as he realised that Chaos had destroyed his favourite shirt, before the more logical part of his mind told him that really wasn't the most important thing right now.
"Ugh, I'm useless with knots," Chaos complained, before making an attempt anyway as he wrapped the makeshift bandage around the wound. Twisting it around, he managed to get it badly mixed up, before trying once again to secure it. He breathed a sigh of relief once done; going to wipe his bloodstained hand across his forehead before realising that probably wasn't the best idea.
Ryder blinked, glancing down to the improvised bandage, quickly reddening with blood, on his arm, before looking up to the deity-turned-human. "Uh, thanks."
"Do you have your cards on you?" he asked, deciding that politeness could wait until later.
"No, I didn't have a chance."
"Aw nuts, I don't have mine either," Takato complained, looking back to see Mari standing over the shield, anxiously reaching out to touch it before retracting her hand in fear.
"She won't do anything, trust me. This shield isn't a normal shield, it…"
"It is a thin layer of destructive energy used as an improvised shield, yes, I know, but we have more pressing matters to deal with right now," Ryder stated, awareness of the grave situation they were in slowly creeping back into his mind as the bleeding began to ease up a bit.
"Huh? How did you know that?"
"…from the TV show, of course," Ryder replied, grinning uneasily as Chaos raised an eyebrow. The Angel shrugged, deciding that other matters were more important at this particular moment. "Well, anyway, we have got to help Donmon somehow," Ryder reminded, gesturing through the translucent shield to his unconscious partner. Electricity continued to spark across him, hindering his movements even if he were awake.
"Unless you have any recharge cards, I don't see any way that we could…"
"What?!" came a voice, gasping as footsteps arrived at the edge of the plaza. All conscious, even Mari, glanced up to see the new arrival, a surprised look on their features.
"Jeri?" Mari asked curiously, not noticing the incriminating nature of the gun in her hand and the bleeding wound in Ryder's arm.
"Mari…um…what are you doing?"
"Jeri, thank god you're here!" Takato interrupted, a look of panic crossing Ryder's face as he remembered Jeri's attack on him previously.
"What are you hiding in there for?" Jeri asked curiously, looking over the dome.
"Never mind that now, have you got a recharge card?"
Jeri blinked, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a card as she walked up to the dome. Chaos grinned thankfully, the dome parting to let the girl in.
"No, stop!" Ryder alerted, realising what was about to happen. Jeri smiled as she stepped in, handing the card across to a waiting Chaos. The dome promptly sealed itself over again, Mari arriving at the entrance just a bit too late before cursing herself.
"What's wrong?" Takato asked Ryder curiously, surprised that his friend had any objections to Jeri entering the dome.
"Takato, need energy," Guilmon groaned, diverting his partner's attention and not noticing the slim yet growing smirk appearing on Jeri's face.
"Oh, yeah…DIGI-MODIFY…Recharge Activate!" he called, before returning to his now-horrified friend. "So what's wrong?"
"No, no!" Ryder gasped, trying to make an escape but groaning when his arms and legs conspired to hurt him, forcing him to collapse to his knees.
Jeri laughed darkly, drawing attention to her as she looked down to Ryder menacingly. Takato looked unnervingly between them as a sense of fear overcame him.
"Jeri, uh, what's wrong?" he asked anxiously, fearful of the answer.
"I have to kill Henry," she stated monotonously.
"Uh…" Takato mumbled, raising an eyebrow. This was very strange.
"But this is Ryder, not Henry…isn't it?" Guilmon said, confused as he carefully looked over the fallen boy to ensure he wasn't making a mistake here.
"She wants to kill me, because Rey sent me an email from the past," Ryder explained with a frown as he looked down at the ground, contemplating how so many people currently wanted him dead. Takato's eyes widened in surprise, startled that they had been contacted by those who had been thought all but lost.
"What? When?"
"In the last hour, she emailed me and told me that she and Henry are in World War Two, just before the end of the war, something I also told Jeri here. Rey told me that I will be their only hope because only my D-Vice is able to contact her. And that is why Jeri wants to kill me, because then Henry will die in the past."
"World War Two Japan…people like Henry were killed for who they were," Jeri echoed, her voice hauntingly like that of her D-Reaper clone. Takato cringed at the similarity.
"All she has to do is destroy my D-Vice, but I know myself this thing is pretty much indestructible," Ryder explained, prompting both Mari and Takato to look at their own D-Vices curiously. "So long as it's attached to its owner, and they are conscious, it works."
"So take it off then!" Takato blurted, surprised that the boy was taking such a stupid risk by keeping it on.
"Too risky, I could simply put it on again," Ryder explained, looking up to Jeri, his potential killer, with a calm look, perhaps even one of acceptance, as he spoke grave words. "So either she'll kill me, or Mari will."
"Well, I don't see how! Jeri's not exactly armed," Chaos pointed out, looking over the girl for any sign of a weapon.
Jeri laughed again, a freakish laugh that made even Chaos recoil.
"Aw, I hate it when she does that," Guilmon moaned, covering his ears and pressing down to the ground.
"This whole dome is one huge weapon," Jeri remarked, amused as she looked about at its blazing surface. "Now…die!" she cried, leaping forth at the boy and pushing him across the ground in pain, the weight of the girl on his legs making them hurt even more.
He heard his breathing, Takato's frantic calls for her to stop, and his own heartbeat, as he stared up at the edge of the dome, but a hairs-breadth away.
"Takato, what do we do?" Guilmon asked, Ryder attempting to grip onto the tiles of the plaza as Jeri pushed her knees into the ground. She planted her hands on his knees, causing him to scream in agony as old wounds reopened and as he was moved ever closer to the destruction.
"Chaos, drop the barrier!" Takato ordered, realising only one way out remained.
"Mari is on the other side, she'll get in! We have to get Jeri away from him."
"But we can't fight her!"
"Oh grow up Takato, not every fight is going to be a clean fight."
Takato looked nervously across to where Jeri was straining with all her might against Ryder's desperate hold on a paving tile with his one remaining good hand, a losing battle. He had to help. But what if he hurt another friend in the process?
"Guilmon, get Jeri away from Ryder!" Chaos ordered, bypassing Takato's objections.
Guilmon glanced anxiously to Chaos, before looking back to the struggling humans.
"No, Guilmon…" Takato began to struggle, before Chaos forced his own voice over his alter-ego. Now was not the time for that.
"Takato, what do I do?" Guilmon whimpered, confused by the quick change in affairs. Bullets slammed into the shield near Ryder's head, threatening to push it closer and closer to its skull with every shot.
"DO IT!" Chaos ordered, Takato's voice clashing against it. Guilmon moved forward, anxiously grasping Jeri's arms.
Her angered, bitter eyes looked up into the golden eyes of the dinosaur in surprise, the sudden action catching her off-guard, particularly from such a (usually) calm, peace-loving and harmless creature.
"Guilmon…" she mumbled, confused. "What are you doing?"
"I have to stop you," Guilmon explained, still fighting with himself over what to do.
"Oh, do you?" Jeri asked menacingly, a dark smirk once again materialising on her face. "Such a shame."
With that, she let go of Ryder periodically, instead slamming her shoulder into the chest of the surprised saurian.
"No!" Takato blurted as Guilmon, caught off guard by the act, fell towards the edge of the shield. Mari gasped and leapt aside as the Digimon fell through it, screaming in pain as his head was scalded by the energy. "GUILMON!" Takato yelled, rushing over to his partner. Ryder, now freed, uneasily glanced around, the world a stunned blur of red and blue. "CANCEL THE SHIELD!" he spat at his other half, anger roaring through his features.
"No."
"But?! Guilmon will die!"
"Guilmon is made from me, he is part of me, and he is invulnerable to me. The pain he is experiencing is merely burns from the searing heat, not destruction from the energy."
Guilmon groaned in pain, pressing himself up carefully as the searing heat lashed as his skin. "Owie," he moaned, sitting up away from the energy of the shield as trails of smoke wafted from his skin.
"Guilmon, are you okay?" Jeri asked, throwing her arms around the creature. "I'm so sorry!" she cried, Guilmon unsurely looking up to his eternal Tamer.
"Takato, why are your eyes bleeding again?"
"Chaos…"
"Yes, I know, you hate me and all, so what? It worked, didn't it?"
"I was worried," Takato replied, Jeri letting go of the dinosaur as he frowned at his Tamer.
"Aw."
Ryder, meanwhile, awkwardly pushed himself up on one arm, his head throbbing in pain as he looked over to Jeri, thankfully off his case for the time being. Even Mari was standing idle, startled by the surprise survival of the virus Digimon. Now would be a perfect time to escape, and yet Ryder knew mentioning that fact to Chaos would only bring attention to him from both of the girls. What were they to do?
As if by magic, as if it were some divine intervention, the shield dropped at that very moment, a large blue energy strike ripping across its surface like a wave and cancelling it out.
Heads turned, looking across to the source of the attack as a grim frown materialised on Chaos' face.
"Missing all the fun, are we?" Rika asked, standing alongside Renamon with a cruel smile on both of their faces and a blue glow on her hands.
"Mind if we join in?" Renamon added with a smile.
"Aw nuts."
"It's just got ten times worse."
Rainbow Bridge, Minato Ward
10:35 JST
"Hold on tight Davis!"
Davis, hearing the words of his partner, pulled himself tightly down onto Raidramon's mane and held on for dear life. Racing along the Odaiba waterfront, they leapt into the air, seeing the entrance ramp to the Rainbow Bridge ahead. With Raidramon's speed, it would provide a quicker and more subtle exit than ExVeemon or Imperialdramon could possibly do.
Raidramon surprised a number of drivers as his hooves slammed into the tarmac, before they continued to pound along, their sound deafened out by the blaring sound of car horns.
"Quit complaining!" Davis yelled at them, as Raidramon turned and began to run along the central reservation, avoiding cars and lampposts as he ran.
"Keep shouting Davis, I'm sure they'll hear you," Raidramon replied dryly.
"Hey, I nearly got killed this morning! Don't expect me to be quiet!"
"Still don't get how that happened," Raidramon mumbled, returning his attentions to the "race" at hand.
For that matter, neither did Davis. He'd fallen five storeys and yet had only scratches and bumps on him. Sure, his back felt sore all over, as did the ball of his head, but compared to what he expected…this just seemed, impossible.
And yet, he knew, it wasn't. He had survived something even worse before…he'd survived an attack from WarGreymon. Sure, he'd been disintegrated into data and then absorbed, but he would've expected to be nothing after all that.
"Heh, I know I'm known for miracles, but this is just ridiculous. And Kari too…"
Kari had survived deadly falls, deadly attacks, without much damage. Well, that was an understatement, she had been hospitalised for a long while after she had taken a direct attack from Puppetmon, but the scrambling effect of such an attack on her internal organs certainly couldn't be taken lightly. However, the fact she had survived was still incredible. Whether there could be any long term damage from it would probably be seen as she aged, but she didn't seem to have shown any lasting effects from the attack.
"Davis, you sure you're feeling okay?"
"Uh…" Davis mumbled, reaching his hand down his back and touching his bruises with a painful frown. "Sure, it's sore, but yeah, I'm okay."
"Good to know," Raidramon replied, a touch of concern appearing in his eyes as he felt a tingling feeling run up his neck. "We're in trouble," he said forebodingly.
"SEFIROT CRYSTALS!"
"Crap!" Davis cursed as Raidramon desperately rushed aside, only barely being missed by each of the crystals. They exploded, spinning cars round and blocking the runway as people began to flee their cars in terror. He turned his head over his shoulder, grimacing upon seeing the gold and turquoise angel pursuing them, Shining Javelin and Beauty's Golden Shield firmly in hand.
"Kari, what are you doing?!" Gatomon blurted from within, bewildered by her Tamer's sudden attack on their friend.
"I'm killing Davis, silly."
"What?!"
"Gatomon, I want Davis dead."
"Why? Kari, what's going on?"
"Nothing, I just want him dead."
"But Kari!"
"Gatomon, I'll talk afterwards."
"Hold on Davis, this is going to take some dodging!" Raidramon told his Tamer after glancing back at their pursuer once again.
"EDEN'S JAVELIN!"
"Kari, stop!" Gatomon shrieked as the burst of energy crashed into the roadway, tarmac flying through the air and crashing into the side of cars and into the metal beams. "You'll hurt someone."
Kari hesitated, looking at the cars and their startled drivers with concern. "You're right," she sighed, coming to a halt in the air as Raidramon slowed his pace nervously, wondering what the reason was for this current pause in attacks.
"Kari?" Davis called, looking up into the eyes of Ophanimon. Gatomon began to negotiate control, hoping to give Kari a chance to think about things.
"I'll be more careful with my aim this time," Kari decided, holding out Ophanimon's palms in front as they glowed with white light. Davis gulped, Raidramon turning and beginning to race away.
"SEFIROT CRYSTALS!" Ophanimon screamed, the ten crystals shooting forwards at the Friendship-armour Digimon. They soared along the roadway, sounding remarkably like an aircraft with a similar sonic noise before they smashed into the roadway, thankfully on the blocked carriageway that was clear of cars. Raidramon and Davis screamed as they were thrown from their feet by the shockwave, crashing across the roadway.
Davis groaned as he heard a crumbling and groaning noise from the tarmac below, the sound of falling debris sprinkling nearby. His head ached, the smell of burning tarmac in the air as he swore that his head should've been cracked in two by the fall. Alas, the only injuries were a headache, a general soreness and a small cut.
"How am I doing this?!"
The Javelin rose again, pointed at the boy who had a remarkable habit of avoiding injury. Neither Davis nor Kari was ignorant enough to expect it to fail to kill him, particularly given the number of attacks he had sustained so far.
"EDEN'S…"
"Kari, stop!" blurted a new voice, bringing Ophanimon back to her senses as she looked around for its source.
Davis dizzily looked up, seeing double at first before his mind kicked itself back into gear, realising that he was simply going insane by thinking that way. He wanted to look back and work out what was going on, but he was far too distracted by the throbbing pain in his head to think about that.
"Davis, you okay?" Raidramon asked, wandering over to his partner with concern in his eyes. Davis cringed as he unconsciously rubbed his sore head again, wincing in pain and cursing himself.
"God that hurts," he complained. Raidramon was simply surprised he was still alive after everything that had happened.
"Seraphimon!" Ophanimon gasped, surprised that her fellow celestial angel had randomly turned up. What was he here for?
"Kari, what are you doing?" Takeru asked, the golden, silver and blue angel gently waving his wings up and down as he levitated above the roadway, he and Ophanimon's auras making an awing sight for any onlookers.
"I am killing Davis," she replied monotonous, her tone sounding so alien to her own. It was as if this were so different for her that it was someone else entirely.
"What?! Why?"
Ophanimon blinked, confused and bewildered by the question. "It is because I want to."
"Kari is out of control!" Gatomon blurted, breaking through Kari's hold on their form.
"Gatomon, what's happening?" Patamon asked, Ophanimon struggling with herself as Gatomon and Kari fought desperately for control. Unfortunately for Davis, the human side once again won through.
She turned away from the conversation and held her hands out, glowing crystals once again materialising and becoming aimed at the injured boy below. "SEFIROT CRYSTALS!"
"No, stop!" Seraphimon blurted, horrified at the prospect. He raised his own hands, being forced to aim perfectly in such a short period of time and dearly hoping Ophanimon would simply miss. "STRIKE OF THE SEVEN STARS!"
Ophanimon gasped in surprise as her attacks were intercepted, the explosions wiping through the remaining three crystals and saving Davis from a painful end…probably.
"What are you doing?!" Kari spluttered, amazed that her old friend was stopping her from attacking. They had to destroy Davis, it seemed like the most important thing in the universe to her right now.
"What are you doing?!" Takeru echoed, shocked by Kari's lack of thought about what she was doing. What on earth was going on? Was she being controlled by something? Was she…
"EDEN'S JAVELIN!"
Seraphimon glanced down again, looking to see how he could stop the blast of energy from the point of the Javelin reaching the boy on the ground below. Raidramon rushed in front to block, knowing it'd probably be a suicidal act for the armour level.
Seraphimon gripped his chest in pain as the energy smashed into it, realisation bursting across his mind as he realised the actual target of the attack.
He groaned in pain, a look of betrayal crossing his eyes as he felt himself slip down in the air, his wings in pain. He'd been hit nearly at point blank, and it had certainly taken its toll. Ophanimon frowned, looking out at him.
"Sorry," she mouthed, raising her hands again and preparing yet another set of ten jewels. Evidently, she was extremely determined to get him out of the way right now, because she had used up so much energy through attacks in the last few minutes without even taking a single break.
"Please, stop!" Seraphimon pleaded, knowing he couldn't retaliate with an opposite attack. It would risk injuring a friend, and he couldn't do that. Not in a million years, and certainly not to his old friend, Kari.
"Please stay out of my way…SEFIROT CRYSTALS!"
The crystals smashed into Seraphimon chest, each ripping into him without mercy as he was catapulted back towards the cold waters below. He shrunk as he fell, the forms of Patamon and Takeru collapsing into the bay with a distant splash. Ophanimon grimaced at her acts, before turning to face her more important concern.
"What?" Kari gasped, Ophanimon quickly glaring down in irritation at where Davis had once been. "Where did he go?"
"Kari, please, stop!" Gatomon pleaded, Kari continuing to grip hold onto control over their combined form.
"I can't Gatomon, I have to kill him!"
Gatomon sighed, realising that things were getting very dire. What was she to do? Kari seemed hell-bent on destruction, regardless of her objections, and it was so unlike her, the girl who would avoid killing at all costs. Something more powerful was involved here, but Gatomon didn't have the faintest clue what it could be.
All she knew was that today could only end badly. Someone was going to get badly injured, and she wasn't about to place bets on who it would be.
"Good luck Davis."
8TH AUGUST 1945
Nagasaki station, Nagasaki Prefecture
19:26 JST
"SILENCE!"
Henry, Rey and Terriermon froze on the spot, surprised they hadn't been shot yet. A Chinese boy and a strange creature, perhaps a secret weapon of the Allies, in the middle of a random Japanese city in a time when even the smallest event could impact the outcome of the war - they were the kind of thing that'd be target number one, shoot on sight.
"REPORT YOUR NAMES."
"Rey Matsuki."
"Henry Wong."
"Ter…"
Henry coughed promptly over his partner speaking, hoping that the soldiers wouldn't suspect anything. "It's a stuffed animal."
"Do I look like I was born yesterday?! I saw it talk! What is it?"
Henry nervously glanced to Terriermon, the bunny glancing back nervously from the redhead's shoulder. "I'm a Digital Monster."
"A weapon then. As I suspected," the senior officer boomed, not allowing Henry and Rey to object. He turned to his soldiers sharply, his comrades obediently preparing their weapon. Henry could tell that some of them were fearful of the strange creature. A series of hand gestures seemed to reassure his men, as few words were spoken between them. Rey gripped her hands into fists, stepping forward as Henry and Terriermon's eyes widened in alarm. Terriermon leapt over onto his Tamer's head, as the soldiers raised their guns.
"STOP MOVING!" they bellowed.
"Do you believe in Destiny?" Rey spoke, her determined look masking her total terror underneath. This was an extremely risky move, but it was their only real choice right now. Her hands dimly glowed reds and blues, energy swirling around them but not apparently enough for the soldiers to notice.
"What?" the soldier stormed.
"I asked, do you believe in Destiny?"
"I believe in the Destiny of the Emperor to never be defeated."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, but do you believe in Destiny?"
"Uh…of course, but why does it matter?"
"What if I could tell you your Destiny, right here, right now?"
"I would reject, of course. You are the enemy, even if you are Japanese. You have affiliated yourself with the enemy, a traitorous act."
"I have killed so many people, so many victims, so don't make yourself the next one...okay?" Rey asked, her voice a strange facsimile of her mother's as she glared into the soldiers' eyes. He looked into hers, before an amused smirk and chuckle occurred to him.
"A mere child? A girl, none the least? Don't be ridiculous."
"Don't say I didn't warn you…" Rey sighed, flashes of red and blue blazing in her eyes as she raised her hands. The soldier looked upon her with scorn, before gesturing to the others.
"Fire!"
"INFERNO SPHERES!"
As fingers pressed against triggers, those same triggers burst into nothing, the soldiers gasping as burning balls of red flame crashed through the barrels. A smirk materialised on the girl's face as she telepathically complimented her partner for her impeccable aim.
"What?!" the leader of the group gasped, surprised at the sudden turn in events. What were they dealing with?
"Now RUN!" Rey ordered, turning to Henry and Terriermon as they nodded in response. Teenage feet began to pound along long-replaced roads as they were joined by a yellow and red nine-tailed fox, bystanders looking on in surprise at the mystical display.
"You really know your timing!" Terriermon exclaimed, looking across to the redhead and her partner.
Rey smiled with determination, looking aside to the yellow fox and passing a nod. "And you certainly do too," she complimented. Even she was pleasantly surprised by how well that went.
"Don't celebrate too soon, they're following us, and they've got others with guns," Henry panicked, looking back over his shoulder and putting an end to the self-complimenting.
"You had to ruin our fun, didn't you?" Terriermon complained.
"Terriermon, shut up. It's your big mouth that got us in trouble in the first place!" Rey stated, glaring at the bunny.
"Hey, I was trying to reassure you. You looked really sad."
"Hello, I've spent my entire life going through disappointments and depressing battle moments like this…I think I'm able to cope with it."
"You're worse than Rika," Henry commented.
"Yeah, never accept a single compliment!" Terriermon added.
"As amusing as this war of insults is, they're gaining on us," Realmon interrupted, the four once again looking nervously over their shoulders at the oncoming soldiers. Rey grinned, clutching her fist again.
"Which is why I have…THI…" she began, turning and holding her brightly glowing hands out as she went to unleash her wings, and hence her full powers. Unfortunately for her pride, she was interrupted by an all-too-familiar sight, and yet, one that was very surprising in the current situation.
The energy faltered from her hands, the four of them stopping in surprise and all turning to face the rapidly approaching soldiers, who themselves stopped in their tracks upon seeing the remarkable sight.
Right in front of them, floating a few feet in the air with her arms crossed across her chest and a flurry of diamonds ready to be fired, was a yellow fox.
"Renamon!" Rey gasped, a similar look of amazement shooting across the gaze of her friends.
The creature glanced behind, surprised that someone she had never seen before knew her name. Regardless, there were more pressing issues at hand, as her eye line once again moved to the soldiers.
The chief soldier hesitated, something that none of his men did. A strange being, in the air and bracing diamonds to be fired at them, seemed about the right time as any to make a run for the hills. "Come back!" he ordered, to no avail, before he himself was forced to retreat in fear.
"DIAMOND STORM!"
The diamonds slammed into the road and exploded, ripping apart its already badly maintained surface and making it clear to the retreating soldiers that they were doing the right thing now, even if it meant betraying the usual practices and disciplines of their military.
Renamon's feet touched down on the ground, as elegantly as ever, before she swivelled around to look at those she had been protecting. A strange quadruplet they made; two humans, one seemingly at least partly of foreign decent, and a pair of Digimon, one a cream and green bunny that her mind identified as a Terriermon and the other one she had not seen before. The most peculiar thing was, the other one looked remarkably like her champion form, only much smaller.
"Who are you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes to closely analyse the four. "You especially," she added, looking carefully over her double.
"This device has no data on her, Renamon," came a new voice from the lengthening shadows nearby.
Heads turned to face a new figure, very pale blue, almost ghost-like hair running loosely down from her pale face. Her clothes were basic, a pair of black shoes, a long, pale skirt and a pale blue traditional blouse, tinged with a darker blue in places. She stared out at them through awed violet pupils, looking amazingly vivid on her otherwise pale form. Oddly, however, she did not look badly fed, but she seemed so light and innocent. Her voice, however, came with a tinge of knowledge, of awareness, perhaps of wisdom, and yet her words were those of a child.
"Who are you and why do you have Digimon?" she asked, looking carefully across them as if she had stumbled on a great secret. What were these people doing here?
Noticing Henry's hesitancy, and even Terriermon's speechlessness in the light of the current situation, Rey stepped forward to answer the girl's question, gesturing about at their group. "My name is Rey Matsuki, and this is Henry Wong. These are our Digimon partners, Terriermon, who is Henry's partner, and Realmon, who is mine," she explained, before frowning as she looked over this new girl. She couldn't have been much older than her, and certainly not younger, and yet she seemed so innocent, so…un-teenage.
"Oh, sorry, I forgot my manners," the girl apologised, bowing lightly and receiving a reply bow from Henry, always taught to do such things. Rey didn't bother.
"What's your name then?" Rey asked curiously.
"My name is Naoko Tamiko," she replied, bowing lightly to introduce herself. She hesitated, a long silence as she seemed to listen to the air itself, glancing up to the sky and the clouds settling in across the orange splendour. "I think…never mind…" she mumbled, sighing. "I will take you back to my home."
"Uh, that's good, but we kind of don't want to attract any attention right now, so, thanks for the offer, but…" Henry began to reply humbly.
"You are running from soldiers, you need to hide," she said, frowning at the concept.
"Yeah, but your parents…we don't want to be turned in by anyone, sorry," Rey dismissed the idea.
"My parents…they're gone, I'm afraid."
"Gone?" Henry asked, before realising what the girl was hinting at. "Oh, right, gone."
"Victims of a bomb attack. They were too long to get to the shelter. It is my fault; I delayed them because I didn't want to be separated from them."
"Why didn't you just go with?" Realmon asked.
"I would be risking losing Renamon, and she means the world to me," Naoko said, a slim smile in the direction of the Kitsune. "Now, please, follow before more soldiers come."
Rey glanced to Henry for a second opinion, receiving a nod in response and breathing a sigh of relief that she wasn't the only one with the present opinion. "Alright," she replied, nodding and smiling to Naoko. "Show us the way."
"I will," the girl replied, turning on her heels and beginning to lead them along a side street, the shadows of the buildings closing in behind them. Renamon brought up the rear, making Realmon speculate she could be for more than simply keeping an eye out for soldiers.
"She probably thinks we're the enemy or something. Then again, dropping into the middle of everything like this, I'm not surprised."
Rey smiled when she caught a glimpse of a watch on Naoko's wrist: it suggested she wasn't the worst off, although perhaps it was only an heirloom from when she had parents. Her mind wandered to pondering about how someone could survive without parents for so long, but she knew that she herself was the answer to that thought.
"That's a lovely watch," she complimented after noticing Naoko had seen her gaze.
"Thanks," the girl replied uncomfortably, covering the sapphire-blue reflective D-Vice with her sleeve.
TO BE CONTINUED…
And finally "Survivor", the Fifth story of Extra Dimensions, should make some sense. No, it wasn't Rika at all, and I'm surprised how many people didn't realise that. Give it another read, and you'll see what I mean.
Until next time…
B.C.
