...Oh, hey there! Maybe someone's still here to read this, huh?
This should not have taken me this long. But a combination of illness, graduate school, other business, and serious brain drain made it nigh impossible for me to get up the impetus to write this chapter. It drives me nuts because I hate putting something like this off, but the rest of my life had to come first.
Truth be told, this isn't my best work. But it's complete, and I need to get it put up so I don't feel like I've done everyone who's read this a disservice by making it seem like I've stopped. I swore I would see this through to completion, and come hell or high water, I'll do just that.
Enjoy!
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Chapter 53: Denouement
The battle outside Gargantua Weapon had died down significantly. Aside from a few stalwarts, most of Emperius had been killed or subdued or had bailed out on the fighting. What few enemies remained were easily held in check by the united front against them. Everyone else was trying to keep pace with the Weapon, in case any other unpleasant surprises were waiting in store.
"You saw the direction that airship was going, right?" Gallantmon called in to Slayerdramon.
"Yes, and I have two of my men pursuing it at this time. It is moving quickly, but they'll make sure not to lose sight of it."
"Good. I'm guessing there's a decent force in there hoping they can get the jump on us. We'll have to make sure they don't get a moment's rest." Gallantmon switched off the radio and looked back at the Weapon, feeling a creeping concern in his gut. "They're taking an awfully long time in there...I hope nothing happened to them."
"They'll be fine," Coredramon assured him. "These guys have put up a tough fight against everything! They aren't gonna be stopped now, I guarantee it!"
He had no sooner said it than the world around them was rocked.
They had all known the explosion was coming, yet nothing could have prepared them for the sheer magnitude of the blast. The entire front wall of the Weapon was blown away, anything within a thousand feet in front of it obliterated without a second thought, and all the digimon in every direction near the Weapon were tossed like rag dolls through the air. Even from a couple miles away, the shockwave almost knocked Gallantmon and Coredramon over. The jets holding the Weapon in the air were snuffed instantly, and the Weapon cascaded surprisingly quickly towards the ground, crashing in a horrific squeal of shearing metal and crackling with the sparks of flame from the destruction.
"Holy crap! I knew those things packed a punch, but goddamn!" Coredramon exclaimed as he steadied himself. "I hope everyone was all right!"
"We need to get a rescue squad over there right away!" Gallantmon shouted into his communicator. "Anyone who's not injured, hurry over and find any survivors! Right now!"
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The first thing Reyn was aware of, after ascertaining that he was indeed still alive, was that he could see daylight. A massive hole had been punched through the walls of the guard room, and at the non-daylight end, he could see the twisted metal that had been the gates, plus what might have been the blast shielding.
If I'd stayed where I was, I would've been killed.
Shakily he started towards the daylight. He wasn't feeling well at all; the explosion had hurled him against the wall, leaving him extremely sore all over, and he knew he was lucky that that was the worst of it. With so much debris flying around the room from the explosion and the resulting crash into the ground, he'd only been relatively safe due to getting behind a knocked-over table and waiting it out. The dust was making hard to breathe and see, his eyes constantly watering as he desperately tried to wipe them.
If it's that bad out here...
He didn't really want to find out what had happened, was afraid of what he knew he might very well find, but something kept him moving anyway. The uneven ground made walking back towards what was left of the reactor room an even more troubling challenge, especially given that he couldn't see very well, and he stumbled and fell several times, once slicing open his arm on a sharp corner of something metal. Still, he didn't stop, pushing his protesting body onward until he got to where he needed to go.
Parts of the walls were still there, mainly the wall with the doorway he'd gone through. The entire far side was gone, exposed to the outside, where he could see a flurry of digimon flitting around, gawking at the sight of the downed Weapon. Even where the room itself had remained, it was a tangled mess of wreckage He looked around, trying to see if he could find Salmandmon, hoping against hope that he was still able to be found in the first place...
He almost wished he hadn't. His eyes widened as he saw the red lizard, limply pinned to the wall by a very large piece of metal shrapnel speared right through his chest. Oh, no...oh, nonono-
He ran, or did a stumbling impression of one, trying just to get to his partner, fearing the worst. There was no response from Salmandmon as he croaked out his name, trying to find any hopeful sign that might mean something other than the worst. As he finally reached him, he instantly went to the reptile's neck, trying to find a pulse, barely able to keep his hand steady as his parched throat caused his own breaths to come in wheezing gasps.
After a full frantic minute, he thought he felt something. He wasn't sure, it could have been his brain tricking him out of denial, and after the brief moment he wasn't able to find it again. But that single glimmer of hope, that far-fetched possibility, spurred him into action.
Cautiously, using all he could to support Salmandmon's weight, he pulled the huge metal piece out of the wall. He didn't remove it from Salmandmon's body, not yet, the part of his brain still working rationally telling him that if there was any chance of survival, the added pressure would actually be helpful. He struggled greatly with the weight, his own injuries and exhaustion barely able to handle the extra burden. Somehow, he made it to the edge of the room, out into the bright light of the sun, and fell to his knees, unable to go any further as all that laid in front of him was a massive drop to the ground.
Someone...help us...
He gripped Salmandmon tighter, and was startled to feel the lizard flinch ever so slightly. "S...Salmandmon...you..."
"Hey!" Reyn looked up, and saw an Aeroveedramon diving in towards him. "Don't move, I'm coming in!"
Reyn tried to call out a response, but could barely manage a hoarse whisper. He could only sit numbly as the blue dragon swept in and took hold of him and Salmandmon, finally passing out once they were up in the air.
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"Hey! Wake up already!"
It finally sank in to Isaac that someone was yelling at him. He opened his eyes and immediately shut them again as a bright light caused his head to suddenly break out in all kinds of pain. "Aaaaaagh…"
"Well, at least you're responding. That's a plus, I guess. You all right?"
It took a moment for him to get what few bearings he could manage. "...that you, Skylar?"
"No, it's someone from Emperius, we just care about you so much after you destroyed our hopes and dreams. Of course it's me, you doofus. Open your eyes so I don't have to fail to carry you out of here."
Isaac opened his eyes just the narrowest bit so he could scowl at Isaac. "Are you gonna start this all over?"
Skylar looked down at him with a tired expression. "Would you rather it was Reyn fawning all over what he would say is a serious concussion? We can relax once we're out of here, right now we're still in enemy territory and anyone that made it through that blast alive can't be happy with us. I'm just trying to get you moving as fast as possible."
A loud groan rattled its way out of Isaac as he forced himself to sit up. "Fine, you've made your point. Ngh...man, I don't even remember what happened. Where's Data?"
"Breezedramon's attending to him. What happened to him? He looked like he's been through the wringer."
"Something like that. I thought he was gonna eat it at first...really glad he didn't."
Skylar's expression turned to one of concern. "It's that bad?"
"Well…" Isaac shook his head, and then immediately brought a hand up to it as he winced in pain. "Shouldn'ta done that...let's just get outta here, and make sure it isn't."
"Yeah, let's. We're close to the top right now, there should be people flying all over if they didn't get wiped out by the explosion. It'll be the easiest way to get someone's attention."
"Gotcha…" he finally stumbled to his feet, trying to ignore the pounding in his skull. Datacarnomon didn't prove to be far away, awake and actually moving around a bit, though he still looked much the worse for wear. Breezedramon was talking to him, looking quite fearful about something; Isaac supposed that Datacarnomon had told him what happened.
"Data, you think you can walk?"
Datacarnomon looked up at Isaac. "Well, just the act, maybe, but I doubt I could keep pace. I don't want to burden you, though, you look like you're not in much better shape yourself."
"I'll manage. Just try not to make a lot of noise."
"I'll be quiet as if I was dead."
"...Not that quiet, please."
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"Is he awake?"
"I think he's coming around...Derek! Come on, talk to me, let me know you're all right!"
Derek's eyes fluttered open, and he suddenly found himself in the middle of a congregation. "Wha...what's going on? Are we still in the Weapon?"
Iris nodded, giving him a relieved smile. "Yeah...we were trying to get on our way out and happened to stumble over you. What happened? You look like hell!"
"Ngh...I had a bit of a run in with some unsavory characters. Where's Blackcanismon?"
"I'm currently in residence over here," the voice, tinged with more than a hint of asperity, came fro behind and to his right, "recovering from having dragged your sorry ass halfway across this bloody monstrosity."
"He sounds a bit stressed," Shockavimon said with a roll of her eyes.
"I guess I can't blame him." Derek tried to push himself to a standing position only to find that his body was fighting every single motion, and he was barely able to sit up. "Oof...I, uh, hate to be a bother, but I think I'm gonna have some trouble getting around."
"I can carry him," Assaultmon volunteered. "See if you can get him onto my back."
"THANK you," Blackcanismon said tightly.
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The atmosphere in the Dreadnaught was about as dark as it had ever been for the leaders of Emperius as they watched their war machine crash into the ground. "There goes the Weapon..." Duftmon said gravely. "And all for naught for us...this is a massive setback...Commander, what are we going to do?"
Havocravenmon was quiet for a moment. "The choices aren't appealing. Our forces have been decimated...all we have left are those in and out of containment within the walls of the Dreadnaught. We may have salvaged many of our strongest, but we are at a disadvantage in number, and that won't work in our favor."
"So we need to recruit," Carcharomon suggested.
"If only it were that simple. Even if we've been driven away, they won't stop following us. Libertius, the tainted ones, they will come after us, trying to finish us off before we can restore ourselves and take them on face-to-face. And they have the charisma to build their own consensus...look at what they accomplished in such short order. They will make our names poison wherever we go."
"It's those damned humans!" roared Blackwargreymon, pounding an angry fist against the wall. "They're the cause of everything bad that's happened! I want to see them all burn! I want to see them all suffer!"
"That doesn't help us much-"
"It might, Commander," Kuzuhamon interrupted. "They've got their armies over here, but if we take it to their world, the tainted ones will have to make the journey on their own. There's no way they have enough time to mobilize all of Libertius to their aid. It means all we have left to face is them."
"They are not the only extant threat in that world. Other heretics, traitors from our own midst, the human weapons."
"So what? We'll defeat them without a care in the world! Our victory is destiny! We can't-"
Without warning, Havocravenmon grabbed Blackwargreymon by the throat and slammed him against the wall. "How many times do we have to go through this before it sinks into your goddamn skull? WE ARE LOSING! If we're going to win, it won't be through ignorant, idiotic rhetoric! We can't treat this like a foregone conclusion, we have to actually work for this! If I hear you spout this complacency-inducing drivel once more I'll run you through myself!"
He let go, allowing Blackwargreymon to slump to the floor in shock. The rest of the digimon looked at their commander in shocked silence; he returned only burning anger. "Do all of you understand that? I won't stand for this delusion any longer. Destiny is for fools too lazy to try to win by their own efforts. We make our own fate. Is that clear?"
There were nervous nods all around. The challenge of having to accept the notion of fallibility wasn't going to go down easy, Havocravenmon knew, but better that than what would come if it didn't. He marched over to the front of the room, thinking deeply about his course of action. "...If we want to make a campaign to the human world, we must expect fierce resistance. They know of us, and they are prepared to fight. The tainted ones, their allies, and the humans will be on the battlefront...if we work at it, we may still be able to overwhelm them. We have many powerful warriors still, they have a chance of overcoming what will be thrown at us. If that succeeds, there should be little else they can do, as long as we don't get complacent."
"And then we can destroy them?"
"No."
"Wh...no?"
"Destruction is wasteful and doesn't help us one bit. No...I want to consider another option. One that may give us other benefits besides fulfilling our ultimate goal of defeating the humans. It may not be simple in its execution...however, if they were to be guided towards it..."
Zeedramon shook his head doubtfully. "Unlikely to convince them to obey us without force."
"Us, maybe...I very much doubt the humans can all be united under one front themselves. If there are some who can be...manipulated into doing what we wish..."
Duftmon's eyes lit up. "Use those humans as a front for our desires...it might work! But what do you have planned for them?"
"Well, I'll tell you..."
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The next few hours were more or less a blur for Reyn. From the chaos that surrounded them when they landed, to the various strangers poring over him and applying medical treatments to his wounds, to bring brought back to another room where Salmandmon was laying silently in a bed, he had no idea how much time was passing or even where he was. Exhausted as he was, both physically and emotionally, not much was getting through to him; the words and warnings of the medical team seemed to just pass right over him without sinking in.
It was only when the rest of the group packed into the recovery room that he finally seemed to regain some alertness. He gave a weary smile as he saw them all present and accounted for. "You're all okay...thank god."
"You look like hell," Isaac said. "What happened to you?"
"Mnh...I didn't have as much time to get away as I'd hoped."
"I figured...I was talking about your arm." Reyn looked down absently at his forearm, which was heavily wrapped in bandages. He hadn't even registered this fact until Isaac had pointed it out.
"This? Uh...it's nothing...just a little cut."
"A little cut my metal butt," Datacarnomon replied instantly. "Practically cleaved your arm open, from what I can see."
"Stop looking under my bandages, Datacarnomon."
"What about Salmandmon?" asked Shockavimon, her voice quivering a bit as she watched the red reptile lie motionless on the bed. "We heard he got hurt really bad...is he gonna be okay?"
Reyn sighed. "From the sounds of it...well, they said the only thing they can say is that if he's not dead now, then he's got a better chance than they would've thought."
"That...that doesn't sound very hopeful."
"How'd you guys end up so badly off?" Derek asked. "You said you thought you'd get plenty of time to get away...what happened?"
Despite his own exhaustion, and a distinct difficulty keeping on track, Reyn managed to make his way through a crude explanation of what had happened. Predictably, the rest were horrified to hear what Salmandmon had chosen to do to solve the problem of the reactor, and even more so once he showed them what had embedded itself into his body. When he finally finished, there was no question that the magnitude of what had happened had sunk in clearly.
"That's crazy! How the hell did he even last long enough for you to find him?" Breezedramon exclaimed.
"That had to be incredibly unlucky," Isaac muttered. "Thrown against the wall, probably hit him almost after he the shockwave died down...a million-to-one shot! Unbelievable that it happened...and yet he could just have easily been killed instantly if it had just been a slightly different angle! I guess one can be unlucky and lucky at the same time..."
"A more unappealing predicament lies beyond the realm of my imagination," Blackcanismon said with a shudder.
"And yet he's still alive," Iris pointed out. "In bad shape, but still...something like that probably should have been certain death. Does that sound odd to you?"
"Sounds like a freaking miracle," Derek replied. "That's more like a billion-to-one shot."
"But how?" Skylar burst out.
"Skylar, easy!"
"Sorry, but...it doesn't make sense! Odds or no odds, I don't see how it's possible! That thing had to have totally screwed him up inside! Nothing short of divine intervention should have kept him alive even this long!"
"You can't be serious, Sky!" Breezedramon leapt in.
"I am! Unless his anatomy is radically different from ours, I don't see how it wouldn't be!"
"I didn't really need to hear that, Skylar," Reyn mumbled dismally. "If that thing did that much damage, I don't see how he'll make it."
Isaac shook his head. "No...I don't agree with that. If it went through his heart, he should have been a goner before you even got there. That fact that he wasn't...well, I think it sounds good, or as good as it can. The digimon we've fought haven't lingered around very much when suffering clearly fatal injuries, I don't see how this would be any different. So maybe he just got incredibly lucky, and it...missed somehow."
"Unless all his major organs are in his legs, it can't have missed!" Skylar insisted. "It's not like I want that to be the case, but how could it not be?"
Isaac sighed heavily, the sound of someone with something weighing on his mind that was about to come out against his better judgment. "...Maybe you're right, Skylar. But then...what? If that didn't take him out like it would any normal digimon, then why not? There has to be a reason for it."
"You sound like you've got one budding in there," Shockavimon said.
"Maybe, maybe not...but what about Data? He got speared with a Machine Killer Rod, by all rights that should have been the end of him right then and there. But he got through it...not just that, he's up and about now, even if he's still not back to 100%. You think that's normal? And you, Shockavimon, the kind of blast you took, you think it's normal for you to have gotten through that and be in the shape you're in so soon afterwards?"
"W-well, I mean, it was electricity...how bad could it have been?"
"If other electric digimon couldn't have handled it, it must have been pretty bad," Iris said.
Isaac nodded. "My thoughts exactly. I wouldn't have put money on you getting through that unscathed. Look at Derek, he seems just fine after taking a hit I couldn't even imagine taking, and I'm the one who's built for impacts if any of us are. People have died from a lot less force than that."
"I get the sense you think this is more than just luck," Derek said. "But we've gotten a lot stronger...couldn't that be it?"
"Strong enough for this? I seriously doubt it. This isn't just taking a few blows, we're talking instant death here. Or at least what should've been. But in every case we got through it, and not just that, but through it with not much to show for it in terms of lasting injury. I mean, I guess it still remains to be seen with Salmandmon, but I've got a feeling it's going to be the same story."
"What story are you so subtly hinting at, Isaac?" Blackcanismon asked suspiciously. "You appear to be harboring an explanation for these mysterious happenings."
"It's only a guess, and not one I could test at any rate, but...well, just bear with me. Our merging together has had a number of effects on us, and the more complete we've been able to get together, the more impact it's had...couldn't it have reached the point where we might even be able to cheat death?"
The others just stared at him for a minute. Reyn was the first to find his voice. "Are you suggesting...that we can no longer die?"
"Not...exactly that, but...in every one of these cases, it was just one of the pair that took the worst of the damage, at least to the level where it would have been instantly or rapidly fatal. Maybe...as long as one half is at least not in the same state, the other can stave off the reaper. Maybe not in every case, but at the very least, our ability to survive and recover could be drastically increased…"
Everyone fell silent for a moment, trying to wrap their heads around the ramifications of what had just been proposed. The idea of escaping what should be unquestionably mortal injury seemed too absurd to believe, and yet they couldn't deny that what they had gone through looked very much like just that.
Finally, Shockavimon spoke up. "You know what, I think I need to just sleep on this for a while...after everything that's happened today, I can barely think straight, and this is just too much."
"Sleep would be a good idea for all of us, I think," Derek agreed. "We probably shouldn't be all be in here for much longer anyway, not with someone trying to recover from something like that."
"Yeah, you're right. We should let Salmandmon rest in pe...uh, I mean, rest quietly without all of us crowding around."
"Yeah...Reyn, are you gonna be okay?" Skylar asked, his expression completely blank as he was trying to process what he had just heard.
Reyn shook his head. "We'll find out, I guess. I'm gonna try to get some sleep."
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It had to happen now…
He peered over the vista, as the swirling dark clouds billowed and blew in a slow rotation, masking what laid within. The charge that had been laid out rung fresh in his mind, echoing malevolently and leaving him tormented by what he knew he had to do.
They don't deserve this. Not so soon after such a tremendous event...but the consequences of withholding it could be even worse. I have to tell them…
He turned his back on the clouds and sprinted away, cursing to himself. Damn them...they knew what they were doing, this was no coincidence. I only hope they've made their final mistake, and don't realize it until it's too soon to undo it.
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"I'll be honest...I thought that was going to go a lot better than it did."
Reyn shook his head. "Yeah...because blowing up a bomb you're standing next to usually works out so well."
Salmandmon grinned at him. "Well, at least you're back to being yourself, snarker."
"Not even close. Seriously, though, what did you think was going to happen?"
"Well, I thought I'd get tossed around a lot, and probably buried under some stuff. Those blast shields held up way better than I woulda thought with that kind of explosion. Never imagined I'd get speared through the chest like that, though...and you say I survived because all the merging we've done kept me from dying while you weren't? That makes about zero sense."
"Isaac said it was like...our life forces are joined together or something," Reyn explained. "That our bodies and minds have combined and intertwined so much that a significant part of each of us is in the other. Or something like that, I'll admit it kind of went over my head. Maybe because it's kind of a freaky thought..."
"Well, whatever it is, I think it worked." Salmandmon swung his legs over the side of the bed and hopped to the ground. "I feel almost back to normal already. Maybe a little off, but not as much as I would have expected...the last time I was even close to this badly injured was when I first got to your house, and I wasn't even close to back to normal until we first merged. How's everyone else?"
"Tired, but in good shape. Some of us took some hard hits, but they bounced back just like you, faster even. As confusing as what he said was, I think Isaac's onto something...it's weird, it kinda makes it seem like we might actually be most vulnerable when we're merged together."
"I dunno that I'd go that far. We're so much stronger like that that we'd be much more likely to not get stuck in that kind of situation in the first place. Besides, I'm not sure how far I'd want to push the whole idea...something tells me that if one of us got decapitated no amount of shared life force would fix that."
"Hard to know without testing it, I guess, but I honestly could go my entire life without ever knowing that for sure and be just fine with it."
"Amen to that. What happened to Emperius? I haven't heard anything saying they were killed off, which suggests to me that they haven't been."
"Some of the guys outside reported that a huge battleship launched out of the weapon while we were making our way to the reactor, and we've heard word that others escaped using some teleportation technology within the Weapon. Some guys on our side were trailing the battleship at first, but they lost track of it a while ago...sounds like it cloaked itself while going through a cloud bank, and there was just enough confusion that they couldn't get back on it, so they're sweeping the area and hoping they get lucky."
"Oh, jeez. How huge is this battleship?"
"Well, only a fraction of the size of Gargantua Weapon, but still big enough to be a serious threat. They probably have a bunch of the compression chambers as well, so they're armed and have a decent army still. And there might be some way for some of their guys to get back to them as well."
"Don't doubt it. I wonder where they're planning to go. We're going to have to follow them, of course."
"Of course. They were last seen heading north, but they apparently have some sort of cloaking and the guys lost sight of them. Another Illusion Generator?"
"Probably not, I doubt they could manage to draw enough energy with a quantum reactor for something that size and nothing else is going to be strong enough to power an Illusion Generator that works while they move. It's probably more standard light-bending cloaking, that's easy enough to scan through."
"Isaac's working on that with some of the Mechalopolis guys. Whaddaya think they're going to try to do now?"
"Mm...hard to say. On the one hand, they need to rebuild their forces and really regroup, which ostensibly you'd think they could only do in our world. On the other hand, they know we've gotten Libertius back up to speed and there's a bunch more guys willing to take them on over here, they might actually consider the human world a more attractive target right now. If they can establish a safe harbor over there, they'll be able to come back as they please, allowing them to rebuild their ranks and get more ready for another onslaught. They've got just as many enemies over there, but those enemies have a lot less firepower. No offense."
"None taken, it's the truth. Maybe we'll be able to find out more once we get a bead on its location. They might be able to set themselves up on one of your other continents as well...probably a lot fewer hostiles there. For now, though, let's take what little time we have to relax, huh? We've been through way too much in the last day."
Salmandmon nodded insistently. "Too true."
(==========)
"It is an unenviable feeling, knowing that you have spent years deluding yourself into something that you would later find to be completely foolish. Realizing you set in motion a disaster which you would later regret with your entire being. I may never finish atoning for what I've done."
Derek sighed. "Well, you've made a good start, I'd say. Throwing Emperius into disarray before we even got there...you sure made our jobs easier, Glademon."
The golden knight shook his head dismally. "It is not nearly enough. I have caused injury and suffering to many, including a close friend who trusted me fully. That alone is bad enough, but for it to have been for a cause that was so backwards and ridiculous…"
"Your course of redemption shall not be facilitated by simple professions," Blackcanismon said. "Proactive measures will be required to establish your credence. I certainly would necessarily desire such affirmation."
"I could hardly blame you...after empty speeches for years, I wouldn't expect you to trust me on my word alone. I wish I could take back everything I'd done in the past...but I suppose it's far too late for that. Now all I can do is make up for it...if such a thing could ever be achieved, in any event…"
"If such endeavors were tasks of simplicity they would be devoid of any meaning whatsoever. If you seek redemption, you must complete accomplishments of great tribulation and superior importance. Certainly no shortage of unpleasant situations exist within this world that necessitate such remedial measures."
"Winning back Blackie's trust is probably gonna be the hardest challenge of all of them, though," Derek cut in, only half-jokingly. Blackcanismon gave him a look, but eventually acquiesced with an evasive nod.
"I wouldn't dare look as high as that to start. Perhaps once I've proven my worth to myself, I can hope to ask you to call me a friend once again...but certainly, I can't expect such forgiveness from you at this point in time. Not with the wounds still so fresh."
"No, you cannot. But...I would be remiss in stating that I wouldn't hope you could achieve such a feat in eventuality."
Glademon nodded. "I thank you for that...it will give me something to hope for. I suppose I will take my leave of you now...I shall see you again another time…"
Rather quietly, the golden knight exited the darkened room, leaving behind only Derek and Blackcanismon. The former turned to the latter with a look of concern in his eyes. "You okay, Blackcanismon?"
Blackcanismon shook his head. "Forgiveness is...sometimes the most challenging aspect of this world. Truthfully, the simpler path would have entailed finishing the battle begun before…"
"Is that really what you would have wanted?"
"Nowhere in my statement did that sentiment become expressed. I only mentioned that such would be the simpler option...as with redemption, forgiveness is meaningless if achieved without effort...despite the temptation for the simplest possible resolution, rarely do the results measure up."
"Yeah...I can't tell you how often I've felt that way with my parents...sometimes I just thought about running away from it all, but that wouldn't have solved anything...it would've just created a whole bunch of other problems."
"I can imagine many regrettable repercussions occurring as a result of such actions. I shall take that example to heart."
(==========)
"Do you kinda wish we were out there looking for wherever Emperius got off to?" Shockavimon asked from the bed in the room Iris had been sleeping in. "Or like there's something more productive we could be doing?"
Iris was quick to shake her head. "This is the first break we've had in a long time. Let's just enjoy it before we have to get back to business."
"Yeah, you're probably right. Shame that Emperius got away, even if they're weakened. I guess we can't rest easy just yet, but it doesn't sound like it'll be long now."
"I'm not even sure I can imagine getting back to a normal life at this point," Iris said with a shake of her head. "Heck, I'm not even sure what qualifies as normal now."
"That is kind of a tricky question, isn't it? Our lives are completely different from what they were before, so I guess normal's just going to have to be redefined as well."
"I kind of wonder how things are going to work. I mean, the way things are between us, I have a hard time believing we would end up going our separate ways. But if that happens, someone's going to be away from home."
"Ah, that's nothing. I'd be perfectly happy settling down in your world. Well, provided we could get easy access back and forth, but you can bet Isaac and Data have probably had designs about that grinding in their heads for a long time now."
"But what about Libertius?"
Shockavimon shrugged. "I'm not sure what their future holds, honestly. Really, their entire existence has revolved around fighting Emperius...once they're out of the picture, Libertius has pretty much run its course. There's just not enough strife in Northern Teraquaz to sustain them on this scale."
"You think they'll just pack up and head home? I dunno, it seems...weird to imagine that."
"Well, there's precedent for that. Even if they stuck around, I think things would change pretty drastically. A lot of them have probably had enough of the fighting, especially after being stuck as captives for weeks. The ones still itching for battle will probably head south, but I know not everyone here wants to get involved in that...it's a conflict of a very different flavor, where right and wrong isn't nearly as clean-cut as it was here. Whoever's left probably isn't enough to justify having a whole complex dedicated to them...I imagine they'd either become roving mercenaries or would join the Kaiser's forces."
"Seems kind of a shame. You've all been through so much together, it's sad to see that end."
"Yeah, but it makes sense. You've been around enough to see that there's plenty of people to fill the same roles on a smaller scale. Besides, what we shared will last, well beyond the group itself."
"I guess you're right. You think you could get used to living in our world?"
"I don't think it'll be that hard. I got a taste of the life when we weren't trying to deal with Emperius, and it seems like there's plenty to do there. Besides, it's not like it's a final choice or anything. I imagine we're going to have a lot of fun in both worlds."
Iris nodded. "Yeah, I've only gotten to see a small bit of this place! There's a whole world out there I want to get to know better! Not to mention we've got a title to defend!"
"You really wanna go back through all that?"
"I dunno, I think we could make some waves every now and then! It's not something I'd want my life to revolve around, but if we could jump in blindly once and cream the competition, what's to say we couldn't do it again?"
"I guess you've got a point...me, though, I wouldn't mind a little peace for a while. Your world...seems like it's a lot more peaceful than ours is."
"Well...it'll probably only seem that way until you get to know more of it. There's a lot of drama and conflict all around, it's not nearly as nice and quiet as it seems."
"I figure as much, but it can't be nearly as much as over here. I mean, we're creatures built for fighting...that makes it just that much easier for it to happen. Humans, they aren't made the same way...they may have their ways of making it happen, but it'll never just be quite as natural as it is for digimon. It's not like I regret that about us, but...well, it does make everything a bit more dangerous and troublesome."
"I guess you've got a point there...whatever humans can do to each other, it doesn't extend to creating fireballs out of thin air or causing massive explosions with barely a thought."
"Right. And that danger doesn't make coexistence as easy, either...it's all too easy to develop prejudices and blanket hatreds when not doing so can very well mean the difference between life and death. And that makes it much harder to get rid of, too. I'd want to see what it's like living in a world where that isn't the case."
(==========)
"How'd we do, in the end?" asked Isaac as he watched the rapidly-scrolling display on the screen his partner was looking at. The movement of the text was almost hypnotic, lulling him into a sense of peace and relaxation which was unceremoniously broken by Datacarnomon's response.
"Well, from a standpoint of pure numbers, it looks like Emperius suffered about a 55% casualty rate. And we captured a fair number from the remnants of the Weapon, probably another 10%, so at least 65% of their forces are finished."
"Well, that sounds good, but I don't like that caveat at the start. Let me guess, a lot of the stronger guys got away."
"Bingo. I'm guessing once they saw that it wasn't going well for them, they got as many of their most powerful fighters out of there on that battleship. They may have only about a third of their numbers left, but what makes up that third is mostly higher-level digimon. They still won't be pushovers."
"Still, smaller numbers should prove to be an advantage to us. We've taken on some damn strong digimon already and come out pretty well."
"What has me most concerned are those generals we faced. They'll have the advantage of knowledge against us next time, so we'll have to be prepared for what they can do. I doubt Carcharomon plans on letting us drain him a second time."
"Good point. We should think of a few new strategies for the next time we have to go up against him. It would be nice if we could finish it on our own terms, without a lot of pressure...and keep him from running away next time."
"Right. Anyway...enough of this. I need a break." Datacarnomon disconnected from the computer and hopped of his chair, clanking loudly on the ground as he landed. "I'm gonna go find some of my buddies and catch up with them. You wanna come with?"
"Uh, sure. I hope I won't be a fifth wheel, though."
"Nah, it'll be fine. I'm sure they'll want to get to know the guy who helped save their skins from Emperius. You'll probably want to get used to that, because you're gonna get it a lot over in your world once this is all done."
"Oh, boy, don't remind me…"
Datarcarnomon smirked. "What, you don't like the idea of being a hero in everyone's eyes?"
"It's not...that, exactly. It's just kind of, you know, a little uncomfortable having everyone's eyes on you. I'm not really used to being the center of attention."
"I wouldn't have thought that would bother you! You seem like the kinda guy who could take it all in stride - heck, I would think you'd enjoy it!"
"I want to! It's kinda silly, being nervous about something like that, at least that's what I think! But I can't help it, it's just something I haven't been able to get over, and it's not that I haven't tried...it's just that I can't make myself get over it!"
"Well, you know how a robot like myself goes about it? We have an experience, take the data from it, analyze it thoroughly, use the data to alter our actions and add or change the steps, and do it all over again! So you should just do the same thing! Figure out what it is that makes you nervous and add in some stuff to take care of it!"
Isaac chuckled. "You make it sound so simple!"
"It is! C'mon, you're coming with me, and you're going to bask in their adoration if I have to beat you into it!"
"Whoa, whoa, okay, jeez, no need to go overboard, I said I was coming with, didn't I?"
(==========)
"So that's the situation, or at least what we know of it," Skylar finished. "We're waiting on word from the air about where the airship went, but for now, things have settled down."
"Fantastic…" Gallantmon muttered. "We've never been in such a prime position...we owe you and your friends a great deal."
"Well, it wasn't all us, we had a lot of help in making this all come about."
"True, but it's all revolved around you. It's because of your efforts that we've gained the allies we have, and that Libertius survived teetering on the brink of destruction. We've gotten back our ability to defend our land, and for that, I for one will be eternally grateful."
"We're just happy to help!" Breezedramon chirruped. "It's all for a good cause!"
"Exactly," agreed Skylar. "It's for everyone's benefit, and I'm just glad we even can play a part in seeing it through. And honestly, it's hard to take credit for all this when we just kind of stumbled into it ourselves. Really, it's a lot more good fortune than anything else."
Gallantmon shook his head. "I don't believe that. Perhaps it was good fortune that you found out that it was even possible for you to combine together like you do, but look at what you did with it. You took it upon yourselves to defend two worlds, both of which were quite new and unfamiliar to one of you. You went up against foes far stronger than yourselves and still prevailed through persistence and ingenuity. You forged alliances which allowed others to take up your cause when you needed more than yourselves, organizing a more powerful and reliable defense than ever would have existed without your influence. And you have repeatedly torn down a system which has sought our destruction and was proving all but unstoppable until you desmontated that they weren't. That is far more than good fortune."
"When you put it that way, it's kinda hard to argue with you," Skylar admitted.
"I hope so. You should take great pride in what you've accomplished...it's not something just anyone would have been able to do. You've got a great future ahead of you, all of you, no matter what you do...if you can overcome this, there isn't much in either world that could pose a greater challenge."
"You're right...thanks, Gallantmon."
Gallantmon gave a nod. "And thank you as well. I won't keep you any longer, go rest while you can. You deserve it."
"Thanks. We will. We'll let you know when we find out more." With that, Skylar and Breezedramon left Gallantmon's office and headed back down the hall. Only when they were out of earshot did Breezedramon flit up and cuff Skylar on the head.
"Hey! What was that for?"
"It was for trying to shove all that praise into your skull where it belongs! Gallantmon's right, you should totally be swimming in pride right now!"
Skylar scowled at the dragon. "Excuse me for trying to be modest. You sound like Isaac."
"Modest isn't acting like you didn't do anything! Modesty's more not trying to make a bigger deal out of all the good stuff than it is, or something like that. It's not saying all the spactumtaculamer stuff we've done is all just luck, that's just silly!"
"I'm not sure I agree with that. Acting like it's just all because you're so good is liable to make people think you've got a big head, and that's not particularly appealing to them."
"It's not any better to just yap about how it something's all luck and stuff either! It's acting like you're not any good at anything when you obviously are, and that just makes people think you're either an idiot or a liar! And, I mean, when you obviously did something huge, not taking credit for it is like telling them it wasn't any big deal, it makes them think it wasn't important to you! And something like this, this is a really hugenormous deal!"
Skylar had to pause on that. I think he has a point...I guess it can seem like you come off as callous if you downplay something other people see as an important accomplishment, especially if they were impacted by it...is that what Isaac's always talking about? Maybe I should rethink my approach...the last thing I want is to seem like I don't care...
"Excuse me, Breezedramon, Skylar?" The two turned their heads down an intersecting hallway to see Monodramon running up to them. "Salmandmon and Reyn wanted me to come get you. He wants to meet with you in the cafeteria. Something about plotting a course of action or something along those lines."
"All right, thanks. Well, best not keep him waiting, huh?"
"Nope! Let's go!"
(==========)
"It's a lot busier in here now that everyone's back," Reyn said as he took his seat next to Salmandmon, who was already tearing into a pile of food seemingly as large as himself. "If you guys have trouble hearing, we can relocate."
"I think it'll be fine, it's not too loud," Derek said. "So what's up?"
"I think you can probably guess. Yesterday was a huge victory for us, but it's not finished yet. Emperius has been drastically weakened, but they're still there and they're certainly not going to take what happened lying down. However, we still haven't heard from anyone as to where they are, and even if they have plans, it's going to take them some time to regroup. Meanwhile, we're at a crossroads as well...if there's any time that we could take a break and check back in with our world, it would be now. On the other hand, we could also put all our resources into tracking down and finishing off Emperius, which would speed up the process and give them less time to plan for us. I'd like to hear your thoughts on these options."
"I dunno...I would kinda like to see everyone again, and make sure they're doing all right," Iris said uncertainly. "I know we can't rest on Emperius, but with them in defensive mode, now would be the best time to make sure they're ready for anything over there, and let everyone know that we're still all right."
"Now would also be a perfect time to drive forward and finish them off," Isaac argued. "The more time we give Emperius to rest and regroup, the harder they're going to make it for us to finish the job. When it comes down to it, our world isn't going anywhere, getting back will be a cinch. And as long as we leave Emperius alive, they're going to be a danger to everyone over there. We're best off just ending it now."
"I have to side with Isaac on this one," Skylar added. "Much as I'm sure my mother would prefer I come home and prove I'm still alive, from a pragmatic standpoint, we're probably not going to be in as good of a position to deliver the killing blow at any other point in time. It makes more sense to do it now than give them time to rest. Besides that, in the state Emperius is in, they probably aren't able to send anyone over to attack them anyway."
"I guess that makes sense, but part of me just wants to have that peace of mind that they're not struggling over there," Derek countered. "I'm with Iris, I think even a quick trip, just a day or something, just so we know they can handle themselves. And if they can't, maybe we can organize some back-up."
Isaac rolled his eyes. "I guess that's an even split then...well, before your vote, anyway. Guess the difficult decision gets put in your hands, Reyn."
Reyn smirked. "Not really, no."
"Yeah, we took a poll, and we're all for going out and kicking their asses right now," Salmandmon said. "So, yeah, we kinda skew the vote a little bit in that direction."
Iris glared at Reyn. "Wait, so our votes didn't even matter?"
"Oh, they mattered. After all, if you'd all been in favor of checking back in, it would've at least meant a bit of a debate over what to do. But since that wasn't the case, it sounds like we've got our course voted on by popular decision. Besides, they're the veterans here, I think it's smart to go with them on tactical decisions."
"And Skylar's got a good point," added Shockavimon. "It's really unlikely that they're still sending people over there after what happened, so if nothing else, they've got some time to regroup and reload. We can delay more attacks, if not stop them entirely, by taking the initiative over here."
Iris let out a long sigh. "I guess so. I'm just worried about everyone over there...I hope there weren't any catastrophes."
Reyn nodded understandingly. "I get that...I'm worried about them, too. But if there were any major issues over there, there's probably nothing we can do about them after the fact. We're best off doing what we can right here and now."
"So what's our plan for once we get a bead on them?" asked Datacarnomon.
"Well, we'll probably have to assess that once we figure out what they have at their disposal. Where they end up, what kind of defenses their ship has, whether they have any fallback locations, all that good stuff. We won't be able to just jump in and go all gung-ho on them. Not to mention, we'll probably want some support of our own, now that we have some of that."
"What if they decide to retaliate against our own world?" Skylar said with worry in his voice. "We could find ourselves in a bind again if they have a lot of time to attack before we find out and make our way back there."
"Well, that's something we have to be aware of…"
"How do we know they haven't gone over already?" Iris jumped in. "If we can't find them now, maybe they've already made the trip! That sounds like a good enough reason to check in over there to me!"
Reyn and Salmandmon exchanged glances; this somehow hadn't occurred to them. "That's a...valid concern," Salmandmon finally said. "I guess we should look into that...there's gotta be some way to find out if the ship's still in this world. If it isn't, we'll have to make haste. But let's ascertain that before we-"
There was a sudden commotion from the entryway of the cafeteria, and all eyes turned as a familiar demon dragon barreled his way in and made a beeline for their table. There was a look of tension in his features that didn't sit well with any of them. Isaac was the first to speak as he approached. "Reaverdramon! Hey, we never got a chance to thank you for your help with the Weapon-"
"I'm sorry, but I have to ask that the accolades are saved for another time," Reaverdramon cut him off with an urgent wave of his hand. "I'm loathe to spring this on you so soon after that massive battle, but there's an extreme crisis about to explode, and this could make Emperius look like child's play. I need you all to come with me, right now."
Reyn nodded, not about to argue with such a dire proclamation. "If it's that bad, then we're definitely going. Come on, everyone."
(==========)
(==========)
So...yeah. Cliffhanger. Just like last chapter, except hopefully it won't be two months before I update this time. It may be a bit easier to finish than this one was because I at least know how everything is supposed to go. I just have to write it...hopefully I'll have some time over the Christmas break to do just that. I don't really have the energy to write much more here now, so I'll just end it and hope that things start picking up in the next chapter, which I'm going to try to force myself to finish and put up before January is out. Until then...
