Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
Digimon Trinity
Chapter: 138/ Episode 20: Edge of the Storm
Peering about to make sure no one was watching, Takato pulled open the door that led to the flood tunnels and stepped inside, Kazu and Kenta following closely behind.
"Sure is kinda scary in here," Kenta said, staying close to Kazu. The visor-wearing boy harrumphed at his friend's fear.
"Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark, Kenta. After the kinds of things we've seen? You're too old to be a bed wetter."
"Hey!" Kenta exclaimed. "I'm just saying…with how dark it is and all the red lights… It's just…kind of spooky. I didn't say I was afraid or anything."
"Yeah, right," Kazu scoffed. "See? That's why you'll never be a Tamer."
"You know, you're not a Tamer either."
"Not yet!"
Takato ignored their banter and hurried on down the platform and into the tunnel. Cupping a hand about his mouth, he called out, "Guilmon!"
His voice echoed down the depths of the tunnel. A short distance off, he saw shadows shift and a pair of figures rise up. Approaching it, he found Guilmon and Renamon waiting for him. Guilmon blinked, looking well-rested.
"Ohhh… You came back," Guilmon said, his voice full of relief. Laughing lightly, Takato knelt down in front of his partner and gave his ear a light rubbing.
"Of course, boy. Did you think I wouldn't?"
"No!" Guilmon replied, only to quickly amend, "Well, I was a little worried."
"Ah, I'd never leave you."
"Oh, barf!" Kazu said, folding his arms behind his head while Takato rose back up. "There's too much love in this room."
Ignoring Kazu's antics, Takato gave his partner a lopsided, yet comforting smile. Turning toward Renamon, he bowed respectfully to her in gratitude. "Thanks," he said. "For keeping an eye on Guilmon for me."
"It was no trouble," Renamon smiled, sweeping her tail to the side. "He can be quite accommodating once he stopped asking me to play."
"Was that hard?" Takato asked, looking at his partner with concern. Guilmon stretched and shook himself back to full wakefulness.
"It wasn't difficult," Renamon chuckled. "I believe he was still somewhat tired from yesterday's battle, which made things easier."
"At least you guys are both a lot better now. Uh… You are doing better, right?"
"I am," Renamon nodded. "But…"
There came a loud growl all of a sudden, and all eyes turned on Guilmon, who was presently holding his belly, a pained expression on his face.
"Takato… I'm hungry."
"Yes," Renamon resumed. "That seems to be the only issue remaining."
"Ah! Aw man…" Takato slapped a hand on his forehead. "I forgot to get bread while I was at the bakery!"
"Takatooo…" moaned Guilmon pitifully. "How could you forget? You're my Tamer!"
"I know, boy. I'm really sorry! I promise to get you something as soon as possible! Oh man, it's all my fault…"
"Actually, it's more mine," Kazu grunted, shifting uneasily. "I was trying to get Chumley's dad to make Guilmon bread and he didn't know who you were and…"
"Guilmon…bread?" At that, the red dinosaur's ears rose up, golden-eyes growing wide. "You mean…bread…shaped like me?!"
"Well…more like your head or something," Kazu replied. "I don't know. We didn't get all the details worked out, but…"
Guilmon let out a sudden, triumphant yell and flung his arms into the air. "Yay! I'm going to be bread! I'm going to be the tastiest bread ever! Oh! Am I going to be peanut butter filled or cinnamon? Takato, will you make me Guilmon bread?"
"Uh… Sure boy. If I can." Takato exchanged a look with Renamon, who merely looked on impassively. "A-Anyway, we'd better get going to the hideout. I'm sure Rika and Henry are there by now with news about Impmon."
Renamon narrowed her eyes, her thoughts turning towards the diminutive Rookie. Memories of the way he had looked when he told her to 'go away' flitted through her mind and with them came a warm concern that she never believed she would have felt for him.
The Nightmare Soldiers used us, she thought. Used us and lied to us. He still hopes that he is special though. That he was chosen for a reason. She frowned slightly, remembering his words to her from earlier that had slipped out in a moment of anger. Perhaps…he was?
She rolled that thought around in her head. Impmon made mention of what sounded like a human partner that he belonged to and had left. Had that been before he joined the Nightmare Soldiers? After?
Perhaps before… What other reason would there be for Apocalymon to choose him? There's precedent for the Powers of Darkness to corrupt a Digidestined and their partner. Ken being the first, and they attempted to do so with Rika. But…why wasn't I ever told this before?
Perhaps, she pondered, there was no reason to. Impmon had been viewed as a weakling after all. A failure. No doubt, she had been his replacement.
If that's the case…how did that affect him? How would it affect him, being cast aside like that?
If his battle with Indramon had been any indication, the answer was readily apparent.
Impmon… she thought, closing her eyes. She clenched her fists briefly for a moment before opening her eyes once more, and finding Takato gazing intently at Calumon, who was now opening his tired eyes. Another frown creased her brow. Something in the way the boy was looking at the In-Training digimon… She could practically see wheels turning in his head.
"Takato?" she prompted. "Is something the matter?"
"Hm?" The boy jolted to attention and looked at her questioningly before grinning awkwardly. "Oh, no! It's nothing. I mean, well, it's probably nothing. I…" He paused, glanced back at Calumon, watching him as he dove at Guilmon with a squeal of excitement. "…need to think about it a bit more."
Renamon felt somewhat confused by this, but nodded nonetheless.
"If you are certain…"
"Actually…" Takato scratched the side of his face uncertainly. "I am kind of wondering… Have you noticed anything…strange around Calumon since you've met him?"
"I'm afraid I haven't. Takato, why do you ask?"
The goggle-wearing boy became silent then. Again, that look in his eyes. The one that spoke of turning gears in his mind.
Something about Calumon… She thought about the In-Training digimon, but aside from his lack of desire for fighting, she couldn't remember anything that set him apart from other digimon. She was tempted to dismiss Takato's concerns as part of his overactive imagination, and yet…
That look in his eyes, she thought with quiet concern. It wasn't often that she saw him appear like this. Concerned? Plenty of times and these days concern dominated his thoughts like a dark cloud in the sky. Focused and trying to solve a problem? And his expression… A look that, oddly enough, reminded her of Rika whenever she was preparing for a battle in the future. These weren't things she saw with any regularity from him.
One more thing to be concerned about…
###
Takeru led Janyu downstairs and into the main lab area of Hypnos. At the ding of the elevator doors, Janyu inspected the area. Great vats of water lay beneath them, lined with technicians and scanning equipment.
Curious… he thought, but at present he didn't ask what their purpose was for. Takeru led him past them, suggesting, at least for the moment, that they were not concerned with whatever work he was to do for the Digidestined of Hope.
He was led to a smaller office, and stepping inside, he found a balding, red-haired man standing in front of a computer amidst a sea of wires. Hearing their approach, the man turned and Janyu was greeted by a familiar smile.
"Hey, Tao," he said. Janyu blinked, startled.
Could it be…?
"D-Dolphin?" One of his old college friends – one of the Monster Makers – was here?
"Yep," the man nodded. Janyu shook his head in disbelief, a grin spreading across his face. He almost couldn't believe it. He had to be dreaming! Yet the world around him felt as real to him as anything while awake.
It all makes sense actually… Why would I be the only one brought in after all?
"I don't believe it," he laughed. "It's been so long. You've changed, I barely recognized you."
"You haven't changed at all, Tao."
At that, Janyu turned to see a dark-skinned woman wearing a blueish-green wrap-around saree dress, a red mark seated above her glasses, rising from behind a cubicle. She was older than he remembered her, grey thick in her hair, yet her smile remained the same as ever, displaying a youthful energy that never seemed to die down.
As if at a signal, a dark-skinned man, bald and wearing sunglasses, rose up to join her.
"Well, except for the grey hair," he teased Janyu with a laugh. His own smile, compared to the woman's was older, his brow lined with wrinkles. Yet buried within them was a deep wisdom. He flashed Janyu a thumbs-up as their eyes met.
"I don't know," spoke up another woman, lighter-skinned and blond of hair, wearing a professional-looking suit, as she rose up to join them. "I kinda like it. It makes you look distinguished."
She grinned as well, and in her blue eyes, Janyu saw the same, confident playfulness that got them all into trouble in years past. Now though, it was tempered by raw experience that measured and weighed all around her to a fine degree.
They were his friends. They were the Monster Makers. The once-kids who wrote an algorithm for artificial intelligence and redefined the science behind it. The creators of digimon.
"Curly… Babel… Daisy…" he breathed, feeling as though he had just stepped back into his past and was meeting them all for the first time.
"Okay," Daisy began toward Takeru, breaking the illusion. "Now that all the pleasantries are out of the way, you mind telling us what this is all about? I mean a reunion of the Monster Makers is cool and all, but…"
She trailed off expectantly, and at this point Dolphin took up the reigns.
"Yeah, what's the plan? You haven't told us anything."
"I'll answer all of your questions now," Takeru said. "Thank you for your patience." Adjusting his sunglasses, he led them over to the table in the back of the room and looked upon the scrawling of mathematical formulas and graphing of dimensional vortexes. His lighter flicked open with a snap and he turned towards the Monster Makers. "In brief, the Forces of Darkness are rising again."
"A-Again?" Daisy's mouth fell open in horror at this. "But… We won. The barriers…"
"It's true, I'm afraid."
All eyes turned toward Janyu at this. Feeling uncomfortable, he turned his gaze down toward his shoes.
"My son has been selected by the digital world. He has a new model of digivice as well."
"So… The digital world isn't done with us…" Dolphin said, his eyes distant. "I guess I should have known that it wouldn't."
"Shibumi… He was right," Janyu nodded, looking at the man.
"Should we really be surprised?" Babel asked, approaching the table and taking a seat.
"I personally don't think so," Curly said, joining him. "The digital world assimilated a great amount of our data from the Internet, and digimon did that as well after they escaped to it. As memetic organisms, they would replicate themselves along those ideas that have survived the longest within the cultural consciousness. The continuous conflict between good and evil – light and dark – is one of the oldest in the existence of humanity. It was practically evolved into our brains as well. The rising and setting of the sun. Night and shadow and cold, all hiding predators. The changes in the seasons. Not to mention our own murderous tendencies… Early Man worked to explain all these things and the result was the mythical 'dragon' that needs slaying."
She sighed as Dolphin, Daisy and Janyu sat down.
"But you can't slay it once and be done with it. There's always another dragon because we exist. And the Quantum Sea has always been with us too, responding to our imaginations. The collective focus that the Internet provides stirs it up even more now."
Janyu closed his hands about one another, tension writhing in his fingers. "Back then, we had no idea about any of this," he said softly to himself. "I sometimes wonder if we could have done things differently… Maybe none of this would have happened."
"As powerful as our imaginations are though, we didn't create this situation," Takeru said, folding his arms behind him. "But we can end it. That is why I've gathered you all here. I have constructed a device that can target the Dark Ocean and, hopefully, destroy it once and for all. However, I am missing something key. Something vital to understanding the digital world and the Quantum Sea that it and the Dark Ocean resides in. I need your help in that so we may put an end to the Forces of Darkness."
The Monster Makers all looked at each other doubtfully. Talk like this wasn't anything new to them and had been on the minds of many a government committee both during and after the War. There had been no end to commentators as well suggesting such. However, few of them offered reasonable suggestions on how to go about that and quite often had very little understanding of the world they were talking about.
"I don't think that will work," Curly remarked. "The Quantum Sea spans the whole universe and as far as anyone can tell it affects our environment as readily as the brains of complex organisms affects it in return. As long as the Quantum Sea exists, we can't stop ourselves from affecting it. Destroy one Dark Ocean, and another will replace it."
"Maybe that's not what he means," Daisy said. "Are you talking about destroying the Quantum Sea?"
"No." Takeru shook his head. "That is impossible with our current technology and likely a bad idea. Rather, what I have in mind is more akin to lancing a boil. The Dark Ocean is one such boil. One that will continue to wage war against us until either it's been destroyed or we are. Maybe another Dark Ocean will replace this one, but as long as we have a weapon that we can use to destroy it in its infancy, we'll never have to worry about the Powers of Darkness again."
The Monster Makers fell silent, looking at one another in consideration, Curly with more than her share of doubts. Janyu's thoughts fell on his son, thinking of what he was enduring now and what he would be made to endure in the years to come if they didn't find a way to end this unending conflict.
Each time it gets worse, he thought. Things keep escalating and then…what's next? Can our world continue to survive?
As if to answer his question, an alarm sounded throughout Hypnos. Takeru frowned, his lighter flicking closed with a loud, angry snap.
"Another Wild One…"
###
Jeri stood at the entrance to Guilmon's home, eyes watching the stairs intently while behind her, Rika and Henry lost themselves in the quiet of their thoughts. She had long given up trying to engage Rika in conversation, as she had withdrawn into herself and wouldn't say anything further since reporting their failure at finding Impmon. Not even Terriermon's prodding had done much for the duo.
Is he dead? she wondered, and a chill ran through her body at the thought. That…That's silly. Digimon don't really die…do they?
She swallowed. The Tamers seemed to act like digimon could be killed permanently. She didn't know much about them herself. She collected the cards sure, but she didn't follow them with the same passion as Takato, Kazu and Kenta did. But she was sure she had heard there was a village of sorts where digimon who 'died' could go to be reborn. Why wouldn't Impmon go there if he had been destroyed?
Questions and questions, but so far neither Rika or Henry were willing to provide any answers. But with their moods, perhaps it was better to assume the worst.
Her hands wrung about one another while she watched, waiting for any sign of Takato to arrive. Ohhh… Why did Ms. Kamiya have to give him detention?
Soon enough, she saw the boy springing up the stairs with Kazu, Kenta and Guilmon close behind them. A wide smile broke across her face and she leaned forward just as the door opened.
"There you are," she greeted happily, stepping aside to make room for everyone.
"Hi," Guilmon greeted in return. With an explosive 'Hi' himself, Terriermon launched himself off Henry's shoulder and landed atop Takato's head, almost knocking him over.
"It's about time you got here, Takatomon!" the long-eared rabbit digimon laughed. "Henry and Rika were being all sad and depressed so I'm hoping maybe you can bring some cheer around here!"
"Wow, things must be pretty bad if you're relying on ol' Chumley here to make people smile," Kazu quipped, earning him a glare from Jeri.
"Glad to help if I can," Takato replied, giving a light, hesitant laugh. His eyes fell on Rika, who was seated on the concrete floor, hugging her legs close to her chest. Even from this angle, he could see that she was unusually dispirited, leaving him reminded of when she and Renamon had briefly split apart. His expression softening, he approached her.
"Any luck?" he asked, and the girl quietly shook her head. His lips thinning, Takato scratched the side of his head, unsure as to what to do. He wanted to reassure her, but how did one go about reassuring one of the strongest people he knew?
"I'm sure he's okay," Takato offered, giving her a small, comforting smile as he knelt down next to her. "I'm sure he's just laying low until he heals up."
It didn't sound convincing to his ears. While it was true that digimon could take hits far better than humans could, Impmon had been badly mauled by Indramon even before he had been smacked across the city. He had seen the hole his impact made on the news and even he couldn't help but wonder if the Rookie would have been able to survive.
Rika nodded however, not meeting his eyes. "Yeah…" she replied in a soft voice. Atop Takato's head, Terriermon shifted.
"Well… That could have gone better, but that does brighten things up a bit." Jumping off, he leapt over to Henry and climbed aboard his shoulder. "So, what next? Now that we have Guilmon's nose with us again, could he help out?"
At this, Rika perked up. "Do you think he could?" she asked, sounding somewhat urgent.
"Yeah, could he?" Takato chimed in, kicking himself mentally for not thinking of that earlier.
"I don't know," Henry said, rubbing one hand across his chin. "There's still a lot of people around. With all the protests going on, I don't think anyone's going to want to even see a digimon right now."
"Oh, yeah…" Takato's face fell and he looked over at his partner.
"But…what if I wore a disguise?" Guilmon asked. "Maybe if I wore a hat or something…"
"No offense, Guilmon, but you'd still stick out like a sore thumb," Henry replied. "And with everyone so upset and angry now, they'll probably notice you faster and they wouldn't ignore you either."
"Perhaps I should be the one to seek him out," Renamon suggested, phasing into view next to Rika. "I may not have Guilmon's nose, but I can detect digimon and remain unse…"
She paused suddenly, looking up, just in time for three digivices to cry out in alarm. "There!" she called, dashing toward the gate. Together, the group hurried out of the door to get a good look at where Renamon was indicating, and Terriermon gasped.
"Looks bad!" he exclaimed, seeing a thick, heavy field of fog billowing into existence behind a group of towers. Clenching her teeth, Rika narrowed her eyes in frustration.
"A digital field!"
###
Izzy nodded his head as on the other end of his phone, a voice reported what was going on. "Understood. Thanks." Hanging up, he looked over at the others gathered behind him. "That was Yolei just now," he explained. "She was able to sneak out a message. A high level digimon is breaking through the dimensional divide. If the pattern holds, it'll be another Deva."
"The horse one, I bet," Biyomon said, getting to her feet. "Sora?"
"Yeah," the Digidestined of Love nodded, typing quickly on her phone. "I'll get the message out. Hopefully Matt can make it."
"Better plan for in case he's not," said Davis, rising to his feet along with Ken. "It's time to rumble! Are you ready, DemiVeemon?"
"Just get me to digivolve and I'm all set!" the tiny blue digimon said, bouncing on the floor.
"Hang on," Ken said, looking out the window of Izzy's apartment and down at the black van before. "We still need to do this discreetly. Do you know where the digimon will be bio-emerging?"
"Yolei managed to get me coordinates," Izzy replied, hurriedly typing on his computer. "Thankfully it's not far."
"Doesn't look far at all," Wormmon said, crawling over to the window. "Look!"
Ken's eyes followed Wormmon's pointed claw where, not too far off in the distance, lay a thick, heavy fog settling over a bridge. Within it, a shadowy shape began to form, tall and towering, and before too long, Indramon appeared, breaking free from the digital field that contained him. Smoke burst forth from below as something exploded beneath his weight.
"Oh…" Sora felt her heart hang on a beat for a second before resuming. "He's…a lot bigger than I remember."
Ken's eyes snapped over to her, wide with alarm.
"He's what?!"
###
Kari stood paralyzed on the sidewalk as she looked up at the looming figure of Indramon as he proceeded to stomp his way down into the depths of the city, a great, floating seashell following behind him. Her phone had buzzed half a second ago – a message from Sora informing her that a powerful digimon was about to bio-emerge.
"Kari?" Gatomon asked, and Kari shook herself back to attention. Cursing herself for having become shocked, she scrambled into her pocket for her digivice.
"Sora said that this one's a big one," she said. "We're going to need a lot of power for this one."
"Didn't think she meant it literally," the feline digimon added. "It's almost as tall as VenomMyotismon." She narrowed her eyes. "He might be as powerful too. Kari, do you think you can get me to Mega this time? I think we're going to need it."
The Digidestined of Light swallowed audibly. Mega. It had been years since they last hit that legendary level. Could she still do it?
"I'll give it a shot," she said, clasping her hands about her digivice and bringing it close to her chest. Closing her eyes, she began to concentrate, focusing on the Light that lay within her; the goodness that she strove to bring into the world when she taught students or fought against evil digimon. She felt it answer as readily as an old friend, though it felt…distant. Quieter than it had been in the years of the War.
Please… I need you, she thought. I need your help once more to banish the Darkness from the world. Evil is here, and I don't think Takato and his friends can handle it on their own.
The light grew in response to her need, sensing the urgency to combat the shadow she felt attempting to invade the world. She welcomed it. Coaxed it further, remembering the endless battles of her childhood and all the evil that the Dark Ocean conjured and threw at them. All the horror that it intended to spawn in order to drown all that was good and just. The Light blazed brighter, and she felt it beginning to warm her skin. It expanded, enveloping Gatomon who grew just then, her body becoming more humanoid. Long, flowing hair of gold fell down her back as a white bodysuit formed along her. Feathered wings burst free from her back and a helmet bearing a cross fell over her blue eyes.
"Gatomon! Digivolve too…Angewomon!"
Ultimate. That was good, but if her partner had been right, they needed still more power. They needed the power to stop all evil and…
Kari flinched just then and a ripple of shadow flickered across the Light in her mind.
"Kari!" Angewomon shouted. "Something's wrong! I…"
Angewomon screamed just then and Kari collapsed to the ground, a cold chill running through her heart. Opening her eyes, she saw Angewomon writhing as pale blue and green armor formed about her. Her cross-helm disintegrated, revealing blood-red eyes and a bestial helmet took its place. Her skin became pallid, almost stone-like in appearance and four demonic wings, bat-shaped, shorn through her feathered ones, the remains of which floated to the ground in sparkling light.
The Light remained, but a ripple of darkness caressed its surface like an oil slick.
"G-Gatomon?" Kari stammered out, her eyes growing wide with horror as memories from her teenage years came to mind. What…What was going on?! She recognized this form but…it should have been impossible!
"No…" the newly evolved Mega breathed. "Not Gatomon. Ophanimon. Falldown Mode." Rising, the dark angel turned her blood-red eyes toward Indramon and, beyond him, the towers of Hypnos. "And I will bring about and end to this war for good!"
"No! Ophanimon…!"
But her call went unheeded. Ophanimon, her mind clouded by darkness, rose into the air and dashed off with a powerful flap of her wings.
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