Digimon Continuum: Temptation
Episode 1 – Heatwave: Part II
Sora Takenouchi
Sora loved Mimi, truly she did, but a part of her wished she was somewhere else that afternoon. Somewhere cool.
She supposed it was hardly the other girl's fault that a freak heatwave had come from nowhere but ever the fashionable one, Mimi had dressed to impress in an airy white and pink top that fell of one shoulder and skinny jeans and knee-high boots complete with one of her ridiculously large hats with the wide brim and overly large sunglass did not seem the least bit put out by the day's heat. Sora, on the other hand, boiled in an old red soccer jersey baring her number of choice (thirty-eight) and baggy cargo shorts. It seemed that despite dressing for the weather she found herself wishing for cooler climates, but their afternoon of girl time had been planned for weeks now and it would be rude to back out just because it was too hot but good lord was it hot.
Things hadn't been so bad when they met up for a lunch date as they'd planned, a lovely local place ran by a friend of Sora's mother who was always happy to see her and Biyomon. But once they'd set off to go shopping, stepping away from the blissful embrace of air conditioning, the heat had quickly ramped up.
It didn't help that most people they came across took one look at either Palmon or Biyomon and decided to not so subtly distance themselves as quickly as possible. It was something all of the DigiDestined had grown accustomed to ever since Parallelmon had shown up last year.
The less said about that day of insanity the better in Sora's opinion.
Whilst Sora had long since grown used to the odd looks and obvious wariness, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt when they ran across a more vocal bigot.
"You're not allowed in here with them!" A surely sports store manager had snapped at them earlier that afternoon. The man was a little red in the face and Sora couldn't tell if it was because of his stuffy black uniform shirt or his dislike of Digimon. "Or can't any of you read?" He'd jerked in a finger to the sign stuck to the front door: No Digimon Allowed.
Sora had sighed, she needed a new tennis racket and wanted to pick up the new FC Tokyo jersey (just because she didn't play anymore didn't mean she didn't love soccer any less) and this store was one of the better ones in the area when it came to cost but it wasn't worth it.
Mimi, of course, had fired up: "Palmon and Biyomon have done nothing wrong!" She rounded on the manger as Palmon cowered behind her and Biyomon took a step back. "They're citizens of this city the same as anyone else! They've risked their lives more than once to save it!"
The store manager had not liked that response one bit. "Out! Out now!" He'd bellowed as he stormed up to them, getting in Mimi's face and trying to use his significant height advantage to intimidate her. Mimi had not been the least be bothered by the manger's proximity or the pulsing vein in his neck.
In the end, Sora had been forced to drag Mimi away as her shouting match with the manger became quite the speculate for everyone else in the store and those passing by outside. Mimi had not appreciated Sora's actions, looking huffy that she'd dragged her away before she could obtain justice for their Digimon.
Sora was more than used to dealing with Mimi just smiled gently; "He's not worth your anger." The other girl had deflated a little after that and calmed down after a reassuring hug from Palmon.
That had been a little over an hour ago and the pair had moved onto better and friendlier stores.
Sora was a few steps behind her friend who was talking animatedly to Palmon, neither of the pair seemed the least bit bothered as they carried an array of brightly coloured shopping bags between them. In fact, the short, green Digimon seemed radiant in the heat, the pink flower on top of her head taking on an extra sheen as her black eyes glimmered. In stark contrast, poor Biyomon looked ready to collapse, her pink feathers a little ruffled and her wings dragged along the ground as she hung her head, tail feathers sagging sadly.
"Mimi," Sora called out to her friend as she stopped to allow Biyomon to catch up, "maybe we should find somewhere to take a break for five minutes?"
"Sounds like a plan," Mimi took one look at poor Biyomon before nodding, "we can find a bench in some shade nearby." When the girl offered her hand, Sora took a moment to realise what she was doing before handing over the lone bag of shopping she had purchased before scooping up Biyomon in her arms.
"I'm sorry, Sora…" Biyomon didn't seem to want to look at her. "First they wouldn't let you into the sports store whilst you were with me and now I need you to carry me."
"Oh, shush Biyomon," Sora said back, barely above a whisper as she nuzzled her partner. "Like I'd want anything out of a store that wouldn't let you in. Besides, carrying you is hardly a problem." Biyomon twisted in Sora's grip before throwing her wings around her neck and she set off after Mimi again.
It took them a few moments, but they stumbled on a bench in the shade of a large tree on the fringes of Shiokaze Park. Sora carefully set Biyomon in the shade before slumping down next to her, grateful for the bottle of water Mimi had just handed her.
"Got to stay hydrated!" Sora didn't argue. After taking a long swig she held the clear bottle at arm's length, debating about emptying what was left over her head to cool off. It wasn't like she'd stay wet very long. "Where'd this heatwave come from anyway? It's like SkullMeramon all over again, boy did that turn out to be a drag."
"You're not wrong." Sora agreed, giving in to her desire to douse herself with the water. Shooting a glance at Biyomon, who was greedily gulping down her water. "This time is worse though – the Digimon didn't feel it nearly as bad last time."
"I'm not that bothered, this heat is nice!" Palmon did a little twirl as she stood at the edge of the shade offered by the tree. "I feel like I'm glowing!"
Mimi gushed in agreement, whilst Biyomon mumbled something that sounded like: "Lucky."
Sora placed a hand atop Biyomon's head in hopes of comforting her partner, but as she watched Palmon and Mimi trade compliments, something struck her. This heatwave was rather bad, but Biyomon hadn't been all that bothered years ago when they endured the heat brought on by SkullMeramon. Was it a side effect of having spent some much time in the human world since the door to the Digital World was opened to just about everyone? She'd have to remember and ask Izzy about it later.
"We could always head over to Tokyo Tower," Sora teased wryly as she plucked the second bottle of water out of their bag of goodies. "If you're in the mood for a trip down memory lane."
"Puh-lease," Mimi scrunched up her nose at the thought, "like I want to be reminded of such an ugly coat ever again." The four of them shared a laugh. So much had changed over the years, but some things stayed the same too.
They lingered a few moments longer before Sora had stood up, planning on moving on to next destination before a shrill scream cut the air and a car could be heard skidding to a halt. It seemed Mimi had assumed like it was a passer-by freaking out over the Digimon – it wouldn't be the first time – but the crowd of people that were running were coming towards them and not away.
Mimi who had rounded to shout at whoever had screamed looked momentarily panicked but Sora was the one who saw it first. A Digimon pursued the frightened civilians at a leisurely pace, it looked like a metal skeleton, dressed like a demonic cowboy and wrapped in a billowing poncho of sickly green flames as chain lasso hung from a belt and spiked boots with spurs jiggled with every step. Its face was a skull of blacked metal, jaw twisted into to an unending grin as pale blue eyes narrowed as it seemed to zero in on Sora and the others as it pushed the brim of its hat out of its face, spurs rattling dangerously.
The once quiet street was about to become a warzone.
"Oh, that's not good." Sora heard herself say unhelpfully.
The SkullMeramon-like Digimon tilted its head before it let out a raspy chuckle, advancing on them. The world seemed to wrap and warp as heat radiated from the thing approaching them, glassing the ground beneath it, nearby abandoned cars and street lamps began to bubble and melt.
Sora sprang into action as she shared a look with Mimi, who nodded. "Biyomon!"
"Right!" The pink bird Digimon sprang into action, quickly Digivolving as she closed the distance between her and the oncoming opponent. Birdramon took flight once more over the skies of Odaiba but this was a battle they'd fought before, or something similar and the fiery bird's usual attacks wouldn't offer much outside of tickling the SkullMeramon knock off. But all they had to do was stall long enough for Palmon to become Lilymon – who would hopefully fare better.
"Talon Tear!" Birdramon cried out as Sora moved to help one of the people who had been fleeing the wild Digimon and had fallen. The woman slapped away Sora's help before she picked herself up and continued running, meanwhile, Birdramon was torn from the sky by the SkullMeramon look-alike as the chain lasso wrapped around her, searing her feathers as the ground shook with the impact.
Birdramon shrieked as the SkullMeramon wannabe flexed slightly and the chains binding her tightened as they coiled like snakes as the cowboy knock approached at a leisurely pace. The wild Digimon was about to stamp on her partner when Sora did something rather stupid – she snatched a piece of what was once the pavement and threw it as hard as she could.
It clanged of SkullMeramon's head like she'd thrown a rubber ball. But at least it'd paused mid stomp, turning to look at the Child of Love with unblinking expression. It raised its foot back up, ready to stomp harder now for Sora's interference. But Lilymon arrived just in time, knocking the wild Digimon off balance with a well-placed Flower Cannon that sent it staggering back.
SkullMeramon two-point-oh didn't look the least bit bothered by the attack. Instead, it looked down at the unfretted flames of its poncho before looking back to Lilymon, tutting as it wagged a finger at her. Throwing out an arm, chain lasso snaked its way through the air, piercing the side of the car with the rogue Digimon lifted from the ground with a flick of its wrist and swung around like a giant yo-yo.
Lilymon ducked the attack with a shriek firing off another Flower Cannon. SkullMeramon-lite just laughed as it gnarled looking six-shooter from nowhere and firing at the distracted Ultimate, buying it time to get its improvised weapon air born again.
"Lilymon look out!" Mimi had cried as the black mess of bubbling and bending metal came rocketing at her partner from behind. Sora shouted for Birdramon in the same instant, who had risen back into the air and made it intercept the sneak attack with a Meteor Wing, rocking the street with the shock of the impact. It was enough to knock the smouldering ball of slag of course, but it collided with the side of building on the other side of the road and glass and rubble came showering down, almost pinning a young couple who had been hiding nearby.
"We need to get SkullMeramon off the street before it can hurt someone! We need to keep it isolated!" Mimi nodded in agreement, and Lilymon zipped forward, using her small size for an Ultimate to her advantage to get close enough to pull off an attack.
"Flower Wreath! Alright big guy, follow me!" Lilymon commanded as zoomed around the cowboy-like Digimon, who was now wrapped in a wreath of beautiful flowers, binding its arms at its sides.
"Okay," the SkullMeramon clone hissed out as the flowers binding it turned to ash, "ladies first." the chain lasso that the flaming cowboy used flew up to capture Lilymon before he swung her around like a shotput. When released the Fairy Digimon went flying into Shiokaze Park as SkullMeramon two-point-oh laughed like a bad Saturday morning cartoon villain.
The chain that had bound Lilymon began to slither back to its own, coiling round spiked cowboy boots as SkullMeramon began to swing the chain again, looking to lasso the now absent Birdramon as he headed for Shiokaze Park. "Garudamon, now!" Sora cried as her newly evolved partner crashed down behind SkullMeramon with a dangerous look in her eye. Still, their attacker didn't look the least bit bothered by the fact that Sora's partner dwarfed it in size if anything it looked like it relished the challenge.
"Time for you to cool off, cowboy!" Garudamon punctuated her point with a huge kick, imitating a soccer player taking a penalty. SkullMeramon let out a hiss as he followed Lilymon through the now burning trees.
Garudamon was back in the air, flying after SkullMeramon in the same instance that Sora tore into the park proper after the wild Digimon. The smell of burning leaves and smoke was starting to become rather hard to ignore as she could faintly make out the sound of approaching sirens. She could see the faint outline of SkullMeramon further into the park proper as people ran screaming, the air rippling from the heat as the water features that lined the path began to bubble and boil.
"Lilymon!" Mimi cried out, and Sora was horrified to see her friend's partner had been captured again by SkullMeramon who didn't seem as confident now after taking such a heavy blow from Garudamon. The chains around Lilymon tightened with a burning hiss as Garudamon landed and the ground shook and shattered like glass.
"Close enough, birdy!" the cowboy looking Digimon hissed in order. Garudamon looked back at Sora who could only glare at their enemy as it hid like a coward behind Lilymon. She needed a plan. Or, she just needed a split second. "Now, go down nice and easy." As the cowboy from hell brandished its blackened six-shooter, looking to blast Garudamon it had failed to notice Lilymon make use of the momentary distraction.
The Fairy Digimon had managed to wriggle free of the lasso slightly and threw back an elbow into SkullMeramon's face before twisting round, and at point-blank called out; "Flower Cannon!"
"Garudamon, go now!" Sora ordered as SkullMeramon two-point-oh went reeling from Lilymon's sucker punch, clutching its face as it dropped both its weapons. Without hesitating, her partner launched herself forward, and the ground rocked and stonework danced in the air before Garuadmon blasted their enemy skyward once more with a huge swipe of her giant claws, the sound of metal creaking and cracking echoed like cannon fire as the flames of the wild Digimon's poncho seemed to flicker and fade.
"Wing Blade!" The great vacuum blade struck the staggered SkullMeramon lookalike square in the chest, sending it crashing back down. The ground shuddered and the pathway split clean in to with a nasty crack as the wild Digimon went bouncing down the park's main path in the direction of the large water feature towards the far end, roaring in rage as Garudamon flew after it once more.
For a split second, Sora forgot about Mimi and Lilymon as she went chasing after her partner and SkullMeramon look-alike again. The Wild West Digimon came to a stop with a splash and a hiss as he landed in the large fountain towards the edge of the park, groaning as it languished in the bubbling water.
When Garudamon landed again she reverted to Biyomon, looking a little worse for wear but still whole. Sora snatched up her partner protectively as she looked at the groaning Digimon in the fountain before her, trying her best of talk straight through her rage.
"Why are you here? Why do Digimon keep attacking places in the Material World?"
"We do as the Goddess of Darkness commands." The knockoff SkullMeramon chuckled as the last of its flames hissed out and it began to dissolve into data, fading away on the suddenly present breeze with a hollow laugh before he was gone, his parting words ringing across the park. "She'll be here soon, very soon. You're not ready for her arrival."
"Why do they always have to try and be so ominous and creepy…?" Biyomon bemoaned as the world seemed to suddenly cool rather rapidly and Sora suddenly found herself wishing for another layer to put on. "Would it be so bad for us to get a straight answer for once?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, Biyomon," Sora sighed as she looked up the park to see Mimi gathering Palmon up in her arms, as a few civilians emerged from their hiding places, what was about to happen next rather obvious given their thunderous expressions, "C'mon, let's get out of here before our adoring public realises its safe enough for them to start yelling at us and the authorities can start asking questions."
"My favourite perk of the job…" Biyomon sniffed weakly and despite herself, Sora allowed herself to chuckle. It was just part of the job these days it seemed.