Chapter 36—Haste makes waste—

Once my Digimon woke up, we all went back to guarding the base and scouting Amaterasu Server for the next 2 days. Thankfully it was relatively uneventful… until I was out scouting Amaterasu Server and I got a message from Herbert! I checked it and saw it was addressed to all of us again. It said he wanted us to drop whatever we were doing and return to the conference room to discuss our next mission.

I then looked up before Dianamon said: "Mark? Did you finally get a message from Herbert?" and I nodded and said: "Exactly right, Dianamon. He wants us to return to the base to discuss what to do next." "At last! Now let's go see what he has to say!" Gryphonmon said before I nodded and we returned to the closest malware we had installed a while back before we returned to the base. When we arrived, we hurried to the conference room and I could see we were some of the last to arrive… but there were still others missing. From there, I waited and it wasn't long before everyone was there and the meeting was ready to start!

When it did, Herbert nodded and said: "Thank you for coming, everyone. Now that you're all here, it's time to discuss our next move." "Alright! So what's the next step in our plan?" Josh asked. "Simply put, we wanted to press our advantage and capture another facility today. It's not just because the enemy has already suffered a major loss in the form of their data storage facility being taken; it's also because of Keramon digivolving. Even though we can't prove Chrysalimon was once Keramon, it seems likely enough to assume and it doesn't make sense to risk allowing such a dangerous Digimon to digivolve any further." John said.

"Sounds reasonable. So where's our target this time?" Hugh asked. "The lab. Taking it will stunt their growth in technology and make it harder for them to fight back… that and hopefully they're stationing more security at their HQ in anticipation of us attacking it." Larry said. "So you're trying to anticipate where they'll be stationing most of their guards… I have to admit that assuming they'll be assigned to their HQ is a logical assumption. I just hope it will account for a noticeable hole in their defense…" Kayla said before Lewis said: "Yes, that's true. Even if we are correct in assuming that they'll station more guards in their HQ, there's no way to know how far they may go with unbalancing their defenses." "In any case, all we can do is hope for the best. When do you want us to leave?" Ariel asked. "Immediately, but you're not the only ones who will be going on this mission—we'll be going too." Sabrina said.

"HUH?! All of you?! Are you sure that's a wise move? What if we lose when we're all out there?" Tiffany asked. "Having us all there mitigates that risk. Besides—as we said before—we can't afford to take any more time. It's better to focus our efforts on an all-or-nothing attack than launching a slow, cautious offensive now." Lewis said. "That… might be a point." Xavier said. Herbert nodded before he went on: "In any case, we'll be going together, so it will be all of our power against them. And we know we can expect great things from all of you after your most recent performance in capturing the data storage facility—you all have a track record of greatness."

And we all smiled as he went on: "Now then… it's about time to get started. I'm going to send you all coordinates to the enemy's lab with a link. I want you to copy the coordinates and paste them in, but don't do anything more than that—once you've done that, tell me you're ready instead. When we're all ready, then we can follow the coordinates to their lab. That way we'll all arrive at the same time, which will make it possible for us get into action right away." "Good idea! That's definitely better than the alternative of having to wait until everyone's there before we can move." I said. And Herbert nodded before he started using his digivice… and then I got a message from him! I checked and saw it was the link and coordinates! I followed Herbert's instructions and told him when I was ready and once everyone else was, Herbert said: "Alright, then this is it! Enter your coordinates and get ready to infiltrate!"

And then we all did so and we were teleported away! It wasn't long before we arrived inside another building, but this one had more branching pathways than the data storage facility we had captured… it seemed Herbert, Lewis, John, Larry and Sabrina already knew where we were headed, though—they started walking off and we followed them. It didn't take long before we were spotted by some of the developers' staff and we had several Digimon battles in between then and when we reached our destination—a wide, open room with lots of equipment set up… and there was a man and a Digimon here!

The man wore a suit, slacks and a tie and the Digimon was like a six-legged spider inside of a red and white shell with yellow spikes on it. Its feet were red with yellow, spiky nails and it had a long, dark gray neck with a white head that had a red horn. It looked as tall as me at 6 feet tall… it seemed Herbert, Lewis, John, Larry and Sabrina recognized the man though, because when they saw him, they frowned and marched in (with us following) and it seemed the man and the Digimon heard us, because they looked up and the man smiled and said: "Ah, I see our special uninvited guests have arrived! Welcome!"

When we all arrived, Herbert said: "And here you are, Damien, president of those who made Digimon View… how convenient." and then the man laughed before he said: "And you even know me! Good boy! You've been doing your homework!" and then he went on: "But I can't say your faces are familiar… who might you be?" "Trust me when I say that's the least of your concerns. You'd be better off giving up and coming with us quietly." Larry said. Damien laughed before he said: "Dear me, what terrible manners! You'd walk in uninvited with that kind of an attitude?" And we all were closing in as he went on: "Still, given your persona, I suppose you must be the ones responsible for Jason's disappearance… I guess you're all good enough to command some level of respect." And then he went on: "I must say your capture of Jason was well done, but I have no intention of meeting the same fate here—" "And how do you plan to stop all of us? With a Digimon?" Sabrina asked. Damien then smiled smugly as he said: "No… with this."

And then he took out his digivice and started using it… and then a gigantic prism on top of a stand appeared in front of him and the Digimon! We all stopped before Damien went on: "I was hoping to get to use this technology on Earth… but it never hurts to do a test run! Especially on such annoying, deserving subjects…" and then he turned to the Digimon and said: "Do it, Infermon!" and then the Digimon said: "Take this!" before he opened his mouth and revealed a small cannon! He then shot fireballs at the prism and as they passed through it, they turned into rainbow colored lights! They shined directly at us and blinded us… and I felt something in my pocket vibrating, hard…

I then heard Damien say: "What…? NO! Why didn't it work on 2 of you?!" By now the light had died down and I looked around, but when I did, I was in for a shock… I was here and Ariel was here (and I saw the necklace around her neck vibrating for some reason)… but other than us, we were surrounded by 10 Digimon! One was a humanoid blue, reptilian Digimon that walked on 2 legs and had 2 arms. It had a white underbelly and a horn over its nose. It looked 2'10 tall. The next one was a small red-and-gray bug Digimon that walked on 2 legs, and had 2 arms with long gray pincers at the ends, a gray underbelly, 2 red wings with gray spikes all over them, 2 big yellow-green eyes and 2 orange, ribbon-like ears. It looked 2'8 tall. Then there was a small Digimon that walked on 4 legs that had a white underbelly and light brown upper body with 2 wing-like ears. It also had a stubby tail and looked 1'4 tall, and another was like a mushroom that walked on 2 legs. It had a white head and white arms, with a purple cap that had yellow rings on it. It had magenta-colored gloves and boots with black belts around its wrists and ankles… its gloves also had skull-and-crossbones patterns on them… it had 3 purple warts on each arm and looked 3'2 tall.

And the other Digimon were all ones I recognized… one was a Guilmon, one was an Impmon, one was a Terriermon, one was a Renamon, one was a Biyomon and the last one was a Palmon! "WHAT?!" I said before I heard Ariel say: "Wh—what just happened?!" and then I then felt my digivice vibrate and I took it out as I checked it. It said: "Left to right: Veemon scan data: 20%, Tentomon scan data: 20%, Patamon scan data: 20%, Mushroomon scan data: 20%, Guilmon scan data: 20%, Impmon scan data: 40%, Terriermon scan data: 40%, Renamon scan data: 20%, Biyomon scan data: 60%, Palmon scan data: 40%."

I looked up again before I saw the Digimon all look at each other and they looked genuinely shocked as the Veemon said: "Wh—what happened to us?!" and the Renamon said: "Have we… become Digimon?!" and the Guilmon said: "This is impossible! What kind of technology could have…?!" and then Ariel and I turned to each other before Ariel said: "They… are they really…?!" and then we heard Damien say: "Yes… they are your allies."

And we all turned to him before he went on: "That is the power of the oblivion prism—it is a technology that turns humans into Digimon when Infermon uses it. Together, they form the core of our arsenal to conquer Earth." The core of their arsenal… that must mean that this is the oblivion prism from their plan that we could never decipher data on… and that Infermon has digivolved from Chrysalimon—and Keramon before that—after all. "A technology that turns humans into Digimon… you really have an evil mind." I said before Damien grinned smugly and said: "Thank you." before he went on: "But what I want to understand is why it didn't work on the 2 of you… there's no reason why you should still be human right now." and then he continued: "Not that this is any sort of a setback. Having only a dozen or so Digimon to deal with is still highly favorable than having dozens to deal with. And once Infermon finishes off your Digimon… then we can capture the rest of them behind you."

And then the Digimon looked frightened before Ariel and I stepped forward and I said: "Try us! Secret weapon or not, that's only one Digimon!" and then Damien said: "Never underestimate your opponent's trump card! Infermon, go get them!" and then the six-legged spider Digimon stepped forward.

I then felt my digivice vibrate (and it seemed Ariel had the same experience, because she took out her digivice too) and it said: "Infermon scan data: ERROR." It did say Infermon was a darkness elemental Digimon though. I then turned to my Digimon and said: "Mastemon, go for it!" and she said: "Leave it to me, Mark!" as she flew in. "Phoenixmon, go! I know you can do it!" Ariel said before Phoenixmon flew in and she said: "You can count on me, Ariel! I'll stop him dead in his tracks!"

And then I said: "Mastemon, let's get this started off with a bang! Use chaos degradation!" and Mastemon said: "Chaos degradation!" and in one of her hands a baby blue-colored light emerged, and in her other hand a pink light emerged. Mastemon then brought them together and the result was not a purple-like light, but instead a small swirling ball that looked more like a tiny black hole… Mastemon then sent it at Jason's Digimon and when it made contact with them, it swirled into a giant black hole that hurt Infermon—it looked like it worked well, too! "Infermon, get Mastemon! Air strike!" Damien said before Infermon said: "Air strike!" and he sent a laser beam out—pointing it above Mastemon's head—before a satellite appeared where the laser was pointed at and then it fired missiles at her! When it stopped firing, it vanished and Ariel said: "Phoenixmon, attack Infermon! Use almighty sun!" and Phoenixmon said: "Almighty sun!" and she sent a yellow line up into the air… before it suddenly turned into a giant, yellow-orange sun! The sun then came down on Infermon as he started to tremble from the heat before the sun flashed and it disappeared.

Damien frowned before he said: "An accuracy sabotaging strategy, huh…?" and then he went on: "Infermon, use auto-heal!" and Infermon said: "Auto-heal!" and a green light surrounded him before it disappeared… "Mastemon, join in and attack with almighty sun!" I said before she said: "Almighty sun!" and she sent a yellow line up into the air that also turned into another sun before it came down on Infermon before it flashed and disappeared. "Phoenixmon, you too! Almighty sun!" Ariel said before Phoenixmon said: "Almighty sun!" and she attacked Infermon with it too. But then I saw the green light appear around Infermon… and he looked like he felt a little better before it vanished.

"Mastemon, hit him with another almighty sun!" I said and she attacked with it before Damien said: "Infermon, get ready for the long term! Use predator's instinct!" and Infermon said: "Predator's instinct!" and he cast a spell on himself, but… I wasn't sure what it did... "Phoenixmon, attack with almighty sun!" Ariel said before she did so. And then that green light appeared around Infermon and he looked like he felt better again…! "He healed himself again?" Ariel said before Damien said: "Yes he did. That's what's so nice about auto-heal—it'll heal Infermon endlessly at the end of every turn!"

And then he went on: "Infermon, attack Mastemon! Use air strike!" and Infermon said: "Air strike!" and he sent another laser beam over Mastemon's head before a satellite appeared there and it started firing missiles at her! They looked like they worked better this time too… "Phoenixmon, use almighty sun!" Ariel said before Phoenixmon said: "Almighty sun!" and she attacked with it and I had Mastemon do the same.

Ariel then had Phoenixmon attack with an almighty sun before I had Mastemon attack with almighty sun as well. "Infermon, hit Mastemon with an air strike again!" Damien said before he did so. I had Mastemon use almighty sun again before Damien said: "Infermon, use predator's instinct again!" and Infermon said: "Predator's instinct!" and cast that spell on himself again… Ariel had Phoenixmon use another almighty sun before Damien said: "Finish off Mastemon, Infermon—air strike!" and Infermon attacked with it… and Mastemon went down!

I smiled before I said: "Good job attacking, Mastemon! Now leave the rest to the others!" and I called her back before I turned around and said: "BanchoLeomon, go get 'em!" and BanchoLeomon ran in. Ariel then had Phoenixmon use another almighty sun.

"BanchoLeomon, get Infermon! Use flashy boss punch!" I said before BanchoLeomon said: "Flashy boss punch!" and a half-circle of light formed in front of him before he ran through it and slugged Infermon with a powerful punch, which he took hard—it even sent him reeling backwards a step or 2! "Infermon, attack Phoenixmon now! Use pyro pitcher!" Damien said and Infermon said: "Pyro pitcher!" and he lifted up one foot before he conjured a fireball in it and then he swung his foot at Phoenixmon and sent the fireball flying at her! Phoenixmon actually took it a little hard before Ariel had Phoenixmon use an almighty sun. After that, I said: "BanchoLeomon, attack Infermon with another flashy boss punch!" and BanchoLeomon said: "Flashy boss punch!" and ran through another half-circle of light and slugged Infermon with a strong punch, while Damien said: "Infermon, attack Phoenixmon with another pyro pitcher again!" and Infermon said: "Pyro pitcher!" and he conjured another fireball that he sent flying at Phoenixmon before Ariel had her follow up with another almighty sun.

"Infermon, get rid of Phoenixmon! Use spider shooter!" Damien said before Infermon said: "Spider shooter!" and he opened his mouth, revealing a small cannon again! He then shot 3 fireballs at Phoenixmon—and she took the 3 hits hard and collapsed! "Great work, Phoenixmon! We'll take it from here!" Ariel said before she called her back. "Down in 3 rounds? Something doesn't seem quite right…" I said before Ariel said: "I think so too… that predator's instinct must strengthen his attacks…" and then she turned around and said: "Go, GranDracmon! You can do it!" and he ran on in. "BanchoLeomon, attack Infermon with a flashy boss punch!" I said before he did so.

"GranDracmon, go get Infermon! Crystal revolution!" Ariel said before GranDracmon said: "Crystal revolution!" and then he conjured 4 blue crystals very close to Infermon (almost to the point where they were touching him) and then he clapped his hands and the crystals exploded! "Infermon, use gale force on BanchoLeomon!" Damien said before Infermon said: "Gale force!" and a fierce wind started blowing in front of Infermon at BanchoLeomon! It swept him off his feet and he fell down, which he took hard… "So he can use magical attacks too…" Ariel said before I said: "Yeah… and they're strangely powerful too… predator's instinct must empower both physical and magical attacks…" and then I went on: "BanchoLeomon, flashy boss punch!" and BanchoLeomon attacked Infermon with it.

By now, Infermon was starting to look a little tired before Damien said: "Infermon, do it again! Use gale force on BanchoLeomon!" and Infermon said: "Gale force!" before attacking with another strong wind at BanchoLeomon. "GranDracmon, take Infermon down a notch! Intelligence drop!" Ariel said before GranDracmon said: "Intelligence drop!" and he cast a spell on Infermon that lowered his damage output with magical attacks! I chuckled before I said: "Good one Ariel, GranDracmon!" and Ariel smiled before I said: "BanchoLeomon, get Infermon! Use flashy boss punch!" and he did so.

"Infermon, keep attacking! Use gale force on BanchoLeomon!" Damien said before Infermon said: "Gale force!" and he attacked BanchoLeomon with it… and he went down! "Good job, BanchoLeomon! We've got him on the ropes!" I said as I called him back and turned around as I said: "Finish him off, Sakuyamon!" and she ran in. "GranDracmon, attack Infermon with crystal revolution!" Ariel said before GranDracmon said: "Crystal revolution!" and he conjured those 4 blue crystals around Infermon and made them explode again!

"Sakuyamon, attack Infermon! Use almighty sun!" I said and she did so before Damien said: "Infermon, smack that annoying GranDracmon! Use lightspeed punch!" and Infermon said: "Lightspeed punch!" and Infermon burst forward in a blur of speed before he jabbed into GranDracmon with his horn and ran back—GranDracmon took it hard, too! Ariel had GranDracmon attack with a crystal revolution after that.

I then attacked Infermon with Sakuyamon's almighty sun and Infermon used lightspeed punch on GranDracmon before Ariel had him use a crystal revolution. Damien then had Infermon use lightspeed punch on GranDracmon before Ariel had him retaliate with a crystal revolution and I had Sakuyamon use almighty sun… and that was all Infermon could take! He collapsed!

Ariel and I gave a sigh of relief before we started to approach Damien (and he backed away) and I said: "Well it was a close call, but it looks like we're the winners. Now it's time you made this easier for yourself and came quietly!" and then Damien took out his digivice before he started using it and said: "I don't think so! In case you haven't noticed, there are still some staff members you haven't defeated in this base, in all your foolishness! All I need to do is call them in with a wormhole and they can overwhelm your Digimon and then we can capture you and all of your little Digimon friends!"

And then Ariel and I stopped… I thought we were going to have more time than that… but if he could bring over a squad of staff members in a few seconds with a wormhole… we could even be in a losing position… Ariel and I then ran back to the 10 Digimon and I said: "Huddle up, everybody!" and they all did so before Ariel and I used our digivices to escape back to the base…

When we all arrived, Ariel gave a sigh of relief before she said: "We made it… it's hard to believe we got out safely…" and then the Digimon all looked down before the Biyomon said: "Yes, but that's about all we have to show for it… now that all of us except for Mark and Ariel been turned into rookie Digimon, we can't fight the enemy anymore…" and then the Renamon said: "Are you certain? Maybe they only modded our bodies so we couldn't use our digivices… we could still be human, just only with the appearance of Digimon." "But how are we supposed to tell that?" the Patamon asked. The Guilmon then turned to the Renamon and said: "You, try using your signature attack- diamond storm—on that wall. If you successfully conjure the shards and they damage it, we'll know for sure."

And the Renamon nodded before she said: "Diamond storm!" and she spread her arms out… and then several shard-sized gems formed behind her! She then swung her arms forward and the gems went flying into the wall and stuck in it, doing considerable damage to it…

The Digimon looked shocked and devastated before the Renamon said: "I… I can't believe it…" and then the Impmon said: "You… you just used the power of a Digimon…" and then he went on: "That looks like enough proof … they didn't mod our bodies, they changed them completely. We're Digimon now…" and then they all looked down before I said: "Come to think of it… after you were all turned into Digimon, my digivice could scan you… it looks like that's right." "Seriously?! Dang… that's even more evidence that we're Digimon…" the Veemon said. And the Guilmon shook his head before he said: "That's sure a little more than a kick in the teeth… we didn't even capture the lab and all of us except for Mark and Ariel got turned into Digimon that are too low level to fight the enemy… this mission was a failure on every level." "You've got that right… now all we can do is stay here and work at the base while only one tamer can leave and the other has to guard it… we're going to be infinitely slower from here on out…" the Terriermon said. "And as awful as all of that is, that's only the tip of the iceberg… now that we're Digimon, we can't logout of the site… there's no way for us to exist on Earth anymore as it stands now…" the Palmon said.

The Digimon all looked like a chill had gone down their spines before the Tentomon turned to us and said: "Come to think of it… how did you 2 get out of becoming Digimon in the first place?" And Ariel and I looked at each other before Ariel said: "I don't know… but…" and then she went on: "When Infermon used the oblivion prism, my necklace started to vibrate like crazy…" and then I reached into the pocket that I had felt the vibration in and looked at what was in there… and I saw it was the protective charm I had assembled! I saw Ariel eye it before I said: "The charms…" and then Ariel said: "They saved us… they stopped us from becoming Digimon… boy, when those Digimon said they'd protect us, they really meant it!"

"So those trinkets you have stopped you from becoming Digimon? That's fascinating… if we weren't so tight for time as it is, I'd like to research those to see if there's a way we could use them to change back…" the Guilmon said before he went on: "But for the time being, they must remain in your possession. If either one of you were to get transformed into a Digimon, we'd be history." and Ariel and I nodded before I said: "That's all too true. Although there's still something we should sort out… who's who now? Now that you're all Digimon, I can't tell you apart anymore…"

And the Guilmon looked down before he said: "I suppose that's a point… well for clarity's sake, I'm Herbert." "I'm Lewis." The Terriermon said. "I'm John." the Tentomon said. "I'm Larry." the Mushroomon said. "I'm Irene." the Renamon said. "I'm Josh." the Veemon said. "I'm Xavier." the Patamon said. "I'm Hugh." the Impmon said. "I'm Kayla." the Biyomon said. "And I'm Tiffany…" the Palmon said. Ariel and I nodded before she said: "Okay, now we know who's who… so what's our next move?" "Before you do anything else, you'd better let your Digimon get some rest. That way they'll be ready for the next mission." John said. "Understood. We'll return immediately when we're done." I said. "Please do! We're going to need to act quick in order to avoid losing any more momentum and that's not mentioning the fact that while you're Digimon are asleep, the base is technically unguarded." Larry said. "Don't worry—leave it to us." Ariel said.

And then they all nodded before Ariel and I left the room. Ariel and I walked away a bit before I sighed and said: "Boy, this day could've gone better… we got hammered hard today…" "Yeah, you said it… now it's up to us to do the rest while everyone else has to stay here and handle work around the base… and since only one of us can leave at a time… I'm not so optimistic about this anymore…" Ariel said. I sighed and said: "I know how you feel… but we can't let this defeat us. At a time like this, if you give up hope, you've already lost…" then Ariel smiled before she said: "Well said, Mark."

And then she went on: "Still though, those charms are powerful… I can't believe they could protect us from the oblivion prism's power…" and I nodded and said: "Yeah… the irony of it though, is that the developers made it possible for the Digimon to hand them out without knowing that the charms themselves would sabotage their own plan. They were giving protection to their own enemies without realizing it…" and Ariel giggled before she said: "That's true. We're lucky they were so short-sighted."

And then I smiled before she went on: "But on this topic… there's something I really wanted to say to you, Mark." "Huh? What's that?" I asked. "I really, really want to thank you, Mark—if you hadn't given me that charm, I would have been turned into a Digimon, just like everyone else… it's only because of you that I'm still human. I am in your debt once again… but I will make it up to you." Ariel said. I smiled and said: "You don't have to feel like you have to repay me, Ariel… I'm glad I could help you." and then she smiled before she said: "That's just like you to say that… you really are amazing." and then she came up and hugged me! I hugged her back before she backed out and said: "I'm going to go to my Digihome, but I'll be back." "Yeah. I will too. See you again, Ariel." I said. And then we returned to our Digihomes.

When my Digimon and I arrived on the shore, Rosemon shook her head before she said: "Boy, that was sure harrowing… to think that our own human allies were turned into Digimon, like us… and now we're going to have to work harder as a result." and Mastemon crossed her arms before she said: "I agree, Rosemon. It was foolish of them to all charge headfirst into an enemy trap… and now we're in more danger than ever. But what really disgusts me is that they ordered and dragged those kids—Josh, Xavier, Hugh, Kayla and Tiffany—into this. If it turns out that they're stuck as Digimon and they don't ever get to go home, just because of their stupid, so-called leaders… it's irresponsible." "I know how you feel, but… that still might be a bit harsh…" ShineGreymon said. "Yes… but reality is not always fair. This is a good reminder of that. No matter what happens, we should do all we can to avert any further tragedies…" Dianamon said. "It is tragic… I'm going to do all I can to prevent an outcome like this from happening again." BanchoLeomon said. "Well now isn't any time for tossing around blame… we should be focused on winning this fight." Gryphonmon said. "Yeah! We can't lose hope or our concentration now—this is important for Mark and all the humans!" Hudiemon said. Sakuyamon nodded before she said: "I agree, although I agree with Mastemon more—those poor human kids, getting dragged into this like that… if the unthinkable happens and they're stuck as Digimon forever, then… I'll take care of them. I'll care for them, protect them and be someone they can really rely on!"

I smiled when I heard this and everyone else looked surprised before I said: "I always knew you were an amazing Digimon with a good heart, Sakuyamon, but I am so impressed to hear you say something like that. That level of selflessness and devotion—and all out of the goodness in your heart—really says something about you." "I'll say! I never thought I'd hear you say something like that—you sound like an adoptive mother." Rosemon said. Sakuyamon blushed as she said: "Sheesh, stop it everyone… you're making me blush…"

And we all laughed together before I said: "Well once Mother Sakuyamon is done blushing, you'd better all get rested up—we're going to need to be ready for the upcoming mission after all." and they all nodded and got into their hammocks before they dozed off and I took a break to think… it was hard to be optimistic now, but… I had to do it… had to keep smiling… everyone's futures were at stake…