Fighting in a small space near the ground was not as fun as fiction would have led one to believe, Taichi thought bitterly.
He, Yamato, and Sora were still standing tall and proud alongside their partner Digimon within the streets of Odaiba not far from the place where they had been previously. All of the people in the area had retreated to start running as far away from the battle as they could, and Taichi was glad that they were finding a way to stay safe. He was a bit worried about the events that were bound to transpire between his team and the Digimon that they were fighting against though. He knew that they had the advantage in numbers, since he and his companions were fighting with the strength of two Ultimate Digimon and a Perfect, while their foe was simply a single Ultimate.
His name was Dorbickmon. That was what WarGreymon had told him when the fight first began, and Taichi kept rolling the name over in his mind with bitterness in his internalized tone. He didn't know how they were going to defeat Dorbickmon, if he was being honest. The collateral damage of fighting against Dorbickmon had the potential to be massive if he and his companions weren't careful.
It was primarily a matter of them being on a city street that was crowded even with no people around. The buildings almost felt suppressive as they stood tall and proud in every direction, constantly watching the Chosen Children and making bets on what they were bound to do next. There were too many large buildings nearby, and if a rogue attack was sent the wrong way, something was going to start crumbling. If that happened, only further destruction would ensue, and that was operating under the assumption that he and his friends even survived the fallout that was bound to follow after the fact. After all, if a building as large as the ones around him went down, it was bound to create a rubble pile more than large enough to swallow a few small teenagers in its destructive wake.
MetalGarurumon was the only one who could fight with anything resembling peace of mind. He zig-zagged back and forth along the street before rearing his head back, blue energy starting to gather inside of his mouth. "Cocytus Breath!" he cried out, sending out a large blue laser in the direction of Dorbickmon. It was thin enough to center in on its target without hitting anything or anyone else, but Taichi still watched it with all of the caution in the world just to make sure that nothing bad happened on accident. He didn't know if he would be able to take it if something even worse happened than a mass Digimon invasion.
Dorbickmon was hit square in the chest, causing him to slide backwards before he came to a stop quite the impressive distance away. Taichi was glad for the extra distance between himself and Dorbickmon, but he still had an awful feeling about all of this. If only they could get Dorbickmon in the sky. Both WarGreymon and Garudamon were restricted in their combat abilities as long as they were so close to the ground, and Taichi found himself praying that they would figure out a way to throw the opposing Digimon as high into the sky as possible to make the fight at least a little bit easier.
Sora was looking at her phone from a few feet away, and relief washed over her features. She appeared to be seeing if there were updates from the other members of the team, and Taichi took her sudden moment of gratitude as a sign that something positive had taken place. "A few of the enemy Digimon have already been taken down," she explained with a bright yet weary smile on her face. "The others have passed on the message. We have to be careful though... We still aren't out of the woods yet."
That was a piece of good news, yes, but Taichi still found himself wishing that there was more progress than that. His impatience was starting to grate on his nerves already, and he prayed that the other members of the group found better luck than he and the rest of his small team did. At the very least, if a few of the enemy Digimon had been taken out, that implied that a few other members of the Chosen Children team had managed to find one another and were working on continuing to make their way through the city. That was certainly a blessing that Taichi wasn't going to forget anytime soon. Knowing that even a few of them were safe was a great thing in his eyes given the uncertainty that had surrounded the greater part of his time since the battles began.
It wasn't that Taichi didn't trust his companions. In fact, it was the complete opposite; he had complete faith in them, but he knew how powerful the enemy Digimon were. Dorbickmon was an Ultimate level, and that was a sign that their foes had finally started ramping things up another notch beyond just Perfect Digimon. It was an added piece of suspense that Taichi hated, but he knew that he couldn't change it no matter how hard he tried. He would simply have to hope that everyone was able to take care of the Digimon that they crossed paths with.
Daisuke and Ken weren't together as far as Taichi could tell though, and that was another weight that felt like a punch to the stomach and made him feel even worse about everything. That meant that the only two Ultimate Digimon that the Chosen Children had access to were in the same location fighting against the same Digimon, and that wasn't going to help them out in the slightest.
A series of missiles traveled from MetalGarurumon's back towards Dorbickmon, though Taichi only noticed this was true when he heard the streaking of the rockets passing through the air. He hated how out of it he was. He was worried about the rest of the group, but he had to concentrate on the task that was sitting in front of him. The sooner that they were able to defeat Dorbickmon, the sooner that Taichi and the rest of his small group would be able to travel throughout the rest of the city in search of others who needed their assistance.
"Everything is going to be alright," Sora suddenly told Taichi, and he looked over to see that she was smiling carefully at him. It was clear based on the tension that pinched at the corners of her lips that she was trying to convince herself just as much as Taichi. He wished that he hadn't made this revelation in the first place, but he knew that there was no way around it. There was no way that anybody could be perfectly optimistic in this situation.
Smoke spiraled into the air, and Taichi was glad to see that MetalGarurumon's missiles had made contact with their intended target. Dorbickmon, however, rose to his feet regardless of the attack, and he began to stalk towards his enemy a moment later. Taichi snarled under his breath and once again wished that there was an easy way to throw Dorbickmon into the air so that the other two Digimon could fight back without any issues. It was back to square one as far as his thought process was concerned, and he hated it more than he could ever hope to describe.
By the time that Jou had managed to send all of the members of the group off on their merry way, he felt the phantom sensation of blood beneath his fingers in a haunting way. He was used to helping people through their injuries. He had been volunteering at his father's hospital for a few years now, so why was it bothering him then of all times? This wasn't the time for him to be distracted. The world was waiting for him to jump into action to stop the Digimon that were roaming the city.
"Jou?" came the imposing voice of Zudomon behind him. Jou nearly jumped out of his skin, but he barely managed to recover his composure before he completely toppled over out of shock. He glanced up to his partner with wide eyes, knowing what Zudomon wanted but still uncertain about how he was meant to respond.
"Yeah," Jou finally forced himself to whisper once he pushed back how rattled he was. He hated that this was bothering him so much. He had to find a way to get through all of this to help others within the city. His own issues could wait. In fact, they were going to have to, and Jou had to find something else to focus on. It would be great to have something to distract himself with, even if it was so heavily tied with fighting the Digimon out of the city.
Jou quickly made his way onto Zudomon's back, and his partner began to take large, lumbering steps through the streets of Odaiba. Zudomon was barely small enough to keep from brushing past the buildings on either side with his massive body, and Jou kept his eyes open for any other people in the area that could have needed help. He knew that there was no blood under his fingernails, but he kept checking regardless. No matter how many times he picked or rubbed at the area, he wasn't able to fully convince himself that it was fine. Well, as fine as anything could be given the circumstances.
Eventually, a pair of figures did come into view, and Jou found himself letting out a gasp. "Zudomon?" he questioned of his partner in a voice that was awfully shaky for someone who had work to do to save the city. Zudomon nodded in response, proof that he had seen the same thing as Jou. He stopped moving and shifted his body so that Jou could slide out of his free hand, the one that wasn't holding onto his massive signature hammer.
Jou did his best to keep from feeling as if the weight of his medical bag was strangling him, and he concentrated on placing one foot in front of the other instead. It was just something to fill the silence, but he didn't care. It was working, and that was all that he could really ask for.
"Hello?" Jou asked out into the silence. Odaiba was so quiet that it was eerie and terrifying in a way that Jou struggled to articulate. He had known his hometown as being a busy and bustling place filled with constant activity and people trying to navigate their individual lives around one another. To see the city covered in perfect silence was so sudden and ominous that, in a weird way, it felt like a punch to the stomach. Why did everything feel like a kick to the gut that day? He was starting to get really damn tired of the sensation.
"Who are you?" came a voice in response, and a single woman stepped out into view. She had dark brown hair tied into a messy bun at the top of her head, and one arm was stretched out protectively to her side, a sign that she was trying to keep Jou from something or someone. He didn't know what it was that had the woman so defensive, but he had the sneaking suspicion that he would be finding out soon enough.
"My name is Jou," the Chosen Child of Reliability declared with as much certainty as he could manage given the circumstances. "I'm here to help you. Who are you?" He got the feeling that the woman didn't mean as much harm as her intense glare would have suggested, and something deep down told him that she was acting merely on fear and instinct rather than any actual malice.
The woman glanced up to Zudomon before looking down at Jou. "You two must be partners," she murmured under her breath. Jou nodded silently, and the woman finally relaxed her arm. Another figure appeared over her shoulder, and this time, the person in question was a much smaller woman who appeared to be so frail that even a stiff breeze would have knocked her to the ground. They were so radically different, especially when placed directly beside one another, that it was almost ridiculous to see the dramatic contrast that existed between the two women.
"Can I have your names?" Jou asked. This area of the city had already been evacuated, and the two women were oddly fearless in the face of a large Digimon the size of a building. He didn't know how to describe it, but he could simply sense that there was something different about them that he wasn't seeing.
"Kaya," the woman with dark hair replied. She nodded in the direction of the frail woman to her side. "That's Chisane. We're here to help, assuming that you would let us pitch in. We know what we're doing around here."
Jou's eyes went wide with a blend of shock and confusion. What was she talking about? How could they know what they were doing enough to help him out? He didn't see any Digimon with them, and he didn't think that he had ever met someone their age that had a partner Digimon in the first place.
"I know basic medical procedures," Kaya explained when she finally noticed Jou's poorly-masked confusion. "We know what to do in this situation. I can't exactly explain it right now, but you should know that we can help you out if you need it. Judging by the fact that you're roaming the city alone, I'm willing to say that you could use a few extra pairs of hands."
Jou looked over his shoulder to Zudomon, unsure of what he was meant to say in response. It wasn't that he didn't trust the two women. Something deep inside of him said that they were safe, though he wasn't entirely sure what it was about them that made him feel so strangely secure. He was confident that they weren't going to betray him or anything similar, but he was still surprised that he had been placed in this situation in the first place. Jou hadn't expected to run into any people, much less a pair of drifting souls who wanted to help him in any possible way that they could.
"Alright," Jou finally answered. He wasn't sure about where he could even start as far as seeking their aid, but if Kaya truly did know how to perform at least a few basic medical procedures the way that she claimed, then she would be able to pitch in and help those who happened to be hurt. Jou had lost quite a bit of time helping out the group of people that he and Koushiro had found previously, so maybe having her present would speed up the process if something like that happened once again. It was something to consider, at the very least.
"Can we come with you on your Digimon?" Chisane questioned as she took a step closer to Zudomon. After a moment of hesitation, she reached up with one arm and began to stroke Zudomon's fur. She smiled when she noted how soft it was, and the look in Kaya's eyes made it seem as if Chisane was a secondary sun to rival the star that hung heavily and wearily in the sky overhead.
"Y-Yeah," Jou finally forced himself to say. He figured that it would be faster if they worked together in that way, so he decided to make his way onto Zudomon's body as well. Kaya and Chisane were surprisingly proficient at finding their places on the surface of Zudomon, and the three of them wound up all tucked together on top of Zudomon's free hand. It was a somewhat tight fit, but Jou didn't think that they minded, as Kaya had an arm wrapped protectively around Chisane's shoulders as Zudomon started to move.
Jou let out a sigh as Zudomon took his first step, and he tried to find a way to make heads or tails of this situation. He was confident that there was more to Kaya and Chisane than met the eye, but he wasn't sure of how to approach such a subject in the first place. How could he talk about that in the first place? 'I think that there's something you aren't telling me about why you're here'? 'What is it that has you away from the party that's evacuating the city?' 'There has to be a reason that you're acting so strangely. What is it?' None of the phrases felt right to him, and each questioning thought left Jou wondering all over again just what it was that set the two of them away from the crowd.
After a moment of contemplation, Jou glanced over in their direction, and he saw that there was a flash of silver at Chisane's hip. When he looked closer, he could see that it was a small device that greatly resembled the sketch that Jou had sent when he first saw something odd on Hiraku's person during their first encounter. Jou bit down on his lip with firm teeth just to make sure that he didn't openly show his surprise. That had to mean that there was a connection between Chisane, Kaya, Hiraku, and potentially Daigo. Jou wasn't sure what it could have been, but he had a bad feeling about it.
As far as Jou was aware, Chisane and Kaya didn't know anything related to Daigo or Hiraku. He simply didn't have any evidence to show that they had met Daigo or Hiraku in the past, and Jou didn't want to assume anything when there was no proof to back up such a claim. It would be for the best if he waited until something concrete came up for him to start talking to them about.
The fact remained that there was something strange about them. Chisane and Kaya should have evacuated the city with everyone else, so why was it that they had stayed behind? Jou didn't even know if they were from Odaiba in the first place given the strange way that they carried themselves, but once again, he forced himself to stay quiet due to a lack of evidence. He figured that the truth would come out when the time was right, but he just hoped that time was soon. He was tired of living in constant suspense, but at least it was better than constantly feeling the phantom sensation of blood curled beneath his fingernails from helping out so much that he feared that his heart might just burst.
Daigo let out a sigh as the last notable person in the area finally made their way through the gates of Odaiba and into the rest of the world. Well, at the very least, there were no people in the city limits as far as he could tell. He shook his head to himself and looked down at his hands, hating how shaky he had become. The adrenaline rush that came with activity was frustrating, to say the least, and he didn't know how to handle it in the slightest. He didn't think that he had been this stressed in a long time, and he felt like he was going to be sick as much as he hated to say it.
"Are you alright?"
Maki's voice pulled Daigo out of his thoughts, but he wasn't able to shelve his fear and anxiety in time to look up to her without seeming shaken. He could tell that Maki knew that he was afraid, but she didn't comment on it. Instead, she simply placed her hand on his shoulder and looked down at the ground. "I get it," she muttered to herself before shaking her head. "I really do understand that this is too much. It's... It's a lot, and we're alone this time. It's just us against the world this time around. If the helplessness was bad before, it's even worse now. Isn't that just splendid?"
Daigo let out a snort at Maki's use of sarcasm, and he was glad to have at least a small amount of joy in his life given the circumstances. Even when it felt like life was a mess in the aftermath of the world falling apart at the seams, they would be there for each other. Ever since they were children, it had always been Daigo and Maki, and they would remain together no matter what happened from that point on. Daigo simply knew it deep down, and he wasn't going to take it for granted no matter what. He needed Maki in his life, and she needed him just as much in her own way regardless of how openly she would admit it around other people.
"We should go and do something else," Maki suggested. "We can leave everyone else to focus on the evacuation. The other agents, I mean. I'll just say that we're going to search in secret for any other stragglers that might have been left behind. How does that sound?" She didn't bother waiting for Daigo's response, already knowing what she was going to hear, and she pulled her phone out of her pocket and started typing away.
Daigo nodded along to her words, and Maki sent off the message before turning to face him fully. "Alright... We can both use a distraction right about now. How about we go and see what we can do for the Chosen Children? I'm sure that they could use the extra assistance, and it's not like we have anything better to do. Everyone else can handle the evacuation fallout as far as I'm concerned. We can sneak away, especially if it's under the guise of work. They can harp on us all they want for breaking rules, but it doesn't matter to me. We know what we have to do, and that's not going to change no matter what."
Daigo smiled in her direction, and he couldn't help but think once again how glad he was to have her. "Yeah... You're right," he muttered with a small, almost imperceptible nod. She always knew just what to say, and he knew that he would have fallen apart at least fifty times in his life already if not for her standing by his side. They were there for each other no matter what happened, and Daigo knew how much both of them needed a connection like that after all that they had been through together throughout the earlier years of their youth.
Maki let out a sigh and took a small step back, sensing that there was only so much touch that he would be able to take at much. She certainly was right on that front, and Daigo smiled in her direction even wider than previously. He shook his head and started trying to release the tension that had built up elsewhere in his body before letting out yet another sigh. "Alright. We should go and figure out what it is that we should be doing next," he agreed with her, being sure to articulate his thoughts with much more clarity than he had previously.
"Perfect. Let's go figure out what we should try first. Like I said, the Chosen Children could likely use some extra help, so we can start off with that," Maki suggested. "I know that Meiko is with Miyako and Ken right now, but I'm unsure of what happened with the others. I... I might try to catch up with them. As much as I hate to say it, we might be able to do more to help them if we're split up instead of navigating the city together. Besides, traveling one at a time isn't going to attract as much attention in our direction if we do find a Digimon."
Daigo hated how right Maki was, and he let out a sigh as he looked down at the ground. "Yeah," he muttered. He shook his head and forced himself to stop thinking about how much he didn't want to leave her. He knew that his nerves were just getting to him, but he couldn't afford to be held back in a moment of such intensity and stress. There were people out there who were counting on him to be able to keep himself together, so that was what he had to do. Besides, this wasn't going to be the last time that they ever saw each other. That was one thing that he had learned about himself and Maki; no matter what happened, they always managed to overcome whatever difficulties presented themselves, and they reunited regardless of the circumstances. Everything was going to be fine, and they were going to see each other once again. Daigo was certain of it despite how desperate he was to stay by her side.
"How about you try to find Taichi?" Maki proposed after a brief pause. "I know that you've always gotten along with him rather well, and I'm certain that he would be more than happy to see that you've come to help him. He's got a good head on his shoulders, and even just being there for moral support is bound to help. He seems like the social type... Just like you, as a matter of fact. You two have a lot more in common than you realize, Daigo."
He knew what she was talking about, but he didn't know how he was meant to confront such an issue. Instead, he chose to not say anything about it openly, and he bit down on his lip as he looked down at his feet. "I guess so," Daigo murmured. There was much more that he had in common with Taichi than the younger boy knew, and Maki was fully aware of it. Her words held more meaning than she was willing to let on around others, and Daigo knew that there was a reason that he had connected with Taichi so quickly after he started doing research on the Chosen Children within his job at the high school. Perhaps seeing Taichi would be just the shot of joy that he was looking for in that moment.
"We're going to see each other again soon," Maki continued, bracing her hands against Daigo's shoulders once again to make sure that he understood what she was trying to get across. Daigo looked into her eyes and nodded carefully, making sure that she knew that he had comprehended her words. Even in his state of dizziness and a loss of focus, he did his best to make sure that he was ready for this. Everything was going to be fine. He had seen the world fall apart a few times in the past, and he had managed to survive it then. That meant that he was going to survive it this time too, and everything was going to be fine. He simply had to have faith in that. If Maki could be sure of it, then he could do it too. After all, he would trust Maki with his life and more, so he had no reason to not believe in her words in that moment.
Before Daigo could stop himself, he threw his arms around Maki's body and held her close. She was as still as a statue at first from pure surprise before she relaxed into the embrace, her eyes shutting gently. She was the picture of serenity as she held tightly to Daigo amidst the chaos of the city, and even though the disaster was faraway physically, it was never too far from her mind, and Daigo could feel that much in her posture no matter how much he wished that he could not.
"You had better stay safe out there," Maki told Daigo when he finally managed to force himself away from her. She smiled in his direction before chancing a wink to him. "After all, you've survived impossible odds before now. It would be a shame if something like this finally got you down... Gogglehead."
Daigo laughed to himself at the nickname that Maki had given him when she first met him years prior. They had been children at the time, and yet, she had kept it up even ages after the fact. Daigo had always enjoyed the nickname well enough, seeing it as a sign of endearment that was only between the two of them. Maki had never been too prone to handing out nicknames, so he held it as a trophy of pride in a strange way that he could never quite describe to anybody else with words. It was simply special to him, and it left him with a fuzzy feeling in his chest that no other would ever be able to understand.
"I'll see you then," Daigo told Maki. He waved to her, and she returned the gesture with a firm salute. When she turned on her heel and took off running across the street, Daigo stared at her silhouette from afar for a long time. He couldn't keep the fond smile off of his face, and he didn't think that he wanted it gone anyways.
Daigo let out a sigh as soon as he felt as if the world had come back into one piece. There was still business to be taken care of though, and he was going to take care of it as soon as possible. He turned on his heel and started to run in his own direction, praying that he came across someone sooner or later that he would be able to help with the process of fighting against the Digimon. Everything was going to be fine, and even if it didn't seem that way at the time, he was going to make it fine. Nothing was going to stop him after all that he had done leading up to that point.
Atsuo didn't know what to do, and he could tell that Hiraku was just as clueless. They had been sitting alone in the building for quite some time, and every once in a while, the ground would shake to show that there were still Digimon outside waiting for them to try and break free. Atsuo didn't know if there was even a way for them to get out at that point. There weren't any other entrances, and Hiraku had said as much when they first got stuck. If there were secondary entrances or exits, Hiraku would be the one to know about them. Of course he would. He knew more about this building than anybody else, so if Hiraku knew that they were stuck, then there was no way to escape reality.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Atsuo muttered. It had been a while since the building's doors were first blocked off, and there hadn't been any signs of help coming to rescue them from the Digimon that were prowling around outside. Of course there wasn't any help coming. It made a painful amount of sense. Everyone was focused on the evacuation, and those who weren't trying to funnel others out of Odaiba were being evacuated themselves. Aside from the Chosen Children, they were perfectly and completely alone.
Hiraku was tinkering around on his laptop, watching the radar of Digimon throughout the city. He let out a sigh, and resignation and fear began to manifest in his eyes all over again. "There are about twenty-three Digimon left. That's my estimation as of now, anyways. I don't know what we're supposed to do to defeat them at this point. There are so many of them, and the Chosen Children are scattered. I can see their signals on the map. I don't know what we're meant to do about all of this," he replied, his voice starting to quiver with a note of anxiety and tension that Atsuo found that he detested.
"Are there any Chosen Children anywhere close to here?" Atsuo asked. That seemed like the better inquiry to make, and he began to pace around the room. His shoes made contact with the ground below in a high-pitched squeak since the entryway to the building as a whole had tile for flooring. Atsuo wasn't usually prone to bouts of nervousness this way, but at the same time, he also hadn't ever been forced to fight for his life in the city of Odaiba when there were almost two dozen monsters roaming the streets. That was something new for him, and he was sure that it was a unique experience for many others as well. Of course he didn't know what to do.
Atsuo was surprised when Hiraku replied with a nod. "As a matter of fact... Yes, there are," he said. "A few of them are moving in this direction, and I suspect that it's because they're seeing the Digimon that are around here. There are six of them in this area as far as I can tell, so it's natural that they would catch on and see something like that even from afar."
"Six?" Atsuo echoed, his eyes wide with shock. Hiraku nodded once again, and Atsuo made a noise that was halfway between a loud groan of frustration and a whimper of terror. This was an absolute disaster. What were they supposed to do? As long as they remained stuck in the building, they were as good as prey for the Digimon waiting outside. They had been the targets of this from the start, and that couldn't indicate anything good.
"Yeah," Hiraku murmured. "I think I know why they're here too... Whoever the leader of this group is... The enemy faction, I mean... They know who we are, and that's why we're in here. The Digimon are going to bring this building down if they have to just so long as they can defeat the two of us before we can cause any other problems for them."
Atsuo pressed his hands up against his eyes. He continued to hold his fingers there until he realized that he had pressed down hard enough to see stars against the back of his eyelids, and he retreated with yet another noise that was difficult to describe. "This is an absolute disaster," he muttered under his breath, though that seemed clear as could be. Of course this was a mess. Everything was a mess, and it felt a lot like the world was falling apart. What in the world did they do to deserve this train wreck of a day? It was only made worse by the fact that they were meant to be enjoying themselves. Atsuo didn't consider himself a violent person contrary to what many misconceptions about him would have stated, but he still had a sudden urge to deliver a swift punch to the face of anyone who dared to get in the middle of his life after this, especially if they were on the enemy team.
"It's been fifteen years," Atsuo complained before he could make himself stop. "I don't get how this is still following us around. We were little kids back then, and now, we're all grown up and still dealing with the consequences of what happened ages ago! I didn't even think that there were any Digimon alive who remembered that we existed. I mean, the time cycle there has always functioned differently compared to time on Earth, so..."
Hiraku was silent as he nodded. "Still, what matters is that there is someone out there who remembers, and they're coming after us. It's the reason that we're in this situation in the first place. I bet that this is happening because of what happened when I first met Ken... I messed up, and... I think that it's fallen out of our control," he said. His voice began to shake when he mentioned that this was likely due to his own faults when he wasn't paying attention.
Atsuo sighed as he looked down at his hands. He had heard the story from Hiraku about how he accidentally revealed something that he shouldn't have through means that should have realistically never had the power to occur. It was a mess, to say the least, and Atsuo wouldn't have been surprised if it was the reason that everything had spiraled so far out of their control.
"It's not your fault," Atsuo pointed out. "You were caught up in an accident. You couldn't have known that it was going to fall out of your bag, and you couldn't have known that the enemy Digimon were going to both remember it and who we are because of it. We've just got to find a way out of here. There are Chosen Children in the area, and they've got powerful Digimon with them. I'm sure that they're already on the way to get us out of this mess. You've told me before how strong they are, and if both Daigo and Maki can put their faith in those kids, then... Then so can I."
Hiraku nodded carefully, though Atsuo could still see the doubt in his eyes loud and clear. No amount of pretty words would be able to cover up the fear that had resurfaced because of the events of the day. It had been years since Atsuo or Hiraku had been in a situation to tap into such a primal sense of terror, but the memories were still plain as day when Atsuo closed his eyes.
Maki screaming, Maki crying, Maki pleading with the universe for everything to just stop for a moment-
The ground shook once again, and Atsuo was glad to be brought out of his thoughts of the past, knowing that they were only going to upset him more if he wasn't fast enough to escape them. He knew what sort of influence his history could have on him, and he was desperate to keep it from bogging him down at the moment when they needed to find action the most.
"Please be here soon," Hiraku muttered. He had started to type away at his computer's keyboard, and when he hit his enter key with a powerful click, Atsuo assumed that he was sending a message. It was probably his way of trying to cry out for help to the Chosen Children once again. Atsuo sighed to himself, praying that they picked up sooner rather than later. He was already tired of all of this waiting, and he wasn't sure of how much more he was going to be able to take. His nerves were driving him crazy, and everything felt like it was falling apart, but he was going to try and power through. He had done it before, and he was going to try and do it again.
Dorbickmon was starting to drive everyone up a wall, though somehow, that felt like an understatement to Sora. The enemy Digimon was doing a masterful job of dodging every attack that came his way, and he seemed to have noticed how he could get out of the way of MetalGarurumon's missiles and cold breath attacks if he timed it properly. Sora couldn't help but feel helplessness given the circumstances. Everything in the area was just too fragile for Garudamon to be able to do anything, and WarGreymon was severely limited in his abilities for combat as well.
Of course, when Taichi grew to be too frustrated, that didn't stop WarGreymon from rushing forward anyways, his body flickering with the light of the midday sun overhead. With a mighty slash, he managed to knock Dorbickmon off to the side, but it wasn't long before Dorbickmon fought back in turn. The interaction was so quick that Sora was barely able to process it, and she winced as the loud echo of something hitting WarGreymon's arm reached her ears. It was a noisy and sickening clap that she yearned to find a way to forget, but she somehow doubted that she would be able to block it out the way that she yearned to.
"There has to be something more that can be done to make this battle easier," Sora murmured under her breath. Neither Taichi nor Yamato looked over in her direction at those words, not that she particularly expected to draw their attention by speaking in the first place. Her hands came to clasp at one another tightly over her chest as she wished that she could do something, anything. They were so limited in fighting back because of how crowded Odaiba was, and hitting the nearby buildings with the force of an Ultimate level Digimon's attack was bound to cause something to shatter, and Sora didn't even want to imagine what would come next if something like that took place.
I don't want to let Dorbickmon hurt my friends. I have to be able to do something. They're struggling, and I need to save them.
Sora's love for others had always been an oddly defining trait for her. Even before she truly understood the definition of care, back when her relationship with her mother was still as rocky as could be, she felt the sensation of tingling and kindness inside of her chest when the time was right. It was practically overwhelming in that moment as she wished for the universe to present her with an answer. Maybe there was something that she wasn't seeing. That would be able to give her the chance to fight back, right? All she had to do was find it.
Her empathy both hurt and healed her in that instant. She was desperate for an answer, but at the same time, she allowed her resolve to make her stronger. Sora was going to find a way through this no matter what came next. It was practically required at that point, though she would have wanted a solution even if it wasn't needed for the sake of survival. She didn't want to see anyone get hurt. That was the very reason that Garudamon was holding back then as it was. Her Shadow Wing attack was too large for her to unleash it against Dorbickmon, and given how proficient the Digimon had become in the dodging department, the risk was only getting greater as time passed on. Garudamon was in the sky because of how large she was, and she could have accidentally knocked something over and caused fallout if she wasn't careful. If Dorbickmon hit her in a melee fashion, the very thing that Sora was trying to prevent would play out.
Still, her fear wasn't going to keep Sora from finding hope. Even in the darkest of situations, she knew that her care for others would remain, and it was what powered her through this haunting and tumultuous time. No matter how difficult the obstacle was to overcome, Sora would find a way to power through. That was what it meant to her to be a Chosen Child and to have the Crest of Love. No matter what, her care for others would transcend all, and that wasn't something that could be debated.
Sora was so concentrated on her thought process that she almost didn't notice the warmth that was starting to spark in her Digivice. She had it pressed between her palms as she yearned for a solution, but something was different all of a sudden. Sora was familiar with the vibration that came with evolution to the Perfect level, but this almost seemed to be more like something she had seen from others.
She had seen it when WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon appeared.
Sora's Digivice exploded outwards with sudden illumination, and this was enough to catch Taichi and Yamato's attention. They both looked back at her with shock at first, but when they recognized what was happening, such surprise quickly shifted into awe. Sora stared into the center of the glowing mass of light, almost as if she was in a trance by its hypnotic shine. She knew what was happening before she could fully process it, and the beating of her heart suddenly seemed much more prominent than it ever had been during the past stages of her life.
When Sora finally forced herself to look skyward, it was because light had started to cover Garudamon's body as well. WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon were clashing with Dorbickmon still, but all three of them managed to steal a brief glance up at Garudamon's shining form in the heavens above. It was as if MetalGarurumon could sense the tides changing, and he slammed his head into Dorbickmon's side with all the force that he could muster. Dorbickmon flew backwards into the ground, and the concrete almost seemed to scream under the weight of his body, but nobody wanted to listen to its shrieks in that instant. All that mattered was Garudamon, Sora, and the Crest of Love.
Garudamon's body was changing shape before Sora could fully register the shift, and the red light that consumed her followed the alterations of her form. Sora's eyes were wide as she watched as her red humanoid partner began to turn into something was very distinctly bird-like by comparison. Yellow feathers sprouted all across her back, though there were a few that were more tinted with orange. Her body was mostly glittering golden feathers that made her seem like she was the sun itself, and the star that hung in the sky was nothing more than a pathetic imitation of her body.
A few of the feathers around her face were edged with orange, pink, and finally purple. A golden mask was placed over the top of her head to act as a helmet, and her eyes were bright enough to stand out fiercely against the golden steel. The underside of her body was a light brown color, the same shade as the talons that stuck out from her lower body. A long trail of golden feathers flew out from behind her body, and a few strands of red and yellow could be seen surrounding said tail in a show of pure elegance. Everything about her was simply perfect as far as Sora was concerned, and she didn't think that she had ever seen a Digimon so endlessly stunning before.
"Garudamon, evolve to... Hououmon!"
When the red light finally faded, Hououmon could be seen in full, and Sora smiled to herself, unable to keep her awe hidden any longer. "Wow..." Sora whispered. She closed her eyes before letting out a dreamy sigh, practically unable to escape her shock and awe at her partner. Hououmon was beyond impressive to her, and she yearned to congratulate her partner on finally managing to reach the Ultimate level.
It was strange, Sora had to confess. She didn't think that she had ever seen a Digimon reach Ultimate without some sort of outside influence from a higher power. It had happened through a prophecy the first time, and after that, the one responsible had been Qinglongmon. This was an all natural evolution though, and Sora found herself shocked that this had actually happened. She knew that humans sped up the evolution process in Digimon, but it was shocking regardless. It had been years since Hououmon had become Garudamon for the first time, and Sora had been starting to think that her partner would never reach the Ultimate level, not that she was exactly complaining on the matter. She knew that it was all going to be fine even during her darkest of moments, so she wasn't all that concerned.
Nothing could have prepared her for the perfection of this moment though, and Sora looked down at her Digivice as soon as she managed to tear her gaze away from Hououmon's shining body. At long last, it had finally happened. Sora had heard once, long ago, that it took quite some time for Digimon to reach the Ultimate level on their own without any influence from outside forces. It took years upon years in most cases, and this made a considerable amount of sense given that Sora had never seen anyone reach the Ultimate level through natural means before. She was beyond surprised that this had actually happened, and her heart was pounding in her chest just to prove to her that this moment was actually real and not simply a figment of her imagination induced by panic and haziness from throughout the day.
"Wow..." Taichi whispered from his place nearby. All eyes had shifted to the sky, and Hououmon's wings flapped powerfully to keep her body afloat. Dorbickmon was even expressing some form of fear, not that it was notably obvious at a first glance. Dorbickmon's body had only become more tense, and while it wasn't much to an outside onlooker, Sora was glad for it. This was a sign that she was going on in the right direction, she was sure, and Hououmon could have very easily been the trump card that they had been seeking.
Hououmon didn't hesitate to spread her wings wide, and a barrage of light orbs began to fly free of her feathers. Sora was too busy focusing on the screaming of her heart in her ears to hear the name of the attack that Hououmon cried out with, though she wasn't all that concerned with it in the long run. She knew that everything was going to be fine. Somehow, she was simply convinced that Hououmon would find a way to work this out even without her further assistance.
The light orbs zeroed in on Dorbickmon's body, and he was sent deep into the concrete with seemingly no hope of returning to his feet once again. The dent in the ground was so notable that it almost seemed to swallow Dorbickmon's body completely, not that Sora was complaining. This meant that they were getting closer to winning the fight, and that was the first thing that she had on her list of things to do for the morning.
Once Dorbickmon had been pinned to the ground, WarGreymon swept down with his claws outstretched. With a single slash at Dorbickmon's body, he managed to strike the dark patch of data that had Dorbickmon under unfortunate influences in the first place. Dorbickmon's body went even more rigid before he fell completely limp, and he didn't move after that.
Sora looked up at Hououmon as soon as Dorbickmon's color scheme began to return to normal. She couldn't believe that her partner had done that so effortlessly. It was likely the buzz from a new evolution that had pushed Hououmon so far, and the honing capabilities of her light spheres hadn't hurt in the slightest. That eliminated the occasional but still very present threat of inaccuracy that Shadow Wing had when she was in her form of Garudamon, and it meant that they were ready to continue pressing on.
"Damn," Yamato murmured under his breath. He took a few steps towards Dorbickmon as soon as he was able to force himself to start moving once again, though Sora was barely aware of his movement.
Yamato stopped at Dorbickmon's side, and he crouched down to see that the Digimon was unconscious on the ground. "I guess that she did it," he muttered to himself before returning to his full height once again. "I suppose that we should just keep moving now. It isn't as if we have any laptops around here to open up a gate to the Digital World. I think that we could really use a few of those palmtop computers that the enemies have been using right about now."
Sora nodded, finally managing to pull herself out of her haze at least to some extent. "Yeah... You're probably right," she agreed. She didn't feel great about leaving Dorbickmon there. After all, if there were any other enemies in the area, it would be a rather simple affair to bring Dorbickmon back under the foe's control. It would barely take any effort at all, and that would only make the situation worse for everyone all over again.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that."
The sound of a familiar gasp earned Sora's attention, and she turned to see Daigo walking closer. He had a laptop in his hands, and his eyes seemed so much more exhausted than they had any right to. In fact, he barely managed to be keeping himself together despite his outward appearances of being well put-together. "I'm glad to see that you three have been faring well for yourselves among all of this messiness," Daigo commented as he continued approaching the group.
"Mr. Nishijima!" Taichi cried out in surprise, his eyes widening. "How did you find us?" Sora had to admit that she was wondering much the same thing as Taichi given the circumstances. Odaiba was huge, and Daigo could have had business elsewhere in the city to keep him from reuniting with them, and yet, there he was.
Daigo chuckled to himself as he began to prop his laptop up on his lower arm. He opened the device soon afterwards before he formulated a response. "I think that it should be pretty obvious how I found you," he said, looking up at the sky where Hououmon was still flying. "There was so much light that I knew there had to be something going on. I could see Garudamon first, but when she started glowing and evolving... Well, let's just say that it was pretty easy to narrow down everything from there about where you were."
Sora laughed to herself at his words. He certainly had a point, and she was starting to feel a bit ridiculous for wondering in the first place how he had found them. "That makes sense," she said. She walked towards him, showing her Digivice as a way of preparing for the gate to open to the Digital World. After all, that was one thing that Daigo wouldn't be able to do on his own, and Sora was all too happy to volunteer her Digivice.
As a matter of fact, the small device was bright red in color even still. It was vibrating like mad, almost as if it lacked the ability to stay still at all. It was warm from the constant motion, a nice and soothing presence against the previous screaming that Sora's nerves had been doing directly into her ear. She saw it as a sign of her own progress as well, and she hoped that she would be able to continue viewing it as proof of her emotional strength in the future. After all, evolution was a two-way street, and it could only take place when there was a bond between partners and significant growth took place in the heart of the human within the relationship. This was something that Sora had managed to accomplish along with Hououmon, and for a strange reason that she didn't understand, Sora felt as if she was going to start crying at the mere concept of this newfound evolution after so many years of nothing happening in the way of combat-based growth for her partner.
Daigo approached Dorbickmon after he had set up the gate, and Sora trailed after him. The series of events that sent Dorbickmon back to the Digital World were ultimately rather simple, though it wasn't as if Sora minded in the first place. She was glad when Dorbickmon's shape began to contort as he trailed into the computer screen that was propped up in Daigo's grasp. As soon as the Digimon was gone, Daigo let out a sigh and turned the computer around to stare at the screen.
Taichi, Yamato, and Sora all came to gather around him, looking at what he was so curious about. Sora noted that it was a map of Odaiba, and there were different signals scattered across the city to show where the Digimon could be found. A few markers were also notable for the other Chosen Children, and Sora was glad to see that most of them were clustered together to some degree. That meant that most of the other members of her team weren't alone, and that was a relief to her, much more so than she could ever hope to describe.
"There are a lot of Digimon gathered in this area," Yamato commented as he pointed towards a segment of the map that seemed to be somewhat secluded from the rest of the city. There were six or so Digimon concentrating on the one target, and Sora had to admit that this gave her a bad feeling. She didn't know who those Digimon were or what they were after, but she had an awful sensation that there was something going on that she didn't yet know about. Why did she feel like this was simply a precursor to a greater disaster?
"There are a few Digimon gathered here, yes, but I can also see other members of the Chosen Children team nearby. That means that we should probably concentrate on traveling elsewhere in the city to take out the roaming Digimon that are moving individually before meeting up with them. That's what I think the best plan would be, at the very least. If everyone comes together in one area, then that leaves the rest of the city unguarded and open to an attack in case a Digimon goes rogue and starts causing problems individually," Daigo pointed out. He looked up to Hououmon. "Do you three think that you can keep fighting?"
"We're used to this," MetalGarurumon assured him as he walked closer. WarGreymon, who was also waiting nearby, nodded his agreement. Hououmon seemed just as radiant as ever, and when she nodded, the world seemed to bow to watch her for a few fleeting moments. Sora smiled up at her partner, beaming at the endless beauty that came with newfound evolution.
"In other words, you're going to be able to continue with defeating the Digimon," Daigo concluded, and the Digimon nodded their agreement at his words. "That's a good thing as far as I'm concerned. We should probably keep moving. I'm going to stay with you for the time being. Most of the other members of the bureau are focusing on the Digimon evacuation, so the people of Odaiba should be out of the city now for the most part. Nobody's going to notice if I'm gone, so I'm going to stick around here. Plus, you could use my laptop to send the Digimon back to the Digital World. It wasn't as if you had time to prepare on that front before all of this started, after all."
"We should get going then," Sora concluded. The others all nodded their agreement, and she let out a sigh. This was just the start of this disaster. The battle had been won, but the war was far from being over. There was much left to accomplish if they hoped to save Odaiba from the invasion of Digimon, and Sora was going to do everything that she could to make sure that others weren't harmed along the way. She had to defend her city with all that she had. Nothing was going to stop her, Digimon, human, or otherwise.
The group sprang into action at those words, and Sora walked towards WarGreymon alongside Taichi and Daigo. With some struggle, they all managed to get into WarGreymon's grasp while Yamato mounted onto MetalGarurumon's back. WarGreymon dropped off Daigo and Sora on Hououmon's back before starting to fly away from the scene of the battle with Dorbickmon. They were going to find another Digimon soon, and Sora was sure of that much. This was only beginning, and they were going to have to fight with everything that they had to win the day.
We can do this. I'm sure of it.
Woo! First Ultimate evolution!
This is one thing that I decided to carry over from Tri, and I assure you that there will be more of this discussed in the future. For the time being, this is what you get! Sora is amazing, and she deserves better than what she got. I think that she really got the short end of the stick in Tri given how she was essentially reduced to being love triangle bait with Taichi and Yamato, so when I started working on this, I got right down to giving her development that was completely independent of them.
Hououmon's appearance marks the first of the many Ultimate evolutions that will appear throughout this story. Everyone is going to get there sooner or later, though it's going to take longer in some cases. Let's just say that there are still a few secrets up my sleeve involving the evolution of the other partners. Wink, wink.
This chapter also has a bunch of minor foreshadowing for another plot point that will be revealed later in the second arc. We'll get there soon enough, I promise, but for now, it's time for fans of Tri to probably start putting the pieces together. Those who have already watched it likely know what I'm talking about, though people who haven't might not be as certain of it. All shall be revealed in time, I promise.
For now though, I'm going to leave you here. It's time for me to go and get some sleep since I'm finishing this chapter at three in the morning. Next week, we'll get to the one-quarter mark for this story. Woohoo! Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is always appreciated. Have a nice day, everyone!
-Digital