Chapter 112: Time is Ticking Part 4

Hello everyone. I hope that you're all well and safe.

Thanks to Gadget30thAnniversery, Sakura0410 and Omega1999 for your reviews of the previous chapter. I'm glad that it was still enjoyable to read despite how short it was because of the reasons that I mentioned. And thanks for the feedback on Kari's and Gatomon's pregnancies, and the limited amount of time that they have left to help out the Digidestined.

This chapter is rather short for the same reasons why I had to make the previous chapter shorter than normal. Life is still rather busy for me at the moment, but I'm hoping things will ease off soon. Hopefully this chapter is also ok despite it not being as long as normal.

Izzy watched as Tai used his DPD ID card to unlock the exit to the base before he opened the door. The Digidestined followed their leader out into the carpark where they normally started their patrols from. However, today was going to begin in a different manner because they were going to test some of the theories about how Metalseadramon was tracking them.

"It looks rather bleak," Michael spoke up in English as he glanced around at the fog barrier over them and the leaden feel that it gave to everything. "I guess that I should've expected it."

Izzy had invited their American friend to join them today and they'd used the digiports to get him inside the base. Michael was going to help them out because his Betamon was the closest Digimon any Digidestined had to Metalseadramon. He'd be able to give them various valuable pieces of information that their own Digimon couldn't.

Inviting Michael had led to some of the other American Digidestined wanting to join in too. Willis was first to invite himself, saying that he'd like a warmup before the actual battle, so he tagged along with the intention of joining the Japanese Chosen on their patrols. Phil, Lou, Maria, Steve and their Digimon partners had then decided to come along as well once they'd found out.

Mimi nodded and replied in her fluent English. "Yeah, it's been like this the whole time since Dragomon took over. The hot and humid summer weather has been replaced by constant cold and grey days, which are sometimes made worse by occasional rain or thunderstorms."

"It'll probably only get colder," Izzy sighed as he glanced up towards the barrier. He was glad that he did well in his English classes because it really helped him when it came to talking with Digidestined from around the world. "Summer is over now."

"Are we safe at the moment?" Phil asked as he lifted his cap and nervously glanced around the carpark. He was wearing a purple hoodie to keep warm, and he was around the same age as Cody. "You guys made it sound like this place was crawling with bad guys. Are any likely to jump out at us?"

"Don't worry," Kari replied with a reassuring smile. "The nearest group of Deep Ones are in Tokyo Bay and the next closest group is on the other side of the river."

"I bet it's rather handy to be able to sense dark energy like that," Willis commented as he smiled in the direction of Kari and TK. "I'd certainly like to have it. Finding all of the bad guys would be really easy."

TK nodded. "It definitely is. You know that we've been using our sixth sense to track down Dragomon's forces and ambush them. We've even been tracking Dragomon himself and the strong groups of bad guys that are patrolling around the city."

"Thinking of which, we should get a reading on Dragomon's location before we start the experiments," Izzy suggested before opening up a document on his laptop so that he could log their reading. "Let's make sure that he hasn't moved before we begin."

TK and Kari both nodded before they took out their compasses. The couple closed their eyes and aligned themselves in the direction that Dragomon's dark energy was coming from. Izzy waited for a few moments before they reopened their eyes and adjusted their compasses to get a reading. Kari and TK checked with each other before turning their attention back to the resident genius.

"Dragomon's at one hundred and seventy two degrees." TK smiled as he gave his friend the reading. "You got it?"

"Yep." Izzy nodded and noted it on his laptop before pulling up a separate document so that he could log the results from all of their tests. "The same place he's always in."

"Where is Metalseadramon?" Tai asked, following the other's lead with his choice of language as he glanced in their direction. "Hmm … how to word this in English? Do you know if he is in the city or in Chiba?"

"You don't have to say everything in English, you know?" Maria smiled as she ran her hand through her shoulder-length chocolate-brown hair. "Feel free to talk in Japanese if it's easier for you."

Willis nodded. "Yeah, don't worry about us."

The group hadn't discussed whether they were going to say everything in English but Izzy guessed that they'd all just subconsciously agreed to do it. After all, it was only fair because they didn't want their American friends to be left out by them speaking Japanese. On top of that, some of the things that they were talking about would be important for everyone to know because they were coming on the patrols too.

"It's cool," Davis answered for the Japanese Chosen as he gave Willis a wink and thumbs up. "You don't need to worry, dude. We're fine chatting with you guys in English."

"The others might not be as comfortable as you are, Davis," Willis laughed. "They might not chat in English as often as we do."

"It's ok." Sora smiled as she waved off their concerns. "I need to practice. It will be important for when we fight together in later battles with everyone."

Tai nodded. "I agree with Sora. We need to practice, so we will keep speaking in English. Also, don't worry. There are going to be people who are fluent in both groups."

"So, with that settled, where's Metalseadramon?" Davis asked as he and the others shifted their gazes back to Kari and TK. "Where are those strong baddies hiding today?"

"One group is to our southwest and probably in the direction of Atsugi again." TK pointed in the direction of the first group before pointing towards the other. "The Chiba group are east of us."

"They're probably wanting to funnel us southwards then," Ken mused aloud as he rubbed his chin. "Metalseadramon might be trying to recreate what happened a few days ago and force us to battle the Megaseadramon again."

"Yes. That would be like what he would do." Noriko didn't seem too confident speaking English as she sighed and glanced at Tai. "What do we do?"

Her boyfriend gently squeezed her hand and gave her a reassuring smile. "We keep things safe and take no risks. We can come back to base if things look dangerous again."

"Or we could fly around them." Davis shrugged. "We could fly out over Tokyo Bay if Metalseadramon gets too close, then fly north and ambush the bad guys in the northern part of Chiba."

Ken chuckled. "You make it sound so simple."

"We can decide what to do when we're out there because it will depend on the situation," Tai replied before his gaze focused on Izzy. "However, we have got some important things to do before that. How do we start these experiments?"

The red-haired teen gave his friend a nod. "Veemon and Wormmon, I need you to digivolve to Imperialdramon. Davis and Ken, I need you to make sure that Imperialdramon is within a barrier, just like you were when Metalseadramon ambushed you. Don't take off yet. Also, make sure that your earpieces are on so you can hear me."

"Roger that." Davis saluted his friend before Veemon and Wormmon sprinted over to the spot in the carpark where they usually digivolved. The younger goggle-head and Ken stayed close to them to make sure that their partners didn't accidentally leave the barrier. The two Digidestined pointed their digivices at their Digimon and light erupted from them.

"Veemon …"

"Wormmon …"

"Warp DNA digivolve to Imperialdramon!"

"Now for the next part." Izzy turned to Matt and Gabumon. "We'll need Metalgarurumon's senses for a lot of this."

"Ok." Gabumon gave him a thumbs up before sharing a glance with Matt. The rookie Digimon made a bit of distance between himself and the others before his partner pointed his digivice at him. "Gabumon warp digivolve to Metalgarurumon!"

"Our first test will be to find out whether we can hear Imperialdramon," Izzy stated. "Davis, Ken, please have Imperialdramon take off and fly five hundred metres out over Tokyo Bay. The rest of us will be listening carefully."

"Sure," Davis replied for them before Imperialdramon took off as instructed. He flew over their heads and out over the calm waters before stopping. "Is this far enough."

"Yes, thanks," the teen genius replied before he shifted his focus to those around him. "Did anyone hear anything?"

"I could hear him taking off and passing over us." Patamon spoke up first. "He was easy to hear when he flapped his wings. The breeze and sound that he made when he flew over our heads was kind of loud too."

Gatomon nodded in agreement with her boyfriend. "Yeah, I could definitely hear him as well."

Izzy quickly typed a few notes on his laptop. "This confirms a few things. First, that Imperialdramon makes quite a lot of noise when he takes off because he's flapping his wings. The second thing that this confirms is that it's possible to hear him flying when close to him because of the air he displaces. The third thing is that we can feel this displaced air in the form of a breeze."

"Oh." Mimi's eyes widened. "I didn't even think about that last bit. That was quite a giveaway that Imperialdramon flew over us."

"There's nothing that he can really do to stop that either," Willis thought aloud as he gazed out over the bay at the large dragon. "I guess that he could fly really slowly to stop it."

"Indeed, but it is also what they did when Metalseadramon found them," Izzy added before he decided to move on with the tests. "We'll come back to sound experiments shortly. Next is the first smell test. Imperialdramon is currently upwind from us, which should make him easier to smell for those with sensitive noses."

"I can pick up his scent," Metalgarurumon nodded. "I could track him down rather easily from this distance."

"I can only pick up a faint trace of him," Gatomon sighed. "I guess Metalgarurumon has a better nose than me."

"Next is the second sound test," Izzy announced as he finished typing up his notes on what he'd just been told. "Davis and Ken, please have Imperialdramon fly to the river then up to Rainbow Bridge before moving to hover over the Fuji TV building. Make sure that you avoid flying close to where we are."

"Roger that," Davis replied over their earpieces before Imperialdramon started along the flightpath given to him. The Digidestined watched and their Digimon listened for their friend as he flew up the river before turning when he made it to the bridge. He soon came to a stop above the Fuji TV building that had been rebuilt after Myotismon destroyed it during their battle eight years earlier.

"Well?" Izzy glanced at their Digimon. "Did you hear anything?"

"I think so," Gatomon paused for a moment. "It did sound like I could hear some wind that sounded like a Digimon flying."

Patamon nodded. "Same here. I think it was loudest when he turned at the bridge."

"Interesting." Izzy stroked his chin before he typed up the outcome from the experiment. "I guess that smaller Digimon with bird-like wings would be best for stealthy missions based on these results. If Gatomon and Patamon can hear Imperialdramon from here, it would mean that they'd definitely be able to hear Megakabuterimon and myself if we were doing the same thing."

"So that might be how Metalseadramon found us that time," Mimi mused aloud as she gazed at her boyfriend. "It's just like you thought he might've done."

He nodded. "Possibly. However, Metalseadramon might not have as good hearing as Patamon and Gatomon, or he might be using other senses in addition to his hearing."

"What's next?" Davis asked over their comms. "Do you want us to fly somewhere else?"

"Please remain there for the moment," Izzy replied before focusing back on Metalgarurumon and Gatomon. "Next is the second smell test. They're currently downwind from us, so it should be harder to smell them."

Gatomon sniffed the air before sighing. "I can't smell them."

"Their scent is much weaker than before," Metalgarurumon added. "They're a lot harder to find using smell alone at the moment."

"Ok, thanks. That ends the smelling and listening experiments." The genius quickly typed up his notes before turning to face Michael. "Next is the bioelectricity tests. Betamon and Michael, if you could please help with those."

"Sure thing." Michael grinned and gave him a thumbs up. "We'll be ready in a minute."

The blonde teen sprinted down the steps towards the waterfront and was followed by his partner. Izzy watched his friends as they reached the shoreline and Betamon jumped into the sea. Light engulfed the green amphibian's body before he digivolved into Seadramon and then one level further to Megaseadramon.

Izzy kept his eyes on his friends as Megaseadramon glanced in Imperialdramon's direction and an expression of concentration formed on his face. He then gazed in their direction, which peaked the red-haired genius' curiosity. The serpent-like Digimon bent down and talked quietly to Michael, which was probably a good thing because they wouldn't want to make too much noise even if Megaseadramon was inside a barrier.

"Megaseadramon says that he can sense the bioelectricity coming from Imperialdramon from where we are," Michael informed them over their comms. "He can sense faint sources of electricity coming from you guys as well. Apparently our digivices are also detectable from close range."

"Thanks, Michael." A thought popped into Izzy mind. "Can he sense any electricity coming from our base?"

"I'll ask." Michael looked up at his partner and they discussed a few things before the eel-like Digimon concentrated again. Megaseadramon shook his head after about half a minute or so, giving them the answer that they were hoping for. "He can't sense any electricity coming from the base."

"That's a relief. Thanks for checking," Izzy sighed as he added these results to his document. "That was the last of the bioelectricity tests that we needed to do. I guess that we have our answer about how the Megaseadramon were able to target Imperialdramon so easily the other day."

"Yeah," Davis replied using their earpieces. "It looks like we're going to have to be very careful around them and the coastline if any are nearby."

"At least the base can't be found." Tai ran his hand through his hair as he sighed too. He watched as Megaseadramon returned to his rookie form before Betamon and Michael re-joined the others. "I suppose it makes sense though because it is meant to be a top-secret base and you wouldn't want some kind of electric current giving away its location."

"We have lived in or around this area our entire lives and we never knew that it had been built." Matt shrugged as he glanced down at the ground. "They managed to build the whole thing after Myotismon's attack without anyone even knowing. There wasn't even a hint that it was here until we were told."

Izzy checked his notes on his laptop to see what was left for them to test. His gaze was suddenly captured by Kari whispering into TK's ear as they both stared out over Tokyo Bay. He guessed that they'd turned off the microphones in their earpieces to discuss whatever it was, and seeing and knowing that didn't sit well in his gut.

After taking a deep breath, the teen genius decided to let them choose whether what they were discussing needed to be shared or not. After all, he wasn't quite done yet. "There are two more senses that we need to test. Metalgarurumon can sense infrared and he can also use x-rays to find things. I want to know whether he can find Imperialdramon using them too."

The groups' attention focused on the metallic wolf as he nodded. Metalgarurumon stared in the direction of Imperialdramon before glancing back at Izzy. "I can't see them using infrared, so the barrier must be set up to block that too. However, I can find them using x-rays."

"Thanks. That was the last of the experiments." Izzy smiled as he gave the mega Digimon a nod. He quickly added his final notes to his document before saving and closing it. "This means that we can definitely rule out Metalseadramon using infrared to find Imperialdramon in the same way that a snake would. I also think that Metalseadramon can't use x-rays, but it's useful to know that they can scan through the barrier."

"We'll come back now," Ken said using their comms as Imperialdramon started flying back towards the others. "We'll collect everyone coming with us then fly over to Chiba."

"We can start getting our readings on Dragomon and then ambush some of his army," Davis added with his usual enthusiasm. "I'm ready to kick ass and chew gum, and I'm all out of gum."

"I think we've got a problem," TK interrupted, making everyone's attention suddenly shift in his direction. Izzy looked at his friend then followed the blonde teen's gaze out over the harbour, which suggested only one thing. "Kari and I can sense that the bad guys out in Tokyo Bay are moving and that they're coming in our direction. It looks like our experiments have caught their attention."

Ah yes, another cliff-hanger from me. You all know how much I like them by now, right?

I was originally planning for this chapter and the previous one to all be part of the same chapter. However, as I've said in a few of my author's notes, I've not had the free time to focus on this story over the past few months, so I had to split this up. I think this chapter still came out alright even if it was a bit short and there wasn't any action in it. The Digidestined did manage to confirm and rule out a few things in regards to how Metalseadramon might be tracking them.

Hopefully the Japanese Digidestined speaking English was ok. I tried to show that some of them were much more confident speaking English compared to others. Some of the Digidestined, like Izzy, Davis and TK, are fluent because they talk with their friends in English all of the time. I also tried to show that others, like Noriko, aren't as fluent, so their sentences weren't worded as well as they could have been. Hopefully I managed to show this and I hope it wasn't an issue.

As normal, please can you let me know your thoughts on these things and this chapter as a whole by posting a review? :D

I hope you all stay well and stay safe :D