Chapter 114: Time is Ticking Part 6

Heya everyone. I hope you're all well and safe :D

I'd like to thank Gadget30thAnniversery and Sakura0410 for your reviews of the previous chapter. I really appreciate the feedback and I'm glad that you enjoyed reading the battle. The Digidestined were really close to having their base exposed and they were lucky that they got away with it.

Davis watched as Rapidmon launched a salvo of rockets straight at a Scorpiomon in amongst the mass of Deep Ones that they were ambushing in Chiba. The missiles that Willis' partner had fired struck their target, exploding on contact as the blast rang out over the battlefield. Rapidmon followed it up with another salvo at a Gesomon and Octomon, which he also turned to data with ease.

"Yeah!" Willis cheered as one of his twin partners continued to rain rockets down on the evil monsters. His other partner, Antylamon, was part of the ground forces that had charged into the fight too, and he was taking out swathes of Deep Ones with each of his attacks. "Nice one, guys!"

From on Imperialdramon's back, Davis glanced down at their Digimon in the fields that were fighting against the demonic creatures. Zudomon had led them into battle as they focused on one side of the group that they were ambushing whilst the flying Digimon focused on the other. It was Tai's suggestion that they mixed it up because they had a lot of ground-based Digimon now that the American Digidestined had joined them today.

Davis glanced to his left at Ken, who was using his extra sense to track the powerful source of darkness that was patrolling around Chiba. They'd managed to avoid it so far by ambushing some bad guys in the south to lure their enemies down there before flying out over Tokyo Bay and coming back to attack various groups in the north of Chiba. Things had gone exactly as they'd planned and it had brought them plenty of time to allow for their ground Digimon to join in too.

Wargreymon slammed a huge fireball into their enemies, creating another massive explosion that took out a large amount in one go. Silphymon also continued to rain spheres of energy down on their foes as he targeted some of the stronger Digimon in the group to make things easier for their friends. Imperialdramon was keeping his distance just to make sure that the Digidestined on his back were safe and he was going to collect his comrades once they'd finished the ambush.

Davis continued to watch the battle from high in the sky as Keiko's Lynxmon and Phil's Flarerizamon engulfed the Deep Ones in front of them in flames. He could hear their screams from where he was as they were burnt to a crisp before turning to dust. Noriko's Grapleomon and Steve's Frigimon threw punch after punch at the bad guys in front of them as Shakkoumon used his Kachina Bombs to defeat some Gesomon and Ebidramon. Lou's Tortomon and Maria's Centarumon were teaming up to fire their attacks straight into the mass of Deep Ones, thinning out their lines as the Chosen Digimon pushed forwards.

As there was no water nearby, Michael's Betamon was forced to watch with Digidestined. Davis felt sorry for the green amphibian Digimon because it looked like he was ready to get into the action but couldn't. It crossed the mind of the younger goggle-head that it might be hard for Betamon and Michael during the planned battle to retake Tokyo because Megaseadramon wouldn't be able to fight on land or fly. However, like the other aquatic Digimon that the international Digidestined had, Davis guessed that they would be very helpful when it came to clearing any of the waterways in the city.

"All of the ambushes we've done over here have gone much smoother than the one we did near the base," Maria commented. "These bad guys have been much easier to beat."

"I think a lot of that is because this group haven't got any Megaseadramon with them," Ken replied in English. "The Megaseadramon probably told the other bad guys with them where to find us when we were fighting them earlier. Also, we've got our barriers set at a size where Dragomon's army can't find us, which helps us a lot."

"That group earlier were much more coordinated compared to these," Willis thought aloud as he continued to watch the battle. "Ken is probably right that the Megaseadramon organised them better because they already knew that we were there. I think that the bad guys we're ambushing haven't had time to coordinate their defences because we caught them by surprise."

"That's a good point." Davis nodded as he continued to speak in English as well. "I think that them finding Kari and TK inside the barrier played a role too. The Deep Ones were really focused on them and were desperate to get to them."

"The Deep Ones being focused like that meant that they came straight for us," Tai added his thoughts. "It allowed us to defeat all of them, which means none of them escaped to tell Metalseadramon or Dragomon where our base is."

"It was rather scary when those Deep Ones got past our Digimon," Keiko sighed, prompting Davis to give her hand a gentle squeeze. "It reminded me of some bad memories."

Noriko nodded as she placed her hand over the scars on her arm. "Yeah, it did."

"You and Tai were badasses though." Phil formed the shape of a gun with his hand before he pretended to shoot. "The way you reacted so quickly and shot those Deep Ones was awesome. You'd drawn your guns and were dropping them before I'd even realised that they'd gotten through our lines."

"Yeah," Lou added excitedly as he nodded. "You were like a couple of action heroes from one of Michael's dad's Hollywood movies."

"It was so cool." Maria joined in as her gaze focused on Noriko. "I wish that I could be as strong as you are, Noriko. I want to be that calm and collected in that kind of situation."

Noriko shuffled a little and rubbed her arm again before a smile formed on her lips and she looked up at Maria. "Thank you."

Davis tightened his grip on Keiko's hand a little because he had a good idea what was probably going through both Keiko's and Noriko's mind at that moment. They didn't want to lose any more of their friends like they had when Metalseadramon ambushed them in the early stages of the war. They'd had first-hand experience of what it was like when the Deep Ones broke through their lines and Davis knew that a leader like Noriko would do her best to make sure that it didn't happen again.

Several more blasts rang Davis' ears, making him and the others look back down at the fight going on below. The Chosen Digimon were still pummelling the bad guys and thinning out their numbers even more as they kept their assault going. It wouldn't take long until this ambush was over and they'd have to make a call on what to do next.

The bad guys were starting to be completely overwhelmed now as the Chosen Digimon pushed on. Davis could tell that they seemed determined to make quick work of this and that the partners of the American Digidestined were very eager to help out. He'd definitely seen how willing they were to get stuck in during all of the other ambushes that they'd performed before this one.

Within a couple of minutes, their partners had dwindled this platoon of Dragomon's army down to just a few remaining Deep Ones. Lynxmon and Flarerizamon teamed up one more to cover the dark amphibians in their flames, engulfing them in the searing heat and burning them to ashes. Silence fell over the battlefield as the flames died down to reveal that all of their enemies had been defeated.

Imperialdramon flew down and landed next to his comrades as Davis surveyed the area around them. He could see all of the craters and scorched land as their partners returned to their rookie forms and took the blue light to get back onto Imperialdramon's back. They would probably have to be a bit more careful in Tokyo when they tried to reclaim it because they obviously wanted to make sure that the city was still standing so that people could come back to their homes.

"Nice work." Tai pumped his fists before his attention switched to Ken. "Where is the strong group of bad guys?"

Ken closed his eyes for a moment and focused on his extra sense. He reopened them and met their leader's gaze. "They're starting to get closer now. We'd have to go much further north to be able to get in another attack because we now don't have the time to do one here."

"I think that we should head back to base," Tai suggested as he glanced around at the others. "We have our readings on Dragomon's location and we have done many ambushes. We have been out here for several hours, so I think we have done enough for today."

"That's our current situation," Kari sighed as she finished explaining things to Tai. "As I said at the start, it means I've probably only got a month left until I have to stop going on patrols."

The young woman gazed at her brother and tried to work out what he was thinking. Tai rubbed his forehead as he stared at the ground. It looked like he was trying to process the information that he'd just been given and was attempting to work this into their plans.

Kari and TK had managed to pull Tai aside and speak to him in private once the American Digidestined had left the base. It wasn't as easy as Kari had hoped because their friends had stayed for dinner and for a chat afterwards. Now it was getting late and Kari had been worried that she wasn't going to be able to get a chance to grab her brother before they all went to bed. Some of the Digidestined had already gone to sleep because they were tired after their busy day.

The couple and their Digimon had explained their situation about Kari's limited time and how long it would be until Gatomon and Patamon would begin trying for their baby too. They didn't have much time left and Kari had made it clear that they would have to put their plans into action soon if she and TK were to be part of the battle. She wished that there was another option that didn't put this pressure on them, but her daughter was getting bigger with each week that passed.

Tai sighed and ran his hand through his wild hair. "To be honest, I've been thinking that we should put our plans into action soon. This is another reason to my growing list of reasons why we need to reclaim Tokyo now instead of waiting much longer."

"When we originally came up with this plan, we were planning to do it around now," Kari replied as she kept her eyes on her brother. "We want to be part of this battle and help you guys before we have to go somewhere safer."

"I know. You've made that very clear." Tai smiled. "You'd still have to walk around with a barrier around you even if you were somewhere safer. After all, Dragomon and the Deep Ones would be drawn straight to you if you went somewhere without it. If your barriers failed while you were away from here, I think all of Dragomon's army would go straight for you and destroy anything in their path."

"Yeah." TK nodded. "They'd end up invading the rest of Japan just to find us if that happened. It would make things even harder than they already are. Dragomon would probably come for our daughter too if she didn't have a barrier around her. She emits the same energy that we do, so he'll be drawn to that as well. We can't let that happen and I'll do anything to make sure our baby is safe."

"Exactly," Kari agreed with her husband. "Of course, we'd do our best to make sure that both of us and our daughter are always surrounded by a barrier to stop that."

"I know. I don't want anything to happen to either of you or her as well." Tai sighed again as he leant back on the wall behind him. "As I said, everything is pointing towards it being best to get this war finished as quickly as possible."

He paused for a moment as he gazed at the floor again. "In addition to what you said, there are other reasons too. Metalseadramon ambushing Davis and the others is one reason, and I think it will only be a matter of time before something like that happens again. The problems caused by the Megaseadramon being able to find us through the barriers are another. We don't know if Dragomon or Metalseadramon might try to move beyond Tokyo and try to take over more of Japan. Also, our ambushes are only making a small dint in Dragomon's forces and we're going to have to do much more if we want our homes and lives back."

"Do you need time to think about it?" Kari asked as she realised that her brother had a lot on his mind. "Or do you want help in deciding certain parts."

"I think I'm going to discuss this with everyone soon. Probably in the next few days." Tai gave her a reassuring smile. "You're going with Gennai to meet with more Digimon tomorrow to persuade them to join us, right?"

"Yeah." Kari nodded. "We're going to meet some Unimon tomorrow morning. Gennai has asked us to meet various other groups of Digimon who are interested in helping us later this week as well."

Her brother gave her a nod. "That's good and we should do what we can to boost our numbers. We also need to find out how soon they can be ready to join us. The quicker the better because I'm thinking that, if it's possible, we should put our plans into action within the next two or three weeks."

Kari glanced to her left at TK and met his gaze to see what he thought about that. He was studying her face too, trying to gauge her thoughts on it so that they could give a unified response. This was, after all, the kind of news that they'd been hoping for, especially so considering that Tai was still going to let them participate in the battle. Based on the look in TK's sapphire eyes, he seemed to be pleased with the outcome of this conversation too.

"Thanks, Tai." Kari's gaze returned to her brother and she gave him a smile. "We'll do our best to make sure that we get as many Digimon to help us as we can."

"Keep up the good work." Tai pushed himself off the wall. "Like I said, I'm planning to discuss this with the others in the next few days and I think that's the best time to choose exactly when we'll do this."

"Thank you very much." Kari bowed to the leaders of the group that she and TK were recruiting. It turned out that the Unimon were actually led by several Hippogryphomon and they, like many of the other Digimon that Gennai had wanted them to visit, wanted to know if she was actually pregnant before deciding to join them.

She brought her head back up and studied the ultimate level Digimon in front of her. They had the head of an eagle and a lion-like body that was covered in white fur and feathers. Kari guessed that their pure white wings were like some kind of cross between an eagle's and angel's. They had some purple rings around their limbs and two bands of the same colour across their back. Their claws looked really sharp and Kari guessed that they probably could slice through a lot of things, which would be handy for battling the Deep Ones.

Behind these Hippogryphomon were the familiar Unimon that they thought they were visiting. These unicorn-Digimon had red helmets that covered their horns and the top of their heads. There was a visor within their helmets that was allowing them to watch Kari and the others while they were discussing things, during which they'd been very quiet and let their leaders make the choices. Their bodies were white and their wings were black with a few tears in them. Their yellow manes and tails added another dash of colour that was also present in the feathers protruding from just above their black hooves.

"It's our pleasure," the central Hippogryphomon replied in a deep voice as they all bowed back. "It would be our honour to help you and your friends in the coming battle."

"Thank you for allowing us to confirm that the prophecies are coming true," the Hippogryphomon on the right added in a feminine voice. "We can clearly sense that you and the Chosen of Hope are having a child. The light energy coming from her is impossible for us to miss. She will be the one that brings peace to the Digital World and fends off the darkness for good. There will be no wars like the one you're currently fighting once she arrives."

Kari was glad that things had gone well and that they'd managed to get more help for their attempt at reclaiming Tokyo. Gennai had warned them that Hippogryphomon could be rather aggressive and bad tempered, but these ones thankfully weren't. They'd been very accommodating and the brunette teen couldn't help but wonder if it was because of her. After all, during her time as one of the Chosen, a lot of Digimon were willing to help her just because she was the Digidestined of Light.

"We'll start making our preparations to help you," the third Hippogryphomon chimed in and he sounded very serious. "I'll personally make sure that we are ready for the battle and we will do our best to get other Digimon to help you too."

"Thanks." Kari, along with TK, Patamon and Gatomon, bowed their heads again for a moment. "We would be really grateful if you could do that."

The Digimon bowed back once more before their leader replied. "We'll do our best."

Kari and those with her exchanged their goodbyes with the Hippogryphomon and Unimon before leaving the caves on the edge of the plateau that their new comrades lived on. The young woman took a deep breath as she looked out over the grassy fields covering this isolated part that was around halfway up a mountain. The views were beautiful, the air was clean and the weather was great. She could see why they enjoyed living up here so much.

"I'm glad that went smoothly," TK commented as Gennai led the way down the path towards the TV. "And we've got time to head out on patrols today too when we get back."

Kari nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I'm glad that it went well too."

"It's a shame that we didn't get a feast today," Patamon sighed as he slumped on TK's hat. "The meal that the Piddomon made for us was great."

Gatomon shook her head. "You sound like Agumon there."

Kari laughed along with TK and the others. "The food doesn't matter. What matters is that they're willing to help us."

"Are you still free to help out in a couple of days?" Gennai asked as he glanced over his shoulder at the couple walking hand in hand behind him. "There are a few groups of Digimon that I'd like you to meet that day. Are you free for the whole day?"

Kari glanced at TK for a moment as they both tried to decide what would be better. They were meant to be going on patrols for the next few days and helping the others out. If they were to spend all day recruiting Digimon, it meant that her team wouldn't be able to do their part. However, getting more recruits to help them reclaim Tokyo was more important and TK's nod told Kari that he was on the same wavelength as her.

"We can make sure that we're free all day," she replied with a smile. "After all, we'll need all the help that we can get."

This seems like a good spot to end this chapter. While this wasn't as exciting as the previous chapter, these scenes move a few more of the plot points forward and get us towards the Digidestineds' attempt to reclaim Tokyo. It's not far away now.

What did you think to Tai's reaction to what Kari and TK had to say? Were you expecting Tai to be ok with them having that time limit on when they can put their plans into place?

Please can you post a review letting me know what you thought about this chapter? :D

Stay well and take care :D