Digital Shuffle
By famirad
Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon Tamers. This fic is for fun.
Author's Note: Think of this as an AU to Digimon Tamers. This will be a crossover between Tamers (main canon), Adventure, X-Evolution and Wonderswan (for Ryo's storyline).
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Digital Shuffle
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(Two Bit Betrayals)
This had to be a nightmare.
That was the first thought crossing Jenrya's mind. All he could see on this warped version of Growlmon's face hatred hate, the normally warm eyes now cold and alien. One side of Jenrya frantically tried to convince himself this wasn't his best friend's partner, that he was another fake. Maybe another Growlmon. But Guilmon had been one of a kind, unique in the entire world.
Terriermon's mouth dropped open. Even Ryo looked shaken. Growlmon – no, Black Growlmon, Jenrya's D-Arc corrected him – glared with open hate at them. Gone were the sweet clumsiness and the innocence. His hide rippled with powerful muscles underneath, just raw strength and instinct and whatever else now fueled him.
"Growlmon!" Jenrya found himself shouting desperately over the rain. "It's us!"
Black Growlmon sneered, fangs bared. "I know who you are," loathing colored his voice. "It's all your fault!"
With that, he sucked in a deep breath, sounding like a hundred bellows going at once, and then whipped his head toward them in a broad arc.
"Exhaust Flame!"
White fire sprayed out. Jenrya and Ryo were forced to throw themselves at the ground again. Terriermon scuttled under the attack as it hit the pavement behind them. Steam hissed as the Rookie placed himself between the two humans and his friend.
"Stop it, Growlmon! What do you think you're doing?"
"It's your fault!" Black Growlmon roared. "You're all hurting us!"
"We didn't do anything!"
"You're after him!"
"We just want to help, Growlmon!"
"I'll kill you before you'll ever get close to him!" the virus Champion snarled. Terriermon's words hadn't even reached him. Black Growlmon sucked in another breath and started to let loose another flamethrower burst of his Exhaust Flame.
"Digi-Modify! War Greymon's Brave Shield, activate!"
Terriermon nearly stumbled from the unexpected weight of a huge shield appearing in his paws after Jenrya's quick card slash. Somehow he kept it upright as the Rookie braced for impact. The shield shook under Black Growlmon's attack: it rattled so violently under its strength Terriermon could feel his paws going numb from the vibration. It was all he could do to keep it from being forced over his head and crushing the two humans behind him.
The white fire lapped hungrily around the Brave Shield. Already the edges glowed red from the heat, curling inward as it began to melt the shield.
Jenrya and Ryo knelt behind the cover, Ryo rapidly began picking out any useful cards as Jenrya tried to decide what to do, his heart beating loudly in his chest. He didn't want to fight Black Growlmon if he didn't have to.
Getting killed on the spot wasn't his plan either.
Without warning, there was a thundering explosion off in the distance. A tall cloud of dust rose up in the air – from the end of the tunnel at the other entrance – as something shimmered in the air. Jenrya froze. Even in this light, he could make it out: a cable curving up for moment in the night air like a giant snake, sparking green at the ends where it tore itself free from the ground. Others of various sizes joined it. They dove toward the other entrance and vanished out of sight.
Another series of explosions and more debris rocketed into the air.
Jenrya, Ryo and Terriermon weren't their targets. Someone else was getting attacked at the same time.
He didn't have time to wonder who as Terriermon risked a peek around the Brave Shield.
"Jenrya's, he's coming at us!"
Ryo shoved the cards he selected for Jenrya into his hands and dragged him to the side.
"Plasma Blade!"
The wicked spike on his forearm glowing red, Black Growlmon slashed at the Brave Shield. It split into two down the center with a resounding crack. Terriermon scurried under the larger Digimon's legs as Jenrya choose the blue card Ryo handed him. He really didn't want to do this, but unless they somehow subdued Black Growlmon, they could be killed at this rate.
Jenrya slashed the card. "Digi-Modify! Digivolution, activate!"
Green light engulfed Terriermon as he changed. Black Growlmon, eyes clouded with an increasing berserker rage, spun on his claws and charged at Terriermon, still in mid-evolution.
"Terriermon, behind you!" Jenrya screamed.
His evolution barely finished, Gargomon started to whirl around but he was too slow: Black Growlmon was on the other Champion like a tank and brutally blind-sided him. Caught by surprise, Gargomon flew through the air, skidding several feet and throwing up a splash of puddle water. Snarling, Black Growlmon turned toward the two humans. White tongues of fire crackled in the rain as the Shadow's jaws started to part.
Backed up against a darkened flower-shop, there was nowhere to run. Ryo glanced about frantically. Left or right, Black Growlmon could easily cut them off no matter which direction they went. The darkened store behind them had a solid brick wall, the only weak point the half-glass door, obviously locked. There wasn't going to be enough time for Jenrya to slash a card or for the downed Gargomon to react.
An idea hit him then.
Aw hell, this is gonna hurt.
But it was either that or get killed.
Whirling, Ryo drew his fist back and punched with all his might at the glass door. Sharp pain traveled up his arm in a jarring jolt as the glass shattered: only a small hole, the jagged edges of broken glass cut into his arm as he felt about desperately for the handle. His bloodied hand shrieked with pain that told him he'd broken some fingers fingers. He grabbed the handle, after an agonized second of groping, and turned it.
The door opened and the two boys fell into the dark flower shop's interior.
"Exhaust Flame!"
A bright splash of white hit the storefront, but Jenrya and Ryo managed to scramble further inside. Ducking through the aisles of empty vases, plastic plates, ceramic pots and other containers, the two boys ran to the back of the store. Ryo glanced over his shoulder. Jenrya was a silhouette behind him, but the front of the shop had an eerie glow, flickering in the flames. There was no way Black Growlmon could fit inside.
Jenrya couldn't believe what Ryo just did. The Tamer couldn't see too well inside the dark store, but he knew Ryo's hand was in bad shape. Ryo's face, from what he could see of it, was drawn in pain as he knelt near the counter nestled against the back wall. It was almost impossible for the two to see each other's faces clearly. The only way he was positive Ryo was nearby was the sheen of the white fire reflecting faintly off of his face and blood-slicked hand.
"We're safe for now, but I wouldn't be surprised if he tears down the store trying to get at us."
Outside, Black Growlmon was railing at them in his fury, his curses blending into a practically incoherent series of roars and snarls. The store shook and plaster trickled down from the ceiling as the Champion threw his shoulder at the store. His teeth gnashed at the doorway as he tried to force his snout through.
"I've gotta go back for Gargomon!"
"What, with your other buddy out there waiting to kill you?"
Jenrya glared at Ryo through the darkness. "I can't leave him out there!"
Another guttural roar from the Digimon outside. More plaster fell on their heads.
"You already did, first of all. And second, he's focused on us, not Gargomon."
Jenrya started to argue with that but found he couldn't.
"Gargomon's probably safer than we are right now," Ryo said and then hissed as he felt a piercing pain in his hand. Feeling about blindly in the dark, his fingers located something smooth. A shard of glass had embedded itself half an inch deep in his palm. Gritting his teeth, he removed it with a wince and tossed it onto the tiled floor.
"Now what?"
"We need to find a way out of here before Black Growlmon tears this place down on our heads," Ryo looked about the store, trying to think. "That or try to find a place to hide and hope he goes away. Which probably won't fool him for long, but it could buy time for Gargomon to recover."
More plaster drifted from the ceiling and then stopped as Black Growlmon began to assault the thick bricks with his Exhaust Flame. The center of the storefront began to glow red, then white as searing heat blossomed. The temperature inside got hot real face, growing unbearable within seconds. Ryo turned back to Jenrya.
"There's no time! I'm gonna look and see if there's another exit or something."
Ryo got up, feeling his way with his uninjured hand along the counter, and vanished through a door in the back wall. After an indecisive moment, Jenrya scooted after him, casting a worried look over his shoulder. It didn't feel right to leave Gargomon out there, no matter how much sense Ryo made. But Jenrya couldn't help him with any backup if he was trapped in this concrete and steel cage. Who knew how long before the cage turned into an oven?
The taller boy led the way into a backroom, shutting the door after Jenrya. It wouldn't help as a defense once Black Growlmon got through, but it was better than nothing. Ryo managed to find the light switch and flicked it on. They stood in a wide hall, fenced in on two sides by shleves of potted plants in every shape and size. Ignoring the plants, Ryo headed down the hall and tried the heavy door at the end.
Locked.
It didn't mean it was the only exit, however. Jenrya helped Ryo with his search: pushing through the thick fronds of a row of small palm trees to the side, he found another door. It opened into another smaller hall, dusty and looking like it hadn't been used in a long time. Ryo glanced in and nodded.
"Let's try this way."
Standing under the backroom's light, Jenrya caught a glimpse of Ryo's injured hand, swathed in blood. "What about your hand?"
"What about it?" Ryo couldn't hide the pained wince.
He shut the door as they filed into the narrow hall. The only light was a single bulb, dim under a film of grime. Jenrya led the way, turned to the left and out to another door with a fire extinguisher next to it. Jenrya reached out and tried it.
Two things happened then: the door opened to the outside rain. An alarm shrieked as the emergency door opened, bouncing off the walls with a frequency that bordered on ear-splitting. Jenrya's first impulse was to clap his hands over his ears but he pushed the door further open as the alarm's sound spilled out into the alley. Ryo stumbled after him.
"We seriously need to move!" Ryo gasped. "Black Growlmon must've heard this!"
Jenrya nodded and ran down the alley, his shoes splashing into puddles. Ryo followed him, trying to cradle his bloodied mess of a hand to prevent it from jolting too much, but even then his face was white with pain as he ran after the Tamer.
They exited near one of the construction site's side entrance, several yards away from the flower shop's entrance. The two boys slipped past the small fenced-gate into the corner of the lot. Jenrya stopped and knelt. Through one of the rips in the canvas covering the perimeter's fence, he could see the figure of Black Growlmon glaring angrily about for the source of the alarms wailing through the rain.
The Champion took a confused step toward the alley. And then another and another as he pinpointed where the alarm came from.
Doesn't look like he's seen us.
That was a relief. Jenrya tried to find his partner through the hole torn in the canvas. Several parts of the ground were still on fire, the colorless flames twisting and crackling merrily in the rain. Steam drifted up into the night as the fire-pits evaporated the water. The flower shop's storefront was almost completely destroyed; the entire brick portion buckled inward and the center looked nothing more than melted slag. It was barely standing. Jenrya continued to scan the area.
His heart quickened as he caught sight of Gargomon. His partner unsteadily forced himself to his feet from where he stopped sliding due to running into a trash can. Despite the surprise attack, the gun-bunny looked like he was still able to fight.
"Is he okay?" Ryo whispered.
"Yeah. Wish I could get his attention," Jenrya whispered back. On the other side of the tunnel, he caught a glimpse of another flurry of cables. A burst of thin, thread-like beams of scarlet energy lanced out into the air, followed by another discharge of hissing red light that sliced at the coils, as if it was some sort of deadly laser show. An explosion ripped through the night.
Just what was going on over there?
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It was precisely because Ruki ran late she'd heard the sounds of a battle starting on the other side of the tunnel.
She and Alice arrived at their destination a few minutes late. Even before they came into sight of the tunnel, the sounds of an inhuman roar drifted from beyond the entrance, along with flares of white light (fire?) flashing up in the distance. She had Renamon digivolve into Kyuubimon. Ruki's quick thinking paid off when they also fell under attack.
It was only a block from the tunnel's entrance when the coils appeared. Hundreds of them burst from the ground, throwing up chunks of pavement and sparking with electricity as they rose up through the rain in a large writhing mass. Dobermon stopped in his tracks with a growl, Alice looking up with alarm.
The wires – some looked like the huge electrical cables running underground, others so small they looked like they'd been ripped from a payphone – encircled them, blocking off their retreat. Ruki could feel her partner's hackles rising in response. Aside from the scrapping and rustling whenever the cables brushed against one another, the mass was silent.
So this's what attacked Ryo, Ruki realized. She could feel the tense energy in her partner's body and her fingers tightened in response. These…things were probably hostile: her Digimon knew this as well as she did. At the first sign of movement, Kyuubimon was ready to lunge into any direction.
For a long second, the coils only hovered in the air, weaving and curling like giant snakes entwined.
Without warning, they struck.
Ruki held on tightly to her partner as Kyuubimon leaped straight up into the air. Several of the cables smashed into their former position and tore through the concrete as if it were only made of tissue, half-tunneling through it as they double-backed around for another pass. Kyuubimon evaded the next mass of cables spiraling in from their left: they ploughed into the wall behind her, demolishing it into rubble. From above came another wire-cluster in a corkscrew.
It was all Ruki could do to keep from falling off Kyuubimon, much less slash a card.
Ruki managed to catch a glimpse of Alice and Dobermon. They dodged the lightning-fast strikes from their silent attackers as best they could. When the thickest of the cable-bunches dove at them, Dobermon bounded up on top of the writhing mass, running along the surface in order to get closer to Kyuubimon and Ruki. In response, the mass dissolved into individual wires and dropped Dobermon back onto the ground. He narrowly managed to escape the thinnest cables that tried to wrap around his paws and trip him.
"Ruki, I can't keep running forever!" Kyuubimon leaped backward as a coil with the width of a telephone pole hammered at where she'd been only a second before. The pavement crumpled under the sheer force. The large cable wormed away as another attacked from their right, forcing Ruki to duck.
"I know! Show this thing what you can do!"
Kyuubimon spun in a quick circle, her tails rising. "Fox Tail Inferno!"
The nearest of the attackers fell back, several in ghostly blue flames as exposed insulation caught on fire. The smaller ones hit fell to the ground and twitched, unable to function and respond to the main driving force. But there were still more tendrils coming from all directions. Another salvo and then Kyuubimon was forced to run again. She streaked toward Dobermon.
"Schwarz Strahl!" The red energy beams spread from Dobermon's spiked collar and struck down several of the wires. They tumbled to the ground in neatly cut pieces, ends cauterized.
"Fox Tail Inferno!"
"Schwarz Strahl!"
For a few brief minutes, Dobermon and Kyuubimon were on the offensive, aggressively firing attack after attack on whatever writhed closest to them through the rain. But it seemed like the more they rendered immobile, the more that simply rose to replace them. The largest of the cables undulated in the air, sparking green as they twisted into a mass and dissolved just as easily into separate wires that would shoot off from the main clusters and come at them from any angle.
We can't keep this up! Kyuubimon was capable – Ruki knew that – but these things weren't tiring! Whatever was behind the wheel had way more stamina then either Kyuubimon or Dobermon. Soon they were back where they started: running. And if this kept up, they wouldn't be able to even do that.
The problem was there was too much open space, a part of Ruki's mind reflected, detached and analytical even as the rest of her focused on staying on her partner and barking warnings. The open air meant these things, whatever they were, had plenty of room to maneuver. If Alice and Ruki wanted to have any hope for a defense, they needed some sort of advantage…
The tunnel.
Of course! These things couldn't possibly maneuver in that cramped of a space. So long as they had several sides protected by the tunnel, Ruki was confident they could hold these things off with way less effort then it took just to evade them, as Kyuubimon and Dobermon were doing now.
"Alice!" Ruki called. She bit back a startled curse as one of the wires got close enough to tear at her jeans before Kyuubimon danced away. "Tunnel!"
The foreigner nodded. Dobermon zigzagged through the deadly maze of living cables and wires with Kyuubimon not far behind. The coils surged and thrust at them along the way. Alice had already managed to reach the tunnel and Dobermon was fending off the serpentine attackers trying to come in after him. Ruki risked a glance around her. On all sides were wires and cables, forming an ever-changing net that turned and jetted forward ahead of her in order to cut Kyuubimon off from Dobermon.
We're not going to make it, Ruki realized. It was as if someone dumped cold water on her.
Whatever they were fighting reacted like it calculated this: what better way to separate them? Tire them out enough and then pick them off at its own leisure. Whatever they were fighting, it didn't feel any of any pain, didn't tire. Didn't care. Kyuubimon raced toward the red glow of the tunnel's entrance but Ruki could see the cables shooting past them were going to beat them there, no matter how fast she ran or how hard she pushed herself for that extra second.
Ruki only focused on what was happening before her. She didn't see the wires coming at her from behind.
Alice did, however. She made a quick decision then: she couldn't afford to lose Ruki Makino and if they needed to resort to desperate measures, then so be it.
"Do it. 'Stromstärke'."
Dobermon nodded.
Bracing all four paws and making sure he was grounded properly, the dark Digimon began to unleash the inner seals on the generator plugged into his furred flesh through his spiked collar. It thrummed on, rising in pitch as the spikes protruding out from his collar began to vibrate. The air around Dobermon and Alice shimmered as the hum increased. The nearest wires that crept too close to the distorted air convulsed and then flopped onto the ground, inactive.
"E-Pulse Stromstärke!" Dobermon released the generator's final seal.
The distorted area around them spurted out in a powerful sphere with an echoing boom. It rocketed through the wires and continued to spread outward, the air shimmering as the EMP blast shot out in an ever-widening arc. The cables and wires shuddered under the wave, floundered and fell with clatters to the pavement upon contact. The E-Pulse Stromstärke reached Kyuubimon and Ruki.
At contact with the Stromstärke, Kyuubimon abruptly staggered and veered off to the side, disoriented as the closest thing to nausea and dizziness assaulted the Champion. Her legs gave out under her as they refused to obey her orders. It was all Kyuubimon could do to fall in such a way that she wouldn't pin her Tamer under her. Ruki hit the ground and rolled off as her Digimon collapsed out from under her.
The wave's mirage-air continued to expand outward and cut down all the cables in the area. Within a few seconds of the release of the E-Pulse, the battleground fell quiet as the last of the cables tumbled down, lifeless. The entrance to the tunnel and the grounds outside it were littered with the fallen wires, draped motionless across the sidewalk, the railings lining the street, and wherever the wires had succumbed to the Stromstärke's effective range. Silence.
Ruki picked herself up, new scrapes on her arms raw and stinging in the night air. Even with the rain's water on the ground, she'd still gotten banged up from her fall off Kyuubimon.
"Are you alright?" Kyuubimon asked shakily.
Ruki glanced at her partner. "You should be asking yourself that."
Her snout wrinkled in open confusion. "I…I don't know what happened to me."
"I'm sorry we had to do that to you," Alice said, stepping over the still forms of the cables. Dobermon followed his partner. He looked drained, canine head bowed with weariness. "But it was necessary."
Ruki stared at her, torn between anger and bewilderment. "Just what did you do?"
"We used a modified EMP," Alice replied. "It's not something we use often, since the Tümmler generator will effect whatever is near it, not just the enemy."
"So what happened to Kyuubimon was…?"
"From the E-Pulse Stromstärke," Alice finished for her calmly. "It affects Digimon because of their data."
"Why didn't you tell us about this?" Ruki demanded.
"There wasn't a need. I didn't think we'd have to use it."
Ruki threw up her hands, annoyed. There was no point in arguing at this time though. She glanced over at her partner. Despite the tumble, Kyuubimon looked like she was recovering fast. She shook off the last remnants of dizziness, looking down her snout at the two humans.
"How long will this effect last?" Kyuubimon gave the fallen wires a pointed look.
"I don't know. We've never used it against anything like this."
"Then let's not press our luck," Kyuubimon said. "Jenrya should've been here by now."
"That battle we heard…?" Dobermon rasped: his voice was hoarse, as if he was recovering from some sort of sickness. He was about to say something else, but Alice stopped him, laying a hand on his black nose.
"Jenrya could've been in that battle. He might've been ambushed like we were," Ruki lifted herself back onto Kyuubimon's back. "I'm going to the other end. If he did get attacked, he's probably needs our help."
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Jenrya forgot something important.
When Ryo and he managed to escape from the flower-shop, and found hiding in the construction lot, he thought that they were going to be safe. He assumed that just because Black Growlmon couldn't see them, that meant he couldn't find them. Somehow he forgot all about Black Growlmon's powerful sense of smell.
You're an idiot, Jenrya told himself, biting his lip nervously. Even the fires and constant rain probably weren't enough to mask their presence. Not only did the Champion know his scent by heart, he had to be able to smell the fresh blood from Ryo's injury, whether he recognized the human or not. Now what?
Black Growlmon returned from the alley. Lifting his wedge-shaped snout, he tasted the air, giving an experimental sniff. His nostrils flared. Jenrya froze.
"Gargo Laser!"
A burst of shots enveloped the virus-Digimon in a cloud. Distracted and further infuriated, Black Growlmon whipped about, acid-yellow eyes fixing wildly on his attacker. Gargomon faced him, the barrels of his guns fixed on the other Champion. Black Growlmon let out a jet of fire from his snout, snorting as he prepared to attack. Jenrya hurriedly went for one of his cards: he wasn't going to let Gargomon fight without help.
Black Growlmon was already barreling at the gun-bunny as Jenrya slashed his card.
"Digi-Modify! High Speed Plug-In B, activate!"
Hearing Jenrya's voice, the Shadow suddenly switched directions and turned toward the construction site. Jumping to his feet, Ryo started to push Jenrya toward the ladder leading up to the second floor of the unfinished office building, but Black Growlmon never made it to the site. He found Gargomon abruptly blocking the way.
"I don't know what happened, but you have to listen to us!" Gargomon pleaded. Despite the fact he had his guns aimed at his friend again, he didn't look like he wanted to shoot. "Tell us what's wrong!"
"You're alive!" Black Growlmon hissed. "You're making it hurt!"
"Then tell us how we can help! We don't want to hurt you!"
"You always did! You lied to me, you lied to him! You never wanted us!" Black Growlmon's voice rose as he spoke to a rage-filled shout. "But he told me the truth! You're all a disease! We have to flush you out like the disease you all are."
"I'm your friend!"
Black Growlmon wasn't listening anymore. He shook his head from side to side, snarling in pain at something neither Gargomon, Jenrya or Ryo could see. His yellow eyes rolled, the slits of his pupils dilating and contracting as he grew more and more distressed.
"You're all a disease!" Black Growlmon cried. "I have to flush an infection from a wound before it spreads. You want to infect him, make him hurt even more! I have to flush you all out!"
"Growlmon - !"
Black Growlmon bared his fangs and swung at Gargomon with his glowing arm blades. "Plasma Blade!"
His agility improved from Jenrya's card slash, Gargomon was able to dodge the attack easily enough and zipped to the side. Black Growlmon slashed at him again, only to have the other Champion dodge that strike as well with the same ease. But Gargomon didn't attack. A crafty expression crossed Black Growlmon's features then and was gone as he watched the other Digimon with his golden eyes. He feinted like he was making a third attempt with his Plasma Blades and Gargomon started to dodge…
And found himself caught in the viselike grip of Black Growlmon's claws. He squirmed frantically, trying to kick free, but his friend's claws might as well have been made of iron. Black Growlmon loomed over the smaller Champion, his snake's eyes looking for a vital spot to plunge his fangs into.
"No! Gargomon!"
"Jenrya, stop!"
Jenrya pushed Ryo forcefully aside. Ryo tried to grab at his jacket but missed, getting only air as the Tamer ran toward the two Digimon locked together. Gargomon had raised his gun-sights so they rested against his opponent's chest. Despite the fact he was at point-blank range, he didn't fire. Finding what he was looking for, Black Growlmon went for the kill, jaws wide as he bent to tear at his prey's neck.
He didn't make it.
Ryo had run out after Jenrya the moment the other boy broke his cover. For a split second, running after the Tamer and unable to keep up with the other's breakneck speed, he thought he saw a distortion in the air. The falling rain shimmered and warped like a giant mirage. What the - ? Next thing he knew, the wave was right on top of them.
Ryo collapsed to his knees as his vision blacked out for a second. He went completely blind for that long moment as he lost all sense of where he was. Time and space disappeared.
The swirling star-spots before his eyes faded and he looked up, still light-headed.
Ryo wasn't sure if it he was seeing things because of his brief blackout, but something happened since that weird wave hit them. Jenrya had pulled to a stop in his reckless race to get to his partner, now unsure what to do as a bizarre scene unfolded before him.
Gargomon and Black Growlmon had separated. Gargomon lay stunned and thoroughly winded on his back, after a few seconds moving sluggishly to get into a sitting position. Something had knocked him flat on his back but other than that, he looked fine, and, most importantly, alive. The fatal bite Jenrya feared he'd see on his partner's neck was missing.
Black Growlmon hadn't been floored like Gargomon had, but he was weaving about like he was drunk. The Champion stumbled and a low keening sound escaped from him that sounded more pitiful than threatening. For several seconds his hide began to flicker, the scales glinting back to the familiar red. It wavered between alternations of red and black as Black Growlmong staggered away from them into the gloom, head bobbing erratically from side to side as his tail twitched.
Jenrya almost ran after Black Growlmon before he vanished, but the sight of both Ryo and Gargomon sprawled on the ground brought him up short. When he looked over his shoulder again, Black Growlmon was gone.
He finished looking Gargomon over and was relieved to find that he was okay, if not shaken. Ryo was still on his knees when Jenrya came over to check up on him.
"You okay?"
Ryo rubbed at his head with his good hand. "I guess."
"What happened?"
"No idea," Ryo brought his hand down, brushing rain from the faint line of a healed scar under his eye. Kneeling this close to the other boy, Jenrya was vaguely surprised he hadn't ever noticed it before. "I was trying to run after you to stop you and I dunno. I just blanked out."
Jenrya glanced at Gargomon. His partner had described something similar. "You blanked out?"
"Yeah. Like passing for a second."
"So you passed out?"
Ryo was irritable as he tried to brush his wet hair from his eyes. "No, I didn't. I was okay when I went after you. Something hit us and that's why I blanked out."
"I didn't see anything. How come I wasn't affected?"
"Beats me. You're asking the wrong person."
About to add more, Ryo swayed unsteadily. Jenrya reached out and caught him before he toppled over into one of the puddles lining the street. Ryo pushed away from Jenrya with a grimace.
"I'm just light-headed," Ryo muttered. "Go be with Gargomon."
Ruki, Kyuubimon, Alice and Dobermon finally arrived then. Ruki stared, taken aback just as much as her partner. It was like some sort of war-zone: clusters of white fire burned in spots on the pavement, too hot to be dowsed by the steady rain. Clouds of thick steam curled into the night. Her eyes went from the half-destroyed storefront to the melted halves of a Brave Shield lying on the ground to the soggy group huddled in front of her.
Jenrya looked up as the two Digimon and their riders approached. Getting to his feet and helping Ryo do the same, he felt relief surge through him, although there was the beginnings of anger. They came too late. But he was glad to see they at least made it in one piece. Gargomon stood behind his Tamer as Jenrya noticed the new girl with Ruki.
She looks like a doll. Her blonde hair was pulled into twin pig-tails, drooping now under the rainwater, her already pale skin looking white in the downpour. Clothed from head to toe in all black, the new Tamer bore an expression that looked to be closer to cold indifference than anything else. Her blue eyes passed passively from him, to Gargomon and then lingered frostily on to Ryo.
Without bothering to even discuss it, the group relocated to the relative dryness of the tunnel. Red light bathed them as they tried to figure out what happened. Ryo hovered just beyond Gargomon, his black eyes on Alice with barely veiled distrust as Ruki related what happened on their end that stopped them from coming to help earlier. She started to describe the EMP blast when Gargomon interrupted her:
"Wait, so that's what knocked us over?"
Alice nodded. "Again, I apologize. The generator wasn't built to tell the difference between enemies and friends."
Ryo only made a sardonic snort at this. He wasn't happy with getting knocked on his ass, nor was he having fun nursing the headache he had as a souvenir. Jenrya blinked, recognizing the description of Ruki's attackers.
"That sounds exactly what we fought last time," Jenrya frowned.
"Yeah, figured," Ruki paused. Might as well get the introductions over with. "Jenrya, Alice McCoy and Dobermon."
Jenrya offered an uncertain nod. Gargomon gave a little wave with his gun-barrels.
"And this is Jenrya Lee, his partner Gargomon, and Ryo Akiyama."
Alice's eyebrow rose at the mention of the last name, the first sign of actual emotion since they met outside in the rain. She now turned her piercing blue eyes on Ryo, openly staring. Ryo scowled in return. He couldn't help but feel unease at that silent stare. It felt like she was trying to see through him. He wished she'd stop looking at him like that.
"Ryo Akiyama…?" Alice tilted her head. "I thought you died."
"You thought wrong," Ryo retorted tersely. Between the headache and the screwed-up hand, he really wasn't in the mood for this.
Alice started to say something, but thought better of it, instead asking, "Where's Takato Matsuda and his partner?"
Everyone assembled stared at her. Jenrya looked away, face flushing. Ruki's features darkened as Gargomon shuffled his feet, Kyuubimon's expression unreadable. No one else spoke as Alice gazed at them. Their uneasiness only increased. Jenrya sighed. Someone was going to have to say something
"We don't know where Takato is. He vanished a week ago," Jenrya tried to keep his voice level. He wasn't sure how much he succeeded. "And for Guilmon…"
He couldn't finish as the events of the night came rushing back and the depth of tonight hit him. Ryo picked it up for him, his voice flat as he began to explain what happened at their end of the tunnel.
"Black Growlmon was here right before you guys rolled in. He had a nice little reception waiting. Tried to kill us and delete Gargomon and everything," Ryo said. His voice was strained as another throb of pain bubbled up from his broken fingers. Ryo was really starting to regret breaking that window. "He probably digivolved from Takato's Guilmon, unless there's other Guilmons running around."
Ruki shook her heard. "No, there's only one. Why would he try to kill you?"
"'Black' Growlmon? That's not a normal evolution," Alice said quietly.
Ryo glanced at Jenrya, and then continued. "I know it's not. But something happened to him. Or to Takato. If the bond between them is strong, what happens to one will translate to the other." He knew that all too well. "Digimon can mutate. All I know is Black Growlmon was saying some weird stuff, like we were all a disease and that he had to kill us so he'd be better."
Ruki actually paled at this. Could Ryo be lying? But Jenrya only gave a little nod as he finished speaking.
"It's true," Jenrya said. "He kept saying we were hurting them and that he wasn't going to let us get close to 'him'."
"We didn't do anything!" Gargomon cut in. "I tried to get Black Growlmon to stop, but he wouldn't listen!"
"Then we have a problem on our hands," Kyuubimon replied. Her eyes met everyone else's. The Champion's voice was calm and carefully controlled. "We may have to be prepared to face him in the future. Fight him if need be."
"Kyuubimon has a point. I don't like it either, but we do have to defend ourselves. We can't try to find out what's wrong if we don't," Ruki crossed her arms. Next to her, Alice appeared to be deep in thought, turning this news over. "Obviously Black Growlmon was talking about Takato when he was going on about a 'he'. So whatever happened is related to everything that's going on now."
"Nothing's changed. We still don't know anything," Jenrya sighed.
For a minute, everyone fell silent, avoiding each other's eyes, with the exception of Alice. She gazed at everyone in turn, Digimon and human alike as she measured them up. Her next question was out of the blue:
"What happened to your hand?"
Ryo glanced down at it. It was still bleeding and he was half-glad of that, because thanks to the mask of blood he couldn't see how bad the injury was. Not that he couldn't feel it – it hurt like hell - but at least he didn't have to see it. It was bad enough he could already see that some of the fingers were twisted at an unnatural angle, remaining limp and motionless whenever his hand moved.
"It happened during the fight with Black Growlmon," Ryo answered, not sure why Alice would care. The way she kept looking at him creeped him out. "Had to punch out a window so we wouldn't get killed."
"We got to get it treated. You can't go running around bleeding all over the place like that," Jenrya said guiltily. He'd almost forgotten about Ryo's hand.
"It's not like I'm bleeding to death," Ryo rolled his eyes. "Look, it's already starting to stop."
Jenrya stared at him and then almost smiled, as if Ryo said something funny. "You can't leave it like that, Ryo," he turned to Alice and Ruki. "I'll take him to the ER. You guys are coming, right?"
Ruki nodded.
"Yeah. I don't want another meeting getting getting one crashed too."
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Jenrya wasn't pleased.
Takato could feel it even before his friend arrived. He backed himself into one of the walls as if he could protect himself from Jenrya, trying to make himself appear as small as possible. When Jenrya suddenly appeared and strode purposefully toward him, those claws clenching and unclenching, Takato flinched expectantly.
You didn't finish them off.
Takato shrank under Jenrya's alien eyes. I tried, I really did! He was whimpering. I tried to make Black Growlmon kill them, I really did. I tried for you.
Jenrya didn't blink. Then why are they not eliminated?
Takato shook his head frantically. He didn't know! Couldn't know! Black Growlmon had been doing great up to the point where he had one of the enemies in a fatal hold and was about to tear his throat out. But Takato didn't know what happened after that, it wasn't his fault, he suddenly had control jarred from him and Black Growlmon wasn't listening to him then. It wasn't his fault, Takato repeatedly softly and tried to press his back further into the white wall. Don't expel. Don't expel.
Jenrya suddenly reached out and caged Takato in with his arms. His gently curving claws rested on the spotless wall on either side of Takato's heads, fingers splayed. The sleeves of his loose black shirt fell back slightly to reveal the dark growth of his claws had extended up to his forearms now. The avatar's mutation kept growing by the hour.
Jenrya leaned close to the trapped Will.
You won't fail again, Jenrya said. It wasn't a question, but a fact. His face was only mere inches away from Takato's, his silver-within-black eyes narrowed slightly. The expression softened slightly, We were hit by some type of electromagnetic pulse. Primary control in that area is disabled. Because you didn't have a stronger hold over your Digimon, it tempoarily cut him off from you.
Takato rested against the wall limply, head hanging. He'd really tried for Jenrya.
Trying is not enough.
Takato wilted between the bars formed by Jenrya's arms. He had done his best. His glassy red eyes lowered. Even though waves of pain assaulted him when Jenrya took the brunt of the attacks from those two female-enemies, he had managed to hold onto his link with Black Growlmon.
Jenrya didn't move away, his close proximity like a looming shadow that Takato both feared and adored. He wanted to desperately please his friend, make him smile like he had when they talked after the chaos when Takato broke. Jenrya could easily throw him away like discarded trash, leave him like everyone else. But Jenrya was still his friend, still capable of something aside from eating and killing.
And now Jenrya was so close to him Takato could feel his absent breath on his cheek. Jenrya didn't breath, had stopped breathing long ago. Takato shuddered.
Jenrya released him, straightening as his clawed arms dropped to his sides.
Locate your Digimon. Make sure he was not damaged significantly from the electromagnetic pulse, Jenrya said and turned away. Takato nodded numbly. Jenrya wasn't pleased with him, but he could see his friend wasn't going to abandon him. A mixture of guilt and relief. The next time I let you help me, I want you able to keep control no matter what.
Takato nodded again, eyes lowered in shame. He would try harder, as much as it took.
Don't disappoint me again like this, TAKATO MATSUDA.
He shrank inwardly, unable to summon up a response. Jenrya left him then, fading out as he withdrew from the room as silently as always. Takato was left alone to try to figure out just what he could do the next time.
It hadn't been difficult to portray the illusion of disappointment and mild-betrayal for the Juggernaut. Each interaction with the Will and his Digimon made it easier and easier to master the tricky simulation of emotions. The Juggernaut was incapable of feeling angry anyway. Its calculations simply failed to have enough information, hence these errors. Even superior machines like itself were prone to make mistakes if there wasn't enough data to input into the scenario simulations.
The battle with these humans supplied that data. The supercomputer hadn't known Alice McCoy had an EMP generator. While the Juggernaut was fully capable of driving off humans and Digimon alike, it was devices like that which might make it...troublesome. The Juggernaut thought it had disposed of all such devices in the area, knowing full well a blast from one would leave it – in a manner of speaking – 'stunned' with a hole in its defenses.
Apparently one bypassed its notice.
The Juggernaut would analyze the battle data and see to it precautions were taken. The sentient machine knew it was feasible to calculate the strength of the EMP used against it and to improve itself.
In response to this threat, it would have to evolve further to be stronger.
It would be better prepared next time.
By the next contact with these targets, the Juggernaut wouldn't be as easily driven back by a simple electromagnetic pulse as it had been tonight. By then, the Will would be in better control of his own facilities. Black Growlmon was a valuable asset: the Juggernaut intended to keep the Digimon that way. Black Growlmon would have to withstand any further EMP blasts and becoming stronger against it as well if he was to be of any use.
Unperturbed by tonight's failure, the Juggernaut set to work on its nightly duties, absorbing the constant energy from the incoming Golems and running calculations on its new improvements. Finally locating Black Growlmon wandering, lost, in the darkness of a dead-end street, it called him back with deceptively gentle words, Takato's voice promising another chance. As the virus-Digimon responded favorably to the Juggernaut, the Will began to assert its tendrils of control across the bond. The flickering of red on the Digimon's hide settled comfortably back into the normal shade of black.
They would strike again, naturally. It could afford to wait a day, or a week. Either way, it would finish what it started.
It was only a matter of time and it had plenty.
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Yamaki was distracted. No matter what Reika did, what tricks she pulled to try to make him relax, he was still taut with tension. The model frowned at the rumpled sheets of their bed. They didn't volunteer any answers. Reika rolled onto her side, listening to the shower's running water. This was out of their normal routine and she had to wonder what it meant.
Instead of going to sleep after their business, Yamaki had forced himself out of bed. Reika looked up, startled.
"What're you doing?"
"Shower," was all Yamaki would say and he padded off naked into the bathroom and shut the door.
Yamaki had never shown any interest in getting up after they finished; much less in actually taking a shower, just like that. Reika tried to figure this strange new development out. Something bothering him more than usual. That much was obvious. And dammit, now she knew she wasn't going to get any sleep if Yamaki wasn't. She was too curious. Is it because of Nagamora's blockade? No, something more. He'd been able to get satisfied those previous nights. Something else bothered him.
The water ran for about ten minutes, shushing quietly behind the closed door of the bathroom across from their bed. Reika stretched her long legs languidly, listening to the shower. She was tired physically – like her work, she took bed matters seriously and applied herself as much as she could in both – but her mind wasn't ready to turn in just yet.
A few minutes later, Yamaki stepped out. Her boss toweled his hair dry as he began going through his closet and pulling out some loose clothing. Reika sat up.
"Aren't you going to sleep?" she asked, knowing full well the answer.
Yamaki dressed himself quickly. He pulled on the blue shirt he'd tossed on the end of the bed and kicked the towel back into the bathroom. "No. Got some work to do. Go back to bed."
"I'm already in bed," Reika said dryly.
"Then go to sleep," Yamaki answered just as dryly. "That's what the bed's for."
"Look, enough. I'm also one of your employees. If it's work, then I should be helping you."
Yamaki shrugged. "Suit yourself."
He left the bedroom and went into the small living room of his apartment without another word. Reika groped about for the slip she left lying on the bed-stand and, finding it, shrugged into it. As an afterthought, she went through Yamaki's closet and borrowed one of his oversized shirts. The red material fell to her waist. Feeling less cold, she padded after her boss. To her utter lack of surprise, Yamaki was smoking again. His lighter stood upright on the coffee table that he now hunched over.
Reika leaned over the couch behind Yamaki. He had brought his laptop from his personal office, open now with an array of windows. For the first minute or so, Yamaki alternated and tampered with each one with such speed that she had difficulty following him. But eventually he stopped, leaning back with a defeated grunt around the cigarette between his lips.
"What's this?" Reika asked.
"An e-mail I got a few days ago. I thought it would make sense once it was translated from English to Japanese," Yamaki let a frustrated curl of smoke. "But even in Japanese, it doesn't make much more sense."
"'Your savior is the harbinger of the digital apocalypse.'" Reika read off the screen from over his shoulder. "And I'm guessing the rest are names?"
"Yeah. Some of them I realized later I recognized: for example, Janyuu Lee is listed. I know for a fact his son is running around with one of those…things," Yamaki scowled. It was stupid of him to let these kids make the same mistakes as the others had. As Junko had. He still didn't know why he didn't delete their Digimon and save them from themselves. "But I also know he was involved in a project that helped the Digimon too."
Reika nodded. She knew about that as well: they weren't classified cases in Hypnos. It was fairly public to anyone working there.
"So what about the others?"
"Rob McCoy is another one. I should've recognize him earlier. A few of the others I know too. But there's several that I don't."
"These are coordinates?"
"More than likely. I haven't had a chance to get the satellite feed with its location yet."
"And that line?"
"I honestly don't know what the hell it means," Yamaki said angrily. "I've been trying to figure it out all day."
Reika, seeing that Yamaki was planning on staying up, went over to the kitchen and set a pot of coffee dripping before she returned to sit next to her boss on the couch. Reika reread the line again and then one more time as she turned it over carefully, trying to examine it from all sides. The only defense she knew against a "digital" threat was Hypnos, of course. Yamaki probably already figured this out. The main problem isn't the last part of the line, she thought, frowning. She stared hard at the innocent characters on the laptop's screen.
"Obviously they're referring to us in the last part," Reika mused aloud. "Even if we're protecting the Real World, it could still apply to Hypnos."
Yamaki's cigarette glowed red at the end. "I thought of that. But we're not doing anything that could help the Wild Ones."
"Well, what about this part?" Reika pointed at the words 'savior' and 'harbinger' in the e-mail. "Let's just assume they mean Hypnos. So then it's probably not Hypnos itself, but something within it that's 'harbinger'. It's something we think is our 'savior'."
Yamaki nodded. "Go on."
Reika paused. She hadn't really thought that far, but she continued to plough ahead, going out on a limb as she continued trying to figure out the line. She found her cheeks were burning slightly at Yamaki's attention and hastily fixed her attention on the screen, wondering why she was acting like a schoolgirl.
"Well, I don't know. I mean, it could be anything within Hypnos. It could be a computer program, or a virus, or even one of us," she stopped. An idea hit her as she thought about the last thing she'd said. "What about Kincaid?"
"She's hardly a prominent figure. I don't see how she could bring Hypnos down. She's barely got enough security clearance to even go up to the upper offices."
"Then what about Nagamora?"
That brought Yamaki up short. His cigarette hanging loosely between his lips, he leaned over toward the laptop and brought up another window, fingers flying. Reika watched with growing interest.
"Don't tell me you're hacking into his private networks."
Yamaki flicked a look at her that bordered on boyish. "I already did."
"What? When?" Reika exclaimed. She barely heard the beep of the coffee machine.
"This evening before we left work. I also ran a background check on Kincaid too, but I haven't had time to go over the information yet."
Reika suppressed the tempting urge to sigh. How could he get into those networks so quickly? Did he have hobbies? Things to do outside of Hypnos and fueling his paranoia? But then again, why was she even surprised in the first place? Sometimes it was easy to forget Yamaki was capable at other things than being a taskmaster/babysitter to all his underlings. More than capable, even: after all, he'd been the one who designed the foundation programs Hypnos relied on.
The coffee machine beeped again insistently. Yamaki hurriedly got up and came back with two cups of black coffee, steam still rising from them. He handed one to Reika before sitting down again in front of the laptop. "The background check on Kincaid's done. Want to see it?"
"Sure," Reika leaned forward with him to get a closer look. She was surprised Yamaki wasn't getting sarcastic at her as he usually did. But she wasn't complaining since she was starting to enjoy trying to solve this problem and she didn't mind he was just as interested in it as she was. "Aren't you worried they're going to trace you?"
"It doesn't matter if they know or not. Here's what I got."
The two adults focused on the information filtering across the screen from the networks:
Name: Kincaid Donovan
Sex: Female
ID Number: 929-83-2324A
Nationality: American
Place of Birth: Phoenix (SC), California, USA
Age: 28
Status: Alive
Species: Human
Parents: Scott Donovan, Sarah Montalbane (deceased)
Next Relative: Martin Montalbane (uncle)
Threat Level: Low
Current Residence: Shinjuku, Tokyo, JP
Current Employment: Classified
Current Employment (Access Granted): Level-B Technician, Hypnos
Additional information (Access Granted): Donovan, Kincaid. Graduated from University of California, Berkley after transferring from University of California, Phoenix after her first year. Worked for five months for the FBI (United States Federal Bureau of Investigation) after being admitted, was eventually dropped due to inability to perform to standards. Transferred to Japan and applied for a technician-level job at Hypnos (Monitors Activity in Digital World, Public Protection). Was admitted as her performance with the necessary equipment was up to standards. Given clearance by Yamaki Mitsuo (Link to Profile) to oversee the completion of the (Access Granted) JUGGERNAUT Project (Link to Profile). Work nearly finished on the Juggernaut until unforeseen difficulties resulted in the Project's temporary shutdown.
Yamaki sat back, unsure if he was supposed to feel defeated or not. This profile wasn't much different than the official version, aside from where he'd gotten the access granted at the classified parts, which only led to information he already knew. On the other hand, something bugged him about this profile. Something was definitely off, but he wasn't sure what. He scanned it again.
"It seems too clean," Reika said. She took a sip of her coffee.
"I was thinking the same thing," Yamaki eyed the first part of the profile. "Everything looks in order. And I'm certain she is American, so she's where she says she comes from."
Reika stared hard again at the innocent profile. American…? Something about it wasn't right and she found herself staring more and more at one line. "What's SC mean?"
"State capital."
"…What's California's state capital?"
Yamaki looked it up. His face darkened as he caught what Reika started to suspect.
"Sacramento."
Her boss was already doing another search before Reika could even bring it up. She watched as he found out that there was no University of California, Phoenix. There wasn't even a city near Sacramento called that. The nearest place was another state over, in Arizona. The "Phoenix" there was the state capital. Yamaki was on a roll. He began investigating just about every bit of information in the profile, checking to see if any of it was false like Kincaid' place of birth and her place of education.
Reika had polished off her coffee and gone back for another when Yamaki finished.
"Whoever tried to make her profile was good: almost else everything matches up. There're records of her being in the FBI, and the people listed as her relatives are real people," Yamaki smiled for the first time all night, an expression bordering on predatory. "Too bad they made that mistake."
"So now we know she's not who she says she is," Reika offered to refill Yamaki's mug, but he declined. "What are you going to do?"
"I don't know yet. Thought I'd try to fire her from Hypnos, but it probably wouldn't work, not if she means something to Nagamora. He'll override me. It helps I know she's probably a threat."
Reika set down her cup. "What about Nagamora?"
"I'll look over his information too."
Reika nodded. The computer display said it was nearly midnight and she reminded him that he had to catch some sleep sometime. Yamaki waved her away. Reika remained sitting with him until it was well past two in the morning. She was exhausted when she finally stumbled back into bed, but she couldn't say she hadn't had a good night. It was strange, but tonight had been more satisfying then all the other times.
Yamaki remained in the living room even as Reika turned in for the night. There was just too much he had to do and he knew he couldn't get any sleep until he learned more. The fact that one of his own employees – a woman who really had no reason to have anything wrong with her profile – wasn't who she said she was meant something was wrong.
Someone's tampered with her profile. That much was clear. Yamaki stubbed out his cigarette. He doubted now that if he were to meet her so-called relatives, they would know who she was. But meeting them wasn't possible. So now he had a potentially subversive employee on his hands, a woman who appeared harmless enough at first. It didn't make sense for her to have a tampered profile.
The clock on his wall ticked quietly as he rested his chin, cupped, in one hand.
I don't know what to do with her. She could just be a spy for any one of the other highly classified divisions operating around the globe. If that was the case, he really didn't care if she was sneaking around or not, although he would make it a priority to relocate anything sensitive away from her reach. Yamaki would only start caring if she went beyond sneaking. If she compromised Hypnos's objectives.
Yamaki opened up another window on the laptop. While he wasn't too sure about Kincaid, he knew for a fact he didn't trust Nagamora. He went through his profile: it was similar to Kincaid's, except the locations were correct this time. On a whim, Yamaki went back to look at the files from four years ago.
In the darkness of the living room, the flickering of the laptop the only light against his face, Yamaki began to sort through them. Mentions of Digimon being spotted. Vague details about a certain Ataru Nagamora surfacing and then he vanished again only to reappear at the head of an increasingly successful, increasingly well-funded branch. Yamaki already knew about this. Hovering on the edges of his consciousness were memories from four years ago.
Yamaki closed his eyes, feeling that dull ache. His eyes throbbed with phantom pain again. He could still see that burst of white that both blinded him and killed his niece. All it took was him to close his eyes and suddenly he could feel himself falling, thrown through a window by the force of blast as debris cut his arms open. It got blurry around there.
There had been voices. One belonged to Musyamon. But the other…?
He hadn't ever thought about the other voice before. It hadn't seemed as important as the Digimon's.
But now there was something about it that bothered him. It was familiar. The more he tried to recall the words he'd heard then, the more he was convinced he had heard it before and that he did know who it belonged to. Only it slipped through his fingers now…
"Fuck," Yamaki breathed.
Shaking his head to push away the memories, he focused on his laptop. A new window popped up informing him of two things: that he had a message waiting and that his search for "Ataru Nagamora" on that specific date four years ago came up with one result, from the data he'd hacked into and copied earlier.
The message was from Nagamora himself, stating he wanted to see Yamaki in half an hour and it was imperative he come immediately. Yamaki knew he'd been caught intruding. It wasn't the first time and he hadn't even tried to cover his tracks today. His priority had been to go in, get everything he needed copied and then pull out. Yamaki wrote out a curt response and then clicked on the second window.
It was a brief report, one he hadn't seen before. After the death of his niece, he obsessively looked into everything regarding the incident. He'd thought he'd seen all there was about it. Apparently not. But he had delved deeper than ever before this time, so…
Yamaki read it.
The wording was vague, like the others. Some mentions to some sort of "Council" and then that the "schedule" was proceeding at a desirable rate. The incident with the Musyamon was not a set-back. His eyebrow rose at this. Musyamon had never been mentioned by name in the other reports. Mentioned now was the clean-up of the incident, a cursory description of the sole survivor, and then a few clips of video documentation, each neatly categorized. The report stated all documentation clips had been sent to the "Council" as proof of success.
An unreadable expression on Yamaki's face, he opened the first clip. It was only fifteen minutes long, fairly short for this sort of documentation, but with the sound-file missing and without color. The camera followed a man in a suit from behind as they strolled down the street. It looked like a bomb had gone off, scorch marks all over the line of stores farthest away from the blast radius. Those closest were heavily damaged, most with their windows blown out.
The camera followed doggedly, and then stopped, wavered in what might be fear as something emerged from the black smoke curling in the air. The man in the suit said something and the camera steadied unwillingly. Yamaki gripped the sides of the laptop as the shape materialized into a more solid form. He knew that armor, that sloping gray body, that rolling gait.
Musyamon.
It was like Yamaki was reliving his past through the eyes of another. The camera remained at a safe distance, taking a quick pan of all the damage and returning on the suited-man, who was striding forward to meet Musyamon. The Digimon had something in its ham-fists and it took a moment to realize what it was. Yamaki was looking at himself. Musyamon lumbered toward the suited-man dragging Yamaki behind him, who looked like he was barely alive.
The unconscious man looked nothing like him, Yamaki couldn't help but think. Blood caked his arms and face, his blond hair matted in thick black clumps. He didn't even look like he was breathing. The suited man stopped before the two. Musyamon and the man in the business suit talked for a bit and Yamaki desperately wished he'd thought to find the sound-file for this clip. The camera shakily remained on them as they conversed – for a few seconds, the man in the suit was on a cell-phone - and then the Digimon suddenly turned and left after a respectful nod. The human prodded Yamaki with his shoe, looking down at him before turning.
Yamaki's breath caught. He had trouble breathing as the suited man approached the camera.
Ataru Nagamora.
Yamaki felt pure unadulterated rage sweep over him like a tidal wave, clouding his vision with red spots as he shook. Even with a beard, he could still recognize that face. Yamaki barely registered the images of Nagamora waiting for the ambulance and the paramedics taking the other man away. During the last ten minutes of the clip, he sat staring blindly at the laptop. The clip stopped and then began to replay itself as he did nothing, fingers curling into themselves so tightly he was sure he was going to start bleeding.
Yamaki sat staring for so long the moving images didn't make any sense anymore. They simply blurred together.
Nagamora. Nagamora had been there. Nagamora hadn't attacked Musyamon; instead, the bastard talked with him as if they were friends! Nagamora had known, had done nothing, had even encouraged it! He played nice with Digimon while pretending to help Hypnos. Yamaki wasn't aware of what his body was doing as he stood up and began to gather his keys, rooting about in one of his drawers for the gun he always kept there. His face was deceptively calm. All he could think about was Junko screaming at him for help. The morbid scene playing on repeat on the laptop, Musyamon towering over Nagamora.
Nagamora.
…Nagamora's words then. Nagamora's words at the hospital
Nagamora had never been against the Digimon in the first place. He was responsible for Junko, had to be responsible for all the other kids before who'd been killed. It's his fault. It was his fault and that was all Yamaki could think as he checked the pistol to see it if had a full clip. It didn't matter if Nagamora was human or not: he had no issues dealing with betrayals like this, even if it meant going after humans the same way he did Digimon.
Yamaki left his apartment silently. When Reika woke up several hours later and wandered into the living room, she found the same clip playing over and over on the laptop, Yamaki's abandoned lighter and sunglasses still standing next to it.
To be continued...
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