Part Two: The Gizumon Conspiracy
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"Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."
Nideo Corporation New York Office
New York City, USA
1:00 P.M.
Monday, April 30th, 2018
Pamela Grey waited patiently at her desk, her hands resting on her crossed legs. The fair skinned woman, in her early 50s, brushed a few fingers against the top of her blonde hair, which was tightly bound in a ponytail. As the head of Nideo's New York Office she already had a lot on her agenda, but the order of business to which she now had to attend brought a whole new set of stressors.
"Ma'am, Mr. Kojima has arrived." Her assistant sounded over the intercom.
"Send him in Philip." She instructed. A moment later the door opened, and a burly man in a form fitting, navy-blue suit walked in. His salt-and-pepper hair was combed to one side, and a thin mustache clung to his face.
"Pamela, how do you do?" He extended his arm, his fat fingers wrapping around her bony hand, though she gave a strong grip in return.
"Mateo, I'm glad you were able to make it today." She smiled.
"Well, I'll admit, it was a struggle finding room in my schedule, with all that's been happening recently." He said pleasantly, with a hint of irritation.
"That's actually why I contacted you." She explained. "The situation in Japan is troubling to everyone, especially considering how important the Kyoto office is to the company as a whole. Some information has come to light that, as CEO of the Kyoto branch, I thought you would want to know."
"Really now? Well please, enlighten me." Mateo was intrigued.
"Well, as it so happens, my office was contacted by the United Nations task force responsible for analyzing and interpreting the situation in Kyoto. Certain things about the investigation, which were withheld from me by the people I spoke with, had convinced them that it might be of benefit if there was any information from the Kyoto office on the day that the cloud appeared."
"Odd, what could my office possibly provide?" Mateo cocked his head.
"That's what I asked them, but they didn't seem to care specifically about the Nideo building. Mostly, they wanted any information we might have on anything that happened in the city on the day of the attack, specifically having anything to do with our servers. I told them it was doubtful we had any information, but I'd see what I could find."
"And obviously you've found something?" Mateo inquired.
"Quite," Pamela replied, "I tasked some specialists with seeing if they could extract any information from our shared server information from April 1st. Initially, they didn't find anything, but then they found a huge cache of information that had been sent over from your special projects division. A huge burst of data had been sent right around the time that the cloud appeared, it seems."
"How odd. Why would your office receive information concerning my special projects division?" Mateo seemed genuinely perplexed, but Pamela new him better than that. There wasn't anything that got past Mateo Kojima when it came to his business.
"Well, it seems that one of your employees caused it. The data dump seems to have been unintentional, but it was directed to our servers via the account of somebody named 'Koushiro Izumi', who thankfully had the foresight to contact the outside world shortly before communication was cut off with the city."
"And what did the information say?"
"Seemingly nothing of value," Pamela answered, "Only that he was working on extracting data from some old servers that had been acquired from a corporate merger, from when we absorbed what was left of Factory Mark. Were you aware of that project Mateo?"
"Of course," He nodded, "I commissioned them to extract as much information as possible from those old servers. Something useful ought to have come out of the acquisition of Factory Mark."
"Understandable," Pamela smiled, "But the task force seemed interested enough with what we found. They took the data yesterday."
"I appreciate you informing me, but I fail to understand what relevance this has, quite honestly." Mateo grumbled.
"Oh, I agree. I couldn't for the life of me tell you why they were so interested in that information. I was honestly perplexed. So I had a contractor on my private retainer gather some information for me. She got back to me a short time ago, which is when I called you." Pamela took a breath. "Factory Mark was involved in some complex government contracts back before they went under. And those servers have all the information concerning those contracts, and whatever they were working on. It's quite the find."
"What are you getting at?" Mateo glared.
"But you see, because those servers contained sensitive government information, both the Japanese and United States government's laid claim to them, way before we bought what was left of Factory Mark. Those servers were the property of the United States and Japanese governments, and representatives were discussing how to handle the dispute, when suddenly they were being processed at your offices." Pamela eyed Mateo worriedly. The man had a short temper, and she didn't want to provoke him into confrontation. "You're my friend Mateo, and a valued colleague, I thought you'd want to hear this from me. If my private investigator could pull this information out of the ether within the day, that task force will be on top of it before you know it. They might already be aware of it."
"I don't like this line of thought Pamela. I have nothing to hide. I acquired those servers when we purchased Factory Mark. If those two governments wanted them they should have contacted me about it."
"I think we both know it's not that simple, Mateo. Factory Mark was invested in some very cutting-edge technology back in the day, you know this. And based on the UN's response to the information I provided, I think both of us can be relatively certain that it's related to the technology involved in the Kyoto situation. That, combined with the fact that you aren't even supposed to have those servers in the first place, and that you flew for New York City mere hours before the cloud appeared…"
"What exactly are you accusing me of?" Mateo slammed his fist down onto her desk.
"I'm not accusing you of anything, Mateo. I'm warning you. They will find out. You need to sort out this mess before they find out anything more." Pamela said sincerely.
"I see," Mateo leaned back into his chair, "You're right Pamela, thank you for informing me of this. I need some time to go over this information." He stood up, straightening his blazer. "I'll see you at the shareholder meeting next month." He nodded before opening the door and leaving without another word. Pamela sighed as he left, knowing that there was more to the story.
"What did you do, Mateo?" She pondered. A moment of contemplation was followed by her pulling out her private cellular phone and making a quick call. "Kyoko?" She spoke. "I need you to keep looking into the Kyoto situation for me."
Kyoto, Japan
12:44 A.M.
Monday April 30th, 2018
Renamon watched the human and the four traitors from the corner of his eye. Impmon led the way, moving swiftly down the street as he led them towards the entrance to the subway system. The others were off to his right, bundled together in a group, while Renamon walked along the left flank. Blossomon had instructed him to aid the human on his quest, and while Renamon would follow his orders faithfully, he had no wish to befriend them.
"Enjoying yourself all alone over there?" He heard the Impmon scoff from up front. "Lonely? Need a friend?" He laughed.
"Don't antagonize him Impmon. "Palmon warned.
"I have no fear of the imp's jests." Renamon growled as he stepped forward, disappearing in a flash and appearing to Impmon's side. "If you have something to say, feel free to say it to my face. Or are you afraid of another beating?"
"I'm not afraid of you," Impmon grumbled, "You got lucky the last time."
"The only reason you claim not to fear me is that you have the others to protect you." Renamon glanced back at Takuya and the three Digimon beside him. "You know they'll keep you safe."
"Hey, I don't need anybody's help!" Impmon barked.
"Oh but you do." Renamon smiled. "In fact, it was only by the actions of those humans that you survived our encounter at all. Had the Willis boy not saved you, and had the one named Takuya not protected you from the collapse of the tower, you'd be dead right now."
"I can take care of myself." Impmon turned away.
"The sooner you come to terms with your weakness, you'll be the better for it."
"I'm not weak!"
"Oh but you are. You barely gave me a challenge when we fought earlier. You wouldn't survive even for a minute against the Gizumon. Realize your shortcomings, or you'll never make it out of this city alive. And don't worry, I have no interest in fighting you…" Renamon slowly backed away, returning to his previous position. "You're beneath me."
"Was that really necessary?" Takuya questioned angrily as Renamon returned to their side. Impmon had grown quiet once more.
"The imp started it. Maybe next time he'll think twice before critiquing his betters. And I told him nothing but the truth." Renamon replied.
"Listen, I know you're not exactly thrilled to be here, but if we don't work together the Gizumon will tear us apart. We can't be fighting amongst ourselves."
"We're here." Impmon said quietly before Renamon could respond. Takuya and the other four Digimon looked up, taking in their surroundings. Impmon had indicated to a staircase leading underground, which lead to the subway system. The surrounding area was sparse with buildings, and a number of shrines dotted the area.
"Odd…" Renamon mumbled.
"What is it?" Monmon inquired. Renamon glanced at them quickly. Down the street and to the right, no more than a five-minute walk, was the shrine at which that their commander Asuramon had taken residence. The lack of digital army members in the area was troubling, but more so was the proximity of the Gizumon's base to their command center.
"Nothing, I just thought I heard-"
KRAKA-KOOM! An earth-shaking explosion interrupted the fox lie. A burning red light appeared to their right, followed by billowing smoke.
"Oh no!" Renamon bolted towards the fire.
"Renamon, where are you going?" Palmon cried.
"My comrades are under attack!" Was all Renamon spoke before darting over the closest building.
"You idiot, we have to-!" Takuya began to call, but the rookie was gone. "Dammit… We have to go after him."
"Takuya, we can't! The digital army is still our enemy, or have you forgotten?" Dinoster argued.
"No, I haven't, but we made an agreement to work together. If the Gizumon are attacking the digital army, he's going into danger." Takuya didn't leave anything else up for debate. He ran down the nearest alley, leaving Dinoster, Palmon, and Monmon no choice but to follow. Impmon quietly stood, considering his options, but Renamon's words rang loudly in his head, so he gave chase to the others.
Renamon appeared at the edge of the shrine within a minute, but the chaos caused him to pause. A dozen Gizumon were in combat with an assortment of Agumons, Betamons, and Floramons. Their leader, a GeoGreymon, battled a Grimmon near the entrance to the shrine. Behind them, a towering cloven beast ducked inside. Asuramon… Renamon worried, but his comrades outside required his attention more. GeoGreymon, the orange and blue-striped tyrannosaurus with spikes protruding from his elbows, and a dark-brown bone skull with three protruding horns, was a formidable opponent, and had bested every Gizumon he'd come up against while in Kyoto, but the Grimmon were much stronger.
Renamon leaped into the air, soaring across the courtyard before the shrine, and landed atop one of the Gizumon who was battling an Agumon. He jammed his fist into the unsuspecting Digimon's eye, causing it to flail about wildly. Agumon acted quickly, firing a series of blasts at the Digimon's underside, while Renamon dug deeper into the monster's optical center and ripped out a series of cords. The Digimon spiraled to the ground as Renamon jumped to safety, and it crashed into the earth, exploding in a shower of data.
"Thanks for the save Renamon." Agumon nodded.
"No time, help the others!" He pointed out to the other rookies, who were quickly becoming overwhelmed by the Gizumon. Agumon obeyed and ran off into the field, leaving Renamon to turn his attention to GeoGreymon and the Grimmon. Already, the serpentine reaper was overpowering the captain, his tail wrapped around the dinosaur's chest, blade ready to slash across his neck. "Diamond Storm!" Renamon moved quickly, sending a stream of energy pellets at the Grimmon's back. The monster lashed out in protest, unraveling himself from the champion, and flung itself into the air.
"Mega Flame!" A deep throated roar erupted from the Greymon, who plumed fire from its mouth, which enveloped the off-guard Grimmon in the air.
"Diamond Storm!" Renamon provided another volley of energy at the creature, and the Grimmon vaporized amidst the heat.
"Your arrival was timely." Greymon growled with thanks. "Oh, blast it all…" The dinosaur glaring behind him, Renamon turned to see what had transpired. Agumon's interference had quickly turned the tide of the battle, allowing the Digimon to group up and eliminate three of the Gizumon. But the other nine had seen that they were outnumbered and retreated to each other, and were now combining into two larger creatures.
"They can fuse?" Renamon gasped.
"It seems so, but let's not wait. Attack!" The captain bellowed, causing the remaining Agumon, Betamon, and Floramon to lunge at the larger Gizumon fusions. The upgraded machines responded too quickly for the rookies, however, tearing them apart with their tubules as they approached. Only the lone Agumon bounced away unscathed. The Gizumon then turned their attention to Greymon and Renamon, taking off into the air towards them.
"No…" Renamon sighed. But from the night a shadow appeared above one of the Gizumon, spinning in the air with an outstretched tail, which slapped into the back of the monster, throwing him into the ground. A moment later the Coredramon known as Dinoster landed atop him, spewing a blue flame from his mouth.
"Go, attack the other one!" GeoGreymon quickly lunged at the second Gizumon, who was still aiming for them. He let out a series of flames at the creature before turning on a heel and slamming his tail into its gut. The Digimon enveloped the dinosaur's tail with its tubules, and as it consumed itself with the champion, Renamon lunged above it and fired a diamond storm into its eye, causing the Gizumon to lash about wildly, falling backwards and slamming into the earth. To their left, a series of vines held the Gizumon down while Dinoster continued to pummel its back. Tied to the dirt, the Digimon had no leverage to free itself as the dragon tore into the metal casing and ripped apart the wires within. The fused creature began tearing away into data shortly after.
"You didn't have to leave us behind." Takuya growled as he approached his partner, Monmon and Impmon by his side.
"You… came to help…?" Renamon was agape.
"I told you we needed to work together, didn't I?" He grinned.
"Renamon, those are the traitors, aren't they? What are they doing here?" GeoGreymon stared at them suspiciously.
"We came looking for the Gizumon, at the request of commander Blossomon. The Gizumon and Grimmon have posed a far greater threat than either of us could have foreseen." Renamon explained.
"Evidently." Greymon replied, still eyeing the newcomers.
"Look out!" Palmon cried, pointing behind them, but Greymon couldn't act in time to prevent the Gizumon from wrapping its tubules around his leg and pulling him into the air. It spun around, swinging Greymon in an arc around him, then slammed him into the ground in the middle of the field, forcing Takuya, Dinoster, and the rookies to all jump away. Greymon landed with a sickening thud, but when he did the earth buckled beneath him. Before Gizumon could release the creature, the ground below them caved in, sending them all falling into the earth.
1:00 A.M.
The violet-haired demon had overtaken Asuramon easily, lunging into the temple and stomping into his chest before the ultimate could react. A pair of Gizumon now held him down as the creature approached.
"Finally, I get to meet the head of the snake." Asuramon spat. "Care to tell me your name?"
"Heh," Its shoulders heaved as it laughed, "I am Mephistomon," He pulled his arm to the bottom of his chest and bowed.
"Hiya!" Piddomon appeared from above, his body driving his staff down towards Mephistomon's face. The demon cocked its head, letting the staff slide through his horns, and then swung it back into place, throwing Piddomon to the side. The demon snatched him out of mid-air, his palm wrapped around the angel's throat, as the staff clattered onto the floor.
"Do what you would with me, but allow my subordinate his life." Asuramon pleaded. "I am in command here."
"You?" Mephistomon smiled. "Who ever said anything about you?" Mephistomon squeezed, and in an instant Piddomon was gone, his data fluttering through the air. The demon then snatched his exposed core out of the air and consumed it.
"W-why…?" Asuramon gasped.
"You'll find out soon enough." A commotion outside caught their attention. Mephistomon stepped out of the temple to find the battle ended, a gigantic hole formed in the center of the field. "We're done here." Mephistomon beckoned as he departed, and the two Gizumon unleashed the ultimate, following their master. Asuramon resisted the urge to go after them, knowing that was a fight he could not win.
Kyoto Underground
1:00 A.M.
"Chrono Destruction!" Alice ducked down as Majester did his best to shield Koji and Alice from the blast, wrapping his tail around them and hunching his body over, his arm wrapped around Koji. But the beam slammed into his back within the second, sending him flying with his partner in arms. The Digimon crashed into one of the work stations, Koji rolling off of his chest. Alice shook as she stood, barely understanding what happened, when Wendigomon appeared beside her. She snatched her into her arms and bolted around the Grimmon before it could respond, scrambling into the hallway.
"Wait, what about Koji?" Alice cried as her partner scrambled down the hallway, aiming for the path back to the subway tunnels. But a mere moment later she heard a crash and a tearing of metal as the Grimmon crawled into the hallway after them, taking the doors to the room off of their hinges as it moved.
"Not safe!" Wendigomon growled as it galloped through the hall, narrowly swinging into the dark, earthen pathway. She hoped the path would be too narrow for the Grimmon to pursue, but the monster twisted its body, slithering into the hallway behind them. Having more freedom of motion, Wendigomon increased his pace, rocketing out of the hallway with tremendous speed turning quickly into the subway.
"Wendigomon, please stop!" Alice cried, beating on her partner's forearm with her fists. Wendigomon reluctantly obeyed, skidding to a halt and setting her partner down.
"Not safe for Alice!" She insisted.
"We have to go back! They need us!" Alice pleaded. "All those people, they're depending on me, on us! We can't leave them! They rely on us, on me, and I can't just run away!" Her eyes watered, but she refused to allow the tears to stream down her face. "I have to protect them, no matter what, no matter how much of myself I have to give!"
"Alice…" Wendigomon sighed as the girl dropped to her knees, weeping. She placed her palm on the girl's back. "We fight." She nodded, causing a smile on the girl's face. At that moment the Grimmon slithered out of the tunnel, its body rolling into the open space of the tunnel. "Talking done, time to fight!" Wendigomon bolted towards the monstrosity, leaping into the air. The Grimmon was faster, however. It quickly swung its scythe arm through the air, slashing at Wendigomon's chest. The beast was thrown to the ground, and didn't get back up.
"Wendigomon, no!" Alice ran up to the champion, looking down on its face as she rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Go now, be safe." Wendigomon commanded.
"I can't do that; I won't leave you." Alice shook her head. She pulled out her digivice, placing it against her partner's fur. "Don't worry, I'll give you everything I've got." She activated the device, allowing energy to stream into her partner. This time, however, the crest she had found began to glow as well. As the Grimmon struggled to fully pull itself out of the tunnel and into a standing position, energy from the digivice streamed into the crest, then shot back into Wendigomon with even more intensity. "What?"
"Wendigomon digivolve to…" The light consumed them, and burst a moment later as Wendigomon took on a new form. This form took on the more rabbit-like appearance of Lopmon, but she far towered over both previous forms. The lanky tan Digimon had terribly long legs and thin waist, with bulging arms that dropped down to her knees, sagging ears tipped with pink, and three small horns on the tip of her head, above her small red eyes. She was dressed in violet leggings, red mail, and a white and golden-fringed cuirass that covered her chest and neck, with a purple sash slung around it. "Antylamon!"
Grimmon came to its feet just in time to brace itself as the rabbit dashed forward, driving its heel into the serpent's face. The Grimmon was flung back, but as it tried to recover Antylamon crossed her arms and lunged forward. "Bunny Blades!" She cried, her arms transforming into a pair of axes, which she brought down upon the Grimmon with tremendous force, slicing the creature in three. The segments of its body burst into data as Antylamon landed, turning back to Alice, who looked on in awe.
