It took long enough, but fanfiction.net is finally back online. The ironic thing is that not only is the Website working, but so am I.
Kenta: *snickering* No way! You have a job?
My first ever. And what precisely is so humorous about that?
Kenta: I'm not sure if it's the fact that you actually went looking for one or that someone actually hired you.
Oh yes, very droll. Now if only I could receive as many reviews as I do grievances, then I'd be happy.
Kenta: Wait; let me guess, "Do you want fries with that?"
What happened to Hirokazu can very easily happen to you, you know. And where I work has no connection with the fast food community.
Kenta: *nervously* Right. Got it.
Good. Anyway, thank you Dark Child, my 150th reviewer, for your review and Digidestined of Courage for your review and suggestions. I had a similar idea, strangely enough. And Hekatemon isn't an actual digimon, merely a creation of my twisted little mind. I hope that everyone is in character and that you enjoy this chapter. And don't forget to review, if you please.
Recovery
The waiting room of Shinjuku Medical Center was unusually crowded, in addition to Juri and her father, Jenrya's mother, father, and sister Shuichon, Kenta and his parents, Ruki's mother and grandmother and Hirokazu's parents were spread throughout the room.
After the ambulance had arrived and picked up Hirokazu and Takato, Janyuu had informed Yamaki about the terrible events that had taken place. From Hypnos, the Wild Bunch had once again taken to the phones, this time to notify the other parents of the new developments.
Janyuu had then driven Juri, Jenrya and Kenta to hospital, and been greeted by the masses of alarmed parents in the reception room. But it was Makino Rumiko, and Shiota Hitomi and Shiota Mamoru, Ruki's mother and Hirokazu's parents, who had been in the worst states.
"There has to be someone we can call! The police, the army, anybody!" The immaculately coifed Rumiko cried agonizingly.
"Hypnos was created to track digimon and even they haven't been able to find it. I strongly doubt that the army will have been luck." Janyuu replied.
"My little girl is out there with-with that monster! And
there's nothing that I can do to help her?" Rumiko lavender eyes filled with
tears. "I can't stand just being here helpless when Ruki is in trouble."
Seiko pulled her daughter close to her. "We understand how you are feeling dear. But Ruki is a strong girl. I know she's alive and that we will find some way to help her. And don't forget that she's protected by her digimon companion."
"But they're gone!" Kitagawa Naruku interrupted. "With this digimon on the loose, and their partners in the Digital World, they can't defend them."
Janyuu nodded. "That's what Yamaki and the rest of the Monster Makers are working on. But from what he's told me, the heads of Hypnos aren't being very cooperative."
Lee Mayumi sighed. She had come to the hospital despite her husband's assertions that Jenrya was perfectly safe and wasn't about to leave. "That isn't surprising Janyuu. After what happened when the last digimon attacked Shinjuku, and with D-Reaper, the people are still very high strung. News of yet another digimon murdering and kidnapping humans might send them into a panic."
"A panic?" Mr. Shiota sputtered, finally breaking his silence. "I'd rather have a panic, an earthquake, anything than what's happened to my son!" His wife nodded, her tear covered face a mirror of Rumiko's, as she stood in her husband's arms.
A loud bang emitted behind the Tamers and their parents, causing them all to jump. The pale and strained faces of Matsuda Mie and Matsuda Takehiro were visible as they entered the already crowded room.
"What happened? Where is my Takato?" Mie spoke breathlessly.
"He was taken by the doctors to be treated for shock." Janyuu answered. "And we're waiting for a doctor to give us news about Hirokazu."
"How could this have happened?" Takehiro wondered disbelievingly. "I thought that after the battle with D-Reaper things would be normal again. But this…"
Mrs. Matsuda made her way to the reception desk. "Please, I need to see my son, Matsuda Takato. He was brought in for shock a little while ago and he probably needs me and his father right now."
The receptionist nodded. "We weren't allowing anyone to see the patient, at least not until you arrived." She pushed a button under her desk that caused a loud, distinct buzz and opened the Emergency Room door.
"Go through that door, and to your left. He's in Room 281."
Takato's father nodded. "Thank you." He took his wife's hand and together they went through the door.
~*~
Throughout their parents' conversations, the Tamers, even young Shuichon who was positioned next to Juri and Jenrya, had remained silent. But between worrying about Takato, Hirokazu and Ruki, Juri couldn't shake a terrible feeling of dread.
There were very few places that Juri couldn't stand to be in, but Shinjuku Medical Center was one of them. Maybe it was the sterile environment, where doctors and nurses breezed through operating rooms, deeming patients by malady, and with cool precision rather than being hopeful.
But despite her judgments, Juri knew the true reason behind her discomfort. She could still picture her mother's still body, covered in its indiscriminate white sheet. She remembered feeling disbelief; her mother couldn't truly be lying like that, so silent and cold. Juri had seen her just that morning; so cheerful and happy that she could even bring a smile to her stern father's face. She had giggled happily as her mother tickled her before going to the market to buy some things for the family's bar.
But then it had happened. She had been playing in her bedroom, while her father read the newspaper in the living room. Then the phone had rang, but she barely noticed it, for she was far too engrossed in her game.
Juri finally looked up when she noticed her father's tall figure looming above her. His face was terribly pale, making Juri wonder if he had turned into a ghost. But when he spoke, Juri felt her face change color too.
"Juri, gather your things. Your mother has been in an accident and we're going to see her in the hospital." Tadashi said simply.
And with those words, Juri's world shattered. Everything began happening so quickly. She didn't remember the trip to the hospital, only what had happened once they reached it. Doctors and nurses milled around, traveling from room to room. Juri had been so relieved once one of the doctors said that he would lead them to her mother's room. Once she saw Mommy, everything would be okay.
But it hadn't been. Her mother was dead and gone…forever. Juri and her father were all alone. She couldn't stand it. Juri had run from her mother's room, as though trying to escape the truth. She though that if she ran far enough, then maybe her father would bring her mother back and that they would both bring her home. Take her away from the nightmare.
But they hadn't. Minutes later, her had found her curled up in their car, crying and shivering as she tried to make the images of her mother's body disappear. Her father had stared at her for a moment, then uncharacteristically pulled her into his arms and cried with her.
It had been the first, but not the last time she had seen him cry. When she had been taken by D-Reaper, he had begged and pleaded with the symbiotic mass, until finally breaking down.
Is that going to happen again? She wondered worriedly. Is Hirokazu going to die here, just like my mother?
A hand on her shoulder caused Juri to break away from her thoughts and look up. He father was staring forward and Juri followed his gaze. The door that Takato's parents had gone through earlier was opening, and tall man clothed in a long white coat, stethoscope and medical scrubs was emerging from it.
His face was serious and his solemn gray eyes almost matched his hair. His nametag read Dr. Kinomoto and as he drew closer to the anxious group, Hirokazu's parents made their way forward to meet him.
"Is he okay?" Mr. Shiota burst out sounding panicked.
Dr. Kinomoto sighed and shook his head.
"In all my years of medical practice, I've never seen anything like this. We've been giving him liquid baths, warming him up-" The doctor waved his arm as to interpose his statement. "All of the things necessary to prevent the onset of frostbite. But this wound-"
Mr. Shiota looked ready to shake the doctor. "What about it?"
"It-it isn't by any means natural!" Dr. Kinomoto burst out. "The patient should be conscious, but he isn't! And every time that we manage to remove the ice on his body, it just-grows back! And slowly but surely, it's spreading. We're doing all we can, but I don't know if anything we do will permanently stop it."
The waiting room was silent as the Tamers and their parents processed this depressing, new information.
Shuichon looked up at Jenrya from her place beside Juri, her young face a mixture of worry and confusion. "Jen-niichan, is Hirokazu going to-to die?"
Jenrya looked down at his younger sister. He wanted to reassure her, but from what the doctor had just said, he couldn't help feeling very little hope about his friend's recovery.
But before he had a chance to answer her, Mr. Shiota cried out, "Well, is he? Is our son going to die?"
Dr. Kinomoto paled. "I don't know for sure. As long as we continue melting the ice, his condition is stable. But the ice is somehow getting thicker as it spreads, and if it gets to a certain height, we won't have to worry about frostbite any longer. Asphyxiation will claim him instead."
"Can we see him?" Mrs. Shiota mumbled weakly.
"Of course." Dr. Kinomoto replied solemnly. He then glanced at the large assembly of parents and children warily. "But I think it best if only parents and immediate family see Hirokazu, at least until we can figure out how we can better stabilize him."
"But he's our friend! We should get to see him too!" Kenta said glaring at him angrily.
"Kenta!" His mother admonished him.
"Please, just for a little while?" Juri pleaded. "We won't cause any trouble."
"I'm sorry," Dr. Kinomoto responded. "But right now I think it best for just the parents to see their son. Please," He indicated the two door in front of him. "Follow me."
Mr. Shiota glanced at the Tamers.
"Don't you kids worry. Hirokazu's a fighter, he won't give up that easily." He said reassuringly.
"Mamoru…" His wife called ahead of him. Mr. Shiota nodded once more, then followed her.
The waiting room became silent once again, though every so often Ruki's mother would sigh worriedly. Unable to stand the silence any longer, Kenta jumped from his seat and walked to the end of the reception room, staring out of the large windows.
His mother moved to follow him, but her husband clutched her arm.
"He's upset right now, I think it would be best if he worked out his feelings on his own."
Mrs. Kitagawa glanced at her son and nodded slowly. She just couldn't bear to see him feeling such undeserved pain.
Juri watched Kenta sadly. She knew that he, like Takato,
blamed himself for what had happened to Hirokazu. Why can't they see that it
wasn't their fault? Juri glanced at Jenrya next to her, and saw that he
felt similar.
While glancing at Juri, Jenrya pulled Shuichon closer to him. Ruki is gone and Hirokazu may die. But what happens next? Takato's in no state to do anything, and they won't even let us see him either. And Kenta blames himself for Hirokazu's condition. We've never really lost anyone before; thank goodness that we managed to rescue Juri from D-Reaper. But Hirokazu and Ruki… How much more do we have to lose?
~*~
The cigarette smoke pooled around Yamaki as he stood outside of the Tokyo Towers, beneath the Hypnos offices. Minutes earlier, he had received a phone call from a very shaken Janyuu, a call that had brought his greatest fears and imaginings to life.
Makino Ruki, the daughter of model Makino Rumiko had been kidnapped and fellow Tamer Shiota Hirokazu was in critical condition in Shinjuku General Hospital. The news had done very little to improve his already frustrated state of mind and only added to the deep guilt that coursed through him.
He had gone outside to smoke, after reassuring the others that he would be back soon and affirming Reika that he preferred to be alone. He needed to relieve some of his tension and he didn't think it wise to expose the woman he loved to the cancerous agents of second hand smoke.
Even after all the measures we used, we were still too late, Yamaki thought perturbed. Perhaps if I had informed the Tamers immediately after the digimon had bio-emerged, at least then they would have been on their guard.
But I believed that for once, we could handle the situation. It was only a single digimon; using Shaggai we've deleted possibly hundreds. And now, because of that Makino Ruki and Shiota Hirokazu are paying for that mistake.
Yamaki exhaled the cigarette smoke, wishing that he could simply blow away the shame that he was feeling just as easily. But being the rational person he was, he knew that it wasn't possible. What had happened happened and there was nothing that he could do to change things.
He had always found self-blame to be unproductive and with the rouge digimon still on the lose, and with a human hostage, he didn't have the time, nor the luxury to give into such self-indulgence.
Yamaki dropped his cigarette and rubbed the sole of his shoe over it to make sure it was out. Despite my sentiments, I still have a job to do. Granted, we are making progress, but it would be much easier if we had access to all of our equipment. Yamaki reflected.
The recent happenings had finally caused the higher powers at the supposedly defunct Hypnos to step in, but Yamaki he had mentioned earlier to Janyuu, they seemed more preoccupied in dealing with the government and the public, rather than assisting in the Makino girl's retrieval and the digimon's destruction.
Hypnos had the means to track the menace, but with its erratic movements, Megumi and Reika often faced the trouble when trying to pin down its permanent location. The government could call in the army and whatever else it wanted, but if the digimon remained unattainable, and continued appearing and disappearing at will, then no matter the weapon, the digimon would still be free to do what it wished.
I'm surprised that they haven't ganged up on me yet. Though it was they who had been so sure that the digimon threat was over, and the last few months of peace had made them
even more so convinced. Yamaki's eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses as he remembered one of the arrogant executive's continuous needling that he still remained at Hypnos "chasing Phantom-mon."
Enough of this. Yamaki thought with renewed determination. He needed to think of ways to bring his plans to rebuilt Shaggai and return the Tamers' digimon to a head and not fume over the stupidity of superiors. He turned to the door of the building and as he grasped the handle to open it, it suddenly swung outward, having been opened from the inside. Yamaki relinquished the door handle and stepped back quickly, waiting impatiently for whomever had opened the door to step out so that he may enter.
A man about his height exited the building and stood in front of Yamaki and regarded him coldly. Yamaki stared back at him challengingly, for he was Takemoto Fujitaka, the one who had informed him smugly of his dismissal months before and who had nearly destroyed the Digital and Real Worlds with his misuse of Shaggai. Ironically that was that very thing that Yamaki had been dismissed for doing as well.
While he wore a sensible suit similar to Yamaki's, Fujitaka's demeanor was another thing entirely. His eyes held an acute wariness, while his mouth was locked in a furious frown. His hands clenched and unclenched, but whether that was simply a nervous habit or a restraint to keep them from strangling him, Yamaki wasn't sure.
"Well, Yamaki, it appears that you've gotten what you've wanted." Fujitaka spoke grimly trying to goad him.
"I'm afraid that I have no idea what you're talking about." Yamaki responded evenly.
Fujitaka's eyes narrowed irately. "We both know what you've been doing. You couldn't stand it, could you? With Hypnos closing and you no longer the head of the Technical Division, you couldn't just let it go."
Yamaki removed his sunglasses and glared at the man before him. "What you're insinuating is pure nonsense. I've been here trying to prevent these recent events from occurring, while you and most of Hypnos have been collecting your unemployment checks and finding other jobs. I tried to warn all of you that there was no guarantee that the portal to the Digital World was permanently closed, but you refused to listen."
"Of course, now it's our fault. We didn't listen, we brought this upon ourselves didn't we?"
This was getting him nowhere.
"If you excuse me Takemoto, I have things to do." Yamaki said as he tried to brush by Fujitaka. The man reached out one of his hands and clutched Yamaki's arm tightly.
"We're watching you Yamaki. Every move that you make. I would be very careful about what I do if I were you." Fujitaka tightened his hold as if to punctuate his statement.
"I am always careful Takemoto." Yamaki pulled away roughly. "Irresponsibility leads to foolish mistakes, but I'm sure that you already know that." Yamaki continued to the door, never glancing back at the furious man behind him. He slipped his sunglasses into his jacket pocket, and then opened the door. A rude name caught his attention behind him, be he still didn't turn. As Yamaki entered the building, he felt his resolve strengthen. He had a job to do.
~*~
In a brightly lit hospital room, Matsuda Takato lay silently in the large bed. His nose was wrapped in the simple white bandage and an intravenous needle ran from his arm to the attached medical sac.
Nurses constantly ambled in and out of his room, but Takato barely noticed them. He felt better than he had when he arrived at the hospital, but was still in a haze.
Ruki, Hirokazu, I let you both down. I failed. Flashes of Ruki unconscious and Hirokazu frozen and of Juri and Kenta standing in front of him caused Takato to grasp his bed sheet tightly in despair. I should have done something!
The door to his room opened, and a loud cry jarred him from his thoughts. His eyes widened as his mother ran to him, carefully enveloping him into a tight embrace. Surprisingly, his father followed suit, and for a moment, all Takato could think about was how much he needed them.
"Oh, Takato, I was worried about you! Ms. Onodera called us at the bakery and told us what had happened. I was so scared that you…" She tightened her embrace.
"What were you thinking, doing something like that? You're lucky that digimon didn't kill you!" Mrs. Matsuda began to sob.
Takato felt the pit in his stomach deepen. I keep hurting everyone. My Mom, Juri, Ruki…
"Mom," Takato began feeling tears flow from his eyes once again.
"I know that you're a Tamer and that you wanted to help your friends, but I can't stop worrying that I'll end up losing you." Mrs. Matsuda continued.
Mr. Matsuda grasped his wife's hand. "Mie-"
"I must seem so selfish, putting my worries ahead of everything else, but you mean so much to us Takato."
"I know." Takato said wretchedly. "I know that I worry you and I'm sorry. I was just so angry about what happened to Hirokazu and Ruki that I wasn't thinking straight. I wanted to hurt Hekatemon just like he had hurt them."
Mie held her son tighter. "Takato…"
"And it wasn't the first time this happened." Takato continued. "When Beelzebumon destroyed Leomon, it was my anger that turned Guilmon into a monster and nearly destroyed the Digital World. It all happened because of me."
"You lost control, it happens to us all Takato." Takehiro said trying to reassure him.
"But I shouldn't have let it happen! I put Juri and Kenta in danger when they jumped in front of me. What kind of a horrible person does that make me?'
"Now that's enough of that!" Mie said, a steely note in her voice. "You're the bravest person that I know and I won't hear you talking about yourself like that. Even when things seemed at their worst, you were always willing to do whatever it took to help the people that you care about. It's that courage and determination that make you so special and make us proud to be your parents."
Takato shook his head. "But I've let them down!"
"No you haven't." His father argued. "But if you just want to give up on your friends, then you will."
Takato sat silent, trying to understand what his father had said. Here he was crying in a hospital room, while Ruki was still missing and Hirokazu was hurt. If they were here, they wouldn't want me give up, just like my parents don't want me to.
"Crying again gogglehead?" Ruki would mock him scornfully. "After everything we've been through, you're going to let some frozen nightmare reduce you to this? I don't believe it! And you call yourself a Tamer."
Hirokazu would be less blunt, but no less truthful. "C'mon Takato, you're a Tamer! You knocked Beelzebumon around like a rag doll, though don't ever tell him I said that. Hekatemon should be a piece of cake! We're all counting on you dude!"
But I can't do it alone. Guilmon and I were a team, just like the rest of the Tamers. And I know that Juri, Kenta and Jen wouldn't give up either. I always wanted to be a digimon Tamer and even though I don't think Guilmon is just a tool for fighting, we did have to fight to help our friends. Guilmon wouldn't want me to give up either. "I will fight by your side, Tamer," he told me just before he evolved to MegaloGrowmon. Guilmon, like everyone else was depending on me and I couldn't let him down.
And I can't let Ruki down either. Takato thought unwaveringly. I couldn't save Hirokazu, but he isn't gone yet and I will not let Hekatemon take Ruki away from us! She may hate me for what happened, but I won't let someone that I care about be destroyed. Now while I'm still here! I promised Guilmon that I would see him again and told Ruki how I felt about her. Now it's time to make those promises come true.
I'm not sure how we'll do it, but we'll all be a team again.
Takato finally pulled away from his parents and wiped the drying tears from his face.
"Mom, Dad, you're right." He began. "I can't give up just because of what happened. Hirokazu's still alive and Ruki's counting on the Tamers to help her. It's time that I start acting like one."
Before either of his parents could stop him, Takato pulled the intravenous needle from his arm, wincing at the slight pain.
"Takato," His mother gasped. "You're still injured, you can't just start gallivanting to the rescue!"
"Your mother's right. When we said that you shouldn't stop trying to help your friends, we meant after you've had some time to heal!"
"I'm fine." Takato said reassuringly as he tried to stand. His effort then caused him to stumble into his father's arms. "Well, almost." He added sheepishly.
Takehiro carefully placed Takato back into his hospital bed and shook his head in bemusement.
"Now you will sit right there until the doctor says that it's safe for you to leave." When Takato opened his mouth to argue, his mother hushed him. "Right now, everyone is just waiting. You'll have to be patient as well."
Takato sighed dejectedly. I guess that I'm stuck here for now. But don't worry Ruki. I'm coming. We all are.
~*~
Hekatemon floated in his frozen abyss, a triumphant smirk plastered across his hideous face. Things had happened as he had wanted them to and Makino Ruki was finally his. She hung from a large icicle, her arms firmly attached and holding her in place.
From the moment of her capture, he had been tempted to simply kill her immediately, but he restrained himself. It would be much more satisfying if she were alive when her life ended. Hekatemon wanted her to suffer greatly and to do so, he would have to be patient.
He also didn't wish for the game to end yet. Judging from the reactions of the other humans, Makino Ruki's capture would not go unmolested, so he had to prepare for attack. Just the thought of battle made Hekatemon's wings twitch pleasantly. He had always enjoyed tearing his enemies to shreds with either his claws or his Icicle Stunner.
But for this battle, he something else planned. He waved one of his hands and several larger crystals descended from the ceiling. A quick motion and the ice around them shattered, truly revealing them for the first time in ages.
Several small, rocklike Icemon, gathered around many larger digimon. Hekatemon looked at the Garurumon, Frigimon and Icemon with disinterest, but as his eyes settled upon the large lion Panjyamon, his devilish expression returned. The Perfect Beast Man digimon would be powerful soldier. And a sighting of a Viral MetalGarurumon only added to Hekatemon's glee.
A sudden cry of "White Statue!" caught Hekatemon's attention, and gave him time to evade a white blast resembling a white dragon. He swore under his breath and glowered at his attacker. A large, white draconian digimon glared back at him and flapped his two avian wings impatiently. A pathetic, Armored Gargomon dares to attack me? He reflected furiously.
"Fool." Hekatemon muttered as he lunged towards the Gargomon, his elongated claws extended. The Gargomon snarled loudly and opened his mouth widely, but before he could call out another attack, Hekatemon struck his jaw hard, slicing off the white band that surrounded it.
Gargomon bellowed in pain, then slowly became silent. His white eyes began to glow red, making him seem even more similar to his Viral counterpart Devidramon.
Legends are true. Interesting. Hekatemon mused. This battle was going to be very enjoyable. He waved a hand and the masses of silent digimon vanished. Since breaching the separation in dimensions earlier, Hekatemon had complete control of the building and everything in it. He had hidden the digimon and they would wait until the intruders entered to attack. And when Makino Ruki awakened, her death would be all the sweeter.
Hekatemon felt something sticky on his hand and looked at it. Splashes of red were sprinkled across his metallic claws and down his forearm. Strange. Digimon do not shed this. Odd. Perhaps Makino Ruki will explain it before she dies. And with that final thought, Hekatemon vanished in the shadows once again. He was going to go make things more exciting.
~*~
From inside the Hypnos building, mass amounts of hustle and bustle was taking place. Numerous technicians rushed to the main control center of the building, bringing pieces of equipment along with data and schematics.
Inside the large room, Reika and Megumi sat, clothed in their familiar white jumpsuits and safety glasses monitoring the grids of data vigilantly.
Close to the large computer, a small group of people, known to most as the "Monster Makers," the former college students whose experiments with artificial intelligence led to the creation of digimon, worked methodically from assorted computers.
Their usually cheerful attitudes were replaced with intense seriousness. It had been they who had made the calls to the parents of the Tamers, they knew everything that had happened and precisely what was on the line.
"I'm almost through with stabilizing the recon program, but most of our efforts depend upon whether the digimon are located in close proximity to one another." An Indian woman, nicknamed "Curly" announced to her companions.
"That's good." A red haired man referred to as "Dolphin" replied. "I've just about finished with the assorted modifications needed to safeguard the digimon from Shaggai's deleting effects."
Daisy, a young, blond woman nodded. "It looks like things are running on schedule. Even without the assistance of Tao and Shibumi."
"Yamaki still hasn't been able to locate him?" Babel, an African American man with dark sunglass encases eyes questioned. Without waiting for an answer, he continued. "If things weren't so serious, I'd say that this was just like college."
"You're definitely right about
that." Daisy agreed "Mizuno always did have a strange habit of disappearing,
and then making a dramatic return just when we needed him."
"Well, I say that now would certainly be that time." Curly responded.
"How are things progressing?" Yamaki's sharp voice suddenly cut through the room. He had left the room minutes before to smoke and returned silently while everyone had been deeply engrossed in their work.
"We're just about finished reinstalling the Shaggai system, and I'm just about through with completing the necessary alterations to the program's directive." Dolphin answered adjusting his glasses. "We might have finished sooner, but without Shibumi or Tao…" He let the statement die.
Yamaki absorbed the information and nodded. "Are we ready for a test sequence?"
Babel shook his head. "Not yet. We still need to install the new directive and we may need the Tamers here, to complete the sequence. They have the closest connections to the digimon, and may be able to act as a type of beacon to draw the digimon to their location."
"They're still in the hospital, waiting for information regarding their fallen friend. Since things aren't completely up-"
BEEP!
Yamaki stopped speaking and gazed at Megumi and Reika, waiting for an explanation. A large grid suddenly materialized on the computer screen, with one large dot blinking brightly.
"We've finally done it sir." Megumi said delightedly. "We've managed to look on to the digimon's permanent position."
"Can you bring up a visual image of the location?"
"Already on it." Reika answered. "Image should be appearing… Now!"
A large building replaced the grid design on the screen, causing Yamaki narrow his eyes in disbelief.
"Whoever this digimon is, it certainly has an interest in irony. The four frozen construction workers were found only blocks away from that location."
"And since we're detecting a human signature, then Makino Ruki has to be with him."
"Finally, some good news." Babel commented feeling slightly relieved.
"Wait a minute," Megumi muttered. "Something's wrong, I'm getting readings unlike anything I've seen before coming from that building."
"I knew it seemed to good to be true." Daisy said sighing.
The visual image began to grow hazy as a white light exploded from the windows. Instantaneously, a crystalline substance began to coat the building, flowing from its roof to the very ground.
The Monster Makers looked on in horror, while Yamaki unconsciously flipped the lid of his lighter in irritation. Now, instead of the normal tall, glass windowed building, a jagged structure covered in ice loomed in front of them.
"Status Report!" Yamaki barked, his earlier confrontation and these new developments eating away at the last threads of his temper.
"The building has been completely encased in ice, blocking all means of entrance and exit. And it looks like," Reika looked at the data presented to her in shock. "It looks like the ice covering the building is spreading."
The image on the computer screen widened, clearly displaying the ice, seemingly moving with a mind of its own, slowly across the ground on all sides. Its trek was slow and not delayed by anything it encountered, rocks, and even the bodies of cars slowly became part of the frigid vision.
"Very well then." Yamaki spoke determinedly. "It seems as though we've run out of time and options. The situation has just become more critical than even I could have imagined." He reached into his pocket and extracted his cell phone.
"This is it, isn't it?" Dolphin inquired. "It's now time for us to use everything that we've worked on, to create a miracle as it were."
"Yes." Yamaki responded dialing a familiar number. "And it's time for the Tamers to do what they do best. Hello, Janyuu? It's Yamaki…"
~*~
Notes: The names of the Tamers parents are either real, or made up by me. Gargomon (Gargoylemon) is an actual Virus digimon, he's an Armor evolution of V-mon. The "legend" that Hekatemon mused about came directly from Gargomon's card, which stated that a belt he wore made him unable to do evil. Though which belt was never specified.
I'm also sorry if this chapter seemed boring, but I promise that the next one will be better. And since I ended up rearranging my chapters, here's a small bit, to make up for it:
…Ruki struggled against her bonds, trying to get free. "I don't believe you! Hirokazu and Takato aren't dead, you're making this up just to get to me!"
"The blood of the male human gushed from his neck like a crimson river upon the grass and the other humans could do nothing but watch. You have already seen proof of that." Hekatemon growled convincingly…
…Her eyes flashed with fury and mouth was set. A blue light began to emancipate from her small body, shattering many small icicles around her. She glared at Hekatemon with pure hatred and the larger digimon stared back at her uncertainly…
And to add to that, the Tamers try to get their digimon back, Kenta takes a stand and an old ally aides the Tamers (you probably know who).