"Beware
the Eastern Sun"
Chapter 6
"'How can you shoot innocent women and
children?'
'Easy. Give 'em less lead.'"
-Full Metal Jacket
Tai looked into the flowing waters of
the lake. He picked up a small stone from the ground and threw it, watching it
sink into the depths of the water with a small splash. "So what happened
after that?" he asked, without taking his attention off of the lake.
"Well," Sora began.
"You could imagine that we weren't too happy with staying under house
arrest." She paused, letting her eyes gaze around her for a moment. Then
she continued. "After a while, it just got to be too much. We planned on
sneaking out..."
[It was late one
night, a few weeks after he asked us for his pledge.]
[He had assembled
an army, and was on the move. We were with him.]
Sora looked at Kari. Kari peeked
through the curtain of the tent and nodded back. Mimi did her best to compose
herself, but her nerves kept getting the better of her. She fidgeted and paced,
feeling ill and queasy, but nonetheless maintained her silence. Kari walked to
Sora and the two briefly conversed in hushed whispers. They arrived at a
consensus and approached Mimi.
"Mimi," Sora whispered.
Mimi turned suddenly and almost
gasped, but Sora put her finger over her lips. "We're getting out of
here," she said, glancing at the shadows beyond the tent. "We've got
to bring our digimon in bags or something. Easier than a disguise." She
handed Mimi some heavy cloaks and hooded garments. "Dress up. We leave in
ten minutes."
Sora donned her disguise, a gray
hooded cloak with a simple rope tied about the waist. It gave her that monastic
look that would hide her well in the darkness. She gave Mimi a green light silk
cloak, also hooded. Hopefully, she would look natural in it and blend in with
the surroundings. For Kari, more adult clothes would make her look like a
midget. She had to remember that she would be the only child besides T.K., so
concealing her would be the hardest.
Sora took a deep
breath, and hooked a short sword she had managed to slip away at her waist. She
looked at the other two, which were close behind her. She cut a slit in the
back of the tent, and the three disappeared into the darkness.
They did their best to avoid campfires
and darted by the ones they couldn't avoid. Eventually, they picked their way
to the perimeter of the camp, and it seemed like they would get away. They
paused briefly in the woods to catch their breath and to relax, but soon they
were off. Sora stayed a few steps ahead to listen and watch for sentries, and
Mimi was left to watch Kari, whom she tucked in close to her body.
The night carried on. Finally, the
ruckus of the army camp was left behind, and the natural sounds of the woods
dominated. At every sound, Sora turned her head, with every rustling of the
trees, her muscles clenched. Her hand on the dagger she carried, she proceeded
with the utmost caution.
It had been almost thirty minutes when
they took their next break. To them, though, every minute seemed an eternity.
It is amazing the things that happen to an individual or a group of individuals
that are tracked or hunted down. They become worn down to the barest of
survival instincts, no different than the creatures that dwell in the forest,
or skitter in the darkness. In such a savage state, everything becomes the enemy.
The trees, the wind, the large pale moon in the sky-all come under the
suspicious eyes of those under pursuit. There is no safety. There is no
respite. The hunted is always hunted, and must stay one step ahead.
They proceeded as soon as they could,
but Sora had a strange feeling. Something was not right. She continually
glanced around her, but nothing looked amiss. The more she thought about it,
the more elusive the feeling became. Then she stepped on a twig and it snapped,
echoing into the night. She knew why she felt strange.
"Shhhh....." she held up a
hand signaling for a stop. The three paused, holding their breaths. The world
around them grew into silence, except for the thumping of their hearts, which
droned in their ears like the beating of war drums. Sora looked at them, but
Kari and Mimi could only look back. Finally, Sora broke the silence.
"Can you hear it?" she asked
them.
They listened closely. "Hear
what?" Kari asked.
"Exactly," Sora said.
"The forest...it's completely silent."
Mimi and Kari listened again and they
noticed it. The grasshoppers were no longer chirping. The rustling of night
creatures had stopped. Insects had stopped their incessant clicking, humming,
and buzzing. It was as if Nature held her breath, waiting for some force to
pass before continuing her breathing again.
Sora spoke again, "There's
something wrong."
"Indeed you are correct."
They three turned suddenly. Sora's
dagger was out in a flash as she half-crouched and faced the direction of the voice.
Mimi drew Kari closer to her in an act of maternal instinct. The three looked
into the darkness at a shadow.
Matt stood there, smiling at them.
Behind him was Garurumon, also grinning a wolfish grin. Matt began to idly file
his nails. "It seems that you three are lost, are you not?"
The three didn't answer. Mimi drew
Kari even closer, taking a step in front of her.
"But of course. As I recall the
camp is, oh," he made a whirling gesture with his hand. "Somewhere
over there." He put his hands on his hips, revealing a scabbard that
housed a jeweled sword. "Yet it seems like you're headed in the wrong
direction. But that would make you escaping, then, wouldn't it?"
Sora looked up ferociously at him.
"Enough of this Matt!" she hissed. She spit at his feet. "We're
not taking this crap from you anymore. You truly are a pitiful sight. Yes! If
you could only see yourself now. What a pity indeed!"
Matt's eyes flashed in anger.
"Take that back wench!" He unsheathed his sword, revealing a blade of
fine steel that shimmered in the moonlight. He stepped forward to emphasize his
point. "Take it back!"
"I would never yield to such an
arrogant, presumptuous bastard like you, Matt! Between the eight of us, we've
put up with quite a bit of shit from your direction. Don't you think that's
quite enough?"
Matt smiled. "On the contrary, my
darling, it's not enough." He stepped forward again so quickly it caught
Sora off guard. He put a rough hand under her chin and pushed her face up to
stare him in the eye. "There's quite a bit left undone. But what is a rose
like you doing with such a weapon?" he reached for her dagger, keeping his
hold on her.
Sora wrenched her hand away from his
and raised her knee to his groin. He grunted once, but smiled, his grip still
firm. "And she's got spunk, too," he said, looking her over from head
to toe. "What should we do with this one?" he asked an imaginary
audience.
She sneered at him, "Oh spare me!
Kill me now, your greatness!"
"Oh, but that would be too
easy," he pushed her face away with amazing strength and she fell to the
floor. "You are so sweet. Such a pity that your beauty should be
wasted."
"Watch it there, you bully!"
Biyomon jumped out of hiding and stepped in front of Sora.
"Biyomon, digivolve
to...Birdramon!"
"Oh please!" Matt scoffed.
"I could take on your bird myself!"
Mimi and Kari began to back a way, but
Garurumon leaped in front of them, baring his teeth. Matt swung his sword a few
times and tested its weight. He smiled, looking from Sora, to Birdramon, and
then back at Sora. After waiting a moment, he yawned and said, "Should I
make the first strike, then?"
Without waiting for an answer, he made
a quick lunge at Birdramon. The digimon took to the air as Sora retreated a
little to distance herself from Matt. She did not go far before noticing the
hulking figure of Garurumon growling.
Pesky girls. I should have rid
myself of the them before.
Matt knew they would just be trouble.
He had offered them lodgings and meals, as a friend, and they did not even
think of returning the favor. What an ungrateful bunch, he thought. They had
not respected him before and not they expected him, at the peak of his
greatness, to treat them as equals. They think too much of themselves, he
thought resolutely.
Birdramon sent a ball of flame towards
him with her Meteor Wing, but Matt just slashed the air a few times, letting
his sword absorb the energy. He would play it easy at first, letting their
confidence build and wasting their energy. Then he would crush them utterly.
Birdramon dived towards him, but he
sidestepped and slashed the overgrown avian with his sword. The digimon let out
a cry of pain but remained active. He held up his hand and blue energy shot
forth, blasting Birdramon to send her tumbling from the sky. Sora gasped and
her crest glowed. One more to go.
"Birdramon, digivolve
to...Garudamon!"
Matt sighed, putting his hand on his
forehead in an act of frustration and pity. He looked at Garurumon and drew an
imaginary line across his neck with his finger. Garurumon nodded.
"Palmon, digivolve
to...Togemon!"
"Salmon, digivolve
to...Gatomon!"
Garurumon bellowed a guttural laugh.
"And they sent me playmates, too!"
"Don't play too rough, big
boy," Gatomon quipped right before slashing his nose.
He reared, but only for a moment.
Then, his eyes flashed white momentarily, and all hell broke loose.
He pounced on Togemon, striking low to
knock the cactus to the ground. At point blank, he let loose a Howling Blaster
to incapacitate the digimon. Gatomon had already jumped on him, slashing his
back furiously with he Lightning Claw. She might be a problem, he thought. She
had a thorough grasp of battle tactics and strategies.
He pulled back suddenly, flipping
Gatomon in front of him. The cat landed spryly on her feet and was off in an
instant. Garurumon had no choice but to pursue.
Garudamon launched a Wing Blade at
Matt, but he just stood his ground, sword held before him in an offensive
stance. The flame engulfed him and he remained unscathed. He reached out a finger
and shook it back and forth, shaking his head in disapproval. He pulled back
his sword, gripping it with both hands, and brought it down in a slash that
sent an arc of blue energy at Garudamon.
The digimon barely
dodged it, but the shock wave sent her flying. Sora screamed, but her voice was
drowned out by the sounds of battle. Matt moved in for the kill.
"Togemon, digivolve
to...Lilymon!"
"Gatomon, digivolve
to...Angewoman!"
The two turned to face Garurumon,
waiting for an attack, but the other digimon merely held his ground. Then his
head reared back in laughter. A mocking laughter at first, but it slowly
changed into a deep cackle of insanity, as one possessed with delusions of
immortality. When his head lowered and fixed on them once again, his eyes were
cracked red, and a sticky mass of drool hung precariously from his muzzle. He
howled and then a bright light shone from his body as he changed form.
He digivolved into Weregarurumon.
But, as the others could testify,
there was a strange difference. He had an almost rabid look, drool hanging from
his teeth and dripping on the earth. His ears were flat back against his head
and his nose was constantly twitching. His breath came in ragged gasps and his
eyes were in constant search for blood. The most striking differences, though,
were two: his eyes glowed blood red, and he carried a wicked double-edged axe.
"And now," he said,
breathing heavily. "The end!"
"Grip of Death!" He swung
the axe and struck the earth. The cold that filled the two, Lilymon and
Angewoman, was utter. The world dissolved around them into a black void, and
the cold bit to the bone. A sense of detachment almost prevailed, but the two
were able to shake it off. Lilymon tried to incapacitate Weregarurumon with her
Flower Cannon, but that proved to be a huge mistake. The wolf swung his axe,
glinting in the light of the full moon, savagely slicing Lilymon. He would have
bitter her had Angewoman not launched a Celestial Arrow at him.
Weregarurumon turned his ferocious
eyes on her. He licked his chops before charging with his axe. Angewoman gained
altitude, but the wolf made an insane leap two hundred feet into the air to
slash her three times. She fell back in pain but managed to attack with
Heaven's Charm. Weregarurumon laughed, absorbing the blow, and stared at her.
Energy began to build up in him, so
much that one could see the bright blue-white light emanating from his body.
Mimi covered Kari with her body, looking ferociously at the wolf. But
Weregarurumon merely laughed insanely as the light intensified.
Matt walked into the foliage towards
the fallen Garudamon, but a shadow jumped in front of him. He heard a tear as a
short streak of red appeared on his chest. He looked up and saw Sora, crouched,
with short sword in hand. He said nothing, slashing furiously with a two-handed
grip.
Sora darted to the side and slashed
again, with time low. Before Matt could act, she was out of range, dancing on
both feet. Matt sliced again and again with frightening speed, but she just
parried or sidestepped each attack. Frustrated, he faked a strike to her right
and then lunged to her left. She gasped as she moved instinctively into the
blow, which caught her on the side. However, she quickly recovered stepping
close to slash him in the side. She brought her face close to his and paused
for a moment to stare savagely into his eyes before kicking him to the dirt.
Matt brought his hand up to the side
of his mouth, where a think trickle of red ran down to his chin. He began
breathing heavily in rage and attacked with fire. He slashed relentlessly and
each time Sora parried or dodged, but she began to tire. Then, finally, Matt
slashed with all of his might, sending the short sword flying from his hand. He
drew his sword back as if to strike, but stepped forward and slapped her hard
with the back of his hand.
She fell to the ground, but remained
on all fours, slightly quivering. Matt smiled in triumph as he approached her,
sword raised overhead. He brought the sword down with the strength of both
arms, but at the last minute, Sora rolled aside, jumped past him, and, reaching
into her cloak, buried a dagger into his back.
He screeched in pain and slashed
mindlessly at the air. Sora was struck, sending a splash of red onto her gray
cloak. This time she did not move.
A bright light shot into the night sky
as a rapidly expanding bubble of energy shot forth from Garurumon. Everything
in a half-mile radius was consumed and disappeared from sight for a full ten
seconds. Then the light receded and all was still.