Digimon: The Year of Reckoning
Chapter 18
"He's Back"
Narrated by Brandon
It had been about one day since I had left the group. I hadn't encountered any danger. Yet. I hoped the others had had the same luck.
Spikemon was being really great, sticking with me. He was a very loyal friend, and I appreciated him so much. I just hoped he knew that.
"So Spikemon, do you know where Darkmon's castle is?"
"Um…I know the general location, but from here I'm not exactly sure how to get there."
"That's okay man. We'll find it. I just hope it's not too late."
And with that remark Genevra appeared.
"Hello Brandon. Spikemon."
We said our hellos.
"Brandon, you need not worry about Faith at this moment."
"What are you talking about? If you haven't noticed my little sister has been taken away by Darkmon! And you have the nerve to come here and tell me not to worry about her!"
Spikemon jumped at my ranting and raving. Genevra didn't flinch.
"Brandon you don't understand. You don't know what Darkmon is doing."
"Well then tell me!"
"The key opens up the gate separating the two worlds. Using the key is the only way to transport from one to the other. But Darkmon is a very powerful being that holds a lot of energy. He can't fit through the opening of the gate. He must completely take down the gate. To do that he must perform a complicated ritual. And it can only be performed on one night every 3000 years."
"Every 3000 years? And that night is close?"
"Yes. Darkmon kept in hiding for years waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He took over the digital world, knowing from ancient scrolls and prophecies, that a new group of digidestined would come to stop him. And among them would be the key. It's fate that all of this is happening. Nothing could have prevented it. But it's up to you to stop it."
"Well what do the prophecies say about us? Do they say whether we win or lose?"
"No. They speak only of what is to come, not the outcome of it. Well, that's all I have to tell you for now. Be careful."
She disappeared. Well at least I knew I had some time. Unless the night the ritual was to be performed was tonight! Even tomorrow I might not make it in time!
"Spikemon we have to find his castle now!"
"But Genevra said that…"
"She never said when the ritual was going to be performed. It could be next week, tomorrow, or even tonight!"
I broke into a run, with Spikemon on my heels. We ran and ran. But it didn't feel like we were any closer. Until I spotted something.
"What's that?"
Spikemon followed my gaze to a big temple. It was sand colored and was in the shape of a pyramid, but with the top sliced off so that the roof was flat. Huge columns flanked the front and in the center was a large door with what looked like hieroglyphics on it.
"I don't know. I've never seen it before. Maybe we should go inside."
"I guess."
We walked forward and up some stairs before getting to the door. I fingered the weird symbols but couldn't make heads or tails of them. With a push the door flung open.
We entered the temple. All I could see was black. Stretching on into forever. I stepped forward and…
Down and down I went. My mind barely had time to react. I had fallen into some kind of hole. The fall didn't last too long before I landed. Hard.
I stood up on shaky legs. Spikemon wasn't with me. I yelled his name up the hole I fell from, but no answer.
The room I was in now, was better lighted. There was a huge rectangular hole in the middle. I peered down into it. It looked like lava. How far did I fall?
SCREECH! What was that? I whipped around. The room seemed smaller. It was still getting smaller! The walls were closing in! I ran to the closest one and tried to stop it by pushing on it. No luck. I looked back. I was getting ever closer to the hole in the middle of the room.
My life started to flash before my eyes. This was the end. No one could survive falling into a lava pit. Only five feet. Four. Three. Two. One. I braced myself for…
Nothing? Why hadn't I fallen? Why wasn't I dead? I looked down. I was standing on thin air. What was going on? I slowly moved my foot so I wouldn't jinx it. There was a soft clink. I tapped my foot. Another clink. I was on glass! I walked out in the center of it. Perfectly safe.
"You finally figured it out."
I knew that voice.
"Hee-hee-hee-hee."
I definitely knew that laugh.
"Clownmon," I said through gritted teeth.
"Oh no, not Clownmon," he said emerging from the shadows. "MetalClownmon."
I looked at his new form. Basically the same, but coated with metal. And instead of daggers he now had a huge sword strapped to his back.
"How…What…"
"Let me explain. You believed you had killed me. You and your worthless friends. But as is everything with me, it was a mere illusion."
I hated that word. My mind flashed back to the days we were stuck in his jungle.
"So why are you hiding in this temple? Why didn't you attack us already?"
"How dumb are you? Think about it. I knew I couldn't defeat you in my old form. So I needed a new one. So I hid out for awhile. And just to be safe, I built this temple to protect myself. And here I am, and now you're here. Things couldn't be more perfect. Hee-hee-hee-hee!"
I swear, if he laughed again I would have to shove my sword up his ass.
"But first I want to have a little fun. If you want to challenge me, then follow."
He jumped up through a hole in the ceiling. Once he disappeared a ladder rolled down from the hole. I mounted it and climbed up, emerging into a room with stone statues covering the walls.
There was no one here. Where had he gone? And where was Spikemon?
WHOOSH!
"Ah!"
I jumped to the side narrowly avoiding getting hit in the face by a dart. Where had that come from? Two more flew by me. The statues! They were attacking me. Suddenly the room was filled with flying darts.
I ducked, jumped, and swerved, dodging them. When there were too many to evade I drew my sword and shielded my self, swinging it about.
"Ouch!"
I had been hit. In the thigh. I pulled out the little dart and looked at the blood stop on my shorts. But was immediately brought back as another dart flung by me cutting my ear. I backed into the wall. I heard something.
"Brandon!"
"Spikemon!"
"Yeah, I'm behind this wall!"
"I need help! I'm getting attacked by dart-flinging statues!"
Suddenly my digivice began to glow. I stepped back from the wall just before it crashed down. When the smoke and rubble cleared, I saw Rhinomon standing there grinning.
"Thanks buddy."
"No biggie. Let's go."
I hopped up on top of my digimon.
"We can't leave yet. You'll never guess who…"
"MetalClownmon. I know. I had a run in with him too."
We went back into the room he had been in. After crashing through a few more rooms, they made it to…
Back to the beginning. They were back at the front door again.
"What the hell?"
"It's some kind of maze. It could take hours to get through it."
"Well, maybe we should just leave."
But that thought was interrupted when a statue flew through the room and planted itself in front of the door. No way out.
"I don't think so."
MetalClownmon was back.
"Rhinomon, it looks like were gonna have to fight. You better digivolve."
"Rhinomon digivolve to…Triceramon!"
"This is our fight," MetalClownmon said blasting Triceramon into a wall.
We both withdrew our swords and faced off. He stabbed at me. I blocked. Another stab. I barely rolled out of the way. Once on my feet again I jabbed at him. My sword just bounced off of his metal skin.
"Hee-hee-hee-hee! I am unstoppable!"
He swung his sword, slashing my shirt.
"Tri Horn Attack!"
Triceramon had recovered! MetalClownmon was knocked back by the blast.
"I told you to stay out of this! Sword Circus!"
Out of the ground around Triceramon erupted six swords. They all flung themselves at my digimon. Four bounced off of his armor. The other two penetrated. Triceramon bellowed.
"You bastard!" I yelled.
I turned my sword around and slammed the butt of it into his smirking face. The metal of his head cracked slightly.
"NO! You'll never win! I will be back!"
He jumped up into the ceiling again and the hole closed up after him. Triceramon was Spikemon again.
"This isn't going to be easy," I said.
"Nobody ever said it would be."
How will Brandon and Spikemon be able to defeat MetalClownmon by themselves? Will they survive? Or is this the end?