Chapter 6: What to do now?
Hikari looked around at the small group of digimon that surrounded her. So far, it seemed that there was little hope they would defeat the Kaiser. Suddenly, she remembered something.
"Wizarmon, I thought you said there were seven of you?" she asked.
"There were," he replied.
"Elecmon was the seventh," Piyomon explained. "But he's been injured."
"Injured?" Tailmon repeated.
Gomamon nodded. "He's recuperating a few caves from here," the seal-like digimon explained, gesturing a flipper in the opposite direction.
"So our forces are limited to four children, one adult, and one perfection. Plus Tailmon," Hikari added. "Who is adult stage now but can become armored."
Tailmon nodded calmly, but all could see the pride in her features.
"Not great odds," Gomamon stated bluntly. "Especially since, with the control spires, there's no way we can evolve." He gestured towards himself and the other three child digimon.
"For now maybe we should stay undercover," Piyomon suggested.
Hikari nodded. "Good plan, Piyomon. We should try and figure out if we can find where Wormmon might be hidden. If he's even alive."
"Maybe you and I can work on making some real progress," Tailmon suggested.
Hikari frowned for a moment. "I'm not sure that's a good idea," she hesitated. "Does anyone have any idea where Wormmon might be hidden?" she asked everyone in the room.
"The best place to look would be near the Kaiser's fortress. He keeps quite a few controlled digimon there and makes them fight for his own amusement. Unfortunately, it's very heavily guarded," Palmon explained.
"Assuming the Kaiser has Wormmon," Tailmon reminded them. "He could be hidden from him."
"Well, we'll definitely figure that out when we get there, won't we?" Gomamon replied.
"The odds are against us," Andromon calculated. "If Wormmon is there, we should try to get him and get out as soon as possible. We cannot risk an all out battle. There are two few of us."
"Agreed," Hikari replied. She turned to Tailmon. "You and I can try to knock out the nearest control spires so that the other digimon in the area can evolve." She shuddered slightly. "Hopefully we won't run into Ken."
"If you do, it might be a good thing," Wizarmon considered. "He might think you're a ghost."
"If that works, your scaring him will distract him enough for the rest of us to make some progress," Palmon agreed.
"Okay," Hikari nodded. "How far is it to the fortress?"
***
Yukidarumon looked blank. "Hikari?" he questioned.
"Yeah," Taichi replied. He held his arm in front of him. "She's a girl, about this tall. My sister. She's missing."
Yukidarumon shrugged. "Nope," he replied. "Haven't seen anyone like that."
Taichi slumped slightly and turned back to his digivice.
"Thanks anyway Yukidarumon," Iori added politely.
"You'll have to forgive Taichi," Daisuke added. "He's a bit distraught at the moment."
"No trouble," Yukidarumon replied cheerfully. "Now, if you don't mind, I've got to head north a bit." He waved good-bye as he clomped off into the distance.
"I just don't get what happened to that Golemon," Miyako thought with a distant expression.
"He didn't get deleted the way normal digimon do," Ken agreed. "He was different somehow."
"That's what I wanted to tell you," Palmon spoke up. "There was this weird lady - ,"
***
"Okay guys, we're almost there. Everyone stay low," Hikari whispered to her "troops."
Behind her, Tailmon, Piyomon, Palmon, Agumon, Gomamon, Andromon, and Wizarmon all nodded. They crouched through the forest as quietly as possible.
"There it is," Piyomon whispered, waving a wing in the general direction in front of them all.
Everyone peered through the foliage. As usual, the fortress was a bleak sight. A dark structure loomed over the scene.
But this group was more focused on the small area just to the left of it. A small area was dug out of the ground, and small cages lined the "walls." Inside, Hikari could see quite a few digimon.
"Do you see Wormmon?" Tailmon questioned.
Hikari shook her head. "No," she replied. "But I can't see all the cages."
"Should we go for it?" Palmon asked.
The small group debated for a few moments. After a quick vote, they decided to attack.
***
"You mean that Golemon was only a control spire?" Miyako questioned.
Palmon nodded. "I meant to tell you before, but we were so caught up in the battle that there wasn't time."
"That's okay, Palmon," Iori assured her. "At least you told us, even if it was a little late."
"Is there anything on your digivice anymore, Taichi?" Daisuke asked.
Taichi shook his head with a sigh. "No, it's disappeared," he replied with a sigh.
"You're looking for something?" Palmon asked.
"Yes," Takeru replied. "Hikari-chan is missing."
"Missing? Oh dear," the plant digimon replied. "I'm sorry I can't help. I haven't seen her around."
"Neither has anyone else," Taichi groaned. "What am I gonna tell my parents?"
No one answered. They didn't know what to say either.
***
"Digimental Up!"
"Tailmon armor evolve! Nefertimon - the light of smiles!"
Hikari mounted Nefertimon and the two flew over head. Andromon and Wizarmon, the only two with sufficient fire power to be of use, followed after them.
The area was guarded by four mean looking Monochromon, a swarm of at least fifteen Flymon, and quite a few Gotsumon.
"The Gotsumon shouldn't be a problem for us children," Agumon stated optimistically. They're children, too." He started forward.
"Agumon, stay here!" Palmon hissed, but Agumon was already gone.
The battle began quickly as Nefertimon flew out of the trees. Immediately, half the Flymon began to attack, while the other half began to swarm around, getting ready to attack.
"Deadly Sting," several buzzed, shooting sharp poisonous arrows at them.
"Rosetta Stone!" Nefertimon called back, firing her attack back. A few of the Flymon were knocked down, and one or two were freed, as the black rings around them snapped and dissolved into data.
"Nefertimon, we've got to destroy the control spire," Hikari reminded her partner.
"I'm trying," Nefertimon replied, shooting another attack at the Flymon. Thankfully, the two that were now free were working to free their friends, but there was little progress being made.
"Gatling missile," Andromon shouted, knocking out a Flymon and freeing another.
"Thunder Cloud!" Wizarmon added his attack to the fray. "Hikari, Nefertimon, destroy that spire!"
"On it!" Nefertimon answered, changing direction and heading for the spire above the fortress.
"Thanks Wizarmon, Andromon!" Hikari waved back as they raced towards the spire.
"Baby Flame!" Agumon shouted, freeing a Gotsumon. He grinned. "This is fun," he commented to Palmon.
"Yeah, well we still should have stayed hidden," Piyomon retorted. "Magical Fire!" she aimed for a few Flymon.
"Eeeyah!" Gomamon shouted, jumping on a Gotsumon and attempting to battle it as much as possible.
"Angry Rock!" the Gotsumon shouted. Several rocks flew out of its head and Gomamon went flying into a tree. He slumped, eyes shutting as he fell unconscious.
"Poison Ivy!" Palmon shouted, pulling the Gotsumon away from Gomamon before he could attack again. She threw him in the direction of the other Gotsumon, and the force of that throw knocked out several of them.
"We're almost there, Nefertimon!" Hikari cheered as they flew closer to the spiral. "Attack it now!"
"I think not," a voice that she recognized came from behind her. She was almost afraid to turn, but she did anyway.
"Ken. I mean Kaiser," Hikari stated bluntly.
"I'm surprised you're still alive, Hikari," he replied with a sneer. He stood, his cape flying in the digital wind, on an Airdramon, as he usually did. "And I wonder who gave you that little piece of information?"
"Your real name?" Hikari asked. She shrugged. "It's not so hard to figure out."
~'If Ken things you were dead, you can use that to your advantage,'~ Hikari recalled Wizarmon's advice.
"It's the sort of knowledge that comes easy to one eventually," she added mysteriously.
"What are you talking about?" the Digi-Kaiser demanded. Hikari didn't respond.
"I know that you're really a nice guy inside," she said instead. "And that the darkness has corrupted you. But you don't have to let it."
"I don't know what you're talking about," the Kaiser snapped. But he turned away slightly, apparently affected.
"What have you done with Wormmon?" she asked.
"Wormmon?" he asked. His face showed a questioning state. "Who in the Digiworld is Wormmon?"
Hikari gasped. "Wormmon is your partner, Ken," she reminded him, hoping he wasn't speaking the truth.
"I don't have a partner," Ken snapped in response. "And I don't have time to chat." He pulled a whistle from around his neck and blew hard. "Attack!" he shouted.
***
Author's notes:
Hehe. I'm evil. A cliffhanger. Actually, two! What will Taichi and the others do if they can't find Hikari? And what does the Kaiser have planned? Who really has Wormmon? And what happens next???
To find the answer to all these questions? Well, wait a little and then read the next part (once I have it posted, of course). Shouldn't be more than a few days. I'm really getting a good amount of inspiration on this one.
Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, it means a lot to me. ^_^
Hikari looked around at the small group of digimon that surrounded her. So far, it seemed that there was little hope they would defeat the Kaiser. Suddenly, she remembered something.
"Wizarmon, I thought you said there were seven of you?" she asked.
"There were," he replied.
"Elecmon was the seventh," Piyomon explained. "But he's been injured."
"Injured?" Tailmon repeated.
Gomamon nodded. "He's recuperating a few caves from here," the seal-like digimon explained, gesturing a flipper in the opposite direction.
"So our forces are limited to four children, one adult, and one perfection. Plus Tailmon," Hikari added. "Who is adult stage now but can become armored."
Tailmon nodded calmly, but all could see the pride in her features.
"Not great odds," Gomamon stated bluntly. "Especially since, with the control spires, there's no way we can evolve." He gestured towards himself and the other three child digimon.
"For now maybe we should stay undercover," Piyomon suggested.
Hikari nodded. "Good plan, Piyomon. We should try and figure out if we can find where Wormmon might be hidden. If he's even alive."
"Maybe you and I can work on making some real progress," Tailmon suggested.
Hikari frowned for a moment. "I'm not sure that's a good idea," she hesitated. "Does anyone have any idea where Wormmon might be hidden?" she asked everyone in the room.
"The best place to look would be near the Kaiser's fortress. He keeps quite a few controlled digimon there and makes them fight for his own amusement. Unfortunately, it's very heavily guarded," Palmon explained.
"Assuming the Kaiser has Wormmon," Tailmon reminded them. "He could be hidden from him."
"Well, we'll definitely figure that out when we get there, won't we?" Gomamon replied.
"The odds are against us," Andromon calculated. "If Wormmon is there, we should try to get him and get out as soon as possible. We cannot risk an all out battle. There are two few of us."
"Agreed," Hikari replied. She turned to Tailmon. "You and I can try to knock out the nearest control spires so that the other digimon in the area can evolve." She shuddered slightly. "Hopefully we won't run into Ken."
"If you do, it might be a good thing," Wizarmon considered. "He might think you're a ghost."
"If that works, your scaring him will distract him enough for the rest of us to make some progress," Palmon agreed.
"Okay," Hikari nodded. "How far is it to the fortress?"
***
Yukidarumon looked blank. "Hikari?" he questioned.
"Yeah," Taichi replied. He held his arm in front of him. "She's a girl, about this tall. My sister. She's missing."
Yukidarumon shrugged. "Nope," he replied. "Haven't seen anyone like that."
Taichi slumped slightly and turned back to his digivice.
"Thanks anyway Yukidarumon," Iori added politely.
"You'll have to forgive Taichi," Daisuke added. "He's a bit distraught at the moment."
"No trouble," Yukidarumon replied cheerfully. "Now, if you don't mind, I've got to head north a bit." He waved good-bye as he clomped off into the distance.
"I just don't get what happened to that Golemon," Miyako thought with a distant expression.
"He didn't get deleted the way normal digimon do," Ken agreed. "He was different somehow."
"That's what I wanted to tell you," Palmon spoke up. "There was this weird lady - ,"
***
"Okay guys, we're almost there. Everyone stay low," Hikari whispered to her "troops."
Behind her, Tailmon, Piyomon, Palmon, Agumon, Gomamon, Andromon, and Wizarmon all nodded. They crouched through the forest as quietly as possible.
"There it is," Piyomon whispered, waving a wing in the general direction in front of them all.
Everyone peered through the foliage. As usual, the fortress was a bleak sight. A dark structure loomed over the scene.
But this group was more focused on the small area just to the left of it. A small area was dug out of the ground, and small cages lined the "walls." Inside, Hikari could see quite a few digimon.
"Do you see Wormmon?" Tailmon questioned.
Hikari shook her head. "No," she replied. "But I can't see all the cages."
"Should we go for it?" Palmon asked.
The small group debated for a few moments. After a quick vote, they decided to attack.
***
"You mean that Golemon was only a control spire?" Miyako questioned.
Palmon nodded. "I meant to tell you before, but we were so caught up in the battle that there wasn't time."
"That's okay, Palmon," Iori assured her. "At least you told us, even if it was a little late."
"Is there anything on your digivice anymore, Taichi?" Daisuke asked.
Taichi shook his head with a sigh. "No, it's disappeared," he replied with a sigh.
"You're looking for something?" Palmon asked.
"Yes," Takeru replied. "Hikari-chan is missing."
"Missing? Oh dear," the plant digimon replied. "I'm sorry I can't help. I haven't seen her around."
"Neither has anyone else," Taichi groaned. "What am I gonna tell my parents?"
No one answered. They didn't know what to say either.
***
"Digimental Up!"
"Tailmon armor evolve! Nefertimon - the light of smiles!"
Hikari mounted Nefertimon and the two flew over head. Andromon and Wizarmon, the only two with sufficient fire power to be of use, followed after them.
The area was guarded by four mean looking Monochromon, a swarm of at least fifteen Flymon, and quite a few Gotsumon.
"The Gotsumon shouldn't be a problem for us children," Agumon stated optimistically. They're children, too." He started forward.
"Agumon, stay here!" Palmon hissed, but Agumon was already gone.
The battle began quickly as Nefertimon flew out of the trees. Immediately, half the Flymon began to attack, while the other half began to swarm around, getting ready to attack.
"Deadly Sting," several buzzed, shooting sharp poisonous arrows at them.
"Rosetta Stone!" Nefertimon called back, firing her attack back. A few of the Flymon were knocked down, and one or two were freed, as the black rings around them snapped and dissolved into data.
"Nefertimon, we've got to destroy the control spire," Hikari reminded her partner.
"I'm trying," Nefertimon replied, shooting another attack at the Flymon. Thankfully, the two that were now free were working to free their friends, but there was little progress being made.
"Gatling missile," Andromon shouted, knocking out a Flymon and freeing another.
"Thunder Cloud!" Wizarmon added his attack to the fray. "Hikari, Nefertimon, destroy that spire!"
"On it!" Nefertimon answered, changing direction and heading for the spire above the fortress.
"Thanks Wizarmon, Andromon!" Hikari waved back as they raced towards the spire.
"Baby Flame!" Agumon shouted, freeing a Gotsumon. He grinned. "This is fun," he commented to Palmon.
"Yeah, well we still should have stayed hidden," Piyomon retorted. "Magical Fire!" she aimed for a few Flymon.
"Eeeyah!" Gomamon shouted, jumping on a Gotsumon and attempting to battle it as much as possible.
"Angry Rock!" the Gotsumon shouted. Several rocks flew out of its head and Gomamon went flying into a tree. He slumped, eyes shutting as he fell unconscious.
"Poison Ivy!" Palmon shouted, pulling the Gotsumon away from Gomamon before he could attack again. She threw him in the direction of the other Gotsumon, and the force of that throw knocked out several of them.
"We're almost there, Nefertimon!" Hikari cheered as they flew closer to the spiral. "Attack it now!"
"I think not," a voice that she recognized came from behind her. She was almost afraid to turn, but she did anyway.
"Ken. I mean Kaiser," Hikari stated bluntly.
"I'm surprised you're still alive, Hikari," he replied with a sneer. He stood, his cape flying in the digital wind, on an Airdramon, as he usually did. "And I wonder who gave you that little piece of information?"
"Your real name?" Hikari asked. She shrugged. "It's not so hard to figure out."
~'If Ken things you were dead, you can use that to your advantage,'~ Hikari recalled Wizarmon's advice.
"It's the sort of knowledge that comes easy to one eventually," she added mysteriously.
"What are you talking about?" the Digi-Kaiser demanded. Hikari didn't respond.
"I know that you're really a nice guy inside," she said instead. "And that the darkness has corrupted you. But you don't have to let it."
"I don't know what you're talking about," the Kaiser snapped. But he turned away slightly, apparently affected.
"What have you done with Wormmon?" she asked.
"Wormmon?" he asked. His face showed a questioning state. "Who in the Digiworld is Wormmon?"
Hikari gasped. "Wormmon is your partner, Ken," she reminded him, hoping he wasn't speaking the truth.
"I don't have a partner," Ken snapped in response. "And I don't have time to chat." He pulled a whistle from around his neck and blew hard. "Attack!" he shouted.
***
Author's notes:
Hehe. I'm evil. A cliffhanger. Actually, two! What will Taichi and the others do if they can't find Hikari? And what does the Kaiser have planned? Who really has Wormmon? And what happens next???
To find the answer to all these questions? Well, wait a little and then read the next part (once I have it posted, of course). Shouldn't be more than a few days. I'm really getting a good amount of inspiration on this one.
Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, it means a lot to me. ^_^