A Different Reality Part 14
by Cybra
A/N: Been a while hasn't it? I thought Part 14 to my little series would appease some people…coughwhowouldkillmeifIdidn'tcough Anyway, here it is from Joe's POV.
Disclaimer: Sadly, Digimon does not belong to me. But I'm not bitter. begins swearing
It's me Joe again.
I can understand that Tai's still mad about Kari jumping off the train after Koushiro.
After all, my brother Jim would probably try to strangle me if I did something that reckless – not that I would – and he caught me.
But challenging Machinedramon isn't a good way to let out your anger…
"Giga Cannon!"
Wargreymon held up his armored arms to block the attack. Still, he was pushed back slightly from the force of the blow. Metal Garurumon ran to his aide immediately.
"Ice Wolf Claw!"
I glanced down at Gomamon who was resting in my arms.
The battle had been going on for at least an hour.
"Feeling better?" I asked my Digimon partner.
His big green eyes looked up at me tiredly. "Sure am," he answered, minus his usual enthusiasm.
"Why do I not believe you?"
Mimi was in a crouched position next to me looking away from the fight and tending to Palmon at the same time. Palmon wasn't looking so good. When she'd been Lillymon, she'd almost had her wings clipped when Machinedramon's "Giga Cannon" attack blew past her, causing her to tumble from the sky. She'd de-digivolved since her energy level had run out.
"MagnaAngemon! Look out!" Garudamon shouted as she flew towards the angel Digimon.
"Bear Claw!"
I'd almost forgotten about Warumonzaemon. This was a nightmare to end all nightmares!
'When we get back to Earth, we're all going to be in need of some serious therapy.'
Garudamon plummeted towards the ground as the attack hit her wing. I heard Sora screaming Garudamon's name, but at the last second, the large bird-like Digimon opened her wings and barely managed to glide over us before she crash landed. She glowed for a moment and de-digivolved into Biyomon.
We were down three. Only three Digimon on our side left.
I glanced towards the east, expecting Kabuterimon and Angewomon to swoop in and give us a hand like Kabuterimon with his human partner Koushiro always did.
They still didn't come.
Maybe they'd been delayed.
Or worse. Maybe they'd been destroyed.
I shuddered as I considered that option.
No, Kari, Koushiro, and their Digimon were still alive. Something inside me told me that.
But right now, I just wanted the Calvary to arrive.
MagnaAngemon swung his sword at Warumonzaemon, but had little effect. However, it was obvious that the two Virus type Digimon were wearing out as well. Metal Garurumon and Wargreymon fought their hardest against Machinedramon, but weren't having much luck. They couldn't get close enough.
That's when the Calvary arrived in the form of a large, bright red fox.
"River of Fire!"
The flame attack caught Warumonzaemon off guard, causing serious injury. The large, evil bear howled in pain as the fire licked his body.
"Vulpesmon!" Tai shouted to our friend.
I silently thanked whatever gods were out there for sending us him at the right moment. We could've been killed!
The large fox nimbly dodged various attacks from Warumonzaemon. The Ultimate form Digimon was really moving! It was like he was in spot one second, then in a totally different spot the next!
"River of Fire!"
"Gate of Destiny."
The flame attack threw Warumonzaemon into the portal leading to oblivion. I grinned, hope returning. Maybe we would win this one…
…but what about the coming fight against Piedmon?
Out of all the Dark Masters, I'm the most terrified of Piedmon. He's a sadistic clown who you wouldn't want to meet in a very dark alley! Trust me! If you see Piedmon coming and you don't have a squadron of Digimon with you, turn around and start running!
"Go get 'im, Vulpesmon!" Gomamon shouted.
Much to my surprise, Mimi began sobbing. I was completely bewildered. We were going to win – or at least get out of this one alive! Why was she crying?
I kneeled down beside her. "Mimi, what's wrong?"
"Remember…the last fight we had…with all the Dark Masters together?" she sniffed.
I closed my eyes and nodded. Flowerfairimon had been a brave Mega Digimon who'd sacrificed herself to protect us. She'd been a trainee of Piximon's from long ago.
I soothed, "Vulpesmon won't die, Mimi. He'll be careful."
"Flowerfairimon was careful, too! And look where she is now: dead!" Mimi sobbed.
Gently lowering Gomamon to the ground and attempting to block out the sounds of battle behind me, I wrapped my arms around Mimi in a hug. I felt extremely uncomfortable doing this. After all, I'm the worrier, not the comforter. The job of comforting had mostly fallen onto Sora's shoulders, but she was busy checking on Biyomon. Inwardly, I moaned. No hope for rescue.
Mimi clung to my sweater vest tightly, crying for all she was worth. On the outside, I was soothing her and trying to calm her down. On the inside, I was thinking about how badly my vest would shrink after this.
"Giga Cannon!"
The bright ball of energy flew right towards Mimi and I! I immediately shoved us both aside and Vulpesmon attempted to block the attack with one of his own, but the blast missed us by a few meters.
The force of the explosion tossed debris everywhere. A rock hit my lower leg, causing me to scream in pain. All the while, I shielded Mimi with my body. Mimi was screaming that high-pitched scream of hers which she uses whenever she's terrified. Not scared, terrified.
Larger chunks of concrete from the city street flew towards us, but these were blocked by Palmon and Gomamon.
"Marching Fishes!"
"Poison Ivy!"
Wargreymon and Metal Garurumon took the opportunity to attack.
"Terra Force!"
"Ice Wolf Claw!"
Thankfully, Machinedramon began to disappear in a shower of loose data. However, it still wasn't good enough. Debris was still flying everywhere. Digimon continued to try to protect us children.
One particularly large piece of debris hit me in the back. My teeth clenched, but I couldn't hold back the pain. My vision began to grow dark.
The last thing I heard was Mimi saying, "Joe? Joe! Guys! Joe's hurt!"
~@~
It figures.
I black out because of pain…
…and I wake up because of pain.
The first sensation that reached my body was a burning pain in my back. I moaned and attempted to move, but someone held me still.
"Don't move, Buddy," Gomamon's voice instructed me from somewhere past my closed eyelids.
"What do you think, Sora?" Tai's voice asked.
"I don't know, Tai. Joe's one studying to be a doctor, not me," Sora answered from somewhere.
"Oh. Yeah."
"Duh, Tai."
"Shut up, Matt!"
"Make me!"
I forced one of my eyes open to find myself lying on my stomach. Gomamon's worried green eyes were among the first things I saw.
I don't think I've screamed in fright because of him since the day I first met him.
I looked up to see Matt smirking.
"Well, that's normal," he commented.
Tai shot Matt a dirty look before asking, "How're you doing, Joe?"
I didn't try to move as I answered, "Not good."
That's when I realized I was on something soft and furry. I forced open my other eye to see a slightly-wounded – and a worried cream-colored – Vulpesmon sitting patiently about a foot away from me. Everything from my chest up was on top of his busy tail. Obviously, he'd offered to be a pillow.
Vulpesmon turned his face towards me and gazed at me with worried chestnut eyes. "Am I in a bad position for you?"
"Nope. You're in the right spot. Thanks."
"No problem."
Matt waved for my attention. I turned back to him.
"Uh…Joe? We took off your vest and shirt since you were bleeding underneath them, but…well…we don't know what to do from here. It looks pretty bad to us, and we don't want to make it worse…"
I winced. "How bad is it?"
"What does a huge bruise and a large bleeding cut that isn't bleeding anymore tell you?"
"Not too bad." I gave them instructions on how to clean and cover it step by step. I really, really didn't want them to mess up. That's all I'd need: to be crippled for the rest of my life just because my friends messed up on fixing up my wound.
I noticed Mimi holding onto Palmon tightly, looking away from me. Perhaps she was giving me some privacy. I appreciated the gesture if she was, but it wasn't necessary. Of course, she could've been grossed out.
TK came into view with my vest and shirt, minus whatever bloodstains they'd had before. Of course, both were still soggy from where he must've cleaned them in that stream I heard nearby.
Wait a second.
Stream?!
I then noticed that Machinedramon's city had disappeared, leaving behind a meadow of some kind. I reached out and petted Gomamon absentmindedly as I looked around and waited for the guys to finish.
~@~
A few hours later, we were on our way towards Spiral Mountain at a very slow rate, wanting to take our time. Our Digimon were exhausted and needed the break. Koromon and Tsunomon – so exhausted from the last battle that they'd de-digivolved into their In-Training forms – slept in their partners' arms. I carried Gomamon in my own arms as we searched for a place to sleep. Patamon was sleeping on TK's head. Vulpesmon was carrying Biyomon and Palmon since they were too big for Sora and Mimi to carry for long distances.
Mimi had been silent the whole time, not once complaining about the walk…which worried me. Of course, I always worry.
"Mimi, what's wrong?" I asked.
"I – I'm sorry, Joe!" she blurted.
I blinked. "For what?"
"I shouldn't have just sat there crying! You got hurt because you were protecting me! Please forgive me…"
I sighed. "Mimi, these things happen. Besides, I'm still in one piece, thanks to you guys. Before I blacked out, I heard you calling for the others to help me. I'm grateful that you did that!"
Mimi's chocolate brown eyes met mine, obviously wanting to see if I was telling the truth. I smiled. She smiled back, relieved that I'd forgiven her for a wrong she'd thought she'd committed.
Despite everything that had happened, I couldn't help but feel a little more confident inside. After all, I'd been nearly blasted to bits by Machinedramon's attack and had survived.
Perhaps we did stand a chance against Piedmon.
A/N: I have not given up on this series, people! I just got stuck for a while! I hope you enjoyed the death of Machinedramon! Joe-fans, sorry I beat up the poor guy, but I thought I'd give him a really good part. ^^ And I can't believe I dropped a Jyoumi hint in there. Ack! My mind is warped!!! Before Part 15 shall be "A Different Reality – Intermission: Piedmon"! Since I wrote most of Part 15 out during a stupid bomb threat, it should be out soon!
Kudos to:
Kyra – Thanks for being a pal, woman! And I won't kill you for not e-mailing me back!
Her Royal Weirdness – Thanks for letting me ramble on and on to you! Here's a noogie of appreciation! :::gives HRW a noogie:::
Kelly Moon – Thanks for being you! I won't kill you for not e-mailing me back, either! ;) I am kind!
Shameless promos (I'll make these quick since I'm very lazy today…): Kyra's Fanfic Archive, World Under Ours, and The Power of Knowledge (Kelly's new splash page to her Izzy and Cody pages!)!