A Different Reality Part 17
By Cybra
A/N: sighs Sadly, this series is nearing its end. However, if you're lucky, I may do a sequel series! After all, I'm going to leave it open for one, but with fewer characters used! (Writing for multiple human and Digimon characters is a major pain in the butt!) Still, there are one or two parts left until the long-awaited end to this series! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, my attempts to bribe the owners of Digimon have failed. Bummer, yes? Anyway, the show and characters don't belong to me, but this warped little idea is mine!
My name is Matt Ishida, and we Digidestined are in real trouble now!
We'd finally arrived at the peak of Spiral Mountain and had begun to face off against Piedmon once again when we discovered this guy had an ace up his sleeve.
He can turn our friends into keychains!
I swear I am not making this up!
So far, Vulpesmon, Wargreymon, Mimi, and Joe have fallen to this evil spell.
"Oh, no! Tai!" Sora shouted.
Correction: Vulpesmon, Wargreymon, Mimi, Joe, and Tai have become keychains.
"Metal Garurumon, nail that clown!" I shouted.
"I'm trying, Matt!" my Digimon partner shouted back.
Meanwhile, attacks kept being exchanged. We were running low on energy. One by one we were turning into keychains.
Unlike Tai, I know when to fall back.
"Retreat!" I ordered. "We gotta get out of here!"
"Clown Trick!"
The ground in front of Sora exploded. She screamed as she began to fall forward. Garudamon swooped low to catch her.
However, Piedmon used this to his advantage.
A white sheet flew over the pair of them. All that remained of Sora and Garudamon was a pair of keychains.
Seven down; only six of us left.
At the rate we were going, the Digital World was doomed.
"We can do this, Matt!" TK shouted to me bravely. Underneath his shirt, his Crest of Hope glowed once more.
"Angemon digivolve to…MagnaAngemon!"
"All right!" my little brother shouted.
"C'mon, TK!" I ordered, grabbing his wrist and motioning for the others to follow us.
Gomamon was lagging behind, his little flippers unable to allow him to run very fast. Palmon – now de-digivolved from Lillymon – turned and saw a white cloth heading towards him.
"Gomamon, look out!" she shouted, releasing her "Poison Ivy" attack in an attempt to grab him.
Too little too late. Gomamon was transformed into a keychain in seconds, joining Joe and the others on Piedmon's belt.
"How amusing! One by one you all fall!" Piedmon laughed. "Keep running, children! I'll catch up to you sooner or later!"
"I don't think so! Ice Wolf Claw!"
"Trump Swords!"
The two attacks met in-between the two Megas. However, in the clearing dust, I saw a white cloth heading towards Metal Garurumon.
"Metal Garurumon, look out!" I shouted.
Too late! My best friend disappeared under the cloth. I heard him snarl in frustration before I saw a small – almost cute – keychain of Metal Garurumon appear.
"No…" I whispered, horrified.
There was nothing left now. All we had was an Ultimate, a Rookie, and two humans left. Our two Megas were gone, and our other friends were gone. There was no way we'd make it out of this one alive.
We'd failed.
Miserably.
"MagnaAngemon can do it!" TK told me, but even his voice quivered.
No, MagnaAngemon couldn't do it. At least, not alone. He was only an Ultimate versus a very powerful Mega. Palmon was practically useless in this situation. Without Mimi, she couldn't digivolve.
'It's over,' I realized. 'In a matter of moments, there'll be nothing of us left.'
One thing I've learned in the Digiworld is this:
When you think it's over and there's no hope left…
…something is liable to pop up which gives you hope.
A loud, crisp bang and Piedmon's cry of pain alerted me to the Calvary's arrival.
I turned to see Koushiro standing on a rock.
"Sorry I'm late, Yamato," he apologized. "Unavoidable delay."
Piedmon snarled as he yelled, "How many times do I have to get rid of you before you stay gone?!"
Koushiro shrugged as he aimed once more. "Let go of the keychains, Piedmon, and surrender."
"Ha! Like you can stop me!"
Kabuterimon's voice shouted, "Not alone he can't! Electro Shocker!"
The attack nailed him from behind! TK and I cheered as the powerful Mega stumbled from the unexpected blow.
I noticed a small figure run forward quickly and swipe the keychains before running in our direction.
"Kari!" I shouted in surprise.
"Why you little – !!!" Piedmon began.
"Celestial Arrow!"
The familiar attack cut Piedmon off before he could attack or run forward to grab Kari. Angewomon appeared to fly down from Heaven as she swooped in.
"Hello, MagnaAngemon!" she greeted, zooming past him.
MagnaAngemon (thankfully) recovered his wits and began to press the attack. Palmon was shouting encouragement towards Piedmon's attackers.
Kari reached me and panted. I couldn't help but notice the knife tied around her waist.
"Where did you get – ?!" I began.
"Never mind! Listen, Koushiro and I know that MagnaAngemon's 'Magna Antidote' technique can reverse Piedmon's attack on the others. It'll change them back into real people again."
A vine from a Blossomon came towards us. Obviously, Piedmon had not been stupid enough to believe he could fight us off alone.
Much to my total surprise, the knife was in Kari's hand before I could blink. She sliced into the vine, causing the evil Digimon to cry out in pain.
Tai would've been so proud of her!
I took the opportunity to punch another vine from the malicious, oversized flower in order to deflect its attack. Blossomon obviously didn't like how this was working out.
Hope soared within me.
We just might win this fight after all!
TK hung back when I ordered him to, Palmon protecting him as best as she could.
"Kabuterimon, digivolve!" Koushiro shouted.
"Kabuterimon digivolve to…Megakabuterimon!"
Megakabuterimon rushed Blossomon at the same time Angewomon and MagnaAngemon continued attacking Piedmon. Blossomon attempted to fight off Megakabuterimon, but the large bug didn't even flinch. I guess Megakabuterimon was more experienced than Blossomon. That was a switch from the usual.
"Horn Buster!"
Within seconds, there was nothing left of Blossomon. I finally came to a snap decision.
"Koushiro! Have Megakabuterimon take over for MagnaAngemon for a few minutes!" I shouted.
The redhead nodded curtly as he continued to fire at Piedmon. He gave a sharp whistle and nodded towards Piedmon. Megakabuterimon – understanding the signal perfectly – flew towards the other battle.
MagnaAngemon zoomed over to us. I took the keychains from Kari.
"MagnaAngemon, Kari told us that your 'Magna Antidote' can reverse this. Why don't you try it?" I asked.
He nodded and crossed his arms in front of his chest. I hastily set the keychains on the ground and moved out of the way.
"Magna Antidote!"
Multicolored light streamed from him to the keychains. Then, the keychains began to grow into the normal forms of our friends.
Palmon was ecstatic. "Mimi!"
"Palmon! You're all right!" Mimi shouted back.
Tai turned to me. "What happened, Matt? I have the sudden urge to carry some keys."
"You all were turned into keychains. Listen, Tai," I hastily told him, cutting him off from speaking, "we need to have Wargreymon, Metal Garurumon, and the others attack immediately!"
He nodded and turned towards the others. Mimi and Joe gripped their Digivices.
"Palmon digivolve to…Togemon!"
"Gomamon digivolve to…Ikkakumon!"
Joe gave the next order. "Digivolve again!"
"Togemon digivolve to…Lillymon!"
"Ikkakumon digivolve to…Zudomon!"
Metal Garurumon and Wargreymon reached Piedmon first.
"This is impossible!" Piedmon shouted. "How did you know?!"
"A friend of ours told us, you stupid clown!" Kari crowed.
"Kari!" Tai shouted in surprise. He did a double take when he finally noticed the knife.
Our Digimon almost cheerfully went into attack formation, surrounding the last Dark Master.
I heard Koushiro's voice shout, "Time to take your final bow, Piedmon!"
"Ice Wolf Claw!"
"Terra Force!"
"River of Fire!"
"Flower Cannon!"
"Vulcan's Hammer!"
"Wing Blade!"
"Horn Buster!"
"Heaven's Charm!"
"Gate of Destiny!"
The first seven attacks threw Piedmon back into the Gate of Destiny. The gate closed even as the clown screamed his last scream. Then, the gate vanished into a flurry of data.
Sunlight finally reached the dark peak of Spiral Mountain. I smiled. It was over. It was finally over.
And we'd won!
The Digimon didn't de-digivolve right away as a rainbow-colored light appeared in a column before us. I saw Koushiro jump back warily, aiming his gun.
"Relax," I told him, laying a hand on his tense shoulder, "it's only Gennai contacting us."
Gennai's hologram of him and his smiling face appeared immediately. "Hello, kids!"
"Hey, Gennai!" Kari cheerfully greeted.
Man, she seems different when she's in all-out, "I'm gonna kick your butt" mode! I'll probably never look at her the same way again!
"It's nice to see all of you. And it's a pleasure to meet you at last, Koushiro," Gennai told us.
Koushiro merely nodded curtly, standing at what I noticed was military attention. That surprised me.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?" he asked. "Anyway, I'm glad that all of you have finally defeated Piedmon, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news."
"What do you mean?" Tai demanded.
"Piedmon may have been the last Dark Master, but the creator of the Dark Masters and all the other evil Digimon whom you have faced is still out there. Before you return home, you must defeat him as well."
Cries of "I don't believe this!" and "Aw, man!" filled the air immediately. Koushiro didn't say a word, but merely exchanged a glance with his partner before turning his attention back to Gennai.
"However, it will not be impossible to face off against him and win," Gennai continued. "The five Digidestined before you were able to handle him, so can you."
"We know that, Gennai," Kari told him. "One of our friends told us that."
"Oh, really? Who was it?"
"The Kari Kamiya from another dimension. Koushiro, Tentomon, Gatomon, and I were transported there for a little while."
"Yes, so that explains the weird power signature. Interesting. Well, good luck to all of you. You'll need it." That said, Gennai's hologram vanished.
I immediately turned to Kari, a smile on my face. "So that's how you knew that the 'Magna Antidote' thing would work!"
She nodded, smiling back. "Yup! That Kari had seen it happen. However, that was the first time Angemon ever digivolved to the Ultimate level. A lot of things are different there, but I'll explain it all later."
As soon as she was finished, Tai swept up his little sister into a hug. "I'm just glad you're okay!"
Kari's gaze turned serious. "If it wasn't for Koushiro and Megakabuterimon, Angewomon and I probably wouldn't be here right now, Tai."
Tai turned towards the silent observer of our joyful reunion. Everyone else in the group grew silent as they turned their attention to Tai and Koushiro.
The shorter Digidestined said not a word to Tai as our leader walked over to him, setting his sister down on the ground.
"You protected her?" he asked.
The redhead shrugged. "She exaggerates slightly. She handled herself very well in a few dangerous situations, but I didn't ditch her if that's what you mean."
"Koushiro gave me the knife and managed to find medicine when I had a relapse of what I now think was the flu, Tai," Kari told her brother.
Wargreymon silently exchanged a look with his partner.
As the tension grew, I feared that a fight might break out. I was starting to like Koushiro. He was weird and slightly disturbed me, but he was an okay guy, I guess.
Tai reached out a hand, smiling. "Thanks. And, I'm sorry that I've been a real jerk to you."
The shorter kid looked at Tai's hand as if expecting Tai to suddenly curl it up into a fist and sock him in the eye. However, he slowly placed his hand in Tai's and shook it. "You're welcome, and apology accepted."
It was fortunate that that little apology was now out of the way as darkness began to descend upon the peak of Spiral Mountain once more and the ground disappeared.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: Holy freakin' crap! I just finished Part 16 and Part 17 all in one day! I think I may pass out!
Kudos to…
Kyra – Rock on, girl! You rule! J
Vyse – The Keeper of Spoilers! You never let me down when I want someone to bounce ideas off of! J
Kelly Moon – I love reading mail from you, so e-mail me soon! I really, really want to talk to you again! Anyway, thanks for being a cool friend! J
Aquarius – I bow humbly before you! Finish "Insects" soon please! Anyway, thanks for being a good friend, too! J
My muse Izzy – You just had to nail me with inspiration didn't you? Anyway, thanks for putting up with me! J
Shameless Promos…
gensou no haato – Vyse's page! Huzzah! Fanfics! Couple shrines! I may die from happiness! J
Power of Knowledge – Izzy and Cody shrines! Now all I need is a Ken shrine from Kelly Moon and then I'll be in Heaven! J
Aquarius' Kawaii Domain – Aquarius' (small) but (hopefully) growing shrine! Please visit here! J
Spam: Reality With a Twist – My sister's page! Not much up yet, but make her counter happy and visit! It encourages her to work! J
Musical Inspirations…
The hopeless part of the fight with Piedmon (when the Digidestined were seriously losing) was inspired by "O Fortuna" from Orff's Carmina Burana.
The part of the fight with Piedmon when the Digidestined were winning and won was inspired by "Infernal Dance of King Katschei" from Stravinski's The Firebird Suite. (Awesome suite! A very shortened version was featured in Disney's Fantasia 2000, but the whole thing's on the soundtrack.)
The rest of the fic was inspired by "Sunrise" from Strauss' Thus Spake Zarathustra. (This song is more well known as the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey.)