Dizzy here. Our visit to the peaceful-looking Cache Lake proved to be not-so-peaceful once Gesomon reared his ugly head. Veedramon couldn't beat him alone, so Floramon digivolved to Kiwimon and together they kicked him into the next zip code. Meanwhile, our abductors released a dangerous force in response to a mysterious phone call. This Damocles could mean trouble...
"Dark Rain" by Chet "Tech" Weaver
"Are we there yet?" asked Dizzy.
"No," replied Skeet.
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we-"
"FOR THE LOVE OF GOURDS, WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP!?" Carl demanded.
The group trudged on in silence.
"Where ARE we going?" asked Kelly after a minute.
"Crazy," Dizzy replied. "Care to join us?"
"No, really, where are we going?" Kelly asked.
"I'd like to know that, too," Carl said.
"Well, I don't know where we're going," Skeet said. "What is in this direction, Hawkmon?"
"I don't know what's in this direction," Hawkmon said. "I was following you. Kokuwamon?"
"Beats me," Kokuwamon said. "Tapirmon?"
"I think we're heading north," Tapirmon said. "Which means pretty much nothing if you don't know what's there. Floramon?"
"Eh," replied Floramon.
"I guess we'll know when we get there," Skeet said.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang like thunder. Everyone looked around to see where the sound came from.
"Look!" Kelly said. "The cloud!"
A day ago, a black object streaked through the sky and implanted itself in a cloud. The cloud turned dark and silent. Until now, all it did was flash with internal lightning.
"What's it doing?" asked Dizzy.
Several black objects streaked through the sky, this time away from the cloud and arcing down to the ground. The earth shook as they hit.
"Looks like one of them landed nearby," said Skeet. "Let's check it out!"
"Wait, why?" asked Kelly. "It can't be anything good."
"'Cause we're heading that way anyway," Skeet answered as the rest ran off.
Carl stayed behind long enough to utter a "hmph" when Kelly glanced at him.
"Wait up!" Kelly said, following everyone else.
"They're heading right for it," Wizardmon said. "Why do they always head right for it?"
"Better than waiting for it to come to them," Gotsumon replied.
"It's the nature of all sentient life," Leomon said. "They need to know what the danger is before trying to deal with it."
"Alright, studmuffin," Gatomon said. "I think it's about time you told us about that phone call. What's going on?"
Leomon gave Gatomon a sidelong glance and took a deep breath.
"That was the boss," he said. "To put it simply, he's not happy with the progress we've made and is demanding results. If we don't meet his deadline, the project's cancelled."
"Dang," Gatomon remarked.
"Exactly," Leomon continued. "I've put out to much effort into this project to let it go out with no less than a bang. If it'll fail, it might as well be a disaster."
"But what about us!?" Wizardmon demanded. "The Damocles could very well destroy us all!"
"It should be a while before it reaches full power," Leomon said. "If you guys want to leave, it's still safe to do so."
Everyone was just quiet for a while. Wizardmon got up, but then noticed something on the screen.
"They found the crash site," he reported.
"Then action couldn't be too far behind," Leomon said. "I would watch before deciding to leave if I were you."
"Something crashed here, alright," Skeet said as he surveyed the scene. A large crater had formed and the trees around it were knocked over. In the middle of the crater was a hole.
"It's empty," Dizzy said. "Whatever crashed here has either been moved or left on it's own."
"Are you sure?" Skeet asked. "We haven't even gone in the crater yet."
"Dolphin sonar," Dizzy said. "I could count cumquats behind a sheet of steel seven..."
"No one cares," Carl interrupted as he descended into the crater. After a bit of searching, he called back, "There's nothin' here."
"Toldja," Dizzy said.
"Now what?" Kelly asked.
"There's no point sticking around here," Skeet said. "There aren't even any tracks leading away from the center of the crater, so I don't see us finding it anytime soon. If we are heading anywhere, we might as well keep going there."
"Great," Carl groaned. "More walking."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Several green, caterpillar-like Digimon scampered through the underbrush. Panic filled them as they fled from their pursuer.
"Keep running, Wormmon!" one of them urged.
"I AM running!" another shot back.
"It's gonna catch us," a third Wormmon cried. "Game over, man, game over!"
"It can't get all of us!" the lead Wormmon said. "Let's split up, try to confuse it."
"Great idea!" another agreed.
"Go for it!" yet another said. All the Wormmon scattered in different directions.
"AWAY from it!" one scolded. The Wormmon heading in the wrong direction turned and went back.
Their pursuer glided to were the Wormmon split up. It was of no consequence to it which Wormmon were heading where. It had no thoughts about the kind of Digimon it was chasing. In fact, it had no thoughts. Period.
It choose a Wormmon and went after it. Try as the larval Digimon might, he could not outrun what was chasing him. If it had any sort of empathy, it could practically taste the Wormmon's fear as he ran. If it had eyes, perhaps it would've seen the look of fear on his face as he realized he was cornered. If it had ears, it definitely would've heard the Wormmon's screams as it sped towards him.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"What was that?" Kokuwamon asked.
"What was what?" Tapirmon asked.
"Don't tell me you didn't hear that," Floramon said.
"Hear what?" asked Tapirmon.
"That shriek!" Hawkmon replied.
"Oh, yeah, that," Tapirmon said. "I think it was a shriek."
"Yeah, but what was it?" Carl asked.
"It was a shriek," Tapirmon replied. "Duh."
"Yeah, but what was shrieking?" Skeet inquired.
Everyone looked at Dizzy.
"What?" Dizzy asked.
"You're always bragging about your advanced Dolphin sonar and hearing," Carl said. "Why don't you use your X-ray vision and tell us what's out there?"
"I don't know what it is," Dizzy said.
"But what about your radar or whatever?" Kelly asked.
"Just because I know where it is, doesn't mean I know what it is," Dizzy explained. "Sure, I know that it's closing in rapidly at five o'clock high, but I don't know the name of the Digimon that undoubtedly will want to rend us limb from limb."
"Can you tell us what it looks like?" Skeet asked.
"Yeah," answered Dizzy, "But it'll be here by the time I finish this sentence so I don't see much point in it."
An armored creature burst out of the trees and into open air above them, buzzing about erratically. Its exposed flesh was black, almost as black as most of its chestplate. Its gauntlets, shoes, thigh gaurds, mask and even wings had a fiery design, but where fire would be red, orange and yellow this creature's armor was black with dark blues and purples.
"Is that a Shadramon?" gasped Hawkmon.
"NNNnnnNNNnnot Shadramon!" the creature's nasal voice forced out. "DarkShadramon! DarkShadramon no like birdie-mon getting DarkShadramon's name wrong! DarkShadramon angry at birdie-mon!"
"My good sir," Hawkmon chuckled nervously. "I'm sure we can talk this over..."
"Yeah," Tapirmon said. "There's no need to utterly annihilate with your Flash Buster or Psychic Wave attacks."
"DarkShadramon not consider utter annihilation," DarkShadramon said. "DarkShadramon just going to insist for apology from birdie-mon, but like smoky-butt's idea muuUUUUCH better!"
"Way to go, dimwit," Floramon muttered, elbowing Tapirmon in the ribs. "Now we'll have to fight him."
"You're welcome," beamed Tapirmon.
"Get ready to digivolve, Hawkmon" Skeet said.
"Right!" confirmed Hawkmon.
"You too, Floramon," Kelly added.
Floramon nodded.
Skeet and Kelly's coins flew into the air, transforming into energy before zooming into their respective Digimon.
"Hawkmon, digivolve to..."
"VEEDRAMON!"
"Floramon, digivolve to..."
"KIWIMON!"
"V-NOVA BLAST!" Veedramon announced. He let loose with a V-shaped blast of energy that DarkShadramon easily avoided.
"PUMMEL PECK!" Kiwimon shot a rapid succession of DemiKiwimon that DarkShadramon ducked and wove around, taking little damage if any.
"PSYCHIC WAVE!" DarkShadramon flung his arms out wide, unleasing a wave of psychic energy. Dirt flew everywhere as Veedramon and Kiwimon were knocked off their feet.
"PUMMEL PECK!"
"V-NOVA BLAST!"
Yet again, the attacks missed their mark.
"This isn't working!" Veedramon said.
"This will!" Kiwimon insisted. "HIGH JUMPING KICK!"
Kiwimon launched herself into the air, striking DarkShadramon across the jaw. The insectoid Digimon tumbled about in the air, babbling incoherently as it tried to find its bearings. It was eventually balanced, with the sun behind him. DarkShadramon brought up its gauntlets to its face.
"FLASH BUSTER!"
Bright light flashed from DarkShadramon's forehead. Unfortunately, everyone was watching him.
"My eyes!" Veedramon roared.
"They burn!" whined Kiwimon, squinting.
"I can't see!" Kelly cried, covering her face.
"Visual sensors off-line!" Kokuwamon reported.
"I'm as blind as a bat!" Skeet exclaimed.
"What did you say!?" Carl interrogated.
"Sorry!" Skeet apologized. "I didn't mean anything by it!"
"V-NOVA BLAST!"
"PUMMEL PECK!"
DarkShadramon didn't even have to dodge. The attacks were miles off.
"DarkShadramon invincible!" DarkShadramon cheered.
"How do we hit something we can't..." Veedramon was cut short as DarkShadramon began pummeling him with his gauntlets.
"Veedramon?" asked Kiwimon. "Where is he!? Now I'm really gonna splat him!"
DarkShadramon grabbed her and drove her into the ground with a pile driver. Kiwimon's legs flailed as she tried to get her beak out of the ground.
"I think I can see now!" Veedramon proclaimed. A sharp whistle drew everyone's attention to the sky.
"FLASH BUSTER!"
"Not again!" complained Carl.
"It's a deadly circle game and we're losing!" Skeet exclaimed.
"PSYCHIC WAVE!"
"Skeet! Kelly! Duck!" Dizzy called out. He tackled the young skunk and cat, knocking them out of the way of the blast.
"You can still see?" Kelly asked.
"I think it should be obvious by now that I'm using sonar," Dizzy replied. "Veedramon, watch it!"
"What?" asked Veedramon, stepping out of the way of another Psychic Wave attack.
"That's it!" Skeet said. "Dizzy, you can direct Veedramon and Kiwimon in battle!"
"You're kidding right?" Carl said. "They couldn't hit that thing even when they could see it!"
"And Kiwimon's beak has been lodged in the ground," Dizzy added. "She's completely incapacitated."
"She is?" said Kelly. "Poor Kiwimon."
"It's gonna be poor them in a minute if they can't fight DarkShadramon blind," Gotsumon said.
"I'll go pack my bags," Wizardmon said as he got out of his chair.
"Wait a minute," Leomon said. He typed a few keys on a nearby keyboard. On another monitor the profile for Tapirmon appeared. He then brought up the profile of a Champion level Digimon.
"If Tapirmon digivolves into this, they just might have a chance," Leomon said.
"Yeah, a fat chance," Gatomon replied. "What are the odds that he'll become that? Or even digivolve?"
"The odds may not be good, but it's the only chance they got."
"FLASH BUSTER!"
"Huh? That wasn't a..."
"DarkShadramon make dino-mon look! FLASH BUSTER!"
"GAH! I can't believe I fell for that again!"
"Now that we're all blind again," Dizzy said. "I think I have an idea."
"I hope it's good," Kelly said. "I think my eyes just went numb!"
"I've noticed a sort of pattern with our battles," Dizzy explained. "When the Digimon that we have aren't good enough to defeat the enemy, one of them digivolves and defeats our adversary."
"Gee, ya think?" Carl remarked. "And that was only two battles. I'd hardly say that's a pattern."
"He has a point," Skeet said. "If your Digimon digivolves, we'll have a better chance of winning."
"What good is digivolving if we still can't see the danged thing?" Carl argued.
Dizzy glanced over to the battle, although he didn't need to see to know that DarkShadramon was smacking around Veedramon again. Veedramon wasn't going to hold out much longer. Dizzy sighed and reached into his shirt pocket to get his coin. He might as well give it a shot. Arguing wasn't going to get them anywhere.
"Kokuwamon!" Dizzy called out. "Heads up!"
Everything seemed to pause as the coin flipped. It rose into the air slowly until it reached the height of its leap. There it hung in midair, spinning faster and faster. The air around it turned dark as the coin itself began to glow brightly and emit a high-pitched whine. For the briefest moment, it stopped, with the sword-etched side facing Kokuwamon. The coin gleamed before exploding into energy that streaked down into Kokuwamon. The energy struck, and the robot-beetle Digimon began to glow and grow.
"Kokuwamon, digivolve to..."
Kokuwamon's body grew big and boxy as his horns grew into his head. His pincer-arms lengthened, becoming flat and ending in talons while his smaller arms became laser guns. As the glow receded, a single organic eye opened on an otherwise totally mechanical body. Kokuwamon has now reached his Champion form...
"MECHANORIMON!"
"MechaNorimon?" DarkShadramon questioned as he let Veedramon drop. "DarkShadramon know of MechaNorimon. Is vehicle of mass destruction that be ridden and controlled from inside, BUT STILL NO MATCH FOR DARKSHADRAMON!"
"Dizzy!" Skeet commanded.
"On it!" Dizzy acknowledged, dashing toward his Digimon partner. "Open up, MechaNorimon!"
MechaNorimon's hatch obediently opened, allowing Dizzy to hop inside. DarkShadramon rammed into MechaNorimon as he did so, causing Dizzy to slip and hit a button.
"GYRO BREAK!" MechaNorimon announced. His arms immediately went out to his sides as he started to spin like a buzz-saw. DarkShadramon was immediately flung off him and buzzed about disoriented.
"Looks like I'm living up to my nickname," Dizzy remarked. He sat in the pilot's seat and grabbed the steering levers. "I better remember that button. Just give me a quick run-down of the controls."
"Ya got two foot pedals: Gas and Brake," MechaNorimon reported. "Buttons on the steerage fire the Twin Beam, you know how to activate the Gyro Break, and when you wanna fly just say the word!"
"Alright, MechaNorimon," Dizzy said. "It's showtime!"
Regaining its bearings, DarkShadramon zoomed right into MechaNorimon again. This time, the vehicular Digimon caught the armored one and shoved back several feet.
"Nice catch," Dizzy said.
"Couldn't've done it better yourself," MechaNorimon said.
"And now... Action!" Dizzy declared.
MechaNorimon drew back his fist and socked DarkShadramon across the jaw. DarkShadramon stumbled back and put his gauntlets up to his head.
"FLASH BUSTER!"
"Oh, good," MechaNorimon remarked. "For a moment there, I thought having a dolphin pilot me was going to be pointless."
MechaNorimon charged as DarkShadramon flew at him again. MechaNorimon's fist missed as the insectoid buzzed past him. The robot turned around as he slid to a stop.
"TWIN BEAM!"
Twin lasers fired from MechaNorimon's guns. DarkShadramon made a ninety-degree course change and flew into the air.
"Engage thrusters," Dizzy commanded. MechaNorimon blasted off after DarkShadramon.
"PSYCHIC WAVE!"
MechaNorimon banked to avoid the blast. Then he dove to avoid DarkShadramon as he flew to intercept.
"Now that I got the controls down," Dizzy said, "Let's show this 1@^^3!^ why my internet deathmatch buddies gave me my nickname."
What followed was a seemingly random series aerial maneuvers, flybys, and hairpin turns that would've baffled anyone trying to follow them. All DarkShadramon could do was hover in place and watch confusedly.
"Did you see that?" Kelly gawked.
"Not really," Skeet said. "But I think I can make out a couple shapes."
"DarkShadramon thought he was supposed to be the quick one," DarkShadramon said, trying in vain to keep track of MechaNorimon's movements. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he turned around.
"You may be quick, but you're not too swift," MechaNorimon remarked, connecting with a right cross. "TWIN BEAM!"
A powerful laser blast hit DarkShadramon in the gut at point-blank range. As the insectoid fell, MechaNorimon grabbed him by the wrist.
"GYRO BREAK!"
With the added momentum of a high-speed spin, DarkShadramon hit the ground like a feature caught under the keys of a grand piano locked in a steel vault on a cruise ship in the belly of a sperm whale.
"DarkShadramon has a headache in his whole body..." DarkShadramon moaned. A shadow suddenly loomed over him.
"Well, looky here!" Veedramon exclaimed. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes! V-NOVA BLAST!"
The resulting explosion knocked DarkShadramon's limp body into the air, where it separated into a green, caterpillar-like Digimon and a black, egg-shaped object. Several similar Digimon scampered out of the bushes and gathered around where their friend was about to fall.
"Sticky Net!" the caterpillars called out. Standing in a circle, they sprayed silken threads that formed a web that caught the falling caterpillar.
"Thank you for saving our friend," one of the caterpillars said. "Wormmon would've never been able to free himself from the Dark DigiEgg of Courage."
"Dark DigiEgg?" Skeet asked.
"Yes, that thing," a Wormmon said, pointing to the black object on the ground. It had the same colors as DarkShadramon and had a blade sticking out of it.
"I'd hate to be the chicken that laid that egg," Kelly remarked.
"Why do they always say that?" one of the other Wormmons asked.
"Its one of many evil elemental DigiEggs created by a dark force," the first Wormmon explained. "Like any elemental DigiEgg, Dark Eggs fuse with a Digimon to create a new, more powerful Digimon much like your coins do."
"But unlike other elemental DigiEggs," a third Wormmon continued, "The Dark Eggs have a simple AI that takes over the mind of its Digimon host, effectively turning them into demented Dark Armor Digimon like the DarkShadramon you just fought."
"But why?" asked Kelly. "Who's doing this? Where do they come from?"
"As far as we can tell, they come from that black cloud," a Wormmon replied. "Other than that, I'm afraid we just don't know. What we do know is that if someone doesn't stop whatever's behind this, the Dark Eggs will take over the entire Digital World!"
Skeet looked at the coin that appeared in his hand when Veedramon devolved to Hawkmon. He squeezed it tightly in his palm.
The fallen Wormmon moaned as he opened his eyes.
"Are you all right, Wormmon?" a Wormmon asked.
"I'm fine, Wormmon," the Wormmon answered weakly. "It's nothing a four-month coma won't cure."
Suddenly, the Dark DigiEgg of Courage started spinning. It spun until it stood on it's point.
"IT'S ALIVE!" the Wormmon screamed as he ran off. "Head for the hills! Run away before it takes us all!"
MechaNorimon landed, crushing the DigiEgg. His hatch opened and Dizzy climbed out, striking a heroic pose atop his mechanoid partner.
"So what was that all about?" Dizzy asked. "Some sort of weird, dark, egg-like thing that turns good Digimon into evil Digimon or something?"
MechaNorimon glowed, reverting back to Kokuwamon. Dizzy landed on top of him.
"Ow," they said.
"Okay, so it wasn't the only chance they had," Leomon admitted. "It was still just as slim."
"Well, they beat DarkShadramon," Gatomon said to Wizardmon. She was perched on the back of his chair. "Whattaya say? You staying or leaving?"
"They always beat the first one," Wizardmon said.
"But they usually have at least a week of experience before Damocles is launched," Gotsumon said. "These guys only had two Champions! I dunno 'bout you, but I'm staying."
"You just want to ogle Kelly," Wizardmon said.
"What's your point?" asked Gotsumon.
"You've got to admit that they defied the odds," Leomon noted.
"They just got lucky," Wizardmon said. "It won't last."
Leomon shrugged.
"I guess your mind's set then," he said. "Consider this your 'Get Out of Heck Free' card."
"Thank you," Wizardmon accepted, heading for the door.
"Of course, you'll have to get yourself off the island."
Wizardmon stopped just short of the doorway.
"There just isn't enough time to drop you off with all the stuff we have to monitor. Of course, if we can't stop Damocles like you think then there's no point in actually leaving since it'll spread across the DigiWorld and get you sooner or later."
Wizardmon stood where he was, considering what was just said. His shoulders sagged as he sighed. He returned to his post.
"Okay, I'm staying," he said. "But when they get beaten, I'm on the first flight out of here."
"Good man," Leomon nodded. "Good to have you aboard."
Our heroes beat another foe by digivolving. What are the odds?
Can the Damocles be stopped?
Will Skeet and his friends put an end to the Black Cloud's rain?
Do they have what it takes?
Tune in next time, but until then...
TO BE CONTINUED...
"Dark Rain" by Chet "Tech" Weaver
"Are we there yet?" asked Dizzy.
"No," replied Skeet.
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we-"
"FOR THE LOVE OF GOURDS, WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP!?" Carl demanded.
The group trudged on in silence.
"Where ARE we going?" asked Kelly after a minute.
"Crazy," Dizzy replied. "Care to join us?"
"No, really, where are we going?" Kelly asked.
"I'd like to know that, too," Carl said.
"Well, I don't know where we're going," Skeet said. "What is in this direction, Hawkmon?"
"I don't know what's in this direction," Hawkmon said. "I was following you. Kokuwamon?"
"Beats me," Kokuwamon said. "Tapirmon?"
"I think we're heading north," Tapirmon said. "Which means pretty much nothing if you don't know what's there. Floramon?"
"Eh," replied Floramon.
"I guess we'll know when we get there," Skeet said.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang like thunder. Everyone looked around to see where the sound came from.
"Look!" Kelly said. "The cloud!"
A day ago, a black object streaked through the sky and implanted itself in a cloud. The cloud turned dark and silent. Until now, all it did was flash with internal lightning.
"What's it doing?" asked Dizzy.
Several black objects streaked through the sky, this time away from the cloud and arcing down to the ground. The earth shook as they hit.
"Looks like one of them landed nearby," said Skeet. "Let's check it out!"
"Wait, why?" asked Kelly. "It can't be anything good."
"'Cause we're heading that way anyway," Skeet answered as the rest ran off.
Carl stayed behind long enough to utter a "hmph" when Kelly glanced at him.
"Wait up!" Kelly said, following everyone else.
"They're heading right for it," Wizardmon said. "Why do they always head right for it?"
"Better than waiting for it to come to them," Gotsumon replied.
"It's the nature of all sentient life," Leomon said. "They need to know what the danger is before trying to deal with it."
"Alright, studmuffin," Gatomon said. "I think it's about time you told us about that phone call. What's going on?"
Leomon gave Gatomon a sidelong glance and took a deep breath.
"That was the boss," he said. "To put it simply, he's not happy with the progress we've made and is demanding results. If we don't meet his deadline, the project's cancelled."
"Dang," Gatomon remarked.
"Exactly," Leomon continued. "I've put out to much effort into this project to let it go out with no less than a bang. If it'll fail, it might as well be a disaster."
"But what about us!?" Wizardmon demanded. "The Damocles could very well destroy us all!"
"It should be a while before it reaches full power," Leomon said. "If you guys want to leave, it's still safe to do so."
Everyone was just quiet for a while. Wizardmon got up, but then noticed something on the screen.
"They found the crash site," he reported.
"Then action couldn't be too far behind," Leomon said. "I would watch before deciding to leave if I were you."
"Something crashed here, alright," Skeet said as he surveyed the scene. A large crater had formed and the trees around it were knocked over. In the middle of the crater was a hole.
"It's empty," Dizzy said. "Whatever crashed here has either been moved or left on it's own."
"Are you sure?" Skeet asked. "We haven't even gone in the crater yet."
"Dolphin sonar," Dizzy said. "I could count cumquats behind a sheet of steel seven..."
"No one cares," Carl interrupted as he descended into the crater. After a bit of searching, he called back, "There's nothin' here."
"Toldja," Dizzy said.
"Now what?" Kelly asked.
"There's no point sticking around here," Skeet said. "There aren't even any tracks leading away from the center of the crater, so I don't see us finding it anytime soon. If we are heading anywhere, we might as well keep going there."
"Great," Carl groaned. "More walking."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Several green, caterpillar-like Digimon scampered through the underbrush. Panic filled them as they fled from their pursuer.
"Keep running, Wormmon!" one of them urged.
"I AM running!" another shot back.
"It's gonna catch us," a third Wormmon cried. "Game over, man, game over!"
"It can't get all of us!" the lead Wormmon said. "Let's split up, try to confuse it."
"Great idea!" another agreed.
"Go for it!" yet another said. All the Wormmon scattered in different directions.
"AWAY from it!" one scolded. The Wormmon heading in the wrong direction turned and went back.
Their pursuer glided to were the Wormmon split up. It was of no consequence to it which Wormmon were heading where. It had no thoughts about the kind of Digimon it was chasing. In fact, it had no thoughts. Period.
It choose a Wormmon and went after it. Try as the larval Digimon might, he could not outrun what was chasing him. If it had any sort of empathy, it could practically taste the Wormmon's fear as he ran. If it had eyes, perhaps it would've seen the look of fear on his face as he realized he was cornered. If it had ears, it definitely would've heard the Wormmon's screams as it sped towards him.
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"What was that?" Kokuwamon asked.
"What was what?" Tapirmon asked.
"Don't tell me you didn't hear that," Floramon said.
"Hear what?" asked Tapirmon.
"That shriek!" Hawkmon replied.
"Oh, yeah, that," Tapirmon said. "I think it was a shriek."
"Yeah, but what was it?" Carl asked.
"It was a shriek," Tapirmon replied. "Duh."
"Yeah, but what was shrieking?" Skeet inquired.
Everyone looked at Dizzy.
"What?" Dizzy asked.
"You're always bragging about your advanced Dolphin sonar and hearing," Carl said. "Why don't you use your X-ray vision and tell us what's out there?"
"I don't know what it is," Dizzy said.
"But what about your radar or whatever?" Kelly asked.
"Just because I know where it is, doesn't mean I know what it is," Dizzy explained. "Sure, I know that it's closing in rapidly at five o'clock high, but I don't know the name of the Digimon that undoubtedly will want to rend us limb from limb."
"Can you tell us what it looks like?" Skeet asked.
"Yeah," answered Dizzy, "But it'll be here by the time I finish this sentence so I don't see much point in it."
An armored creature burst out of the trees and into open air above them, buzzing about erratically. Its exposed flesh was black, almost as black as most of its chestplate. Its gauntlets, shoes, thigh gaurds, mask and even wings had a fiery design, but where fire would be red, orange and yellow this creature's armor was black with dark blues and purples.
"Is that a Shadramon?" gasped Hawkmon.
"NNNnnnNNNnnot Shadramon!" the creature's nasal voice forced out. "DarkShadramon! DarkShadramon no like birdie-mon getting DarkShadramon's name wrong! DarkShadramon angry at birdie-mon!"
"My good sir," Hawkmon chuckled nervously. "I'm sure we can talk this over..."
"Yeah," Tapirmon said. "There's no need to utterly annihilate with your Flash Buster or Psychic Wave attacks."
"DarkShadramon not consider utter annihilation," DarkShadramon said. "DarkShadramon just going to insist for apology from birdie-mon, but like smoky-butt's idea muuUUUUCH better!"
"Way to go, dimwit," Floramon muttered, elbowing Tapirmon in the ribs. "Now we'll have to fight him."
"You're welcome," beamed Tapirmon.
"Get ready to digivolve, Hawkmon" Skeet said.
"Right!" confirmed Hawkmon.
"You too, Floramon," Kelly added.
Floramon nodded.
Skeet and Kelly's coins flew into the air, transforming into energy before zooming into their respective Digimon.
"Hawkmon, digivolve to..."
"VEEDRAMON!"
"Floramon, digivolve to..."
"KIWIMON!"
"V-NOVA BLAST!" Veedramon announced. He let loose with a V-shaped blast of energy that DarkShadramon easily avoided.
"PUMMEL PECK!" Kiwimon shot a rapid succession of DemiKiwimon that DarkShadramon ducked and wove around, taking little damage if any.
"PSYCHIC WAVE!" DarkShadramon flung his arms out wide, unleasing a wave of psychic energy. Dirt flew everywhere as Veedramon and Kiwimon were knocked off their feet.
"PUMMEL PECK!"
"V-NOVA BLAST!"
Yet again, the attacks missed their mark.
"This isn't working!" Veedramon said.
"This will!" Kiwimon insisted. "HIGH JUMPING KICK!"
Kiwimon launched herself into the air, striking DarkShadramon across the jaw. The insectoid Digimon tumbled about in the air, babbling incoherently as it tried to find its bearings. It was eventually balanced, with the sun behind him. DarkShadramon brought up its gauntlets to its face.
"FLASH BUSTER!"
Bright light flashed from DarkShadramon's forehead. Unfortunately, everyone was watching him.
"My eyes!" Veedramon roared.
"They burn!" whined Kiwimon, squinting.
"I can't see!" Kelly cried, covering her face.
"Visual sensors off-line!" Kokuwamon reported.
"I'm as blind as a bat!" Skeet exclaimed.
"What did you say!?" Carl interrogated.
"Sorry!" Skeet apologized. "I didn't mean anything by it!"
"V-NOVA BLAST!"
"PUMMEL PECK!"
DarkShadramon didn't even have to dodge. The attacks were miles off.
"DarkShadramon invincible!" DarkShadramon cheered.
"How do we hit something we can't..." Veedramon was cut short as DarkShadramon began pummeling him with his gauntlets.
"Veedramon?" asked Kiwimon. "Where is he!? Now I'm really gonna splat him!"
DarkShadramon grabbed her and drove her into the ground with a pile driver. Kiwimon's legs flailed as she tried to get her beak out of the ground.
"I think I can see now!" Veedramon proclaimed. A sharp whistle drew everyone's attention to the sky.
"FLASH BUSTER!"
"Not again!" complained Carl.
"It's a deadly circle game and we're losing!" Skeet exclaimed.
"PSYCHIC WAVE!"
"Skeet! Kelly! Duck!" Dizzy called out. He tackled the young skunk and cat, knocking them out of the way of the blast.
"You can still see?" Kelly asked.
"I think it should be obvious by now that I'm using sonar," Dizzy replied. "Veedramon, watch it!"
"What?" asked Veedramon, stepping out of the way of another Psychic Wave attack.
"That's it!" Skeet said. "Dizzy, you can direct Veedramon and Kiwimon in battle!"
"You're kidding right?" Carl said. "They couldn't hit that thing even when they could see it!"
"And Kiwimon's beak has been lodged in the ground," Dizzy added. "She's completely incapacitated."
"She is?" said Kelly. "Poor Kiwimon."
"It's gonna be poor them in a minute if they can't fight DarkShadramon blind," Gotsumon said.
"I'll go pack my bags," Wizardmon said as he got out of his chair.
"Wait a minute," Leomon said. He typed a few keys on a nearby keyboard. On another monitor the profile for Tapirmon appeared. He then brought up the profile of a Champion level Digimon.
"If Tapirmon digivolves into this, they just might have a chance," Leomon said.
"Yeah, a fat chance," Gatomon replied. "What are the odds that he'll become that? Or even digivolve?"
"The odds may not be good, but it's the only chance they got."
"FLASH BUSTER!"
"Huh? That wasn't a..."
"DarkShadramon make dino-mon look! FLASH BUSTER!"
"GAH! I can't believe I fell for that again!"
"Now that we're all blind again," Dizzy said. "I think I have an idea."
"I hope it's good," Kelly said. "I think my eyes just went numb!"
"I've noticed a sort of pattern with our battles," Dizzy explained. "When the Digimon that we have aren't good enough to defeat the enemy, one of them digivolves and defeats our adversary."
"Gee, ya think?" Carl remarked. "And that was only two battles. I'd hardly say that's a pattern."
"He has a point," Skeet said. "If your Digimon digivolves, we'll have a better chance of winning."
"What good is digivolving if we still can't see the danged thing?" Carl argued.
Dizzy glanced over to the battle, although he didn't need to see to know that DarkShadramon was smacking around Veedramon again. Veedramon wasn't going to hold out much longer. Dizzy sighed and reached into his shirt pocket to get his coin. He might as well give it a shot. Arguing wasn't going to get them anywhere.
"Kokuwamon!" Dizzy called out. "Heads up!"
Everything seemed to pause as the coin flipped. It rose into the air slowly until it reached the height of its leap. There it hung in midair, spinning faster and faster. The air around it turned dark as the coin itself began to glow brightly and emit a high-pitched whine. For the briefest moment, it stopped, with the sword-etched side facing Kokuwamon. The coin gleamed before exploding into energy that streaked down into Kokuwamon. The energy struck, and the robot-beetle Digimon began to glow and grow.
"Kokuwamon, digivolve to..."
Kokuwamon's body grew big and boxy as his horns grew into his head. His pincer-arms lengthened, becoming flat and ending in talons while his smaller arms became laser guns. As the glow receded, a single organic eye opened on an otherwise totally mechanical body. Kokuwamon has now reached his Champion form...
"MECHANORIMON!"
"MechaNorimon?" DarkShadramon questioned as he let Veedramon drop. "DarkShadramon know of MechaNorimon. Is vehicle of mass destruction that be ridden and controlled from inside, BUT STILL NO MATCH FOR DARKSHADRAMON!"
"Dizzy!" Skeet commanded.
"On it!" Dizzy acknowledged, dashing toward his Digimon partner. "Open up, MechaNorimon!"
MechaNorimon's hatch obediently opened, allowing Dizzy to hop inside. DarkShadramon rammed into MechaNorimon as he did so, causing Dizzy to slip and hit a button.
"GYRO BREAK!" MechaNorimon announced. His arms immediately went out to his sides as he started to spin like a buzz-saw. DarkShadramon was immediately flung off him and buzzed about disoriented.
"Looks like I'm living up to my nickname," Dizzy remarked. He sat in the pilot's seat and grabbed the steering levers. "I better remember that button. Just give me a quick run-down of the controls."
"Ya got two foot pedals: Gas and Brake," MechaNorimon reported. "Buttons on the steerage fire the Twin Beam, you know how to activate the Gyro Break, and when you wanna fly just say the word!"
"Alright, MechaNorimon," Dizzy said. "It's showtime!"
Regaining its bearings, DarkShadramon zoomed right into MechaNorimon again. This time, the vehicular Digimon caught the armored one and shoved back several feet.
"Nice catch," Dizzy said.
"Couldn't've done it better yourself," MechaNorimon said.
"And now... Action!" Dizzy declared.
MechaNorimon drew back his fist and socked DarkShadramon across the jaw. DarkShadramon stumbled back and put his gauntlets up to his head.
"FLASH BUSTER!"
"Oh, good," MechaNorimon remarked. "For a moment there, I thought having a dolphin pilot me was going to be pointless."
MechaNorimon charged as DarkShadramon flew at him again. MechaNorimon's fist missed as the insectoid buzzed past him. The robot turned around as he slid to a stop.
"TWIN BEAM!"
Twin lasers fired from MechaNorimon's guns. DarkShadramon made a ninety-degree course change and flew into the air.
"Engage thrusters," Dizzy commanded. MechaNorimon blasted off after DarkShadramon.
"PSYCHIC WAVE!"
MechaNorimon banked to avoid the blast. Then he dove to avoid DarkShadramon as he flew to intercept.
"Now that I got the controls down," Dizzy said, "Let's show this 1@^^3!^ why my internet deathmatch buddies gave me my nickname."
What followed was a seemingly random series aerial maneuvers, flybys, and hairpin turns that would've baffled anyone trying to follow them. All DarkShadramon could do was hover in place and watch confusedly.
"Did you see that?" Kelly gawked.
"Not really," Skeet said. "But I think I can make out a couple shapes."
"DarkShadramon thought he was supposed to be the quick one," DarkShadramon said, trying in vain to keep track of MechaNorimon's movements. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he turned around.
"You may be quick, but you're not too swift," MechaNorimon remarked, connecting with a right cross. "TWIN BEAM!"
A powerful laser blast hit DarkShadramon in the gut at point-blank range. As the insectoid fell, MechaNorimon grabbed him by the wrist.
"GYRO BREAK!"
With the added momentum of a high-speed spin, DarkShadramon hit the ground like a feature caught under the keys of a grand piano locked in a steel vault on a cruise ship in the belly of a sperm whale.
"DarkShadramon has a headache in his whole body..." DarkShadramon moaned. A shadow suddenly loomed over him.
"Well, looky here!" Veedramon exclaimed. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes! V-NOVA BLAST!"
The resulting explosion knocked DarkShadramon's limp body into the air, where it separated into a green, caterpillar-like Digimon and a black, egg-shaped object. Several similar Digimon scampered out of the bushes and gathered around where their friend was about to fall.
"Sticky Net!" the caterpillars called out. Standing in a circle, they sprayed silken threads that formed a web that caught the falling caterpillar.
"Thank you for saving our friend," one of the caterpillars said. "Wormmon would've never been able to free himself from the Dark DigiEgg of Courage."
"Dark DigiEgg?" Skeet asked.
"Yes, that thing," a Wormmon said, pointing to the black object on the ground. It had the same colors as DarkShadramon and had a blade sticking out of it.
"I'd hate to be the chicken that laid that egg," Kelly remarked.
"Why do they always say that?" one of the other Wormmons asked.
"Its one of many evil elemental DigiEggs created by a dark force," the first Wormmon explained. "Like any elemental DigiEgg, Dark Eggs fuse with a Digimon to create a new, more powerful Digimon much like your coins do."
"But unlike other elemental DigiEggs," a third Wormmon continued, "The Dark Eggs have a simple AI that takes over the mind of its Digimon host, effectively turning them into demented Dark Armor Digimon like the DarkShadramon you just fought."
"But why?" asked Kelly. "Who's doing this? Where do they come from?"
"As far as we can tell, they come from that black cloud," a Wormmon replied. "Other than that, I'm afraid we just don't know. What we do know is that if someone doesn't stop whatever's behind this, the Dark Eggs will take over the entire Digital World!"
Skeet looked at the coin that appeared in his hand when Veedramon devolved to Hawkmon. He squeezed it tightly in his palm.
The fallen Wormmon moaned as he opened his eyes.
"Are you all right, Wormmon?" a Wormmon asked.
"I'm fine, Wormmon," the Wormmon answered weakly. "It's nothing a four-month coma won't cure."
Suddenly, the Dark DigiEgg of Courage started spinning. It spun until it stood on it's point.
"IT'S ALIVE!" the Wormmon screamed as he ran off. "Head for the hills! Run away before it takes us all!"
MechaNorimon landed, crushing the DigiEgg. His hatch opened and Dizzy climbed out, striking a heroic pose atop his mechanoid partner.
"So what was that all about?" Dizzy asked. "Some sort of weird, dark, egg-like thing that turns good Digimon into evil Digimon or something?"
MechaNorimon glowed, reverting back to Kokuwamon. Dizzy landed on top of him.
"Ow," they said.
"Okay, so it wasn't the only chance they had," Leomon admitted. "It was still just as slim."
"Well, they beat DarkShadramon," Gatomon said to Wizardmon. She was perched on the back of his chair. "Whattaya say? You staying or leaving?"
"They always beat the first one," Wizardmon said.
"But they usually have at least a week of experience before Damocles is launched," Gotsumon said. "These guys only had two Champions! I dunno 'bout you, but I'm staying."
"You just want to ogle Kelly," Wizardmon said.
"What's your point?" asked Gotsumon.
"You've got to admit that they defied the odds," Leomon noted.
"They just got lucky," Wizardmon said. "It won't last."
Leomon shrugged.
"I guess your mind's set then," he said. "Consider this your 'Get Out of Heck Free' card."
"Thank you," Wizardmon accepted, heading for the door.
"Of course, you'll have to get yourself off the island."
Wizardmon stopped just short of the doorway.
"There just isn't enough time to drop you off with all the stuff we have to monitor. Of course, if we can't stop Damocles like you think then there's no point in actually leaving since it'll spread across the DigiWorld and get you sooner or later."
Wizardmon stood where he was, considering what was just said. His shoulders sagged as he sighed. He returned to his post.
"Okay, I'm staying," he said. "But when they get beaten, I'm on the first flight out of here."
"Good man," Leomon nodded. "Good to have you aboard."
Our heroes beat another foe by digivolving. What are the odds?
Can the Damocles be stopped?
Will Skeet and his friends put an end to the Black Cloud's rain?
Do they have what it takes?
Tune in next time, but until then...
TO BE CONTINUED...