Author's Notes: I've read a few more V-Tamer comics. Very interesting stuff...especially with the Digivices as watches and all. Taichi, Zero and Neo will eventually make their appearance in the story so be patient. There's a certain scene in the chapter where the melody from the song "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" by U2 assists in illustrating the mood. If you have it, you may want to play it when the scene comes along. Megagargomon will be coming in the next chapter so you can stop badgering me about it. As for Suzie getting her Digivice, I still haven't worked out the details but she'll get there.
Disclaimers: Digimon belongs to Fox, Saban, Toei Animation and whoever else owns it.
Beyond The Other Side - V 4.4
"Darkness Claw Attack!!" Beelzemon tried to slash his opponent but his claws got nothing but air. He looked behind to see Shadowgallantmon preparing to counterattack. "Obsidian Lance!!!" The next few moments for the demon lord Digimon were a blur as he was in too much pain from the repeated assaults from the lance. He finally collapsed on the ground. His shotguns lay beside him, empty. Even if Beelzemon had all the ammo in the world, it wouldn't make too much of a difference.
A snort of disappointment came from the dark knight. "You're pathetic. Deleting you and absorbing your data would be a waste of time. These powers aren't truly your own. You're just pretending to be a powerful being when in fact you're nothing." Beelzemon struggled to get up. "No!!! I got power!!! And now I'm gonna use it to kick your rear end to the other side of the world!!!"
"How amusing...you're making threats but you don't have the muscle to back them up. I would love to play some more but there's bigger fish to fry." Shadowgallantmon flew off, leaving Beelzemon with his own thoughts. 'This is what I've always wanted...it doesn't matter how I got here...does it?'
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Get us in as close as you can!! I want to get as much footage as possible!!" The pilot gave a nod as he flew in closer to the battle area. News helicopters were closing in to get footage of the battle of the century. The cameraman focused on several flying monsters fighting in the air. "Hey!! I think that looks like a monster on one of my kid's cards!!"
The helicopter made a sharp turn to the left to avoid one of the energy discharges. This caused the cameraman to stumble and fall out of the helicopter. He expected to fall for about thirty seconds before hitting cement. Instead, he landed in the arms of an angel with blonde hair and a helmet. "Are you alright?" He could only nod meekly in front of the celestial being who caught him. "You shouldn't be here. This is a dangerous place." She quickly returned him to where he fell out before flying back to battle. The man only had one thought after that experience. 'I am so going to get hazard pay for this!!!'
Before the dragon Digimon could bring his jaws down on his opponent, she dropped her staff and caught both jaws as they came down. Acidic saliva dripped onto her arm. The momentum of the dragon's charge was strong but Kuzuhamon stood her ground. 'I've seen him before...but where?'
Henry took out his Digivice to get some statistics on Takato's demonic form. "Megidramon, a mega level dragon Digimon. Virus type. As the most powerful of the Four Great Dragons, his Megido Flame attack can raise the temperature of anything it hits up to 5000 degrees Celsius in a minute!!" Terriermon gave a tiny gulp. "I've said it before and I'll say it again...we're all going to die."
"No, we're not. Megidramon is basically focused on killing Kuzuhamon. If we're lucky, he may turn on the other evil Digimon that the Digidestined are currently battling. But if he loses the battle, then we'll be in big trouble." Terriermon just gawked at his tamer's statement. "You're worried about him losing?!? I would be more worried about what will happen if he wins!!! For all we know, he could turn on us!!!"
Megidramon landed a powerful blow to Kuzuhamon's solar plexus, knocking her on her back. He pounced to go in for the kill but she brought up her legs, placed her soles on Megidramon's chest to catch him and stretched her legs, tossing him back. She quickly flipped back up. Her staff flew right into her hand by reflex. An uncomfortable feeling burned in Rika's stomach. "R-Renamon? What's this s-strange feeling?"
"As a dark shaman, Kuzuhamon feeds on souls who have not crossed over to the afterlife. She uses their despair to fuel her own power. That is the only explanation to all of these...apparitions appearing right here in this void. Don't worry about me. Stay focused on the task at hand, Rika!!" The girl started raising her staff. "Let's see what type of dark powers she has..." She focused on Kuzuhamon's card and the attack names on it. "Demon Helix!!"
Several chains shot out from her staff to surround Megidramon. For a moment, they appeared to restrain the dragon. Kuzuhamon allowed a small smirk on her face. But that smirk quickly vanished when Megidramon burst up into the air and started diving down at his opponent. As he got closer, Kuzuhamon was able to see the murderous intensity reflected in his eyes. Then it hit her. It was during the time before they were taken to Renamon's digital world. She remembered hearing Takato scream in anger...red glowing...then a giant red dragon with the exact same murderous glare tackled the dark knight who was about to execute her. "Takato?"
The dragon raised a fist as the distance between him and his target closed. Kuzuhamon got out of the way before Megidramon's punch could connect. All he did was punch a hole into the ground, creating some dust. "Renamon, this may sound a bit crazy but I think that's Takato attacking us!!" The vulpine Digimon concentrated to see what was on the outside. (AN: I'm thinking of this whole bio-merge thing like this...the tamers are in the driver's seat while the Digimon are on the passenger seat.) "There's only one Digimon that I know who has the same icon as that dragon...Guilmon!!"
"This is one of those times when I wish I wasn't right. The big question is how did they digivolve into this...psychotic dragon?" Megidramon started to get up again. He shook off a bit of dust that had settled onto his wings. "The first time that he digivolved into this dark form was when Shadowgallantmon was about to destroy you for failure to comply with his ultimatum. I think that this form came into existence by an extreme emotional trigger. In this case, I believe that his anger is what caused this. His anger and pain...over you."
Kuzuhamon quickly moved to avoid getting hit by Megidramon's Megido Flame attack. "What?!?" Her partner continued to speak. "It seems reasonable to assume that he believed that we had both died, thanks to Doumon. That would mean that he's made us his target and will stop at nothing until he destroys us."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The battle footage that had been shot by the news helicopters was being seen by people around the world. Within moments of seeing these events, activity on the net had skyrocketed. E-mails are flying everywhere with the main discussion topic being how things are going to change with Digimon being real. Adults were feeling frightened, especially if their children have Digimon merchandise. Chat rooms were being set up to discuss the recent events and toss around the idea that the good guys are going to win.
"You're not going to believe this, sir...but network activity has doubled over the past eight minutes!!" Yamaki narrowed his eyes at Megan. "How is that possible? Network activity should have been completely shut down with these nuisances constantly bio-emerging in our world!!"
Riley interrupted him. "Wait!! I may have an explanation...do you remember those two large signatures that were clogging up network activity? One of them has completely eliminated the other!! Now the remaining signature...appears to be preparing to bio-emerge!! At this rate, it will enter our world in five minutes!!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The sky above rumbled but nobody took notice as they were too concerned with their own battles. So far, Blackwargreymon and Metalgarurumon have shown few signs of fatigue. "It's like they keep going and going!!" exclaimed Davis. "Maybe they're fuelled by the darkness like a solar battery is powered by the sun," noted Kari.
"That would certainly explain why they've been a pain in the butt since the start of the battle," muttered Yolei. Cody just kept watching the above figures, flying around in a deadly yet captivating dance. "Maybe if we find out where the source of all this trouble is...that voice!! We've got to find out who spoke to us earlier just before they appeared!"
Wargreymon was about to fire another attack when a small tingling feeling in the back of his head went off. "Terra Destroyer!!!" He didn't even notice the attack coming. Had Metalgarurumon not pushed him out at the last second, he would have sustained a serious amount of damage. "What's wrong with you?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!?"
"Sorry...but I could have sworn I felt something. Almost like the time when we both battled Diaboromon. Don't you remember?" The other mega Digimon gave him a strange look. "Yeah...I kind of feel it. But that's impossible...we're in the real world, not on the actual network!! How is this...?"
"I don't know. But I can feel all of the courage and support of all of the humans. They must be aware of the battle. It's like the collective spirit has gone beyond the network and is now integrating into us...just like the Diaboromon battle."
Metalgarurumon quickly fired several missiles to deflect a few attacks as well as stall for time. "Are you suggesting that we should attempt at the fusion? But we don't have Matt and Tai with us." The vaccine mega Digimon pointed a claw in the middle of his chest. "Tai's power and courage are within me...like Matt's are within yours. It doesn't matter that they're not physically here with us." The doubt started to wash away from Metalgarurumon's face as both Digimon begun to glow simultaneously. (AN: I'm going to change the DNA digivolution sequence and make it more like Transformers when Ultra Magnus and Optimus become Omega Prime. It's just more cool that way)
"Combine into the ultimate warrior!!!!" Metalgarurumon's body transformed into an arm with his head changing into the barrel of a cannon. Another arm was formed, thanks to Wargreymon's body. White chest armor as well as legs formed to bring the two arms together. A white helmet appeared with blue eyes looking out of it. Finally a cape materialized, completing the transformation. "Omnimon awakens!!!"
Ken was relieved to say the least at the arrival of the new Digimon. "That guy looks powerful enough to finish off Blackwargreymon and Metalgarurumon on his own!!" TK had a confused look on his face. "How were they able to DNA digivolve in the first place? It's not like we were on the network or anything. But I guess I shouldn't be complaining."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
All twelve eyes of the three confused Holy Beasts were staring directly at Ebonwumon. Zhuqiaomon broke the silence. "Alright, elder brother. Spill it. How did you know that they would be able to fuse in the first place?" A small chuckle came from the turtle Digimon. "You have obviously forgotten how powerful the human spirit can be. However, since you would all prefer some sort of logical solution, the only theory I can come up with is that it was Millenniumon himself who allowed the fusion."
Baihumon gave a growl of frustration. "That does not make any sense!! Why would Millenniumon even consider allowing this?" The other head of the vaccine Digimon started speaking. "He can't help it. Remember all the fluctuations he caused between the barriers between each of our realms, in both human and digital worlds? It is his very existence that causes these fluctuations. As a result, the amount of network data gathered from around the world must have strengthened Wargreymon and Metalgarurumon up to a point where they can fuse. Perhaps this also explains how your tamers are able to tap into their essences and become one with their partners in an environment where under normal circumstances it would be impossible." Zhuqiaomon merely grunted in response.
"Speaking of the tamers...I do believe that one of them has become the most powerful of the Four Great Dragons due to a tragic loss. But he is emotionally unstable," stated Azulongmon. This earned a look of worry from Baihumon. "This is just what happened back in my realm...a Digimon reached mega level but was unable to control his own emotions after some friends were caught in the line of fire. As a result, he lost his mind, went viral and became a destructive force. Luckily, the Guard Tamers were able to stop him and send him to the confines of the Dark Ocean." The data Digimon paused to think about that particular Digimon. "And now he's back and combating his counterpart even as we speak."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Kuzuhamon deflected another attack as she kept playing 'keep away' with Megidramon. "Renamon, just how do we get through to Takato? The guy's so thick headed that-" She didn't have time to finish as Megidramon knocked her out of the air, forgetting about his aerial speed. He dived down, preparing to finish the job. Kuzuhamon sprang off from the ground and clamped the dragon tightly around the neck. He started thrashing wildly but she held her grip. By now, Kuzuhamon was more than annoyed at the dragon's assault based purely on uncontrolled anger. "Take a chill pill, goggle head!!!!"
Henry and Terriermon gave simultaneous gasps. "I think that was Rika's voice!!" The other boy remained silent with this revelation. Megidramon stood still. Whatever remained of Takato Matsuki slowly asserted some control. Kuzuhamon spoke to him in a tone that he had heard only from one other person: Rika Nonaka. As the two Digimon descended to the ground, Kuzuhamon gently released her grip. Megidramon stood there, uncertain of what to do. The shaman Digimon gave a small sigh. 'Well...here goes nothing.'
Before she could break the silence, Henry beat her to it. "Takato, stay focused!!! You've got to destroy Kuzuhamon before she gets another opportunity to hurt more innocent people!! Think about what happened when she killed Rika and Renamon!!" Kuzuhamon gave a start. 'Guess this explains about how that dragon appeared in the first place.' She took a quick glance at Henry. "Doumon didn't kill us, Henry. We were able to overwhelm her at the end when my essence joined with Renamon's data. After driving out her personality, we took control of this body."
A poisonous look made its way to the boy's face. "Isn't that convenient. We get our friend back as well as another mega Digimon on our side. Rika always went with the idea that we must make our own advantages in battle. Anything else is usually too good to be true." The girl gave a small curse at her earlier train of thought. 'Of all the times he decides to take a page out of the Digimon Queen's book...'
"You mean you're not going to even consider the possibility?! And I thought you were the type of person who would-" Henry quickly cut Terriermon off. "Rika's gone, Terriermon. It's going to be hard to accept it but we still have to face it in the end. All I see in Kuzuhamon is someone mimicking Rika to let our guard down. She may be a mega but Megidramon's got the type advantage. We don't know the effects of what happens when a Digimon absorbs the essence of a human in the middle of the downloading process. For all we know, Kuzuhamon has access to all of Rika's memories and inherited some of her personality traits. Then she could use them to her advantage to try and fool us."
She focused her attention back on to Megidramon. So far, there didn't appear to be much life coming out of the dragon. A moment later, he started snarling again. "Somehow, being in this form isn't convincing him that we're fine. All he sees is the Digimon who they think destroyed us," stated Renamon. An idea popped into Rika's head. "Maybe we can show them your real mega form. I think it should convince them that we're in one piece. From what I remember on the card game...Sakuyamon." She concentrated on Sakuyamon's form.
Yolei squinted her eyes to see what was going on. She wished she could go help the tamers but right now, their hands are full with three viral mega Digimon. Although they have been able to calm things down, their opponents have given them nothing but grief. Hopefully, Omnimon will be able to finish the job. 'Hang on, guys.'
Henry clenched his fists. "What is Kuzuhamon up to...Takato, now's your chance!!" Megidramon was planning on attacking when Kuzuhamon's body emitted a powerful light. The next thing he knew, she was surrounded by cherry blossoms. Rather than her cold blue look, her upper torso had changed to yellow. Purple gloves and boots replaced the blue ones. The silver had been replaced by gold. Henry looked at his Digivice. "Sakuyamon...mega level, shaman Digimon. Data type. Her attacks are Dragon Helix, Fox Drive and Talisman Sphere. I guess this means that Kuzuhamon can tap directly into Renamon's data and use Sakuyamon's powers!!"
Sakuyamon was overwhelmed by the amount of pain inside Megidramon's heart. 'He cared about me that much...I caused him so much pain.' Everything seemed to slow down as she saw Takato's essence. Rather than the cheerful goggle-headed boy she knew, she only saw a face twisted by pure hatred with his whole body engulfed by fire. In his eyes, she could see a large pool of lava...and someone was drowning in it. "What was that?!?"
The vulpine Digimon seemed to be disturbed by the startling vision. "I would guess that we just had an encounter with Takato's demonic side. Filled with hatred, anger and primal emotions within the human heart." Rika shook her head. "No!! I mean what was that I saw in his eyes!! I think there's another Takato drowning in...something!!"
"He's drowning in his own emotions. If he doesn't resolve this, he will be lost forever and pernamently remain as the creature before us. What he needs is the comfort of someone he loves...and who loves him back." Rika hesitated on what to do. "I-I can't...I was the one who caused him to hurt so much in the first place. Besides, I'm not very good when it comes to the department of love."
Renamon was about to argue when her partner cut her off. "I've treated my mother and my grandmother like they weren't important. If I can't handle the love of relatives, how do you expect me to handle this romance?!? I'm...scared about this, Renamon." The vulpine Digimon remained silent for a few moments before speaking again. "I suppose it's the idea of losing control which scares you, Rika. Everyone would feel better if they were in control of every aspect of their lives. However, with love...you lose that control. The only way for love to work is for both partners to trust each other. There's a chance that it could be shattered but from what I have observed in your world...the rewards are far greater than the risks."
Slowly, the words started to settle into Rika's mind. She felt that a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. 'She's right. I-I don't believe this...a month ago, I would have been revolted at the idea of love...especially with Takato. But this feeling in my heart feels so warm. Right now, Takato needs that warmth.' She focused back to reality where Megidramon stood there, uncertain of what to do. Henry tried to get his friend back on track. "She's still Kuzuhamon, Takato!! All she did was use Renamon's data to take on Sakuyamon's form!!! You have to destroy her now!!!"
Sakuyamon started walking towards the dragon. "Takato...please let me help you. Let me ease the pain in your heart." Megidramon flew back slightly, trying to figure things out. Henry continued to shout. "Don't fall for her tricks!! Concentrate on what happened earlier...when she took the lives of our friends!!!"
The dragon Digimon clutched his head, trying to silence all the voices inside. He remained this way for a few moments until he felt another pair of hands on his face. Megidramon's arms dropped as he stared right into Sakuyamon's face. She leaned forward slowly. "Please...show me that the boy I fell in love with still exists," said the shaman Digimon in a whisper. The last thing he heard before he felt his world spiral out of control was Henry shouting his name to try and warn him. "Takato!!!!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
He could feel his body trapped within an ocean of anger, pain and other powerful emotions. Every time he struggled to get out, he felt himself being pulled even deeper. Finally, the forces that were pulling him beneath the surface have dragged his entire body underneath. The cold embrace of despair and darkness awaited him when hands shot out from above him to grab his armpits.
A new surge of life went through him as he was pulled out. As he regained his vision, he saw a blue aura surrounding his savior's arms. He leaned back and was surprised to find a surface. The boy looked behind him to see some sort of...princess in a kimono. She had a gentle smile on her face. One person came to mind as he gazed upon her. "Rika?" He never got a chance to say anything else as his lips were covered by her own.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Um...Henry? What are those two doing?" The boy looked in disbelief at the scene before him. Sakuyamon's lips were pressed firmly against Megidramon's. Terriermon poked his partner in the leg. "Hello? Anybody home?" Henry looked at his Digimon with a dark look on his face. "We've lost Takato...now this time, we're all gonna die." Terriermon gave a small pout. "That's my line!!"
A brilliant red flare erupted from Megidramon. Henry knew that running wouldn't do any good. But one can imagine the surprise on his face when he saw Gallantmon in Megidramon's place. His red cape was flying freely in the wind. Sakuyamon stepped back. Without his face mask, Gallantmon's face looked so much like Takato's except with a few of Guilmon's features, like the red skin and golden eyes. The face mask materialized within a few moments. And the only thought that came to the holy knight's head was 'Whoa!!! This is going to be some story when someone asks me how my first kiss went!!'
Henry still couldn't recover from the shock so Terriermon had to ask the obvious question. "How did you transform back? What just happened?" Gallantmon turned to face his friends. "Sakuyamon was able to bring back my real essence. When we kissed...her love flowed right through and was able to overwhelm my demonic side. I don't really remember what happened when I let those demons take control but I'm glad it's over."
"Unbelievable!! I mean...of all the girls you could have...I mean you two a couple?!? That's insane!!! It's like a cat being in love with a mouse!! And Rika being all lovey dovey?!?" An annoyed look made its way to Sakuyamon's face. "Shut up, rabbit!!!" Terriermon raised an eyebrow. "Ooh la la...the bitch is back!"
Gallantmon still couldn't believe what just happened. He just found out that the girl he was in love with loved him back. The holy knight smiled underneath his mask. "You just..." He wasn't sure what to say. Fortunately, Sakuyamon was able to fill in something. "...became a mega? Well, it's a bit weird but when you're a tamer, weird pretty much comes with the job description!"
"No, no...what I mean is that you're...um..." He fought to get the words out. "...mega beautiful." Sakuyamon gave a small smile. The romantic moment got ruined when Terriermon's voice broke the silence. "That has got to be the corniest pick up line ever!!" Both megas shot dangerous looks at the rookie Digimon. "Shut up, rabbit!!"
"Oh my God...what have I done?" Sakuyamon and Gallantmon were diverted by Henry's voice. He fell to his knees, sobbing. They both rushed over to him. "Henry, what's wrong?" The boy didn't even raise his head. "I-I just...I tried to get my friends to kill each other!!" Sakuyamon placed a hand on Henry's shoulder.
"You didn't know, Henry. We don't really blame you or anything. You were just trying to do what's best for the team. You only assumed the worst case scenario so you can plan some sort of contingency plan." More tears continued to fall. "I should have considered the possibility that you were alive!!! Instead, I sent the two of you into a battle to the death!! Would a real friend do that?!?"
Terriermon hopped on Henry's head and started patting him softly. "Don't take it too hard, Henry. It was an honest mistake. Momentai." A large clap of thunder echoed throughout the air. Sakuyamon and Gallantmon rose up in alarm. Then the holy knight Digimon saw something coming out from the sky. It was too far so he couldn't tell who it was. But he could have sworn that it looked a bit like Kimeramon except that it looked a lot darker. A cold shiver ran throughout his body as he waited for the inevitable arrival of the dark being before them.
FINALLY!!! I thought I would never get this done!! This has got to be the second longest chapter in the book. Hopefully, I won't have to pull off something like this again. Oh, wait. My friend wants to say something.
(red haired boy walks in. He's wearing glasses and is a bit chubby. Dressed in funky shirt from Hawaii and jeans)
Friend: Hi! My name is Aaron and in the next chapter, I will be killed by a random Digimon character.
Epsilon: No, you won't. A certain duo with initials TG and MM shall be killed. But now that you have revealed some of my plans in the future, you must be punished appropriately. Remember the Catapult?
Aaron: Oh...right.
(With the magic of fanfiction, Aaron is tied up and is ready to be launched. Epsilon is at control)
Epsilon: By the way, if you are able to pass the third building, bring the case of Coke back here. We'll have a toast to you miraculously surviving. (proceeds to pull lever)
Aaron: It's a DEEEAAAAAALLLLL!!!!! (says 'deal' when he goes airborne)
If you didn't take Grade 12 English with me, then you probably won't get this so you can just skip below to the review section!!!
Disclaimers: Digimon belongs to Fox, Saban, Toei Animation and whoever else owns it.
Beyond The Other Side - V 4.4
"Darkness Claw Attack!!" Beelzemon tried to slash his opponent but his claws got nothing but air. He looked behind to see Shadowgallantmon preparing to counterattack. "Obsidian Lance!!!" The next few moments for the demon lord Digimon were a blur as he was in too much pain from the repeated assaults from the lance. He finally collapsed on the ground. His shotguns lay beside him, empty. Even if Beelzemon had all the ammo in the world, it wouldn't make too much of a difference.
A snort of disappointment came from the dark knight. "You're pathetic. Deleting you and absorbing your data would be a waste of time. These powers aren't truly your own. You're just pretending to be a powerful being when in fact you're nothing." Beelzemon struggled to get up. "No!!! I got power!!! And now I'm gonna use it to kick your rear end to the other side of the world!!!"
"How amusing...you're making threats but you don't have the muscle to back them up. I would love to play some more but there's bigger fish to fry." Shadowgallantmon flew off, leaving Beelzemon with his own thoughts. 'This is what I've always wanted...it doesn't matter how I got here...does it?'
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Get us in as close as you can!! I want to get as much footage as possible!!" The pilot gave a nod as he flew in closer to the battle area. News helicopters were closing in to get footage of the battle of the century. The cameraman focused on several flying monsters fighting in the air. "Hey!! I think that looks like a monster on one of my kid's cards!!"
The helicopter made a sharp turn to the left to avoid one of the energy discharges. This caused the cameraman to stumble and fall out of the helicopter. He expected to fall for about thirty seconds before hitting cement. Instead, he landed in the arms of an angel with blonde hair and a helmet. "Are you alright?" He could only nod meekly in front of the celestial being who caught him. "You shouldn't be here. This is a dangerous place." She quickly returned him to where he fell out before flying back to battle. The man only had one thought after that experience. 'I am so going to get hazard pay for this!!!'
Before the dragon Digimon could bring his jaws down on his opponent, she dropped her staff and caught both jaws as they came down. Acidic saliva dripped onto her arm. The momentum of the dragon's charge was strong but Kuzuhamon stood her ground. 'I've seen him before...but where?'
Henry took out his Digivice to get some statistics on Takato's demonic form. "Megidramon, a mega level dragon Digimon. Virus type. As the most powerful of the Four Great Dragons, his Megido Flame attack can raise the temperature of anything it hits up to 5000 degrees Celsius in a minute!!" Terriermon gave a tiny gulp. "I've said it before and I'll say it again...we're all going to die."
"No, we're not. Megidramon is basically focused on killing Kuzuhamon. If we're lucky, he may turn on the other evil Digimon that the Digidestined are currently battling. But if he loses the battle, then we'll be in big trouble." Terriermon just gawked at his tamer's statement. "You're worried about him losing?!? I would be more worried about what will happen if he wins!!! For all we know, he could turn on us!!!"
Megidramon landed a powerful blow to Kuzuhamon's solar plexus, knocking her on her back. He pounced to go in for the kill but she brought up her legs, placed her soles on Megidramon's chest to catch him and stretched her legs, tossing him back. She quickly flipped back up. Her staff flew right into her hand by reflex. An uncomfortable feeling burned in Rika's stomach. "R-Renamon? What's this s-strange feeling?"
"As a dark shaman, Kuzuhamon feeds on souls who have not crossed over to the afterlife. She uses their despair to fuel her own power. That is the only explanation to all of these...apparitions appearing right here in this void. Don't worry about me. Stay focused on the task at hand, Rika!!" The girl started raising her staff. "Let's see what type of dark powers she has..." She focused on Kuzuhamon's card and the attack names on it. "Demon Helix!!"
Several chains shot out from her staff to surround Megidramon. For a moment, they appeared to restrain the dragon. Kuzuhamon allowed a small smirk on her face. But that smirk quickly vanished when Megidramon burst up into the air and started diving down at his opponent. As he got closer, Kuzuhamon was able to see the murderous intensity reflected in his eyes. Then it hit her. It was during the time before they were taken to Renamon's digital world. She remembered hearing Takato scream in anger...red glowing...then a giant red dragon with the exact same murderous glare tackled the dark knight who was about to execute her. "Takato?"
The dragon raised a fist as the distance between him and his target closed. Kuzuhamon got out of the way before Megidramon's punch could connect. All he did was punch a hole into the ground, creating some dust. "Renamon, this may sound a bit crazy but I think that's Takato attacking us!!" The vulpine Digimon concentrated to see what was on the outside. (AN: I'm thinking of this whole bio-merge thing like this...the tamers are in the driver's seat while the Digimon are on the passenger seat.) "There's only one Digimon that I know who has the same icon as that dragon...Guilmon!!"
"This is one of those times when I wish I wasn't right. The big question is how did they digivolve into this...psychotic dragon?" Megidramon started to get up again. He shook off a bit of dust that had settled onto his wings. "The first time that he digivolved into this dark form was when Shadowgallantmon was about to destroy you for failure to comply with his ultimatum. I think that this form came into existence by an extreme emotional trigger. In this case, I believe that his anger is what caused this. His anger and pain...over you."
Kuzuhamon quickly moved to avoid getting hit by Megidramon's Megido Flame attack. "What?!?" Her partner continued to speak. "It seems reasonable to assume that he believed that we had both died, thanks to Doumon. That would mean that he's made us his target and will stop at nothing until he destroys us."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The battle footage that had been shot by the news helicopters was being seen by people around the world. Within moments of seeing these events, activity on the net had skyrocketed. E-mails are flying everywhere with the main discussion topic being how things are going to change with Digimon being real. Adults were feeling frightened, especially if their children have Digimon merchandise. Chat rooms were being set up to discuss the recent events and toss around the idea that the good guys are going to win.
"You're not going to believe this, sir...but network activity has doubled over the past eight minutes!!" Yamaki narrowed his eyes at Megan. "How is that possible? Network activity should have been completely shut down with these nuisances constantly bio-emerging in our world!!"
Riley interrupted him. "Wait!! I may have an explanation...do you remember those two large signatures that were clogging up network activity? One of them has completely eliminated the other!! Now the remaining signature...appears to be preparing to bio-emerge!! At this rate, it will enter our world in five minutes!!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The sky above rumbled but nobody took notice as they were too concerned with their own battles. So far, Blackwargreymon and Metalgarurumon have shown few signs of fatigue. "It's like they keep going and going!!" exclaimed Davis. "Maybe they're fuelled by the darkness like a solar battery is powered by the sun," noted Kari.
"That would certainly explain why they've been a pain in the butt since the start of the battle," muttered Yolei. Cody just kept watching the above figures, flying around in a deadly yet captivating dance. "Maybe if we find out where the source of all this trouble is...that voice!! We've got to find out who spoke to us earlier just before they appeared!"
Wargreymon was about to fire another attack when a small tingling feeling in the back of his head went off. "Terra Destroyer!!!" He didn't even notice the attack coming. Had Metalgarurumon not pushed him out at the last second, he would have sustained a serious amount of damage. "What's wrong with you?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!?"
"Sorry...but I could have sworn I felt something. Almost like the time when we both battled Diaboromon. Don't you remember?" The other mega Digimon gave him a strange look. "Yeah...I kind of feel it. But that's impossible...we're in the real world, not on the actual network!! How is this...?"
"I don't know. But I can feel all of the courage and support of all of the humans. They must be aware of the battle. It's like the collective spirit has gone beyond the network and is now integrating into us...just like the Diaboromon battle."
Metalgarurumon quickly fired several missiles to deflect a few attacks as well as stall for time. "Are you suggesting that we should attempt at the fusion? But we don't have Matt and Tai with us." The vaccine mega Digimon pointed a claw in the middle of his chest. "Tai's power and courage are within me...like Matt's are within yours. It doesn't matter that they're not physically here with us." The doubt started to wash away from Metalgarurumon's face as both Digimon begun to glow simultaneously. (AN: I'm going to change the DNA digivolution sequence and make it more like Transformers when Ultra Magnus and Optimus become Omega Prime. It's just more cool that way)
"Combine into the ultimate warrior!!!!" Metalgarurumon's body transformed into an arm with his head changing into the barrel of a cannon. Another arm was formed, thanks to Wargreymon's body. White chest armor as well as legs formed to bring the two arms together. A white helmet appeared with blue eyes looking out of it. Finally a cape materialized, completing the transformation. "Omnimon awakens!!!"
Ken was relieved to say the least at the arrival of the new Digimon. "That guy looks powerful enough to finish off Blackwargreymon and Metalgarurumon on his own!!" TK had a confused look on his face. "How were they able to DNA digivolve in the first place? It's not like we were on the network or anything. But I guess I shouldn't be complaining."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
All twelve eyes of the three confused Holy Beasts were staring directly at Ebonwumon. Zhuqiaomon broke the silence. "Alright, elder brother. Spill it. How did you know that they would be able to fuse in the first place?" A small chuckle came from the turtle Digimon. "You have obviously forgotten how powerful the human spirit can be. However, since you would all prefer some sort of logical solution, the only theory I can come up with is that it was Millenniumon himself who allowed the fusion."
Baihumon gave a growl of frustration. "That does not make any sense!! Why would Millenniumon even consider allowing this?" The other head of the vaccine Digimon started speaking. "He can't help it. Remember all the fluctuations he caused between the barriers between each of our realms, in both human and digital worlds? It is his very existence that causes these fluctuations. As a result, the amount of network data gathered from around the world must have strengthened Wargreymon and Metalgarurumon up to a point where they can fuse. Perhaps this also explains how your tamers are able to tap into their essences and become one with their partners in an environment where under normal circumstances it would be impossible." Zhuqiaomon merely grunted in response.
"Speaking of the tamers...I do believe that one of them has become the most powerful of the Four Great Dragons due to a tragic loss. But he is emotionally unstable," stated Azulongmon. This earned a look of worry from Baihumon. "This is just what happened back in my realm...a Digimon reached mega level but was unable to control his own emotions after some friends were caught in the line of fire. As a result, he lost his mind, went viral and became a destructive force. Luckily, the Guard Tamers were able to stop him and send him to the confines of the Dark Ocean." The data Digimon paused to think about that particular Digimon. "And now he's back and combating his counterpart even as we speak."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Kuzuhamon deflected another attack as she kept playing 'keep away' with Megidramon. "Renamon, just how do we get through to Takato? The guy's so thick headed that-" She didn't have time to finish as Megidramon knocked her out of the air, forgetting about his aerial speed. He dived down, preparing to finish the job. Kuzuhamon sprang off from the ground and clamped the dragon tightly around the neck. He started thrashing wildly but she held her grip. By now, Kuzuhamon was more than annoyed at the dragon's assault based purely on uncontrolled anger. "Take a chill pill, goggle head!!!!"
Henry and Terriermon gave simultaneous gasps. "I think that was Rika's voice!!" The other boy remained silent with this revelation. Megidramon stood still. Whatever remained of Takato Matsuki slowly asserted some control. Kuzuhamon spoke to him in a tone that he had heard only from one other person: Rika Nonaka. As the two Digimon descended to the ground, Kuzuhamon gently released her grip. Megidramon stood there, uncertain of what to do. The shaman Digimon gave a small sigh. 'Well...here goes nothing.'
Before she could break the silence, Henry beat her to it. "Takato, stay focused!!! You've got to destroy Kuzuhamon before she gets another opportunity to hurt more innocent people!! Think about what happened when she killed Rika and Renamon!!" Kuzuhamon gave a start. 'Guess this explains about how that dragon appeared in the first place.' She took a quick glance at Henry. "Doumon didn't kill us, Henry. We were able to overwhelm her at the end when my essence joined with Renamon's data. After driving out her personality, we took control of this body."
A poisonous look made its way to the boy's face. "Isn't that convenient. We get our friend back as well as another mega Digimon on our side. Rika always went with the idea that we must make our own advantages in battle. Anything else is usually too good to be true." The girl gave a small curse at her earlier train of thought. 'Of all the times he decides to take a page out of the Digimon Queen's book...'
"You mean you're not going to even consider the possibility?! And I thought you were the type of person who would-" Henry quickly cut Terriermon off. "Rika's gone, Terriermon. It's going to be hard to accept it but we still have to face it in the end. All I see in Kuzuhamon is someone mimicking Rika to let our guard down. She may be a mega but Megidramon's got the type advantage. We don't know the effects of what happens when a Digimon absorbs the essence of a human in the middle of the downloading process. For all we know, Kuzuhamon has access to all of Rika's memories and inherited some of her personality traits. Then she could use them to her advantage to try and fool us."
She focused her attention back on to Megidramon. So far, there didn't appear to be much life coming out of the dragon. A moment later, he started snarling again. "Somehow, being in this form isn't convincing him that we're fine. All he sees is the Digimon who they think destroyed us," stated Renamon. An idea popped into Rika's head. "Maybe we can show them your real mega form. I think it should convince them that we're in one piece. From what I remember on the card game...Sakuyamon." She concentrated on Sakuyamon's form.
Yolei squinted her eyes to see what was going on. She wished she could go help the tamers but right now, their hands are full with three viral mega Digimon. Although they have been able to calm things down, their opponents have given them nothing but grief. Hopefully, Omnimon will be able to finish the job. 'Hang on, guys.'
Henry clenched his fists. "What is Kuzuhamon up to...Takato, now's your chance!!" Megidramon was planning on attacking when Kuzuhamon's body emitted a powerful light. The next thing he knew, she was surrounded by cherry blossoms. Rather than her cold blue look, her upper torso had changed to yellow. Purple gloves and boots replaced the blue ones. The silver had been replaced by gold. Henry looked at his Digivice. "Sakuyamon...mega level, shaman Digimon. Data type. Her attacks are Dragon Helix, Fox Drive and Talisman Sphere. I guess this means that Kuzuhamon can tap directly into Renamon's data and use Sakuyamon's powers!!"
Sakuyamon was overwhelmed by the amount of pain inside Megidramon's heart. 'He cared about me that much...I caused him so much pain.' Everything seemed to slow down as she saw Takato's essence. Rather than the cheerful goggle-headed boy she knew, she only saw a face twisted by pure hatred with his whole body engulfed by fire. In his eyes, she could see a large pool of lava...and someone was drowning in it. "What was that?!?"
The vulpine Digimon seemed to be disturbed by the startling vision. "I would guess that we just had an encounter with Takato's demonic side. Filled with hatred, anger and primal emotions within the human heart." Rika shook her head. "No!! I mean what was that I saw in his eyes!! I think there's another Takato drowning in...something!!"
"He's drowning in his own emotions. If he doesn't resolve this, he will be lost forever and pernamently remain as the creature before us. What he needs is the comfort of someone he loves...and who loves him back." Rika hesitated on what to do. "I-I can't...I was the one who caused him to hurt so much in the first place. Besides, I'm not very good when it comes to the department of love."
Renamon was about to argue when her partner cut her off. "I've treated my mother and my grandmother like they weren't important. If I can't handle the love of relatives, how do you expect me to handle this romance?!? I'm...scared about this, Renamon." The vulpine Digimon remained silent for a few moments before speaking again. "I suppose it's the idea of losing control which scares you, Rika. Everyone would feel better if they were in control of every aspect of their lives. However, with love...you lose that control. The only way for love to work is for both partners to trust each other. There's a chance that it could be shattered but from what I have observed in your world...the rewards are far greater than the risks."
Slowly, the words started to settle into Rika's mind. She felt that a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. 'She's right. I-I don't believe this...a month ago, I would have been revolted at the idea of love...especially with Takato. But this feeling in my heart feels so warm. Right now, Takato needs that warmth.' She focused back to reality where Megidramon stood there, uncertain of what to do. Henry tried to get his friend back on track. "She's still Kuzuhamon, Takato!! All she did was use Renamon's data to take on Sakuyamon's form!!! You have to destroy her now!!!"
Sakuyamon started walking towards the dragon. "Takato...please let me help you. Let me ease the pain in your heart." Megidramon flew back slightly, trying to figure things out. Henry continued to shout. "Don't fall for her tricks!! Concentrate on what happened earlier...when she took the lives of our friends!!!"
The dragon Digimon clutched his head, trying to silence all the voices inside. He remained this way for a few moments until he felt another pair of hands on his face. Megidramon's arms dropped as he stared right into Sakuyamon's face. She leaned forward slowly. "Please...show me that the boy I fell in love with still exists," said the shaman Digimon in a whisper. The last thing he heard before he felt his world spiral out of control was Henry shouting his name to try and warn him. "Takato!!!!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
He could feel his body trapped within an ocean of anger, pain and other powerful emotions. Every time he struggled to get out, he felt himself being pulled even deeper. Finally, the forces that were pulling him beneath the surface have dragged his entire body underneath. The cold embrace of despair and darkness awaited him when hands shot out from above him to grab his armpits.
A new surge of life went through him as he was pulled out. As he regained his vision, he saw a blue aura surrounding his savior's arms. He leaned back and was surprised to find a surface. The boy looked behind him to see some sort of...princess in a kimono. She had a gentle smile on her face. One person came to mind as he gazed upon her. "Rika?" He never got a chance to say anything else as his lips were covered by her own.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Um...Henry? What are those two doing?" The boy looked in disbelief at the scene before him. Sakuyamon's lips were pressed firmly against Megidramon's. Terriermon poked his partner in the leg. "Hello? Anybody home?" Henry looked at his Digimon with a dark look on his face. "We've lost Takato...now this time, we're all gonna die." Terriermon gave a small pout. "That's my line!!"
A brilliant red flare erupted from Megidramon. Henry knew that running wouldn't do any good. But one can imagine the surprise on his face when he saw Gallantmon in Megidramon's place. His red cape was flying freely in the wind. Sakuyamon stepped back. Without his face mask, Gallantmon's face looked so much like Takato's except with a few of Guilmon's features, like the red skin and golden eyes. The face mask materialized within a few moments. And the only thought that came to the holy knight's head was 'Whoa!!! This is going to be some story when someone asks me how my first kiss went!!'
Henry still couldn't recover from the shock so Terriermon had to ask the obvious question. "How did you transform back? What just happened?" Gallantmon turned to face his friends. "Sakuyamon was able to bring back my real essence. When we kissed...her love flowed right through and was able to overwhelm my demonic side. I don't really remember what happened when I let those demons take control but I'm glad it's over."
"Unbelievable!! I mean...of all the girls you could have...I mean you two a couple?!? That's insane!!! It's like a cat being in love with a mouse!! And Rika being all lovey dovey?!?" An annoyed look made its way to Sakuyamon's face. "Shut up, rabbit!!!" Terriermon raised an eyebrow. "Ooh la la...the bitch is back!"
Gallantmon still couldn't believe what just happened. He just found out that the girl he was in love with loved him back. The holy knight smiled underneath his mask. "You just..." He wasn't sure what to say. Fortunately, Sakuyamon was able to fill in something. "...became a mega? Well, it's a bit weird but when you're a tamer, weird pretty much comes with the job description!"
"No, no...what I mean is that you're...um..." He fought to get the words out. "...mega beautiful." Sakuyamon gave a small smile. The romantic moment got ruined when Terriermon's voice broke the silence. "That has got to be the corniest pick up line ever!!" Both megas shot dangerous looks at the rookie Digimon. "Shut up, rabbit!!"
"Oh my God...what have I done?" Sakuyamon and Gallantmon were diverted by Henry's voice. He fell to his knees, sobbing. They both rushed over to him. "Henry, what's wrong?" The boy didn't even raise his head. "I-I just...I tried to get my friends to kill each other!!" Sakuyamon placed a hand on Henry's shoulder.
"You didn't know, Henry. We don't really blame you or anything. You were just trying to do what's best for the team. You only assumed the worst case scenario so you can plan some sort of contingency plan." More tears continued to fall. "I should have considered the possibility that you were alive!!! Instead, I sent the two of you into a battle to the death!! Would a real friend do that?!?"
Terriermon hopped on Henry's head and started patting him softly. "Don't take it too hard, Henry. It was an honest mistake. Momentai." A large clap of thunder echoed throughout the air. Sakuyamon and Gallantmon rose up in alarm. Then the holy knight Digimon saw something coming out from the sky. It was too far so he couldn't tell who it was. But he could have sworn that it looked a bit like Kimeramon except that it looked a lot darker. A cold shiver ran throughout his body as he waited for the inevitable arrival of the dark being before them.
FINALLY!!! I thought I would never get this done!! This has got to be the second longest chapter in the book. Hopefully, I won't have to pull off something like this again. Oh, wait. My friend wants to say something.
(red haired boy walks in. He's wearing glasses and is a bit chubby. Dressed in funky shirt from Hawaii and jeans)
Friend: Hi! My name is Aaron and in the next chapter, I will be killed by a random Digimon character.
Epsilon: No, you won't. A certain duo with initials TG and MM shall be killed. But now that you have revealed some of my plans in the future, you must be punished appropriately. Remember the Catapult?
Aaron: Oh...right.
(With the magic of fanfiction, Aaron is tied up and is ready to be launched. Epsilon is at control)
Epsilon: By the way, if you are able to pass the third building, bring the case of Coke back here. We'll have a toast to you miraculously surviving. (proceeds to pull lever)
Aaron: It's a DEEEAAAAAALLLLL!!!!! (says 'deal' when he goes airborne)
If you didn't take Grade 12 English with me, then you probably won't get this so you can just skip below to the review section!!!
