Till The End Of All
By CyberDracomon
Chapter 12 of 26 - Lessons
TK found himself walking with his head held a bit higher than it had been since earlier that day. In just the last few hours he had been through every emotion he could ever remember having and then some. He felt the height of his love for Kari, and in the next instant the depths of the darkest of depressions. He felt overwhelming joy and unspeakable anger. Now he seemed to feel nothing, he was neither happy or sad, but not overwhelmed by any one emotion any longer. He was still followed by Kari and Davis, both not sure what to think of how this was going. TK hadn't spoken in hours and they had already circled the park and were near the lakeside area their Digimon were left in. Kari couldn't take this, she was too worried about TK to stand idle while he remained silent.
"...TK, are you alright?" She finally said, breaking an hour of silence since the three had started walking. TK wished he didn't have to answer, still not in the mood to talk, but he knew he was worrying her with the silent act.
"...I'm better..." He replied simply. That was enough to break the tension that had built up, but still not quite enough to relieve Kari's worries. They wouldn't pass until TK was his old self, if that was possible.
"But still not okay." Davis pointed out. "TK, what's it going to take to get you back to your usual self?" Sometimes Kari hated it when Davis was so forward, knowing he had little idea of how to be careful in these matters.
"Simple, get someone else to kill themselves..." He replied, walking a little faster now to put some distance between himself and Davis. Kari failed to see why TK couldn't understand why she was willing to do this, he had been willing to do the same many times before. Unfortunately she did know, if he was doing this, Kari knew she would be acting the same.
The three reached the clearing where their Digimon had been waiting. Davis immediately noticed Veemon sleeping against one of the larger rocks of the area, snoring loud enough to wake a deleted Digimon. TK and Kari saw their Digimon beside the lake, staring out at it. What surprised them was seeing one of Patamon's ears wrapped around Gatomon's shoulders. Even more surprising was Gatomon's tail around Patamon in return. Neither could make a sound to alert the two, but their steps had done that well enough, alerting Gatomon's sensitive ears to their presence. She turned, prompting Patamon to do the same, both catching the glance of their stunned human counterparts. The two looked at their shocked human friends for a moment before laughing mildly at their reaction.
"So much for surprising you two." Gatomon said, standing and turning to face them. Patamon did the same, a little reluctant to release Gatomon from the grip of his wing.
"Yeah, we didn't want you finding out so suddenly." Patamon added. "We were hoping we would have a better chance to tell you." Kari almost wished there was a better time for such news, too, though now was as good as it would be with TK acting more like himself. The trio walked to their respective Digimon, with TK and Kari picking theirs up. Davis, on the other hand, gave Veemon a nudge with his shoe to wake him up. TK looked down at his partner in his hands, now noticing three scratches across the side of Patamon's face.
"Patamon, what happened to you?" TK said, worried, though his voice didn't imply it as much as he meant it to. Patamon had completely forgotten about the scratches, the stinging stopping after he and Gatomon returned to the clearing.
"Let's just say that if it wasn't for these, I wouldn't be so happy right now." Patamon replied. TK failed to see how that explained it, only confused more by the cryptic remark. He figured it was nothing bad that happened, though, if Patamon was so happy about it. Kari was watching the scene play out, but now looked down at Gatomon in her arms, seeing her partner's own change of appearance.
"What happened to your gloves?" Kari asked, not so worried as TK since Gatomon wasn't physically hurt. The feline looked away from Patamon, who she hadn't taken her eyes off of since Kari came over.
"They made a mistake so I threw them in the river to punish them." She replied. "I'll get another pair next time I revert from Angewomon so that's no problem." Kari was glad to hear that, not only because Gatomon didn't look the same without them, but also because of Gatomon's scars. Kari had seen them before, but Gatomon was so sensitive about it that she never explained to Kari how she got them. Even now Gatomon was hiding her right paw under her left, probably without even realizing it.
"Hey, guys, if I can make a suggestion." Davis asked, walking up to join the two with a sleepy Veemon following behind. "It's really late now and you've been gone all day, I'm sure your parents are getting worried." Davis had a point, they told their parents they would be gone a long time, but they underestimated how long the road was going to take to walk and then this walk in the park took even more time.
"You're right, we'll have to get home soon." Kari replied. TK agreed with them, but remained silent, still not in much mood to talk. Maybe he just needed to get some rest, sleep on the events of the day, it might seem to make more sense in the morning.
"What about TK?" Veemon asked. "I mean, we had to drag him from Kari's just to get here, we don't have to do that to get him home, do we?" TK only barely remembered his trip to the park, mostly under the power of his friends around him. He was too depressed to move much on his own, Kari and Davis had to pull him by the arms part of the way and he could remember Veemon pushing his legs from behind.
"...I can get home on my own, Veemon." TK said, his voice still without any actual tone. Veemon was relieved, he was getting too tired to do anymore pushing. Kari and Patamon, however, were still worried from how emotionless TK was being.
"You sure?" Kari asked. "Me and Gatomon can walk home with you if you want, it wouldn't take too long." TK shook his head, not wanting to see Kari anymore than he had to. As it was he had little choice but to meet with her tomorrow to continue the quest. No matter how much he hated it now, he already promised to help her finish it and TK refused to break a promise with Kari.
"I can get home on my own..." He repeated, turning to the path behind them. "I'll see you at Kari's place tomorrow." With that TK walked off, a worried Patamon still in his arms as he left. Kari couldn't help but wonder how TK would be the next day, if he would be better or possibly worse. She looked down at her Digimon in her arms, who looked just as worried. Kari wasn't sure if that was because of TK or the fact that Patamon was gone, though.
"Geez, I never would have pegged TK to be the hopelessly depressed one in the Digidestined." Davis said, watching as TK faded from view. Kari shook her head, turning to look at him.
"You're wrong, he was the most likely of any of us." She replied. "He's only like this because he loves me, he thought he was supposed to live the rest of his life with me." Kari lowered her head a little, a little depressed herself now. She had always imagined the same thing, but that wasn't to be, after all. "He just can't accept the idea right now, give him time and he will." That was what Kari hoped, at least, though it was better Davis think she was keeping her hope up with TK losing his.
"I guess so..." Davis replied. In all honesty Davis wasn't behind this idea anymore than TK, but he didn't have the strong emotional connection with Kari that TK had. That was all that stopped him from doing everything TK was. "I should get going, too, Veemon's getting really tired. I'll see you tomorrow, Kari." With that Davis started off, Veemon in tow, though the lizard Digimon was a step slower than usual. It took them a little longer to leave than it did TK, leaving only the girls behind to leave, as well.
"Things will be better tomorrow, right?" Gatomon asked, looking up from her human partner's arms. Kari looked down at her as she started to walk out of the clearing, on her way back home.
"I wish I knew..." Kari admitted, still not sure of how tomorrow was going to be. She tried not to think about it as she walked, knowing all she could do was hope for the best.
**********
That night while Patamon slept soundly on a small bed in the corner of TK's room, TK was tossing in his bed without restraint, cursed with the worst dreams of his life. Endless visions of Kari sacrificing herself, dying in front of his eyes over and over again, and every time TK was closer to helping her, saving her, but each time it happened just before he saved her, no matter how hard he tried or how fast he was, he couldn't help her.
TK shot up in bed, a small scream escaping his mouth as he did. He was covered in cold sweat and panting heavily, the dreams of Kari's fate fresh in his mind. He glanced over at the digital clock on a bed side table that read 4:28 am, not even an hour since another nightmare of the same images woke him. At this rate he wouldn't make it to the morning. The scream had woken up Patamon, but the orange Digimon didn't lave his bed, only watching TK through the dark room.
TK glanced away from the clock and to the object beside it, a replica of the Crest of Hope, a commemorative present from Gennai. After MaloMyotismon's defeat he had given them all medallions that were exactly like the old ones, except powerless. Often TK would look at this crest and remember those days in the Digital World, his transformation from a scared little boy to a leader among the new Digidestined. Looking at it now, though, and all that came to mind were all of his own hopes that the previous day's events had shattered, cursing him to live his life without the things he had been hoping for years to have. TK couldn't stand it. Without thinking he grabbed the crest from his night stand and flung it across the room with all the force he could. The copy crest hit the wall, the small window holding the actual crest shattering on impact, letting the crest fly from it's tag and landing on the floor a few feet from where the tag landed. Patamon had watched the act and couldn't believe what had just happened.
"TK, why did you do that?!" The Digimon said, flying from his bed to TK's as he spoke. "That was your crest! I thought that was supposed to be important to you!" At one time it was, TK thought that crest, even if it was a copy, was the most valuable thing he owned, at least to him.
"Sorry, Patamon." TK said coldly, looking over to his Digimon that was now standing on the corner of his bed. "After yesterday, it's hardly important to me..." Patamon stood in disbelief, never expecting this problem to go so far.
"TK..." The Digimon started, wondering if anything he could say would help. "I know things are bad right now, but you can't just abandon hope before it's all over." TK shook his head, knowing what the end meant no matter what.
"Patamon, hope already abandoned me..." He responded. "The only thing I ever hoped for in my life was for my friends. I never wanted anything for myself, just for my friends and my brother. That was until I met Kari, fell in love with her, and decided I wanted to marry her. Then the only hopes I had were to be with her the rest of my life, watch our children grow old together... They were the only hopes that I had for myself in my entire life. Now every one of those hopes I ever had for myself are gone, I'm doomed to live the rest of my life without Kari. Now tell me why I should really believe in hope anymore, Patamon..." Patamon stood silent, amazed at TK's words, but also too shocked to respond. Even if he could get words to come out, he doubted he could make them mean anything to his human partner. After a moment of silence Patamon slowly flew back to his own bed, still in disbelief. When he landed on his bed Patamon looked over to where the broken tag now lied, the broken glass of the tag forming a path to where the crest landed. He had a notion to walk over and pick up the pieces, but what he would do with them now he didn't know. He decided to leave it for now, hoping TK would come to his senses and possibly take the item back himself, assuming his senses would ever be normal again.
**********
The next day the trio of Digidestined, including a half reluctant TK, met at Kari's house and already found themselves back in the Digital World. This time they were in the northern part of the Digital World, which again felt different from the eastern area they were used to. It also looked different, where the western area was dominated by jungle, this area was dominated by grasslands, which spanned in every direction, the hills and occasional patches of forest area being the only differences in appearance.
TK looked around, already a little bored of the endless green in this area. He hadn't told anyone about the incident that morning and even made Patamon promise not to tell, either. Seeing his Digimon's reaction to it, he thought it was best Davis and Kari didn't know about it, knowing how they'd react. TK knew such an act wasn't like him, but right now he didn't feel like himself, anyway. As it was the only thing he regretted about the incident was the piece of glass from the tag he stepped on while he was getting dressed.
"Looks like this temple should be a lot easier to get to." Kari said, already looking over the map she received at Azulongmon's temple. "It's only half a mile from here, thanks to these plains there's nothing between us and the temple." Davis and Veemon were looking over the map, as well, but Gatomon and Patamon seemed more content just being together again. TK watched the two Digimon as they talked, too far away to hear them clearly, but it reminded him of how him and Kari were when they first started dating.
"So, what happens at the temple, anyway?" Davis asked, never seeing the actual process before. Kari switched the map off and put her D-3 away, finished finding the temple and route.
"Well it's nothing too exciting." Kari explained. "The temples let the guardian Digimon cross between this dimension and the one they watch the Digital World from. When I enter, the guardian crosses over to meet with me and give me a portion of their energy that gets stored in my Digivice for when we find the Cataclysm." Davis nodded his head a bit, but it still seemed like it overwhelmed him a bit from the look on his face.
"If it's that important, maybe we should get going." Veemon suggested from below Kari and Davis. "Besides, it looks like it could storm soon." Kari looked up and sure enough a mass of black clouds was starting to move in, lightning flashes already visible in the dark masses. It seemed strange, though, she didn't see any sign of a storm when they got there. This was the Digital World, though, the unusual was to be expected no matter how strange.
"Guess you're right, Veemon, I don't want to meet Ebonwumon soaking wet." Kari replied. She looked over at her Digimon, who was still talking to Patamon, and waived both of them over. Both caught the motion from the corners of their eyes and made their way over to join them. Kari then looked to TK, who was still occupied in his own thoughts.
"TK, we're leaving for the temple." Kari said to him. "We have to go now or we'll get caught in the storm." TK apparently hadn't noticed the storm clouds, either, looking up to see for himself. It didn't storm in the Digital World often, but when it did it was always severe. It looked like the temple was the only shelter around so now TK had even less of a choice but to go there with Kari.
"Alright, let's get going." TK said reluctantly, turning to her and walking over to join them. Once he did Kari started off, the rest in tow, being the only one that was sure of the right direction. Davis and Veemon were close behind, with Patamon and Gatomon walking side by side, and TK bringing up the rear, not wanting to walk any faster than he had to. As they walked, they would occasionally look back at the sky, watching the storm's progression. Unfortunately it seemed like no matter how fast they walked, the storm only got closer. After a while it seemed like it was almost on top of them and the temple was still out of sight.
"Guys, we aren't going to make it before the storm hits." Davis said. "Maybe we should stop and find shelter until it passes." Davis had a good idea, but unfortunately looking around, they were still in the plains, nothing but hills and grass around them.
"Good idea, if there was any shelter around." Gatomon said, making Davis realize the flaw in his idea. The closest thing to shelter seemed to be the patches of trees in the distance, but it would end up being worse than better if they went there.
"Oh yeah..." He replied, a bit embarrassed as he did. "So let's run, maybe the temple's close enough to run to." Gatomon shook her head, again shooting down an idea of his.
"We don't know the kind of Digimon around here." Patamon said, explaining for Gatomon. "If we're too worn out to fight, we wouldn't be any better off than if we get caught in that storm." It was beginning to get obvious that they had little choice but to wait for the storm and take whatever rain was coming their way. Realizing this they slowed their pace down, walking at normal speed since their faster pace was only wearing them out faster. It didn't take long for the storm clouds to make it overhead, eventually darkening the entire sky. The group waited for the rain as they walked, but for some reason the rain never came, instead the clouds only flashed with lightning on occasion.
"Maybe it's just a lightning storm..." Patamon said, even though he doubted it himself. As far as he knew the Digital World didn't have lightning storms. TK stopped, now looking up at the clouds overhead. They had been moving fast before but now they stopped except for one large cluster that had begun to form a swirl.
"Hey, Veemon, are there tornadoes in the Digital World?" Davis asked, now looking up at the swirling clouds overhead.
"Not that I know of..." Veemon said. "Then again I've seen weirder things than tornadoes here." TK hadn't ever heard of tornadoes here, either, but as the swirling clouds gained speed, he was starting to believe it was possible. When the swirl was fast enough, the center started to extend downward, forming the beginning of a cone of clouds. TK thought of running but at the rate the cone was forming, they would never get out of it's reach in time. Eventually the cone stopped reaching down, almost halfway to the ground. TK watched as the tip of the cone expelled a large object, round in shape. It opened up as it fell to the ground, revealing a pair of leathery wings. As it came closer, it became easy to recognize.
"Ragnadramon..." Kari said, a bit of shock to her voice. "I almost forgot, we aren't on protected paths anymore." TK had a feeling this temple seemed to be too easy to get to. He couldn't believe he was thinking this but he was almost glad for Ragnadramon's appearance, at least this delayed their approach for a while. The dragon Digimon stopped a few yards from where they stood, glaring down at them with his glowing gold eyes. He looked to Kari for a while, the glow increasing as he did.
"I sense Azulongmon's power within you, child..." Ragnadramon said, his voice as threatening as ever. "I do not know how you evaded me to collect it, but I assure you it will not happen again." Kari wasn't aware Ragnadramon could sense the energy of the guardians. She was hoping he would think they had only gone to one temple instead of two, it would have helped when they went after Cataclysm.
"You created those storms?" Gatomon asked, a tone of anger to her question. "What, you wanted a few flashes of light to do your work for you?" Ragnadramon shot his glance at Gatomon, his eyes flashing suddenly. An invisible force threw Gatomon back a few feet, punishment for her cocky comment.
"My hope was to follow you to the temple." The dragon replied. "I assumed you would go there for shelter with a storm coming, but I did not expect you to slow down instead. Needless to say, I became impatient to destroy you." That was helpful to hear, knowing he didn't know the temple locations meant they didn't have to worry about him finding them before they did. TK didn't pay attention, however, missing that fact. He was just hoping this would drag on long enough to discourage Kari from continuing to the temple.
"So what, you couldn't destroy us last time!" Patamon said defiantly. Unfortunately it was a false courage, they only lived through the first encounter because of Baihumon, Ragnadramon still outclassed them in power.
"I did do research." Ragnadramon said. "This area's guardian is a turtle. I doubt he'll come charging to the rescue. Besides, this time I brought some company with me." As he said this a crack appeared in midair beside him, similar to how he originally appeared to them. This one was much longer to the ground and smaller, though. As more cracks formed, TK and Kari could only guess at what was about to come. Davis, on the other hand, didn't know what the big deal was, not seeing how Ragnadramon originally appeared. He was too worried about the giant red-scaled dragon in front of him.
Eventually the cracks burst outward, sending shards of reality in all directions, but again none did any damage or had any tangibility to them. What appeared from the hole that had formed made everyone in the group gasp slightly. Two Digimon had appeared, one that looked like a Patamon except with black fur, another that looked like Gatomon, again with black fur but her gloves were purple instead of orange.
"These two are Tsukaimon and BlackGatomon." Ragnadramon said, referring to the two Digimon that were now beside them. "They are creations of my own design. I thought a bit of psychological warfare would be interesting." As much as TK and Kari were amazed by this turn, Patamon and Gatomon didn't even know what to think. They were now standing in front of distorted mirror images of themselves, their forms copied and corrupted by Ragnadramon.
"Can we please fight them now, my lord?" BlackGatomon asked. Even her voice sounded like Gatomon's, but with a more vicious and sinister tone.
"Yeah, I've been dying to get at these poor excuses for Digimon." Tsukaimon added, the same sinister edge to his voice.
"Very well then..." Ragnadramon replied. "Do not destroy them completely, though, that is a pleasure you shall reserve for me." The doppelgangers grinned, glaring at their respective counterparts, eager to fight. Gatomon was about to do the same when she realized she had yet to Digivolve and regain her claw gloves. Veemon ran up to stand by his friends, as eager to fight as the duplicate Digimon. He couldn't help but feel a little left out, though, as there was no black Veemon for him to fight.
"You outnumber them, guys." Davis said, trying to encourage their three Digimon. "Digivolve and take them out!" Veemon became a bit too eager and jumped forward, wanting to get in the first shot.
"Veemon digivolve to..." Veemon's body flashed with light as his energy picked up, engulfing his body. The light expanded until it finally burst, a blinding flash of light surrounding his area. When it faded, a much taller version of Veemon was in the rookie Digimon's place. He looked like a lanky blue dinosaur with a blade coming off his head and an X across his chest. He also had a pair of white leather wings, but they didn't look quite strong enough to fly with. "ExVeemon!" The new champion Digimon landed with a loud stomp, not much farther in front of his friends than he started.
"Patamon digivolve to..." Patamon took his turn, white light surrounding him as a mass of white feathers flew from under him. The light flashed, replacing Patamon with a humanoid figure clad in white and blue, with six angel wings on his back. He wore a metal helmet with no eye holes and carried a golden staff at his side. "Angemon!" The second digivolution complete, Angemon flew up a bit to get in a better spot to attack.
"Let's wait for their first move." Angemon said to ExVeemon. "We don't want to jump the gun and get caught by them." ExVeemon wasn't listening much, too concerned with his own strike plan.
"Forget that, let's get them before they get a chance to act!" ExVeemon replied, lunging forward at the two, using his wings to glide through the air. He was going for BlackGatmon, but she didn't seem at all worried.
"BlackGatomon digivolve to..." The black feline was quickly engulfed in a black aura, with dark light pouring out and forming a pillar around her. When it lifted the cat had been replaced by a tall female in black, with broken black wings on her back and an eerie red glow to her eyes. "LadyDevimon!" ExVeemon tried to stop, just now realizing his mistake. It was too late as LadyDevimon attacked, swinging a leg up and side kicking ExVeemon in the side, knocking him away easily.
"So they can Digivolve, too..." Kari said, her eyes locked on the familiar devil enemy. "Gatomon, you're up." Gatomon nodded, not sure about what was to come. Her last one on one fight with a LadyDevimon she barely managed to beat.
"Gatomon digivolve to..." Gatomon's body began to glow with pink light, her form changing from feline to human. Her hands became covered, one by a glove, the other by a pink ribbon. A set of 8 angel wings appeared on her back, and a helmet similar to Angemon's finished her new form. "Angewomon!" All three of the Digidestined Digimon were now Digivolved, but still only had one opponent in LadyDevimon.
"Tsukaimon!" Ragnadramon snapped. "What are you waiting for? Digivolve and help LadyDevimon, she is outnumbered. Do not hold back, though." Tsukaimon nodded, understanding what he meant.
"Tsukaimon digivolve to..." The black Patamon began to take on a black glow, with dark purple rays of energy around him. The rays turned up, surrounding Tsukaimon. When they faded, the black Patamon was replaced by yet another familiar face, this one of Angemon's past. "Devimon!" The black devil Digimon flew up a bit, matching Angemon's height. The angel Digimon was about to attack when Devimon began to glow with dark light again. "Devimon digivolve to..." This was what Ragnadramon meant by not holding back. The devil wasted no time building up energy once again, engulfed in dark light again. This time when it faded, a skeletal Digimon was in his place, wielding a vicious looking sickle. "SkullSatamon!" This one looked just like the one Daemon had used against them before, but obviously this one had more of a mean streak than even that one.
"That's too much for even the three of us." Angewomon admitted. She looked over at Angemon, who was still waiting for their opponents to attack. "Angemon, you had better Digivolve, we'll stand a better chance." If he could, Angemon would have Digivolved to Ultimate right away.
"He can't Digivolve..." TK said, his voice still sounding cold. "He doesn't have the energy anymore." Kari and Davis looked at TK, confused about his explanation. The two didn't know what he meant, only Angemon did. TK had abandoned all hope, the element of TK that fueled MagnaAngemon, and without it Angemon was restricted to Champion form.
"Good for us to know!" SkullSatamon said in a cackling voice. "The boy's Digimon is helpless, we can pick his friends off and have some fun before we kill them!" LadyDevimon seemed to like the idea, looking over at ExVeemon, who had just managed to get to his feet after the sharp kick. She then turned to her true target, Angewomon.
"Darkness Wing!" LadyDevimon folded her wings around her, then threw them open quickly, releasing a swarm of purple bats. They seemed faster than the ones the previous LadyDevimon used, hitting Angewomon before she could react, forcing her back.
"Skull Hammer!" SkullSatamon fell to the ground, his sickle over his head as he did. When he hit ground, he brought the sickle down, driving it into the ground and sending a bolt of red energy through the ground to ExVeemon. The dinosaur Digimon was still too winded to move quickly and got the full impact of the blast, exploding as it found it's mark. ExVeemon was thrown back hard, but managed to maintain some concentration, remaining in Champion form. It was all he could do, though, now too hurt to move. Davis panicked, running over to check on his Digimon without thinking about the two Digimon that had attacked ExVeemon already.
"Now for this one..." LadyDevimon said, turning her attention to Angemon. SkullSatamon rose into the air again, his sickly poised to attack again. Angemon was hardly about to let them do as they will, quickly building energy into his fist.
"Hand of Fate!" Without warning Angemon attacked, firing the gold beam at SkullSatamon. The Digimon only laughed as it came at him, not worried at all. He lunged his scythe forward, meeting the gold beam before it reached him, slicing it apart into smaller energy parts that missed their target.
"Pathetic!" LadyDevimon said. She lunged forward quickly, taking Angemon by the neck. The angel Digimon dropped his staff as she grabbed hold of him, too surprised to keep hold of it. LadyDevimon grinned and tightened her grip, slowly choking Angemon.
"Celestial Arrow!" A white arrow shot between Angemon and LadyDevimon, cutting the female devil across her arm. She flinched in pain, but did not let go. LadyDevimon looked to the side to see Angewomon, recovered from the swarm of bats and already cocking another light arrow. "Get your hand off of him, now!" LadyDevimon couldn't help but feel a bit of intimidation, the tone of Angewomon's voice was hatred, anger, hardly anything she would have expected from an angel.
"Coming of Ragnarok!" Before Angewomon could react she was already engulfed by a massive red beam, making her shake just from the impact of the blast. She was in immense pain, but managed to slip out of the beam and fall to the ground. Just before she hit she lost focus, dedigivolving back into Gatomon. Her gloves had returned as she said, but for how banged up she was it hardly mattered. Kari had watched the entire scene, too horrified to move, tears welled up in her eyes. Without thinking she ran over to Gatomon, in the middle of the battle area, checking on her fallen Digimon. To her relief Gatomon was still alive and still conscious, not taking the full force of the blast.
"No interference." Ragnadramon said. "This is just getting good, I would rather not have it spoiled." TK wasn't listening, watching Angemon, still in LadyDevimon's grip. He was already going to lose Kari, now his Digimon was in danger, it was too much. What kept him from breaking down and leaving now, he didn't know.
"Nail Bone!" SkullSatamon shot his free hand forward, firing a small storm of pointed bones at Angemon, ripping at him with each nail he fired. Angemon endured the pain as long as he could, but it eventually became too much and he was forced to dedigivolve back into Patamon, now unconscious and in LadyDevimon's hand. Meanwhile Kari and Gatomon were watching, with Gatomon barely able to move.
"No, Patamon..." She moaned, trying to sit up. Kari was holding onto her tight, though, not wanting her to go back into the fight.
"Gatomon, stay down." Kari pleaded. "You'll only get hurt again, they're too strong." Gatomon wasn't listening, though, still struggling to get out of Kari's grasp.
"Kari, let me go!" Gatomon begged. "I can't let him die! I have to help him." Try as she might, Kari wouldn't let go. Finally Gatomon stopped, turning to face Kari. She looked down at her Digimon, nearly gasping at the sight of tears in her eyes. "Kari, you don't understand! Wizardmon died, you're going to die, I can't let him die! I don't want to lose everyone I love, at least let me save him!" Now Kari was starting to realize what TK was feeling, seeing it in her own Digimon. An unstoppable urge to save the one she loved, she would give her own life in an instant to save Patamon's. TK must have felt the same way, and Gatomon would end up the same way if this continued.
"...Alright, do what you can." Kari said, reluctantly letting go of Gatomon. As soon as she was free Gatomon ran off toward LadyDevimon, not sure where she was finding so much energy suddenly. As much as she hurt, as strong as they were, she had to do something, she didn't care what, just anything to get them to let him go. As Gatomon ran off, Kari was still sorting out all of this. She admired her Digimon, even if this burst of courage and energy was driven by love, but mainly because she had someone willing to do this for her, the same that TK was to her. If this was to be her fate, she was glad to see Gatomon reach such a stage before her time came. She watched as Gatomon suddenly stopped, now close to the two devil Digimon.
"Patamon!!!" Gatomon shouted, hitting her limit point. She felt overwhelmed, her desire to save Patamon was unreal, but what could she do now that she was here? Only thing she could do, Digivolve and hope for the best, but her surge of energy was so powerful it was unreal, overwhelming as it engulfed her, overtaking her. "Gatomon Warp-Digivolve to..." Gatomon exploded in a field of pink energy, Angewomon appearing from the blast. The angel Digimon was quickly engulfed by the same light, growing wildly. From it's core came a large dragon Digimon, long in shape like an oriental dragon and covered in pink fur, with two powerful arms and legs. Her head formed a mane of fur and a pair of powerful horns, lack with pink rings around them. Along her back sprouted five sets of wings, covering the length of her back. She flew into the air, spiraling around into a small coil as she opened her now bright green eyes. "Magnadramon!" Kari looked on at the now Mega level Digimon, amazed by the turn of events. She must have Digivolved out of sheer determination to save Patamon.
"Fire Tornado!" Magnadramon glared up at SkullSatamon, opening her mouth to fire a spiral of light green flames, flying at tremendous speed. Before he realized he was under attack SkullSatamon was blasted away from Patamon and LadyDevimon, overwhelmed by the sudden mass of flame around him and thrown to the ground with a sharp impact.
"What was..." LadyDevimon tried to look over at whatever had attacked, only to be taken by surprised as Magnadramon flew above her, taking hold of LadyDevimon's arm with her claws, clamping down hard. The devil shrieked in pain, dropping the unconscious Patamon. Magnadramon released her foe and swooped down, flying under Patamon and letting him land gently on her back, losing her top two wings to hold him down.
"I won't let anything hurt you, Patamon, I promise." Magnadramon said, gliding down to the ground to let Patamon off and into TK's arms, who had tried not to get in the middle of the fight. Ragnadramon watched on, only intrigued by the turn of events.
"This development was not expected..." The dragon replied. Magnadramon had taken to the air again and was now flying to intercept Ragnadramon. The opposing dragon was still bigger, but her power was much better matched now and even if it wasn't, she had to get even for his cheap shot earlier. "LadyDevimon, SkullSatamon, to me!" Hearing the command, LadyDevimon, who was still gripping her sore arm, flew back over to Ragnadramon. SkullSatamon, however, was still hurt from the Fire Tornado and made it back at a much slower pace. "We shall return for now. Neither of you are a match for a Mega level." With that Ragnadramon turned, waiving his hand to open a hold in reality. The two devil Digimon flew into it, disappearing into the blackness of the hole. Magnadramon reached Ragnadramon as the two left, waiting for him to retreat, as well.
"How you Digidestined managed to defeat so many Digimon relying on sheer luck, I will never know." Ragnadramon said. "Your pet dragon is hardly impressive, but should you be lucky enough to accomplish such a feat again I assure you I will show you how meaningless your new trick really is." With that the red dragon backed off, entering the hole in reality himself and letting it close once he was inside, vanishing from sight. Magnadramon turned and flew back over to Kari, dedigivolving back to Gatomon in midair, landing in Kari's arms. Kari wasn't sure how she managed to go back to her normal form, traditionally she should have gone a stage down. She figured it didn't matter, she and Patamon were both safe, that's what was important.
"How did you warp-digivolve?" Kari asked, still not confident about what happened. "Only Agumon and Gabumon can do that and I didn't see you stab yourself with your own arrow." Gatomon laughed a bit, but didn't know what to say in response.
"I don't really know, I just had to save Patamon." She replied. "I guess that's what it took." TK looked down at Patamon, who was still unconscious and banged up from the fight. The three scratches on his cheek were gone from the Digivolution but the damage he had now made them even more minor.
"Now if you could do that, Kari wouldn't have to die..." TK whispered. He couldn't convince Kari to stop, he couldn't think of any alternative to her sacrifice, and he couldn't wait for Ragnadramon to appear so often that she gave up. He was becoming desperate as his options diminished, with no new ones replacing the now useless ones. Being so close to the third temple TK was trying to think as fast as he could, but no matter how hard he tried, he always came to the same thing. Kari was going to die and he could do nothing to prevent it.
End Chapter 12
Coming Next: Chapter 13 - Meeting
Note: Unfortunately I can't post URLs to SkullSatamon, LadyDevimon, and Magnadramon as I intended. I'm sorry, but you're on your own if you want to see them.
Want to know when a new chapter is posted? Use this link to sign up for my mailing list to know when new chapters and stories are up!
http://cyberdraco.notifylist.com/cdm_alert.html
By CyberDracomon
Chapter 12 of 26 - Lessons
TK found himself walking with his head held a bit higher than it had been since earlier that day. In just the last few hours he had been through every emotion he could ever remember having and then some. He felt the height of his love for Kari, and in the next instant the depths of the darkest of depressions. He felt overwhelming joy and unspeakable anger. Now he seemed to feel nothing, he was neither happy or sad, but not overwhelmed by any one emotion any longer. He was still followed by Kari and Davis, both not sure what to think of how this was going. TK hadn't spoken in hours and they had already circled the park and were near the lakeside area their Digimon were left in. Kari couldn't take this, she was too worried about TK to stand idle while he remained silent.
"...TK, are you alright?" She finally said, breaking an hour of silence since the three had started walking. TK wished he didn't have to answer, still not in the mood to talk, but he knew he was worrying her with the silent act.
"...I'm better..." He replied simply. That was enough to break the tension that had built up, but still not quite enough to relieve Kari's worries. They wouldn't pass until TK was his old self, if that was possible.
"But still not okay." Davis pointed out. "TK, what's it going to take to get you back to your usual self?" Sometimes Kari hated it when Davis was so forward, knowing he had little idea of how to be careful in these matters.
"Simple, get someone else to kill themselves..." He replied, walking a little faster now to put some distance between himself and Davis. Kari failed to see why TK couldn't understand why she was willing to do this, he had been willing to do the same many times before. Unfortunately she did know, if he was doing this, Kari knew she would be acting the same.
The three reached the clearing where their Digimon had been waiting. Davis immediately noticed Veemon sleeping against one of the larger rocks of the area, snoring loud enough to wake a deleted Digimon. TK and Kari saw their Digimon beside the lake, staring out at it. What surprised them was seeing one of Patamon's ears wrapped around Gatomon's shoulders. Even more surprising was Gatomon's tail around Patamon in return. Neither could make a sound to alert the two, but their steps had done that well enough, alerting Gatomon's sensitive ears to their presence. She turned, prompting Patamon to do the same, both catching the glance of their stunned human counterparts. The two looked at their shocked human friends for a moment before laughing mildly at their reaction.
"So much for surprising you two." Gatomon said, standing and turning to face them. Patamon did the same, a little reluctant to release Gatomon from the grip of his wing.
"Yeah, we didn't want you finding out so suddenly." Patamon added. "We were hoping we would have a better chance to tell you." Kari almost wished there was a better time for such news, too, though now was as good as it would be with TK acting more like himself. The trio walked to their respective Digimon, with TK and Kari picking theirs up. Davis, on the other hand, gave Veemon a nudge with his shoe to wake him up. TK looked down at his partner in his hands, now noticing three scratches across the side of Patamon's face.
"Patamon, what happened to you?" TK said, worried, though his voice didn't imply it as much as he meant it to. Patamon had completely forgotten about the scratches, the stinging stopping after he and Gatomon returned to the clearing.
"Let's just say that if it wasn't for these, I wouldn't be so happy right now." Patamon replied. TK failed to see how that explained it, only confused more by the cryptic remark. He figured it was nothing bad that happened, though, if Patamon was so happy about it. Kari was watching the scene play out, but now looked down at Gatomon in her arms, seeing her partner's own change of appearance.
"What happened to your gloves?" Kari asked, not so worried as TK since Gatomon wasn't physically hurt. The feline looked away from Patamon, who she hadn't taken her eyes off of since Kari came over.
"They made a mistake so I threw them in the river to punish them." She replied. "I'll get another pair next time I revert from Angewomon so that's no problem." Kari was glad to hear that, not only because Gatomon didn't look the same without them, but also because of Gatomon's scars. Kari had seen them before, but Gatomon was so sensitive about it that she never explained to Kari how she got them. Even now Gatomon was hiding her right paw under her left, probably without even realizing it.
"Hey, guys, if I can make a suggestion." Davis asked, walking up to join the two with a sleepy Veemon following behind. "It's really late now and you've been gone all day, I'm sure your parents are getting worried." Davis had a point, they told their parents they would be gone a long time, but they underestimated how long the road was going to take to walk and then this walk in the park took even more time.
"You're right, we'll have to get home soon." Kari replied. TK agreed with them, but remained silent, still not in much mood to talk. Maybe he just needed to get some rest, sleep on the events of the day, it might seem to make more sense in the morning.
"What about TK?" Veemon asked. "I mean, we had to drag him from Kari's just to get here, we don't have to do that to get him home, do we?" TK only barely remembered his trip to the park, mostly under the power of his friends around him. He was too depressed to move much on his own, Kari and Davis had to pull him by the arms part of the way and he could remember Veemon pushing his legs from behind.
"...I can get home on my own, Veemon." TK said, his voice still without any actual tone. Veemon was relieved, he was getting too tired to do anymore pushing. Kari and Patamon, however, were still worried from how emotionless TK was being.
"You sure?" Kari asked. "Me and Gatomon can walk home with you if you want, it wouldn't take too long." TK shook his head, not wanting to see Kari anymore than he had to. As it was he had little choice but to meet with her tomorrow to continue the quest. No matter how much he hated it now, he already promised to help her finish it and TK refused to break a promise with Kari.
"I can get home on my own..." He repeated, turning to the path behind them. "I'll see you at Kari's place tomorrow." With that TK walked off, a worried Patamon still in his arms as he left. Kari couldn't help but wonder how TK would be the next day, if he would be better or possibly worse. She looked down at her Digimon in her arms, who looked just as worried. Kari wasn't sure if that was because of TK or the fact that Patamon was gone, though.
"Geez, I never would have pegged TK to be the hopelessly depressed one in the Digidestined." Davis said, watching as TK faded from view. Kari shook her head, turning to look at him.
"You're wrong, he was the most likely of any of us." She replied. "He's only like this because he loves me, he thought he was supposed to live the rest of his life with me." Kari lowered her head a little, a little depressed herself now. She had always imagined the same thing, but that wasn't to be, after all. "He just can't accept the idea right now, give him time and he will." That was what Kari hoped, at least, though it was better Davis think she was keeping her hope up with TK losing his.
"I guess so..." Davis replied. In all honesty Davis wasn't behind this idea anymore than TK, but he didn't have the strong emotional connection with Kari that TK had. That was all that stopped him from doing everything TK was. "I should get going, too, Veemon's getting really tired. I'll see you tomorrow, Kari." With that Davis started off, Veemon in tow, though the lizard Digimon was a step slower than usual. It took them a little longer to leave than it did TK, leaving only the girls behind to leave, as well.
"Things will be better tomorrow, right?" Gatomon asked, looking up from her human partner's arms. Kari looked down at her as she started to walk out of the clearing, on her way back home.
"I wish I knew..." Kari admitted, still not sure of how tomorrow was going to be. She tried not to think about it as she walked, knowing all she could do was hope for the best.
**********
That night while Patamon slept soundly on a small bed in the corner of TK's room, TK was tossing in his bed without restraint, cursed with the worst dreams of his life. Endless visions of Kari sacrificing herself, dying in front of his eyes over and over again, and every time TK was closer to helping her, saving her, but each time it happened just before he saved her, no matter how hard he tried or how fast he was, he couldn't help her.
TK shot up in bed, a small scream escaping his mouth as he did. He was covered in cold sweat and panting heavily, the dreams of Kari's fate fresh in his mind. He glanced over at the digital clock on a bed side table that read 4:28 am, not even an hour since another nightmare of the same images woke him. At this rate he wouldn't make it to the morning. The scream had woken up Patamon, but the orange Digimon didn't lave his bed, only watching TK through the dark room.
TK glanced away from the clock and to the object beside it, a replica of the Crest of Hope, a commemorative present from Gennai. After MaloMyotismon's defeat he had given them all medallions that were exactly like the old ones, except powerless. Often TK would look at this crest and remember those days in the Digital World, his transformation from a scared little boy to a leader among the new Digidestined. Looking at it now, though, and all that came to mind were all of his own hopes that the previous day's events had shattered, cursing him to live his life without the things he had been hoping for years to have. TK couldn't stand it. Without thinking he grabbed the crest from his night stand and flung it across the room with all the force he could. The copy crest hit the wall, the small window holding the actual crest shattering on impact, letting the crest fly from it's tag and landing on the floor a few feet from where the tag landed. Patamon had watched the act and couldn't believe what had just happened.
"TK, why did you do that?!" The Digimon said, flying from his bed to TK's as he spoke. "That was your crest! I thought that was supposed to be important to you!" At one time it was, TK thought that crest, even if it was a copy, was the most valuable thing he owned, at least to him.
"Sorry, Patamon." TK said coldly, looking over to his Digimon that was now standing on the corner of his bed. "After yesterday, it's hardly important to me..." Patamon stood in disbelief, never expecting this problem to go so far.
"TK..." The Digimon started, wondering if anything he could say would help. "I know things are bad right now, but you can't just abandon hope before it's all over." TK shook his head, knowing what the end meant no matter what.
"Patamon, hope already abandoned me..." He responded. "The only thing I ever hoped for in my life was for my friends. I never wanted anything for myself, just for my friends and my brother. That was until I met Kari, fell in love with her, and decided I wanted to marry her. Then the only hopes I had were to be with her the rest of my life, watch our children grow old together... They were the only hopes that I had for myself in my entire life. Now every one of those hopes I ever had for myself are gone, I'm doomed to live the rest of my life without Kari. Now tell me why I should really believe in hope anymore, Patamon..." Patamon stood silent, amazed at TK's words, but also too shocked to respond. Even if he could get words to come out, he doubted he could make them mean anything to his human partner. After a moment of silence Patamon slowly flew back to his own bed, still in disbelief. When he landed on his bed Patamon looked over to where the broken tag now lied, the broken glass of the tag forming a path to where the crest landed. He had a notion to walk over and pick up the pieces, but what he would do with them now he didn't know. He decided to leave it for now, hoping TK would come to his senses and possibly take the item back himself, assuming his senses would ever be normal again.
**********
The next day the trio of Digidestined, including a half reluctant TK, met at Kari's house and already found themselves back in the Digital World. This time they were in the northern part of the Digital World, which again felt different from the eastern area they were used to. It also looked different, where the western area was dominated by jungle, this area was dominated by grasslands, which spanned in every direction, the hills and occasional patches of forest area being the only differences in appearance.
TK looked around, already a little bored of the endless green in this area. He hadn't told anyone about the incident that morning and even made Patamon promise not to tell, either. Seeing his Digimon's reaction to it, he thought it was best Davis and Kari didn't know about it, knowing how they'd react. TK knew such an act wasn't like him, but right now he didn't feel like himself, anyway. As it was the only thing he regretted about the incident was the piece of glass from the tag he stepped on while he was getting dressed.
"Looks like this temple should be a lot easier to get to." Kari said, already looking over the map she received at Azulongmon's temple. "It's only half a mile from here, thanks to these plains there's nothing between us and the temple." Davis and Veemon were looking over the map, as well, but Gatomon and Patamon seemed more content just being together again. TK watched the two Digimon as they talked, too far away to hear them clearly, but it reminded him of how him and Kari were when they first started dating.
"So, what happens at the temple, anyway?" Davis asked, never seeing the actual process before. Kari switched the map off and put her D-3 away, finished finding the temple and route.
"Well it's nothing too exciting." Kari explained. "The temples let the guardian Digimon cross between this dimension and the one they watch the Digital World from. When I enter, the guardian crosses over to meet with me and give me a portion of their energy that gets stored in my Digivice for when we find the Cataclysm." Davis nodded his head a bit, but it still seemed like it overwhelmed him a bit from the look on his face.
"If it's that important, maybe we should get going." Veemon suggested from below Kari and Davis. "Besides, it looks like it could storm soon." Kari looked up and sure enough a mass of black clouds was starting to move in, lightning flashes already visible in the dark masses. It seemed strange, though, she didn't see any sign of a storm when they got there. This was the Digital World, though, the unusual was to be expected no matter how strange.
"Guess you're right, Veemon, I don't want to meet Ebonwumon soaking wet." Kari replied. She looked over at her Digimon, who was still talking to Patamon, and waived both of them over. Both caught the motion from the corners of their eyes and made their way over to join them. Kari then looked to TK, who was still occupied in his own thoughts.
"TK, we're leaving for the temple." Kari said to him. "We have to go now or we'll get caught in the storm." TK apparently hadn't noticed the storm clouds, either, looking up to see for himself. It didn't storm in the Digital World often, but when it did it was always severe. It looked like the temple was the only shelter around so now TK had even less of a choice but to go there with Kari.
"Alright, let's get going." TK said reluctantly, turning to her and walking over to join them. Once he did Kari started off, the rest in tow, being the only one that was sure of the right direction. Davis and Veemon were close behind, with Patamon and Gatomon walking side by side, and TK bringing up the rear, not wanting to walk any faster than he had to. As they walked, they would occasionally look back at the sky, watching the storm's progression. Unfortunately it seemed like no matter how fast they walked, the storm only got closer. After a while it seemed like it was almost on top of them and the temple was still out of sight.
"Guys, we aren't going to make it before the storm hits." Davis said. "Maybe we should stop and find shelter until it passes." Davis had a good idea, but unfortunately looking around, they were still in the plains, nothing but hills and grass around them.
"Good idea, if there was any shelter around." Gatomon said, making Davis realize the flaw in his idea. The closest thing to shelter seemed to be the patches of trees in the distance, but it would end up being worse than better if they went there.
"Oh yeah..." He replied, a bit embarrassed as he did. "So let's run, maybe the temple's close enough to run to." Gatomon shook her head, again shooting down an idea of his.
"We don't know the kind of Digimon around here." Patamon said, explaining for Gatomon. "If we're too worn out to fight, we wouldn't be any better off than if we get caught in that storm." It was beginning to get obvious that they had little choice but to wait for the storm and take whatever rain was coming their way. Realizing this they slowed their pace down, walking at normal speed since their faster pace was only wearing them out faster. It didn't take long for the storm clouds to make it overhead, eventually darkening the entire sky. The group waited for the rain as they walked, but for some reason the rain never came, instead the clouds only flashed with lightning on occasion.
"Maybe it's just a lightning storm..." Patamon said, even though he doubted it himself. As far as he knew the Digital World didn't have lightning storms. TK stopped, now looking up at the clouds overhead. They had been moving fast before but now they stopped except for one large cluster that had begun to form a swirl.
"Hey, Veemon, are there tornadoes in the Digital World?" Davis asked, now looking up at the swirling clouds overhead.
"Not that I know of..." Veemon said. "Then again I've seen weirder things than tornadoes here." TK hadn't ever heard of tornadoes here, either, but as the swirling clouds gained speed, he was starting to believe it was possible. When the swirl was fast enough, the center started to extend downward, forming the beginning of a cone of clouds. TK thought of running but at the rate the cone was forming, they would never get out of it's reach in time. Eventually the cone stopped reaching down, almost halfway to the ground. TK watched as the tip of the cone expelled a large object, round in shape. It opened up as it fell to the ground, revealing a pair of leathery wings. As it came closer, it became easy to recognize.
"Ragnadramon..." Kari said, a bit of shock to her voice. "I almost forgot, we aren't on protected paths anymore." TK had a feeling this temple seemed to be too easy to get to. He couldn't believe he was thinking this but he was almost glad for Ragnadramon's appearance, at least this delayed their approach for a while. The dragon Digimon stopped a few yards from where they stood, glaring down at them with his glowing gold eyes. He looked to Kari for a while, the glow increasing as he did.
"I sense Azulongmon's power within you, child..." Ragnadramon said, his voice as threatening as ever. "I do not know how you evaded me to collect it, but I assure you it will not happen again." Kari wasn't aware Ragnadramon could sense the energy of the guardians. She was hoping he would think they had only gone to one temple instead of two, it would have helped when they went after Cataclysm.
"You created those storms?" Gatomon asked, a tone of anger to her question. "What, you wanted a few flashes of light to do your work for you?" Ragnadramon shot his glance at Gatomon, his eyes flashing suddenly. An invisible force threw Gatomon back a few feet, punishment for her cocky comment.
"My hope was to follow you to the temple." The dragon replied. "I assumed you would go there for shelter with a storm coming, but I did not expect you to slow down instead. Needless to say, I became impatient to destroy you." That was helpful to hear, knowing he didn't know the temple locations meant they didn't have to worry about him finding them before they did. TK didn't pay attention, however, missing that fact. He was just hoping this would drag on long enough to discourage Kari from continuing to the temple.
"So what, you couldn't destroy us last time!" Patamon said defiantly. Unfortunately it was a false courage, they only lived through the first encounter because of Baihumon, Ragnadramon still outclassed them in power.
"I did do research." Ragnadramon said. "This area's guardian is a turtle. I doubt he'll come charging to the rescue. Besides, this time I brought some company with me." As he said this a crack appeared in midair beside him, similar to how he originally appeared to them. This one was much longer to the ground and smaller, though. As more cracks formed, TK and Kari could only guess at what was about to come. Davis, on the other hand, didn't know what the big deal was, not seeing how Ragnadramon originally appeared. He was too worried about the giant red-scaled dragon in front of him.
Eventually the cracks burst outward, sending shards of reality in all directions, but again none did any damage or had any tangibility to them. What appeared from the hole that had formed made everyone in the group gasp slightly. Two Digimon had appeared, one that looked like a Patamon except with black fur, another that looked like Gatomon, again with black fur but her gloves were purple instead of orange.
"These two are Tsukaimon and BlackGatomon." Ragnadramon said, referring to the two Digimon that were now beside them. "They are creations of my own design. I thought a bit of psychological warfare would be interesting." As much as TK and Kari were amazed by this turn, Patamon and Gatomon didn't even know what to think. They were now standing in front of distorted mirror images of themselves, their forms copied and corrupted by Ragnadramon.
"Can we please fight them now, my lord?" BlackGatomon asked. Even her voice sounded like Gatomon's, but with a more vicious and sinister tone.
"Yeah, I've been dying to get at these poor excuses for Digimon." Tsukaimon added, the same sinister edge to his voice.
"Very well then..." Ragnadramon replied. "Do not destroy them completely, though, that is a pleasure you shall reserve for me." The doppelgangers grinned, glaring at their respective counterparts, eager to fight. Gatomon was about to do the same when she realized she had yet to Digivolve and regain her claw gloves. Veemon ran up to stand by his friends, as eager to fight as the duplicate Digimon. He couldn't help but feel a little left out, though, as there was no black Veemon for him to fight.
"You outnumber them, guys." Davis said, trying to encourage their three Digimon. "Digivolve and take them out!" Veemon became a bit too eager and jumped forward, wanting to get in the first shot.
"Veemon digivolve to..." Veemon's body flashed with light as his energy picked up, engulfing his body. The light expanded until it finally burst, a blinding flash of light surrounding his area. When it faded, a much taller version of Veemon was in the rookie Digimon's place. He looked like a lanky blue dinosaur with a blade coming off his head and an X across his chest. He also had a pair of white leather wings, but they didn't look quite strong enough to fly with. "ExVeemon!" The new champion Digimon landed with a loud stomp, not much farther in front of his friends than he started.
"Patamon digivolve to..." Patamon took his turn, white light surrounding him as a mass of white feathers flew from under him. The light flashed, replacing Patamon with a humanoid figure clad in white and blue, with six angel wings on his back. He wore a metal helmet with no eye holes and carried a golden staff at his side. "Angemon!" The second digivolution complete, Angemon flew up a bit to get in a better spot to attack.
"Let's wait for their first move." Angemon said to ExVeemon. "We don't want to jump the gun and get caught by them." ExVeemon wasn't listening much, too concerned with his own strike plan.
"Forget that, let's get them before they get a chance to act!" ExVeemon replied, lunging forward at the two, using his wings to glide through the air. He was going for BlackGatmon, but she didn't seem at all worried.
"BlackGatomon digivolve to..." The black feline was quickly engulfed in a black aura, with dark light pouring out and forming a pillar around her. When it lifted the cat had been replaced by a tall female in black, with broken black wings on her back and an eerie red glow to her eyes. "LadyDevimon!" ExVeemon tried to stop, just now realizing his mistake. It was too late as LadyDevimon attacked, swinging a leg up and side kicking ExVeemon in the side, knocking him away easily.
"So they can Digivolve, too..." Kari said, her eyes locked on the familiar devil enemy. "Gatomon, you're up." Gatomon nodded, not sure about what was to come. Her last one on one fight with a LadyDevimon she barely managed to beat.
"Gatomon digivolve to..." Gatomon's body began to glow with pink light, her form changing from feline to human. Her hands became covered, one by a glove, the other by a pink ribbon. A set of 8 angel wings appeared on her back, and a helmet similar to Angemon's finished her new form. "Angewomon!" All three of the Digidestined Digimon were now Digivolved, but still only had one opponent in LadyDevimon.
"Tsukaimon!" Ragnadramon snapped. "What are you waiting for? Digivolve and help LadyDevimon, she is outnumbered. Do not hold back, though." Tsukaimon nodded, understanding what he meant.
"Tsukaimon digivolve to..." The black Patamon began to take on a black glow, with dark purple rays of energy around him. The rays turned up, surrounding Tsukaimon. When they faded, the black Patamon was replaced by yet another familiar face, this one of Angemon's past. "Devimon!" The black devil Digimon flew up a bit, matching Angemon's height. The angel Digimon was about to attack when Devimon began to glow with dark light again. "Devimon digivolve to..." This was what Ragnadramon meant by not holding back. The devil wasted no time building up energy once again, engulfed in dark light again. This time when it faded, a skeletal Digimon was in his place, wielding a vicious looking sickle. "SkullSatamon!" This one looked just like the one Daemon had used against them before, but obviously this one had more of a mean streak than even that one.
"That's too much for even the three of us." Angewomon admitted. She looked over at Angemon, who was still waiting for their opponents to attack. "Angemon, you had better Digivolve, we'll stand a better chance." If he could, Angemon would have Digivolved to Ultimate right away.
"He can't Digivolve..." TK said, his voice still sounding cold. "He doesn't have the energy anymore." Kari and Davis looked at TK, confused about his explanation. The two didn't know what he meant, only Angemon did. TK had abandoned all hope, the element of TK that fueled MagnaAngemon, and without it Angemon was restricted to Champion form.
"Good for us to know!" SkullSatamon said in a cackling voice. "The boy's Digimon is helpless, we can pick his friends off and have some fun before we kill them!" LadyDevimon seemed to like the idea, looking over at ExVeemon, who had just managed to get to his feet after the sharp kick. She then turned to her true target, Angewomon.
"Darkness Wing!" LadyDevimon folded her wings around her, then threw them open quickly, releasing a swarm of purple bats. They seemed faster than the ones the previous LadyDevimon used, hitting Angewomon before she could react, forcing her back.
"Skull Hammer!" SkullSatamon fell to the ground, his sickle over his head as he did. When he hit ground, he brought the sickle down, driving it into the ground and sending a bolt of red energy through the ground to ExVeemon. The dinosaur Digimon was still too winded to move quickly and got the full impact of the blast, exploding as it found it's mark. ExVeemon was thrown back hard, but managed to maintain some concentration, remaining in Champion form. It was all he could do, though, now too hurt to move. Davis panicked, running over to check on his Digimon without thinking about the two Digimon that had attacked ExVeemon already.
"Now for this one..." LadyDevimon said, turning her attention to Angemon. SkullSatamon rose into the air again, his sickly poised to attack again. Angemon was hardly about to let them do as they will, quickly building energy into his fist.
"Hand of Fate!" Without warning Angemon attacked, firing the gold beam at SkullSatamon. The Digimon only laughed as it came at him, not worried at all. He lunged his scythe forward, meeting the gold beam before it reached him, slicing it apart into smaller energy parts that missed their target.
"Pathetic!" LadyDevimon said. She lunged forward quickly, taking Angemon by the neck. The angel Digimon dropped his staff as she grabbed hold of him, too surprised to keep hold of it. LadyDevimon grinned and tightened her grip, slowly choking Angemon.
"Celestial Arrow!" A white arrow shot between Angemon and LadyDevimon, cutting the female devil across her arm. She flinched in pain, but did not let go. LadyDevimon looked to the side to see Angewomon, recovered from the swarm of bats and already cocking another light arrow. "Get your hand off of him, now!" LadyDevimon couldn't help but feel a bit of intimidation, the tone of Angewomon's voice was hatred, anger, hardly anything she would have expected from an angel.
"Coming of Ragnarok!" Before Angewomon could react she was already engulfed by a massive red beam, making her shake just from the impact of the blast. She was in immense pain, but managed to slip out of the beam and fall to the ground. Just before she hit she lost focus, dedigivolving back into Gatomon. Her gloves had returned as she said, but for how banged up she was it hardly mattered. Kari had watched the entire scene, too horrified to move, tears welled up in her eyes. Without thinking she ran over to Gatomon, in the middle of the battle area, checking on her fallen Digimon. To her relief Gatomon was still alive and still conscious, not taking the full force of the blast.
"No interference." Ragnadramon said. "This is just getting good, I would rather not have it spoiled." TK wasn't listening, watching Angemon, still in LadyDevimon's grip. He was already going to lose Kari, now his Digimon was in danger, it was too much. What kept him from breaking down and leaving now, he didn't know.
"Nail Bone!" SkullSatamon shot his free hand forward, firing a small storm of pointed bones at Angemon, ripping at him with each nail he fired. Angemon endured the pain as long as he could, but it eventually became too much and he was forced to dedigivolve back into Patamon, now unconscious and in LadyDevimon's hand. Meanwhile Kari and Gatomon were watching, with Gatomon barely able to move.
"No, Patamon..." She moaned, trying to sit up. Kari was holding onto her tight, though, not wanting her to go back into the fight.
"Gatomon, stay down." Kari pleaded. "You'll only get hurt again, they're too strong." Gatomon wasn't listening, though, still struggling to get out of Kari's grasp.
"Kari, let me go!" Gatomon begged. "I can't let him die! I have to help him." Try as she might, Kari wouldn't let go. Finally Gatomon stopped, turning to face Kari. She looked down at her Digimon, nearly gasping at the sight of tears in her eyes. "Kari, you don't understand! Wizardmon died, you're going to die, I can't let him die! I don't want to lose everyone I love, at least let me save him!" Now Kari was starting to realize what TK was feeling, seeing it in her own Digimon. An unstoppable urge to save the one she loved, she would give her own life in an instant to save Patamon's. TK must have felt the same way, and Gatomon would end up the same way if this continued.
"...Alright, do what you can." Kari said, reluctantly letting go of Gatomon. As soon as she was free Gatomon ran off toward LadyDevimon, not sure where she was finding so much energy suddenly. As much as she hurt, as strong as they were, she had to do something, she didn't care what, just anything to get them to let him go. As Gatomon ran off, Kari was still sorting out all of this. She admired her Digimon, even if this burst of courage and energy was driven by love, but mainly because she had someone willing to do this for her, the same that TK was to her. If this was to be her fate, she was glad to see Gatomon reach such a stage before her time came. She watched as Gatomon suddenly stopped, now close to the two devil Digimon.
"Patamon!!!" Gatomon shouted, hitting her limit point. She felt overwhelmed, her desire to save Patamon was unreal, but what could she do now that she was here? Only thing she could do, Digivolve and hope for the best, but her surge of energy was so powerful it was unreal, overwhelming as it engulfed her, overtaking her. "Gatomon Warp-Digivolve to..." Gatomon exploded in a field of pink energy, Angewomon appearing from the blast. The angel Digimon was quickly engulfed by the same light, growing wildly. From it's core came a large dragon Digimon, long in shape like an oriental dragon and covered in pink fur, with two powerful arms and legs. Her head formed a mane of fur and a pair of powerful horns, lack with pink rings around them. Along her back sprouted five sets of wings, covering the length of her back. She flew into the air, spiraling around into a small coil as she opened her now bright green eyes. "Magnadramon!" Kari looked on at the now Mega level Digimon, amazed by the turn of events. She must have Digivolved out of sheer determination to save Patamon.
"Fire Tornado!" Magnadramon glared up at SkullSatamon, opening her mouth to fire a spiral of light green flames, flying at tremendous speed. Before he realized he was under attack SkullSatamon was blasted away from Patamon and LadyDevimon, overwhelmed by the sudden mass of flame around him and thrown to the ground with a sharp impact.
"What was..." LadyDevimon tried to look over at whatever had attacked, only to be taken by surprised as Magnadramon flew above her, taking hold of LadyDevimon's arm with her claws, clamping down hard. The devil shrieked in pain, dropping the unconscious Patamon. Magnadramon released her foe and swooped down, flying under Patamon and letting him land gently on her back, losing her top two wings to hold him down.
"I won't let anything hurt you, Patamon, I promise." Magnadramon said, gliding down to the ground to let Patamon off and into TK's arms, who had tried not to get in the middle of the fight. Ragnadramon watched on, only intrigued by the turn of events.
"This development was not expected..." The dragon replied. Magnadramon had taken to the air again and was now flying to intercept Ragnadramon. The opposing dragon was still bigger, but her power was much better matched now and even if it wasn't, she had to get even for his cheap shot earlier. "LadyDevimon, SkullSatamon, to me!" Hearing the command, LadyDevimon, who was still gripping her sore arm, flew back over to Ragnadramon. SkullSatamon, however, was still hurt from the Fire Tornado and made it back at a much slower pace. "We shall return for now. Neither of you are a match for a Mega level." With that Ragnadramon turned, waiving his hand to open a hold in reality. The two devil Digimon flew into it, disappearing into the blackness of the hole. Magnadramon reached Ragnadramon as the two left, waiting for him to retreat, as well.
"How you Digidestined managed to defeat so many Digimon relying on sheer luck, I will never know." Ragnadramon said. "Your pet dragon is hardly impressive, but should you be lucky enough to accomplish such a feat again I assure you I will show you how meaningless your new trick really is." With that the red dragon backed off, entering the hole in reality himself and letting it close once he was inside, vanishing from sight. Magnadramon turned and flew back over to Kari, dedigivolving back to Gatomon in midair, landing in Kari's arms. Kari wasn't sure how she managed to go back to her normal form, traditionally she should have gone a stage down. She figured it didn't matter, she and Patamon were both safe, that's what was important.
"How did you warp-digivolve?" Kari asked, still not confident about what happened. "Only Agumon and Gabumon can do that and I didn't see you stab yourself with your own arrow." Gatomon laughed a bit, but didn't know what to say in response.
"I don't really know, I just had to save Patamon." She replied. "I guess that's what it took." TK looked down at Patamon, who was still unconscious and banged up from the fight. The three scratches on his cheek were gone from the Digivolution but the damage he had now made them even more minor.
"Now if you could do that, Kari wouldn't have to die..." TK whispered. He couldn't convince Kari to stop, he couldn't think of any alternative to her sacrifice, and he couldn't wait for Ragnadramon to appear so often that she gave up. He was becoming desperate as his options diminished, with no new ones replacing the now useless ones. Being so close to the third temple TK was trying to think as fast as he could, but no matter how hard he tried, he always came to the same thing. Kari was going to die and he could do nothing to prevent it.
End Chapter 12
Coming Next: Chapter 13 - Meeting
Note: Unfortunately I can't post URLs to SkullSatamon, LadyDevimon, and Magnadramon as I intended. I'm sorry, but you're on your own if you want to see them.
Want to know when a new chapter is posted? Use this link to sign up for my mailing list to know when new chapters and stories are up!
http://cyberdraco.notifylist.com/cdm_alert.html