Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or any of the main characters in this fic except for Rime and Phloem. I also came up with the idea of 'weremon.' Most Digimon that appear in this fic I looked up at Sora's Digimon Palace Digidex. And most of the bad guys' names (and only their names) came from good guys in either Suikoden or Suikoden II for PlayStation, which I don't own, either.
Chapter 11: Dark Destroyers (Part 1)
The Greenhills were ecstatic that Phloem was alive, even the twins. His parents were happy to learn that he was still alive, and the twins were glad that they had an older brother. The twins were nine years old, so Phloem had never seen them before he was taken away. The two of them had one Digimon, a Floramon, who was much more held back than they were.
It was an awkward situation for Phloem. He was more than happy to have his parents back, but they still remember him as a five-year-old and they still treated him like he was still one.
They did seem different than most parents. He noticed that they treated Kurai like they had adopted her, and he saw signs around the inn that seemed to indicate that the inn had a secret, not widely known purpose. His parents still kept them in the basement room to be safe.
At dinner, he asked his parents about why they were no longer on a farm.
"We had too many bad memories of it," his father explained. "After all, two of our children had been taken away from us on it. We moved into Haven just after Stigma and Style's birth." Stigma and Style were the pink-haired twins. "Then we opened the inn, but we couldn't leave when the Havens started to get rougher. From what we have been able to hear from other cities, the Havens are starting to use the same policy throughout the Angels' Domain."
"They set a curfew," his mother continued as she served a vegetable soup, "and the punishments can be harsh for anyone breaking it. Shops have to be specifically licensed for each type of item that they sell, and taxes on some luxury and non-luxury items are high. On top of that, no one but the nobles are allowed to receive a public education, as all children of the 'lower classes' are supposed to spend their day working. Without much free travel in and out of the city, most items and food have to be bought from the Havens' personal traders at high prices. Poverty is widespread, and rebellious groups have begun to form."
"We support one of them called 'The World Tree,'" admitted Mr. Greenhill. "It's not against the whole empire, like most of the others are. Instead, we just want freedom from the Havens."
Rime looked cynical. "You're in the minority, aren't you? Everyone else must be anti-imperial."
He looked startled at the accusation, but then he shook his head gently. "No, Your Highness, we're actually the largest group."
"Oh," was all Rime said. He leaned back in his chair with an introspective look.
Mrs. Greenhill smiled at Phloem. "We're proud of you. It's nice to know that our son is fighting against our enemies, and you've certainly made a lot of friends. Odd friends, that's to be sure," she said with a wry glance at Kurai, "but all of them seem to be nice people."
"Hey, Mrs. Greenhill," complained Kurai, "that was a low blow. Rime's not that strange."
A few people laughed at that. The prince still looked meditative, and he hadn't heard the joke at his expense.
Stigma and Style traded glances and looked at Phloem and the rest with wisdom in their eyes that was too old for them. "We'd like to know…" began Stigma, who was distinguishable from her sister only by the red and yellow band around her wrist.
Style was the twin with the green and blue bracelet. "…what you plan to do if you get to the Havens," she finished. "Do you have it in you…"
"…to kill them or let them free? It may be a choice that you need to make."
A silence descended over the table. Tatsu crossed his arms and frowned. "We will decide that when we need to," he said.
"Not that we want to kill them or anything," added Sakura cheerfully. "We've never really talked about it. It's never nice to be forced into these situations."
"We'll do what we have to do," Relaina added. Magnus nodded in firm agreement, and Sho shrugged, showing that he'd go either way. However, Alan looked shaken by the thought of having to kill. I hope that it's something I don't need to do, he thought.
Suddenly, Brian stood up. "Someone's coming," he said with the sureness that his special ability gave him.
Pixie tried listening for them with her ears, but a different sense that she hadn't used before kicked in. "I just want to get this raid over with," she 'heard' in her mind. "Four regular guards to raid a small inn… Why didn't one of Lady Haven's personal servants take care of this?"
Another was thinking, "What a stupid business. If the Eight weren't busy with something, we wouldn't be here."
"There's guards coming," she gasped. "I can hear their thoughts." Everyone began to stand up.
"You must leave immediately," Mr. Greenhill said. "You'll have to teleport into the palace, Kurai."
The Digimon and humans moved closer to Kurai so that they could leave, but Vahn stayed where he was. "You go," he said firmly. "I will stay here and protect them."
"Vahn…" Phloem had a worried look in his eyes.
"I'll be fine, and I'll make sure that you're family is not harmed. Phloem, you need to go."
Reluctantly, he nodded. "Thank you, Vahn," he said just before Kurai teleported. Then Vahn was left alone with Phloem's family.
"You stay down here," he told them. "I'll be able to take care of the soldiers."
He walked up the stairs to face his enemies.
********
During the teleport, Kurai could feel it all proceeding normally until she tried to end it outside the castle. A force from inside the Havens' castle reached out and grabbed her in its hold, and then she and everyone with her was pulled into it. She tried to resist, but whatever was doing it had an enormous amount of power.
They were dropped off inside the center of the castle. Having thieved from it before, she knew without looking that they were in a gigantic central court that resembled a coliseum with greenery. She cursed as she saw that the Lord and Lady were sitting comfortably near in throne-like chairs at the first level of the coliseum's seats. "Somehow they laid a trap for my teleporting," she warned everyone else. "Something's not right here."
The ground beneath their feet began to rumble, making them go into defensive positions. When the earth opened up under them, only Phloem, Rime, and their Digimon, which had been near the center, were not able to get away. Rime could feel himself falling for only a few feet before he could no longer feel anything.
"No way!" shouted Brian. He was close enough to the hole to see what it contained. "It's a pool of data! They've been absorbed into it!"
It wasn't the sparkling white substance that formed the River. It was a pond of muted black with blood red swirls inside it. The data was motionless and somehow all the more sinister for it, like a black panther waiting to pounce on easy prey.
Lady Haven stood and smiled. "If Prince Rime and that soldier boy were actually dead before, they will be soon. My stagnant pool of corrupted data has now eaten two humans and two Digimon. It will receive you all into its blackness before this night is over."
"No, it won't," Magnus said while giving her a cold glare. "We'll destroy you first."
The Lady smirked. "I don't think so." She approached her husband with a sweet smile on her face. "My lord, we should release the Eight now, and add your strength to them to make the Nine!"
He nodded in agreement and pressed a jewel into his throne's arm. The platform that he was on rose up higher into the air, and eight Digimon and eight humans could be seen in the chamber that had been concealed under it. All of the Digimon were at the Ultimate level, and the humans did not look like poor fighters themselves.
The Lord Haven descended regally from the platform with his Piximon by his side. His plain features seemed to shine for a moment, but then they went back to their blanket of normality. Once he stood at the bottom, he spoke. "Greetings. You are rebelling against my rule, so we decided to play a game with you." He didn't sound happy or worried about this. "These are the Eight, the personal fighters of the Emperor. Together, we form the Nine Dark Destroyers." He gestured with his hand, and the first human and Digimon pair took a step forward.
"Marcus and his partner, Giromon," Haven said. Giromon was a metal ball with an evil, toothed grin, red eyes, horns, and gloved hands. In one hand, it carried a chainsaw. Its partner looked and dressed similarly. He was around the age of twenty-five. He was thin, but muscled, with uneven black hair. His red eyes had a cruel set to them, and on his back he carried a scythe. He was dressed in a silver-gray version of the standard soldier's uniform.
"Panjyamon and Killey." Killey and Panjyamon both had a colorless, frigid look to them. Panjyamon looked like a very muscled, white, and larger version of Leomon. His partner, Killey, had long, pale blonde hair and silvery gray eyes, and his most prominent facial feature was his long, elegant nose. He was taller than Marcus, but his build appeared less muscular. His uniform was an icy blue, and somehow it emphasized the arrogant look on his face. The only weapon that he had was a spear.
A young woman with an expressionless face and dressed in a black uniform stepped forward with her Digimon partner. "Sierra and Bastemon." Bastemon looked like a cat goddess. With long, red hair in a braid (a feature that she shares with her partner), two tails, and leopard-like legs, she was an elegant mix of beauty and danger. Her look was that of a belly dancer, and the purple veil that hung over the lower part of her catlike face emphasized that, as did the bracelets on her arms, legs, and tails. Her partner looked dangerous in a similar way, though her bright blue eyes contrasted with her somber look. If Sierra had a weapon, none were visible on her.
"GrappLeomon and Shiro." Shiro was slightly older than the others. His hair was gray, but not from age, and his uniform was red-orange. He seemed to be excited with the prospect of a fight; he seemed to be almost jumping with energy. He wore black gloves with steel knuckles on them. GrappLeomon was an android Leomon with long incisors and a red mane held back by a steel bar that was attached to his robot-like body.
"Luc and Karatenmon." Both of them looked like they did not fit in with the rest of the group. Luc was carrying a long bow and wearing a pale yellow and gold uniform. He had auburn hair and amber eyes that seemed to hold a secret. He was shorter than most, but he still had a sense of strength around him. On the other hand, Karatenmon was an impressive Digimon. Like a crow from the heavens, he had a humanlike body with a birdlike head. His upper arms and body bore purplish armor, as did his lower legs. He wore tan cloth pants, and on his belt was attached a double sheath that held two golden swords. A yellow, crystal-like protrusion decorated his head armor. His wings, spread elegantly behind him, were placed protectively over his partner.
"Bulbmon and Gen." Bulbmon was another machine-type Digimon. Its main body was some type of 24-sided geometric figure. Its cylindrical head came from the top and had one of the side's metal plating on it. Two long metal arms and four strong and steady metal legs came from its copper-colored body. The ends of the arms and legs were steel, but most his arms and legs were an ugly, rusted color, like the color of dried blood. Gen, its partner, had the same sturdy look. He was neither short nor tall, he had normal dark hair and brown eyes, and the only things that distinguished him was the jagged scar that ran from above one eye to trail down his chin. His uniform was rust red, and a double-headed ax was in a sheath at his side.
"WaruSeadramon and Tir." The dark Seadramon was a frightening picture. With black head armor that had orange spikes behind it, red fins, and green-striped red skin, its colors enforced its angry look. His teeth looked sharp and ready to eat anything. Tir also looked angry in his dark green uniform. The wooden end of his spear-like weapon, a glaive, incessantly tapped the ground as he impatiently waited for an outlet for his angry nature. His bright blue hair and irate green eyes added to his irritated appearance.
"Cleo and JewelBeemon." Both sides of the partnership looked impressive. Cleo had a compassionate look to her. She had short purple hair and eyes, and her uniform was a creamy pink. She was fairly tall and slim and would probably be considered pretty. However, she still looked determined to fight, and there were two guns strapped around her waist. The Digimon, JewelBeemon, was a wonder to look at. His body was similar to a Stingmon's, but it was stronger and taller. Several hard jewels were set into his green armor, which also had red in it around the arms and legs. His knees had spikes, and in his hand he carried a wooden staff with a red crystal spearhead. He was the only Digimon that appeared slightly uneasy, even if he and his partner appeared to be the strongest fighters in their team.
"And, of course, Piximon and I." Haven was certainly a strong figure. His features looked plain, if slightly handsome in a rugged way. He was wearing a uniform version of the Emperor's white and gold clothes, and he had a shield sheathed at his side and a sword strapped on his back. His Piximon looked subdued and dangerous, which was strange for a Digimon that stereotypically very happy.
"Each of you will be fighting one of us, and you choose who. You will be provided with a weapon, and then the games will start." He smirked. "If you manage to win, you'll be given the chance to rescue your friends. If you lose, you die, and if you choose not to fight, then you die a painful death."
Magnus told them quietly, "It's dangerous, but we have to try." Louder, he asked, "Where're the weapons?" I already have mine, but Sakura and Tatsu are the only other ones with some.
The ground rumbled again, and behind them rose a wall full of different types of weapons. After serious thought, Alan chose a spear. Kurai grabbed a set of daggers, and Pixie selected a bow and arrows. Most of the others chose swords because that was the weapon that people normally trained with, though Magnus did not select anything but a shield. Sakura and Tatsu didn't choose any weapon from the rack.
Some of the Digidestined were pale with nervousness. Alan, Pixie, and Kurai had never been trained to fight, and that was mostly why they were feeling unsure of themselves. It was obvious that Digimon would be fighting Digimon and human would be against human, so their Digimon could not protect them.
Each Digidestined walked to face one of the Dark Destroyers. Strangely, all of their fears and worries began to melt away from them. The fight seemed almost fated to happen, and who won or who lost was up in the air.
Human faced human, each side with their own fears and doubts. The Nine had spread themselves out around the coliseum in places clear of shrubbery, and the Digidestined walked to their opponents.
Relaina's eyes met Marcus'. She slowly walked towards him, holding her sword almost casually in her hand. Gabumon looked at his opponent, Giromon. "Let's do our best, Relaina," he said.
She nodded in agreement and replied, "That's all we can try to do, old friend."
Alan held the spear slightly nervously as he went to face Killey. Oh, boy, why did I even grab a spear? It seems easier to use than a sword, but can I do it? "Relax, Alan!" Veemon said cheerfully. "Together, I know we can do this!"
He smiled back at the Digimon and loosened his grip on the weapon slightly. "I hope so" he replied. "Let's not lose."
Kurai's eyes darted to Sierra's wrists and shoes. The way she moves… She has daggers hidden on her. To her partner she said, "Tsukaimon, teach that pussycat a lesson, will you?"
He agreed, "'Kay, but you better be able to take out that girl. After all, fair's fair." She nodded as she drew two daggers from her belt.
The opponent of Shiro was Tatsu, who looked neither nervous nor frightened. He took out his quarterstaff that had been concealed under his cloak and faced his opponent quietly. I can beat him. Can Monodramon beat GrappLeomon? He traded looks with Monodramon. "This isn't too bad, is it?" the Digimon asked.
"No, it isn't. We can do this," was his reply. As he watched Monodramon size up his opponent, he knew that he only had to worry slightly about the outcome of the fight.
I can do this, right? Pixie asked herself as she walked towards Luc. It's not something I want to do, but Rime and Phloem are nice people. We have to try to save them. She refused to think that it might be impossible to get them out of the dark data. "Otamamon, are you ready?"
The tadpole Digimon looked up at the humanlike crow. "As ready as I'll ever be," she responded. "We have to try for our friends' sake."
"That's right," Pixie agreed as she strung the bow and pulled out an arrow. At least I know how to use this. "After all, Phloem would do the same for us if we were caught in there. Tapirmon, too." She did not want to have to hurt someone else, so she did not draw back the arrow. Luc, who was hardly older than Brian, was apparently in the same predicament.
Sho and SnowAgumon walked towards the ax-wielder, Gen. "It'll be a hard fight, but not impossible," Sho said to his Digimon.
"True. But we can win, I think." SnowAgumon looked over Bulbmon warily. "Just to make sure we aren't insane… Why are we doing this?"
"Because it will help people. If we win," he added as an afterthought. "Let's not disappoint anyone." He stopped a few feet away from his opponent and stared coldly at him.
Sakura and Salamon were walking towards Tir and WaruSeadramon. "So, d'ya think that we're going to die?" she asked cheerfully to Salamon as she unsheathed her sword.
Salamon stared up at her intimidating opponent. "It depends. It'd be best to work on staying alive; being trapped in that data for too long may make those two need a stay in someplace with padded walls."
"Oh, I thought they already did, but if they don't, we'd better fight to win," she retorted playfully as she stretched a few muscles. "We'd probably have to go through these lugs to get to the fem-Haven anyway." Almost everyone had chosen an opponent now.
Magnus walked up to Cleo as Guilmon approached her JewelBeemon. "Guilmon, JewelBeemon is going to be hard to beat," he warned him.
The Digimon just looked puzzled and cheerful. "We can do it, Magnus! We'll win!" he said.
"I hope you're right," Magnus replied as he prepared himself to fight. "Even with our abilities, I have a feeling that this won't be easy."
Facing Haven and Piximon were Brian and Patamon. "We're going to do our best to win, right, Patamon?"
The Digimon nodded. "We can win this fight, I think."
Brian held his sword in a fighting stance. "I agree. Let's go!" He rushed towards Haven to strike the first blow.
The D-Seeds all began to glow at once.
"Losing a good friend is an atrocity! Gabumon Digivolve to… Garurumon!"
"Whatever the odds, I'll use my strength to win! Veemon Digivolve to… ExVeemon!"
"I just met my Digidestined; I'm not going to lose her now! Tsukaimon Digivolve to… BlackGatomon!"
"A being must fight for their beliefs. Monodramon Digivolve to… Strikedramon!"
"We'll win to save our friends from darkness! Otamamon Digivolve to… Veedramon!"
"We must fight to help those that need it. SnowAgumon Digivolve to… IceDevimon!"
"It's more fun to play than to be angry, but I'll still fight! Salamon Digivolve to… Gatomon!"
"I trust in my friends! Guilmon Digivolve to… Growlmon!"
"Never give up! Patamon Digivolve to… Angemon!"
The Digimon had all Digivolved by the time Brian's sword had been blocked by Haven's shield. All over the coliseum ground, blows were being struck while Lady Haven watched on with a malevolent glint in her eyes, enjoying the view. Digimon against Digimon, human against human; it was a fight that would decide the path that the future would take.
~To Be Continued…~
~Akugi: Gundam Wing style~
Rime: *standing on a stage, holding up sign: 'Chibigreen doesn't own 'Gundam Wing.'* Tatsu-no-Houou mentioned that Tatsu reminded him of Heero from Gundam Wing. That comment gave Chibigreen a very bad idea, which will now take place for your amusement. *clears his throat* Let it begin! *bows and steps back as the curtains close, and then open again on the other Digidestined*
Tatsu: *in green tank top and black spandex shorts, minus his Cyberdramon wings* …?
Sakura: *in a blue dress* TAAAAAAAATSU!
Tatsu: *winces* Sakura… Don't imitate Relena so well.
Sakura: Oops… Hehe, sorry. *sweatdrops*
~Harry Potter style~
Rime: Chibigreen does not own 'Harry Potter,' yada yada yada… *curtains open and close*
Alan: *as Harry* *clutches head* Ack, my scar is hurting!
Vahn: *as Ron* Are you okay, Harry? Maybe you should go see Dumbledore…
Pixie: *as Hermione* Ron's right. It is probably a side effect of Voldemort doing something extremely evil that is so evil that only such a stereotypically evil bad guy could do it!
Alan and Vahn: *stare* Huh?
Pixie: Sorry, but that's what my script said. *looks through the script* Who wrote this thing?
Rime: *laughs evilly from director's chair*
Chibigreen's Notes: Today's subject: Harry Potter and shounen ai. I really don't have anything against Harry Potter, despite what the akugi is like. In fact, I like it a lot. That section on FF.net has good shounen ai, for a non-anime. It's been the fluffy Weiss Kreuz shounen ai that's been distracting me from writing. With a cast made mainly of cute angst-filled guys, it's no wonder that many fangirls write many yaoi stories. Weiss Kreuz is such a cool show, even if it doesn't have shounen ai in it… That's what FF.net is for!
My muses have gone on a lunch break. Which leaves me to answer the reviews. I better save them for my muses' afternoon snacks…
Tatsu no Houou – Your sugar-rush-inspired imagining of Tatsu and Sakura cosplaying as Heero and Relena was quite funny. I hope that you liked the akugi of it. ^___^
Merodi no Megami – Thank you for reviewing! ^___^ And, about your penname… I believe that 'Merodi no Megami' means 'Goddess of Melody.' It's 'Megami no Merodi' that means 'Goddess' Melody.
ChibiSora – My muses all appreciated the careful aiming of the reviews towards their mouths…I think. ^___^
PrincessKitty-Chan – Chibi Rime knew that you were eating chocolate while writing the review because he is a closet chocolate addict. ^___^ And he's also pretending that you don't exist now because you hit him on the head… I'll get him to apologize soon. Or Kurai will make him.
Takeru and Hikari – I'm glad that you like Phloem's reunion with his parents. ^___^ And, yes, there will be cotton candy-flavored chapters in the future. Between that and the violent fight scenes I have planned, maybe I should raise the rating…
Feed my muses! REVIEW!