*Fifteen years ago, the human world and the Digital World became linked by a series of Gateways. Since that time, groups of humans and their Digimon partners, known as "Explorers," have attempted to discover the Five Elemental Crystals, the most powerful treasures in the Digital World.*
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DIGIMON EXPLORERS
Episode 03: Hell Rider
by J Weekley
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Story copyright 2003 by J Weekley. Digimon is the property of Toei and Bandai. Used without permission.
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It was a beautiful day in the Digital World. The sun was high in the cloudless blue sky. A cool breeze from the north flowed gently through the trees, keeping the early autumn temperature relatively low. Shadows of leaves danced about the ground, playing with the sunlight shining down through the canopy onto the trail below. It was truly a pristine scene that day.
Natalie Doyle wanted nothing to do with it. For the past week, she had been preoccupied with the boy she met over in Kebo. Her instincts had told her that he was the one she and her partner were looking for, but they had been wrong. For the first time, her instincts had betrayed her, and that made her uneasy. True, they did find the real thieves the next day, but still...
She looked up at her partner, who was walking beside her, his hooded cloak concealing his face in eternal shadow, just the way he wanted. She should have guessed something was wrong when he and the boy's Leomon had suddenly stopped fighting. Of course, she knew all about his past with Leomon, and the fact that it could have generated such trust should have put her mind at ease.
She was so lost in thought that she failed to notice he had stopped in a clearing she had just passed through. She glanced back down the trail and saw him looking at something. Jogging back to him, she said, "Partner, what is it?"
He remained silent, staring down at a high stone. Natalie looked at it. On the stone was a plaque, tarnished with exposure to the elements, but still quite readable.
"The town of Ioriton dedicates this plaque as a memorial to the final victims of Vamdemon, who gave their lives in the last battle against the Dark Lord on this site, April 10, 2035."
She glanced up to her partner. "The town's just on the other side of the clearing. Want to stop for the day?"
He remained silent a moment longer, then nodded, "Sure."
*****
They had checked into an inn, and decided to have a look around town. The buildings were all old and made of brick. Humans and Digimon went about their business, moving on the cobblestone street. They were certain to make way for Natalie and the tall cloaked Digimon that followed her.
She was thinking about what to do for lunch when she noticed someone out of the corner of her eye. She turned around, but the person had disappeared around a building. Suddenly forgetting lunch, she ran off after him. "Natalie, what is it?" her partner asked. When she didn't answer, he ran off after her.
Natalie rounded the building and saw him talking with a baker. A tall young man with long brown hair and a tiny point of a goatee under his lower lip, speaking with a British accent. A large red-brown cat-type Digimon stood near him. "Joel!" she called out.
Joel Hutchinson turned in the direction of the voice. The dark-haired girl he saw took a second to register. "Natalie?" he asked.
She burst out in laughter and ran up to him. "It *is* you," she said, taking his hand.
"My God," he said in astonishment. "It's been two years. You've certainly grown up."
"You, too. You only used to be a couple inches taller than me." Her head barely reached the bottom of Joel's chin.
Joel looked up at the tall cloaked figure that walked up behind her. "And who's this?" he asked.
"This is my partner," she answered. "Speaking of which, hi, Red Leomon."
Red Leomon nodded, "Hello, Natalie."
"Who's this?" the cloaked Digimon asked.
Natalie introduced them, "Partner, this is Joel Hutchinson. He's the one who taught me how to be an explorer. I'd left him only a week before I found you. That's his partner, Red Leomon."
"So she was *your* apprentice?" Partner said. Somehow, Joel felt there was a smile under the shadows of the cloak. "You did a good job."
"Thanks," he said. He turned back to Natalie. "So, what brings you to town?"
"Just wandering for now," she answered. "You?"
"We were coming back from a... delivery... in Upload City. Stopped at a station close by and saw an ad for a job here. Figured we'd take it." He had a sudden thought. "Say, you want to join us? I'm sure the guy wouldn't mind splitting the check two more ways."
Natalie was a little shocked by the offer. "Well, he might not mind, but what about you?"
Joel waved the question off. "Oh, don't worry about me. We're set for a while. This is just something to do to keep from being bored."
Natalie looked up to Partner. He just shrugged. "Okay," she said, "we'll do it."
"Great!" Joel said, clapping his hands together. "I was hoping to see how you turned out after all this time."
*****
The job was being offered by a small museum. There were some marked ruins a little ways out of town, and some of the plaques had recently been vandalized. Unfortunately, the museum didn't have the staff to spare at the moment to go out and replace them. In addition, some of the markers had been moved to different sites among the ruins. Working off a map, all they would have to do is replace the damaged plaques with the new ones, and make sure they were for the right ruin. The curator for the museum didn't mind two extra people helping at all, and he happily gave them the map of the site. After a quick lunch in town, the four explorers set off.
A dinosaur-type Digimon guard said that they were expected, and he let them in through the massive circular fence surrounding the site. After they stepped through, he closed the gate behind them. The ruins seemed to be of an old castle town. Short grasses grew on what remained of shops and homes. A large chunk of the castle remained standing at the far end of the site. Natalie walked up to a plaque and looked at it. All the information on it had been scratched out. In its place was spray painted a symbol which looked like a crossed-out N in a circle.
Joel looked at the symbol and frowned. "I know that mark," he said. "Rewriters. A group that seeks to eliminate any possibility that humans may have lived in the Digital World."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Well, History records that the only humans who came to the Digital World before the First Geners were the four priests. But there's some speculation that there may have been pockets of humans living in the Digital World ages before then. There's not much evidence, though, and anything new that comes up is soon stolen or destroyed by these people before it can be properly studied. And, supposedly, they're an all-human group."
"That's strange," Natalie said. "I never heard of them before."
"I have," Partner said, "but no more than what Joel said."
"Well, if this site did have some evidence, I doubt it's seen the last of them," Joel sighed. "Even so, we've still got our job for today. Red Leomon, you okay with those plaques?"
Joel's partner, who had carried the replacement plaques all the way from town, smiled. "Yeah, no problem. They're pretty light."
Joel reached into his pocket and pulled out the map. Handing it to Natalie, he said, "Why don't you go around and see if the markers are in the right places. Red Leomon and I will follow and set up the replacements."
Natalie nodded. "Okay."
With that, the group went to work.
The job wasn't difficult, just slow. Most of the buildings were identified by only a few stones in certain places, and more than once they had to go back and exchange one replacement plaque for the right one. Partner carried the old plaques, all of them marked with the symbol of the Rewriters in various colors of spray paint. As the afternoon began to end, they finally replaced the last marker. The guard at the front gate told them to just leave the old ones behind, and that they would get paid first thing in the morning.
*****
By the time they returned to the town, the sun was already beginning to set. Between the orange glow and shadows, the town grew more radiant with each passing minute. As they were preparing to cross a plaza back to their inn, Joel happened to notice a small outdoor cafe just down the road. He pointed it out to Natalie. "Want to get something to eat?"
Natalie smiled and shrugged. "Why not?"
They walked over to the cafe and sat down. A waiter came up and took their order. Bowing slightly, he returned to the inside of the cafe. Natalie looked around. The cafe was on the far end of town, separated from the town wall by a small, grassy park. Families of humans and Digimon were enjoying themselves in the fading light, some of them starting to head back home for dinner. The sounds of children playing on a swing set echoed through the plaza.
The waiter came back out with their drinks and said the food would be out shortly. "I'll go bring it out," Natalie's partner said, then started to walk into the cafe.
"I'll go with him," Red Leomon said, following him.
Natalie stretched while Joel watched their partners walk off. "He certainly does care about you," he said.
Natalie giggled. "That's just the way we are." She took off her watch and laid it on the table. "Oh, boy," she said, "talk about a tan line."
Smiling, she held up her wrist for Joel to see. Between the flesh of her hand and arm was a very obvious pale strip. Joel smiled for a second, but then he noticed something else. A scar ran across Natalie's wrist. Normally, it would have been concealed by the watch strap, but now it was plainly visible. Joel couldn't help but stare.
After a moment, Natalie wondered what was going on, then followed his eyes down to the scar. She chuckled. "Oh, this?" she said. "It's not what you're thinking."
"Huh?"
She looked down at the scar almost lovingly. "This is a symbol of the bond I share with Partner. It's nothing for me to be ashamed of. I don't try to hide it or anything, I've just always worn my watch there."
"Oh," Joel said, a little confused.
As Natalie was putting her watch back on, the two partners returned with the food. They were just about to sit down when a low, rumbling sound came from the distance. It also seemed to be getting closer with each passing moment. The four looked at each other. "What is that?" Natalie asked.
Joel thought for a second. "Sounds almost like a..."
"Motor," Partner said grimly.
After a moment, Joel suddenly realized what the sound was. Jumping from his chair, he said, "Ah, *shit*!"
At that same moment, a massive motorcycle roared over the town wall, landing in the center of the park. It skidded to a halt, leaving a trail of torn-up grass and dirt in its wake. A leather-clad spike-toed boot locked down the kickstand. The rider stretched back his helmeted head and gave a yell. "Ha, ha! Yeah, baby! Feels good to get out again!" He smiled broadly. "Time to raise some hell!"
Joel was running across the park toward him, followed by Natalie and Red Leomon. "Beelzebumon! What the *hell* do you think you're doing?!"
Beelzebumon shot a halting finger at Joel. "Shut up, Hutchinson! I've never had any quarrel with you, and I don't want to ruin my good mood by starting one now!"
Red Leomon growled. "You've been content to stay in your fortress for five years. Why would you want to come out now?"
Beelzebumon frowned. "Have you ever stayed in the same place for five years? Do you know how *boring* that gets? Torturing idiots who approach the front gates is entertaining only so long as there's a supply, and even though it's still regularly available, the fun's starting to diminish. Everyone's gotta get out now and then, even me." His face melted into a cold, menacing smirk. "So what if I get my kicks from the suffering of others? There's nothing any of you can do about it, so stand aside. Unless of course, you want to be *part* of my fun?"
Joel set his jaw and whipped out his D-Cell. Holding it up, he yelled, "Matrix Evolution Activa--"
He never got a chance to finish, as a brown flash blew past him and slammed into Beelzebumon, knocking the Dark Lord over his motorcycle and several meters away. The brown flash spun in mid-air, coming to a standstill just long enough for the group to see Partner facing Beelzebumon before going for another attack.
Partner balled his fist and swung forward. Beelzebumon tried to dodge, but was just a touch too slow, and got caught under the chin. He staggered back, but stayed up. He pulled his twin-barreled gun out of its holster, but Partner kicked it away before it could even be leveled against him. He spun around again and side kicked Beelzebumon square in the chest, knocking him down again.
Gasping for breath, Beelzebumon rolled away just before Partner could lay another blow on him. He got back to his feet and took a defensive stance. He was injured, but now that he was ready, he was able to block any blow that Partner threw his way. They continued to fight in the center of the park, while a gathered crowd stared on in amazement.
Beelzebumon was trying to change his stance to offensive, sending out blows as Partner was recovering his attacks. Partner bobbed and weaved around and under the punches and kicks, and began to bounce around, constantly keeping his body in motion. He didn't notice a small stone sticking out of the ground until it was too late. His foot slipped on the stone, momentarily throwing him off-balance. Beelzebumon saw his chance. He reached out, intending to rip through Partner's chest, but the cloaked Digimon was able to regain his balance at the last second, and jumped back and away. All Beelzebumon was able to grab was Partner's cloak. As Partner spun away, the cloak was ripped off of him as the crowd gasped.
A stunned silence was in the air. Everyone recognized him. His clothes, once a deep, dark blue were now all black. His hair had turned into a pale, platinum blond. The massive cape was gone, as was his mask. In its place sat a pair of round yellow sunglasses. He looked different from before, but everyone knew instantly who he was.
The silence was broken as the first person to panic yelled out, "Vamdemon!"
A riot broke out as the gathered crowd started running into whatever buildings were close by, trying to escape the park. Mothers tried in vain to keep track of their children as the waves of Digimon and humans separated them. People were breaking down doors and windows trying to get to safety, causing even more panic to the people inside the buildings as the news of Vamdemon's return was spread.
In the park, only the explorers and the Dark Lord remained.
Beelzebumon was still in shock. "It's you?" he asked, dumbfounded. "You're alive? You came back?" Vamdemon just silently glared at him. Beelzebumon continued, "If you came back to life, why didn't you come back to the fortress?! All this time we thought you had been absorbed! Why didn't you come back to us? With your leadership we could've risen again!"
"I found a new purpose," Vamdemon said.
"A new purpose?!" Beelzebumon yelled. "It was her, wasn't it? That bitch over there's your partner. She turned you against us! You're fighting against your own comrades!"
"My only comrade is my partner."
"How could you do this? How could you allow yourself to become so weak that you could be turned against us? I looked up to you. I saw you as a mentor. I WAS YOUR GOD DAMNED GENERAL! And *this*... *This* is how you repay all those years of loyalty?!"
"You've spoken long enough," Vamdemon said, then started running towards his opponent. "Blood sword!" he yelled, and a red energy blade appeared in his outstretched hand, forming into a saber. Vamdemon grabbed the hilt with his other hand swung the sword at Beelzebumon.
The Dark Lord came out of his stupor just in time to duck and roll away, reaching his pistol that lay on the ground. He aimed at Vamdemon and fired. "Double impact!"
Vamdemon pivoted and brought the sword around, slicing both bullets in half before they came near him. Beelzebumon used the second he bought to leap over to his fallen motorcycle. Vamdemon was already on the move again, and Beelzebumon saw only one way he would able to escape. He aimed the pistol at Natalie and fired.
Vamdemon saw the shot and knew he only had less than a second before the bullet impacted. He diverted from Beelzebumon and concentrated all his power on speed. He leapt in the air and swung the blade around, catching the bullet with the side of the blade like a bat and ricocheting it into a tree. He landed and shot a glance in Beelzebumon's direction, but the Dark Lord was already on his motorcycle and had cleared the town wall. Vamdemon let the blade disappear and sighed, "Damn."
He picked up his cloak and swung it over his shoulder, but he didn't put it back on. Now that the sun had set, he didn't need the extra cover.
And now that his identity was out, it was no good trying to hide his face. He silently walked back to Natalie. "We should go now."
She nodded and quietly agreed, "Yes."
Joel and Red Leomon could only join the townsfolk that were beginning to silently poke their heads out in curiosity. They first stopped to pick up Natalie's belongings, and Vamdemon waited outside while the innkeeper was only too glad to help Natalie carry her bag out.
A silent crowd had begun to gather, and followed the pair to the edge of town. Before they left, Vamdemon halted and turned around, addressing the townsfolk. "I know perfectly well what I did in my previous life. The bloodstains are still on my soul and I don't think they'll ever leave. I do what I do now because I've been shown another path, and I've chosen to take it. I don't seek atonement or forgiveness, nor do I think I'm worthy of it. All I seek is to prove that the Dark Lord this world knew really did die five years ago. Nothing more."
He started to turn away when there was a stirring in the crowd. A small human girl had broken free of her parents and walked up to him. He looked down at her curiously as she stared at him with equally curious eyes. He recognized her as being one of the children in the park from when Beelzebumon attacked. For a moment, they just stared at each other while everyone looked on. Vamdemon knelt to one knee, so he would be closer to her head level. His face took on a gentle smile as he looked at her questioningly.
Her mouth moved up and down silently, until, finally, she was able to get a sound to come out. "Thank you," she peeped, then ran giggling back to her mother.
Vamdemon smiled and spun around as he stood back up. He turned around and walked out of town beside Natalie. "It's a start," he said to her.
She looked up at him and smirked in the light of the streetlamps. "You're blushing," she said.
Vamdemon's smile fell. "No I'm not," he said. "There's not enough blood in me at the moment *to* blush."
Natalie continued to smirk as they walked out of the town and into the darkness beyond. "Whatever."
To be continued
(End Episode 03)
Next time: Take a trip down memory lane as we go back to two years ago to see how Vamdemon and Natalie first met, and see how the bond beyond mere partnership was formed between them. Things are gonna get a little angsty. Digimon Explorers Episode 04: DIGITAL GOTHIC!
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DIGIMON EXPLORERS
Episode 03: Hell Rider
by J Weekley
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Story copyright 2003 by J Weekley. Digimon is the property of Toei and Bandai. Used without permission.
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It was a beautiful day in the Digital World. The sun was high in the cloudless blue sky. A cool breeze from the north flowed gently through the trees, keeping the early autumn temperature relatively low. Shadows of leaves danced about the ground, playing with the sunlight shining down through the canopy onto the trail below. It was truly a pristine scene that day.
Natalie Doyle wanted nothing to do with it. For the past week, she had been preoccupied with the boy she met over in Kebo. Her instincts had told her that he was the one she and her partner were looking for, but they had been wrong. For the first time, her instincts had betrayed her, and that made her uneasy. True, they did find the real thieves the next day, but still...
She looked up at her partner, who was walking beside her, his hooded cloak concealing his face in eternal shadow, just the way he wanted. She should have guessed something was wrong when he and the boy's Leomon had suddenly stopped fighting. Of course, she knew all about his past with Leomon, and the fact that it could have generated such trust should have put her mind at ease.
She was so lost in thought that she failed to notice he had stopped in a clearing she had just passed through. She glanced back down the trail and saw him looking at something. Jogging back to him, she said, "Partner, what is it?"
He remained silent, staring down at a high stone. Natalie looked at it. On the stone was a plaque, tarnished with exposure to the elements, but still quite readable.
"The town of Ioriton dedicates this plaque as a memorial to the final victims of Vamdemon, who gave their lives in the last battle against the Dark Lord on this site, April 10, 2035."
She glanced up to her partner. "The town's just on the other side of the clearing. Want to stop for the day?"
He remained silent a moment longer, then nodded, "Sure."
*****
They had checked into an inn, and decided to have a look around town. The buildings were all old and made of brick. Humans and Digimon went about their business, moving on the cobblestone street. They were certain to make way for Natalie and the tall cloaked Digimon that followed her.
She was thinking about what to do for lunch when she noticed someone out of the corner of her eye. She turned around, but the person had disappeared around a building. Suddenly forgetting lunch, she ran off after him. "Natalie, what is it?" her partner asked. When she didn't answer, he ran off after her.
Natalie rounded the building and saw him talking with a baker. A tall young man with long brown hair and a tiny point of a goatee under his lower lip, speaking with a British accent. A large red-brown cat-type Digimon stood near him. "Joel!" she called out.
Joel Hutchinson turned in the direction of the voice. The dark-haired girl he saw took a second to register. "Natalie?" he asked.
She burst out in laughter and ran up to him. "It *is* you," she said, taking his hand.
"My God," he said in astonishment. "It's been two years. You've certainly grown up."
"You, too. You only used to be a couple inches taller than me." Her head barely reached the bottom of Joel's chin.
Joel looked up at the tall cloaked figure that walked up behind her. "And who's this?" he asked.
"This is my partner," she answered. "Speaking of which, hi, Red Leomon."
Red Leomon nodded, "Hello, Natalie."
"Who's this?" the cloaked Digimon asked.
Natalie introduced them, "Partner, this is Joel Hutchinson. He's the one who taught me how to be an explorer. I'd left him only a week before I found you. That's his partner, Red Leomon."
"So she was *your* apprentice?" Partner said. Somehow, Joel felt there was a smile under the shadows of the cloak. "You did a good job."
"Thanks," he said. He turned back to Natalie. "So, what brings you to town?"
"Just wandering for now," she answered. "You?"
"We were coming back from a... delivery... in Upload City. Stopped at a station close by and saw an ad for a job here. Figured we'd take it." He had a sudden thought. "Say, you want to join us? I'm sure the guy wouldn't mind splitting the check two more ways."
Natalie was a little shocked by the offer. "Well, he might not mind, but what about you?"
Joel waved the question off. "Oh, don't worry about me. We're set for a while. This is just something to do to keep from being bored."
Natalie looked up to Partner. He just shrugged. "Okay," she said, "we'll do it."
"Great!" Joel said, clapping his hands together. "I was hoping to see how you turned out after all this time."
*****
The job was being offered by a small museum. There were some marked ruins a little ways out of town, and some of the plaques had recently been vandalized. Unfortunately, the museum didn't have the staff to spare at the moment to go out and replace them. In addition, some of the markers had been moved to different sites among the ruins. Working off a map, all they would have to do is replace the damaged plaques with the new ones, and make sure they were for the right ruin. The curator for the museum didn't mind two extra people helping at all, and he happily gave them the map of the site. After a quick lunch in town, the four explorers set off.
A dinosaur-type Digimon guard said that they were expected, and he let them in through the massive circular fence surrounding the site. After they stepped through, he closed the gate behind them. The ruins seemed to be of an old castle town. Short grasses grew on what remained of shops and homes. A large chunk of the castle remained standing at the far end of the site. Natalie walked up to a plaque and looked at it. All the information on it had been scratched out. In its place was spray painted a symbol which looked like a crossed-out N in a circle.
Joel looked at the symbol and frowned. "I know that mark," he said. "Rewriters. A group that seeks to eliminate any possibility that humans may have lived in the Digital World."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Well, History records that the only humans who came to the Digital World before the First Geners were the four priests. But there's some speculation that there may have been pockets of humans living in the Digital World ages before then. There's not much evidence, though, and anything new that comes up is soon stolen or destroyed by these people before it can be properly studied. And, supposedly, they're an all-human group."
"That's strange," Natalie said. "I never heard of them before."
"I have," Partner said, "but no more than what Joel said."
"Well, if this site did have some evidence, I doubt it's seen the last of them," Joel sighed. "Even so, we've still got our job for today. Red Leomon, you okay with those plaques?"
Joel's partner, who had carried the replacement plaques all the way from town, smiled. "Yeah, no problem. They're pretty light."
Joel reached into his pocket and pulled out the map. Handing it to Natalie, he said, "Why don't you go around and see if the markers are in the right places. Red Leomon and I will follow and set up the replacements."
Natalie nodded. "Okay."
With that, the group went to work.
The job wasn't difficult, just slow. Most of the buildings were identified by only a few stones in certain places, and more than once they had to go back and exchange one replacement plaque for the right one. Partner carried the old plaques, all of them marked with the symbol of the Rewriters in various colors of spray paint. As the afternoon began to end, they finally replaced the last marker. The guard at the front gate told them to just leave the old ones behind, and that they would get paid first thing in the morning.
*****
By the time they returned to the town, the sun was already beginning to set. Between the orange glow and shadows, the town grew more radiant with each passing minute. As they were preparing to cross a plaza back to their inn, Joel happened to notice a small outdoor cafe just down the road. He pointed it out to Natalie. "Want to get something to eat?"
Natalie smiled and shrugged. "Why not?"
They walked over to the cafe and sat down. A waiter came up and took their order. Bowing slightly, he returned to the inside of the cafe. Natalie looked around. The cafe was on the far end of town, separated from the town wall by a small, grassy park. Families of humans and Digimon were enjoying themselves in the fading light, some of them starting to head back home for dinner. The sounds of children playing on a swing set echoed through the plaza.
The waiter came back out with their drinks and said the food would be out shortly. "I'll go bring it out," Natalie's partner said, then started to walk into the cafe.
"I'll go with him," Red Leomon said, following him.
Natalie stretched while Joel watched their partners walk off. "He certainly does care about you," he said.
Natalie giggled. "That's just the way we are." She took off her watch and laid it on the table. "Oh, boy," she said, "talk about a tan line."
Smiling, she held up her wrist for Joel to see. Between the flesh of her hand and arm was a very obvious pale strip. Joel smiled for a second, but then he noticed something else. A scar ran across Natalie's wrist. Normally, it would have been concealed by the watch strap, but now it was plainly visible. Joel couldn't help but stare.
After a moment, Natalie wondered what was going on, then followed his eyes down to the scar. She chuckled. "Oh, this?" she said. "It's not what you're thinking."
"Huh?"
She looked down at the scar almost lovingly. "This is a symbol of the bond I share with Partner. It's nothing for me to be ashamed of. I don't try to hide it or anything, I've just always worn my watch there."
"Oh," Joel said, a little confused.
As Natalie was putting her watch back on, the two partners returned with the food. They were just about to sit down when a low, rumbling sound came from the distance. It also seemed to be getting closer with each passing moment. The four looked at each other. "What is that?" Natalie asked.
Joel thought for a second. "Sounds almost like a..."
"Motor," Partner said grimly.
After a moment, Joel suddenly realized what the sound was. Jumping from his chair, he said, "Ah, *shit*!"
At that same moment, a massive motorcycle roared over the town wall, landing in the center of the park. It skidded to a halt, leaving a trail of torn-up grass and dirt in its wake. A leather-clad spike-toed boot locked down the kickstand. The rider stretched back his helmeted head and gave a yell. "Ha, ha! Yeah, baby! Feels good to get out again!" He smiled broadly. "Time to raise some hell!"
Joel was running across the park toward him, followed by Natalie and Red Leomon. "Beelzebumon! What the *hell* do you think you're doing?!"
Beelzebumon shot a halting finger at Joel. "Shut up, Hutchinson! I've never had any quarrel with you, and I don't want to ruin my good mood by starting one now!"
Red Leomon growled. "You've been content to stay in your fortress for five years. Why would you want to come out now?"
Beelzebumon frowned. "Have you ever stayed in the same place for five years? Do you know how *boring* that gets? Torturing idiots who approach the front gates is entertaining only so long as there's a supply, and even though it's still regularly available, the fun's starting to diminish. Everyone's gotta get out now and then, even me." His face melted into a cold, menacing smirk. "So what if I get my kicks from the suffering of others? There's nothing any of you can do about it, so stand aside. Unless of course, you want to be *part* of my fun?"
Joel set his jaw and whipped out his D-Cell. Holding it up, he yelled, "Matrix Evolution Activa--"
He never got a chance to finish, as a brown flash blew past him and slammed into Beelzebumon, knocking the Dark Lord over his motorcycle and several meters away. The brown flash spun in mid-air, coming to a standstill just long enough for the group to see Partner facing Beelzebumon before going for another attack.
Partner balled his fist and swung forward. Beelzebumon tried to dodge, but was just a touch too slow, and got caught under the chin. He staggered back, but stayed up. He pulled his twin-barreled gun out of its holster, but Partner kicked it away before it could even be leveled against him. He spun around again and side kicked Beelzebumon square in the chest, knocking him down again.
Gasping for breath, Beelzebumon rolled away just before Partner could lay another blow on him. He got back to his feet and took a defensive stance. He was injured, but now that he was ready, he was able to block any blow that Partner threw his way. They continued to fight in the center of the park, while a gathered crowd stared on in amazement.
Beelzebumon was trying to change his stance to offensive, sending out blows as Partner was recovering his attacks. Partner bobbed and weaved around and under the punches and kicks, and began to bounce around, constantly keeping his body in motion. He didn't notice a small stone sticking out of the ground until it was too late. His foot slipped on the stone, momentarily throwing him off-balance. Beelzebumon saw his chance. He reached out, intending to rip through Partner's chest, but the cloaked Digimon was able to regain his balance at the last second, and jumped back and away. All Beelzebumon was able to grab was Partner's cloak. As Partner spun away, the cloak was ripped off of him as the crowd gasped.
A stunned silence was in the air. Everyone recognized him. His clothes, once a deep, dark blue were now all black. His hair had turned into a pale, platinum blond. The massive cape was gone, as was his mask. In its place sat a pair of round yellow sunglasses. He looked different from before, but everyone knew instantly who he was.
The silence was broken as the first person to panic yelled out, "Vamdemon!"
A riot broke out as the gathered crowd started running into whatever buildings were close by, trying to escape the park. Mothers tried in vain to keep track of their children as the waves of Digimon and humans separated them. People were breaking down doors and windows trying to get to safety, causing even more panic to the people inside the buildings as the news of Vamdemon's return was spread.
In the park, only the explorers and the Dark Lord remained.
Beelzebumon was still in shock. "It's you?" he asked, dumbfounded. "You're alive? You came back?" Vamdemon just silently glared at him. Beelzebumon continued, "If you came back to life, why didn't you come back to the fortress?! All this time we thought you had been absorbed! Why didn't you come back to us? With your leadership we could've risen again!"
"I found a new purpose," Vamdemon said.
"A new purpose?!" Beelzebumon yelled. "It was her, wasn't it? That bitch over there's your partner. She turned you against us! You're fighting against your own comrades!"
"My only comrade is my partner."
"How could you do this? How could you allow yourself to become so weak that you could be turned against us? I looked up to you. I saw you as a mentor. I WAS YOUR GOD DAMNED GENERAL! And *this*... *This* is how you repay all those years of loyalty?!"
"You've spoken long enough," Vamdemon said, then started running towards his opponent. "Blood sword!" he yelled, and a red energy blade appeared in his outstretched hand, forming into a saber. Vamdemon grabbed the hilt with his other hand swung the sword at Beelzebumon.
The Dark Lord came out of his stupor just in time to duck and roll away, reaching his pistol that lay on the ground. He aimed at Vamdemon and fired. "Double impact!"
Vamdemon pivoted and brought the sword around, slicing both bullets in half before they came near him. Beelzebumon used the second he bought to leap over to his fallen motorcycle. Vamdemon was already on the move again, and Beelzebumon saw only one way he would able to escape. He aimed the pistol at Natalie and fired.
Vamdemon saw the shot and knew he only had less than a second before the bullet impacted. He diverted from Beelzebumon and concentrated all his power on speed. He leapt in the air and swung the blade around, catching the bullet with the side of the blade like a bat and ricocheting it into a tree. He landed and shot a glance in Beelzebumon's direction, but the Dark Lord was already on his motorcycle and had cleared the town wall. Vamdemon let the blade disappear and sighed, "Damn."
He picked up his cloak and swung it over his shoulder, but he didn't put it back on. Now that the sun had set, he didn't need the extra cover.
And now that his identity was out, it was no good trying to hide his face. He silently walked back to Natalie. "We should go now."
She nodded and quietly agreed, "Yes."
Joel and Red Leomon could only join the townsfolk that were beginning to silently poke their heads out in curiosity. They first stopped to pick up Natalie's belongings, and Vamdemon waited outside while the innkeeper was only too glad to help Natalie carry her bag out.
A silent crowd had begun to gather, and followed the pair to the edge of town. Before they left, Vamdemon halted and turned around, addressing the townsfolk. "I know perfectly well what I did in my previous life. The bloodstains are still on my soul and I don't think they'll ever leave. I do what I do now because I've been shown another path, and I've chosen to take it. I don't seek atonement or forgiveness, nor do I think I'm worthy of it. All I seek is to prove that the Dark Lord this world knew really did die five years ago. Nothing more."
He started to turn away when there was a stirring in the crowd. A small human girl had broken free of her parents and walked up to him. He looked down at her curiously as she stared at him with equally curious eyes. He recognized her as being one of the children in the park from when Beelzebumon attacked. For a moment, they just stared at each other while everyone looked on. Vamdemon knelt to one knee, so he would be closer to her head level. His face took on a gentle smile as he looked at her questioningly.
Her mouth moved up and down silently, until, finally, she was able to get a sound to come out. "Thank you," she peeped, then ran giggling back to her mother.
Vamdemon smiled and spun around as he stood back up. He turned around and walked out of town beside Natalie. "It's a start," he said to her.
She looked up at him and smirked in the light of the streetlamps. "You're blushing," she said.
Vamdemon's smile fell. "No I'm not," he said. "There's not enough blood in me at the moment *to* blush."
Natalie continued to smirk as they walked out of the town and into the darkness beyond. "Whatever."
To be continued
(End Episode 03)
Next time: Take a trip down memory lane as we go back to two years ago to see how Vamdemon and Natalie first met, and see how the bond beyond mere partnership was formed between them. Things are gonna get a little angsty. Digimon Explorers Episode 04: DIGITAL GOTHIC!