Chapter fifteen

Harper held the small plastic box in his hands, turning it over and over again; inspecting every square inch of it. His brows knitted in confusion.

Dylan leaned over his shoulder, "What is it?"

The engineer shrugged, "Near as I can tell...uh...a, uh, hologram device. But I don't see how you can start it."

A flash of red darted across the hall in midair and snatched the black box from the human. Scarecrowmon sat in a corner with his back to the crew, but facing Kari, Ken, Wormmon, and I. He looked it over for a few seconds and then pulled down his cowl. Next, he removed his glove and bit his finger until it bled. He let the crimson liquid fall over the black box until it started to glow. Scarecrowmon yelped and ran behind me and Kari to hide, peeking out from behind my friend's legs.

The glow dimmed a little and Sarabi appeared, in full Sailor garb, grinning darkly and sarcastically at us. Her fur was as dark as the depths of space, her wings were leather and satin. Her stripes, streaks of lightening and her eyes, wild and fierce, glimpses into the pits of evil and darkness.

The naganata tied to her back gleamed, silvery-gold and deadly. Her claws shone, black meathooks, and her teeth famed a tongue that appeared now and again.

She was completely feral, ferocious, and menacing.

I raised my claws, but Scarecrowmon tapped them gently.

"My, gosh," Harper breathed. "It's a hologram, but it's so real!" Ken breathed a startled gasp and Kari stared dumbstruck. I did, too. We had to fight *that*?

The hologram laughed, "So you're the crew of the Andromeda Ascendant. How amusing."

Dylan grunted.

"Ken can tell you that I like a good fight. It's more fun if you put up a struggle, though."

Scarecrowmon let out a growl that would freeze salt water.

"I aim to kill you all. But, I wanna have a little fun when I do."

The fiendish image of the Valkyrie female shifted, showing twenty planets linked together by artificial structures. The planets varied in size from Earth to Jupiter, and I felt repulsion to them. In the nucleus of the structure, a yellow sun blazed.

Dylan cussed beneath his breath, "The Magog World-Ship,"

:30~

"NONONONO!" Harper screamed on the command deck. "There is NO WAY we are going back there!"

"We have to," Wormmon answered, riding on Ken's shoulder. "The future of the Multiverse depends on it."

Harper shrugged, "Yeah, I know, but...Magog? Have you ever been in the middle of a Magog swarm?"

I laughed vindictively, "Have you ever spent your entire childhood in the castle of a monster? Have you ever watched him feed off creatures that didn't deserve his 'kindness'? Have you watched him kill off your allies?" I glanced at Scarecrowmon, "And your friends, and then found the strength, the inner courage, to defy all you were taught, not to fight back, not to challenge his authority, and then to strike him down in one fatal blow, aided by those that were ten minutes ago your hated enemies?"

Beka stared at me blankly with her arms crossed, Scarecrowmon smiled at me. The human, the pilot, crossed to the pilot "seat" (a place for her to stand with a set of joysticks) and said, "Okay, World-Ship it is."

:30~

Dylan braced himself and drew his forcelance and heard...nothing. Whatever he listened for didn't happen. He looked relieved when it...didn't happen.

"What are you listening for?" Kari asked, sitting at his feet.

"Swarm ships," the brown-haired man answered.

"Yeah, well it doesn't seem like that's going to happen any time soon," Beka announced.

The ships voice echoed over hidden speakers, "I am detecting no ships of any kind."

"Sarabi's waiting on us," Ken mused from beside Tyr at the weapon's console.

Harper raised an eyebrow and stared at him.

The dark-haired shrugged, "She's a predator and set a trap. Trust me, I know, she's rammed my face into the sidewalk enough times to drill her hunting style into my face like a tattoo."

I was then the one that stared. Ken summed it all up so quickly and...hunting style? Was she really that violent, that predatory? (:30~ I think her fight with Riku in my KH fic sums that up.)

The android, Rommie entered the room from the sliding doors at the back and announced, "I think we need to pay a visit to the armory."

:30~

The smell of death and rot. Stink of biological waste and stagnation. It was overpowering, overwhelming. I shifted my paws. It made me uncomfortable, like being back in Myotsimon's castle. I could tell by the way that Scarecrowmon clung to Kari that he felt it, too.

"Okay, Rev," Scarecrowmon's mechanical voice box started, "Where is the...boss of this place at?"

Dylan blinked his brown eyes, then seized Scarecrowmon, and pushed the little guy against a wall, "Okay, I'm going to be very, very clear: can you or can you not read my mind?"

Scarecrowmon's jewel eyes darted back and forth in absolute terror. My friend looked as pale as a ghost and as scared as a mouse in a cat show. He took a deep breath and then answered, "Yes."

Dylan dropped him, turned around, and groaned, "Well, that was about as clear as mud!"

Scarecrowmon giggled a little, sending the captain into a rage. He kicked the stone wall and hit it violently.

"NO! Don't you DARE laugh. We are in the WORST PLACE to be at and I can't get a straight answer out of you!"

He sighed, "At least Trance tells me the information I need to stay alive."

Ken and Wormmon's eyes widened as they stifled back a scream. They faced behind me and all I could see was Rev draw his forcelance. When I did turn around, I saw one of them.

He was about five feet tall and covered in curly, dark fur with clawed fingers. His nose looked as if someone had cut it off and it was still raw.

A Magog.

I raised my claws, but again, Scarecrowmon pushed them down. The creature stared at us, cocked its head, sniffed the air, and then ambled away down the anthill-like planet.

Scarecrowmon blinked, "Angel told them not to engage. We should be safe-"

"-until the young lady decides to kill us all," Rev and Ken finished for him.

:30~

Miles of dark tunnels stinking of death. Miles of wiggling, squirming, eating bodies. Miles of torment, that's what it was. I didn't know whether I would be a meal or a host every time I turned a corner.

Finally, our guide, the priest, paused and told us to stop. We were near a junction and could hear voices coming from within. Our little party peeked inside, precisely the way they do in cartoons, with a row of heads lining a doorway, Scarecrowmon on the bottom and Dylan on the top.

It looked like a living lava lamp. Its body was light, glowing, writhing purple-and-red. Its eyes were two glowing coals set into a shapeless form.

"MESMER!" a vehement tone called from behind us. It was Trance. Scarecrowmon turned his supple neck around to see her and immediately grabbed his skull.

"PLANTGIRLBADPAINOWIE!" he hissed and then apparently gave him a mental slap on the cheeks.

"Trance! What are you doing here?" Dylan hissed.

"I wanted to watch!" the alien defended and Ken and Rev motioned for her to come and sit.

We reverted our attention to the scene unfolding in front of us.

The Lava Lamp, which I later found out was the Magog deity, the "Spirit of the Abyss", muttered, "Such a rare flower should not spend her time in a dark pit such as this."

Its voice was human, male, and I could *feel* the intelligence. Confusion filled my brain. What was hit---it---talking to?

She came into the limited field of view. Five feet of solid sinew and bone. Able to control electricity, fast, hard, and cold.

Sarabi.

Aptly called "Growltiger".

She smiled coolly, "I have my reasons for being here."

The two neared each other.

"If you are so powerful," the Abyss crooned, "why don't you take care of our little pest problem?"

The catlike female grinned seductively, "My master says that I am not to take them head on."

The Abyss seemed to smile at her. They were so close, touching. His hands grazed her cheek and their lips neared each other.

"On a hot summer night..." Sarabi started.

Scarecrowmon went rigid. His eyes bulged and rage permeated the air. Before anyone could stop him, he digivolved.

BlackMagemon.

A pint-size Vaccine with a Viral attitude.

He was in the room before he was stopped, hovering in midair with a silver and black staff aimed at the pair.

Sarabi hissed and grabbed at her arm. A black band spiraled its way up her arm, sparking. It was shorting out.

"Sarabi, stop this. Come home," BlackMagemon ordered.

Sarabi laughed coldly.

"Sorry, I have what I want."

She returned her attention to the Abyss. His figure solidified, becoming more solid. It took on a purple hue and its spine lengthened into a tail. He looked like a human who had fallen into grape Kool-Aid, except for the tail.

"Mesmer, stop this!" Trance shouted. BlackMagemon glanced at her funny, but then realized that the alien had been addressing the Abyss.

Sarabi snigger unfeelingly and grazed the Abyss's, Mesmer's, face. He placed his arms around her waist.

"See ya," she laughed. In a flash of smoke and light, she was gone.

BlackMagemon faltered in midair. He began glowing again as he drifted slowly down and when he touched the ground, it was Scarecrowmon who felt the texture of the stone. His tears stained the ground as he crouched their on his small hands and knees.

I was at his side before I knew what happened.

"My gosh," he breathed. "She's not on a killing spree. She's a recruiter."

:30~

As of Wednesday, June 4, 2003, Fear and Loathing In---Well, Just Fear and Loathing, named for my favorite episode of Andromeda is completed.

So, what'cha think?