DIGIMON TAMERS: AFTERMATH
BOOK 3
by Vashkoda
(Disclaimer: This work of fiction uses characters belonging to Toei and Saban without their permission. I am getting no profit from it. I only do it because I think Digimon is a great show, and I want to keep the story alive!)
Author's Note: The end is in sight! =) All questions will be answered soon. Thank you for your patience and support!
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"My lords!" cried a Gold V-dramon, gasping for breath as he charged into the inner chamber of Baihumon's palace. He hastily bowed and reported, "Several hundred rebel digimon are marching this way. They will reach the cliffs soon."
"Dare challenge us?" asked Zhuqioamon, ruffling his feathers in disbelief.
"All will die!" promised one of Xuanwumon's heads as the other nodded firmly.
Baihumon was silent, his expression thoughtful.
"I will gather the other Chosen and face their army. The three of us will be enough to stop them," boasted Gold V-dramon, looking eager.
"We come also," said Zhuqioamon with a low growl. "Want see traitors destroyed."
The three Sovereign followed Gold V-dramon out of the room. The Mekanorimon that had been attending Baihumon scurried back into the hall to tell the other servants what it had overheard.
Ryo, Kazu, Ai, Impmon and Guardromon all released sighs of relief when the room was finally deserted. Even after the sounds of the Sovereign's heavy footfalls faded out of hearing, they waited several minutes before peering around the large column that had been their hiding place.
"What now?" asked Hirokazu, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"Well we-" Ryo was about to move out of the shadow of the column when he spotted movement at the far end of the hall. He threw himself back behind the stone pillar and motioned for everyone to remain silent.
A small red digimon walked hesitantly into the room. It moved its head from side to side as it surveyed the chamber, its long ears perked up as it listened for any sound.
"Ryo, Ai...?" the creature hissed. Its face was creased in consternation as it tried to remember a third name, then shook its head and called out softly, "Are any humans here?"
Ai moved boldly forward, much to the chagrin of Ryo and the others. But as they held their collective breath--and Impmon raced forward to protect his Tamer--the red digimon smiled in relief and explained, "Ruki send me here to find you."
Everyone emerged from the hiding place and stared in wonder at the little digimon.
"You're an Elecmon," observed Hirokazu, pointing at the tails and striped purple fur. "Isn't that Leomon's rookie?" he whispered to Ryo, nudging him with an elbow.
The Elecmon's bright expression faltered for a moment as it overheard the question. "Yes," it stated flatly before Ryo could answer. It quickly turned around and began marching back out the door.
"Come, Sakuyamon need help! Fighting Sovereign alone!"
"All of them? ALONE!" cried Kazu in disbelief.
"She hasn't changed," stated Ryo angrily. "That girl is going to get herself killed!"
Elecmon shook his head. "Needed distraction while you escape. And must stop Sovereign and rebels fighting. Much...death," he added finally, sounding upset.
"C'mon Ai," said Impmon, then looked around and was surprised to see her already running down the hall. "Hey, wait for me!" he cried as he hurried to catch up.
"Let's go, Guardromon," said Kazu as he climbed onto his partner's back. The poor metal digimon wore a look of helpless confusion, like it had been swept up by a chaotic storm of events that it could neither understand nor control.
Ryo braced himself to follow, but Kazu waved him back.
"It's too dangerous for you out there. Stay here with Elecmon."
Ryo and Leomon's rookie looked ready to protest, but both were forced to acknowledge the wisdom of his words.
"Be careful," Ryo said at last.
"Hey, you know me," grinned Hirokazu, giving Ryo a thumbs-up. "'Careful' is middle n- WHOA!" Guardromon had begun speeding down the hall without warning, almost throwing Kazu off before he quickly readjusted his grip.
"Stop making me look bad..." they could hear him mutter faintly, his words quickly fading as the pair disappeared down the tunnel.
Ryo and Elecmon eyed each other nervously.
"We should probably get as close to the battle as we can without getting spotted...just in case."
The digimon nodded empathetically.
"Takato, I think we'd better land. MarineAngemon doesn't look like he can keep this up much longer."
Jenrya pointed at the little digimon, whose color was fast changing from bright pink to dullish gray. The creature wore a look of utmost concentration as it directed the large rainbow colored bubble they were traveling in through the sky. It was so focused on its task that Takato had to wave his hand several times across the digimon's large green eyes to get its attention.
"Kenta, that's enough. You can't keep this up much longer. We can't have you using all your energy to carry us--we'll need you in the fight against the Sovereign."
The angel digimon nodded wearily and let the bubble slowly descend.
Takato turned his gaze to Juri, still huddled in the corner clutching Culumon. Takato didn't know which one looked more upset. At Jen's urging, Takato hadn't spoken to Juri during the entire flight. But now, if something was wrong....
"Is Culumon okay, Juri?" Takato asked, walking up to her.
She shook her head. "No. Whatever was bothering him before hasn't gone away. In fact...I think it might be getting closer."
Jen raised his head in surprise. "It's been following us?" He tried to peer through the iridescent walls of the bubble. As they were descending, he spotted movement over the next hill. Then his view was blocked by the bulk of the hill, and finally, they were on the ground.
The bubble popped and deposited them softly on the grassy turf.
MarineAngemon glowed and split back into Kenta and Tsukaimon. Both immediately dropped and lay sprawled upon the ground, moaning in exhaustion.
"Just let me lie here for a week or two," begged Kenta, closing his eyes. Tsukaimon peeped in agreement.
"Don't let your guard down just yet. I think I saw something across that hill," said Jenya. He nodded to Takato, and together they crawled up the low slope and poked their heads cautiously above the rim.
It wasn't just a single digimon that Jen had spotted. It was an army.
"What are they all doing here?" asked Takato in wonder.
"Look at them--they're almost all Champions and Ultimates."
"Yeah, but they're being strangely friendly, aren't they? I mean, why aren't these guys attacking each other like the digimon back at the prison camp?"
Jenrya had no answers. The pair suddenly jumped as they heard a noise beside them, then Takato realized with excitement that it was coming from his D-Arc.
"Guilmon," he breathed, looking down at the compass for confirmation. "Guilmon is in there somewhere!"
"Shhh, we don't want them to know we're here!" Jenrya whispered urgently. "If Guilmon is down there, we'll find him, but not now. We should wait until dark, and carefully scout the area first. Maybe we ought to wait for Kenta and Tsukaimon to get their strength back as well. Those digimon might be peaceful, but then again, we don't know how they'd react to seeing humans."
Takato grimaced, obviously impatient to find his partner again, but at last he nodded.
"I guess this means Juri will be leaving us soon," Takato muttered, his eyes downcast. The excitement over finding Guilmon was somewhat lessened by the realization that he'd be giving up one friend for another.
Jen's face was sympathetic. "That's what she wanted," he reminded him. "C'mon," he said, letting his body slide a short ways down the hill. Takato released a long sigh before tucking the digivice back into his belt as he followed the other teen.
They heard Culumon's screams just as they reached the base of the hill.
"Juri!" cried Takato in fear as he and Jen raced to where they had last seen their friends.
Juri's face was pale as she clutched a frantic-looking Culumon. The red triangle on his forehead was glowing brightly, as it usually did just before releasing the light of Shining Digivolution.
Moving towards the pair was the creature that had attacked them the night before, which they could now see was almost an exact duplicate of Culumon. Its skin, however, was a light shade of gray, its eyes were large and golden, and in place of the triangle a red orb gleamed darkly on its brow.
"Calaaa...." it hissed, inching closer.
The light on Culumon's forehead pulsed as it prepared to release itself. The dark creature smiled in anticipation.
"Po-po-pa!"
Tsukaimon flew headlong into the digimon, knocking it down as the red beam of light shot out towards where it had been, striking Tsukiamon instead.
A glowing sphere surrounded the startled purple digimon. When it had dissipated, MarineAngemon floated in its place.
"CALA!" snapped the dark digimon angrily, backing away. This time MarineAngemon didn't hesitate to use his Ocean Love attack on the creature. Culumon's clone struggled angrily as the rainbow colored bubble formed around it, trapping it inside.
"Good job, Tsu- ...MarineAngemon," said Kenta, joining the group. "Don't let that thing out."
"Pipipi," affirmed his partner.
"That was close," huffed Jen, catching his breath. "I don't want to think about what that creature might have evolved into."
"What do you think it is?" wondered Takato aloud. "It looks a lot like Culumon."
"It's what Culumon was afraid of, obviously," Juri said, petting him reassuringly. The little digimon looked at his trapped clone warily, but seemed satisfied that the immediate danger had passed. He yawned sleepily and nudged himself deeper in Juri's arms.
"We'll have to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't escape," frowned Jenrya. "I guess we should take it with us."
"With us? Where are we going?" asked Kenta.
Takato smiled and lifted up his digivice. "To find Guilmon!"
They followed the sound of the energy blasts.
Ai and Impmon had already biomerged. Kazu glanced a question at his partner, but Guardromon shook his head.
They had left the cave and were entering the valley. Farther down near the river, they could see Sakuyamon dodging the Sovereigns' powerful attacks. The Chosen were nowhere to be seen; presumably, they had gone ahead to meet the rebels.
Sakuyamon looked up as she spotted Beelzebumon, Guardromon and Hirokazu approach. She was quickly forced to turn her attention back to the battle as one of Zhuqiaomon's fire attacks grazed her side. Beelzebumon took a little pressure off of her as he zipped past the Sovereign, drawing their fire.
"Kazu, you idiot! What are you doing here?" Sakuyamon shouted.
"Gee, thanks for the welcome! Remind me why I'm saving you again?" he called back to her. He ducked as a stray beam of fire almost knocked him off Guardromon.
"What are you waiting for? Digivolve!"
Kazu knew that there was no point trying to explain all of it to her just then. Instead, he argued, "Guardromon doesn't need to evolve! He was able to help out against Beelzebumon and the D-Reaper's agents, remember?"
The fox-like female digimon sighed. "I guess it wouldn't make much of a difference. We have no hope of defeating the Sovereign."
"So what in the world are we doing here?"
Sakuyamon's mouth twisted into a grimace. "I was trying to give you a chance to escape." She used her staff to summon a rain of lavender petals, which managed to somewhat cancel the effects of Xuanwumon's Black Hail. Beelzebumon and Guardromon waited under Sakuyamon's shelter until the hailstorm subsided.
"Where's Ryo?" she asked them suddenly. Her eyes darted around in search of him.
"Safe inside," said Kazu. " What about Takato and the others?"
"No idea. We got separated by a data stream."
Baihumon unsheathed his claws and pounced at them. The group split apart just in time.
Beelzebumon glared at the tiger Sovereign and cried, "Hey, I cut you some slack back there because of my brother, but don't think I won't blast you if you start getting on my nerves!"
Sakuyamon turned back to Kazu. "Obviously, your mission to wake up Mako failed," she observed dryly.
Kazu glanced uncertainly at Beelzebumon, wondering whether he should say anything. The digimon had overheard the remark and snarled at Ruki, "Obviously you failed to rescue Qinglongmon!"
"But we know where he is," Kazu added quickly, not wishing to see a fight break out between friends--especially when they already had the Sovereign to deal with. "The only problem is he's chained, and can't get free unless one of the Sovereign cut him loose." He had a sudden thought. "Wait a minute, what about Culumon? Did you guys find him?"
Sakuyamon nodded. "We did, but there was also something else in the forest...something that may have been after him. It attacked Leomon."
Kazu and Beelzebumon exchanged glances. "I hope that's not what it was," said Beelzebumon worriedly.
"What?"
"Qinglongmon told us that the Sovereign had made a bargain with-"
The area was suddenly lit up in a pale yellow glow. It was followed a second later by the sound of a loud explosion thundering through the valley. The light quickly faded, but it was obvious where the source of it had been: the cliffs rising up from the end of the canyon. The place the Gold V-dramon had told the Sovereign that the rebel army waited.
The Sovereign seemed to have decided that the three Tamers and their digimon were no longer worth their time. They stopped their attacks and raced towards the cliffs.
"No...we can't let them fight! They'll destroy each other!" Sakuyamon cried.
"The rebels!" said Guardromon in sudden realization, his eyes doubling in size. "They need our help!" The copper-colored digimon moved in a burst of speed that Kazu had never known he was capable of.
"Oh sure, now you want to fight the Sovereign!" muttered Kazu as he held on for dear life.
"Fighting Sovereign wrong," admitted his partner gloomily, "but rebels not deserve punishment! Not their fault! Did not want evolve!"
Gaurdromon managed to fly ahead of the Sovereign. He put himself directly in their path and held out his hands, palms upwards, in a gesture of supplication.
"Please mighty Sovereign, no kill rebels! They not want break law! Just afraid--no want die."
"What are you doing?!" Kazu cried. "We're the ones who are gonna die if you don't get out of their way!"
Zhuqiaomon glared at them with his four dark eyes. Without even slowing down, he summoned a helix of crimson fire and shot it directly at the pair.
"No!" shouted Sakuyamon and Beelzebumon as the attack engulfed Guardromon in flames and sent him plummeting out of the sky.
"Rebel filth!" spat the large phoenix digimon as it continued on its path towards the cliffs.
Sakuyamon waved her staff and summoned a cloud of petals around Guardromon that put out the flames. Beelzebumon dropped into a sharp dive and managed to catch the digimon and his Tamer before they hit the ground. He carefully set them down in a shallow section of the river, where the cold water would hopefully ease their burns.
"Kazu..." groaned Sakuyamon fearfully, as she took in the horrible red wheals and blisters on his skin. Guardromon looked no better, with areas so charred and blackened that it seemed his metal hide was really to break apart. His body began to glow as he slowly shrank in size and reverted to his rookie form. Though he still looked beaten, he no longer seemed as close to death as he had been.
"I...I cured!" said the Hagurumon happily, realizing that it was no longer evolved. "The Sovereign cure me! I forgiven!"
"Yeah...that's great," wheezed Kazu, opening his eyes. Beelzebumon had to keep a strong grip on him to keep him from sliding under the water. It seemed to be a terrible effort just for Kazu to breathe.
"Hang in there, kid," spoke Beelzebumon gently.
"No, don't stay here. You have to stop the Sovereign," Kazu reminded them. "I'll...be okay. See?" He shakily moved his body to the edge of the river bank and propped himself up with his arms. "Please, go! Or this will all be for nothing."
Something atop the cliff let out a piercing cry of anger or pain. Sakuyamon and Beelzebumon hesitated a moment more, and then reassured Kazu that they would be back as soon as they could. They took off towards the cliffs, where the bright flashes and sounds of battle had intensified.
Kazu sighed and let his body slide back into the water.
"Sorry get hurt. Very sorry--my fault," said the Haguramon, no longer quite so pleased by its good fortune. The digimon moved to help support the human boy with its gear-shaped body.
"Hey, it was a brave thing to do. Really stupid, but brave." Kazu started to chuckle, then gasped in pain as the movement stretched the burns across his chest. He took a deep breath to steady himself, then added, "It was the kind of thing the old Guardromon would have done."
Haguramon didn't know what to say, so he stayed silent.
"I want to...I want..." mumbled Hirokazu, suddenly losing his grip on Haguramon. The digimon frantically tried to keep the Tamer's body upright and his head out of the water. He was so preoccupied that he didn't notice the presence of the other digimon until its large shadow had fallen across them.
Huguramon looked up in terror as the digimon spoke.
"HUMAN WILL DIE!"