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: It's taken me a while to get back into the story (this always happens when I get close to the end). Anyways, sorry for the long wait, but I also wanted to completely finish this thing before I started releasing it again. I'm breaking the last section into five parts, and will be releasing each one over the next five days. I hope someone remembers this fic and still enjoys it. Feedback is always appreciated.
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"If it's a fight you want, then you shall have it!" exclaimed Wizardmon, pointing his staff at the three Chosen.
The two teens watching from the hillside barely caught a glimpse of the newly evolved digimon standing beside Wizardmon before the former vanished into thin air. The three golden Ultimates--who moments before had been watching the rebels with haughty expressions--suddenly seemed less sure of themselves as they looked around for their invisible opponent.
"What was that thing? Why didn't they become Justimon?" asked Takato worriedly.
Jenrya shook his head. "I don't know. After what Monodramon did to Ryo...." Jen still had trouble accepting what he had seen. Was Ryo dead, or was Juri right and this was how it had been with Makato and Sepikmon? Could Ryo simply be unconscious, with their new Mega under his partner's complete control?
"They didn't evolve normally. And all that data Wizardmon fed them must have altered the evolution somehow."
The wind was picking up, launching thick clouds of dust into the air. The dust began to revolve around the Chosen, as if they were at the center of a large whirlwind.
"Is this supposed to impress us?" snorted Gold V-dramon in amusement. His laughter was quickly silenced as the speed of the whirlwind doubled...tripled...in a matter of seconds. The rebels backed away as the three golden Ultimates became obscured by the dark tornado forming on top of them.
A green cyborg digimon materialized at the edge of the funnel. A long band strapped to the back its head was flapping violently in the wind. Though it was difficult to see through the fast-moving clouds of dust, the winds seemed to be passing through the loop of metal on the digimon's back.
"MALT CYCLONE!" the cyborg shouted. The funnel cloud slowly compressed and collapsed in on itself, crushing everything inside it. When the clouds dissipated, the battered Chosen could be seen crawling up from the ground. They were still alive, but in bad shape.
"You...you not beat us yet," said Rapidmon shakily, raising his arms cannons. Maildramon's tail crackled with energy, and Gold V-dramon had his arms folded across the yellow "V" on his chest as it began to glow.
"Rapid-"
"Tail-"
"V-"
They never had a chance to finish their attacks. The new digimon activated the laser blades on both his arms--blades that looked identical to the one Justimon carried--and again vanished. But this time it became clear that the green cyborg was not invisible, but rather was moving so fast that his movements could not be tracked. The only thing marking his position were the streaks of fire lancing out of his blade as he slashed back and forth at the Chosen.
Despite his anger at his partner's actions, Jen couldn't help but cry out in fear as Maildramon and Gold V-dramon disintegrated into data. Only Rapidmon's quick moves and reflexes had saved him, but it was clear that he would not be able to match the Mega's speed for long.
"Pipipi!"
A rainbow colored bubble enveloped Rapidmon, shielding him from the attacks. His opponent pounded the bubble in frustration, unable to get through.
"I thought you could use a little help up here," said Kenta, having rejoined them at the hilltop. "Whoa, what is that thing? Did Ryo--?"
"His name is Fujinmon," said Takato grimly, reading the stats off his D-Arc's screen. "It looks like he has some of Justimon's attacks, but he's a totally different digimon."
"Fujin is the Chinese god of wind," Jenrya added. "That should give you an idea of his power."
"IRON CLAW!"
Baihumon rose above the cliff edge in one large leap, landing with his razor-sharp claws fully extended and aimed at Fujinmon. The latter didn't know what hit him as he was struck from behind. The claws left deep rends in the cyborg's armor, and the blow threw him against the ground with such force that his body almost folded in half.
The phoenix and turtle Sovereign rose up behind him. Zhuqiaomon's four red eyes glared down at the rebels. Wizardmon had just finished collecting the dead Chosen's data with his staff, and was now the center of the Sovereign's attention.
"Dare challenge your GODS?" the phoenix asked in amazement. "Dare kill our servants and load their data!?"
"Let me avenge them!" cried Rapidmon from inside the bubble. "Let me prove myself, O Sovereign!"
"Had your chance," said Xuanwumon, his left head shaking back and forth. "This our fight now." A gray mist appeared over the bubble, melting its surface. Rapidmon was free, but obediently--and somewhat reluctantly--backed off to let his masters fight.
"Your reign is over!" shouted Wizardmon defiantly. "Since you are incapable of showing us mercy and tolerance, we shall give you none!" He aimed his staff at the injured Fujinmon, whose body had begun to de-digivolve. Takato and the others could just make out Cyberdramon's shape and an outline that might have been Ryo. But as they were hit by Wizardmon's stream of data, Fujinmon resolidified and began to change once more. His metal hide thickened and darkened to a dull tan. Four large battery cannons rested on his shoulders, and his hands turned into Justimon's gauntleted fists.
"Now his name is Raijinmon!" cried Takato in surprise, still reading the D-Arc. "Man oh man, I can't believe this is happening!"
"Who are we supposed to be helping?" asked Kenta worriedly. "If Baihumon is Makato, and that new digimon is Ryo, how do we keep them from destroying each other?"
Raijinmon rolled to the side and dodged one of Zhuqiaomon's fire attacks. In exchange, the new digimon gathered a ball of electricity between his palms and tossed it upwards at the phoenix. The Sovereign dodged it easily, but the electric sphere continued to fly upwards into the clouds. The sky darkened suddenly as the clouds swirled and turned black. Spears of lightning came crashing down all around them, most of them striking the Sovereign. The Tamers covered their eyes and ears to protect them from the blinding flashes and the deafening claps of thunder.
When they cautiously looked up, they could see steam rising from the heaving bodies of the Sovereign. Baihumon appeared to be the hardest hit of the three, due to the large amount of metal covering his body.
"Hey you! No one hurts my brother but me!"
Raijinmon was blasted backwards several yards, his body leaving a deep groove in the dirt. Beelzebumon's winged form hovered over the cliff edge, his discharged gun still smoking. Sakuyamon joined him a second later.
"All right, they're both ok!" cried Takato in relief. "We might just have a chance now!"
"A chance at what?" asked Jen pointedly. "We can't let either the Sovereign or the rebels win. We have friends on both sides."
"But Beelzebumon and Sakuyamon don't know that, do they?" realized Kenta. "They don't know that that's Ryo!"
Raijinmon slowly climbed to his feet. Beelzebumon and Sakuyamon braced themselves for a counterattack.
"Black Hail!"
"Crimson Blaze!"
The two Tamer Megas--who had expected the Sovereigns' attacks to be aimed at the enemy digimon--were caught off guard when the blasts struck them instead.
"No..." gasped Kenta.
"What are they doing?!" shouted Takato, heedless of the digimon camped farther down the hill. Jen roughly grabbed Takato's arm and pointed at where Rapidmon hovered only a short distance away. The Chosen's long ears oriented towards the source of the cry, and his head slowly swiveled to point directly at the Tamers.
"Now you've done it," growled Jen. "They know we're here."
Rapidmon looked back at the Sovereign, as if trying to decide whether or not to disturb his masters with the news. Zhuqiaomon and Xuanwumon watched with satisfied expressions as Beelzebumon and Sakuyamon split back into pairs of exhausted Rookies and children. There was no sign of Baihumon.
"This our fight," Xuanwumon reminded them. Now that the pairs had been rendered harmless, the Sovereign proceeded to ignore them, converging on Raijinmon instead.
"Fools!" called out Wizardmon. "The human-merged digimon were your only chance at defeating us! It is your pride that will cost you your victory!"
Despite Wizardmon's bold statement, Rajinmon eyed the Sovereign nervously. Shifting his gaze to the rebel leader, the cyborg hissed, "Need more data!"
Wizardmon looked at his champion in surprise. "But...I have given you all that I have," he insisted.
"Liar."
Raijinmon leapt over the heads of the Sovereign and landed heavily beside Wizardmon. Raijinmon clutched the front of Wizardmon's cloak and lifted the struggling digimon until their eyes were level.
"You keep data for yourself! You want power, too. You want be a Sovereign after I kill these ones, yes?" asked the cyborg slyly.
"No, it's not what you think-" Yet as Wizardmon began to glow, it became obvious that he was indeed using the last of the data on himself, trying to evolve. Raijinmon scoffed at his boldness, then hastily carried the captive to the edge of the broken cliff.
"You want feel power?" growled Raijinmon. "Then I show you...when I make you part of me!"
The metal digimon threw himself over the cliff, taking the still-evolving Wizardmon with him.
Takato was tired of standing by, doing nothing. His friends were doing their best and it still wasn't enough. Guilmon was somewhere nearby, and if Takato digivolved to Dukemon, it just might be enough to turn the tide.
"That's it, I'm going to find him!"
"You do realize that there is an army of digimon down there that will load your data the second they see you?" Kenta reminded him with a grimace. He looked to Jen for support, but the teen's attention was focused on the battlefield. With their champion and ringleader both gone, the rebels seemed to have lost their will to fight. Ruki, Renamon, Ai and Impmon were largely ignored by both sides. An Elecmon rushed towards them, and Takato held his breath in alarm until he realized it must be the de-evolved form of Juri's Leomon.
Juri.... Takato wished she had been spared the sight of the battle. She had been right--the death and destruction caused by the Sovereign and rebels cost almost as many lives as the initial struggle against the D-Reaper. Yet the Wild Bunch had only done what they thought was best for the Digital World. They had hoped to make a difference.
And it wasn't too late. The Tamers and their partners could still make things right again.
Takato gave Kenta a reassuring pat on the shoulder, then took off down the hillside, letting his digivice guide him.
Where are you, boy? he wondered as he gazed down at the rebel encampment. Despite their initial losses against the Chosen, the army's ranks still numbered in the hundreds. He had worried that Guilmon might have been one of the casualties, but the steady pulse on the digivice radar reassured him.
Takato slowed down as he heard footsteps approach. Seeing a gap between the boulders next to him, he squeezed between them, hoping the digimon would pass him by unnoticed.
Unfortunately, he only managed to fit his legs, and by the time he realized his plan wouldn't work, he was stuck.
A Devimon rounded the corner, staring at Takato in surprise before an evil grin crossed its face. "A human! Our champion gone, but maybe with your data, I become new champion!"
"Tri-Beam!"
The Devimon was knocked to the ground. A second blast pounded it into the dirt, where it made no attempt to get up.
Takato looked behind him and saw Rapidmon. Before he could react, the golden armored digimon had grabbed hold of the Tamer's shirt and lifted him free from the rocks and into the air.
"What...what are you doing?" Takato cried out.
Rapidmon snorted. "What you doing? Trying get killed?"
Takato stared at him defiantly. "It's a risk I had to take. I need to find my partner, Guilmon. We have to digivolve and keep any more digimon from getting killed!"
"Then I take you. That tamed digimon save my life. Now I save yours."
Elecmon peered over the edge, clutching the ground firmly between his small claws as he began to experience a wave of vertigo. The two digimon had tumbled down a very long way to the bottom of the canyon, their fall ending at last in the river below. Elecmon might have lost sight of them had it not been for the eerie red glow that shone from underneath the water at the place where they had splashed down.
The survivors of the rebel army joined him at the lip of the precipice, anxious to learn the fate of the leader and champion. The Sovereign, on the other hand, observed these events with indifference. Confident in their superiority, they waited patiently for their opponent to make a reappearance.
When he did--and like the Sovereign, Elecmon held no doubts that the twisted Mega would return--the furry red digimon wanted to be far, far away from there.
Elecmon ran to where he had seen Sakuyamon and Beelzebumon go down. The humans were indeed there, supported by their weary partners.
"Elecmon, how did you get up here? And where's Ryo?" Ruki demanded, still having the strength to look angry.
"It him you fought, that...thing," he said distastefully. They began asking questions, but Elecmon shook his head and pointed them away from the battlefield.
"No time for that now. Come, we go this way. I sense Juri here, and maybe others too. Hurry!"
He looked back several times to make sure that they were following. Although they appeared ready to collapse, he was relieved to see them keeping up with him.
At the crest of the hill, they found Jen, Kenta and MarineAngemon. The humans greeted the girls with hugs and smiles, while MarineAngemon conferred with his fellow digimon.
"Pipiiipi." I'm glad you're here--I was worried about you.
"Was that really Ryo?" asked Impmon in disbelief.
"I wouldn't be surprised," snorted Renamon in a tone that sounded just like her partner. "That kid is always getting into trouble."
"Where's Juri?" interrupted Elecmon, noticing that she wasn't among the humans.
MarineAngemon motioned towards the other side of the hill. Elecmon raced towards the edge, then stopped in confusion.
"Where is she? Is she inside?" the furry digimon asked, pointing at one of MarineAngemon's large heart-shaped bubbles. Elecmon didn't like the thought of his partner being trapped inside one of those things.
MarineAngemon looked surprised, then quickly flew towards his Tamer, poking him urgently. A growing sense of dread came over Elecmon. His worries were soon confirmed by a sudden wave of weakness, followed by a sharp, rending pain. He knew, without understanding how, that something was happening to his link with Juri.
He swayed unsteadily on his feet before stumbling to the ground. He didn't have the energy to get up. He didn't even have the strength of will to remain conscious.
He slipped into dark, dark dreams.