Chapter 3: Two Vendettas
"Crimson Blade?" Stammered Matt. "That's your name?"
"Yes!" Screamed Crimson Blade. "Now shut up and listen. I have reincarnated myself countless numbers of times, but every time I have, you have killed me! And don't try to deny it, Matt, I have far too much proof!
"I was once a Delete clone, created when Delete sneezed and activated the Cloneatron. I was free to roam around R-Fair City as much as I like. I even ran into Blackjack sometimes! But then, along come two people and suck me up into a vacuum! Who was one of these people? YOU!
"However, I came back, this time in the form of a beast. Hacker used the Eye of Rom to create a monster, and I took on that role as an Egyptian worm. But no sooner do I start off my new career than some kid gets up close and tickles me, causing the pyramid to fall and crush me! Who tickled me? YOU!
"But again, I was reincarnated. This time, I was released into the Cybrary as a bug, made to devour data and put Hacker in place of Motherboard in all references. But I was afraid you would find me this way, so instead I bit the bird, Digit. But then he heads over to a boy, who sprays me with a hose, causing me to disintegrate! Who operated the hose? YOU!
"So I can't take it anymore, Matt. You have brought out the worst in all of me, and therefore the worst-case scenario for yourself! What do you have against me?"
"Nothing! You're mad," Matt couldn't stop himself. "You're a psychotic liar!"
"A liar, am I? Mad, am I?" screeched Crimson Blade. "Those are interesting words coming from a person who's gone out of his way to kill me! That's a really weird definition. But I think what you just said defines the word 'lie' perfectly!
"At one point, I decided not to come back. It was hopeless. But then I saw what seemed like my salvation! I came back as a squid inside a pit filled with extremely hot water! Yes, the conditions were torture, but definitely better than getting killed by you again. But then you jumped into that pit in R-Fair City, even though the girl, Inez, told you not to. Well, guess what. Your body heat brought the water to a level which thoroughly cooked me! Again I died! Coincidence? I think not!
"And what about the time you poured one cup of sand into the goblet in Pompadoria? Well, a beetle lived in that sand, and that was me too! You took me from my home! Three days later I died! Coincidence? No!
So one day I reincarnated myself as a drug dealer, but I had to kill myself when the police caught me. But when I got this body, I decided to avenge my other life forms and make you suffer by making my presence more obvious."
Matt began to piece it together. "So you were Paul!"
Crimson Blade smiled.
Matt's eyes widened from the shock. "And you placed that dream about the mind control chip on Inez inside of me!"
Crimson Blade snickered. "Ah, Matt. I see you have not changed a bit, not even when I saw you four months ago."
Matt choked. "You were those eyes!"
Crimson Blade rolled his/her eyes. "And I had to tell you all this right now? You just realized this now? You know, Matt, you're not as horrified as you should be. You see, from all that I've watched you do, I've realized that the most time you suffer is when your friends are threatened. And as you know, I have always looked for the ways to make you hurt the most."
It was at this moment that Matt realized just how dangerous Crimson Blade was becoming. He said, "Uh," but he didn't even have time to say "oh," before it happened.
Crimson Blade drew out a remote from his/her pocket and pushed several buttons.
The floor opened up, and out of the ground rose three crosses. There were figures nailed to them, but Matt couldn't identify them. That is, until Crimson Blade flipped on the lights in the church.
It was just as Matt had feared. The three figures were Jackie, Inez, and Digit.
Jackie's body was scarred all over, and her clothes were ripped. Her hair was also dirty and scraggly.
Inez was badly burned from head to toe. Her glasses were gone, and her hair had been shaved clean off.
Digit was covered in mud, and his secret compartment had been broken.
All three of them had closed eyes, and all three of them showed no signs of life.
And if that wasn't enough horror for Matt's eyes, his ears then exploded when Crimson Blade pressed another button.
Out of the silence came the painful screams of the ones nailed to the crosses. It was as though the girls and Digit were having their skin punctured by a thousand jellyfish tentacles.
Then there was silence, followed by Matt's howls of anguish, and his hurt sobs.
After some time, Crimson Blade let out a whistle. "Yes! Oh, I've waited for this moment forever. Finally, for every punishment you inflicted upon me, you are suffering tenfold!"
At this, Matt's sorrow was replaced by deep hatred. He wheeled on Crimson Blade and screamed, "YOU CRUCIFIED THEM! THEY DID NOTHING! AND NOW THEY'RE DEAD!"
Crimson Blade laughed cruelly. "That's the beauty of it. They are innocent. But that just makes your pain all the more intensified. And they are not dead. But as you can see, I have all but killed them. By my calculations, I'd say their minutes are numbered.
"You know, this kind of reminds me of the time I was reincarnated as Reptimon and you found the spirit of ExVeemon—"
For a moment, Matt's anger decreased a little. "Now you're lying. I don't even know what ExVeemon is. I never found any spirit."
"—and you shot your VEE LASER at a maroon colored dragon, destroying its body completely. Guess who that digimon was! What did you say?"
"I said I never was ExVeemon, and I certainly never shot a laser at a maroon colored dragon. Was that you, too?"
Crimson Blade's smirk turned into a frantic grimace. "You must have. You were responsible for my death when I was Reptimon, just like all my other lives."
Then it hit him/her. "You haven't found the spirit...yet?"
Matt shook his head. "Does this happen in the future?"
"Oh, you get the spirit, all right. You're going to find it sooner or later." It was Crimson Blade's turn to howl. "Drat! I've brought you here at the wrong time!" He/She took a deep breath and screamed, "I've brought you here at the #$%& wrong time!"
Suddenly Crimson Blade turned a hateful, bloodshot eye toward the heartbroken Matt. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU ANYWAY, EVEN IF I WAS WRONG ONCE! I'LL BREAK YOU AND THEN LET YOU WATCH YOUR FRIENDS DIE! THEN YOU'RE NEXT! LET'S SEE YOU GET OUT OF THIS ONE, MATTHEW!"