"There's only one Guilmon, and he's the one I want! Nothing else matters. Not data, not DNA, just my friend!" - Matsuda Takato, "Give A Little Bit"
Klotho
Guilmon's determination reached a totally new level as he spotted the two bullets from Beelzemon's Double Impact attack flying towards his Tamer and himself. His eyes glowed with that unnatural viral red again, and without actually intending it, he released some of the data he had loaded before during his innumerable fights by Takato's side. Said data formed an exact facsimile of Megidramon's tail, successfully deflecting the vicious assault.
But it was not "just data". It was the accumulated personality traits, the "digital spirit" of an old foe, who had been absorbed by Guilmon relatively early during Takato's career as a Tamer. Now free at last, the spare data stole away, unnoticed, since at precisely the same time Guilmon and Takato attracted the general attention by, for the first time, performing a miraculous event which should later be known as the Matrix Evolution.
Takato had been right, of course. Whether data or DNA did not matter at all. The only important issue was the will to live that blazes in every being, be it data or carbon compound. And this determination to exist, to not be deleted, was astonishingly strong inside that seemingly random packet of data which now floated away from the beginning battle between Beelzemon and Guilmon's true Mega form, Dukemon. The main reason for this was that the entity within was hell-bent on completing the mission it had failed so miserably on the first attempt, to reach its very personal Elysion by reformatting itself and gaining what, in its opinion, was rightfully its own- its Tamer, its mistress, its destiny: Makino Ruki.
The data- let's address it as IceDevimon Beta- continued its way through the vastness of the Digital World, without any real destination. Minutes became hours, and hours became days. Every now and then, IceDevimon Beta approached one of the digital tumbleweeds and tried to intermix with it in order to amplify his own data capacity, but without success. But his futile efforts did not discourage him- quite the contrary. The oftener he tried and failed, the more intense grew his determination and his stubbornness, until finally, he managed to absorb an especially huge packet of spare data, using his strong will and his burning desire to finally make Ruki his Tamer to survive the exhausting procedure.
DemiDevimon lay on the hot sand of the digital desert, panting heavily. For a minute or two, he was absolutely sure he would suffocate, as the burning air didn't seem to contain enough oxygen for his aching lungs. But his iron grasp on life wouldn't allow that, and after almost half an hour of recovering, the small Digimon crawled to his feet, still rather shaky, but alive. Or more appropriate, alive again.
However, this didn't seem to please him fully.
"What a pathetic form of existence is this?" DemiDevimon looked down at his small winged body in obvious disgust. "A Rookie? And so weak, to make things worse? This can't possibly be me."
"You look angry. Is there anything wrong?"
DemiDevimon grunted at the unwelcome disturbance, and turned around to behold a Tokomon smiling at him.
"None of your business. Shove off before I lose my patience."
Tokomon looked at his conversation partner in surprise.
"What did I do? I just wanted to help you."
DemiDevimon glared at the small In-Training. "Are you kidding? How could you possibly-" He hesitated and eyed Tokomon for a second.
"Then again, there might be something you could do for me."
Tokomon smiled happily. "And what?"
DemiDevimon showed a wicked grin: "Die!"
The weaker digimon didn't even have time to flinch before the sharp needles of his opponent's Demi Darts pierced through him, deleting him instantly. DemiDevimon didn't waste any time with quickly absorbing the data, smiling mischievously.
"Thanks. Your cooperation was appreciated." With a little laugh, he flew off, searching for a possibility to regain his old strength so he would be able to challenge that Takato kid whose digimon had defeated him, and to finally make Ruki his Tamer.
The variety of digimon populating the Digital World had the advantage that DemiDevimon found many In-Training digimon to kill and load their data. It had, however, the disadvantage that there were some stronger rookies and Champions which were eager to load his own data as well. The few Ultimates and Megas he encountered either were too good-natured to attack him or just ignored him at all. All in all, the fights he won outweighed the fights he had to flee from almost 2:1, but that wasn't even close to sufficient to enable his digivolution back to IceDevimon.
"It can't go on like this. A human's life is such a fleeting spark in the great cosmic play of eternity, and if I don't become stronger to please my mistress anytime soon, all my efforts were futile." Suddenly, a mighty blow knocked him out of the air and to the ground. He fought unconsciousness for a few seconds, then looked up to this new annoyance. A rather big annoyance, actually.
Snimon growled at the intruder who, lost in his own thoughts, had bumped into the beetle digimon. Without hesitation, he aimed his Twin Sickles attack at the small rookie who dodged the destructive blades just in time. However, Snimon charged at the fleeing DemiDevimon at lightning speed and hit him hard with a swift roundhouse kick, sending him into the dust once more. In a blink of an eye, the Champion was upon him again and pinned him to the ground with the blunt side of his left arm. Snimon lifted the other blade high into the air, and DemiDevimon prepared to meet his doom- again.
Then, there came the light.
Somewhere else, and unbeknownst to the two fighting digimon of course, Calumon had released the Shining Evolution. A blinding glare engulfed DemiDevimon and Snimon, making them digivolve to their respective Mega forms. This didn't change the two digimons' positions, but it created equality of opportunity. And while Boltmon needed some time to fully understand his new form and that his left arm suddenly wasn't a deadly weapon anymore, but his right arm held an enormous battle axe, Piedmon took his chance before it was too late. At lightning speed, he grabbed his swords and sent them right through the other Mega's chest. The look of complete astonishment on Boltmon's face intensified even more before his strength left him and he dropped his axe, which came flying towards Piedmon's head. A microsecond before the seemingly inevitable impact, the weapon dissipated into data along with the rest of the mighty Cyborg digimon. Piedmon got to his feet again and absorbed his opponent's digital remains.
"Finally, a pleasant surprise for once. Now I only need to find a gate leading to the humans' realm."
Piedmon strode through the Digital World, loading digimon whenever he could, but that didn't really please him anymore after some time. He already was as strong as he could possibly wish for, and it was more important to focus on his real objective right now: finding a portal to the so-called "real" world. So far, he hadn't come up with an idea about how to get there, and time was working against him. He hadn't actually seen Dukemon back then when he had "escaped", since he had only been a packet of data. He had only been able to sense different amounts and types of data, and from that he had figured out that Guilmon must have reached his true Mega form. But what little he had realized from this digimon had been enough to show him that it must have been a rather strong one, and it could very well be that other Tamers' digimon were able to reach Mega by now as well.
"Time is the crucial factor," Piedmon monologised. "The stronger those pets get, the more difficult it could be to come close to Ruki-chan."
His odyssey, however, was far from over. He had lost his sense of time long since, it could have been days, weeks or even months since the incident with Snimon- he wouldn't know. But one day, he met it. His deus ex machina.
Machina- that was Locomon. Deus- that was the Parasimon controlling it. And together they were Piedmon's ticket to the humans' world. He didn't came out of the thick forest he was walking through in time to witness how exactly the strange purple spider had managed to open the small dimensional rift, but he reached the fast train digimon just in time to cling to its very last wagon. He had no idea where it was heading yet, but it obviously left the Digital World, which in any case was an improvement of his current situation.
"Where are you two going?" Piedmon demanded sharply.
"How are you able to see me, mighty Mega?" Parasimon inquired. Piedmon frowned.
"I am a master of illusions myself, pitiful parasite. You cannot beguile me with such prestidigitations. I am waiting for an answer, to help me decide whether I should delete you instantly."
"Next stop: humans' realm, honoured passenger. Enjoy your journey." Parasimon was perfidious, but not stupid. Messing with such a strong Mega was a sure way to put his plans to a sudden and very unpleasant end. The armada of Parasimon for which he was some sort of pioneer and which would soon enter the "real world" would, without any doubts, be able to deal even with Piedmon as well. Piedmon, however, sighed in relief at that answer. Finally…
The odd trio entered the "real world" somewhere outside Tokyo, but Locomon was racing towards the city at an insane speed. When it passed a small group of trees, Piedmon jumped off and smashed his Trump Swords into a massive trunk. He pulled them out again, safely landing on his feet, and casually started to walk towards the skyline of Tokyo city. He wasn't in a hurry now anymore. Quite the contrary, whatever Parasimon was planning, it surely couldn't defeat those who had even been victorious over IceDevimon, but it could weaken them, which was playing into Piedmon's hands perfectly. Soon, he and Ruki would be joined together for eternity…
Considering the fact that the clown digimon was- well, a clown, and thus didn't look much like a threat despite his Trump Swords, he wasn't in need of his mysterious mirage techniques in order to avoid being spotted as he entered the megalopolis. They came in handy, however, to prevent detection by means of devices or programmes designed to track down data. For that reason, Tally and Riley didn't have anything unusual to report to Mitsuo Yamaki, who at that time was busy coordinating the operation at Yoyogi station in order to redirect Locomon.
Piedmon continued to make his way to Shinjuku without being bothered. Only once, a small girl dragged her mother towards the evil clown and insisted that he be the main attraction at her obviously soon to come birthday party. Piedmon considered slitting her throat open for a second or two, but it surely wasn't wise to attract that much attention right now, so he just acted like he was deaf. As a result of the girl's whining and crying when he ignored her so evidently, he actually was deaf for at least five minutes afterwards.
On his way, Piedmon noticed the arrival of another Mega level digimon coming through the Digital Zone. It didn't seem to be possessed by a Parasimon, so it was most probably one of the Tamers' allies, but that wasn't of much importance to the evil digimon. It was too weak to be of any danger. What impressed him more, though, was the gigantic beam of light that shot towards the Digital Zone just a few minutes later, easily deleting the entire Parasimon invasion force.
Piedmon recognised the data pattern belonging to the digimon that had achieved this. It was stronger, much stronger than when he had last seen it, but it was undoubtedly Matsuda Takato's partner. Instinctively, Piedmon quickened his pace. His eagerness to destroy the digimon that would nearly have caused his downfall increased, now that it was almost- just almost- a match for him.
"How little you humans know," he muttered to himself. "I have existed within Guilmon long enough to notice that special bond forming between that gogglehead and my Ruki-chan, long before you could possibly realize it. But it is too late now. I will erase that dino boy along with his Tamer to dispatch this final obstacle between me and my mistress. Soon… so soon…"
Piedmon reached Shinjuku Park about two hours after nightfall. Light sources were scarce here, only the almost full moon high above Tokyo provided some illumination. But it wasn't necessary to actually behold the digimon approaching- Piedmon had sensed its presence quite some time ago already. And vice versa.
"Ryo! A digimon!"
Akiyama Ryo, who had made his way to the portal inside Guilmon's old shelter in order to return to the Digital World, looked at his partner in astonishment. "Are you sure? Must be a remaining Parasimon."
"No," came CyberDramon's reply, as he was already racing towards his opponent. "Much stronger. Finally a worthy opponent. I'll delete it!"
For the blink of an eye, Ryo was just rooted to the spot. Then, his mind slowly processed what the Ultimate had just said, and he sped after him.
"Wait! We'll have to go Mega for this one!"
But CyberDramon didn't listen. It was too dark to allow Ryo to see the starting fight, but he could perfectly well hear it. The Legendary Tamer was hoping with all his heart that he would reach the battle site in time to help his partner, as he ran in the direction where CyberDramon's voice came from: "Desolation Claw!"
Piedmon watched the attack in amusement. An Ultimate- ridiculous… Calmly, he reached for one of the weapons on his back and hurled it at the Android digimon This would not only stop his attack but, without any doubt, kill CyberDramon himself as well…
During his adventures in the Digital World, Ryo had been forced to steadily decrease his reaction time in order to always be prepared for battle, but he certainly didn't have the time to actually select a specific card right now, if he wanted to keep his digimon alive. So he just fished for a random card, slashed it, and prayed that it would do any good.
At the same time, Piedmon's attack hit CyberDramon. His image blurred, distorted and suddenly vanished, only to reappear behind the evil clown's back instantly.
"Desolation Claw!"
Ryo now finally had the time to look at the card he had just used.
"Alias," he muttered. "Thank you, God…"
"Don't worry. You can tell him that face-to-face in a minute, boy." Piedmon grabbed the Legendary Tamer's head from behind with both hands, and applied just enough pressure to not crush his head instantly, but to make it more than clear that he could do so any moment if he wanted to. The Mega sneered as his mirror image dissipated after being hit by CyberDramon's attack.
"As you can see, boy, you're not the only one who has some aces up his sleeve. What made you think I couldn't do what your little pet over there can do as well?"
CyberDramon had overcome his initial surprise and fought the urge to just charge at the still grinning clown. His Tamer's safety was at stake, and battling was only peripherally important- for now.
Piedmon was rather pleased at the sight of a totally static CyberDramon. "That's a good dog. Now crawl on all fours, like all puppies do, and wag your tail. And do it right, please- my fingers tend to twitch when I'm annoyed, and we don't want that to happen, do we?" To emphasize his words, he twisted Ryo's neck a bit, but not enough to break it. The clearly audible cracking sound, however, along with Ryo's suppressed cry of pain, left no doubts about his seriousness, so that after a few seconds of hesitation, the mighty Android digimon did as he was told.
Ryo looked at his humiliated partner, and a single tear trickled down his cheek. "CyberDramon… I'm so sorry…"
The digimon stopped wagging his tail, and looked up to his Tamer's face. At the same time, Piedmon had enough of playing games. While his left hand closed around Ryo's throat, his right swiftly grabbed his second Trump Sword.
"No need to be sorry, Tamer. To die for you is more of an honour than I could have ever hoped to accomplish through fighting."
Piedmon's blade cut through the air. A split second later, it reached its destination, and the mighty CyberDramon was no more.
"NOOO!!" Ryo's cry echoed through the whole park, but trailed off unnoticed, since Shinjuku Park was as empty as usual at this time of the day- or rather, night.
Piedmon, however, pulled Ryo towards the portal leading to the Digital World. The Tamer didn't struggle against it. Now that his comrade, his partner, his friend was dead, nothing else seemed to matter anymore.
"The tale of the Legendary Tamer is well known in the Digital World, and I always hated it. I won't kill you, boy. Let's rather see how you do without your bodyguard, shall we?" Piedmon spoke mockingly, as he hurled the boy into the glimmering dimensional rift.
"Fare thee well, Digital Survivor."
Elsewhere, at the same time, Makino Ruki was sitting on the porch of her grandmother's house, staring up into the night sky. The blue moon had something soothing to it and seemed to prevent her head from exploding right away due to the myriads of confusing thoughts floating through it. She sighed.
"Insomnia?"
Ruki didn't even look at Renamon as the digimon materialized right by her side.
"And that from you," she responded. "Do you ever sleep yourself?"
"Not if I can avoid it. I still need to get to know the humans' world better, and the best way to do so is experiencing it."
"Fine with me. As long as you don't plan a joyride through Tokyo or something."
"What is that, a joyride?" Renamon inquired. Ruki couldn't help but chuckle at her partner's question.
"Never mind. No, I'm not suffering from insomnia."
'Just suffering from gogglehead,' she thought, cautious that Renamon couldn't establish a telepathic link. Even though he didn't know it, of course, Takato Matsuda, Japan's most famous walking mess, had made his way into her head and heart in the same as a matter of course style he was playing with his digimon or baking Guilmon bread.
'Today alone,' she continued her trail of thought, 'he's saved my life twice. Actually thrice, if you count the small, unimportant, negligible fact that he rescued the whole city of Tokyo from the Parasimon army with one single attack. He's definitely gotten stronger, in every aspect.'
Not so long ago, the existence of a Tamer who was stronger than she herself would have killed her. Now, she could kill herself for the fact that she had ever had such thoughts in the first place. Takato had, unlike all the others, accepted her ever since, which at first had confused Ruki terribly. Before she had met Takato, she hadn't even known the meaning of words like friendship or tolerance, and now that she had been fighting by his side for so long, another term was to be added to Ruki's treasury of words.
Love.
If it weren't for that gogglehead, she wouldn't love Rumiko as a mother again, and she wouldn't love Renamon as her most precious friend instead of seeing her just as an accumulation of data. And finally, there was the reason for her confusion: Takato had become special to her. What he had done for her was more than normal friendship- but maybe that was just part of his personality, helping his friends without caring about his own health, or even life. Spontaneously, Dukemon Crimson Mode came to Ruki's mind- a digimon that looked like a guardian angel just suited Takato perfectly, as he was one himself.
Takato had more or less "taught" friendship to her, but she could never reach his level of care and self-abandonment. As for that, probably nobody could. But- although it was difficult for her to admit it even to herself- she was willing to learn it now, to learn from the master.
Ruki grinned, as the absurd image of a newspaper insertion entered her mind: Offer great skill at the Digimon Card Game, search for deep and honest emotions.
Of course, it wouldn't work that way. You can't bribe people to obtain their loyalty, and in Takato's case, that wasn't necessary anyway. It would be like rewarding a dog for having a tail.
"Why are you smiling, Ruki?" Renamon, who had left her Tamer to her thoughts so far, eyed her curiously now.
'Time for step one, I suppose: honesty.' Ruki took a deep breath before she answered.
"I was thinking about… a boy."
'Alright, half the truth to begin with. Not bad for the former Ice Queen, is it?'
"You mean Takato." Renamon nodded understandingly as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Ruki rubbed her forehead with ostentation. "Is that just me, or are all my thoughts written on my front somewhere?"
Renamon laughed. "No, it's not just you. It's just us. I've known you long enough to understand what's going on with you by now. And besides your family and me, Takato surely is the one who cares for you the most."
"Yeah, I guess," Ruki replied. "But he cares for Juri just the same."
'Probably even more,' she thought, and for some odd reason this caused her heart to clench.
"And for Jen," she continued, "and for Kazu, and Kenta, and probably the Dalai Lama as well. Hell, he even cares for Ryo, Lord knows why."
"True. But not even when the D-Reaper was feasting on Juri's negative emotions, Takato's eyes were as full of concern and sorrow as they were today when you got controlled by Parasimon."
Renamon looked straight into her partner's eyes now. "Actually, I think he feels more for you than just mere friendship. But some people just need a bit of encouragement at times, isn't it?"
Ruki glared at the kitsune. "And what is that supposed to mean now?"
"Oh, nothing." Renamon tried hard to sound as innocent as possible. "But you know, back in that tunnel-"
"I knew it!" Ruki interrupted. "I knew you would mention that! You're so dead!" Ruki caught Renamon off-guard, as she tackled her and pushed her over the edge of the porch. They were rolling around and fighting playfully for a minute before they finally lay down in the soft grass, side by side and panting heavily. They looked at each other- and burst into laughter simultaneously.
"You need to laugh more often, Ruki. Your happiness is my ultimate reward for fighting with you." Renamon smiled at her Tamer warmly now. "And I know a certain someone who could succeed in making you happy."
Ruki ignored the slight blush that was appearing on her cheeks and growled in response. "Stop that already, will you?"
"I was just about to say the same," a low voice from the other side of the garden spoke up. Renamon jumped to her feet instantly. Her conversation with Ruki had distracted her too much for her to notice the presence of a digimon nearby- an enormously strong one.
"Who are you?" Renamon demanded. "Identify yourself!"
Piedmon stepped into their visual field and bowed mockingly. "Piedmon, the digimon formerly known as IceDevimon, at your service." His look wandered to Ruki, who had gotten up as well. Immediately, the derision vanished from his face.
"Ruki-chan… What a pleasure to see you again- balm for my tired eyes. I have been waiting for this moment…"
'I haven't,' Ruki thought bitterly. 'It's just my usual luck. I think about Takato, and immediately my old… suitor appears.' Her eyes were fixed on the vague direction of where Takato was living. 'Where are you, gogglehead…'
Given that Guilmon was used to spend his nights in that small hut in Shinjuku Park, it didn't bother the dino when his Tamer switched on the lights in the room. He simply continued his blissful sleep- sleep which Takato just couldn't get. He scanned the now fully illuminated room and eventually spotted his sketchbook. As he got up to fetch it, he watched his snoring partner with a small smirk. After all the ado about D-Reaper, Takato had decided it would be better for Guilmon to stay at the Matsuda bakery instead of Shinjuku Park. And saving the world a few times had definitely helped to get Mie's and Takehiro's blessing- that, and the fact that the red dino's sheer presence at the bakery made the sales of Guilmon bread go through the roof. Right now, he surely was dreaming of chasing squirrels, or bread, or, most probably, squirrels made of bread.
Takato finally grabbed his sketchbook, crawled into his bed again and started to leaf through it. There was the infamous picture of Guilmon, then Growlmon and WarGrowlmon, then a few sketches of possible Mega forms of Guilmon, then Dukemon, then Ruki…
Takato paused. The picture of Ruki was the last in the book, and the newest. It was about two days old, and Takato had drawn it as a birthday present for the red-head, but then decided against it. It would be too childish and corny in her eyes.
Takato sighed. It was by far the best picture he'd ever drawn, as if the motif would have been a spring of inspiration and special encouragement for him. Takato grinned at the thought of Ruki being his muse. He imagined himself sitting in front of a blank piece of paper, when suddenly Ruki would appear and kiss him and he would, with newly found inspiration, pull a ring out of his pocket, fall to his knees and-
'Whoah, wait!' Takato snapped back into reality, and fell off the edge of the bed out of astonishment about his own thoughts. Rubbing his aching head, he got onto his bed again.
'I'm very sure artists and muses aren't supposed to do that…'
Guilmon stirred in his sleep, and lazily opened his right eye.
"What happened? I woke up because I heard a funny sound, like of a flour sack falling down somewhere."
Takato glared at his digimon. "Hey, who are you comparing to a- never mind." He sighed. "Just go back to sleep boy, alright?"
"Okie-dokie." Guilmon closed his eyes, only to open them again after a few seconds. Still drowsy, he got up and went up to his Tamer. He stopped in front of the bed and tilted his head.
"What's wrong Takato? Why don't you go to sleep?"
"I can't, boy," Takato replied. "I wish I knew why."
Guilmon tilted his head to the other side now. "You're thinking about Ruki, right?"
Takato's eyed widened. "What? How did you come up with that?"
Guilmon shoved his nose in the still open sketchbook, pointing at the picture.
"Oh, right…" Takato laughed. "I drew that picture as a birthday present, but I thought she wouldn't like it."
"Why not? It's pretty."
Takato grinned at his friend. "Thanks boy, but that's only your opinion."
"I'm sure Ruki likes it too. Why don't you show her?"
Takato blushed furiously. The second reason why he had decided against the picture as a present was that Ruki would probably think he was obsessed with her or something, which of course wasn't true. He just liked her. Alright, he liked her a lot, but he was not her lover boy.
"Do you love Ruki, Takato?"
The brown-haired boy looked at Guilmon in amazement. He had almost forgotten how blunt his digimon partner could be at times.
"And how did you come up with THAT now??"
Guilmon's head tilted left and right now like a clockwork. "I don't know. When I was back in the Digital World after the fight with D-Reaper, I saw a Patamon who gave a Gatomon a present. Then he told her that he loved her, and then he kissed her and-"
"Stop it, alright? I think I know what you mean, but let's keep this R-rated, okay?"
"Okie-dokie. What does that mean?"
"Ah, forget it. I'm just confused, that's all." Takato sighed again. "I'm definitely not in love with Ruki, Guilmon."
'I'm only daydreaming about proposing to her, that's a totally different thing of course…'
"Oh, alright. So your face is red because you're mad at someone, then? Did I do anything wrong?"
Takato's mentioned blushing intensified even more at his partner's remark. His innocent question forced Takato to think about it, and the more he remembered about their adventures, the clearer it became to him how special Ruki really was to him…
"Who was that girl...?" - Matsuda Takato, "Guilmon Comes Alive"
"It's not everyday you get to meet your 'dream girl'… Sorry, I just couldn't resist." - Matsuda Takato, "Now You See It, Now You Don't"
'Just keep walking, pretend she's not staring at you, and keep quiet!' – "I just wanted to say that that shirt looks good." – 'Aw, great job of keeping quiet.' - Matsuda Takato, "Reunion"
"Baka! It's not like you to give up! What happened to you? Hang on, Ruki!" - Matsuda Takato, "The Runaway Digimon Express"
Especially when Ruki had first put on that T-shirt with the full heart, it had made Takato feel a little fuller as well, as if it had been the ultimate proof that Ruki's Ice Queen personality had, literally, melted away. But of course she had still been the same, still his precious, loveable-
'Oh Lord… Please tell me I didn't just think that…' But obviously, the Lord was resting (significantly, it was a Sunday), leaving Takato with a confusing insight…
The connection between Takato and Guilmon had been very strong ever since, and the dino digimon had, unknowingly of course, guessed what Takato's heart had subconsciously kept a secret all the time. Lover boy was falling for his dream girl…
His heart cramped slightly as he realized how impossible it was that Ruki would ever return such feelings, and he looked at Guilmon with a sad smile.
"No boy, you didn't do anything wrong… You did it perfectly right…"
'But unfortunately it's no use,' he thought, having to fight back some tears of disappointment.
"Your eyes are leaking again, Takato." At least he didn't call him "Takatomon" this time.
"I don't know, but maybe you should just tell Ruki that you like her that much. I'm sure she would understand, and I think she likes you too," Guilmon continued with enthusiasm.
Takato was stunned. It was like Guilmon had simply ignored his denials and rather just read his mind- and heart- to find out what's going on.
But of course, his partner did have a point. The chance of ruining their friendship was minimal, since Ruki would either return his feelings or- and that was much more likely to happen- rip his head off and shove it where the sun doesn't shine, so he would either be the happiest gogglehead alive or the most mutilated gogglehead dead. Anyway, Takato was willing to test his luck. Ever since, he had been a very honest and open-hearted person, and now was the time to muster up all his courage. His famous goofy grin appeared on his face, as he tried to ease his fear of the possible negative outcome by picturing a positive one.
"Takato?" Guilmon's voice interrupted his daydream. "A digimon."
"Again? Where?"
Guilmon sniffed the air a few times. "I don't know. It's trying hard not to be sensed, that's why it took me so long to smell it. I think somewhere near Ruki's house."
"What?" In a split second, Takato was on his feet. "Let's go!"
The gogglehead bolted down the stairs, grabbed Takehiro's cell phone to call Jenrya and stormed out of the house before his parents could even say something.
'Don't worry Ruki… I'm coming…'
'Where are you, gogglehead…'
"Ruki!" Renamon's tense voice woke the girl from her thoughts. "I can't take on him alone!"
"Right. Matrix Evolution!"
A few seconds later, Sakuyamon opposed a very surprised Piedmon.
"What kind of digivolution is this? That's not normal!"
"A Matrix Evolution," Ruki replied from within Renamon. "As you can see, I already have a partner. And for your information, she's my best friend as well."
If Piedmon had something like a heart, it would have been shattered now. But this digivolution type was still destructing all his plans. Ruki would never be his Tamer, now that the bond between her and Renamon was so strong that they were even able to merge together. His mistress had betrayed him, she was out of his reach now, and that filled Piedmon with unknown fury.
"Foolish human! You could have been my Tamer, the Tamer of the strongest digimon existing, but you chose this… pet instead! But your decision seems to be irrevocable, so I guess I have to destroy what I can't have."
With a terrifying cry, he dashed towards Sakuyamon, who immediately welcomed him with her Spirit Strike attack, which Piedmon deflected with his blades just as promptly. He hurled one of his Trump Swords at the God Man digimon, who barely dodged it. The evil clown just kept running, jumped onto the hilt of the sword which was now stuck in a picket and performed a gigantic backflip. Still in mid-air, he threw his second blade, which Sakuyamon- not without effort- deflected with her staff. Piedmon grinned wickedly, and closed his eyes for a second. Instantly, the two swords disintegrated and reappeared in their sheaths on his back. Sakuyamon had tried to take advantage of her opponent's brief lack of concentration and fired another Spirit Strike, which Piedmon simply overleapt. He charged at the digital priestess again, hacking and slicing wildly at her. Sakuyamon had troubles to defend herself with her staff, so that she couldn't focus her concentration on redirecting the fox spirits which, in consequence, simply vanished. Finally, Piedmon managed to drive his Trump Swords through the ring at the staff's top, and effectively pinned the weapon to the ground. Before the now disarmed Sakuyamon could retrieve it, the evil clown landed a mighty blow to her face, which forced her on her knees. Before the shaman digimon could recover, Piedmon quickly grabbed the staff, effortlessly ripping the two swords out along with it, and swung it at the God Man digimon with all his might. Sakuyamon reverted to Ruki and Renamon, and Piedmon swiftly kicked Renamon's temple to make sure the yellow fox would stay unconscious for the time being. Not that she would have been a threat, but he wanted to savour what was coming up next without any annoyances.
This wish, however, was not to be fulfilled.
Simultaneously, but coming from different directions, SaintGargomon and Dukemon dashed/flew in sight. Rather unimpressed, Piedmon sat down on the grass, placed Ruki on his knees and casually fetched one of his Trump Swords, pointing it directly at Ruki's heart.
"I was hoping that we could share this moment alone, but it obviously wasn't meant to be," he spoke to the semiconscious girl. "Too bad," he whispered, "for death is such an intimate experience… don't you think?"
"Let her go!" Takato shouted. "Or…"
"Or what? You're not in the position to make demands, boy," Piedmon retorted. Meanwhile, Seiko Hata and Rumiko Makino, awoken due to the noise of battle, had left the house.
"Go back!" Jenrya yelled. "It's too dangerous out here."
Reluctantly, the two women entered the house again, and a few seconds later, their faces popped up behind a window, their widened eyes glued to the terrifying scenario outside.
"Let Ruki go… please." Dukemon looked straight into Piedmon's eyes now. "Take me instead."
"Takato…" Ruki whispered. "Don't-"
Piedmon's scornful laughter interrupted the girl. "How noble. And how naïve."
"If you need a hostage, take me," Takato continued. "But I cannot lose Ruki. I need her." And, in a lower voice, he added, "I love her…"
Silence. For the blink of an eye, not even the chirping of the birds could be heard. Then, finally, Piedmon spoke up: "Impressive. My guess was that you would let her die without even telling her, but it seems like I underestimated you. But you still don't understand it. Ruki declined me as her partner, therefore she must fall."
"No." Ruki's voice was much louder now, even though it sounded rather throaty as the girl was fighting back the tears welling up in her eyes. "It's you who doesn't understand anything, clown-face. You never had a chance to become my partner, since I already have Renamon. She is my friend, and I'd never let her down. And you never had a chance to conquer my heart either, because… because gogglehead… Takato… has already stolen it…"
The world seemed to freeze for half a second after that. Then, suddenly, Dukemon's cry intermixed with Piedmon's, and while the former was engulfed by a brilliant light and changed to Crimson Mode, the latter forcefully drove his Trump Sword through Ruki's heart.
The evil clown shoved the girl's limp body aside and got to his feet. Grinning, he licked the blood from the stained blade, only to immediately throw it at the still unconscious Renamon, eventually putting her out of her misery.
It was then when a wave of grief and hatred washed over Takato and Guilmon. Their emotions, so totally alike, seemed to multiply exponentially, reaching a climax of wrath not even Megidramon could possibly match. It was like both, Tamer and digimon, would be fused together even stronger by the blazing fire of their berserk rage…
-Mode change corrupted-
Dukemon started to change, as the anguish hit Takato with unknown force. He loved her, and she loved him. And now, she was dead…
A gigantic explosion of energy erupted from Dukemon, and his crimson armour changed colour- or more appropriate, lost all colour. It was now pitch black, as was his whole body, including his wings, which additionally changed form and now reminded of a bat more than of an angel. His two-bladed sword, which in this new form bore the name Tyrfing, seemed like a curdled stream of purest darkness in the "newly born" digimon's mighty hands.
-Dukemon Hazard Mode-
Dukemon HM's eyes glowed red, and with a mighty roar, he hurled his weapon at the totally perplexed Clown digimon: "Vae Victis!"
The blast of destructive blackness literally ripped Piedmon apart, not leaving him the slightest chance to evade.
But Dukemon HM was far from finished. With his bare hands now, he ripped lamp posts out of the pavement and used them to demolish the nearby houses at an incredible slashing rate, literally turning him into a blur of devastation.
"Takato… Guilmon…" SaintGargomon knelt down next to the furious unholy knight, gently placing his right hand on his shoulder. Dukemon HM turned around at lightning speed and smashed the rather battered metal bar that once used to be a lamp post right into the other Mega's face, with such a force that SaintGargomon immediately reverted back to Jenrya and Terriermon.
Dukemon Hazard Mode hesitated. The sight of his two unconscious friends seemed to wake him up from his frenzy, and his eyes didn't glow in that viral red anymore, but were of their "usual" amber colour now. He scanned the picture of misery he had made of the street the Makino residence was located in, and didn't behold Seiko or Rumiko- they had probably passed out at the sight of their (grand)daughter's assassination. With an exhausted, almost relieved sigh, the Mega fell to his knees.
'Ruki… Renamon…' The stirred-up emotions hade merged Takato and Guilmon together even more, so that by now, they almost were one and the same being.
'Love… and pain… so closely connected…'
Another Beauty
Loved by a Beast
Another tale of infinite dreams
Your eyes they were my paradise
Your smile made my sun rise
Nightwish, "Gethsemane"
The dark digimon closed his eyes, much like Piedmon had done before, and grabbed the accumulation of darkness appearing in front of him. With determination, he rammed Tyrfing into the tarmac, its other blade pointing to the moon high above Tokyo.
Dukemon HM tautened and took off into the night sky, going higher and higher, until it almost seemed like he would crash into the satellite. Finally, he folded his wings and skydived downwards, straight towards the protruding top of his weapon.
For some reason, he had to think about his father's cell phone. He wouldn't be able to return it. 'Well, there goes my allowance for the next few years,' Takato thought with a grim smile. Totally free of fear, he fell into his doom, even counting the seconds to the impalement.
'Now, somewhere beyond death, I'll see you again…'
5
'…and I will hold you…'
4
'…caress you…'
3
'…kiss you…'
2
'…and love you…'
1
…forever!'
Without you
The poetry within me is dead
Nightwish, "Gethsemane"
OWARI
Name explanations: The title, "Ultima latet", was a common inscription on clocks of early modern age. It means, literally translated, "The last [hour] is hidden", meaning that death is certain, but the time of death is not. I considered that an appropriate title for the fic. Dukemon HM's weapon has its name from the famous sword Tyrfing from Norse mythology, which bore the curse that every time it was unsheathed, it had to slay a man. The titles for the "mini-chapters" (Klotho and so forth) are all taken from Greek mythology, and don't need explanations. They are just some sort of keyword for the "chapter" they announce, and can be interpreted in various ways.
Final A/N: As usual, thanks to all readers, special thanks to all reviewers and RUKATO ITSUMADEMO!