In The Dark
Part Ten: Visions of Battle
***
Standard Disclaimer Thingy: This plot is entirely mine! In this chapter, I am proud enough to stand up and take credit for it! Anyone steals it, they must die!
::ahem::
The characters within are reasonable facsimiles (I like to believe) of characters not belonging to me. This fabulous plotline is reproduced without any monetary compensation whatsoever. In short, Digimon is not mine. Thank you.
***
The Airdramon was gone, but the enemy still remained, and the fighting continued. Where one enemy ended and the other remained, Takeru knew not. He clung tight to his partner, seeing openings and weaknesses and trying his best to exploit those of his enemy while defending his own at best.
One of the obvious weaknesses was Taichi. There was a dark tower somewhere in the area, and because of that, he and Agumon were nearly helpless against the ferocious controlled enemies. Far from simply laying down to accept his fate, the courageous boy and his brave partner fought as best they could. Taichi attempted to throw rocks and sticks at the encroaching digimon, which did little to slow their advance, but did buy him time to escape the more dangerous attacks.
Yukidarumon possessed the most lethal of the current attacks. The poison stingers of the Flymon were definitely dangerous, but the snow attacks of the giant bear were more far-reaching.
"Absolute Zero Punch!" called one of the red-eyed snow bears, punching the ground with its fist. The dirt, the grass, the flowers, and even the roots of the trees turned to ice and were covered with a thick layer of snow. A short distance away, Taichi could feel the cold in his feet even though he was not actually hit with the attack. He cursed loudly and tried harder to dodge the attacks.
As for his partner, Agumon was not rendered helpless merely because of his inability to evolve. He was able to easily dodge the attacks of the weaker Gotsumon and to free a few of them with his own attacks. Unfortunately, freed Gotsumon were far too dazed to be of any use in freeing their partners, mostly because of the intense amount of damage sustained to the head.
"Can't something be done about this Yukidarumon?" Taichi shouted in frustration, having spent the better part of the last few minutes dodging the blasts of ice.
Takeru heard the call for help, but was busy trying to defend himself against a Flymon that had somehow managed to corner he and his partner.
"Deadly Sting!" shouted the enemy in question, firing its stingers. Thanks to quick reflexes, Pegasmon was able to dodge, but just barely.
"Shooting Star!" he shouted in defense. The Flymon ceased flying as though in pain, and then screeched angrily, attacking with greater strength.
"Fire Rocket!" Fladramon shouted from somewhere behind, and the dark ring was disintegrated in a single, violent burst of energy.
***
Jun was relieved to find herself on solid ground again, but not much safer. No sooner had she landed than a barrage of Flymon surrounded the land-bound group.
"Maybe I should have stayed in the air," she wailed, watching Miyako depart and wondering if perhaps she should have refused the offer of departure.
"Maybe…" Alraumon agreed hesitantly.
"Deadly Sting!" called the Flymon, firing their poisoned needles in unison. Jun shrieked and shut her eyes. Nothing happened. She opened them again.
"What the - ?" she wondered, having not been present for Koushiro's first use of the protective magic shields.
"We're saved!" her partner cheered without wasting time wondering how it had been possible.
Koushiro was far from a novice magician, but he was out of practice, and continually raising a shield large enough to protect them all was making him rather exhausted. He was showing his tiredness now, breathing more heavily and beginning to sweat despite the chilly temperatures of the late morning.
Miyako and Hikari were attempting to hold off or free even a portion of the seemingly endless swarm of attacking Flymon, but as there were only two of them, it seemed that it would prove to be a long job. Especially when, tired of merely overseeing, their commander began to take an interest in the fight himself.
The first sign was when Miyako felt the increasing level of magic in the area. She was slowly learning that sometimes one had to rely on senses other than sight – Koushiro was attempting to teach her this – and as a result she was very much aware when the Kaiser, on the back of his usual Airdramon transportation came closer.
Although she was at first frightened, the sight of the enemy somehow managed to set off a chain of thoughts in her mind. The Airdramon the Kaiser rode upon was the only one of the original flying serpents that was still controlled.
'Standing atop an Airdramon doesn't seem like a very safe way to travel,' Miyako thought. 'If it was only to falter -…'
Suddenly, logic became clear to her without any more conscious thought. Miyako knew what had to be done. Leaning forward so her partner could better hear her, she told her plans to Holsmon.
***
"That was close," Takeru noted, wiping his brow. He turned back to thank Daisuke and Fladramon, and then he heard the shout.
"Agumon, look out!" Taichi was shouting in warning, but it was too late. One of the two Yukidarumon had kept him busy while the other had somehow managed to grab the small yellow dinosaur.
Takeru quickly tried to move into action to chase the Yukidarumon, but the remaining Flymon and Gotsumon moved faster, managing to block the boy and his partner before they could move.
Daisuke was speedier. Within seconds he'd managed to step in front of the snow creature. Agumon, nearly frozen by the grasp of the giant creature, cried out for help.
"Agumon!" Taichi shouted, but he, like Takeru, was suddenly surrounded by the Gotsumon.
"Let him go," Daisuke warned, the inferno in his eyes reminding the snowman of his fire powered partner, who stood just behind him.
The Yukidarumon hesitated.
Above, a single controlled Piyomon flew away.
***
Holsmon seemed to immediately understand Miyako's train of thought. Before she'd even finished telling him the plan, he was flying.
"Red Sun!" he shouted, aiming directly for the tail of the Airdramon and, more specifically, the ring on its tail.
The Airdramon let out a pain-filled scream that echoed off the trees and snow banks and sent shivers down the spines of everyone capable of hearing it. The ring on its tail cracked once, down the center, and then, thanks to a quick flip of the tail on behalf of the creature's own willpower, cracked once more. Split in half, the ring fell uselessly to the ground and then disintegrated.
The Airdramon was angry now. It cried out again, as loud and pain-filled as the first, but now also irate. It thrashed about, trying desperately to overthrow its passenger. The Kaiser, completely unconcerned, stood his ground until the thrashing became too great. Then, with magic Miyako was clearly able to see, he jumped into the air to avoid the instability of his ride. While still in the air, he performed the twist of the wrist necessary to produce another ring, and effortlessly tossed it in the direction of the Airdramon, which was still squirming about.
In seconds, it was over. The Airdramon was subdued once more. The Kaiser was atop its skull, appearing as though nothing had happened, and looking smug and content as before. Now, however, he laughed, and his laughter was directed towards Miyako.
"Intriguing, but pathetic. The odds are completely against you. Why don't you just give in now?"
Miyako clenched her fists and teeth. "I have no intention of giving in," she shouted, frustrated but determined despite the obvious setback she'd just suffered.
Suddenly, a panting, exhausted Piyomon landed on the skull of the Airdramon. The Kaiser ignored it completely until it began to tug on his pant leg. Then he kicked it aside.
"Please master, please. There's something you must know!" the Piyomon cried, regaining its feet once more.
"I very much doubt that," he answered in a dull, disbelieving tone, but listened to the creature's report. Slowly, a half-smile spread across his face. With something that could almost be considered a pleasant grin, he turned back towards Miyako.
"Hate to cut this short, lady, but, duty calls," he said by way of explanation, and was gone a moment later.
Miyako simply stared, watching the Airdramon soar away. "Where - ?"
"Why'd he take off like that?" Holsmon echoed. "He was winning, wasn't he?"
***
The Yukidarumon, a tall, cold creature with the most lethal of attacks, yet with a great weakness – fire – peered down with some hesitation at the boy who stood before him and his partner. Without possessing a will of its own – the dark ring had seen to that – the Yukidarumon would ordinarily not have hesitated to dive into battle, its regard for its own life very slim. However, something was stopping it from performing what might be a suicidal act.
Daisuke didn't particularly care at the moment what was going on in the snow creature's mind. He knew that since Takeru and Taichi were both momentarily helpless, he was the only one who stood a chance of saving Agumon. And he knew that he wasn't eager to give up without a fight.
Suddenly, a long, dark shadow flew over the area. Unmistakably Airdramon.
"We haven't time for this!" the Kaiser snapped, fuming. "Just take it and go!"
Unable to disobey, the Yukidarumon that held Agumon complied. "Absolute Zero Punch!" it shouted, slamming its massive snowy fist into the ground. The ice blasted along the ground, freezing completely everything it touched. Daisuke leapt quickly to avoid the ice.
"Fire Rocket!" Fladramon shouted, taking a more aggressive stance against the ice. The path of ice formed by the Yukidarumon melted, turned to water and seeped back into the ground.
"Damnit!" the Kaiser shouted, even angrier now. "Give it to me!"
Obedient as ever, the Yukidarumon threw the poor half-frozen Agumon into the air.
"Agumon!" Taichi shouted, struggling with the group of Gotsumon. The only sound that replied, however, was the Kaiser's mocking laugh.
***
The Gotsumon had been freed, and the more vicious Flymon defeated. With nothing left to fight, the exhausted camp set about cleaning up and licking its wounds as best as possible.
The surface damage was great. Only one tent survived completely intact, the others having suffered some sort of damage or another. The supply tent was completely flattened. There were, miraculously, few injuries other than minor cuts and bruises. Jyou and the other two remaining doctors set about treating the small injuries.
Koushiro, exhausted from the continuous raising of magical shields to protect against the Flymon, was offered a rest in the one surviving tent, but he declined, wishing to help clean up instead.
"Let's see what supplies we can salvage," Miyako sighed, looking at the supply tent. Several days worth of food, as well as bandages and other medical supplies had been stored in there.
As they filtered through the wreckage with the help of the now-freed Gotsumon, they found they were able to recover quite a bit of food, and Iori and Hikari were delegated to fix most of the remaining food into a meal. It was by now mid-afternoon, and as breakfast had been interrupted before it could be eaten, most were starving.
Jun was helping to attempt to move the large rock that had been dropped on her brother's tent. It wasn't easy. After the recovery of some rope from the supply tent, they'd attempted to wrap the rope about the rock and then simply pull, but even with most of the camp and the freed Gotsumon working together they were unable to lift it.
Koushiro, always interest in trying to solve problems, suggested perhaps wrapping one end of the rope over a tree branch and perhaps then holding the rock in the air long enough to recover what was underneath it, but there were few trees in the air that looked as though they would be able to support the weight of the rock, so that was abandoned.
"This is just way too difficult," Jun sighed after the tenth attempt to pull the rock. Her arms were tired and, like all the others in camp, she hadn't eaten.
Koushiro, too, was frustrated. "If I wasn't so exhausted, then I'm sure I could manage to use some sort of magic," he sighed. "Then it wouldn't be a problem."
Miyako's ears perked up at the mention of magic. "Could I?" she wondered. "I'm not tired in the least."
The wizard frowned. "Perhaps," he agreed. "It's not a difficult spell. It just takes a very large amount of energy. I'm not sure you shouldn't save your energy for later."
"At any rate, wouldn't it be helpful if you could have some food before you attempted to learn a potentially draining spell?" Hawkmon suggested, as usual concerned for his partner.
"Food's ready!" Iori called from the fire, where the only intact iron pot was hanging, full of a stew-like dish he and Hikari had been able to throw together from the salvageable food. The camp gathered quickly, abandoning their work when the smell of food called.
Miyako took the bowl handed to her and began to eagerly eat the food. She didn't let her hunger distract her from noticing something, however. She glanced up between gulps of food and noticed that, even though Hikari had smiled about taking on the cooking and was talking now without a problem with Jyou, there was a certain sadness in her eyes.
"If they're not returned by nightfall, we'd best send a search party," Koushiro was saying, frowning thoughtfully.
Jun agreed heartily, swallowing her food before she spoke: "Who knows what might have happened since then? They could have injured."
Miyako noted the fearful expression pass over Hikari's face for a brief second before she pushed it aside, saying instead: "Why wait until nightfall then? Let us search before the light grows dim."
Agreeing, Miyako added her own thoughts: "It would be easier to navigate the forests before the sun goes down."
Jyou was slowly shaking his head. "Do we even have any idea of which direction to search?" he asked. "It's not wise for us to simply wander all over and get lost ourselves."
There was sense in his statement, and the others pondered his words. "Did anyone happen to notice a direction they might have wandered?" Iori questioned of those gathered. There was silence as everyone tried to recall.
With a sigh, Miyako shook her head. "I haven't a clue," she answered. "I was too busy trying to stay alive."
"Same here," Hikari sighed. "I lost track of all three of them after the rock fell." She glanced in the direction of the flattened tent with a fearful glance.
Jun was peering into her half-filled bowl. "I think – I might have noticed them running in that direction," she pointed west, "when I was in the air with Miyako. I can't be certain."
"I didn't see anything on the ground when we were in the air," Alraumon spoke up, shaking her head. "I was trying not to see anything at all."
"It's possible that we might be able to use magic to track them," Koushiro spoke, "but I'm not exactly certain of the spell or even if it works. I remember seeing it a few times in a book."
Miyako shook her head glumly. "We haven't time to search in books, Koushiro," she reminded him. "Especially since you didn't bring all of them here."
***
"Agumon!" Taichi shouted, and no one who heard him could deny the pain in his voice.
"You haven't any right," Daisuke spoke, nearly as angry as his opponent. His eyes flashed fire in the bright mid-afternoon sunlight. "Make slaves from the digimon within your own territory, you have no right here."
"If I had a right there you wouldn't have bothered to try stopping me," the Kaiser replied, holding the barely-conscious Agumon under one arm. He chuckled slightly. "Surprised you're alive, now."
"Takes more than Flymon to get the best of me, you'll find. I don't give up that easily," he retorted. "Return Agumon to us."
The Kaiser pretended to seriously consider the matter. "Why should I? You have taken what rightfully belongs to me, have you not?"
"And you have taken what rightfully belongs to others!" Takeru shouted. "You've taken their free will!"
He snorted then, as though he thought the blonde's argument a joke. "Digimon aren't intelligent enough to have free will," he stated matter-of-factly. "It's only by attaching to a more superior human that they gain any amount of intelligence. With free will they only have the tendency to run rampant and be destructive – as they did before human control."
"But we don't control our partners," Daisuke returned. "We don't make them into slaves!"
With a casual laugh, the Kaiser answered: "These digimon aren't bright enough to be partnered with a human. They need to be improved. I lend them my intellect in order to fix their natural deficiency."
"Agumon has a partner. He doesn't need any of your improvement!" Taichi yelled, engaging in the argument for the first time.
The Kaiser replied with a heavy sigh. "Alas, poor Prince, in this case it has been reversed. It is the human who is unworthy of the partner."
"And what is it that makes you worthy?" Daisuke questioned, speaking without really thinking of the consequences, as was often his own natural state. "Agumon is kind, generous, and thinks of others, just like his partner. Neither would enslave free-willed digimon simply because they felt they were unworthy. It's you who is a disgrace to him by assuming your own superiority." He spat the last words out violently, the rage in his eyes growing. This was what he was putting his life at risk for? To fight someone with an inflated ego?
He didn't have time to think much beyond his anger, however, because almost before he had finished speaking, the Kaiser reacted. A wave of what Daisuke could only identify as some sort of magic hit him squarely on the chest, knocking him to the ground and making him feel suddenly cold.
"Daisuke!" his partner called, feeling the brunt on his own and being forced to de-evolve.
Daisuke slowly and with great effort pulled himself to a sitting position. He breathed deeply for a moment before he was able to talk. "Do you always hide?" he demanded. "First behind your enslaved creatures, and then behind your magic? Are you unable to fight on your own or must you have others do the work for you?"
Takeru, watching from a few feet away, slowly shook his head. "Are you insane?" he demanded. "Do you want to be killed?"
"Don't provoke him any more," Pegasmon agreed wisely. "We can rescue Agumon later. It won't do any good if you're killed."
The Kaiser, at least, appeared to consider the boy's questions. "So you wish to fight?" he questioned after a moment. "Then fight we shall."
***
"The magic in this spell comes
from harnessing the power of the air," Koushiro explained as Miyako peered over
the page in the book. "Levitation spells as well as spells of communication
often draw from the power of the air."
"Communication?" Miyako echoed.
Tentomon, buzzing around his partner as always, replied. "Air carries messages," he explained. "Just as it carries the dust and the flying digimon."
"So how does that relate to the rock?"
"The rock will need to be lifted with your magic enhancing the power of the air. The air – wind – can lift small things when it has enough power. Almost never would it be able to lift that rock. But, with your magic…"
"It gains power," she nodded. "So that's why it requires so much energy."
Warily, the wizard nodded. "I don't know if you even have enough power required," he confessed. "Your magic is strong in small doses, but it's very undeveloped and will need to be focused greatly before you can harness it for large exertions. Still, I've been wrong before about the strength you possess. Perhaps I am wrong again." He shrugged.
Miyako peered at the page. Koushiro had told her to ignore the words of the spell. "You haven't used words before, and they won't help you focus in this case, they'll only confuse you." Instead, she concentrated on the hand movements described in the text, just as she had when learning the fire spell. Outward hand movements, because the air needed to be drawn in. And then low, stretching arms because the power she would need to draw from within was buried.
A few complex finger movements that she didn't quite comprehend the reason for were added then, she suspected to coax the movement of the air or call on reserves of power. For a few moments, she went over the hand movements so that she could remember them, performing the cursory movements for practice. Finally, she set the book on the ground in front of her, facing the rock.
"Good luck, Miyako," Hikari whispered softly, and Miyako was dimly aware of the small gathering that was observing her. It wasn't hard to concentrate, though. First she needed to draw on her magic power, enhancing it and drawing her aura in tightly. Then she expanded it slowly, gaining ever greater control on it before she sensed that her magic was ready to respond to the demands she would soon put on it.
Only then did she open her eyes, and only to confirm what her magical senses were already beginning to recognize. Her aura was expanded enough so that her magic could be used now. She glanced briefly down at the book again before she began to perform the hand and arm movements she'd recognized.
The spell she was now performing was the most difficult to perform. The previous spells – her experiment with the creation of a shield and the fire spell Koushiro had taught her – were both drawing mainly on her own power and manipulation of her aura. The levitation spell required to lift the rock drew power from the outside elements .
Thus the magical power that she used for this spell was great from within, calling the air around her and then using her magic to augment its strength. She felt a loose breeze on the back of her neck and another rustle through the fabric of her skirt, nipping past her ankles and ruffling the other side. She felt a brief spark of magic crackling against her aura, and then another, and she knew that the air was responding to the call of magic.
She expanded the aura greater, stretching it as far as she could possibly go, and letting the power of the air fill it. Her own magic reached for the power of the air, and the air sought the power her magic brought. Together, their energies grew stronger and even more potent.
Miyako slowly maneuvered the giant pocket of magical energies around the rock. 'Lend me the power, Air,' she thought, half pleading. Already, she could feel her magic begin to drain, weakening her slowly.
The Air appeared to have heeded her call, though, because she was managing to lift the rock. She saw, but hardly would have believed it had she not. The rock lifted, slowly, gradually, a short distance above the ground. The observers quickly scrambled away in case Miyako needed to let the rock drop swiftly and their toes were in the way.
She only needed move the heavy object a few feet so that the flattened tent was free. Miyako didn't know how far she managed to move it, but when she could do no more, she set it down. Slowly, she reigned in her aura, tired, overtaxed, but successful. The Air, freed from its containment, scattered into the wind, only a few small breezes fluttering through locks of hair to signal that it had ever been there before.
Miyako watched with some unknown sadness, as though she and that air had been connected for some time and now were not any longer. A cool breeze blew past her ear.
In the distance, she thought she heard someone shout, loudly, "No!" She strained her ears to hear it and then suddenly saw something. She didn't know where the image came from or what caused it to replay within her mind. As though a dream, she saw a battle. Sparks of energy. Dark magic. Clash of swords.
Miyako was confused. She'd seen this before, hadn't she? The strange battle of wills with that electric spark. She'd felt it before the magic within her had made itself known. She'd felt the magic then, too, though she hadn't known what it was. All present had felt that magic, even those who would never experience it again and had no idea what it was they felt.
The bloodthirsty eyes. The unyielding sword thrashes. The battle of wills that could never be won. If only she could remember where she'd seen this…
And then Miyako saw no more.
***
Yes, yes, another cliffhanger. Feel free to send the threats. ^_^
Sincere, deep apologies for the immense delay in posting this. I now, thankfully, have access to a computer of my own (and henceforth all my digimon files!) and so this cliffhanger will not take quite so much time to be finished…I hope…
Also must apologize for the blatant and convenient plot device of the Piyomon. I could have used a much more complex device of magic or some other thing, but I didn't. I admit, I took the lazy way out there. ^_^
On the plus side, I think I got a better look in this chapter into the Kaiser's personality. Although I can fairly easily understand and/or sympathize with Ken, this part of his life is completely foreign to me. In this part, I actually gave him some motivation, dialogue, and therefore a reason to exist. Before I admit I was nearly afraid of writing him because I didn't really understand him. Hopefully this will improve that aspect of this story, which is very much important in this section, as I'm sure you know.
And I'm sure that even though you're sending threats of death if I don't finish this, you all have a good idea of what's coming next. Anyone who didn't catch the foreshadowing in the Reign of Courage to the upcoming battle will surely see it soon. Next chapter won't be so long in coming! Thanks for reading, reviewing, and staying through my rambling author's note of explanations. ^_^