Nameless person:
I understand what each word means, but I just made a typo when I wrote that section.
Epsilon:
I had the same impression with Digimon World 3. In fact, they were made by the same company; Bandai.
Disclaimer:
Toei and Bandai own Digimon. Bandai owns Digimon World 2 and Digimon World 3. This story was not written for profit.
Guard Tamer: Associates of Anarchy
By: RB3
Chapter 5: Shibumi's Revelation
An uneventful three months passed by, and Shibumi was busy as usual. He was standing at the very top of the Admin Centre in Asuka City, and beside him was his assistant, Datamon. Down below, the buildings of the city looked like a child's play set. The people moved like ants scurrying around at a picnic for food. The Admin Centre staff had complained about some static that garbled their communications signals. Shibumi was dispatched to the receiving dish on the roof to effect repairs. He looked over the metal dish and found a hole near the centre. Shibumi sighed and opened his toolbox to begin work.
"I tell you Goro, kids have no respect for other people's property," lamented Datamon, as he sprayed several probes over the hole.
Shibumi pulled out a tool that resembled an electric razor and fired an azure beam towards the probes. The probes melted into metal goo and sealed the opening. Shibumi changed the settings of his welding tool and fired a second beam that cleaned away the excess metal. He repeated the process for the rear of the dish, and stood back to inspect his work. The dish was as good as new, and it was as though the hole was never there.
Shibumi entered the frequency of the Admin Centre into his radio. "Try the communicators now."
A few brief moments passed. "It's working like a charm," replied a male technician.
"Okay, I'm returning back to the Admin Centre."
Shibumi packed his tools and climbed down the ladder to the ground. He ended up just to the right of the Admin Centre's main entrance. As he entered the lobby, he passed by a pair of servicemen leaving the lobby. The popularity of Digimon Online never ceased to amaze Shibumi. It was time for him to quit work for the day, so Datamon returned his tools to storage. Shibumi made his way to the workers' Login Room.
He passed a door restricted to employees only and signed off on the scheduling machine near the Login Room's door. "Quitting time, Goro?" asked the Login technician.
"Yeah," replied Shibumi. "Man, it is bad enough that people mess up things in the Real World, but do they have ruin things in my game too?"
"Another repair job, eh?"
Shibumi rolled his eyes back out of exasperation. "Yeah, they messed up the Admin Centre's communications dish. I had to go up there and fix it."
The technician sighed. "Kids can be such punks... Stand on that blue disk and I'll get you home."
Shibumi waited patiently as requested and a column of blue light engulfed him. He found himself inside of a metal pod with enough room to fit a grown man. It promptly moved as though being slid across a rail hanging overhead. The pod stopped and opened to reveal the interior of the Online Centre. Even at such a late hour, hundreds of people were lined up at the registration desk. He felt proud that so many people loved his creation. As he said to Tao, it was a dream that came true. However, all good things come to an end, and his dream was about to be shattered before his very eyes...
****************************************
Shibumi entered the lobby of a clean, well furbished office building. The black tiled floors looked like plates of glossy onyx in the fluorescent lighting. At the other end of the room was the giant dinosaur logo of the Digimon Online Corporation. Below the logo was a reception area with a young female secretary talking on the phone. Shibumi asked her if the wage distributing accountant was in, and received an affirmative reply and directions.
Shibumi opened the door to the accountant's office and was greeted by the sight of a slightly unkempt office. The female accountant was busy reading over mounds of paperwork, scrutinizing every detail. She was a lovely woman in her early forties with shoulder length, greying brown hair. She had a slender, graceful build, and her glasses made her look quite intellectual and professional. She looked up as soon as she realized Shibumi's presence.
"Hi, Goro," said the accountant.
"Hi, Kasumi. You seem quite busy," remarked Shibumi.
"Yeah," said Kasumi. "I've been looking over these donations to the Shinjuku Humane Society, but something strange keeps happening whenever I call them. I always get a message saying this number wasn't in use."
"Did you try during the day?"
"Yeah, several times. I had the same problem with all the other charities on the list. I need you to do me a favour if you have the time."
"Sure. What is it?"
"Check out these addresses," replied Kasumi as she handed a list to Shibumi. "See if you can find out why they never answer my calls."
Shibumi stroked his beard pensively. "Okay, but before I forget, let me have my pay check."
Kasumi checked over her files and produced Shibumi's pay check. He tucked it away safely and left for the bank. The next day, he drove out to the first address on his list. He expected to find a typical office building, but was shocked by what he really saw. The address led him to a run down lot outside of the city. An equally run down house was on this lot, with boarded up windows and smashed up walls. Shibumi checked inside the building, but found only cobwebs and nothing more.
Shibumi continued his search and each location led to an empty and abandoned lot. He concluded that these were fake charities. Something very strange was going on. He and Kasumi might have stumbled onto something illegal going on in the Digimon Online Corporation. He began to wonder where all that money was going. He decided to visit Kasumi at work and tell her about his discovery.
Kasumi was shocked. "They're not real?"
"I only went to five of the locations, but each one led me to an empty lot," replied Shibumi.
"Very suspicious..."
"Yeah. I think we should keep a low profile on this. We don't know who we're dealing with."
"Before you go, let me make some copies of the company's financial records. We'll need them as proof." Shibumi waited patiently before Kasumi produced the vital documents. "Take care, Goro."
"You too."
Shibumi left the building and started his car. As he left the parking lot, he looked into his rear view window and saw a black car turn the corner behind him. Shibumi continued his drive, habitually looking into his rear view mirror. The black car was always there, even after several minutes of driving. He began to grow suspicious and attempted to lose the car. His car's tires screeched as he sped into a left turn, but the black car matched his move and sped up. In the rear window, he saw the passenger lean out of his window and draw a handgun.
"Oh great, looks like they're through playing," thought Shibumi.
The thug's handgun banged as it rained bullets on Shibumi's car. The bullets clanged against the car's chassis, and left holes in the metal. Another bullet smashed a hole into his rear windshield, scattering glass all over his rear seat. Try as he might, Shibumi couldn't shake off the thugs. They caught up and rammed his car from behind, nearly knocking him into his own steering wheel. He lost control and skidded into a wooden fence, narrowly missing a young child walking down the street. The thugs rammed Shibumi again, trapping him in the fence.
However, the child turned out to be Akira Violet. "What the hell's going on?" he wondered as he recovered from his dive to safety. He noticed the thugs drawing handguns and turned into his True GAIA form.
Two thugs exited their car and approached Shibumi. However, they had not counted on True GAIA's Digimon being melded with the darkness of the shadows. Darkfryer suddenly revealed himself, and sprayed Dread Fire onto a thug. The thug screamed in agony and collapsed onto the ground. Lillith slashed the second thug with two Lightning Paws before he could even react. The first struck his arm and knocked the gun away, and the second tore a trio of bloody marks on his chest.
With a flick of True GAIA's hand, a wave of invisible force bowled over the two remaining thugs. The sheer surprise value caused them to drop their guns. One foolishly decided to fight back and dove to retrieve his gun. However, True GAIA saw it coming and burned a hole into his chest with an energy beam. The last thug panicked and ran away as fast as he could. Darkfryer and Lillith joined their Tamer, and scanned the area.
True GAIA reverted to Akira and helped Shibumi, who was bleeding from minor injuries sustained from his crash. "Are you ok? My name is Akira Violet."
Shibumi groaned as got to his feet. He was surprised upon spotting Akira's Digimon. "A Digimon Tamer? I'm okay, thanks for your help. I'm Goro Mizuno. I need to see a Mitsuo Yamaki at the Metropolitan Building right away!"
"Relax," said Akira, as he administered first aid. "Your health comes first. There's no hurry with those goons out of commission."
Akira, his Digimon, and Shibumi made it to the Tokyo Metropolitan Building without incident. They found Yamaki in the network monitoring room as usual. "Shibumi? What happened to you?" asked Yamaki with great concern.
"Some thugs tried kill me, but Akira took them out," replied Shibumi.
"Yeah," confirmed Akira. "Mr. Mizuno needed to see you urgently."
"That's right. It's because of this."
Shibumi gave the financial records to Yamaki, who proceeded to flip through them. "Digimon Online's financial records?" asked Yamaki.
"Yeah," replied Shibumi. "I found some strange things were going on there. They've been donating money to fake charities. I'm afraid of finding out who is getting the money from my company."
"I see. This bears further investigation," said Yamaki.
"Yeah, Digimon Online might be harbouring them," continued Akira.
"Those charities were probably fronts to channel funding for their operations," noted Yamaki.
"Who do you mean by them?" asked Shibumi.
"Akira warned me of a subversive force acting in both the Real and Digital Worlds. They are gathering Digimon to supplement their army."
Shibumi was shocked. "You mean to tell me that terrorists are using my game to attack our world?"
"That's right!" replied Akira.
Shibumi grimaced. "My God! All this time I thought I was creating a game, but instead, I've been helping terrorists grow more powerful! Something doesn't make sense, how did you come to know this Akira?"
"I haven't been totally up front with you Mr. Mizuno," admitted Akira. "In reality, I'm Commander Akira Violet of the Black Sword Guard Team."
Shibumi was surprised. "You're in an army?"
"Yeah, you could say that," replied Akira. "I'm from another Digital World that is fighting a war against them."
"I'm still wondering how we could've missed the game world with the Hypnos system and Guard Tamers searching for it?" asked Yamaki.
"Digimon Online's servers generate a barrier that protects and hides the game world," replied Shibumi. While it's up, the world is cut off from the rest of the network."
"Can you shut it off some how?" asked Yamaki.
Shibumi nodded. "Yeah, I know the codes, but I must go into the game world to do it."
"We have to act fast," stated Akira. "Yamaki, call the other Tamers here ASAP and brief them. I'm going to contact central command."
****************************************
An hour later, the Angel Squadron boarded a Guard Tamer helicopter in preparation to enter the game world. It consisted of Takato, Rika, Henry, Jeri, Suzie, Akira, Esmeralda, and their Digimon. The helicopter was an artefact of high technology, with a slick, rounded design and a blue coat of paint. Instead of using rotors for propulsion, the chopper used a pair of gravity jets mounted on its wings. This allowed the vehicle to achieve much higher speeds than an ordinary chopper, and still retain the advantage of taking off and landing vertically. This new vehicle was dubbed the "jet copter" for such reasons.
The mission called for Shibumi to enter Asuka Server alone and sabotage the barrier of each server. Once the barriers went down, teams would move in and set up headquarters to search the server. Angel Squadron also had the additional task of extracting Shibumi from the Dum Dum Factory on the Byakko Continent. In the meantime, other people, included the remaining Tamers, had to defend the Real World. Everyone anxiously awaited word of Shibumi's safety and success.
The radio beeped. "This is Centcom calling Angel Squadron, do you copy?" asked mission control.
Akira answered. "This is Angel One. We copy."
"A large planet sized mass has appeared on our sensors. We have confirmed it to be Asuka Server. Begin launch immediately."
"Yes sir! Launching immediately!" Akira closed the channel and opened a new one to his jet copter squadron. "Esmeralda, fire up the engines!"
"Yes, sir," she replied, flicking the ignition on.
A ripple of force swooshed out of the jets as the jet copters became airborne. The choppers entered into an echelon formation with Angel One taking point. Akira radioed the other choppers to request their status. Each chopper reported nothing out of the ordinary, and everything was going according to plan. Asuka Server loomed in the distance, gradually growing larger as Angel Squadron approached. It was when the choppers entered Asuka's atmosphere that trouble started.
"Angel One to Angel Squadron, report your status," requested Akira. Angels Two to Five responded affirmatively, but no word came from the others. "Angel Six, Angel Seven, do you copy?" There was silence on the radio. "Angel Eight, Angel Nine, please respond!"
Esmeralda looked at the radar. "I'm not picking them up on the radar!"
"Damn! The barrier must have come up just before they got in! Oh great," cursed Akira in frustration. "How are we going to fight with only half of our team?"
Indeed, the sudden restoration of the barrier came as a shock to everyone. Only Angels One to Five had breached Asuka's atmosphere. Angel One carried Akira and his Tamer and Digimon allies. Angel Two and Angel Three were air support, which flanked Angel One from behind and carried aerial Digimon to combat enemy air units. Angel Four was a personnel carrier that held a retinue of marines and Digimon within. Their purpose was to clear and to capture enemy buildings. Angel Five was a cargo chopper that carried the critical supplies necessary for establishing a temporary base of operations.
Angel Eight and Angel Nine were also carrying supplies, making their loss a big blow to Angel Squadron. The Angel Squadron would have to farm the game world for more supplies. They landed at the designated area, the ruins of a ziggurat hidden within the verdant maze of Protocol Forest. These ruins were known appropriately as the Protocol Ruins. It was a remote area, so few people would go there. Thus, the Guard Tamers' presence would be well hidden in this location.
The moss covered ruins were a magnificent sight to behold, and could pass as a wonder of the Asuka world. The front had a line of ruined columns leading up to the actual entrance. The columns had ancient pictures of various Digimon in day to day activities such as farming and metal working. Angel Squadron touched down on the stony ground and began setting up a camp in the area. After an hour's work, five metallic domes went up and became operational. The base quickly established a schedule of patrols to gather intelligence and maintain security in the area.
Akira gave the Tamers a brief lesson in operating firearms and protective exoskeletons. The five Tamers practiced training guns in a makeshift firing range beside the temple. It was a valuable lesson, as they had never fired a gun in their lives. Though the recoil was lower than with modern weapons, it took some adjustment to get reasonable accuracy. Takato, Rika, Henry, and Jeri were comfortable with their submachine guns, but Suzie had difficulty handling one due to her smaller stature.
Akira took the submachine gun away and replaced it with a more pistol-like model. "Try this one on for size."
Suzie gripped the gun with both hands and fired a burst onto a target emblem. Her accuracy was very poor, as only a few shots had hit their mark. "I can't hit the target!"
Akira looked at Suzie's posture and behaviour as she fired. "When you fire, look down your gun at where you want the shots to go. Also, don't fire all your shots at once. Fire in small bursts so you don't waste your ammo."
Suzie followed Akira's suggestions and improved her accuracy drastically. "Whee! I can hit the target!"
"Good work!" complimented Akira. "Try to be a little faster because the enemy won't give you much time to react." He called the Tamers over to give them a lecture about responsibility with firearms.
On the Digimon's side, they were having a work out to be ready for the battles ahead. Amar held up the palm of his hands as targets for Turuiemon, Lopmon's Champion form. Turuiemon resembled a humanoid rabbit with violet fur. She was a martial arts themed Digimon, as indicated by her yellow gi and the katars strapped to her red gloves. Like Lopmon, she had a trio of horns on her head arranged as a downward pointing triangle. Her lean build implied that she was a fairly agile Digimon. She landed a three punch combo and returned to a ready stance.
"Relax and try the combo again," advised Amar. Turuiemon tried again, landing the punches more rapidly than before. "Good!"
****************************************
Digital City marines donned their black battle exoskeletons. While Akira and other members of the Angel Squadron held down the fort, they entered to explore the temple. The leader looked at a rough map produced by supersonic technology. It was quite dark inside, even with torches lighting the corridors. The walls were marked with occult symbols, and suggested the ruins to be some kind of tomb. They encountered a fork in the road and split up to cover more ground.
Eventually, one of the squads came upon a magnificent throne room. Unlike the rest of the temple, the walls were lined with gold and the floor was made of marble. The light of braziers reflected off the walls, making the gold glitter. There were Egyptian hieroglyphics written along the wall, but no one had any idea what they were saying. The throne itself was a work of art, with an ovular back, and made of solid gold. On this throne sat a large and noble Digimon king.
The king was actually an Egyptian pharaoh. He looked like a mummy wrapped in golden bandages. On his face was a golden mask with a long protrusion on his chin, and a jackal carving on its forehead. His mask had openings for a pair of burning crimson eyes. His cape was as white as snow, and shuffled as he stood up to greet his visitors. The marines recognized this Digimon as Pharaohmon, an undead Digimon who appeared nobler than most undead.
====================Digimon Analyzer====================
Name: Pharaohmon
Type: Virus
Level: Mega
Element: Darkness/Poison
Pharaohmon is a king among the undead, and a demigod in his own right. Although suspicious of intruders in his domain, he is also a benign and honourable king.
Attacks:
Necro Mist - Pharaohmon is capable of spraying a violet cloud of toxins. These toxins sicken their victims temporary and allow Pharaohmon to make a follow up attack.
Tut Ankh Rail - Pharaohmon's ornate rail gun is shaped like an ankh. It fires destructive bolts of dark energy.
Fist of Nile - Pharaohmon can throw punches enhanced with globes of pressurized water.
"Stop humans! You have trespassed onto my domain," warned Pharaohmon with a booming voice. "State your business here."
Colonel Jones stepped forward. "I am Colonel Harland Jones of the Fifth Division of the Digital City Marine Corps. We're here on a mission to prevent the proliferation of Digimon into the ranks of a tyrannical enemy. We'd appreciate your help."
"Give me proof of what you say, and I'll consider it," requested Pharaohmon. Jones handed a handheld planner to Pharaohmon. He read a blurb about Shibumi and was shocked. "Someone tried to murder Goro Mizuno?"
"Yeah. Goro Mizuno discovered proof of their activities. One of our troops repelled the assassins, and he joined us to bring these people to justice."
"Mizuno is a friend of mine. He was the person who created my temple. Very well. I'll help you."
The marines returned to their camp outside of the temple. They brought Pharaohmon with them to meet with the members of the Angel Squadron. Pharaohmon pledged the assistance of his royal guard to the Guard Tamers cause. The guard was a motley group of Digimon and assembled in front of their lord. This aid was much needed after several Angel Squadron members were lost during the move into the game world.
"Thanks for your help, Pharaohmon," said Akira.
"Don't mention it. A friend of Goro Mizuno is a friend of mine. I appreciate you saving Mizuno from the assassins," replied Pharaohmon. "Where is he now? Is he alright?"
"Yeah. Shibumi told us that Digimon were hiding him at the Dum Dum Factory on Byakko Continent. I'm going to take a jet copter to get him after I finish giving our Real World allies some basic training," replied Akira.
"I'm relieved to hear that. Many of Asuka's Digimon respect Mizuno. He's a father figure to us all."
Akira and the other Guard Tamers set up a lesson in self-defence for the Tamers. One of the marines donned a suit of padded armour and a mask to pretend to be an attacker. Each of the Tamers performed differently in the lesson. Henry was a master in this area, as he had extensive martial arts training from his sensei. The marine made a mock attack on Henry. He promptly snatched his assailant's fist and took him down in expedient fashion. Henry finished his downed foe with a shot to the solar plexus.
"Henry won't need much training. He really knows martial arts," commented Terriermon.
Takato and Rika had more to learn as they didn't have any formal self-defence training. However, both Tamers learned their skills with only moderate difficulties. Since the Digimon Queen had quite a chip on her shoulder, it was natural to lash out at anyone that laid a finger on her. Her assailant grabbed her from behind, but Rika was ready. She responded by driving her elbow into his stomach. The attacker's hold broke, and Rika grabbed the attacker's head and rammed her knee into his face.
"Rika has quite a mean streak," commented Henry.
"I wouldn't expect any less," said Renamon. "She would not allow anyone to mess with her."
"You got that right!" said Rika defiantly.
Henry helped train his sister and Jeri, but it was somewhat difficult to make Suzie take it seriously. In Jeri's case, she had reservations about hitting and hurting someone else. It took some coaxing before they began fighting back. Jeri kicked her attacker in the groin and struck his lowered face with her knee. Suzie practiced escaping from being held by an assailant. He picked Suzie up, and she began to panic.
"Calm down, Suzie!" called Henry. "Don't panic. Take a deep breath, yell at him, and then kick him in the face!"
The marine restarted the mock attack. Suzie inhaled deeply. "Let me go!" Suzie's foot shot into the attacker's face, forcing him to release her. She bit down hard on the marine's leg and ran away. "Was that okay, Henwy?"
"Very good!" replied Henry.
****************************************
Akira, Esmeralda, and the Tamers suited up for Shibumi's extraction. Each person donned a special belt with a series of buttons and pouches for ammo magazines. This belt activated the same protective exoskeletons worn as armour by marines and materialized the weapons they used. Takato pressed a button and a submachine gun appeared in his hand. The Tamers remarked the how technologically advanced the Guard Tamers were.
"Cool! They're laser guns like on TV. They can stun people too," said Takato as he adjusted the setting.
"Yeah, this technology was a gift from Baihumon," noted Esmeralda. "Only certain people can use it."
"Say, what's that extra tube below your gun?" asked Takato.
"It's a grenade launcher," replied Esmeralda. "We didn't give you any because you don't have the necessary training to use them safely." Takato nodded in understanding.
"Is everyone suited up?" asked Akira. The Tamers nodded affirmatively. "Then let's get Mizuno!"
The Tamers boarded the jet copter, and the engine started whirring faintly. It took off for the west, passing over a seemingly endless sea of trees underneath. The Tamers remarked how beautiful and verdant Protocol Forest was. Pharaohmon's temple looked like so small from their vantage point. The jet copter sped forward, eventually flying over a plains covered very sparsely by trees. To the north was a familiar metropolis that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Suzie pointed at the metropolis. "Hey, that's Asuka City!"
"That's right Suzie," replied Henry. "We were in there, remember?"
Takato pointed to the south exit. "...And that's the Asuka gate!"
The copter reached the skies above a deep blue sea. The waves crashed onto the beach, and washed up a frothy foam onto the sand. Below, the appropriately whale-like Whamon emerged on the water's surface. He blew a spout of water into the air. Several more minutes passed by and the Tamers spotted a school of Gomamon swimming along the surface. They were headed northwards to the icy, mountainous Genbu Continent in the distance.
A mass of dry, parched land began to close in. They were close to the sandy and rocky Byakko Continent. Most of this place was miles upon miles of trackless desert. The sun seemed to beat down on the land for eternity. It was a barren no man's land and only the hardiest of players would venture out to these parts. Though the Tamers were inside the copter, they could feel the heat second hand. However, the rescue team would soon face more pressing concerns...
Below, a humvee was parked in a place hidden from the view of the rescue team. A soldier in khaki fatigues looked at the jet copter through his binoculars. He identified it as being an enemy unit, and radioed orders for his Digimon to attack. The Digimon promptly transformed into a huge, biped, mechanical dragon with cannons mounted on his back. This Digimon, Machinedramon, took aim and unleashed volley after volley of yellow energy.
The copter shook as one of the blasts cut a hole into its right side. "Evasive manoeuvres!" ordered Akira.
Henry nearly fell into the hole, but Akira rushed back and helped the others pull him to safety. "Are you ok, Henwy?" asked Suzie.
"I'm fine," replied Henry. "That was too close!"
"Move closer to the front! I don't want..." A SAM interrupted Akira's directions and hit the copter, causing it to tilt rightwards. He lost his footing and knocked Suzie and Lopmon outside accidentally.
"HENWWWWY!" screamed Suzie as she disappeared towards the ground below.
"SUZIIIIIIIE!" cried Henry in anguish.
He was about to jump out after her, but Takato stopped him. "No Henry! Don't be stupid!" chastised Takato.
Akira had problems of his own. Lillith was desperately trying to keep him from falling out. "Hold on!" she cried.
"We've got you! Don't let go!" cried Darkfryer. However, a second wave of energy rocked the copter, causing Akira to drag his Digimon out with him. Henry reached for him, but his fingers slipped.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" screamed Akira and his Digimon plummeted to the ground below.
"Get away from there!" called Esmeralda to the back. "We've already lost too many people. I don't want anyone else to be lost!" The Tamers complied without further argument.
"What are we going to do now?" asked Jeri.
"Momentai!" said Terriermon.
"You're kidding?" asked Rika rhetorically.
"I'm going to take our ship down onto the desert! Hold on tight!" cried Esmeralda.
The copter hit a dune of sand, bumping everyone within around. It skidded across the surface of the desert before finally coming to a complete stop. Everyone began to clean the sand out of their clothes, but fortunately, no one had been injured from the attack. They scanned their surroundings, but found only grooves in the sand from the crash. Nothing of note was outside except the monotonous desert, which stretched as far as their eyes could see. Henry was rather depressed about losing Suzie in the attack.
Henry gazed sadly at the desert behind the copter. "Suzie..." he mumbled.
Jeri looked on, unsure of how to help Henry. "Henry..."
Renamon looked upon Henry pensively. "Leave Henry alone for awhile," said Renamon to Jeri.
In the copter, Esmeralda fiddled with the damaged instruments as Amar, Takato and Guilmon looked on. "We're in Mobius Desert. We're far to the south of the Dum Dum Factory. The copter's out of commission. It won't fly again."
Takato groaned. "Oh great! What about the radio?"
Esmeralda fiddled with the radio's controls. "It's no good. It was damaged in the attack. Even if it wasn't, we're out of range anyways."
"Is there anywhere we can go?" asked Guilmon.
"The nearest place is Mirage Tower, which is a day's travel west of here. Byakko Town is also nearby, but it's much further. It's northwest of here."
"Looks like we're going to the tower," noted Takato.
"Yeah," agreed Esmeralda. "Get the others and salvage anything of use. Takato, Amar, take the radio out of copter. We might need it later on."
Esmeralda laid out the plan to the other Tamers. They began scouring the area picking up anything that might be of use. Esmeralda plugged her Browser into the copter's computer and downloaded the coordinates of Mirage Tower and Byakko City. Takato and Amar detached the radio from the copter and tucked it into a spare backpack. The other Tamers and Digimon collected some spare rations.
"Can I have something to eat?" asked Guilmon.
"Sorry. We may need to live on this for awhile so no snacking," replied Esmeralda.
"Ah, pretty please?" asked Guilmon.
"Esmeralda is right. No snacking, we have to save our food," said Takato.
The squad finished gathering provisions and activated their exoskeletons for protection. They set out for Mirage Tower, but the monotony of the desert made it seem as though they were making no progress. The desert was hot but fortunately, the exoskeletons were climate controlled. Only the ruins of unknown metal structures and the occasional windmill broke the monotony. The windmills were the same ones that gathered wind power in the Central Park. Amar and Guilmon had no problem with the heat as they were Digimon of fire. The other Digimon however, weren't as lucky.
Terriermon began fanning himself. "Oh geez Henry, why do you get a suit when I have to stay in this heat?"
"That's because the suit only fits humans," replied Henry.
"Maybe not for Guilmon and Amar, but could they at least for make one for me?"
Renamon feigned a cough. "Ahem."
"...And Renamon too," continued Terriermon.
"Well, I don't think you could wear a belt very well, Terriermon," replied Esmeralda. "The suit would have to be custom made to fit each Digimon. It's just too expensive."
Terriermon sighed. "Oh great. Military cut backs..."
"Just stay on my shoulder," said Henry. "If you don't move around, it won't be so hot."
I understand what each word means, but I just made a typo when I wrote that section.
Epsilon:
I had the same impression with Digimon World 3. In fact, they were made by the same company; Bandai.
Disclaimer:
Toei and Bandai own Digimon. Bandai owns Digimon World 2 and Digimon World 3. This story was not written for profit.
Guard Tamer: Associates of Anarchy
By: RB3
Chapter 5: Shibumi's Revelation
An uneventful three months passed by, and Shibumi was busy as usual. He was standing at the very top of the Admin Centre in Asuka City, and beside him was his assistant, Datamon. Down below, the buildings of the city looked like a child's play set. The people moved like ants scurrying around at a picnic for food. The Admin Centre staff had complained about some static that garbled their communications signals. Shibumi was dispatched to the receiving dish on the roof to effect repairs. He looked over the metal dish and found a hole near the centre. Shibumi sighed and opened his toolbox to begin work.
"I tell you Goro, kids have no respect for other people's property," lamented Datamon, as he sprayed several probes over the hole.
Shibumi pulled out a tool that resembled an electric razor and fired an azure beam towards the probes. The probes melted into metal goo and sealed the opening. Shibumi changed the settings of his welding tool and fired a second beam that cleaned away the excess metal. He repeated the process for the rear of the dish, and stood back to inspect his work. The dish was as good as new, and it was as though the hole was never there.
Shibumi entered the frequency of the Admin Centre into his radio. "Try the communicators now."
A few brief moments passed. "It's working like a charm," replied a male technician.
"Okay, I'm returning back to the Admin Centre."
Shibumi packed his tools and climbed down the ladder to the ground. He ended up just to the right of the Admin Centre's main entrance. As he entered the lobby, he passed by a pair of servicemen leaving the lobby. The popularity of Digimon Online never ceased to amaze Shibumi. It was time for him to quit work for the day, so Datamon returned his tools to storage. Shibumi made his way to the workers' Login Room.
He passed a door restricted to employees only and signed off on the scheduling machine near the Login Room's door. "Quitting time, Goro?" asked the Login technician.
"Yeah," replied Shibumi. "Man, it is bad enough that people mess up things in the Real World, but do they have ruin things in my game too?"
"Another repair job, eh?"
Shibumi rolled his eyes back out of exasperation. "Yeah, they messed up the Admin Centre's communications dish. I had to go up there and fix it."
The technician sighed. "Kids can be such punks... Stand on that blue disk and I'll get you home."
Shibumi waited patiently as requested and a column of blue light engulfed him. He found himself inside of a metal pod with enough room to fit a grown man. It promptly moved as though being slid across a rail hanging overhead. The pod stopped and opened to reveal the interior of the Online Centre. Even at such a late hour, hundreds of people were lined up at the registration desk. He felt proud that so many people loved his creation. As he said to Tao, it was a dream that came true. However, all good things come to an end, and his dream was about to be shattered before his very eyes...
****************************************
Shibumi entered the lobby of a clean, well furbished office building. The black tiled floors looked like plates of glossy onyx in the fluorescent lighting. At the other end of the room was the giant dinosaur logo of the Digimon Online Corporation. Below the logo was a reception area with a young female secretary talking on the phone. Shibumi asked her if the wage distributing accountant was in, and received an affirmative reply and directions.
Shibumi opened the door to the accountant's office and was greeted by the sight of a slightly unkempt office. The female accountant was busy reading over mounds of paperwork, scrutinizing every detail. She was a lovely woman in her early forties with shoulder length, greying brown hair. She had a slender, graceful build, and her glasses made her look quite intellectual and professional. She looked up as soon as she realized Shibumi's presence.
"Hi, Goro," said the accountant.
"Hi, Kasumi. You seem quite busy," remarked Shibumi.
"Yeah," said Kasumi. "I've been looking over these donations to the Shinjuku Humane Society, but something strange keeps happening whenever I call them. I always get a message saying this number wasn't in use."
"Did you try during the day?"
"Yeah, several times. I had the same problem with all the other charities on the list. I need you to do me a favour if you have the time."
"Sure. What is it?"
"Check out these addresses," replied Kasumi as she handed a list to Shibumi. "See if you can find out why they never answer my calls."
Shibumi stroked his beard pensively. "Okay, but before I forget, let me have my pay check."
Kasumi checked over her files and produced Shibumi's pay check. He tucked it away safely and left for the bank. The next day, he drove out to the first address on his list. He expected to find a typical office building, but was shocked by what he really saw. The address led him to a run down lot outside of the city. An equally run down house was on this lot, with boarded up windows and smashed up walls. Shibumi checked inside the building, but found only cobwebs and nothing more.
Shibumi continued his search and each location led to an empty and abandoned lot. He concluded that these were fake charities. Something very strange was going on. He and Kasumi might have stumbled onto something illegal going on in the Digimon Online Corporation. He began to wonder where all that money was going. He decided to visit Kasumi at work and tell her about his discovery.
Kasumi was shocked. "They're not real?"
"I only went to five of the locations, but each one led me to an empty lot," replied Shibumi.
"Very suspicious..."
"Yeah. I think we should keep a low profile on this. We don't know who we're dealing with."
"Before you go, let me make some copies of the company's financial records. We'll need them as proof." Shibumi waited patiently before Kasumi produced the vital documents. "Take care, Goro."
"You too."
Shibumi left the building and started his car. As he left the parking lot, he looked into his rear view window and saw a black car turn the corner behind him. Shibumi continued his drive, habitually looking into his rear view mirror. The black car was always there, even after several minutes of driving. He began to grow suspicious and attempted to lose the car. His car's tires screeched as he sped into a left turn, but the black car matched his move and sped up. In the rear window, he saw the passenger lean out of his window and draw a handgun.
"Oh great, looks like they're through playing," thought Shibumi.
The thug's handgun banged as it rained bullets on Shibumi's car. The bullets clanged against the car's chassis, and left holes in the metal. Another bullet smashed a hole into his rear windshield, scattering glass all over his rear seat. Try as he might, Shibumi couldn't shake off the thugs. They caught up and rammed his car from behind, nearly knocking him into his own steering wheel. He lost control and skidded into a wooden fence, narrowly missing a young child walking down the street. The thugs rammed Shibumi again, trapping him in the fence.
However, the child turned out to be Akira Violet. "What the hell's going on?" he wondered as he recovered from his dive to safety. He noticed the thugs drawing handguns and turned into his True GAIA form.
Two thugs exited their car and approached Shibumi. However, they had not counted on True GAIA's Digimon being melded with the darkness of the shadows. Darkfryer suddenly revealed himself, and sprayed Dread Fire onto a thug. The thug screamed in agony and collapsed onto the ground. Lillith slashed the second thug with two Lightning Paws before he could even react. The first struck his arm and knocked the gun away, and the second tore a trio of bloody marks on his chest.
With a flick of True GAIA's hand, a wave of invisible force bowled over the two remaining thugs. The sheer surprise value caused them to drop their guns. One foolishly decided to fight back and dove to retrieve his gun. However, True GAIA saw it coming and burned a hole into his chest with an energy beam. The last thug panicked and ran away as fast as he could. Darkfryer and Lillith joined their Tamer, and scanned the area.
True GAIA reverted to Akira and helped Shibumi, who was bleeding from minor injuries sustained from his crash. "Are you ok? My name is Akira Violet."
Shibumi groaned as got to his feet. He was surprised upon spotting Akira's Digimon. "A Digimon Tamer? I'm okay, thanks for your help. I'm Goro Mizuno. I need to see a Mitsuo Yamaki at the Metropolitan Building right away!"
"Relax," said Akira, as he administered first aid. "Your health comes first. There's no hurry with those goons out of commission."
Akira, his Digimon, and Shibumi made it to the Tokyo Metropolitan Building without incident. They found Yamaki in the network monitoring room as usual. "Shibumi? What happened to you?" asked Yamaki with great concern.
"Some thugs tried kill me, but Akira took them out," replied Shibumi.
"Yeah," confirmed Akira. "Mr. Mizuno needed to see you urgently."
"That's right. It's because of this."
Shibumi gave the financial records to Yamaki, who proceeded to flip through them. "Digimon Online's financial records?" asked Yamaki.
"Yeah," replied Shibumi. "I found some strange things were going on there. They've been donating money to fake charities. I'm afraid of finding out who is getting the money from my company."
"I see. This bears further investigation," said Yamaki.
"Yeah, Digimon Online might be harbouring them," continued Akira.
"Those charities were probably fronts to channel funding for their operations," noted Yamaki.
"Who do you mean by them?" asked Shibumi.
"Akira warned me of a subversive force acting in both the Real and Digital Worlds. They are gathering Digimon to supplement their army."
Shibumi was shocked. "You mean to tell me that terrorists are using my game to attack our world?"
"That's right!" replied Akira.
Shibumi grimaced. "My God! All this time I thought I was creating a game, but instead, I've been helping terrorists grow more powerful! Something doesn't make sense, how did you come to know this Akira?"
"I haven't been totally up front with you Mr. Mizuno," admitted Akira. "In reality, I'm Commander Akira Violet of the Black Sword Guard Team."
Shibumi was surprised. "You're in an army?"
"Yeah, you could say that," replied Akira. "I'm from another Digital World that is fighting a war against them."
"I'm still wondering how we could've missed the game world with the Hypnos system and Guard Tamers searching for it?" asked Yamaki.
"Digimon Online's servers generate a barrier that protects and hides the game world," replied Shibumi. While it's up, the world is cut off from the rest of the network."
"Can you shut it off some how?" asked Yamaki.
Shibumi nodded. "Yeah, I know the codes, but I must go into the game world to do it."
"We have to act fast," stated Akira. "Yamaki, call the other Tamers here ASAP and brief them. I'm going to contact central command."
****************************************
An hour later, the Angel Squadron boarded a Guard Tamer helicopter in preparation to enter the game world. It consisted of Takato, Rika, Henry, Jeri, Suzie, Akira, Esmeralda, and their Digimon. The helicopter was an artefact of high technology, with a slick, rounded design and a blue coat of paint. Instead of using rotors for propulsion, the chopper used a pair of gravity jets mounted on its wings. This allowed the vehicle to achieve much higher speeds than an ordinary chopper, and still retain the advantage of taking off and landing vertically. This new vehicle was dubbed the "jet copter" for such reasons.
The mission called for Shibumi to enter Asuka Server alone and sabotage the barrier of each server. Once the barriers went down, teams would move in and set up headquarters to search the server. Angel Squadron also had the additional task of extracting Shibumi from the Dum Dum Factory on the Byakko Continent. In the meantime, other people, included the remaining Tamers, had to defend the Real World. Everyone anxiously awaited word of Shibumi's safety and success.
The radio beeped. "This is Centcom calling Angel Squadron, do you copy?" asked mission control.
Akira answered. "This is Angel One. We copy."
"A large planet sized mass has appeared on our sensors. We have confirmed it to be Asuka Server. Begin launch immediately."
"Yes sir! Launching immediately!" Akira closed the channel and opened a new one to his jet copter squadron. "Esmeralda, fire up the engines!"
"Yes, sir," she replied, flicking the ignition on.
A ripple of force swooshed out of the jets as the jet copters became airborne. The choppers entered into an echelon formation with Angel One taking point. Akira radioed the other choppers to request their status. Each chopper reported nothing out of the ordinary, and everything was going according to plan. Asuka Server loomed in the distance, gradually growing larger as Angel Squadron approached. It was when the choppers entered Asuka's atmosphere that trouble started.
"Angel One to Angel Squadron, report your status," requested Akira. Angels Two to Five responded affirmatively, but no word came from the others. "Angel Six, Angel Seven, do you copy?" There was silence on the radio. "Angel Eight, Angel Nine, please respond!"
Esmeralda looked at the radar. "I'm not picking them up on the radar!"
"Damn! The barrier must have come up just before they got in! Oh great," cursed Akira in frustration. "How are we going to fight with only half of our team?"
Indeed, the sudden restoration of the barrier came as a shock to everyone. Only Angels One to Five had breached Asuka's atmosphere. Angel One carried Akira and his Tamer and Digimon allies. Angel Two and Angel Three were air support, which flanked Angel One from behind and carried aerial Digimon to combat enemy air units. Angel Four was a personnel carrier that held a retinue of marines and Digimon within. Their purpose was to clear and to capture enemy buildings. Angel Five was a cargo chopper that carried the critical supplies necessary for establishing a temporary base of operations.
Angel Eight and Angel Nine were also carrying supplies, making their loss a big blow to Angel Squadron. The Angel Squadron would have to farm the game world for more supplies. They landed at the designated area, the ruins of a ziggurat hidden within the verdant maze of Protocol Forest. These ruins were known appropriately as the Protocol Ruins. It was a remote area, so few people would go there. Thus, the Guard Tamers' presence would be well hidden in this location.
The moss covered ruins were a magnificent sight to behold, and could pass as a wonder of the Asuka world. The front had a line of ruined columns leading up to the actual entrance. The columns had ancient pictures of various Digimon in day to day activities such as farming and metal working. Angel Squadron touched down on the stony ground and began setting up a camp in the area. After an hour's work, five metallic domes went up and became operational. The base quickly established a schedule of patrols to gather intelligence and maintain security in the area.
Akira gave the Tamers a brief lesson in operating firearms and protective exoskeletons. The five Tamers practiced training guns in a makeshift firing range beside the temple. It was a valuable lesson, as they had never fired a gun in their lives. Though the recoil was lower than with modern weapons, it took some adjustment to get reasonable accuracy. Takato, Rika, Henry, and Jeri were comfortable with their submachine guns, but Suzie had difficulty handling one due to her smaller stature.
Akira took the submachine gun away and replaced it with a more pistol-like model. "Try this one on for size."
Suzie gripped the gun with both hands and fired a burst onto a target emblem. Her accuracy was very poor, as only a few shots had hit their mark. "I can't hit the target!"
Akira looked at Suzie's posture and behaviour as she fired. "When you fire, look down your gun at where you want the shots to go. Also, don't fire all your shots at once. Fire in small bursts so you don't waste your ammo."
Suzie followed Akira's suggestions and improved her accuracy drastically. "Whee! I can hit the target!"
"Good work!" complimented Akira. "Try to be a little faster because the enemy won't give you much time to react." He called the Tamers over to give them a lecture about responsibility with firearms.
On the Digimon's side, they were having a work out to be ready for the battles ahead. Amar held up the palm of his hands as targets for Turuiemon, Lopmon's Champion form. Turuiemon resembled a humanoid rabbit with violet fur. She was a martial arts themed Digimon, as indicated by her yellow gi and the katars strapped to her red gloves. Like Lopmon, she had a trio of horns on her head arranged as a downward pointing triangle. Her lean build implied that she was a fairly agile Digimon. She landed a three punch combo and returned to a ready stance.
"Relax and try the combo again," advised Amar. Turuiemon tried again, landing the punches more rapidly than before. "Good!"
****************************************
Digital City marines donned their black battle exoskeletons. While Akira and other members of the Angel Squadron held down the fort, they entered to explore the temple. The leader looked at a rough map produced by supersonic technology. It was quite dark inside, even with torches lighting the corridors. The walls were marked with occult symbols, and suggested the ruins to be some kind of tomb. They encountered a fork in the road and split up to cover more ground.
Eventually, one of the squads came upon a magnificent throne room. Unlike the rest of the temple, the walls were lined with gold and the floor was made of marble. The light of braziers reflected off the walls, making the gold glitter. There were Egyptian hieroglyphics written along the wall, but no one had any idea what they were saying. The throne itself was a work of art, with an ovular back, and made of solid gold. On this throne sat a large and noble Digimon king.
The king was actually an Egyptian pharaoh. He looked like a mummy wrapped in golden bandages. On his face was a golden mask with a long protrusion on his chin, and a jackal carving on its forehead. His mask had openings for a pair of burning crimson eyes. His cape was as white as snow, and shuffled as he stood up to greet his visitors. The marines recognized this Digimon as Pharaohmon, an undead Digimon who appeared nobler than most undead.
====================Digimon Analyzer====================
Name: Pharaohmon
Type: Virus
Level: Mega
Element: Darkness/Poison
Pharaohmon is a king among the undead, and a demigod in his own right. Although suspicious of intruders in his domain, he is also a benign and honourable king.
Attacks:
Necro Mist - Pharaohmon is capable of spraying a violet cloud of toxins. These toxins sicken their victims temporary and allow Pharaohmon to make a follow up attack.
Tut Ankh Rail - Pharaohmon's ornate rail gun is shaped like an ankh. It fires destructive bolts of dark energy.
Fist of Nile - Pharaohmon can throw punches enhanced with globes of pressurized water.
"Stop humans! You have trespassed onto my domain," warned Pharaohmon with a booming voice. "State your business here."
Colonel Jones stepped forward. "I am Colonel Harland Jones of the Fifth Division of the Digital City Marine Corps. We're here on a mission to prevent the proliferation of Digimon into the ranks of a tyrannical enemy. We'd appreciate your help."
"Give me proof of what you say, and I'll consider it," requested Pharaohmon. Jones handed a handheld planner to Pharaohmon. He read a blurb about Shibumi and was shocked. "Someone tried to murder Goro Mizuno?"
"Yeah. Goro Mizuno discovered proof of their activities. One of our troops repelled the assassins, and he joined us to bring these people to justice."
"Mizuno is a friend of mine. He was the person who created my temple. Very well. I'll help you."
The marines returned to their camp outside of the temple. They brought Pharaohmon with them to meet with the members of the Angel Squadron. Pharaohmon pledged the assistance of his royal guard to the Guard Tamers cause. The guard was a motley group of Digimon and assembled in front of their lord. This aid was much needed after several Angel Squadron members were lost during the move into the game world.
"Thanks for your help, Pharaohmon," said Akira.
"Don't mention it. A friend of Goro Mizuno is a friend of mine. I appreciate you saving Mizuno from the assassins," replied Pharaohmon. "Where is he now? Is he alright?"
"Yeah. Shibumi told us that Digimon were hiding him at the Dum Dum Factory on Byakko Continent. I'm going to take a jet copter to get him after I finish giving our Real World allies some basic training," replied Akira.
"I'm relieved to hear that. Many of Asuka's Digimon respect Mizuno. He's a father figure to us all."
Akira and the other Guard Tamers set up a lesson in self-defence for the Tamers. One of the marines donned a suit of padded armour and a mask to pretend to be an attacker. Each of the Tamers performed differently in the lesson. Henry was a master in this area, as he had extensive martial arts training from his sensei. The marine made a mock attack on Henry. He promptly snatched his assailant's fist and took him down in expedient fashion. Henry finished his downed foe with a shot to the solar plexus.
"Henry won't need much training. He really knows martial arts," commented Terriermon.
Takato and Rika had more to learn as they didn't have any formal self-defence training. However, both Tamers learned their skills with only moderate difficulties. Since the Digimon Queen had quite a chip on her shoulder, it was natural to lash out at anyone that laid a finger on her. Her assailant grabbed her from behind, but Rika was ready. She responded by driving her elbow into his stomach. The attacker's hold broke, and Rika grabbed the attacker's head and rammed her knee into his face.
"Rika has quite a mean streak," commented Henry.
"I wouldn't expect any less," said Renamon. "She would not allow anyone to mess with her."
"You got that right!" said Rika defiantly.
Henry helped train his sister and Jeri, but it was somewhat difficult to make Suzie take it seriously. In Jeri's case, she had reservations about hitting and hurting someone else. It took some coaxing before they began fighting back. Jeri kicked her attacker in the groin and struck his lowered face with her knee. Suzie practiced escaping from being held by an assailant. He picked Suzie up, and she began to panic.
"Calm down, Suzie!" called Henry. "Don't panic. Take a deep breath, yell at him, and then kick him in the face!"
The marine restarted the mock attack. Suzie inhaled deeply. "Let me go!" Suzie's foot shot into the attacker's face, forcing him to release her. She bit down hard on the marine's leg and ran away. "Was that okay, Henwy?"
"Very good!" replied Henry.
****************************************
Akira, Esmeralda, and the Tamers suited up for Shibumi's extraction. Each person donned a special belt with a series of buttons and pouches for ammo magazines. This belt activated the same protective exoskeletons worn as armour by marines and materialized the weapons they used. Takato pressed a button and a submachine gun appeared in his hand. The Tamers remarked the how technologically advanced the Guard Tamers were.
"Cool! They're laser guns like on TV. They can stun people too," said Takato as he adjusted the setting.
"Yeah, this technology was a gift from Baihumon," noted Esmeralda. "Only certain people can use it."
"Say, what's that extra tube below your gun?" asked Takato.
"It's a grenade launcher," replied Esmeralda. "We didn't give you any because you don't have the necessary training to use them safely." Takato nodded in understanding.
"Is everyone suited up?" asked Akira. The Tamers nodded affirmatively. "Then let's get Mizuno!"
The Tamers boarded the jet copter, and the engine started whirring faintly. It took off for the west, passing over a seemingly endless sea of trees underneath. The Tamers remarked how beautiful and verdant Protocol Forest was. Pharaohmon's temple looked like so small from their vantage point. The jet copter sped forward, eventually flying over a plains covered very sparsely by trees. To the north was a familiar metropolis that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Suzie pointed at the metropolis. "Hey, that's Asuka City!"
"That's right Suzie," replied Henry. "We were in there, remember?"
Takato pointed to the south exit. "...And that's the Asuka gate!"
The copter reached the skies above a deep blue sea. The waves crashed onto the beach, and washed up a frothy foam onto the sand. Below, the appropriately whale-like Whamon emerged on the water's surface. He blew a spout of water into the air. Several more minutes passed by and the Tamers spotted a school of Gomamon swimming along the surface. They were headed northwards to the icy, mountainous Genbu Continent in the distance.
A mass of dry, parched land began to close in. They were close to the sandy and rocky Byakko Continent. Most of this place was miles upon miles of trackless desert. The sun seemed to beat down on the land for eternity. It was a barren no man's land and only the hardiest of players would venture out to these parts. Though the Tamers were inside the copter, they could feel the heat second hand. However, the rescue team would soon face more pressing concerns...
Below, a humvee was parked in a place hidden from the view of the rescue team. A soldier in khaki fatigues looked at the jet copter through his binoculars. He identified it as being an enemy unit, and radioed orders for his Digimon to attack. The Digimon promptly transformed into a huge, biped, mechanical dragon with cannons mounted on his back. This Digimon, Machinedramon, took aim and unleashed volley after volley of yellow energy.
The copter shook as one of the blasts cut a hole into its right side. "Evasive manoeuvres!" ordered Akira.
Henry nearly fell into the hole, but Akira rushed back and helped the others pull him to safety. "Are you ok, Henwy?" asked Suzie.
"I'm fine," replied Henry. "That was too close!"
"Move closer to the front! I don't want..." A SAM interrupted Akira's directions and hit the copter, causing it to tilt rightwards. He lost his footing and knocked Suzie and Lopmon outside accidentally.
"HENWWWWY!" screamed Suzie as she disappeared towards the ground below.
"SUZIIIIIIIE!" cried Henry in anguish.
He was about to jump out after her, but Takato stopped him. "No Henry! Don't be stupid!" chastised Takato.
Akira had problems of his own. Lillith was desperately trying to keep him from falling out. "Hold on!" she cried.
"We've got you! Don't let go!" cried Darkfryer. However, a second wave of energy rocked the copter, causing Akira to drag his Digimon out with him. Henry reached for him, but his fingers slipped.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" screamed Akira and his Digimon plummeted to the ground below.
"Get away from there!" called Esmeralda to the back. "We've already lost too many people. I don't want anyone else to be lost!" The Tamers complied without further argument.
"What are we going to do now?" asked Jeri.
"Momentai!" said Terriermon.
"You're kidding?" asked Rika rhetorically.
"I'm going to take our ship down onto the desert! Hold on tight!" cried Esmeralda.
The copter hit a dune of sand, bumping everyone within around. It skidded across the surface of the desert before finally coming to a complete stop. Everyone began to clean the sand out of their clothes, but fortunately, no one had been injured from the attack. They scanned their surroundings, but found only grooves in the sand from the crash. Nothing of note was outside except the monotonous desert, which stretched as far as their eyes could see. Henry was rather depressed about losing Suzie in the attack.
Henry gazed sadly at the desert behind the copter. "Suzie..." he mumbled.
Jeri looked on, unsure of how to help Henry. "Henry..."
Renamon looked upon Henry pensively. "Leave Henry alone for awhile," said Renamon to Jeri.
In the copter, Esmeralda fiddled with the damaged instruments as Amar, Takato and Guilmon looked on. "We're in Mobius Desert. We're far to the south of the Dum Dum Factory. The copter's out of commission. It won't fly again."
Takato groaned. "Oh great! What about the radio?"
Esmeralda fiddled with the radio's controls. "It's no good. It was damaged in the attack. Even if it wasn't, we're out of range anyways."
"Is there anywhere we can go?" asked Guilmon.
"The nearest place is Mirage Tower, which is a day's travel west of here. Byakko Town is also nearby, but it's much further. It's northwest of here."
"Looks like we're going to the tower," noted Takato.
"Yeah," agreed Esmeralda. "Get the others and salvage anything of use. Takato, Amar, take the radio out of copter. We might need it later on."
Esmeralda laid out the plan to the other Tamers. They began scouring the area picking up anything that might be of use. Esmeralda plugged her Browser into the copter's computer and downloaded the coordinates of Mirage Tower and Byakko City. Takato and Amar detached the radio from the copter and tucked it into a spare backpack. The other Tamers and Digimon collected some spare rations.
"Can I have something to eat?" asked Guilmon.
"Sorry. We may need to live on this for awhile so no snacking," replied Esmeralda.
"Ah, pretty please?" asked Guilmon.
"Esmeralda is right. No snacking, we have to save our food," said Takato.
The squad finished gathering provisions and activated their exoskeletons for protection. They set out for Mirage Tower, but the monotony of the desert made it seem as though they were making no progress. The desert was hot but fortunately, the exoskeletons were climate controlled. Only the ruins of unknown metal structures and the occasional windmill broke the monotony. The windmills were the same ones that gathered wind power in the Central Park. Amar and Guilmon had no problem with the heat as they were Digimon of fire. The other Digimon however, weren't as lucky.
Terriermon began fanning himself. "Oh geez Henry, why do you get a suit when I have to stay in this heat?"
"That's because the suit only fits humans," replied Henry.
"Maybe not for Guilmon and Amar, but could they at least for make one for me?"
Renamon feigned a cough. "Ahem."
"...And Renamon too," continued Terriermon.
"Well, I don't think you could wear a belt very well, Terriermon," replied Esmeralda. "The suit would have to be custom made to fit each Digimon. It's just too expensive."
Terriermon sighed. "Oh great. Military cut backs..."
"Just stay on my shoulder," said Henry. "If you don't move around, it won't be so hot."
