I updated this before 'What are Friends for?' because I'm have a case of writer's block at that story and 'The Power of Friendship'. I got this quite planned out already and I really need something to help me ease the pain I am feeling at the moment…personal problems. Writing helps me satisfy this thing inside me…so well, there.
Oh yeah and Lavos, the time Acopolyse, if you are reading this, you'll be glad to know that will be in this story. I just don't want to spoil it to the others so it's in asterisks.
On with the story!
Blasting the Gauge chapter six: An addition to the team
In the middle of the night, Ruki woke up to Guilmon and Terriermon's snores. The others were covering their ears as they slept. She groaned and turned. She looked over at the entrance and saw two figures. Ryo and Monodramon were sitting down, looking outside. She closed her eyes, took one last peek at the two and wondered. 'Sometimes, Akiyama, I just don't understand you. Even amidst all the commotion we were having awhile ago, you did nothing. You missed the Terriermon channel even' She smiled at the thought. 'Oh well…'
Ruki tried to sleep but found she can't. Usually it was difficult for her to sleep once she woke up at any time. She would fall asleep sooner or later but by the combined forces of Guilmon and Terriermon (not mentioning Kazu and Kenta), that was almost impossible. She decided to scare Akiyama.
Slowly she crept towards him, making sure she made little noise. Monodramon was lying beside his tamer, both were taking silently to each other through whispers. Suddenly his ears perked up as he sensed the girl's movements. He turned his head abruptly around, making Ryo turn also. Ruki was caught red-handed. Ryo looked worried.
"Ruki, why are you still awake?"
"Well, if you actually listen to your surroundings then you will know" She motioned to the snoring bunch behind her. Ryo nodded his understanding. Ruki walked over to the pair and seated herself on the other side of Monodramon, as Ryo was sitting with his back on the side of the cave entrance. He quickly averted his attention back to what he was thinking. At this Ruki grew quite annoyed.
"Why are you still up Akiyama? I have a feeling you and Monodramon have never even slept a wink. I'm also sure it's not because of the snoring brothers"
Ryo frowned at first then looked her in the eye. "Ruki,"
"What?"
"How much of mine and Monodramon's conversation did you overhear?" It seemed more like a command then a question. Ruki at first was taken aback by Ryo's sudden change of tone as he was hardly ever demanding. She took it that the matter was serious.
"I didn't overhear anything Ryo"
"Ruki this is important, are you telling me the truth?"
Ruki was now slightly hurt. She didn't know why. Perhaps it was because she knew that all her friends trusted her, even Ryo. Ryo never asked her this question before.
"Of course I am. What is it with you?" She looked annoyed. Ryo glanced at Monodramon first before answering.
"Nothing…nothing…go back to bed"
Ruki glanced down at Monodramon first before answering.
"Whoa are you to tell me what to do?! Besides, you should be going to sleep too" She stood up, turned abruptly around and walked back to Kyubimon and Juri. She slowly lied down on Kyubimon's soft fur and closed her eyes. She looked asleep but she definitely was not.
Ryo looked back at Monodramon. He looked back at his partner worriedly.
"I really think we should go to sleep now Ryo. We've been awake for a long time now. Perhaps we should discuss the matter another time and more privately"
Ryo sighed, took another glance at Ruki and nodded his approval.
Light spread about the Digital World and shared its light inside the cave, slowly waking up each tamer and Digimon one by one. Once all were awake, Takato did a quick headcount.
"Well guys, we're complete! We better start heading to Azulongmon now…"
Kazu whined. "Don't we get to eat first?!"
"Well for one we have to save our food for later times. We can eat on the way anyway so…let's go!" He started ushering everyone to stand up. They were still sleepy-eyed and tired and did some stretching before actually following Takato's instructions.
Kyubimon was the only one who was at champion form, saying that she should always be ready. Guilmon and Monodramon remained at their rookie forms, forcing Takato, Ryo and the others to travel by feet. Ruki offered Juri, Shouchion and Lopmon to ride with Kyubimon. Kazu and Kenta whined while Takato and Jenrya thought it fair. Ruki hadn't minded Ryo the whole morning so far. No, she wasn't angry. Okay maybe a little but she was more hurt than angry. Ryo just felt horrible about it but didn't say a thing.
They started walking to the other direction from where they came from the day before. Everyone was still quite tired and all were surprisingly quiet. The plain, barren desert seemed to go on forever. They slowly trudged along, their footprints being erased by the wind shortly after making it impossible for them to find the cave once more if they ever needed it.
Soon they reached a mountain whose shape was quite odd. They couldn't make it out but it seemed to differ from the other mountains anyway. From near the side of that particular mountain they heard someone crying. It was more like sobbing or whining actually. Terriermon, who was riding atop Jen's shoulders, suddenly perked up his ears at the sound, making everyone stop. They listened more intently and now heard the cries more clearly. Jen pointed to the direction of the back to the mountain.
"That way. I can hear the noise from there"
The others nodded their approval and, even if Jen never said a word they understood what he meant. Kyubimon dashed towards the back of the mountain while the others ran behind her. The noise was growing louder and louder until finally they reached the source of the sound.
There, tied up amongst the bushes near the side of the odd mountain, was a Centarumon. He had a helmet covering his head in which only his eyes were seen. He had the body of a horse except that his chest seemed to resemble that of a human. One of his arms was a gun and his body was covered in big, purple spots, mostly around the chest area. He was squirming and trying to get out of the bush that kept him prisoner. All at once he shut his mouth when he eyed the tamers. He looked at them one by one and finally eyed Kyubimon and the other Digimon. Silence came over them as he tried to register what he now saw into his mind.
Slowly they approached him the wounded Digimon. They were careful first. Juri hopped down from Kyubimon and rushed over to Centarumon. She knelt beside him and examined his condition.
Takato took out his digivice and pointed it at Centarumon.
"Centarumon. Champion level Digimon. His attack is Mega Blast" (I am not sure about his attack)
The others caught up with Juri and encircled themselves around the entangled Centarumon.
"What happened?" Juri asked.
"A digimon…a digimon attacked me…"
"What kind of Digimon?" Takato then asked him. He felt he knew the answer but was just making sure.
"I…I don't know…he put me in this trap…I was…he was…I was just walking and…and he caught me…I don't know…" Centarumon seemed shocked.
"Why?"
"He was…told me to…that…he told me that…to catch…him…this trap…catch the one…" All seemed quite bewildered at first. None could understand what Centarumon was trying to say.
Then suddenly, as if his sense was suddenly knocked into his head, Centarumon blurted out what he had been trying to say all along.
"This is a trap! RUN AWAY! I was caught here in order to fool them and so that the Digimon could catch…could catch…the one…GO NOW!!!"
Juri covered her mouth with her hands as the others looked shocked.
"Shouldn't we untangle you first?" She asked.
"NO! Run NOW while you have the chance! Go! GO!"
They nodded and stood up. Just then the mountain behind Centarumon started to shake. Rocks began crumbling down. Shouchion ran into Jen's outstretched arms and buried her head into her brother's shoulder, covering her ears. Slowly the rockslide lessened and in the mountain's place there was now a Digimon. No one could make it out yet as the Digimon was still materializing in the air.
Finally the Digimon was now solid. They gasped. There, in front of them, was a Dragon Digimon. He quite resembled the dragon Deva except this one was red with blue markings. He had much larger wings and his feet were bigger. His slit-like yellow eyes bore the symbols of no mercy. He stretched for awhile first.
All of a sudden he shot them a glare with those eyes of his which caught them all off-guard. Shouchion, who had taken a peek, wailed and gripped Jen tighter. Ruki took out her digivice and scanned the Dragon Digimon.
"Nagamon. His attack is 'Sunog'. Level is unknown" She stared at the Digimon towering above them. He seemed like trouble. In a fraction of a second he suddenly attacked them.
"SUNOG!" He screamed and a huge ball of flame started shooting towards them. They quickly dodged it by jumping to either side. Jen quickly picked up his sister and carried her to the nearest shelter, part of the mountain still remained and he hid her securely by the side. He then ran back to the others and slashed a card into his digivice.
"Card Slash! Digivolution activate!"
Kurumon, who was hiding between the white furs of Kyubimon, suddenly squirmed and let out a blast of red light that encircled Terriermon. "Terriermon digivolve to…" Terriermon's soft skin started peeling off revealing his data. He wrinkled his face as if he was having a hard time and looked up, eyes closed. The skin from his face finally started be stripped off and his whole body grew and was replaced by tougher, stronger skin. For arms he now had guns and he now threw his strip of bullets across his chest and it automatically attaches itself to the rabbit's body. "Gargomon!"
"Go get him Gargomon!" Henry shouted to his partner.
"Got it Jen!" Gargomon started to run up to Nagamon and began to shoot.
Takato looked down at Guilmon who's eyes were now reduced to slits.
"You know what to do Guilmon…"
"Right Takato…"
"Card Slash! Digivolution Activate!"
Again, another blast of red light shot from Kyubimon's back and enveloped Guilmon with its brightness. "Guilmon digivolve to…" Guilmon's skin then started to peel of, revealing the data inside of him. He closed his eyes shut, as if in pain and let the changes occur. His body grew in size and white hair sprouted from the back of his head and in between his ears. His eyes suddenly open and he slashes his claws in the air, releasing flame. "Growlmon!"
"Let's do it Growlmon!"
Growlmon started to run towards Nagamon and released a ball of fire from his mouth. "Flame Ball!" It hit Nagamon and Nagamon suddenly switched his attention from Gargomon to him.
"Dragon Fire!" He shouts and a couple of dragon-like flames come out of his mouth and start heading towards the two champions. Jen watches in horror as Gargomon is flown backwards. Growlmon blocks the attack with his claws although he is still damaged.
"Kyubimon go help them!" Ruki shouts to her partner. Kyubimon nodded and throws her head back, causing Kurumon to be thrown off. Ruki catches him in her arms and holds him tight.
Ryo looks at the other tamers and Digimon fighting. He looks at Monodramon.
"Monodramon…" He looks again at the others. He seemed confused at first then finally made a decision. "Go and fight"
Monodramon looks up at his tamer and nods.
"Card Slash! Digivolution Activate!"
"Monodramon digivolve to…" Ruki looks down at Kurumon as he held his head and let out a blast of red light. It surrounded Monodramon in its brilliance. Monodramon's skin started to peel off, revealing data. His mouth opened like in pain and he closed his eyes tight. He clenched his fists as they were replaced with bigger claws. Pants were wrapped around his legs and he now wore a more military look. "Strikedramon! Strikedramon digivolve to…" Once again he repeated the process. His face showed pain as he lived through the evolution. Finally his body was covered in metal and dark-red tattered wings sprouted from his back. His face now had a helmet on and he wore a serious look on his lips. "Cyberdramon"
"C'mon Cyberdramon!"
Cyberdramon flies up to be in level with Nagamon's face. He puts his wrists together to form a 'kamehameha' position. A ball of green energy gathered up in his claws as he aimed it at Nagamon's head. "Desolation Claw!"
His attack hit Nagamon quite hard. His eyes glared at Cyberdramon, who was now preparing to attack once more. He glared at him for quite a time, he seemed to be analyzing his data. Before he could take to any action, Kyubimon attacked him.
"Dragon Wheel!" She jumped into the air and enveloped Nagamon's face with her flame. Nagamon got distracted and fired at Kyubimon. Kyubimon quickly dodged the attack and fired at him once more. Gargomon finally got up from his feet and did an uppercut under Nagamon's chin. Growlmon blasted another fireball at him. Each time Nagamon would respond by one of his attacks.
In all the commotion Nagamon, in his mind, was eyeing Ruki. He had already looked at and analyzed every tamer and Digimon. He was confused at first for some reason but finally fixed his attention on Ruki. He suspected something inside Cyberdramon and perhaps Ryo. There was something in each of the tamers also but…'that red-haired girl…she seems suspicious…perhaps…'
"Kakuna Wave!" MarineAngemon interrupted his thoughts.
Among all the bustle Juri had been trying to untangle Centarumon from the branches that entangled him. Kazu was on the other side of Centarumon and was helping her cut through the branches. Guardramon was, too.
"Don't worry Centarumon, we'll get you out of here" Juri reassured him. Her hands were sweating and wounded from the bark and so were Kazu's. Both were already sweating as they worked on the entangled branches.
The tamers were getting smushed. They were already attacking Nagamon consecutively but little damage was done. He was quick and agile and fast to attack.
"Guys it's not working! We must digivolve to Ultimate!" Takato cries out to the others.
"But Takato, they're too weak to digivolve anymore" Jen argued.
"But…" Takato couldn't say anymore. He restrained himself from getting angry but tears were already forming in his eyes. Growlmon was slowing down in speed and was tiring out. Gargomon was near to collapsing but still shot at Nagamon with the rest of his energy.
Ryo saw Nagamon eye Ruki. He was just about to warn her about something but then stopped. He turned back to Cyberdramon and urged his partner on.
"Card Slash! Hyper Speed Activate!" Ruki slashed a card through her digivice. Kyubimon's speed grew quicker as she charged towards Nagamon. Will all her might, she attacked him one last time before finally regenerating back to Renamon. She had lost too much of her energy already and could stay in champion form no longer.
"Renamon!" Ruki screamed and ran towards her partner. She knelt down beside her and laid Renamon's head on her lap. The fox digimon was bruised and tired and was cringing in pain. Nagamon had hit her a couple of times already. Ryo, Takato, Jen and Kenta noticed Renamon's defeat. Their nervous level grew higher now as Kyubimon had been the fastest of them all.
"Desolation Claw!" Cyberdramon shouted and shot a blast of green energy towards Nagamon. After shooting him a few more times Gargomon collapsed and reverted back to Terriermon. Jen ran towards him and picked him up, cradling him in his arms. Growlmon, too, fell and dedigivolved to Guilmon. He walked towards Takato, wobbling and fell.
"Cyberdramon, it's up to you now!" Ryo shouted out to his partner who was now tiring. MarineAngemon quickly flew towards him and boosted up some of his energy.
"You go MarineAngemon!" Kenta shouted from the sidelines.
Juri, Kazu and Guardramon had almost broken Centarumon's binds until Nagamon suddenly switched his attention to the group. Ruki, Takato, Jen and partners were near them also so Nagamon focused on them generally. His eyes showed death in them as he glared upon the powerless tamers and digimon.
They glared back up at him, helpless. Shouchion suddenly ran out to Jen, Lopmon in her arms. She quivered and stayed near her brother's side.
"Stay near me, Shouchion" He told her and she nodded, eyes filling with tears.
Ryo saw this and ran in front of his friends. He took up a fighting position and clenched his fists. Cyberdramon landed next to him taking the same position. Glaring up at Nagamon, Ryo told him to let his friends go.
"Don't even think of hurting them…You have to go through us first!" Cyberdramon growled.
"Fine then…" Nagamon said and prepared to attack.
Suddenly a bright spark came shooting down from the sky. The thing was falling, or flying, down from the sky at bullet-speed. It landed right in front of Ryo, sending dust and sand to be flying everywhere. They covered their eyes as Jen hugged his younger sister.
When the dust cleared, there, in front of them, was a small, white Digimon. He had white ears, almost like Patamon's except they drooped down from the center onwards. He had Gatomon-like paws, except without the gloves and the claws. He had a tail like Gatomon's and had a rabbit-like face. His feet were rabbit-like also (or like Salamon's) and he had a few of Guilmon's markings (black across the wrists and across his back). Blue wings sprouted from his back and went down like an angel's or and eagle's. Finally, to top it off, a sword was strapped across his body and landed on a hilt at his side where the actual sword was kept.
His fists and teeth were clenched and his one of his paws on his sword hilt as he glared up at Nagamon. The eyes of the two locked as each glared into the other. They seemed to be talking to each other in another language.
Finally, Nagamon let out a roar and disappeared into the air, leaving a message echoing in the air.
"We will meet again…"
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Phew! Done! Hey, sorry all you RyoRuki fans but it kinda turned out that way. This story will revolve around all the characters but one of the main parts will be the growing relationship between the two…I think so…;;;…Just expect more Ryuki in the coming chapters. Oh yeah and I finally opened the new Ryuki website located at the bottom of my page
That's all for now.
REVIEW!