Too many backed up reviews to feedback....Lets skip straight to the good stuff
(Sorry I disappeared..My flow went down to a trickle)
Chapter 7: The Darkness in the Light
Tobu and I..walked...and walked...and walked....and walked...and walked... and walked... and walked....and walked...and walked....and walked...and walked... and walked... and walked....and walked...and walked....and walked...and walked... and walked... and walked....and walked...and walked....and walked...and walked... and walked... and walked....and walked...and walked....and walked...and walked... and ate...and walked... and walked....and walked...and walked....and walked...and walked... and walked... and walked....and walked...and walked....and walked...and walked... and walked... and walked....and walked...and swam.....and walked....and walked...and walked... and walked... and walked....and walked...and walked....and walked...and walked... and walked... and walked....and walked...and walked....and walked...obey me....and walked... and walked... and walked.... As you can see there was much walking being done, and not a lot of getting anywhere. At one point I went to sleep and continued walking out of sheer habit (Tobu probably lied about that one, but I dont care) Anyway, we finally came to an arch leading into town. It was too dark to read what it said, but it was probably the name of said town...We slumped wearily into the nearest inn, payed for our room, and hit the sack.
I woke up after what seemed like only moments of good dark sleep to find Tobu sitting on my chest and pawing at me with his big claws to get me up. I wasnt fully awake, so it didn't really register that the previous escapade wasnt a dream, and Tobu looked kinda cute, really...() So I did something kinda goofy and wrapped my arms around him in a bearhug. Oddly enough he didn't kill me...He didn't really seem to mind at all, and even wrapped one arm around in an uneasy sort of embrace. Then he gave me a smile as uneasy as the hug
"uhh..You ok? Is the stress finally gettin' to you?" he said
"Huh?" I muttered, and finally I shook back into reality...I was of the mind to let go quickly, but it really felt nice and reassuring to have something furry to hold. "No...Well, maybe a little. Do you mind?"
He smiles a bit more strongly and patted me on the back "Hey, its alright. I dont mind. Take your time..."
We sorta sat there awkwardly on the bed for a while, him halfstanding in my lap, me sitting there holding him tightly. I think a few tears escaped, but I wasnt really sure; regardless, eventually the embrace ended and he patted me strongly on the back. I felt very lucky to have someone strong to keep me that way, and the thought made me smile for the first time in days.
"Cmon. Time to go..." he said softly, bidding me to rise as he hopped off the bed and headed for the door.
I rose a bit slowly to follow after him, down the stairs and out into the lobby to check out. I scratched my ear lazily and peeked into the lounge to see if the inn had a free breakfast....The sight that greeted me made a little squeak noise pop out of me, and my feet imediatly moved to run away. Tobu grabbed onto my shirt and stopped me, and I flipped out at him a bit..
"VIRUSES! Dont you see them all!?"Tobu chuckled knowingly "Uh. Yeah. Thats why it's called VIRUS village?"
"but wont they..you know...try to eat us or something?"
"Ugn...Not all viruses are bad, ya know. Not all vaccines are good either."
"Name one good virus "
"Uhhh...Gradius?.....IM a virus type...."
You could hear my brain go click "Ohhhhh...() Right..My bad"
"Virus, Vaccine, Data... It just describes the type of power you have. How you use it is what really determines who you are.."
"...So what am I?"
"You're foreign material, bub. No doubt your made of data now and probably have a classification, but I couldnt tell it just by lookin' at you. Ey, I'm gonna go pay for breakfast..Get whatcha want"
He turned and walked off, leaving me with that thought. I wandered off and looked at the breakfast available...There was lots of pretty good stuff there so I dug in. Half way through an ommelette, a voice sounded that made me spray it a good five feet..Luckily no one was hit with my flying breakfast.
"Hey bro...Should you really be eating at a time like this?"
I whirled around to see none other than my brother "How did you get here??"
"I didn't. Actually, I just hacked the information of you I found, and I'm making you beleive you see and hear me. Cool, huh?"
"Isnt that kinda..dangerous???"
"Yup!"
I slapped my forehead "Uhh..Right...So uh...what did you risk deleting me to say?"
"I came to give you a little help. A power boost, if you will"
"You can do that!? GREAT!!! Make me as strong as umm..A mega!"
"No can do..Sorry. I can only work with the data already in you. Basically, I can maximize your current potential, and give you further potential to grow by changing the variables in your coding."
"...huh?"
" You'll level up, like in a video game...""Alright!!! Do it!"
He made some odd motions, as if typing on the air. Suddenly I felt a rush of power hit me like an avalanche!! I had gone from 98 pound weakling to olympic style power, and boy was it a plus.
"Thanks man.."
"No problem. Ill be monitering you and doing what I can. Oh, about that toy sword of yours...its doing something weird. Ill tell you if I figure anything out "
And that was all I got. At that moment he faded from sight, leaving me completely clueless as to what was up with my sword. I just shrugged and sat down, not feeling quite like eating at the moment. I just sat there until Tobu came back. We stayed in that town for a while, trying to get some clue as to our next step and get rested...We got absolutely nothing. So on the third day there we decided to try another town, setting off on the seemingly endless roads of the digital world again. Walking down that dusty road, Tobu suddenly perked up as if he heard something, his ears moving a bit.
"Whats up?" I asked, getting on my guard, half hoping for a fight to show off, and half hoping not
"I heard something...To the left" came his hushed reply
His ears looked like little satalites, zeroing in on the source of the sound. He looked at me and gestured to a giant rock, tilting his head and making a punching motion. I nodded and quietly pulled my sword, the two of us creeping toward the boulder, he going around it to the left and me going around to the right. I walked around until I was behind it, to find Tobu not there yet...I went on around, hoping to find him, but suddenly I to heard something...A small click...
I turned toward it just in time to see a set of reddish tendrils flying at me with incredible speed. I brought my sword of to defend the attack, grimacing as they wrapped around the blade of it. I pulled as hard as I could to free my sword, and with a jerk, finally managing, sending my attacker off balance. I jumped out of the way as he/she/it rolled down the boulder, jumping out of the way as he/she/it landed with a thud on the ground. I jumped to attack, but the mysterious creature pushed itself away with its tendrils and my blade cut into earth. I pulled it out just in time to defend against the tentacles flying at me once more, one two three blows I knocked aside before a fourth caught me in the stomach, sneding me flying back.
I rolled to my feet, seeing the attacker rush towards me again...A strange plantlike creature with leaves on its head...A Palmon. The Palmon rushed forward, me hurrying to meet her, sword drawn and glinting in the sunlight... She struck with a tendril and I attacked with my shining blade...
It seemed to go in slow motion, the tendril whipping at me as I raised my blade to counter it, the speed only picking up when the cold steel of it cut through the attacking vine, and continuing on, catching her squarely across the chest. I stumbled past her as she fell to the ground, quickly whirling around the face her. She was down, but I wasn't sure if she was going to get back up.
"Why dont you pick on someone your own size?" came a voice from behind, and I turned to face it, finding myself staring into the cold eyes of a Flamedramon"Picking?! She attacked me! And my friend! Where is Tobu, anyway?"
"Oh, you mean that rabbit? Hes over there, tied up in her vines...What are you doing here, anyway?"
"Im looking for a Renamon that was capture recently. Do you know anything?"
Before the flamedramon could answer, the Palmon popped up behind me, cheerfully shouting "Yeah!! Thats what we're investigating how did you know?"
From the way the flamedramon slapped his forehead, he had no intention of me finding anything out. It was too late though... "Because I saw her abducted. She was taken from my home"
The flamedramon gave me a strange look "Why was she at your home?"
"....Its complicated. Look, do you know where she might be or not? I want to help her!"
He sighed "Its not your business. Go home"
I growled angrily, advancing on him with my sword drawn "It is my business! If I have to force information out of you I will!"
He laughed at me..It made me sooo mad "Do you really think you stand a chance? Come on then.."
He took a fighting stance, readying for my attack, and I didn't dissapoint at all. I rushed him, swinging my blade furiously hoping to score a hit on the speed demon of a digi. He easily evaded every slash I made, continuing to taunt me and further fuel my anger. I started swingint with greater fury and speed, my blade shining in the air as it swept around, never cutting anything but air.
"You'll never hit me like THAT! Focus, human! A blind rage will only get you deleted"
He started to retaliate now, and I was forced onto the defensive, jumping around, deflecting his deadly claws as best I could. One or two times I felt them rip through my clothing, singing it instantly with their heat. Finally he caught me right in the chest with the blunt of his claws, sending me stumbling back. I started to stand up to find his claws at my throat.
"Focus, human! Fight with your brain, not your anger!"I knocked his claws away and got up, taking my stance..He was right. I had to THINK or this guy was gonna rip me apart. Thats when I heard it...The rush of power, flames igniting, and a terrifying phrase that bespoke my end very quickly.
"Fire Rocket!!!"
He was going to kill me with that...His attacks until now had just been physical, but if he turned up the heat and hit me with that, I was done for. I could only watch as he flew toward me, his claws alight with flames..
But wait...It cant end this way!! I thought to myself I wont let it!! People are counting on me!
I pulled my sword up to defend the blow, focusing everything I had on not being torn apart by his flaring claws. It was strange...I could see energy flowing from me into the sword I was holding, causing it to glow with power. It must have been my brothers reprogramming that did it. Flamedramon closed in swiftly, striking at my guard with ferocious power, but it held!! My power fought against his, extinguishing the flames on his claws...He gave me a look of pure shock as I reared my blade back again, striking him down with the energy still within it. Energy exploded through him, his entire body glowing white for a moment as he flew back, helped along by tiny pockets of explosions on his body, and landing with a dull thud on the path. I stood there, panting raggedly due to the intense exertion of my defense and counterattack. Slowly the flamedramon got up, eyeing me carefully. His armor was torn up badly, chipping in places and generally looking beat up. His hand moved upward as I started to attack.
"Enough. You have proven yourself in my eyes...Our sources indicate that Renamon is somewhere to the east. Someone spotted her at a town that way"I was a bit..put out "But..Why the test?! Why didnt you just tell me in the first place?"
He eyes me warily "I sensed something...There is a darkness in the light around you, and I wanted to make sure we were on the same side. But an attack like that could only have come from goodness..."
I didnt know what he was talking about. I didnt really care. "Thank you...Ill grab Tobu and be on my way."
"Wait! Human...I will allow you to use my power. Here, take this" He concentrated on his gauntlets, seeming to pull a flame from them. The flame concentrated into an orb, and he tossed it to me. Looking at it, I could see coding scrolling about within and light refracting through, tinting the ground red.
"What..Is this?"
"It is the coding of my gauntlets. If you have need of my power, concentrate on them and it will come to you...You will need to install it first, however. Since you got this far, I will assume you know how. Palmon, come"
I ran forward, trying to stop them, but they were engulfed in a massive flare of fire. I shielded m eyes at the amazing flash, looking up and seeing them still through my dazzled eyes. When they cleared, the two mystery digimon were gone, leaving me with an orb and a lot of questions...But I didnt care just then! I knew where Rena was, and I was going to find her if it took everything I had. I found and untied Tobu, turning from the road and heading east.
"Impressive fight, by the way...I didnt think you had it in you" he said as we trekked along
"Heh..Glad you think so. You might have to carry me to the next village, for all it took out of me"
Before I could tell him I was only joking, he had scooped me up, and indeed seemed intent on carrying me all the way to the town in the east. I just laughed and nodded my appreciation, him smilling back with a glint in his eye. On the way, I heard a little voice in my head..My brother...He told me that he had installed the data from Flamedramon, and it was ready for use whenever I needed it.
As we trek along this trail of destiny, our moralle high after the recent victory, something starts to go wrong, and not in the usual way...Maybe its the darkness in my light, but I suddenly dont feel so good...And why is Tobu giving me that look? Stupid little rabbit...I dont need him! He seems to think the same way about me....Its a battle between friends, with the most cliched ending you could hope for! Root for whoever you want, but enjoy the fireworks...
Chapter 8: Agression