Chapter 27:
It is strange: there are many things in life that cause worry, but worry isn't a beneficial emotion…at all.
The Little Teenaged Geek (not that he would know anything)
Rika was barely conscious, but thanks to how rotten she felt, she almost wished she were unconscious. And, as Renamon carried her to the hospital, every step Renamon took shook her stomach even more, and her stomach definitely did not need to be shaken. Rika moaned.
Renamon suddenly came to a stop.
"Are we there yet?" Rika asked.
"I certainly hope this isn't our final destination!" In front of them was a row of hungry-looking eye-dholes. "Int-Dar!" one shouted. It wasn't difficult for Renamon to jump out of the way. But the place where the eye-dhole's shot hit the ground turned into a pool of ice, and made Renamon glad she was so quick.
Renamon wondered what was safer: to set Rika down and fight off these creatures, or to run for it. She made the mistake of hesitating to decide: "Grimn Fota!" A pair of green beams knocked Renamon backwards and sent Rika flying.
As Rika flew head-over-heels through the air, she thought in her head, This is it…after all I've gone through in life, I get to die. But, in a small, subtle way, she found death a relief…
She felt a pair of furry, muscular arms catch her and stop her fall. But they were too big to be Renamon's arms, and she felt some cold, smooth metal against her arm…she looked up at the face. It was Gargomon. She heard Henry's voice say, "Rika! What happened to you? You look awful!"
"We're not going to look any better if those stone digimon get a say in it! What are they, anyway?"
Henry held up his D-Arc. "I can't get a reading on them!"
"Huh, boy!"
One shouted, "Grimn Fota!" and fired at them again. Gargomon put his machine gun arms in front of his face to shield himself, and felt his body knocked backwards as he skidded along the ground. His feet never left the ground and he was unhurt, but Gargomon knew it was a powerful attack.
"Man! These guys are tough!" Gargomon commented. "Gargo Laser!" His arm cannons whirred around and fired at the eye-dholes. It didn't take more than a few moments of firing to demolish one of them, but the other five still remained.
"Kin Dar!" But the shot wasn't aimed at Gargomon: it was aimed at Henry. Gargomon dived and knocked Henry out of the way.
"Gargo Laser!" he yelled, still on the ground and clutching Henry to his chest. Another eye-dhole bought it. "You know, Henry, I'm getting sick of these things."
"Ditto." Henry pulled a card out of his pocket. "Digi-modify: upgrade, activate!" Gargomon charged his laser cannons, but something unexpected happened: the eye-dholes began walking towards each other, and, in a brilliant flash of light…
"Igno-tor-nizo, noh kreshnaiona djom… Igno-tor-avil!"
The four eye-dholes became a pair of Headhuntors.
"Uh-oh! Did those things just digivolve?"
"Looks like it!"
The Headhuntors let out a loud war cry: "YIYIYIYIYIYIYIYIYI!" and, with their spears pointed forward, rushed at Gargomon and Henry. The tamer and his digimon ran the other way, but the Headhuntors were catching up…
GAZRIITOR:
Nickname: Headhuntor
Real Name: Igno-tor-avil
Caste: Var'ka
Special Attacks: Dra Kou
Modes: one
This is an intimidating, albeit a stupid, species of ator. Although one is easily outwitted, its defense is strong, and its spear can penetrate just about anything. It is a man-eater, but, as the name implies, only eats the head. The rest of the human body is discarded and left as propaganda. The Headhuntor's programming was primitive and probably under-budgeted. It will dance in a circle, slowly and continuously turning 360° until it sees a target. It will relentlessly pursue its target until the target is either destroyed, or the target escapes. If anything happens that the Headhuntor cannot understand, it will scratch its head, and then go back into dance mode.
The two serpents were moving as fast as they could to get away from the luftwaffles that were chasing them. They considered splitting up, but that would probably be more dangerous than fighting the luftwaffles.
Fortunately for them, weather was on their side: a bank of clouds blocked the sun, and, for a reason that they couldn't understand, the luftwaffles stopped, attached themselves to each other in a square, quilt-like pattern, and draped themselves over the south side of a building.
Looking over her shoulder, Mimi asked, "What're they doing?"
"Do you think it has anything to do with the fact that they're solar-powered?" Michael asked.
"I wouldn't rule that out. But I still don't think we're safe; we need to find another place to hide."
"Um…is that a subway entrance down there?" Suezo asked.
Mimi looked. "Yes, it is. It's worth a try; let's go."
Seadramon regressed back to Betamon, and the entire bunch crowded into the subways, right before it began to rain again. Strangely, it was freezing under the streets. They had to bring out whatever they had to keep themselves warm with. Brock unrolled his sleeping bag and crawled in feet first, clutching the boy he'd recovered and hoping that the bag would provide enough warmth for the both of them.
"You still have him with you?" Mimi asked.
Brock nodded. "His parents were both killed in the attack. He has nowhere else to go."
Mimi sighed, letting a tear trickle down her face. Michael put his arm around Mimi. "I know how you feel, Mimi. Relax. We'll get through this."
"Will we? Those---things are eating people! What if we're next?"
"Mimi…" Michael paused, wondering how he could console her. He sighed. "Okay. I admit it: we could be next. But we've got to try to hold on."
She sighed. Her breath shook, but whether this was because she was sobbing or because she was cold, Michael didn't know.
Brock figured that both might be true. He took the raincoat he'd wrapped around the child off from his shoulders and offered it to Mimi and Michael.
"Thanks. …I don't know why it would be so cold down here…"
"Me either."
"Is it cold?" Tiger asked. (He couldn't tell because his fur was too thick.)
"Yes, it is."
Tiger yawned and walked in a circle three times before lying down. "So…what now?"
"…I don't know..." Michael was as much at a loss as everyone else.
Brock cut in, "You know where the nearest clothes store is? It'd be nice if I could get this kid a jacket, or something. And he'll need one if we're going to be staying down here."
"No kidding. And it'd be nice if we could find something to eat," Suezo added.
"We'll take a look outside after it stops raining," Michael suggested.
"Actually, before would be better," Brock thought aloud.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if those things are solar-powered, then they won't be able to attack while the sun isn't in the sky. If we wait until it stops raining, then they might be back online." Brock picked up his bedroll and dragged it to where Mimi and Michael were sitting. He unzipped the bag, set the boy between Mimi and Michael, and spread the unzipped bag over the three of them. "Could I have my coat back? I'm going to risk an errand out there."
"Is it safe for you to go out on your own?"
"I won't be on my own. I have five pokémon with me. They'll be enough if anything goes wrong."
"You're sure?"
Brock knew that he had to find food, and he also knew that Mimi didn't need any more stress. So he just insisted, "Look, don't even worry about me." Of course, Mimi did worry---the entire situation had "worry" written all over it, and both she and Brock knew it.