"Lucemon!" Mark screamed and made to run after him. Fortunately Kevin and Stephen snagged the younger boy under the armpits and held him back. Mark struggled against the boys, "Let me go, he's going to hurt himself if he gets away!"
"What can we do?" asked Stephen calmly. Mark looked up at his older brother. "He is too strong for us to subdue."
"We have to try..." said Mark quietly, tears welled up into his eyes. "He's sick; we have to help him. He's our friend, isn't he?"
Stephen blinked. Mark was usually a very passive person. "But...he could destroy us all..."
"He wouldn't have saved me if he was going to kill me," replied Mark and then wiped his nose.
"He has you there," said Brendan hesitantly.
"We have to get Lucemon free," said Jason quietly, "If only to wrest him from what ever limited control this Boogeymon thing has over him..."
"That's right," said Amy quietly. "That Boogeymon...he caused Growlmon to attack us..."
Stephen looked at his brother and his tear stained face. He nodded and let Mark go. "We should go, before he gets too far ahead of us."
The others looked up and nodded and ran after Stephen. Labramon stood and took a step before crumpling on her stomach.
"Labramon!" Michelle turned and helped the small dog digimon up. "You're hurt..."
"Wait guys!" Kevin stopped next to Michelle, "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, but Labramon, is hurt," she looked up at the boy. "I don't know if we can keep up..."
The others were waiting impatiently. Kevin looked up, "We'll catch up, you guys run ahead ok?"
The others nodded and ran off in the direction Lucemon had flown. Labramon, Michelle, Snow Agumon and Kevin then walked after them.
888
The demonic angel blazed across the sky. A darkened cloud rippled around him, if we could look at him in the same way that he saw himself we would see that inside the angel resided the dark viral strain that had changed him and made him think and feel the way he did, and controlled his body. Deeper inside yet was the original, the twelve winged angel boy, ensnared in a dark tar. He was slowly freeing himself from the gunk of the virus but it was slow work.
He could see everything the virus saw, as in reality they were one in the same. He could hear the voice of the virus growling about saving the child. Suddenly something caught the angel boy's eyes. A village was below.
"No!" shouted the angel boy's voice. "Not here...!"
"The Burgermon village," replied the virus. It could feel the angel boy's intensified struggle against the mire it was trapped in. The virus growled. The child was freeing himself. Not long could he maintain control over the angel, but he had to. He would not let that feeble thing break free.
"You are weakening, virus!" shouted the angel boy. "Without the sash you are nothing, you'll fade away; even now you are burning away all your energy to restrain me...How long do you think you can last?"
"I will not need the sash," growled the virus. Its eyes turned to the village. "To do this..." The angel boy felt his physical arm raise and his hand open.
"No!" shouted the boy as he wrested his body from the viral muck. He tried to grab hold of his physical control but it was too late.
"Satan's Curse!" the blast of red and black swirled downwards and blurred the image of the village in smoke and fire. The angel boy growled. Suddenly waves of black tentacles wrapped around the angelic child and slammed him back down into the swamp of darkness. "I shall maintain control of this body..."
"How do you plan to do that?" asked the angel boy as he flicked his hand out of the black tar easily, "You greatly weakened yourself with that stunt!"
"Let's say some one told me of a great power in that mountain..." The view turned to the rounded mountain to the east. "I will gain that power and never be overtaken by you!"
"You won't make it, if I am gauging your power, you'll exhaust your energy getting there," growled the angel boy. "Plus what makes you think I would allow you to get there!"
The virus growled and concentrated drawing up most of his energy into himself and then blasted east, and pressed himself off towards the mountain. The angel child struggled but this reinforced the demon's effort to try and restrain the child.
888
Stephen and Mark were running ahead of the others. They dove under branches and hopped over the fallen trunks of trees.
"There!" shouted Mark as he pointed up into the sky. A shadowy stream of energy trailed in front of them.
"It must be some sort of demonic contrail..." remarked Brendan as he ran next to the two boys. Brendan caught Mark's brow furrow at the word 'demonic' but there was truly no other word to describe it.
"Then we're getting closer," Stephen said and continued the pursuit.
They came between a pair of large pine trees when a bright crimson flash ripped through the forest. The children covered their eyes.
"Hurry, behind the trees!" shouted Renamon and bustled Amy, Mark, Janet and Penguinmon behind the left pine tree. Jason, Otamamon, Stephen, Ryuudamon, Brendan and Tapirmon crouched behind the other tree as a deafening blast of thunder shook the ground they were standing on. Pine cones and loose needles rained down. The thunder faded only to be followed by a giant shock wave of wind, heat and smoke.
The children looked at each other. The image in their imagination played over and over again. They didn't want to think it, but it was there, and it wouldn't fade.
Mark blinked, "He's ill! He wouldn't have done any of this if Boogeymon hadn't tricked us!"
Kevin and Michelle and their partners stumbled onto the scene. Kevin's mouth opened. "Was that...?"
Mark turned and looked pointedly at them. "No, don't. He didn't do it, it was the illness!"
Kevin nodded. He looked at his sister. Michelle's eyes weren't wet but the shock of what she knew happened played in her eyes. A flash of movement caught his attention. Kevin looked up and saw Mark run from his tree. He was running looking up at the dark shadowy stream that had formed in the sky. Stephen shouted after him and ran, followed by the others.
"Put Labramon on my back," said Kevin. Michelle looked up and nodded and helped Labramon up. The two children and the white dinosaur then ran after the other group.
888
The children came upon a smoking crater. A swirl of ash and smoke twisted across the barren landscape. Sparks glowed as they freed themselves from the ground, only to be snuffed out by the oppressive incoming wind.
Janet gasped. The children looked where she was looking. A grill had somehow been blown free of the blast. It was dented and scorched but it was the same grill that they had seen the Burgermon use earlier.
"Don't think it..." Mark growled. Everyone looked at the child. "Just don't think it. He is ill, and he is still our friend, and we have to save him from himself!"
"He destroyed the entire village," Janet said. Her mind filled with the memories of the two adult Burgermon and their children. "In cold blood, he destroyed a whole village."
"Janet," Stephen's voice gave a warning whisper.
"This is Boogeymon's fault," said Labramon quietly. "Lucemon can not help himself it's not really him. It's a virus that's in him."
"It's getting dark..." said Jason without any thought towards the words that were said.
"We have to keep on his trail," growled Mark. His brother's hand dropped down on Mark's shoulder.
"No," said Stephen. "We can pick up the trail in the morning."
"We'll lose him!" shouted Mark, angrily.
"He's going into the mountains," said Brendan and he pointed up to the contrail. It veered sharply to the east to the shorter rounder mountain. "He must be after what ever is in the mountains..."
"The power..." whispered Renamon. "The power that Growlmon was talking about, the virus will want it to sustain itself..."
"I'm getting hungry," whispered Snow Agumon, "and sleepy."
"How about we camp out by that stream, it's far enough away from the village, that we won't have to worry about smoke and stuff," suggested Kevin. He looked up at the purpling sky, "and it's not so far that we'll get lost trying to get back."
The others nodded. They turned from the village and walked solemnly away. Their shadows faded from the charred earth and their forms wandered down a small path that lead to their night time resting place by the stream.
888
"My lord!" yelped a small voice. Boogeymon looked into the pool of light in front of him. A creature that looked like a cross between Impmon and Demi Devimon looked back at him. "I found the artifact!"
"Good, Demi Mamon," said the demon quietly. "Where is it?"
"It says right here in this text at the ruins," whispered the creature. "It says. The great power was drawn up and given its second physical form. It was then sealed away in the lower mountains, shadowed by the watch of the great Infinity Mountain. Guardians were placed to protect the power, and none were to use it or know it."
"Where on the lower mountain?" Boogeymon stood up and took a step closer in anticipation.
"There is a temple," Demi Mamon said. "It is to be known by the ray of the combined light of the three moons."
"You!" growled a gruff voice. "You are the one that is defiling my ruins! You shall be destroyed!"
"What is going on?" asked Boogeymon.
"It's Sagittarimon he's the guardian of this ruin," yelped the little creature. "He's...."
"Judgment Arrow!" Demi Mamon's voice was cut off by Sagittarimon's booming call and suddenly the pool of light fell into static.
"It looks like Demi Mamon has met his maker," said a snide voice from behind Boogeymon.
"Impmon!" growled Boogeymon's voice. "You deserted the battle, and yet you arrive only to deride your compatriot after he has given the supreme sacrifice for his master... Why are you here?"
"First of all, that thing you made from Lucemon was far too powerful to control," The purple digimon retorted. His voice was angry and his fur ruffled, "second of all, those kids' digimon ganged up on me!" Impmon gave a snort of displeasure. "Lastly I came to tell you...I met a Weedmon, by the ruins of the Burgermon Village, and yes I said ruins, evidently your creation has gone crazy..."
Boogeymon's eyes narrowed, "You mean he hasn't returned to his original form?"
"No, and he's left the kids behind," said the little digimon. "The Weedmon said that the kids were starting to argue over Lucemon's merits..."
Boogeymon smiled evilly, "Good..." He flicked his eyes up. "I have another job for you..."
"What is it this time?" growled Impmon.
"You will go and search out Nohemon and FlaWizardmon," said Boogeymon quietly. "I wish to talk to them, about employment."
"Of course," replied Impmon with a little more constraint on his growl. "I wouldn't wish you to sully your hands in the work of us underlings."
"Impmon," replied Boogeymon calmly, "Remember, as long as I am in control, I am the one to make decisions, and I am the one that chooses whether you exist or do not. I have decided to allow your current existence because you are still slightly useful, but continued annoyances like this are likely to make you useless to me very soon...Now, go and find them..."
"Yes, Boogeymon, sir," said Impmon with a frown. He started to leave and stopped and looked back, "I nearly forgot...the Weedmon; he is under the delusion that you will give him a reward for his information...Should I send him packing?"
Boogeymon didn't look at the little imp. "No, I shall, deal with this myself..."
Impmon nodded and then left the room. He was soon replaced by a green gourd. It moved forward.
"You are the Weedmon that talked to Impmon," asked the red devil quietly. Boogeymon didn't turn his head to the green creature.
"I am," replied the Weedmon. "I was near the village and then boom a demon blasted it to bits, and then those kids came, and I thought, 'I bet Lord Boogeymon would pay an awesome amount to get info on those kids!' So what's the reward?"
"Come closer, I will show you," said Boogeymon, in the corner of his eye he saw the Weedmon take short move forward. "Perfect... You see I am a very busy digimon, and really I love it when people give me information but I hate it when they try to put a price on something as priceless as information...So the only reward I can think that would fit you would be the prestigious experience of satiating Deltamon's hungry tummy."
"What!?" Weedmon looked up shocked in time for it to see Boogeymon push a button that activated a trap door underneath Weedmon.
Boogeymon smiled. The roar of Deltamon over powered the mindless pleas for help by Weedmon. Suddenly, the irritating voice of the gourd was silenced and the only sound was that of the jaws of Deltamon chomping together. The red devil turned to a window that faced south. "All is falling together, in the morning, Digi-Destined, you shall meet your match and I shall destroy you...."