Chapter 22 - Toy Soldiers
The moon lit the night sky with a brilliant radiance, illuminating the lake in its glory. The air was mostly silent, with only the slight rippling of the water to be heard as it flowed into the supports of the bridge. The bridge itself was an-arched thing of wood and beautifully wrought cast-iron, giving the place a romantically scenic appearance.
I had to say, that despite the fact that my knees wouldn't stop shaking, the evening had been nice so far. That said, I was torn between wanting Michael to show or not.
Option one. Michael shows, we get this over with, and I stop having heart attacks every three seconds.
Option two. He doesn't show, and I get to be with Mimi more. Like this, anyway.
I sighed, but Mimi didn't notice, she seemed to be transfixed by something. I looked to where she was, and was slightly startled to see a boat out on the water. Mimi looked up at me, a dreamy expression on her face, and smiled.
"Isn't that romantic Izzy? There are probably two lovers on that boat, just gazing up at the moon…"
She sighed then, but it was one of happiness and contentment. I spoke rather softly, and most notably, without thought.
"Maybe next time Mimi…"
She looked at me once more, slightly blushing, her smile rather soft and muted, yet all the more meaningful because of it.
"Yeah…"
The wind picked up a little then, and she drew closer to me for warmth, causing my brain to overload and shut down temporarily. Thus my instincts kicked in, and I put an arm around her. She looked at me with the same look as before, and she moved a little closer, my other arm joining the first at the small of her back.
Our heads got closer.
Our lips parted.
Our eye slowly began to slide closed as our lips moved closer and closer.
Our heads ripped apart suddenly at a voice.
"MIMI!"
The moment broken, we broke apart and looked down sharply. There, in the boat, was Michael.
How the…
I shook my head. How Michael knew we were here was not important right now. He had this adoring, oily smile on, and there was a frighteningly glazed look to his eyes.
"Mimi, you don't have to date that cretin just to get me jealous! I love you! Jump to me darling! I'll catch you!"
Mimi plastered a smile on her face and looked down.
"Just a moment!"
She turned back to me.
"Grab that rock Izzy."
"Huh?"
"Don't argue with me!!"
"Yes ma'am."
I picked up the rock and handed it to Mimi. It was large enough that I had to use both hands to lift it, but still fairly light, as Mimi took it from me easily. She looked over the side.
"Alright Michael, catch."
The grinning fool held his arms open and waited. Mimi chucked the rock at him. It hit him square across the face and he toppled backwards over the boat and into the water. Mimi smiled over the railing, then offered me her arm.
"Shall we go then?"
"Uh, heh heh, um, sure…"
I hesitantly linked my arm through hers, and we walked of, Mimi nearly dragging me in her effort to get away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ooookay. What the hell is that?! I would say it's the catalyst, but I certainly didn't do it.
DNA
Digivolution_
Omnimon… Imperialdramon: Fighter Mode… DNA Digivolve to… Imperialdramon: Paladin Mode!
The light faded, and there he stood in all his glory. Imperialdramon: Paladin Mode.
Well, this certainly gives us an edge… I just wonder where that light came from… oh well, I can figure that out later.
For a moment, no one moved while we all took in Imperialdramon's new form. Then, predictably, all hell broke lose. Puppetmon opened.
"PUPPET PUMMEL!"
Imperialdramon skillfully back flipped over the barrage, and charged in, only to be met halfway in by Beezlemon.
"DARKNESS CLAW!"
"GIGA DEATH!"
Imperialdramon knocked Beezlemon back, but he swiftly recovered, and form his prone position on the ground, went for his guns.
"DOUBLE IMPACT!"
Imperialdramon jumped, but…
"PUPPET PUMMEL!"
Surprisingly, the pellets made a 'ping' noise and went down.
"OMEGA BLADE!"
Puppetmon scrambled backwards, barely dodging the strike. Imperialdramon closed once more.
"GIGA DEATH!"
"DARKNESS CLAW!"
Imperialdramon spun about and began the charge at Beezlemon again, who was grinning a little.
I am so going to have a word with Impmon when this is done.
The two flailed about, with Imperialdramon unable to back off. Every time he tried, Beezlemon's hands went for his guns and shot at him. Beezlemon still seemed capable of holding the holy knight's sword with his claws. Behind them, Puppetmon was breathing heavily.
That's why. The aura faded! That's why his attack didn't affect Imperialdramon!
Unfortunately, my assessment was a tad too late.
"AAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"
Like something out of Dragon Ball Z, Puppetmon's primal scream prompted his aura of deep, black, evil energy to come forward and stand out.
Not cool. Definitely not cool.
"PUPPET PUMMEL!"
Fortunately, Imperialdramon saw, and was able to dodge. Beezlemon wasn't so lucky.
"YOU $&!($&!)$! LITTLE PUPPET! I'M GONNA KICK YOUR @$$ WHEN I GET OUT OF THIS!"
With Beezlemon down for now, Imperialdramon took to the sky to catch his breath. Puppetmon snorted, and redirected himself.
At us.
"PUPPET PUMMEL!"
Garudamon dove in front of us, taking the attack, but she was dropped instantly to her in-training form.
"Yokomon!"
Sora rushed forward, right into the path of the incoming Puppetmon, but the deranged children's toy was intercepted by Imperialdramon's shoulder. Puppetmon was not enjoying being ground slowly into woodchips by Imperialdramon's shoulder, so be pointed his hand at Beezlemon and, reactivating the threads, commanded Beezlemon's recovering body to move.
Of course…
"DAVIS! The wires! Now!"
He nodded.
"Imperialdramon! Cut the strings!"
"Don't have to tell me twice! OMEGA BLADE!"
The move flew right through the wires as Beezlemon struggled to rise. Then the wires shattered. Beezlemon started laughing.
Uh oh.
"Um, guys? I'd tell Imperialdramon to get out of there…"
"DOUBLE IMPACT!"
Beezlemon's attack flew in at Puppetmon, Imperialdramon barely escaping in time. Puppetmon got up, a little shaken.
"How dare you! You are my toy! Now I have to break you!"
"Heh. Just try it."
"PUPPET PUMMEL!"
"DARKNESS CLAW!"
Beezlemon ignored the pumped up pellets that tore through him as he dove forward. The nearly suicidal move surprised Puppetmon, and he had no defense as Beezlemon's claw plunged through his back, and he began to delete. Beezlemon started loading Puppetmon's data. IO didn't try to stop him, and the rest of the Digidestined were in shock. It surprised me more than a little, but I didn't get flashes of Leomon's death while it happened.
Of course, Puppetmon's a whole 'nother 'mon.
I looked down at BlackJyarimon, and smiled at him.
*We did well today boy.*
*I know Takatomon. Can I have food now?*
*Let's finish this Beezlemon business first boy. I'll get you something to eat when we get home. Why don't you rest for now?*
*Okie Dokie… 'night Takatomon.*
BlackJyarimon closed his eyes and started to drift off. I placed him in my hood, and approached the rapidly recovering Beezlemon.
"Dedigivolve. We need to talk."
"Hmph. Fine. Just wait 'till I'm done here."
I smiled a little.
"It's okay. Finish. I'll sleep better knowing that he's not going to be around anymore. I just want the Digidestined over there to relax a little, and a mega level demon lord isn't helping the situation."
He grinned.
"What makes you so sure I'm not a threat?"
"You wouldn't have even attempted to talk your way out of fighting me when I first found you in the desert."
"Hmph. Just saving it for later."
I laughed then. I laughed long and hard, and after a bit he joined in. With all of the day's events, it was a liberating experience. The Digidestined, unable to hear us, looked at us like we were nuts, though. Beezlemon finished his data-load, and proceeded to dedigivolve without arguing with me. I looked at him funny, and he caught it.
"What?"
"I'm surprised a little."
"Well, don't get used to it. If I were at full health, I'd grind you and pineapple-head into the dirt, Gogglehead."
"Impmon… Nevermind. Just call me Takato, 'Gogglehead' doesn't exactly fit now that I've lost my goggles does it?"
"Huh? Where'd they go?"
I blushed a little.
"Long story. Let's go assure the Digidestined you're an okay guy and get some sleep. It's getting late."
"Where am I staying?"
"With me, even if I have to stay here with you. You're not getting out of my sight for now."
"One little mistake… sheesh."
Impmon's mistake hadn't been 'little', but I let it go. My mistake hadn't been little either. The tension I had noted earlier from the Digidestined had decreased noticeably since Impmon's devolution. Impmon, surprisingly, was the first to speak.
"Uhhhh… hi."
Matt's voice was a little like ice.
"What the hell was that?"
"Um, you'll have to be a little clearer blondie."
"That… thing… where the data… you…"
Oh crap. I knew I forgot something.
I stepped in before Impmon could say something stupid and/or insulting in Matt's general direction.
"Oh… that. It's a southern quadrant thing. It's one of the reasons that southern quadrant digimon are so violent, they can load the data of their fallen opponents to make themselves stronger, or, in this case, heal themselves."
"Isn't that slightly… evil?"
I smiled at Sora.
"Evil? Not really. But I still disagree with it on a moral basis, so I only let BlackJyarimon do it in extreme emergencies."
"Like…"
I shrugged.
"I don't like it, but if it's a choice between BlackJyarimon's life or death, I don't hesitate to order him to do it. There are a few other… special… cases where I'll tell him to though."
"And those are…"
Tai this time.
Great. When did this turn into something about me?
I shook my head.
"I'll probably be in enough trouble just telling you what data loading is. I wouldn't have if it weren't necessary."
Tai grumbled a bit but relented on the subject. Ken was the next person to speak up.
"So, uh, what about him."
"Well, he's staying with me until I can figure out what to do with him. I'll understand if you don't want him there though, we can just crash out here for the night."
Ken sighed.
"No. That's fine. Wouldn't want you to catch something."
He paused a bit, before giving Impmon a halfhearted smile.
"Either of you."
With that, Imperialdramon dedigivolved, and we started for a TV. I hung back a bit to talk with Impmon.
"Impmon, do the both of us a favor, and don't say anything about the southern quadrant. Azulongmon says we shouldn't."
"And I'm supposed to listen?"
"It'll make our lives a lot easier."
"Good point. I'll play along."
"Thanks."
We walked a little ways behind the Digidestined, just far enough that they couldn't hear our lowered voices.
"Takato…"
I looked down at the imp beside me.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks. For bringing me back. And for today. Some other stuff too, I guess."
I smiled.
"Yeah, well, we both screwed up pretty big. I'm surprised you said that though."
"You tell anyone, you're…"
"Dead. Yeah. I heard that from Rika a lot. How… nevermind. I'll ask you tomorrow. Right now we should just go back to Ken's place and sleep."
I yawned, and Impmon followed suit.
"Yeah, tomorrow sounds good."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I lay on the bed, petrified.
Oh, that was smooth Izumi, real smooth. What the hell were you thinking trying to kiss Mimi?
Unfortunately, the answer was that I wasn't thinking, and that was potentially dangerous in my situation. The scene was etched in my head now, and it wouldn't leave, consequently leaving me without sleep.
I'm not sure whether to thank Michael or strangle him.
I groaned and rolled over, a thousand things rushing through my mind in a single instant.
What would have happened if he hadn't shown up?
I sighed.
I would have panicked at the last minute and embarrassed myself, that's what.
This didn't help matters though, and I tossed and turned some more.
I didn't get any sleep that night.
The moon lit the night sky with a brilliant radiance, illuminating the lake in its glory. The air was mostly silent, with only the slight rippling of the water to be heard as it flowed into the supports of the bridge. The bridge itself was an-arched thing of wood and beautifully wrought cast-iron, giving the place a romantically scenic appearance.
I had to say, that despite the fact that my knees wouldn't stop shaking, the evening had been nice so far. That said, I was torn between wanting Michael to show or not.
Option one. Michael shows, we get this over with, and I stop having heart attacks every three seconds.
Option two. He doesn't show, and I get to be with Mimi more. Like this, anyway.
I sighed, but Mimi didn't notice, she seemed to be transfixed by something. I looked to where she was, and was slightly startled to see a boat out on the water. Mimi looked up at me, a dreamy expression on her face, and smiled.
"Isn't that romantic Izzy? There are probably two lovers on that boat, just gazing up at the moon…"
She sighed then, but it was one of happiness and contentment. I spoke rather softly, and most notably, without thought.
"Maybe next time Mimi…"
She looked at me once more, slightly blushing, her smile rather soft and muted, yet all the more meaningful because of it.
"Yeah…"
The wind picked up a little then, and she drew closer to me for warmth, causing my brain to overload and shut down temporarily. Thus my instincts kicked in, and I put an arm around her. She looked at me with the same look as before, and she moved a little closer, my other arm joining the first at the small of her back.
Our heads got closer.
Our lips parted.
Our eye slowly began to slide closed as our lips moved closer and closer.
Our heads ripped apart suddenly at a voice.
"MIMI!"
The moment broken, we broke apart and looked down sharply. There, in the boat, was Michael.
How the…
I shook my head. How Michael knew we were here was not important right now. He had this adoring, oily smile on, and there was a frighteningly glazed look to his eyes.
"Mimi, you don't have to date that cretin just to get me jealous! I love you! Jump to me darling! I'll catch you!"
Mimi plastered a smile on her face and looked down.
"Just a moment!"
She turned back to me.
"Grab that rock Izzy."
"Huh?"
"Don't argue with me!!"
"Yes ma'am."
I picked up the rock and handed it to Mimi. It was large enough that I had to use both hands to lift it, but still fairly light, as Mimi took it from me easily. She looked over the side.
"Alright Michael, catch."
The grinning fool held his arms open and waited. Mimi chucked the rock at him. It hit him square across the face and he toppled backwards over the boat and into the water. Mimi smiled over the railing, then offered me her arm.
"Shall we go then?"
"Uh, heh heh, um, sure…"
I hesitantly linked my arm through hers, and we walked of, Mimi nearly dragging me in her effort to get away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ooookay. What the hell is that?! I would say it's the catalyst, but I certainly didn't do it.
DNA
Digivolution_
Omnimon… Imperialdramon: Fighter Mode… DNA Digivolve to… Imperialdramon: Paladin Mode!
The light faded, and there he stood in all his glory. Imperialdramon: Paladin Mode.
Well, this certainly gives us an edge… I just wonder where that light came from… oh well, I can figure that out later.
For a moment, no one moved while we all took in Imperialdramon's new form. Then, predictably, all hell broke lose. Puppetmon opened.
"PUPPET PUMMEL!"
Imperialdramon skillfully back flipped over the barrage, and charged in, only to be met halfway in by Beezlemon.
"DARKNESS CLAW!"
"GIGA DEATH!"
Imperialdramon knocked Beezlemon back, but he swiftly recovered, and form his prone position on the ground, went for his guns.
"DOUBLE IMPACT!"
Imperialdramon jumped, but…
"PUPPET PUMMEL!"
Surprisingly, the pellets made a 'ping' noise and went down.
"OMEGA BLADE!"
Puppetmon scrambled backwards, barely dodging the strike. Imperialdramon closed once more.
"GIGA DEATH!"
"DARKNESS CLAW!"
Imperialdramon spun about and began the charge at Beezlemon again, who was grinning a little.
I am so going to have a word with Impmon when this is done.
The two flailed about, with Imperialdramon unable to back off. Every time he tried, Beezlemon's hands went for his guns and shot at him. Beezlemon still seemed capable of holding the holy knight's sword with his claws. Behind them, Puppetmon was breathing heavily.
That's why. The aura faded! That's why his attack didn't affect Imperialdramon!
Unfortunately, my assessment was a tad too late.
"AAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"
Like something out of Dragon Ball Z, Puppetmon's primal scream prompted his aura of deep, black, evil energy to come forward and stand out.
Not cool. Definitely not cool.
"PUPPET PUMMEL!"
Fortunately, Imperialdramon saw, and was able to dodge. Beezlemon wasn't so lucky.
"YOU $&!($&!)$! LITTLE PUPPET! I'M GONNA KICK YOUR @$$ WHEN I GET OUT OF THIS!"
With Beezlemon down for now, Imperialdramon took to the sky to catch his breath. Puppetmon snorted, and redirected himself.
At us.
"PUPPET PUMMEL!"
Garudamon dove in front of us, taking the attack, but she was dropped instantly to her in-training form.
"Yokomon!"
Sora rushed forward, right into the path of the incoming Puppetmon, but the deranged children's toy was intercepted by Imperialdramon's shoulder. Puppetmon was not enjoying being ground slowly into woodchips by Imperialdramon's shoulder, so be pointed his hand at Beezlemon and, reactivating the threads, commanded Beezlemon's recovering body to move.
Of course…
"DAVIS! The wires! Now!"
He nodded.
"Imperialdramon! Cut the strings!"
"Don't have to tell me twice! OMEGA BLADE!"
The move flew right through the wires as Beezlemon struggled to rise. Then the wires shattered. Beezlemon started laughing.
Uh oh.
"Um, guys? I'd tell Imperialdramon to get out of there…"
"DOUBLE IMPACT!"
Beezlemon's attack flew in at Puppetmon, Imperialdramon barely escaping in time. Puppetmon got up, a little shaken.
"How dare you! You are my toy! Now I have to break you!"
"Heh. Just try it."
"PUPPET PUMMEL!"
"DARKNESS CLAW!"
Beezlemon ignored the pumped up pellets that tore through him as he dove forward. The nearly suicidal move surprised Puppetmon, and he had no defense as Beezlemon's claw plunged through his back, and he began to delete. Beezlemon started loading Puppetmon's data. IO didn't try to stop him, and the rest of the Digidestined were in shock. It surprised me more than a little, but I didn't get flashes of Leomon's death while it happened.
Of course, Puppetmon's a whole 'nother 'mon.
I looked down at BlackJyarimon, and smiled at him.
*We did well today boy.*
*I know Takatomon. Can I have food now?*
*Let's finish this Beezlemon business first boy. I'll get you something to eat when we get home. Why don't you rest for now?*
*Okie Dokie… 'night Takatomon.*
BlackJyarimon closed his eyes and started to drift off. I placed him in my hood, and approached the rapidly recovering Beezlemon.
"Dedigivolve. We need to talk."
"Hmph. Fine. Just wait 'till I'm done here."
I smiled a little.
"It's okay. Finish. I'll sleep better knowing that he's not going to be around anymore. I just want the Digidestined over there to relax a little, and a mega level demon lord isn't helping the situation."
He grinned.
"What makes you so sure I'm not a threat?"
"You wouldn't have even attempted to talk your way out of fighting me when I first found you in the desert."
"Hmph. Just saving it for later."
I laughed then. I laughed long and hard, and after a bit he joined in. With all of the day's events, it was a liberating experience. The Digidestined, unable to hear us, looked at us like we were nuts, though. Beezlemon finished his data-load, and proceeded to dedigivolve without arguing with me. I looked at him funny, and he caught it.
"What?"
"I'm surprised a little."
"Well, don't get used to it. If I were at full health, I'd grind you and pineapple-head into the dirt, Gogglehead."
"Impmon… Nevermind. Just call me Takato, 'Gogglehead' doesn't exactly fit now that I've lost my goggles does it?"
"Huh? Where'd they go?"
I blushed a little.
"Long story. Let's go assure the Digidestined you're an okay guy and get some sleep. It's getting late."
"Where am I staying?"
"With me, even if I have to stay here with you. You're not getting out of my sight for now."
"One little mistake… sheesh."
Impmon's mistake hadn't been 'little', but I let it go. My mistake hadn't been little either. The tension I had noted earlier from the Digidestined had decreased noticeably since Impmon's devolution. Impmon, surprisingly, was the first to speak.
"Uhhhh… hi."
Matt's voice was a little like ice.
"What the hell was that?"
"Um, you'll have to be a little clearer blondie."
"That… thing… where the data… you…"
Oh crap. I knew I forgot something.
I stepped in before Impmon could say something stupid and/or insulting in Matt's general direction.
"Oh… that. It's a southern quadrant thing. It's one of the reasons that southern quadrant digimon are so violent, they can load the data of their fallen opponents to make themselves stronger, or, in this case, heal themselves."
"Isn't that slightly… evil?"
I smiled at Sora.
"Evil? Not really. But I still disagree with it on a moral basis, so I only let BlackJyarimon do it in extreme emergencies."
"Like…"
I shrugged.
"I don't like it, but if it's a choice between BlackJyarimon's life or death, I don't hesitate to order him to do it. There are a few other… special… cases where I'll tell him to though."
"And those are…"
Tai this time.
Great. When did this turn into something about me?
I shook my head.
"I'll probably be in enough trouble just telling you what data loading is. I wouldn't have if it weren't necessary."
Tai grumbled a bit but relented on the subject. Ken was the next person to speak up.
"So, uh, what about him."
"Well, he's staying with me until I can figure out what to do with him. I'll understand if you don't want him there though, we can just crash out here for the night."
Ken sighed.
"No. That's fine. Wouldn't want you to catch something."
He paused a bit, before giving Impmon a halfhearted smile.
"Either of you."
With that, Imperialdramon dedigivolved, and we started for a TV. I hung back a bit to talk with Impmon.
"Impmon, do the both of us a favor, and don't say anything about the southern quadrant. Azulongmon says we shouldn't."
"And I'm supposed to listen?"
"It'll make our lives a lot easier."
"Good point. I'll play along."
"Thanks."
We walked a little ways behind the Digidestined, just far enough that they couldn't hear our lowered voices.
"Takato…"
I looked down at the imp beside me.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks. For bringing me back. And for today. Some other stuff too, I guess."
I smiled.
"Yeah, well, we both screwed up pretty big. I'm surprised you said that though."
"You tell anyone, you're…"
"Dead. Yeah. I heard that from Rika a lot. How… nevermind. I'll ask you tomorrow. Right now we should just go back to Ken's place and sleep."
I yawned, and Impmon followed suit.
"Yeah, tomorrow sounds good."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I lay on the bed, petrified.
Oh, that was smooth Izumi, real smooth. What the hell were you thinking trying to kiss Mimi?
Unfortunately, the answer was that I wasn't thinking, and that was potentially dangerous in my situation. The scene was etched in my head now, and it wouldn't leave, consequently leaving me without sleep.
I'm not sure whether to thank Michael or strangle him.
I groaned and rolled over, a thousand things rushing through my mind in a single instant.
What would have happened if he hadn't shown up?
I sighed.
I would have panicked at the last minute and embarrassed myself, that's what.
This didn't help matters though, and I tossed and turned some more.
I didn't get any sleep that night.