Chapter 30 - Bestial Nightmare
I gasped as Takato's scream died out. The look on his and BlackWarGrowlmon's faces were almost identical to the look BlackGuilmon had worn when he fought IceDevimon. Feral, instinctive, berserk.
Making a hasty decision I grabbed Gatomon and ran to Tai. Takato screamed again, and this time, BlackWarGrowlmon screamed with him.
They crossed their arms as one. Takato started, BlackWarGrowlmon finished.
"ATOMIC…"
"…DESTROYER!"
The last Machinedramon died in a black fire, as the walls came tumbling down. I sobbed quietly.
I… I guess I never really considered that we could die doing this…
Behind the walls stood twenty more Machinedramon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a dark, oppressive place.
This is the Dark Ocean.
But with in this place of absolute despair, one creature found joy. SkullSatamon laughed long and hard. After so long, now his dreams would finally be fulfilled.
The facility will likely be destroyed, as the other Digidestined approach, but not only will they get there too late to save three of the pests that have constantly thwarted my plans, they are too late to stop the final phase of the plan!
SkullSatamon laughed some more as he surveyed the tube that was collecting data. The Sovereigns would have detected the evil growing within the tube under most circumstances, but now they could not, locked away in the Digital Holy Land as they were. And with the project as far along as it was, even if they were freed this instant, by the time the barrier wore off it would be too late.
His creation was nearly completed.
Then he stopped laughing and stalked over to the pool he was using to spy on the realms. Something, a shift in the pattern of the air perhaps, told him that all was not right with his plans.
Then, halfway there, he stopped.
He realized what was wrong.
The cage he was using to contain the small creature he had captured had burst open.
The creature, which he had been planning to use to power the being within the tube, had escaped.
He frowned at this. He had planned on the creature being his ultimate creation, even should the being within the tube fail him. He had done several experiments on the creature, not the least of which was the implantation of a new type of Dark Spore, his own creation modeled off of Millenniumon's.
Now it was loose.
Regrettable…
But, he couldn't afford to concentrate on that now. He would find the creature in due time. This was his domain, after all. The current project required more… immediate attention. Besides, he didn't really need the strange creature for a power source. He could easily get another one. Not as efficient or as powerful, but one that would certainly fit his needs.
He just hoped there was less trouble with this human than the previous he had used.
He finished stalking over to the small pool of water and looked within.
And his jaw dropped.
Yet another thing I did not consider…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Takato and BlackGrowlmon screamed as one once more. I shuddered as I felt it. It was a scream filled with rage and grief and loss.
It was a scream of vengeance.
He turned back to look at us, and I noted that BlackWarGrowlmon moved as he did. They spoke as one, letting out a single, flat word.
"Run."
For a single perverse instant, I wanted to laugh.
Run? Run where? We're completely surrounded.
Takato and BlackWarGrowlmon turned back.
The Machinedramon armed their cannons.
They never got the chance to fire, as a shockwave knocked them over.
Digivolution_
BlackWarGrowlmon Digivolve to… BlackMegidramon!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ken had better be alright…
"Faster Aquilamon!"
"I'm flying as fast as I can Yolie!"
I sighed.
Then I spotted something on the ground.
Raidramon…
Aquilamon lowered our trajectory so that we could speak. I had to yell over the wind.
"Davis, you know anything more about what's happening?"
He shook his head.
"No, I just know it's not going well. At least Beezlemon showed up when he did!"
I nodded. At least Ken was safe, that was a good thing.
But what about the others?
Aquilamon landed next to where Raidramon stopped at the top of the ridge.
"Whoa…"
"I hate to say it Davis, but 'whoa' is right…"
Down in the valley stood a giant steel fortress. There were holes in a couple of places from the fighting, but it was still impressive.
Even more impressive is the fact that no one noticed it was here…
Then, the pink shaft of light flickered and faded. I looked over at Davis.
"You think they did it?"
He looked back at me oddly.
"Of course they did it! What else could have possibly happ-"
There was a sudden booming noise, and the structure was engulfed in an explosion that ripped it apart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I groaned and rolled over.
"Gatomon?"
Some rubble shifted then, and my cat-like digimon crawled out.
"Here Kari. Ugh, what hit us?"
I smiled, but thinking about the question made it falter and slide off my face.
"Takato…"
She arched an eyebrow. I shook my head.
"Don't worry about it Gatomon. We just need to find them."
She nodded.
"Okay Kari."
"KARIIII!"
I looked over, and my eyes brightened.
"TK!"
He hurried over, and looked me up and down.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, just a bit scrambled right now. We need to find Tai and Takato, they're in this mess somewhere…"
He nodded.
"What happened? This place looks like it was torn apart…"
I shuddered a bit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BlackMegidramon roared in defiance at the surrounding Machinedramon. Then he dived forwards, becoming a mass of teeth and claws and flame, eliminating all who stood in his way.
"DRAGON FIRE!"
I threw myself to the ground covering Gatomon's body, hoping at least she would be spared.
But I didn't feel anything. Not even a noticeable increase in heat.
I looked up.
And there, above me, towered BlackMegidramon. I scrambled up and ran back towards Tai, who enfolded me in a quick embrace as we both watched the dark dragon above us tear through mega-leveled digimon like paper.
And they kept coming. More than I had thought at first. It seemed that the whole fortress was teeming with them. I looked at Takato and gasped.
He was making the same motions as BlackMegidramon, moving as he would, but standing in place. They roared as one.
Then Takato seemed to shake himself out of it, and pointed down through the hole.
"BlackMegidramon! Destroy the machine!"
BlackMegidramon complied, throwing himself down through the hole in the floor, but missing the pool that Beezlemon fell into. A burst of flame later, and the machine was destroyed.
BlackMegidramon flew back up through the hole in the ground, wings beating almost gently. Then he roared again, and threw himself back into the fray.
No more Machinedramon came to the other's rescue.
The machine must have been making these Machinedramon, in addition to whatever else it did…
Then Tai was dragging me out.
"Come on. Let's go while the going's good!"
We ran down and out, and were almost clear when the fortress began to shake, and then exploded…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I trailed off in my explanation as I caught sight of an arm.
"TK, over here, quick!"
He came over and started helping me lift rubble off of the form. It was Tai, hunched protectively over Koromon.
"Hey guys!"
We looked up, and Tai managed to stir a bit. Yolie, Ken, Cody and Davis were here. I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Come on. We have to find Takato."
Ken looked around.
"What about Beezlemon?"
I blinked a little, trying to hold back tears at Beezlemon's sacrifice.
"He… He didn't make it…"
Ken's head lowered.
"Oh no…"
I nodded, and wiped my eyes a little.
"Come on. Takato should be more in the center of this mess."
It was almost a half hour later when we found him, curled up in a ball next to BlackJyarimon.
Yolie found him first.
"I found him! He's over here!"
We all rushed over. Well, all but TK that is. He sort of lagged behind. I frowned and went over to him.
"What's wrong TK?"
He shook his head and tried to smile, but I could see right through it.
"Nothing Kari."
"You're lying, TK. Tell me."
He shook his head again.
"It's nothing, really."
Then, his eyes flashed. I turned to see Davis and Ken hoisting the still unconscious Takato up so they could carry him out. I narrowed my eyes.
"It's Takato isn't it?"
He sighed in defeat.
"Yeah it is. Happy?"
I closed my eyes for a moment.
"No."
TK growled. I looked up in shock.
"He's out of control Kari."
What?
"He's doing dangerous, stupid things, and he needs to be talked to about it."
My eyes narrowed.
"Were you listening to a thing I said?! Sure, it was dangerous, but he saved our lives in there! If he hadn't brought out BlackMegidramon, I'd be dead! Is that what you want?!"
TK was just angry enough to scream back.
"YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN IN THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!!"
"What?!"
My voice was low and flat. I didn't like this at all. He quieted as well, but his voice was still hard as a rock.
"You heard me. You shouldn't place yourself in that kind of trouble."
"It's my choice TK."
He growled again. He couldn't come up with a counter argument, but he was still angry. I acted on my first instinct. I slapped him. Hard. The sound echoed through the immediate area.
"I'm not your possession TK. But if you can't understand that, then I guess we're through."
Shocked silence. Everyone was staring at us. I hurried over to the group. I smiled at Ken and Davis.
"Can you two get Tai and Koromon? I think Yolie and I can handle Takato here, but Tai might be a bit much."
They nodded mutely and went over to get Tai, and then we left. TK stayed in the rubble for a while. Long enough I didn't see him come through the digiport anyways. But that suited me just fine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I groaned as we exited the digiport at Tai's. At least we weren't falling on top of each other anymore. I helped Kari load Tai into his bed, then waved as we left to go back home. She was staying to make sure he was alright, probably until Sora came to relieve her. I turned to Yolie.
"Let me drop you off."
She smiled a bit.
"No, that's okay. I should help you get Takato up to your apartment anyways."
I nodded, and we got into the car. I turned to look at the unconscious passengers in the back seat.
Takato didn't seem to have too many injuries, which seemed strange since he was right in the center of the blast.
The things Takato seems capable of…
I heard Yolie sigh next to me.
"What's wrong?"
She smiled a bit, but couldn't seem to manage it. She gave up.
"Oh, I don't know, just that Takato was able to do that. It doesn't seem… right."
I grimaced.
"You mean create a creature of mass destruction and pure evil?"
She looked at me sharply.
"You stop that Ken! I've told you over and over that is wasn't your fault! Start listening to me!"
I gulped a little.
"Yes, Ma'am."
She sighed again as I pulled into the parking lot and we exited the car. She started talking again as we brought him into the apartment.
"No, it's not about BlackMegidramon. Well, not entirely about that. That, I actually think I understand. They were angry. They had just seen one of their best friends get killed, and were about to be killed themselves, along with more friends. That's enough to make anyone really angry at the cause. It's just what Kari said about them being… linked. That they lost control together."
I frowned as we lay Takato out on the bed.
"I'm not entirely sure about that Yolie."
"Oh?"
"Well, I don't think he lost control entirely. I mean, from what I saw, he was going after just about every thing that moved, but in Kari's story, BlackMegidramon went over top of them to get to the other Machinedramon. Not through them. Almost as if…"
"…He was trying to protect them…"
Yolie finished for me and frowned in concentration as we exited the bedroom. She continued.
"Maybe you're right. Maybe he hadn't completely lost it there. But it was still really close. I don't know. It's not even that really. It that the power at his control is… well, um…"
"Frightening?"
She nodded as we sat on the couch.
"Yeah. That's it. Frightening. I mean, Mega levels that WarGreymon was having trouble with were nothing to it."
She curled up next to me and rested he head on my shoulder. She took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I don't think Takato would ever intentionally hurt us Yolie."
"I know, I just… ugh."
"You don't like feeling afraid."
She nodded.
"Yeah…"
I smiled down at her, and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips before pulling back.
"Don't worry. I'm sure everything will feel better in the morning."
"You're right. I'm being silly. I should be going though, it's getting a little late."
She made no move to get up though, and snuggled a little closer. We just sat like that for a while, enjoying each other's presence, and eventually, we fell asleep.
I gasped as Takato's scream died out. The look on his and BlackWarGrowlmon's faces were almost identical to the look BlackGuilmon had worn when he fought IceDevimon. Feral, instinctive, berserk.
Making a hasty decision I grabbed Gatomon and ran to Tai. Takato screamed again, and this time, BlackWarGrowlmon screamed with him.
They crossed their arms as one. Takato started, BlackWarGrowlmon finished.
"ATOMIC…"
"…DESTROYER!"
The last Machinedramon died in a black fire, as the walls came tumbling down. I sobbed quietly.
I… I guess I never really considered that we could die doing this…
Behind the walls stood twenty more Machinedramon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a dark, oppressive place.
This is the Dark Ocean.
But with in this place of absolute despair, one creature found joy. SkullSatamon laughed long and hard. After so long, now his dreams would finally be fulfilled.
The facility will likely be destroyed, as the other Digidestined approach, but not only will they get there too late to save three of the pests that have constantly thwarted my plans, they are too late to stop the final phase of the plan!
SkullSatamon laughed some more as he surveyed the tube that was collecting data. The Sovereigns would have detected the evil growing within the tube under most circumstances, but now they could not, locked away in the Digital Holy Land as they were. And with the project as far along as it was, even if they were freed this instant, by the time the barrier wore off it would be too late.
His creation was nearly completed.
Then he stopped laughing and stalked over to the pool he was using to spy on the realms. Something, a shift in the pattern of the air perhaps, told him that all was not right with his plans.
Then, halfway there, he stopped.
He realized what was wrong.
The cage he was using to contain the small creature he had captured had burst open.
The creature, which he had been planning to use to power the being within the tube, had escaped.
He frowned at this. He had planned on the creature being his ultimate creation, even should the being within the tube fail him. He had done several experiments on the creature, not the least of which was the implantation of a new type of Dark Spore, his own creation modeled off of Millenniumon's.
Now it was loose.
Regrettable…
But, he couldn't afford to concentrate on that now. He would find the creature in due time. This was his domain, after all. The current project required more… immediate attention. Besides, he didn't really need the strange creature for a power source. He could easily get another one. Not as efficient or as powerful, but one that would certainly fit his needs.
He just hoped there was less trouble with this human than the previous he had used.
He finished stalking over to the small pool of water and looked within.
And his jaw dropped.
Yet another thing I did not consider…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Takato and BlackGrowlmon screamed as one once more. I shuddered as I felt it. It was a scream filled with rage and grief and loss.
It was a scream of vengeance.
He turned back to look at us, and I noted that BlackWarGrowlmon moved as he did. They spoke as one, letting out a single, flat word.
"Run."
For a single perverse instant, I wanted to laugh.
Run? Run where? We're completely surrounded.
Takato and BlackWarGrowlmon turned back.
The Machinedramon armed their cannons.
They never got the chance to fire, as a shockwave knocked them over.
Digivolution_
BlackWarGrowlmon Digivolve to… BlackMegidramon!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ken had better be alright…
"Faster Aquilamon!"
"I'm flying as fast as I can Yolie!"
I sighed.
Then I spotted something on the ground.
Raidramon…
Aquilamon lowered our trajectory so that we could speak. I had to yell over the wind.
"Davis, you know anything more about what's happening?"
He shook his head.
"No, I just know it's not going well. At least Beezlemon showed up when he did!"
I nodded. At least Ken was safe, that was a good thing.
But what about the others?
Aquilamon landed next to where Raidramon stopped at the top of the ridge.
"Whoa…"
"I hate to say it Davis, but 'whoa' is right…"
Down in the valley stood a giant steel fortress. There were holes in a couple of places from the fighting, but it was still impressive.
Even more impressive is the fact that no one noticed it was here…
Then, the pink shaft of light flickered and faded. I looked over at Davis.
"You think they did it?"
He looked back at me oddly.
"Of course they did it! What else could have possibly happ-"
There was a sudden booming noise, and the structure was engulfed in an explosion that ripped it apart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I groaned and rolled over.
"Gatomon?"
Some rubble shifted then, and my cat-like digimon crawled out.
"Here Kari. Ugh, what hit us?"
I smiled, but thinking about the question made it falter and slide off my face.
"Takato…"
She arched an eyebrow. I shook my head.
"Don't worry about it Gatomon. We just need to find them."
She nodded.
"Okay Kari."
"KARIIII!"
I looked over, and my eyes brightened.
"TK!"
He hurried over, and looked me up and down.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, just a bit scrambled right now. We need to find Tai and Takato, they're in this mess somewhere…"
He nodded.
"What happened? This place looks like it was torn apart…"
I shuddered a bit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BlackMegidramon roared in defiance at the surrounding Machinedramon. Then he dived forwards, becoming a mass of teeth and claws and flame, eliminating all who stood in his way.
"DRAGON FIRE!"
I threw myself to the ground covering Gatomon's body, hoping at least she would be spared.
But I didn't feel anything. Not even a noticeable increase in heat.
I looked up.
And there, above me, towered BlackMegidramon. I scrambled up and ran back towards Tai, who enfolded me in a quick embrace as we both watched the dark dragon above us tear through mega-leveled digimon like paper.
And they kept coming. More than I had thought at first. It seemed that the whole fortress was teeming with them. I looked at Takato and gasped.
He was making the same motions as BlackMegidramon, moving as he would, but standing in place. They roared as one.
Then Takato seemed to shake himself out of it, and pointed down through the hole.
"BlackMegidramon! Destroy the machine!"
BlackMegidramon complied, throwing himself down through the hole in the floor, but missing the pool that Beezlemon fell into. A burst of flame later, and the machine was destroyed.
BlackMegidramon flew back up through the hole in the ground, wings beating almost gently. Then he roared again, and threw himself back into the fray.
No more Machinedramon came to the other's rescue.
The machine must have been making these Machinedramon, in addition to whatever else it did…
Then Tai was dragging me out.
"Come on. Let's go while the going's good!"
We ran down and out, and were almost clear when the fortress began to shake, and then exploded…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I trailed off in my explanation as I caught sight of an arm.
"TK, over here, quick!"
He came over and started helping me lift rubble off of the form. It was Tai, hunched protectively over Koromon.
"Hey guys!"
We looked up, and Tai managed to stir a bit. Yolie, Ken, Cody and Davis were here. I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Come on. We have to find Takato."
Ken looked around.
"What about Beezlemon?"
I blinked a little, trying to hold back tears at Beezlemon's sacrifice.
"He… He didn't make it…"
Ken's head lowered.
"Oh no…"
I nodded, and wiped my eyes a little.
"Come on. Takato should be more in the center of this mess."
It was almost a half hour later when we found him, curled up in a ball next to BlackJyarimon.
Yolie found him first.
"I found him! He's over here!"
We all rushed over. Well, all but TK that is. He sort of lagged behind. I frowned and went over to him.
"What's wrong TK?"
He shook his head and tried to smile, but I could see right through it.
"Nothing Kari."
"You're lying, TK. Tell me."
He shook his head again.
"It's nothing, really."
Then, his eyes flashed. I turned to see Davis and Ken hoisting the still unconscious Takato up so they could carry him out. I narrowed my eyes.
"It's Takato isn't it?"
He sighed in defeat.
"Yeah it is. Happy?"
I closed my eyes for a moment.
"No."
TK growled. I looked up in shock.
"He's out of control Kari."
What?
"He's doing dangerous, stupid things, and he needs to be talked to about it."
My eyes narrowed.
"Were you listening to a thing I said?! Sure, it was dangerous, but he saved our lives in there! If he hadn't brought out BlackMegidramon, I'd be dead! Is that what you want?!"
TK was just angry enough to scream back.
"YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN IN THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!!"
"What?!"
My voice was low and flat. I didn't like this at all. He quieted as well, but his voice was still hard as a rock.
"You heard me. You shouldn't place yourself in that kind of trouble."
"It's my choice TK."
He growled again. He couldn't come up with a counter argument, but he was still angry. I acted on my first instinct. I slapped him. Hard. The sound echoed through the immediate area.
"I'm not your possession TK. But if you can't understand that, then I guess we're through."
Shocked silence. Everyone was staring at us. I hurried over to the group. I smiled at Ken and Davis.
"Can you two get Tai and Koromon? I think Yolie and I can handle Takato here, but Tai might be a bit much."
They nodded mutely and went over to get Tai, and then we left. TK stayed in the rubble for a while. Long enough I didn't see him come through the digiport anyways. But that suited me just fine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I groaned as we exited the digiport at Tai's. At least we weren't falling on top of each other anymore. I helped Kari load Tai into his bed, then waved as we left to go back home. She was staying to make sure he was alright, probably until Sora came to relieve her. I turned to Yolie.
"Let me drop you off."
She smiled a bit.
"No, that's okay. I should help you get Takato up to your apartment anyways."
I nodded, and we got into the car. I turned to look at the unconscious passengers in the back seat.
Takato didn't seem to have too many injuries, which seemed strange since he was right in the center of the blast.
The things Takato seems capable of…
I heard Yolie sigh next to me.
"What's wrong?"
She smiled a bit, but couldn't seem to manage it. She gave up.
"Oh, I don't know, just that Takato was able to do that. It doesn't seem… right."
I grimaced.
"You mean create a creature of mass destruction and pure evil?"
She looked at me sharply.
"You stop that Ken! I've told you over and over that is wasn't your fault! Start listening to me!"
I gulped a little.
"Yes, Ma'am."
She sighed again as I pulled into the parking lot and we exited the car. She started talking again as we brought him into the apartment.
"No, it's not about BlackMegidramon. Well, not entirely about that. That, I actually think I understand. They were angry. They had just seen one of their best friends get killed, and were about to be killed themselves, along with more friends. That's enough to make anyone really angry at the cause. It's just what Kari said about them being… linked. That they lost control together."
I frowned as we lay Takato out on the bed.
"I'm not entirely sure about that Yolie."
"Oh?"
"Well, I don't think he lost control entirely. I mean, from what I saw, he was going after just about every thing that moved, but in Kari's story, BlackMegidramon went over top of them to get to the other Machinedramon. Not through them. Almost as if…"
"…He was trying to protect them…"
Yolie finished for me and frowned in concentration as we exited the bedroom. She continued.
"Maybe you're right. Maybe he hadn't completely lost it there. But it was still really close. I don't know. It's not even that really. It that the power at his control is… well, um…"
"Frightening?"
She nodded as we sat on the couch.
"Yeah. That's it. Frightening. I mean, Mega levels that WarGreymon was having trouble with were nothing to it."
She curled up next to me and rested he head on my shoulder. She took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I don't think Takato would ever intentionally hurt us Yolie."
"I know, I just… ugh."
"You don't like feeling afraid."
She nodded.
"Yeah…"
I smiled down at her, and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips before pulling back.
"Don't worry. I'm sure everything will feel better in the morning."
"You're right. I'm being silly. I should be going though, it's getting a little late."
She made no move to get up though, and snuggled a little closer. We just sat like that for a while, enjoying each other's presence, and eventually, we fell asleep.