Well what do you know, I'm back. I'm not sure how long it's been since I've updated, but I'm sure its been a couple months. Work on this story has been slow because, to be honest, I'm getting tired of it. I do intend to finish it though, so no worries. I just may wind up ending it earlier than I probably should. I have my reasons.
Anyway, you've waited long enough, enjoy Chapter 6
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Chapter 6: Labramon Vs. Mushroomon
It was the second day of the tournament, and I felt sick. I was paranoid as hell. My eyes darted back forth to every person surrounding me. There sure were a lot of people.
I stood, along with the other fifteen comabatalists that had qualified for the tournament, on the battle floor. What had recently been several small battle rings had now been converted into one large ring. The bleachers that surrounded the arena were full. I had heard tickets to the tournament had been very difficult to get. Every last seat was filled. I feared every last one of them; regardless of how insignificant they may seem.
Questions raced through my mind, as I examined, one-by-one, the thousands of individuals watching me. Did they have something to do with Digimon becoming biological? Were they working with Saqure? Were they hiding something from me like my uncle was?
I knew it was paranoid, I knew it was irrational, I knew that my suspicions were undoubtedly false. It didn't matter. My anxieties were getting the best of my good judgement today. I was scared, so I let the paranoia take over. It was driving me insane.
Labramon nudged my leg with her nose. "Relax, you were getting better about all this yesterday. You were enjoying it. What happened?"
Did she really have to prod like that? What was bothering me was none of her damn business! I could handle the betrayal of my closest and dearest relative on my own.
It was so frustrating! I wanted scream! I didn't, it was better to just keep it all inside.
I shook my head. "I don't know, bad memories I guess."
"Bull!" Labramon yelled. "You were dealing with that problem yesterday. You had a certain look on your face when you were dealing with bad memories. This is something different - what's wrong?"
"Nothing!" I snapped. "Just leave it okay."
She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine - for now."
Alex laughed. "She's just nervous about the tournament." He said to Labramon. "You know Krystal, she's always been a little closed off. She doesn't do well with crowds. Especially crowds that are putting their full attention on her. And I'm sure all those television cameras don't help either." He turned to me. "Don't worry about it. Try to ignore the people watching you and just enjoy the tournament - you'll do fine."
It took quite a bit of strength not to laugh at that last comment. "You'll do fine," as if I was worried about how I was going to do in this tournament anymore. That was the last thing on my mind. I didn't even need the money anymore. I continued to stay in this tournament for a greater purpose. Unfortunately it was that "greater purpose" that was tearing my mind apart.
Something horrible was going to happen today. I could feel it in my gut, and as much as I hated it, I needed to be here; not only to find out what it was, but to do whatever I could to deal with it.
Damn sense of duty!
Suddenly, the building's lights cut off, and the chatter in the bleacher immediately died down. Only a small portion of the stadium, which was illuminated by a spotlight, was lit up. This was all followed up by the flutter of large insect wings echoing in the darkness.
I laughed and rolled my eyes upon hearing the sound. "Oh you've got to be kidding me."
Tentomon - Izzy's Tentomon - quickly fluttered into the spotlight, and landed on the battle floor.
"Greeting combatalists and fans!"
His announcement was followed up by a cheer from the crowd. I rolled my eyes again, and this time without laughing.
"Welcome to the fifth annual Digital Combat tournament. I will be your handsome and talented Master of Ceremonies." The little insect Digimon took a bow. "As I'm sure most of you know, Izzy normally hosts these things, but unfortunately he's...um...busy...at the moment..."
I twitched at that pause. I thought back to Cam's phone conversation last night.
Tentomon went on. I tried to listen to him. "...so all you lucky folks get to see my pretty little insectoid mug instead!"
There was a slight chuckle amidst the crowd at that last remark. Tentomon quietly groaned, obviously expecting a larger reaction to his attempt at a joke. Ignoring it, he went on with his speech. He began to fly again, hovering a couple feet off the ground.
"This proves to be one of the most exciting Digital Combat tournaments ever! And I'm not just saying that because it's something we say every year! This year we have some very interesting Combatalists in the tournament."
He flew to the right side of the battle floor where the spotlight now illuminated one of the combatalists.
"I'm sure you all know our reigning champion - Adam!"
Adam was about my age, though he was quite tall for fourteen. He was several inches taller than me in fact - and man was he cute. He had the the thickest, most beautiful head of blonde hair. It flowed down to his shoulders like - like - sexy flowing things - er something. Lastly, he was also very - uh...well built. Very well built.
I gave my cheek a smack to stop the grin that had almost appeared. Those thoughts hadn't just gone through my head had they?
Oh! And his Digimon was a Crabmon.
The crowd gave an eruptive cheer at the mention of his name. And he revelled in it! He threw his hands up in victory, as if he had already won the tournament.
"You can all look forward to me kicking total ass in this tournament," he declared. "You know you've got to pity any the jokers here that go up against me."
A large portion of the crowd seemed to agree. They cheered their heads off at that last remark, especially the females. Amongst the cheers were several cat calls, and "I love yous," to which Adam responded by blowing kisses.
I rolled my eyes and turned my attention to Alex. "Pathetic. Does he do this every tournament?"
Alex laughed a response. "Sure does. He's been an ego maniac ever since he won the third tournament."
I stole a glance at Adam's showboating. "Is he really that good?"
Alex laughed again. "I seriously doubt it. Crabmon is just one of the few Digimon who can Digivolve. Adam orders him to Digivolve at the beginning of every battle. Few Digimon nowadays can stand up against a Champion. I doubt he has any strategy in mind. He relies on power alone, and because there hasn't been another Champion to fight him, he's never lost. Izzy, and any other elite Digidestined that ever chose to compete retired after the second tournament."
I gave an understanding nod. "Ah, big fish in a small pond syndrome huh?"
"Yeah, I wonder which one of us will get the chance to knock him on his sorry butt."
I shrugged. "Who knows. Still, for a an arrogant asshole, he's pretty -"
I stopped myself. What the hell was I thinking? Well, I knew what I was thinking. I was thinking this guy was hot. But what was I thinking almost saying it out loud.
Alex and Lopmon cocked an eyebrow at me in confusion, while Labramon just laughed.
"He's pretty - what?" Alex and his Digimon said in unison.
"Nothing - nothing." I said quickly. "Just - just thinking out loud."
They still looked inquisitive, but that seemed to be enough to calm them for now. I did however, need to give Labramon a kick to stop her from laughing.
Adam finally finished taking in the crowds cheers, and Tentomon's introduction was allowed to continue.
"You know Adam," Tentomon said. "Normally I would agree with you, but we have several powerful combatalists this year; many of which have powers that rival your own."
In an instant, the spotlight flashed off. My eyes didn't get a second to adjust to the darkness before I was blinded by the spotlight. All eyes were now on Labramon and I. Tentomon quickly zoomed over to the centre of the battle floor where we stood, hovering above our heads.
"Allow me to introduce your competition Adam," he said. "The Masked Digidestined!"
The crowd gave a cheer. It wasn't nearly as loud as kudos they had given Adam, but I still seemed to have some fans out there.
"Not much is known of this masked combatalist. We do however know that she is very skilled. She breezed her way through the preliminaries thanks to one special ability that the two of you share -Digivolution! However, there is more to her power than just that. She not only holds a D3, but a crest as well!"
I fought the urge to swat that bug. The extra attention was annoying, but I certainly didn't wanting him blabbing that I had a crest. That little tidbit of information was only supposed to get me into the tournament, and the explosion of surprised gasps didn't make me feel any better.
Paranoia filled my mind. Did they suspect who I was? This wasn't a comic book after all. Anyone who really knew me could see who was really under this mask. And if they did, would they put two and two together? Would they figure out that if I had a crest and D3, I was Kris and Jenn's daughter? That was the last thing I needed. Maybe entering this tournament was a bad idea.
Tentomon concluded my introduction. "She is truly a force to be reckoned with."
The spotlight shifted again. This time to Alex and Lopmon, and, like he had done for both Adam and I, he moved to hover above their heads.
"And the power of Digivolution doesn't stop there! Here we have Alex and his partner Lopmon! They recently Digivolved to the champion level during the preliminaries!"
Alex seemed to have a fan base himself. A portion of the crowd gave him a loud cheer. He handled it a lot better than me. He took a graceful bow at the applause, soaking in the kudos.
He was certainly enjoying all of this. He was different than Adam though. Adam took the applause like an arrogant jerk. Alex was simply appreciating the fame he didn't often get.
Tentomon went on. "However, there's more Digivolution to come!."
The spotlight shifted once again. It illuminated another kid our age, there was a Monodramon at his side. He looked to be having about as much fun as I was. Like Alex and I he seemed to have a group of fans cheering for him, however I doubted he even noticed them; even if he did, he didn't care. He stood with his arms crossed, eyebrows scrunched in an intense, yet confident, look on his face as he stared at the floor.
"RJ!" Tentomon yelled, fluttering over to the newcomer.
Alex and I exchanged confused looks.
"Who the hell is that?" I asked.
Alex tilted his head as he stared at RJ. "I'm not sure, but he looks familiar."
"This is a special treat for us," Tentomon said. "RJ too holds a D3 and crest, which he inherited from his parents: Rob and Emily, two of the elite Digidestined."
"That's it!" Alex yelled. "That's Robert! My cousin."
I laughed. "Your cousin? How could you not recognize your own cousin."
"Well - it's been about five years since I last saw him. There was an incident with my aunt - his mother - about four years ago. I'm not sure of the details - she and my uncle got separated, or divorced - or something, and since Rob and my father never really got along, we haven't really visited since then."
"Hmmm," I said. "Four of the Digidestined children are here at the tournament."
"Yeah," Alex replied. "Quite a coincidence."
I shook my head. "I don't think so."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh nothing, nothing." I said quickly. "Just thinking out loud again."
"Okay," he said doubtfully.
"Needless to say, we have quite an impressive lineup this year," Tentomon announced. "So far we have three combatalists with both a D3 and a crest, and at least three whose Digimon can reach the Champion level. Impressive, right?" The crowd cheered a response. "That's not where it ends though. The combatalist I am about to introduce is even more impressive than that!"
Once again the spotlight shifted. I almost peed myself when I saw who the spotlight now highlighted.
Saqure!
Impossible! I eliminated him in the preliminaries.
It sure looked like him anyway. He was dressed in the same pitch black gi-like clothing Saqure was, mask and all. There was one subtle difference though. The eye-domes on his mask were orange instead of purple, as were his belt and wrist bands. That subtle little difference could mean it wasn't Saqure. He did say he had a "companion."
"Introducing Fonce!" Tentomon announced. "Not only does he hold a D3 and crest, like many of his potential opponents, but what makes him truly special is his Digimon!"
"Well what do you know," Alex said, as he stared in Fonce's direction.
It was then that I noticed what the big deal with this guy was. I had been so focused with Fonce himself I hadn't even noticed.
It was a Wizardmon! That was strange on a number of levels. Not only was his primary form a Champion, but a Wizardmon no less! No Wizardmon had existed since Myotismon had destroyed the original twenty-eight years ago. Myotismon had done the impossible that day. He had actually killed a Digimon. That had never happened before. Not even Izzy had been able to figure out how he had done it.
Regardless, Wizardmon's death almost three decades ago had flushed his data from the digital gene pool. None had Digivolved into existence since.
Tentomon went on with his speech about how amazing Fonce was. I didn't think he was so amazing. The only thing I sensed from that guy was pure evil. It was the same feeling I got from Saqure.
Regardless, I wasn't listening. I drifted away from my surroundings, and escaped into my mind. Another complication had just been added to an already complicated situation.
Not good! I didn't need another thing to worry about. I felt like my world was falling apart. It seemed like there was something wrong with everything I looked at, and frankly I was getting sick of it! It wasn't just this tournament anymore. It was life in general. Hell, I didn't even feel like I could trust my family anymore. If I got an uneasy feeling from Cam, I had even more reason to suspect Fonce and Saqure. These two were obviously more than just suspicious looking combatalists. There was something sinister behind them.
I didn't need this! I wanted to scream! I wanted to go back to the day I was only worrying about getting money for my uncle. Was that really just yesterday?
Labramon gave me a sudden nudge. "Krystal! You're doing it again!"
"Doing what?" I asked, once again shaking myself back into reality.
"Staring off into space like that, but it's worse this time. You're sweating, twitching, and shaking. What's wrong."
I shook my head in an attempt to throw off the symptoms Labramon had just described. "Nothing. I'm just nervous about the tournament."
"Once again -bull! This is much more than simple stage fright. Something's wrong. I know some weird stuff is going on, but I can tell there's something you're not telling me."
I turned my head shamefully away. "Look, could you just leave it for now."
She let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, go ahead and close up on me."
I suppose I could have said something, but I didn't really have the strength to open up to her right now. For now I'd just let it go. Maybe later, when the time was right, I'd tell her about Cam - maybe. For now I just gave my head a shake and turned my attention back on the tournament.
Focus Krystal, I told myself. If you're going to find out what's going on, you need to stay in the tournament, and that's not going to happen if you don't focus.
Tentomon was just finishing up his introduction of the less-important combatalists.
"Now that you all know the combatalists..." he announced. "...now we'll find out who will be fighting each other."
At that moment, the spotlight illuminating him shut off, and the giant plasma screen scoreboard lit up.
"Allow me to turn your attention to our board!"
The screen split into two images. One of which were eight tournament brackets - leaving room for sixteen participants. The second image were pictures of each of these sixteen participants, including Alex and myself. The image changed again, and for a moment only the tournament brackets remained. That is until the images appeared next to them.
"Now our computer will randomly select the combatalists' place in the tournament."
The pictures suddenly began to flash, changing between the sixteen different pictures. The flashing gradually slowed until they stopped completely, with each picture lying next to a bracket, determining who would fight who.
My picture wasn't difficult to find. I was in the first match - fucking fabulous.
"And the battles are decided!
"First is The Masked Digidestined and Labramon vs. Tony and Mushroomon!
"Second is Gary and Impmon Vs. Allan and Biyomon!
"Third - David and Betamon Vs. Adam and Crabmon!
"Fourth we have Josh and Goblimon Vs. Ian and Damemon!
"Fifth is Alex and Lopmon Vs. Erica and Kokuwamon!
"In in our sixth battle we have Billy and Candlemon Vs. RJ and Monodramon!
"Seventh shall be Kenta and Gomamon Vs. Jack and Kunemon!
"And last but not least we have Wendy and Hagrurumon Vs. the mysterious Fonce and Wizardmon!"
Tentomon paused for a moment to catch his breath before he went on. "We will allow our competitors a ten minute break. Then we will begin our first match. Good luck combatalists!"
Tentomon fluttered to the side of the battle floor as the lights flickered on.
A Mushroomon! This had to be some kind of a joke right? How on earth did he make it to through the preliminaries?
It was true Mushroomon were powerful in groups, but alone they were pathetic. They didn't do much more than release spores, and slow moving spores at that. I might as well have a buy again.
With things settled down for the moment I, along with the other combatalists, made our way to the participant's box at the side of the arena. The participant's box was a temporary roofed in area, where the combatalists could easily watch the battles. It was kind of like the dugout at a baseball game.
I took a seat on the hard wooden bench inside the box. Labramon leaped up beside me. As uncomfortable as it was, it was relaxing enough for me.
"Kokuwamon," Alex said, as he and Lopmon sat down beside us.
"Excuse me?" I asked.
Alex jerked his thumb to a woman on the end of the box; she had a Kokuwamon at her side. I looked up at the giant screen. Yep, she was Alex's first opponent. I recognized her. She was my Digital Sciences teacher. Though, to be honest, I didn't really care. I had more sense to say that out loud though.
Lopmon laughed. "Looks like a walking tazor to me."
I sighed, and coldly spoke. "Don't underestimate your opponents."
"She's right," Alex said. "Kokuwamon don't look like much, but their electrical powers are unmatched by rookie Digimon."
"Not to mention their speed," I added. "Most Champion Digimon are slower than them. They're admirable opponents. You might even have trouble with them as Turueimon, which is more than you can say about my opponent."
Lopmon crossed his arms and grunted. "Someone's being a bit hypocritical."
I sighed and shook my head. "Completely different. I know what Mushroomon are capable of - which isn't much. I'm not judging a book my it's cover."
Labramon grunted. "I wouldn't say that."
Choosing to ignore Labramon, I placed my hands behind my head and leaned back on the bench. I had a few minutes, and I planned to use every one of them to relax. Not that I would need to. I doubted this next battle would be very stressful. Unfortunately I was only able to relax for about a minute.
"You're the Masked Digidestined? You've got to be kidding?"
Reluctantly, I opened one of my eyes. The voice belonged to that Tony kid; he and his Mushroomon were standing over me.
"Is there anything you'd like?" I said, glaring at him with my one open eye.
"No, not really," he said smugly. "I'm just checking out my opponent before the match."
"Yeah, yeah, that's very um - admirable. Now, our battle isn't for another couple of minutes. Please leave me alone until then."
I closed my eye, hoping to relax. Unfortunately it wasn't going to happen; Tony's voice tore into my head once again.
"You know, you think a combatalist with your skill would be preparing for an upcoming battle."
Sighing, I opened my eyes, and turned my head in his direction. It looked like I was going to be forced into actually talking to this guy.
"I am preparing," I said.
He grunted. "Looks like you're relaxing to me."
"Relaxing is preparation," I responded. "It isn't good to go into a battle when you're tense."
Tony laughed and shook his head. "You've got to be kidding; that's ridiculous. First of all, tension is a good thing. It makes you more aware of what's going on, and quickens you're response time. Secondly, your just sitting around and relaxing like an idiot - you're not even thinking of the battle."
"Uh no-" I said, getting very annoyed. "First of all. Tension may make you make decisions faster, but if you're not relaxed, you make the wrong ones. Secondly, I only think of a battle when it's worth thinking of. You're little ball of fungus is hardly a match for my Labramon."
He grinned and grunted again. "You know, I've seen you fight. You have incredible skill. I was actually worried about going up against you. But now I see you're no different from that Adam kid. You're arrogant - you're a big fish in a small pond, and that's exactly the opponent we prepared for. Mushroomon and I are going to mop the floor with you."
"Attention," Tentomon announced, as all turned their attention to the battle floor. "Our first battle will now begin. Will The Masked Digidestined, Tony, and their Digimon please make take their positions on the battle floor!"
I snorted. "Well, it looks like you'll get your chance."
Quickly, I stood up and pushed my opponents out of the way as I took my position. I had done it so abruptly, it was seconds later Labramon reached me.
Tony let out a cocky laugh as he and Mushroomon took their own position, opposite mine, on the battle floor.
"You're getting upset," he mocked. "Typical of an true amateur."
I clenched my fists. "I'll show you who's an amateur."
My head snapped upwards, where Tentomon was fluttering overhead.
"Will you start the battle already!" I snapped at him.
"Oh well -" Tentomon jerked back in surprise. "Yes! If you are both in position, and are - er - ready to fight, you may begin Digital Combat!"
At Tentomon's less than confident announcement, the crowd let out a powerful cheer. Not that I cared; my attention was locked onto that arrogant jerk and his pathetic little Mushroomon.
I acted immediately; Tentomon had barely finished announcing the match when I yelled out. "Labramon attack! Go all out! Show that fungus no mercy!"
She bolted! Teeth bared, and letting out a menacing growl.
At the first attack, Tentomon began giving the play-by-play. "The match begins with a direct assault by the Masked Digidestined and Labramon! I've seen those two fight before, and I must say, I do not envy that Mushroomon! Labramon's powerful jaws have dealt some heavy damage to many a Digimon. Why in my days battling on that floor, I've felt my share of Labramon jaws clamp onto my shell, and if this Labramon is as powerful as most others, Mushroomon is about to experience a world of pain!"
Tony acted quickly. "Dodge!" he commanded.
Mushroomon aimed his hands at the ground and shot out a stream of spores, propelling him into the air. Labramon's jaws snapped powerfully onto nothing but air. That didn't stop her though, she stopped short and lunged at Mushroomon just as he was landing. She charged once again with jaws ready to snap.
"Wow!" Tentomon announced, as Labramon charged. "I've never seen that before! Mushroomon are not known for their speed, but it seems that Tony has found a creative way to use his Mushroomon's spores like a rocket booster in order to speed up a normally slow Digimon! Will he be able to do it again. Labramon is pretty quick herself, and dog Digimon don't tire easily."
"Incapacitate it NOW!" Tony yelled, as if in desperation.
He was right to look so desperate. Labramon was too fast. Mushroomon wouldn't be able to dodge forever. Labramon was too fast, and her jaws were too powerful.
In fact she was just inches away from landing a bite when -
"Inhibitor spore!" Mushroomon yelled.
It was as if he exploded! A cloud of spores burst from his body surrounding a small area around him, which, of course, included Labramon. She immediately froze, putting an immediate end to her attack, taking the full force of the explosion of spores.
The cloud of spores was small, but ridiculously thick. I couldn't even see past it to see Tony. I did however hear is ear grinding laughter.
I felt a mixture of annoyance and fear shoot through me. What had that bastard done to Labramon. Mushroomon were old Digimon, so I knew all of their attacks; and that last one was completely new to me.
I was relieved to see that when the cloud of spores cleared, Labramon was fine. She just stood in front of Mushroomon with a look of surprise on her face.
"Labramon!" I yelled. "Are you okay? What did does spores do? Are you poisoned? Paralysed? Confused? Sleepy?"
Labramon quickly snapped at me. "Stop naming RPG status conditions, and give me a minute figure that out!"
I froze and gave Labramon a moment to look herself over. When she had finished she chuckled.
"I feel completely fine," Labramon said with a sly grin. "That spore didn't do a thing. It must have been a blinding attack."
I turned that possibility in my head. It seemed possible. I trusted that if anything was wrong with Labramon she would be able to figure it out, and she wasn't showing any symptoms that inhibiting spore usually cause. She was fine; that spore could only have been a blinding attack.
"It looks as if Tony has just made a vital mistake folks," Tentomon announced. "He released a blinding attack, which incapacitated Labramon for a few seconds. However, for some reason, he did not take advantage of it."
Tentomon was right. Why hadn't Mushroomon attacked? He had the perfect chance. There was something to that spore, something that neither Labramon were seeing. Tony really should have ordered Mushroomon to attack.
Even now, when with Labramon acting overconfident, and me trying to figure all this out, Tony wasn't taking advantage of it. She just stood there, staring at us with an arrogant grin.
He was up to something, but damned if I knew what it was.
The audience surrounding us wasn't helping either. They cheered my name, encouraging me to attack. As much as I enjoyed the support, it was distracting.
I had no plans of disappointing them though. I'd have to just continue the battle normally. "Enough of this! Labramon attack! Physical assault!"
Once again, with teeth bared, Labramon lunged.
"Dodge!" Tony ordered. "Try to wear it out."
Once again Mushroomon fired a stream of spores at the ground, propelling him into the air, and once again Labramon's jaws snapped at nothing, and Mushroomon landed a few feet away.
"Once again an amazing display of spores and aerobatics!" Tentomon said. "Mushroomon has once again dodged Labramon's powerful jaws. Can he keep it up?"
I smiled at Tentomon's last words. I knew the answer. Of course he couldn't. Labramon had come closer to Mushroomon than she had before. Not only that, but Mushroomon's stream of spores had fired him a shorter distance than the last time. It was Mushroomon that was wearing out, not Labramon.
"Try again Labramon!" I instructed. "It can't keep that up forever."
Labramon charged for a third time, reaching Mushroomon in no time, and her jaws quickly snapped shut.
The crowd gasped, and Tentomon winced as Mushroomon fired his third get stream. He avoided Labramon's third attack by millimetres, and when he landed he was less than a foot away from his opponent.
"That's enough Mushroomon," Tony said. "It's not going to wear out. Go to plan B."
Mushroomon nodded. "Right."
"I don't know what plan B is," I said. "But I'm not going to let you use it. Labramon! It's tired - attack! It's mushy little body won't withstand your teeth."
For a fourth time, Labramon charged with teeth bared. Mushroomon acted quickly. He raised his fist toward Labramon and fired a stream of spores right at her.
"Ha!" I laughed. "That won't stop her."
"Those aren't the same spores girly," Tony said, chuckling.
I suddenly realized he was right; the stream of spores began to change. It began to take the shape of something - the shape of a fist!
Before Labramon could even respond the spore-first plowed right into her, sending her rolling across the battle-floor, and finally coming to a stop at my feet.
In an instant, I was on my knees beside her. "Are you alright."
She struggled to her feet. "Yeah fine. Was that really a cloud of spores that hit me? It felt like I ran into a brick wall."
I looked up as I heard both Tony and Mushroomon chuckle. Mushroomon laughed especially loud, as he waved his hand through the air. The spore-fist hadn't faded away yet. It remained attached to Mushroomon's arm as if it was an extension of his body.
I - along with everyone else in the arena, stared in awe as Mushroomon victoriously waved his new arm around.
"I-I can't believe this," Tentomon said in disbelief. "Mushroomon has somehow used his spores to create a new, more powerful arm! And judging by how far Labramon rolled, this new arm has incredible strength."
Tony continued laugh. "We thought you'd like that. But it's not over yet. Mushroomon complete the transformation.
I couldn't help but take an intimidated step back as Mushroomon raised his arm above his head, raising the spore-arm with him. Then he raised his other arm, and fired a second stream of spores. That second stream soon formed into a second, and equally powerful spore-arm.
Then, as if things couldn't get any stranger, Mushroomon began to levitate into the air. No - he wasn't levitating - he was releasing two more streams of spores from his legs! Those two streams, soon formed two giant - spore legs.
The "transformation," had tripled Mushroomon's size. He low loomed over our heads.
"This looks like it's going to be a little tough," Labramon said, her voice full of fear.
"How - how?" I stuttered.
Tony laughed arrogantly. "You like?"
"Why this is simply amazing!" Tentomon announced. "Mushroomon has done more than just form an arm out of his spores. He's formed two arms, and two legs. Why - he's got an entire spore exo-suit!"
"That's impossible!" I yelled. "Mushroomon can't use their spores like that! Mushroomon are among some of the older Digimon, and I know them like the back of my hand. I've never heard of them doing anything like this."
"That's your problem," Tony said. "I've watched your fights, and there's no denying that you know your stuff. However, I've also noticed when some new attack comes up, you don't know what to do with yourself. Like your battle with Floramon. You knew nothing of the rainbow pollen attack. Hell, you didn't even know about Dorugamon's existence when you fought him. You've got your history down, but that's all you know. Digimon are living creatures, and like any living creature, they change, they adapt - they evolve. Of course they're going to learn new moves.
"That's why I'm going to win this fight. My Mushroomon is different than those of our parents' day. It can do a whole slew of things the old Mushroomon couldn't. Spore solidification for example."
"That thing won't stop me!" Labramon said, charging the new and improved Mushroomon.
"Labramon wait!" I yelled. "We don't know how powerful that thing has become."
Too late, there was no way I'd stop her know.
Tony grinned and spoke. "Crush it."
I didn't even have the time to at least try and call Labramon back. Mushroomon's spore-first came crashing down. Fortunately, Labramon was quick, and was able to leap out of the way of the giant fist and it's incredible power came down on the battle floor. When Mushroomon lifted his fist a sizable hole had been made in the battle floor.
Tony laughed that annoying chuckle once again. "I should probably mention, that with this 'spore suit', Mushroomon has strength equal to that of a Champion-level Digimon."
Labramon and I grinned at each other.
"Champion level huh?" I said, placing my hand on my D3. "Good, then it'll be a fair fight when I do this!"
Quickly, I unclipped my D3 from my waist, and pointed it at Labramon, and fired the Digivolution light straight at her.
"I was hoping I'd get to do this," Labramon chuckled as the light engulfed her.
I was ready to give Shisamon the order to attack as soon as the light cleared. There was no way those spore-limbs could stand up to Shisamon's jaws, and on the odd chance that they did, her energy attacks would rip them apart.
The light soon cleared. I began to yell out my instructions.
"Shisa- " I froze in mid-sentence, as I stared at my partner, who wore a shock of disbelief that matched my own. She hadn't Digivolved at all! I was still staring at Labramon.
Labramon looked over her undigivolved body. "What - the - hell?"
She turned towards me, shooting me a confused look. I only shrugged. Did I do something wrong? I hadn't done anything I didn't always do.
Throughout all of this Tony was laughing up a storm. "You figure it out yet? The attack I made earlier doesn't seem so pointless now, does it?"
I froze, as I put it all together. Mushroomon's explosion of spores earlier! They had-
"You jerk!" I yelled. "What did you do to Labramon!"
He continued to chuckle. "Don't worry it's not permanent. Normally the inhibitor spores are used to stop attacks that allow a Digimon to increase it's size. Like when Gotsumon adds pebbles on the ground to its body. See, when a Digimon increases it size it adds new data to itself. It's the same concept thing with Digivolution. The inhibitor spores coat the Digimon's data, temporarily weakening it's adhesiveness. That stops them from adding new data, which, quite conveniently for me, inhibits Digivolution."
Labramon shot me a concerned look. "What do we do now."
"Try moving!" I yelled.
Labramon screamed and leaped out of the way, just barely avoiding the giant spore-fist as it crashed into the ground.
"That's it!" Tony laughed maniacally. "Crush it! Crush it!"
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!"
One after the other, a fist came crashing down, and each time Labramon let out a yelp before she leaped out of the way.
"I can't believe this!" Tentomon announced. "Tony has just discovered a very creative way of stopping Labramon Digivolving, and now Labramon is desperately trying to dodge an onslaught of attacks from Mushroomon's spore-fists! What will the Masked Digidestined do now that she has lost her trump card?"
"That's it Labramon keep moving," I instructed.
Tony was beginning to get aggravated. "That mutt of yours can't dodge forever girl."
I grinned, and chuckled at my opponent. "Actually she can. Dog Digimon, like regular dogs, have very good endurance. Labramon could do this for hours without getting tired. Can you say the same about fungus-boy there?"
He wasn't chuckling at me anymore. He just stared at me through clenched teeth.
"Mushroomon! Stop missing! I said crush it."
"I'm trying, I'm trying," Mushroomon responded. "This thing's quick."
"Stop trying and hit it!" Tony ordered. "Those fists do more than just crush things."
Mushroomon's eyes opened wide. He had just realized something.
"Careful Labramon," I said. "They're up to something."
No sooner than those words left my mouth, Mushroomon attacked! His spore-fist suddenly exploded, creating blinding mist of spores.
WHAM!
The second fist struck while Labramon was blinded, and she rolled across the ring like a rag-doll.
I couldn't believe how fast it had happened. It baffled me, Mushroomon didn't have that kind of speed. Unless he let it out all in one burst. But that meant-
I stopped strategizing and turned my attention back to Labramon. My plan was useless if she had been knocked out by that last hit.
"Ugh," she grunted as she struggled to her feet.
"Are you alright?" I asked.
"My head is ringing but I'll be-"
WHAM! WHAM!
The spore fists struck! Labramon was hurled into the air by the blow. Mushroomon had reformed his other fist and attacked while Labramon was wounded.
"That's it!" Tony ordered. "Keep moving! Don't stop hitting it!"
I felt the wind hit me as Mushroomon rushed forward. I was amazed at how fast he was going. He was tiring slower than I thought.
His spore-fists struck again and again. Labramon was being hit from fist to fist like a beach ball! Okay, no problem, this could actually work in my favour. I just had to get Labramon free of those fists.
"Labramon, fire a Retrieve Bark at the ground."
I crossed my fingers. At this point I wasn't even sure if Labramon was conscious, let a alone capable of hearing me. I lucked out; a little pink energy ball crashed into the ground - right into one of Mushroomon's spore-foot!
It didn't destroy it, in fact it didn't even come close. But it did knock enough spores loose to spook Mushroomon, causing him to drop Labramon.
"Move!" I ordered. "Get over here next to me. Quick, you don't have much time."
She didn't do it very quickly, but she managed to leap forward, and took her place next to me. She was in worse condition than I thought. It could still work, but we only had one shot at this.
I double-checked Mushroomon. He stood holding his spore-arms confidently. Damn! I still couldn't be sure my plan would work. I needed to check something.
"Fire Labramon!" I ordered.
"Retrieve Bark!"
"Block it Mushroomon!" Tony ordered.
"Raaargh!" Mushroomon grunted, giving a mighty heave of his spore-arms and used them to block the energy ball.
I smiled. This was absolutely perfect.
"Attack Labramon! Go for the head!"
One shot. Labramon used what little energy she had and charged Mushroomon head on.
"Big mistake girl!" Tony yelled. "Your Digimon is too tired. This last hit will finish it." He gave Mushroomon a nod. "Finish it."
Giving a loud grunt - to my great relief - Mushroomon swung his mighty spore-fist at Labramon. But he did it too slowly! Labramon leaped, and landed on the fist. She then used it as to spring forward and-
"Aaaaah!" Mushroomon screamed in horrible pain as Labramon's jaws clamped onto his head.
That was it. All four of the spore limbs faded away, and the two Digimon fell to the ground. Labramon released her death-grip on Mushroomon's head, flipped over, delivered a swift kick to Mushroomon's head, and gracefully landed on her feet.
The kick sent Mushroomon rolling towards his partner - he lay there motionless.
Tony immediately knelt at his parnter's side. "Can you form the spore limbs again."
Mushroomon struggled to speak. "I-I don't think so."
"Of course you can't. You took two nasty hits there." He took Mushroomon into his arms and stood up, looking me straight in the eyes. "We're done here; Mushroomon's had enough; we surrender."
With a look of shock on his face, Tentomon fluttered down to Tony and Mushroomon. "Are you sure? As long as Mushroomon is conscious, you may continue the match."
Tony shook his head. "It's only a matter of time before he loses consciousness anyway. Continuing would be pointless, we've lost."
"That's it!" Tentomon announced, raising one of his insect-like hands. "Labramon and the Masked Digidestined are the winners!"
Tentomon's words send an enormous cheer through the crowd. They cheered. "Mask! Mask! Mask! Mask!"
I tried very hard not to roll my eyes. I really didn't need this.
In a second, Tentomon was in my face, shoving a microphone into it. Where the little guy got a microphone was a mystery.
"Congratualtions Masked Digidestined. I must admit for a moment I thought Tony was going to take the match. How on Earth did you manage to turn it around?"
I took a step back, and spoke hesitantly into the mike. "Well-I-uh - I noticed that Mushroomon was moving unusually fast, so I figured he was using a lot of extra energy. Not to - er- mention that -er-uh-those big -spore fists had to be pretty heavy. All of that had to be tiring it out, and - uh - once it was tired enough I knew it wouldn't be able to stop a head on assault. Which - well - it uh - didn't."
"A remarkable strategy!" Tentomon replied. "I have no doubt that this girl is going to go far."
"Indeed she will."
I quickly turned my head in the direction of the voice. It was Tony, he stood right next to me. I hadn't even noticed him move forward. He looked away from me, towards the crowd.
"You did a good job," he said, speaking in an emotionless voice. "You preyed on, identified, and attacked the one weakness in Mushroomon's spore exoskeleton. We worked on that technique for months, but Mushroomon could never get used to the weight of those fists. Using them wears him out too quickly. I was hoping you wouldn't notice, but you did. Regardless -"
He stopped suddenly, and began to walk away. Quickly, I turned and grabbed hold of his shoulder. He stopped.
I tightened my grip on his shoulder. "But?"
He continued to look away from me as he spoke. "But, you have one vital weakness yourself. You have clearly studied Digital history. You know it well, perhaps a little too well. That - girl, is your weakness. You are unable to respond to any new skills and techniques, you cannot adapt. You've learned, nor do you seem to wish to learn, anything knew about Digimon. If you had did, you would have been able to deal with Mushroomon's spore exoskeleton immediately.
"It baffles me really. How could any combatalist could not want to learn more about Digimon. Yet you - you seem to be stuck in the past. There is something within you, perhaps something bothering you, that is preventing you from learning anything new. Whatever it is, you must get over it. You were fortunate this time, but if you are unable to get over this, you will never become stronger, and you are destined to defeat."
With that said, he freed his shoulder of my hand and walked towards the seating area.
"Don't lose girl," he yelled as he left. "I can take some comfort in losing if I know I lost to the champion!"
Tentomon, Labramon, and I stood flabbergasted as he walked away. Tentomon was the first to shake it off and get on with the tournament.
"And that concludes the first match of the tournament!" he announced. I stepped down from the battle floor and Labramon and I made our way back to the competitor's box, while Tentomon continued his speech. "May I please ask the next two..."
"Alright guys!" Alex said. He placed a hand on my shoulder, congratulating us as we reached the competitor's box. "I knew the entire time you'd win."
I couldn't look at him. I only stood motionless and stared ahead, coldly.
"Krystal?" he said. "You okay. You won, you should be happy.
Annoyed, I slapped his hand off my shoulder. "I don't feel like I won. I got lucky, I've got something to learn."
Continuing to look away from him, I kept walking and took a seat on the bench. It looked as if he was about to say something to me, but Labramon stopped him. She knew I needed to be left alone. I'd thank her later if I felt up to it.
I cursed myself. Tony's words had actually gotten to me when they really shouldn't have. I couldn't stop the words from echoing in my head. "...if you are unable to get over this, you never become stronger, and you are destined to defeat."
It shouldn't bother me. Sure I recognized the flaw, I knew it had existed for a long time. I even knew what it was that was stopping me from learning about Digimon. It was painfully obvious to anyone who knew me. Yet now I actually wanted to get over it. I felt the need to become stronger. I could not afford to be defeated!
However, why did I feel this need. It wasn't for the tournament, that was for sure. I had all the strength I needed to win the tournament. Whatever it was, it was for something greater than all of this.
But if that was the case, why did it bother me that I didn't have this strength. I didn't care how great this cause was. I wanted no part of it. I had no intention in following in my parents footsteps. I didn't need to worry about shedding my weaknesses, and becoming stronger, nor did I want to, because I had no intention of using that strength. My involvement with Digimon ended with this tournament. Screw Izzy's training! I was done.
Yet, I knew I wasn't. My gut was bothering me again. The strength I lacked, was needed.
And so I was bothered.
Stupid Digimon!
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Actually I first intended to make the entire first round in this chapter, but as always it ran longer than I thought. I'll probably finish up the first round of the tournament in the next chapter. The tournament itself is starting to bore me, and I'm excited on moving onto the next part. I'll probably be updating more often once I do. As always I would GREATLY appreciate reviews, if not to improve my writing, to at least let me know that SOMEONE is reading this thing - it helps to motivate me to get it written faster. Hopefully you'll see an update within a month or so. No promises though. This story is no longer a priority to me.
Stay tuned for Chapter 7: Round One Continues
