'Kidnap Part 2: Sneasel's Gambit'
==
"Seth. Wake up!" Wizardmon shook his partner, who was still asleep.
"C'mon, Wizardmon" Seth said, blinking the sand out of his eyes. "I get a day off today, and I wanna sleep in for once."
"I am sorry, but a friend of mine is in trouble, and only you can help me get there."
Seth, having come to semi-consciousness, looked at Wizardmon, decided that it wasn't worth arguing the point, and got up. He took a few minutes to get dressed and cleaned up, left a note on the table telling his parents that he'd be out for a while, and went back to his room. "OK, what's the big emergency."
"I need you to get me to the digital world."
==
"Are you sure about this, Izzy" Ken said into the phone.
"Yes. I know this'll hurt, but it might not be a good idea for you to show up in Shogungeckomon's village just yet. If Flybeemon can get them worked up over stuff that Gatomon did a long time ago-"
"Then he'll have a field day when the Digimon Emperor shows up" Ken said resignedly.
"It's-" Izzy started, then stopped. He realized that it was exactly like that. "I'm sorry" Izzy said.
"Don't be. If you need me, call me."
Minomon hopped up onto Ken's bed as he placed the pokegear phone on his desk. "You could go anyway Ken. No one could stop you. We could even disguise ourselves."
Ken sighed a bit, shaking his head. "It's more logical for me to stay here. I don't have to like it, but what else can I do?"
The computer in Ken's room glowed, and Ryo and Charmeleon stepped out. "Hey, mind if an old friend stops by?"
"What...shouldn't you be at the trial?"
Charmeleon shook his head. "Nah. Ryo and I have done all we can, so Izzy said we should stop by and catch up. So, Minomon, how's it hanging?"
==
Friday afternoon finally came. Kari, Yolei, Izzy, and TK went to the digital world first; the rest of the team would follow when they had the chance to get away without arousing suspicion. Outside of the village, the newly established portal glowed, and the digidestined stepped out. Even at that distance from the town, they could hear shouts from the town center, where the trial was to take place.
"Did they start early" Yolei asked.
"No, Geckomon voices just carry really well" Hawkmon explained. "You can hear one whispering across a football field in the middle of a game." The group moved off.
On the way to the village, Kari noticed Izzy moving towards her. "Kari?"
"Y...yes?"
"Are you OK? I know this has been a really rough week for you and all."
"I..." Tell him, a part of her said. "I'm fine." She looked like she wanted to say more, but didn't. Wisely, Izzy didn't press her.
At the edge of town, Kyle greeted them, along with another human. "Where's Gatomon?" Kari asked, trying not to sound angry.
"We stalled them as long as possible, but they demanded the trial start today, so Starmon let it."
"But we were going to speak for her!" Izzy said angrily.
Kyle smiled a bit. "It's under control. Guys, this is Seth, he's a digidestined from America."
"Pleased to meet you" Seth said. "And don't worry, Gatomon got an old friend to speak for her."
==
"I object" Wizardmon said, controlled voice betraying only a hint of his anger. "The purpose of this trial is to determine Gatomon's innocence, not replay her past." Guarded by Patamon, Scizor, and Eevee, Gatomon couldn't believe that her old friend had come to her aid again.
"She's an agent of evil" Flybeemon roared, less in control of his emotions. "I am trying to establish that she is a killer!"
"Many of us did things we're not proud of" Wizardmon said, taking time to glance at the statue of Shogungeckomon, and several of the digimon in the crowd. Many of the watchers shuffled uneasily. "If you wish to try everyone who assisted Myotismon or the Dark Masters, or Etemon, or Devimon for that matter, then we will be here until the end of time! If you wish to call up her past, then maybe you can explain why the powers of Light chose her to be their representative! Will you call Ogremon up? He's guarding Primary Village now. Or what about Digitamamon? Or Mega Seadramon? Will you cast judgement on the entire digital world, Flybeemon?"
"That's enough" Starmon said, rapping the gavel on the hastily assembled podium. "We're hear for a trial, not speeches."
"Humph" Flybeemon snorted. "You're probably sold on her sob story too."
Starmon's eyes narrowed. "You doubtin' my judgement, boy? You keep this up, and I'll throw this case out and have you dragged outta here. I'm callin' five minutes for everyone to cool down." Starmon rapped the gavel on the table, and walked off.
"I think we have a good chance" Wizardmon said to his friend.
"Wizardmon?" Kari, having just arrived at the site of the trial, ran over to the digimon. "You're back?"
"It is good to see you again, Kari. I see you've already met Seth, my partner." Seth nodded, waved.
"I'm really glad you made it here" Izzy said. "Did you find anything?"
"Yeah" Patamon nodded. "Cyberarcanine was able to pick out traces of who attacked Shogungeckomon. We found traces of the attack used."
"Two slashes, not three" Kyle added. "Whoever did it has only two blades on whatever weapon was used. Plus we've already proven that Gatomon doesn't have nearly enough power to destroy an ultimate by herself."
"That'd still have to be a pretty quick attack," TK observed.
"Yeah, but it's not impossible" Ryp replied. "Heck, some pokemon know one shot knockout moves, why not digimon? Besides, with the amount of time between when Ninjamon left Shogungeckomon alone and the time he got back, there was only time for a single attack."
"What about the hypnosis" Yolei asked.
"That, we have no clue on" Kyle answered. "Lots of digimon have similar abilities; my guess it'd be someone aligned with whoever was creating all those control spire digimon you've been fighting."
"But why Gatomon" TK wondered. "Why go to all the trouble to frame her, and make it so easy to prove she's innocent?"
==
From a rooftop, Sneasel watched the proceedings. "Master," she said, "she's here."
Watching through Sneasel's eyes, Demon saw the digidestined gathered around Gatomon. "Excellent. Wait for my signal, then digivolve and attack. You know the plan."
==
The trial took the rest of the afternoon, but was looking good for Gatomon. Between the evidence that Kyle and Ryo were able to find, Izzy's and Wizardmon's arguments, and the jury realizing that Flybeemon's case was driven more by anger than evidence, which Ninjamon admitted was not necessarily 100% accurate, Kari's spirit began to lift up.
"Has the jury reached a decision?"
"Verdict, Mr. Starmon sir" One of the Geckomon supplied.
"Whatever. You all made up your minds?"
One of the Floramon stood up. "Well, we thought about it, but there's not enough evidence to prove Gatomon did it. She's innocent."
"WHAT" Flybeemon roared. "NO! I refuse to accept that!" Scizor moved between the angry digimon and Gatomon. Starmon got up, ready to tell Flybeemon to sit the heck down, when a roar stopped everyone.
A giant black catlike monster, licks of flame on its fur, landed in front of Gatomon. "Lynxmon" Eevee yelled. With a roar, Lynxmon knocked Patamon and Eevee clear, grabbed Gatomon in her mouth, and took off. All that before anyone could even react.
"Gatomon" Kari yelled, running after them, the rest of the digidestined following. Dimly, she heard the partner digimon digivolve, but she was more focussed on finding her friend.
==
Gatomon came to, wondering if she had dreamed the last week. Then, she felt cold iron on her arms, and found she was chained to a wall. She struggled, but couldn't break free. Then a figure walked out of the shadows towards her.
"So, you're awake" Sneasel said. "That's good. I want you to know what's going to happen."
"Who are you" Gatomon demanded. "Are you the one that framed me?"
Sneasel bowed. "But of course. And before you get any fancy ideas of your friends rushing to your rescue, I should tell you that I never really wanted you destroyed."
"What are you talking about!" Then, horrified, she watched as Sneasel's body rippled and shifted into an exact likeness of Gatomon's! Then it occurred to her. Something about the way this enemy moved. "You're...you're a pokemon."
"Once," Sneasel allowed. "But I've gotten much better than any stupid human could have taken me. Don't worry, I'll take good care of Kari while you're out." Savoring Gatomon's frantic struggles, Sneasel left the small room.
==
Kari kept searching, running down one street after another. She had begun to tire, her desperation and fear for the safety of her friend not able to keep the fatigue away. Near collapse, Kari leaned against a wall, breathing heavily. "Gatomon, where are you?"
A faint gust of wind caught her attention. Looking, she saw Scizor there, looking at Kari, concern on his face. "Did you find her?" Scizor shook his head, indicating he didn't. "I know she's near, but I can't go any further."
Scizor thought for a second, then extended an arm. Looking at Kari, Scizor nodded to her. "You're offering me a lift?" Scizor nodded again, kneeling a bit so Kari could climb on. Kari wrapped her arms around the pokemon's neck, and got ready. "That way," she said, feeling a bit silly. The bug pokemon nodded, and jumped.
==
The digidestined had split up into several groups, trying to find Gatomon and Lynxmon. Seth, and Wizardmon were searching one area when they heard the sound of struggles inside a house. Shurimon shattered the door, and they found Gatomon chained to a wall.
"You have to get me out of here! She's after Kari!" As soon as Wizardmon broke the chain holding her, Gatomon darted past the two and out the door, rapidly vanishing from sight.
"What's with her" Seth asked, frustrated.
"She's scared. Scared and angrier than I've ever seen her." Wizardmon scanned the area, looking for Gatomon. "We have to find her. In her current mental state, she may walk into a trap."
"This is taking too long. Shurimon, we can go faster if you digivolve to Aquilamon!"
"Right." Shurimon nodded, glowed, and reverted to Hawkmon. "Hawkmon, digivolve to...Aquillamon!"
"Let's get on" Wizardmon said to Seth. "Gatomon has a better chance of finding Kari than we do!"
==
"Up there!" Kari called, pointing to a rooftop. Scizor nodded, and, jumping from roof to roof, landed where Kari had indicated.
"Kari? is that you?" From behind a pile of boxes, Gatomon limped out, one of her claw-gloves missing.
"Gatomon!" Kari hopped down from Scizor's grip, and ran over to the digimon. "Where's Lynxmon?"
"He got away," Gatomon replied. "I think I injured her, but she said something about getting help from someone. If we follow her, we can find out who framed me." Gatomon hopped down. "Come on." Gatomon walked to the edge of the roof, and Kari started to follow her.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" As Kari and Scizor watched, a second Gatomon leaped onto the first Gatomon and the two started fighting.
The real Gatomon didn't say much; she was too enraged by what Sneasel had done to her, and had implied she would do to Kari, to think or fight rationally. In addition, the week had drained her, both physically and emotionally.
Which had been Sneasel and Demon's plan all along. Dodging a pair of swipes from Gatomon, Sneasel backhanded the digimon, knocking her out. "Pathetic," Sneasel said, tracing a claw under Gatomon's chin. Gatomon stirred, but couldn't regain consciousness yet. Confident that all the obstacles were out of the way, Sneasel let her disguise drop.
Kari backed away from the creature. "You're not Gatomon" she said, scared.
Sneasel gave the girl an evil grin, stepping past the unconscious Gatomon. "You will come with me now, yes?" Scizor stepped in front of the evil pokemon, intent on defending Kari. The bug pokemon growled a challenge, which Sneasel, claws extended and continuing to wear that evil smile, agreed.
Kari blinked, and almost missed the two pokemon battle. Scizor and Sneasel were almost matched for Agility; Scizor's steel-like skin gave him a powerful advantage. It was the type of battle that Scizor would normally have won. Kari saw that the bug pokemon had already landed several powerful blows with his claws, and that Sneasel was unable to do any real damage to the pokemon she was fighting.
"So, I see that fool can train a decent fighter. Let's see how you do against an opponent that can do this! Sneasel, Digivolve to...Lynxmon!" With a flash, the small catlike pokemon changed into a giant flaming cat that Kari recognized instantly. "You're the one...Scizor, she can use fire attacks" she yelled, remembering what Scizor was weak against. "Be careful!"
Lynxmon ignored the girl, focussing on the greater threat. Scizor leaped, trying to figure out how to battle this new opponent; he noted that Sneasel's digivolution seemed to regenerate her wounds, while Scizor had not fully recovered from his fight with Sneasel. The two battled for a few seconds, Scizor parrying Lynxmon's Wild Nail Rush and Fury Cutter attacks. Tiring of this, Lynxmon jumped back and launched a wave of fire at Scizor.
Scizor jumped over the attack, and retaliated with a Hyper Beam. Lynxmon almost dodged that attack, her back right leg getting grazed by the powerful attack. "So, you're fast on your feet" Lynxmon snarled. "But can you beat this?" A second wave of flame was launched, this one aimed at Kari!
To his credit, Scizor didn't hesitate for a second; he didn't have time to move Kari clear, so he interposed himself between her and the attack. Horrified, Kari watched as the wave of fire washed over Scizor.
However, the bug pokemon, forewarned by Kari, had been expecting this type of attack. He recalled Kyle teaching him a special variant of the Swords Dance technique that one of the gym leaders in the Johto region used. Extending his wings and spinning in place, Scizor was able to deflect most of the flame away from himself and Kari. He still felt the heat bite into him, as his body conducted some of the heat from the attack right into him.
Kari stepped back, dust kicked up by Scizor's defense blinding her for a second. "Are you alright," she asked, worried that Scizor might not be able to beat this opponent. Her fear quickly turned to anger, and she stared defiantly at Lynxmon, trying to figure out how to fight this monster. Beside her, she saw Gatomon slowly get up, having recovered from the fight with Sneasel.
"Do we have to do this all day" Lynxmon asked, limping slightly as she advanced on Kari and Gatomon. Her next words were lost as a pair of lighting blasts hit her. On the opposite end of the rooftop, Aquillamon landed, and Yolei, Seth, and Wizardmon hopped off the bug digimon's back. Behind Kari, Kabuterimon landed on the rooftop, carrying Izzy.
"Get away from her" Izzy roared. Lynxmon glowed, and reverted to Sneasel. "We know you're working for the Dark Ocean, and that you've been after Kari all this time."
"I would suggest you stay there, young lady" Wizardmon added, pointing his staff at the dark pokemon. "My partner has already called the others, and reinforcements are on the way." Seth nodded, leveling an unpleasant glare at Sneasel.
"Well then, I guess I should be leaving." Sneasel let out a loud screech, which caused everyone to flinch. Then, pulling out what looked like a silver thread, she hurled it at the center of the roof, embedding the silvery needle in the roof. There was a faint hum, and the center of the roof was covered by a swirling black hole!
"Now, master" Sneasel yelled, jumping in. As she did, several shadowy creatures flowed out, reaching for Kari. Shurimon fought the wave, but was quickly overwhelmed. Yolei grabbed Kari's arm to pull her away, but both were caught and pulled towards the vortex.
"KARI!" Izzy and Gatomon grabbed Kari's arm, trying to pull her away from the hole. Kabuterimon grabbed Izzy, determined to let neither human fall in. Aquillamon flew over, dropping Yolei, Seth, and Wizardmon off, then reverted to Hawkmon, and they began pulling too. Even with all that, Kari was still being pulled in.
"Izzy," Kari screamed. "Let go! You'll be pulled in to!"
"I'm...not...letting...go!" More determined than ever, Izzy tightened his grip, pulled all the harder. From the hole, a voice called 'Acid Mist' and a spray of green gas emenated from the portal. Izzy ducked, as did Yolei. Kabuterimon was hit, reverting to Tentomon. Wizardmon was also hit, instinctively let go, and he and Seth tumbled over backwards, only to watch as the rest of the group was pulled through the portal! As the portal closed, Seth and Wizardmon saw Scizor stand up and jump in too, Tentomon following him. Seth cursed violently over what happened; Wizardmon made a note to talk with the boy about his language later. Now, he had larger problems to deal with.
Next Episode:
Kari, Gatomon, Yolei, Hawkmon, Izzy, and Tentomon have been drawn into
the Dark Ocean. Can they escape, especially when an entire world is lined
up against them? Also, Scizor faces his toughest battle, in the next episode
of Digimon: Digicross...
'Silphymon's Lightning Speed'