Hey ! Seee? I was faster than usual! I honestly can't remember the last time I managed to update so fast.
If I may recommend you all doing something when you get to the ending scene of this chapter, or maybe doing it after you read it:
Listen to the song of Kodaline – Brother.
It inspired me a lot.
As always; I do not own digimon, but I own all of my OC's. English isn't my first language so please excuse any possible grammatical errors.
I've got you brother
The atmosphere is so tense that I could literally cut it with a knife. I don't dare to move... hell, I don't even dare to breathe too loud in fear that it will piss him off even more!
I still feel the pain in my stomach where he kicked me earlier that day. I've never seen him so angry before in my life.
It's been two days since he appeared again... I can only make assumptions about his whereabouts. After that faithful battle, he just disappeared. For several weeks.
Now he's back, sitting in front of me in an armchair; he's supporting his head with his left hand while a glass of bourbon hangs dangerously loose in his right one. He didn't say a word, not once.
"How are you feeling?" – Low, I know. But this silence is driving me crazy! His gaze flickers to me and I have a feeling that he only notices now that he is not alone in this room. He frowns lightly at me before turning away again. I sigh deeply, almost losing hope when I hear him speak up.
"I am angry. All the time", he rises from his seat and approaches the fireplace, staring straight into the flames.
I am so stunned by his reaction that it takes a while for me to register that he actually communicated with me. I stand up from my seat as well and approach him slowly. He for his part keeps staring ahead, clutching the glass in his hand.
"Alec... I know you've been through a lot. But I promise you it will get better. Just... take your time you – "
"Better?" He turns around, the anger from earlier clear visible in his face. Wearing that expression, he looks nothing like my big brother. He looks... evil. The look he gives me is enough for me to take a step back. He notices that, a grin appearing on his face.
"You're scared huh?" He takes a step forward. "I give you a reason to be scared."
He hauls off and throws the glass towards me. I am too shocked to even move and the glass misses me by a few inches, shattering on the wall. The chinking sound makes me jerk and my fear grow. I take another step back but he is faster. He approaches me in high speed and pins me on the wall.
"I don't need you here. Why the fuck can't you just LEAVE?!" He shouts the last part in my face, nearly blasting my eardrum. I squint my eyes, expecting his fist connecting with my face. But nothing happens.
Instead I feel his grip on me loosening. I slide down the wall and stare up at him in shock. He turned around again and walks towards the exit.
"You're my brother. I'm not letting you lose your mind." I whisper more to myself than to him. But he heard me just well.
"I already lost it little brother."
NADIA'S POV.
FLASHBACK.
He's chained to a chair. If I were in his place I'd probably scream permanently out of fear. But he is keeping his cool. It's like he doesn't even care about all of the things that are happening around him.
The son of a bitch Daemon stands right behind him, both of his hands placed on Tai's temples; I can literally see the power of darkness oozing into Tai's body. He's engulfed by it, but rather than resist it, he seems to embrace whatever the hell they are doing. I don't know if it is a brilliant move of him or if he just gave up...
"Very good. Myotismon did a very good job in preparing the boy for us", Daemon's voice sounds. I have no idea who he is talking to. I can't see anyone here but us three. But said digimon doesn't even bother to wait for an answer from whatever counterpart is also present.
"Now the fun part...", Daemon's grip on Tai hardens and a few seconds later a few sparks appear, making my heart sink. Oh my god.
The electro shock travels through his body, making him tremble heavily. He grits his teeth and squints his eyes, but does not give away any of his emotions. His knuckles are white because of the strength he grips the chair but he relaxes almost immediately as soon as the shock waves off.
"Impressive... very impressive", Daemon whispers, gripping Tai again.
The sparks appear again, much stronger than before. I turn away from the scene... no; I cannot bear to look at this.
I can hear him wince in pain what makes me turn back immediately. The paths of the electricity are clear visible on his skin. Beautifully tree – like patterns cover his arms and his neck, exactly where his blood vessels exploded.
"Motherfucker!" Tai's sharp, angry voice pierces through the room. I hear several items shattering and the whole room starts to shake dangerously. Daemon lets go of him and looks around, a frown appearing on his ugly face. The shaking increases and after taking a look at Tai's furious expression I finally get why.
"Tai!" His gaze flickers towards me, though I am not sure if he even remembers who I am after what they did to him...
"Tai if you won't calm down this whole room is going to break down, burying us underneath."
His eyebrows shot up in surprise and I see him closing his eyes while he takes a deep breath and leans back again. The room stops to shake and I hear Daemon exhale lightly.
Huh... he's scared of him.
END OF FLASHBACK
Tai's lying on his back, on his wrists are chains that are attached on the wall but which are still long enough so he can walk around in here. For the last two hours, he spent his time in throwing his digivice into the air and catching it afterwards. He doesn't seem like he's getting tired, or bored.
It's like he's not bothered by anything; he's calm, collected... and completely ignoring me.
"Tai you know that I won't stop bothering you until you finally talk to me, right?"
He doesn't even twitch. His gaze is focused on his digivice which he just threw up and catches it with no trouble, left handed. His chest rises, indicating that he's taking a deep breath. Hope starts to build up inside of me...which gets crushed down again as soon as I realize that he's actually yawning.
"Dammit Tai! Could you please stop ignoring me!" I shout out angrily.
He misses to catch his digivice this time, causing it to fall down on the ground. I hear him sigh before he slowly gets up into a sitting position. He leans forward and grabs the device, letting it disappear in one of the many pockets of his uniform. He took the jacket off before; making the scars left of the electro shocks painfully visible. If I didn't catch him being shirtless the night before I wouldn't be bothered by the sight... but I know that underneath that shirt, his body is painted green and blue, covered by several burn marks caused by Daemon. This son of a bitch.
His hair sticks to his face and the hood of the uniform covers his eyes for what I'm not sure if I'm thankful or not.
"Tai –"
"Do you ever shut up?" His voice is low, sharp and makes me shiver. I wasn't expecting that. I was prepared for another few days in which I would constantly try to get him to talk and him ignoring me...
"I – I just – "
"You what? Don't you see in what kind of mess I'm in right now? And you have nothing better to do than to get on my nerves."
Don't let that get to you... he went through a lot.
"I'm sorry this happened to you." I whisper quietly, looking down on the ground. I don't risk catching sight of his eyes.
"I don't need your pity."
Wow... now you start to sound like someone I know very good.
"I'm not pitying you! I'm just trying to – "
"Trying to what? Prove me that you love me? I know that thanks", he interrupts me. I gape stupidly at him but he didn't bother to look up yet. Of all the things he could have bought up he chose the only one from which he knows hurts me the most. But for now, I refuse to let any insult he has to get through me. This is not why I am here.
"No Tai I'm trying to help you. To be there for you." I say, my voice sounding way more confident than I feel. He finally looks up and smiles at me; such a freaking beautiful but at the same time so derisive smile. I know what comes next... I've seen this before.
"You are so pathetic. Don't you see that I don't want you to be here? You let your fiancée who can actually stand you and would die to have you around behind and follow me around, even after your death. This, my dear is the definition of pathetic."
He stares at me with his newly received blueish – grey eyes. I try to ignore the pain and suppress the urge to burst out into tears right in front of him. He's right... it really is pathetic, but I can't help it. Since I cannot bear to see Tai that way I turn around, trying to keep my emotions at bay.
Let him... he's just angry.
"Aww.. look at her. Now she's turning her back on me. Did I hurt your feelings? Are you in pain? Well then welcome to my fucking life."
His words stuck me like lighting and cause me to turn around again: „We both know that you're only acting this way because you're angry so don't take it out on me."
"I don't need your explanation. I know that I am freaking furious!" He shouts out that suddenly that I feel the wall on my back, making me realize that I actually backed off. He jumped off his seat and paces up and down the cell.
"In case you didn't realize it yet Nadia; I am trapped, again. I am separated from my team, again. They are most likely in danger and I am in no position to help them, AGAIN!"
I swear my heart just skipped a beat when his fist connected with the stone wall right next to my face. I slowly turn around to the spot and see a deep hole in the wall. Damn...
Though his outburst turned my legs into jelly and almost shut my mind off completely, the meaning of his words didn't go unnoticed by me; and this is what makes me inwardly squeal out of joy.
"T – Tai...", I whisper quietly, causing him to turn around and face me again.
"What?"
"Y – You're still you." – He frowns at me, causing the joy inside of me to dwell and a smile appear on my face.
"Even with the power of darkness inside of you...i – it didn't change you."
He stares blankly at me, his eyes widening when realization hits him. The angry blaze of his eyes fades away lightly and his expression softens. He slowly takes off the hood and runs his hand through his hair, making it messier than it was before, but causing me to smile even brighter; he finally looks like himself again – apart from the eye color and the scars.
"You're right." His voice is a mere whisper but I heard him just well. "What does that mean now?"
"It means that they just dug their own grave." I smile at him, getting his usual lopsided one in return.
MIMI'S POVE
"Come on Mimi, don't fall behind!" Matt's hold on my hand gets tighter and I force myself to run faster. I feel Palmon's arms around my neck, blocking my airways every now and then, but I don't care. Not right now.
Something's seriously wrong if that stupid alarm went off, ordering every one of us to the command center. I sigh in relief when I spot the door of the familiar room being open and enter it alongside Matt and Gabumon.
The rest of the team is already there, including the digimon. They're all gathered in a circle around someone I can't recognize yet since they're blocking my view. Phoenix, Ken and Izzy are typing away on the many computers, shutting them down one by one.
My frown deepens at that sight but what shocks me most is the sight of my best friend.
The group parts in front of us, revealing Sora who's sitting on a chair. Her hair is a mess and her make up smeared all over her face, leaving deep black stains on her cheeks and around her eyes. What makes me real angry however is the blueish – purple discoloring on her left eye. Whoever hit her did a really good job in it.
She's clutching Dylan's hand in both of her hands while Alec presses an ice pack on her black eye.
"Sora... what happened?" Matt is the first one to break the silence. Sora for her part only gazes at him with a blank stare before she turns her head and buries it into her future son's chest. He drapes his arm around her, taking the ice package from Alec.
"Where's my brother?" Kari asks, her voice shivering lightly. I can tell she made the same assumption as I did... though every nerve inside of me is screaming at me that no, Tai would never do something like that, I can't help but see that as the only possible explanation.
"We don't know where dad is... all we know is that they took him the day he rescued me", Dylan answers her question. I feel like someone just kicked me in the guts. What the hell?!
"Dammit! I knew that wasn't him!" Matt exclaims angrily.
"Oh my god..." I can't believe this. I stare at Sora who's still trembling hard.
"But how? Who was that then? Are you saying we don't even recognize our own leader?!" Davis shouts out, disbelief clear in his voice.
"Obviously you don't. This was Beelzemon, one of the demon lords."
"So Beelzemon was disguised as Tai...", Yolei whispers more to herself than to any of us. She lifts her head and looks at Sora who's still desperately holding onto Dylan... as if he'd disappear any second. Her eyes get wide and her face pales within seconds:" What did he do to you Sora?"
I feel my throat tighten and the nausea creeping up when my brain inwardly follows Yolei's train of thought... as much as I know Tai and Sora have a very active relationship which means that... oh my god.
"That son of a bitch", Matt says through gritted teeth.
"I kill him."
Sora's gaze flickers back to me. Her dull crimson eyes hide all the possible emotions that must be torturing her right now.
"W – We didn't – ", she whispers before stopping right in mid – sense and burying her face in her hands. Dylan scoots even closer and wraps her in his embrace again, whispering some soothing words into her ear.
Davis huffs in frustration and narrows his eyes at Dylan:" You knew that it was Beelzemon and didn't care enough to tell us?!"
Uh oh...
"In case you didn't know Davis, I had a freaking tube stuck in my throat. Maybe I should choke you and see if you can get anything out?!"
"You – "
"Stop that!" Alec shouts out and glares at both of the guys angrily. "Do you really consider this the right time for this kind of shit?! The base is being invaded!"
"Beelzemon knows all the exits. He knows everything about our security system...", Phoenix whispers, his eyes wide and his face drained from all color.
"So what do we do? Retreat?" Cody asks confused.
"There's no way I let this base down. You can go if you want... but I will fight", Phoenix wearing a very Phoenix – unlikely expression. He looks furious.
"I will too", Alec says, staring at his little brother. "You need someone who watches over your sorry ass."
"Okay", I chime in finally, causing everyone to turn their gazes at me immediately. "I think they will be aiming for the command center and the arsenal since they are the most important parts in this base, right?"
I stare into my teammate's faces, looking for any rejection of the plan in staying here and fight. Whereas before they looked unsure of what to do, their expression changes one by one. Old, strong determination spreads over their faces, making it clear to everyone that no; no one will retreat tonight.
"I think you're right with that assumption Mimi", Ken agrees with me.
"Good then we should split up", T.K concludes.
"Alright... I'd say Mimi, Izzy, Joe, T.K, Sora, Kazumi and me go to the arsenal, while the rest stays here in the command center. What do you think?" Matt asks, looking mostly at Alec and Dylan since they're usually the ones who would have something against our ideas.
"Yeah I think that would – ", Alec starts but gets interrupted by Dylan whose looking around the room, panic slowly filling his eyes.
"Where's my sister?"
Alec's eyes widen at that question and he rises from his seat slowly, looking around the room for any sign of the brunette. We all follow his example but we realize within seconds that she's not here.
"Dammit! She surely went to the hospital wing to get you. She doesn't know that you're fine", Alec face – palms, his breath accelerating already. I nervously glance at his chest; as far as I know his wound is still not healed, which is very untypical, but at the same time really dangerous for him since he's actually in no condition to fight.
"How are you even here? I thought you were in a really bad state", Izzy asks the question I was wondering about the whole time already.
"I uh –"
"That doesn't really matter now. Dylan you go and get Kazumi", Joe interrupts him. Dylan gives him a thankful smile before he gets on his feet, causing Sora to do the same.
My gaze immediately falls back on her black eye which turned into a darker shade of purple already. She's clutching Dylan's t – shirt with such a force, that I see her knuckles turn white already. Her gaze is troubled, focusing on everyone for only a swift second before it jumps over to something, or someone else. Again... I can't help but wonder just what on earth that motherfucker did to her that scared her so much.
"Mom", Dylan whispers into her ear, laying his hand over hers. "I'll go get Kazumi and then I come back to you, okay?"
The room is dead silent while Dylan waits for her to finally register what he said. When she does however she violently shakes her head, clutching his t – shirt harder. His frown turns into deep worry and after glancing at all of us he just sighs. "Okay then you'll come with me."
"I'll accompany you", Alec says, getting ready to head out immediately.
"No wait", Phoenix interrupts them, causing his older brother to turn to him in confusion.
"I don't think that it would be very good if you and I would be separated tonight", Phoenix says, his voice giving away just how much effort it cost him. Alec looks at him confused but after staring at his little brother for a while he finally nods.
"While we're at it; I think it would be best if I would be with your group Matt", Kari speaks up, earning confused glances herself. Gatomon on her shoulder suppresses her grin but I think I saw right through her...
She shares a look with Davis who gives her an understanding smile before she turns to a certain blonde of our group.
"Good then we –", Matt starts but gets cut off by another alarm going off.
"THIS IS A CODE BLACK ALARM; UNIDENTIFIED DIGIMON IN THE BASE"
"This is it then", Yolei says. We stand in a circle again, locking eyes with each of us.
"We'll see us in the morning."
"Be safe guys", the two brothers say in unison before we split up in our respective groups.
LUCEMON'S POV (falldown mode)
I follow Daemon down to the dungeons where the bearer of courage is being held. Though I was there when Daemon was literally pouring the power of darkness into him, I didn't get to meet him properly.
I've heard so much about the great Taichi Kamiya that my choice was made before I even got to see him in action. Everyone I knew always aimed at him... he was the constant target. So why should I break that tradition?
The only difference between all my precursors and me is that they tried to either eliminate him or use his strength.
I for my part want his cooperation... sure, with a little mind control of mine, but all in all he will be my friend. Or at least, he won't be my foe.
"By now he should be ready to talk to us. I'm sure his mind is already completely corrupted", Daemon speaks up before we both reach the right cell.
I peak inside and take a proper look at him. He's sitting in the middle of the cell, his legs crossed and both of his hands rest in his lap. He's still chained to the wall, though the chains are long enough for him to move around freely. This is part of me treating him like a friend; he should not get the intention that he's my prisoner, after all that's why we didn't bother to take away his uniform, or his weapons for that matter. He'll need them to fight his team hood covers most of his face so I'm only able to see his slightly curved lips properly. If I am not mistaken he is grinning lightly... actually, he seems calmer than ever before; definitely not what I expected.
I take a glance at Daemon who himself looks quite confused. Since I am certainly not in the mood for any stupid games I gesture him to get inside and check what the hell is going on right now.
This guy should be trying to destroy this whole building and not sitting there and mediating!
Daemon opens the cell with a swift motion of his hand and enters it, approaching Tai's sitting figure hesitantly.
"I didn't think you'd be so calm with these kinds of powers inside of you", Daemon speaks up, confusion still winning over all his other emotions.
He's now standing directly in front of Tai who didn't move an inch that something is odd here I silently take a few steps back. I know better than to mess with someone who has the power of darkness. I myself didn't take these powers after all these years, in fear that it would destroy me. But invading other's minds with it? That is no problem... I have to admit; it's quite interesting.
My thoughts are interrupted by the rustling of iron chains. My head snaps back up just to witness that Tai actually got up to his feet... and pulled the chains out of the wall; the very same chains that are now wrapped around Daemon's throat. Tai is holding onto him with the chains, one of his hands placed exactly at Daemon's temple. I don't have to look at it properly, I know about these hidden blades from Alec.
Tai looks me right into my eyes, literally piercing me with his stare. I can't suppress my grin that is coming to surface. Not because he actually managed to get a grip on one of the most powerful demon lords but because I am staring right into the result of our little treatment. His blueish – grey eyes are ablaze, shimmering with deep anger and reminding me of a friend I had a long time ago...
"Who are you?" His voice, so different than I expected, makes me jerk inwardly.
"I am Lucemon... it is my pleasure Tai."
His eyes narrow dangerously:" So you're the leader of these bastards then?"
My eyebrows shut up in surprise:" I see you did your homework."
I take a step forward, causing his grip on Daemon to fasten which results in him making some choking sound.
"One more step, Lucemon, and I pierce his brain up... in case he even has one."
"Funny... Very funny." As I said, I am not in the mood for some games. I approach him in high speed, ready to loosen his grip on Daemon but as soon as my hand grabs his forearm I wish I'd never moved. As fast as I came at him I am thrown back to the far end of the wall again. I stare at my palm that shows deep, red burn marks.
What the hell?!
"How did you do that?!" I spit, realization slowly but surely sinking in...
He just smiles evilly at me before shrugging nonchalantly:" A magician never reveals his secrets." He gives me a wink before his expression turns dangerously serious.
"Show me the exit. Try to fight me and you'll be deeply sorry." He indicates his seriousness by slightly tilting his wrist, showing off the silver shimmering blade on it.
"And where did you get the idea from that I care about what happens to his sorry ass?" I try to keep my cool, but this is certainly NOT the outcome I expected! How the hell did this guy turn the tables that much?!
"Oh you don't? Okay then – " He pulls on the chains, blocking Daemon's air supply completely so that he even stops making any sound.
Okay, he is not bluffing.
"Okay! Okay I'll show you the exit. Follow me." I reluctantly turn around and walk up the stairs, trying desperately to come up with any plan on how to get Daemon out of his grip. We already lost too many... I can't risk to lose Daemon too.
As soon as we leave the dungeon, several dark digimon's turn in our direction, ready to attack him.
"No one touches the boy", I spit, though every nerve inside of me tells me to let them have a go at him. But something deep inside of me, my reasonable voice tells me that that would be a huge mistake. I silently look down on my burnt hand... just how on earth did that happen? I literally just grabbed him by his forearm... and it felt like he just whipped off my hand.
I can hear Daemon struggling for air again and sigh in relief; at least he loosened his grip lightly.
The nearer we get to the exit the more confused stares do I get from all the digimon who we cross. I fight against the urge to scream out in frustration.
I don't know how much power this guy has; neither do I know what he is capable of doing what results in me having no other choice than to do exactly what he wants me to do. ME! The most powerful demon lord!
We come to a halt in front of the gates of my castle and I turn to look at Tai again. I can't help but get the intention that we made a huge mistake. He looks at me with the same derisive expression Alec always used to wear. He slowly looks around while he loosens the chains on Daemon's neck. As soon as they're off however he grabs his neck with both of his hands, ready to snap it.
"Go on boy, kill me", Daemon says, his voice already hoarse because of the choking. Tai turns him around and stares right into his eyes, rage clear in his face.
"You certainly deserve to rot in hell Daemon, but I am not the one who should kill you. Alec would never forgive me for taking away his chance of revenge."
"What differs you then from us, Taichi? As I can see it you're just as evil as us. It just depends on your perspective" I chime in, earning his attention in doing so. He turns to me and his lips curl into a grin that doesn't really reach his eyes.
"I never said anything about being different from you Lucemon, did I?"
With that he lets go of Daemon – who instantly sinks down on his knees – and leaves us as if he has not a care in the world.
"Daemon, we made a huge mistake", I whisper, staring straight ahead at Tai's figure that gets smaller and smaller the farer he gets.
"I don't understand. It worked perfectly fine when we did it with Alec!"
"Well... this is Taichi Kamiya, after all these stories I've heard I expected something big. I have to say; I am not disappointed."
I can't help but grin... this fight will be epic Taichi.
NADIA'S POV
I walk next to him. He's still trembling because of all the adrenaline inside of him but I can tell he is quite content with this outcome.
He turns to me and cracks a smile:" This was easy right? They didn't even try and fight me!"
I can't help but let out a huff:" Sure they didn't. You were quite intimidating, even I nearly shit my pants and I am dead already."
He laughs out loud at my comment and I can't help but grin either.
"Nadia?"
I turn to him and stop right in my tracks, making him stop too and turn around properly. I stare into his foreign gaze and see that something changed.
"What is it?"
He looks down on the ground for several seconds before he takes a deep breath and looks up again:" Would you mind staying by my side?"
My grin appears as naturally as ever:" As long as you'll need me."
MATT'S POV
I jump over a few items that somehow fell down on the ground and reach the one vitrine I was looking for. Tai told me everything about this and I think now's the time I finally get my weapon out.
I place my hand on the scanner and within seconds the wall parts in front of me. I feel Mimi joining my side and stare straight ahead on the twelve squares that were just revealed. While one of them is empty already there are still eleven left.
I quickly scan every item on the wall, looking for a certain one that feels familiar.
Come on that can't be that hard...
Out of the corner of my eye I see a greenish light coming from Mimi's hands. I turn to look at her holding onto what looks like a walking stick. She frowns lightly before pulling onto the tip.
She item parts and reveals a long, thin, dangerously looking blade.
"A dagger?"
"I'd say cane sword", T.K says after examining her newly received weapon.
"You're playing too much video games", Mimi says, earning a chuckle from my little brother. She's right though...
I for my part look back at the now ten squares left. There sure as hell are a lot of dangerously and cool looking items... but which one is mine? I know for a fact that my powers are electricity based... but what goes with it?
The ground beneath our feet starts shaking all of the sudden.
I look over to Gabumon whose gaze is directed at the entrance:" We should not let them get inside."
"You're right", Joe nods, clutching his digivice in his hands.
"Are you ready guys?" Izzy looks around, making sure to lock eyes with everyone and therefore see their approval.
"Matt, make sure you get your weapon and then you'll join us out there", he says before running to the exit of the arsenal. The others follow him, making their partners digivolve while doing so.
"Matt."
I turn around and catch sight of my girl who looks at me with a worried glance:" I'll be waiting for you. Just trust your gut feeling." She gives me a peck on my lips before leaving the room, running towards the sound of attacks being shouted and creatures being deleted.
"Gabumon... look out for her."
"I will Matt." With that he gets engulfed in a bright light:
GABUMON WARP DIGIVOLUTION TO... METALGARURUMON.
MetalGarurumon gives me a final nod and runs towards our friends. I for my part inwardly slap myself and look at the items again.
Okay... sword? Nah.. A hammer? No...who am I? Thor ? Bow and Arrow? Nope I am not Katniss Everdeen either.
"FLY BULLET!" A foreign female voice sounds and only a second later I feel the whole room shaking again. Several glasses of the showcases shatter and rain down on the ground. I catch sight of Megakabuterimon being thrown against the wall. The impact of his crash clangs through the room, causing me to lose my balance and fall down on the ground.
Damn, they need help!
I once again turn to look at the weapons. This time however my gaze catches sight of something shimmering in a silver color. The weapon resembles a Kusarigama but instead of only having one sickle this one has two on either side of the chain that connects them. I gape stupidly at the weapon before reaching out for it.
As soon as I do however it lights up in a dark blue color and the crest of friendship appears on either sickle. I grip both of them tight and get up on my feet.
It's time to kick some serious ass.
YOLEI'S POV
I'm thrown against the keyboards of our computers. I sink down on the ground and try to ignore the pain. My sight blurs and I have trouble to get my orientation back on track.
"YOLEI WATCH OUT!" Ken shouts out and only a second later I feel his grip on my shoulder, throwing me against the wall. My sight blurs even more because I just hit my head but I force myself to get a clear sight. I carefully sit up and lean against the wall, looking at the gremlin like creature whose teeth stick on the keyboards I fell against. I gulp and give Ken a small, thankful smile.
"POSITRON LASER!"
Imperialdramon's attack lights up the whole command center which was left in the dark after the lights went off. In an instant all these creatures dissolve into data and after glancing back at the door it doesn't look like there are more to come.
I take a look at all my teammates. These creatures sure as hell did a number on us. Davis and Cody lean against the walls, catching their breaths while Ken is right by my side, examining me for any injuries. What worries me most however is Alec who's kneeling on the ground, holding onto his chest that where – once again – his injury ripped open. Phoenix stands in front of him, shielding his older brother from whatever might come now. His gaze fixed on our real enemy.
MetalPhantomon is flying in the entrance. His arms are composed by electricity, connecting its hands and shoulders. It's bright enough to light up the whole command center, making him painfully visible. His red DigiCore is visible in its rib cage and his lower body is completely missing; replaced by an energy sphere attached to the base of its spine. It wears a black hooded cape with a red interior. He has a scythe with energy blades which is adorned with a goat decoration. He's swinging it dangerously, waiting for any of us to make the first move.
Shurimon looks at me, waiting for my approval. But I know too less about this digimon to actually be able to let Shurimon have a go at him without fearing the worst.
"You should have stayed in your hell hole", Alec's low, cold voice sounds, sending shivers down my spine. I didn't hear him use that voice for a long time. After taking a look at him I feel my heart sink; dark aura is surrounding him – and probably the only reason he is still able to stand. What troubles me most however is the look in his eyes... he looks exactly how the day we first met him.
He pushes his little brother aside and sends a dark energy beam against the digimon who simply ducks it. The beam however hits the steel wall, causing the base – once again – to shake violently.
"Your aim sucks, old friend." MetalPhantomon laughs before a light beam hits him right on his DigiCore, causing him to be thrown into one of the computer screens. I cringe inwardly... why the computers?!
"Your reaction sucks too", Phoenix spits.
"You little... GRAVE SCREAM!"
An ear – piercing, bone – crushing scream sounds, pressing me down on the ground. I cover my ears in an attempt to somehow shut out that sound but I feel like it just invaded my whole mind. MetalPhantomon sets in motion, but rather than aiming its attack on one of the two brothers who just attacked him, he's flying towards Cody who somehow got on his feet again after being knocked on the ground by some of the creatures.
"Cody!" Ankylomon appears right in front of the boy, swinging his tail towards MetalPhantomon's face. The scythe misses Cody by a few inches and MetalPhantomon gets thrown back in the room.
"GIGA CRUSHER!
Imperialdramon's attack hits the digimon that is still struggling on the ground with full impact, causing its scythe to slither over the ground.
"Shurimon", I call out for my digimon who gives me a thankful nod and joins his friends.
I squint my eyes and try to get a look on MetalPhantomon but my sight is blurred because of the heavy smoke that was caused by the attacks. I finally get to the point in which I can mobilize enough strength to get back on my feet and approach Davis slowly. His gaze is fixed on the spot where we last saw MetalPhantomon, but there seems to be nothing left.
Did they kill him?
Without MetalPhantomon's electricity lighting up the place for us we are left in complete darkness. I grab the arm nearest to mine which happens to be Davis'.
"Guys come here. Stay together!" He shouts out to everyone in the room. I can feel one by one joining us and building up a circle. Judged by the silhouettes I can barely make out, our digimon form a line in front of us while Phoenix and Alec stand right behind them.
The room is dead silent; the only sound heard are our respective breaths that normalized again. I feel my legs shaking lightly and my heart beating painfully against my chest. There's something seriously wrong...
Several shouts and thumbs are heard from farer away what makes me wonder about our friends' well – beings. I didn't dare to use the headset that is connecting every one of us... in fear that I'd hear some bad news.
All of the sudden I feel something coming out of the dark, directly at me. Whatever it is it pulls on my hair, throwing me on the ground again and pulling me into the depths of the room. I scream out because... well what else am I supposed to do?!
"YOLEI!" Shurimon's voice sounds out and within an instant I can feel my partner digimon pulling on my foot. Judged by the sound of that thing I come to the realization that I was wrong when I assumed that these creatures stopped coming. Gathering all of my courage I drive my fist into that thing's chin – as least I think it is its chin.
"DOUBLE STARS!"
The grip on my hair disappears within seconds and I'm left with a hell of a headache. Damn..
"Imperialdramon!" Ken and Davis shout out from farer away. From what I can barely see they are in a similar situation like I was only a few seconds before. Unlike Shurimon however Imperialdramon is lying on its back, mostly covered by these things.
"Shurimon you have to help him."
"I'm on it Yolei."
I for my part look frantically around, giving my best to somehow see anything inside of here. I have to find a way to help Davis and Ken, fast.
My sight catches the scythe of MetalPhantomon he lost before he – died? – disappeared. I quickly run over to the item and grab it, causing it to light up immediately. It's enough light for me to finally take in the scenario right in front of me.
While Shurimon is giving its best to fight these creatures off of an unmoving Imperialdramon, Cody and Ankylomon seem to be surrounded by them, fighting them off howsoever while Davis and Ken both fell down, being the easiest target. I fail to spot any of the two brothers but seeing that they are by far the strongest of us it doesn't really concern me... that much.
What concerns me most are the two boys in front of me, this is why I take a deep breath and shut off all the alarm sirens going crazy in my head. I grip the scythe in my hand and run towards Davis and Ken who are desperately trying to prevent these creatures to bit their heads off.
"GETT OFF OF THEM!" I scream out before swinging the scythe back and forth, hitting every single one of them by full force.
"Yolei!"
I slowly open my eyes and stare down on Davis and Ken who stare at me, their mouths hanging open. We're surrounded by dust of data and I can't help but feel a weird giddy feeling of pride building inside of my chest. The boys' gazes however cause me to stare down on my chest, seeing a faint greenish – red light appear.
"Nice blow Yolei", Alec's voice sounds from farer away. I turn around just to witness how he shots a dark – sparkling energy beam towards the creatures surrounding cody, causing them to explode immediately.
"You're doing a good job too though", I reply, earning a smile from him in return. He's panting heavily and his face is covered by blood and dirt. But if I really think about it... I surely don't look any better.
A bright light engulfs the whole room. I can hear several screams coming from the creatures before they all dissolve into data. As soon as the dust clears I can see Phoenix standing in front of us, still looking at the lying figure of Imperialdramon. Shurimon comes back to me, dedigivolving back into Hawkmon while doing so.
"I did everything I could Yolei..." I kneel down to him, wrapping my arms around my beloved digimon.
"I know you did."
My gaze wanders over to Ken and Davis who silently look at their digimon who slowly starts to glow. As soon as it dies down however I can spot DemiVeemon and Minomon. The two boys don't waste another second and run up to them.
"Are they alright?" Cody asks, holding onto Upamon himself.
"They surely will be", Phoenix says, approaching us all. He looks worn out. His hair sticks to his face, as well as his tight black shirt. He's covered in dust and sweat and I can spot several deep cuts all around his body... it sure hurts like a bitch, but he doesn't give away any of his pain. He smiles lightly at us before turning to his brother who himself looks like he faints any second. The light of the scythe is enough for me to see how pale Alec is right now. Though our digimon gave their best to fight off these creatures, it was still them who did most of the killing, just because they simply are the better fighters. And that is honestly fine by me.
"We should go and check on the others –"
"GAAAAAAAH!"
I feel a swift breeze and spot a reddish light farer away from us.
"Get off of me you motherfucker!" Alec's angry voice sounds, sending shivers down my spine; MetalPhantomon is pinning Alec down on the ground, its hands wrapped around our friend's throat.
"YOU! This is all because of you! WHY. CAN'T. YOU. JUST. DIE!" MetalPhantomon's angry voice seems to shake the whole base once again.
"We have to do something!" I shout out, looking at Phoenix in hope that he somehow snaps out of his current shock and helps his brother.
I feel the scythe being ripped out of my grip all of the sudden... but not by Phoenix himself.
"Davis! Are you insane?!" Cody screams out but gets ignored completely. Davis runs up to MetalPhantomon, a blueish – orange light coming out of his chest and lighting up the whole area.
"Are you deaf?! He said get off of him!" He shouts out angrily. MetalPhantomon turns his head towards the boy only for his eyes to widen in shock.
The light in Davis' chest increases and with one, powerful swing of the scythe MetalPhantomon's head flies through the room. Its red DigiCore shatters and dissolves into Data... as well as every other enemy that dared to come in here tonight.
Davis reaches his hand out for Alec who accepts it thankfully. Phoenix runs up to his brother, wrapping his arms around his neck and if I am not mistaken I hear him apologizing for not being able to interfere. Alec just ruffles through his hair playfully, grinning lightly.
We all sigh in unison, daring to relax for only a swift second before we remind ourselves that the night's not over yet.
"We should check on the others", Phoenix repeats what he was going to say before his brother was attacked.
"Okay good then let's go –"
"Knock. Knock..."
The lights in the command center flicker before one by one light up again, revealing the source of the new voice. I yelp in shock and feel Ken pushing me behind him. Alec, as always, stands in front of all of us. Phoenix slowly approaches his brother, pushing Alec behind him in a much similar way Ken just did with me. Alec gives his brother a startled look... but I have a feeling that Phoenix couldn't care less.
He's looking at the digimon in pure disgust. Like a lion that just met its son's murderer...like a little brother who's facing the one digimon who ruined his brother's life.
"Daemon."
MATT'S POV
"Mimi!" Lillymon shouts out for her partner who's busy slicing up several different creatures that come dashing out of the dark corners of the base. Thank god we managed to shut the door to the arsenal, which means that at least all the weapons are save.
"Don't worry about me Lillymon. I have everything under control", she shouts back, her eyes shining in a bright green color before she sticks her dagger into one of the creature's heads, causing it to dissolve immediately.
"DOUBLE CLAW!" The evil digimon – Bellestarmon how she's called – stabs its knife through MagnaAngemon's shoulder, pinning him on the wall while doing so.
"Let go of him, bitch!" Angewomon shouts out angrily, grabbing that witch on her long blonde hair and throwing her towards the other side of the corridor.
"Matt! Mimi!" Izzy shouts out. I turn around immediately and realize in shock that they are being zeroed in by these creatures. Hot anger flows through my veins and I inwardly grip my sickles harder. I feel the prickling all over my body before it canalizes on my right hand and flows into the sickle. I haul off and throw the sickle that is sparkling dangerously towards the creatures while I hold onto the other. It hits one of the creatures causing it to fall onto the one right next to it. I run around to the other side, causing the chain to wrap around them and the electricity to shock each of them, killing them in an instant.
"ELECTRO SHOCKER!" Megakabuterimon's attack lights up the whole corridor for a second, leaving all of us disoriented and therefore leaving me with no defense.
I scream out in pain when I feel teeth sticking into my left shoulder only for them to disappear all of the sudden. I fall down on my knees and hold onto the wound with my right hand that gets painted red almost immediately. Soft fingers cover my hand and it takes me a few moments to realize that Mimi is kneeling in front of me, her eyes still glimmering in a greenish light.
"Are you okay?"
I nod and only realize then that the creatures disappeared and actually everyone is gathered around me. T.K, Kari, Izzy, Joe and Mimi all look at me with the same expression of concern.
"HURRICANE SCREW SHOT!" The bitch's heel flies towards us only to be blocked by Zudomon's hammer. He hits the item with it, causing it to stick into the wall resulting in another earthquake.
Bellestarmon approaches us slowly. She looks like a poor, blonde copy of Ladydevimon which makes me shudder even more whenever I take a look at her. Her face is covered in a blue mask. She wears tight, black pants and a ridiculous short top that barely covers her breasts. She's holding onto two twin pistols, at least, that is what Izzy called them.
"I've had enough of you."
MagnaAngemon, Angewomon, Zudomon, Megakabuterimon and MetalGarurumon stand up in front of us like a wall, blocking our sight of that awful digimon.
I lean against the wall of the arsenal and try to ignore the throbbing pain in my shoulder. I feel my shirt being drenched by all the blood I am loosing right now and the dizziness in my head is not helping either.
"We've had enough too. Let's end this here and now", Zudomon says quietly, gripping his hammer harder.
"METAL WOLF CLAW!" MetalGarurumon leaps forward, sending its attack at her. She ducks successfully, sending her own attack back.
"FLY BULLET!" She pulls the trigger on her pistol, hitting Angewomon right into her stomach.
"NO!" Kari shouts out, running to the dedigivolved Gatomon.
"You will regret this!" MagnaAngemon shouts angrily, launching himself against her, quickly followed by the rest of the digimon.
"ELECTRO SHOCKER!" Once again, the immense light blinds all of us, but this time there's no sign of any creatures coming at us. I hear Bellestarmon scream out of pain, sinking down on her knees.
"VULCAN'S HAMMER!" Zudomon's hammer hits her right on her head, knocking her down on the ground completely.
"FLOWER CANON!"
"METAL WOLF SNOUT!"
MetalGarurumon's and Lillymon's attack combine and hit the lying figure of Bellestarmon at full force. The impact of the attacks however cause the base to shake...even harder than ever before tonight. I look up to the ceiling and realize in shock that there are a few cracks visible. We should end this fast before we risk damaging the base seriously...
"DOUBLE CLAW!"
The attack comes that suddenly that no one of us has the time to react properly which results in Bellestarmon knocking our digimon on the ground. The whole battle was obviously enough for mine as well as Joe's and Izzy's digimon because they dedigivolve as soon as they hit the ground.
Bellestarmon for her part is not done yet it seems, she doesn't even take the time to recover properly before she sends the next attack at us. She's getting desperate...
"FLY BULLET!"
This time Mimi and I are prepared for whatever might come what causes us both to lift our hands, creating a greenish – blue shimmering shield that protects all of us.
The attack rebounds on the shield and hits Bellestarmon herself, throwing her off her feet once more. However she doesn't stay that way for long because within seconds she's back on her feet, glaring daggers at me and Mimi.
"You two think you're sooo strong and soo smart right? Trust me when I say you will not survive this night. There's just no way all of you come out of this unharmed."
She laughs hysterically before I decide for myself that I got enough of her bullshit. I shot Mimi a glance to which she replies in giving me a quick nod. I haul off once again, sending all my power into my weapon and throw it in her direction. Her laughter is cut off when my sickle hits her forehead, sending electro shocks all over her and causing her body to literally explode.
"You two amaze me. You really do", Lillymon smiles tiredly at us before dedigivolving to Tanemon. MagnaAngemon dedigivolves too and all together we pick up our respective digimon partners and look around. The walls have a few dents... but nothing too severe. I expected a worse outcome.
"Guys. You should come to the command center. Fast." Davis' voice sounds through our headsets, sending shivers down my spine. Judged by his voice something bad must have happened. Something really bad.
We look at each other before taking off in a run all at once.
KARI'S POV
I hold onto Gatomon's limp body and try to ignore the fear that is flowing through my whole body, turning my legs into jelly. This digimon was awful enough... just what on earth did Davis shake up that bad?!
I am completely sunk in my thoughts so it is really not surprising that a sudden yelp coming from the person next to me catches me off guard. T.K's steps get uncoordinated and it doesn't take long until he stumbles over his own feet, falling down on his knees.
I stop immediately and am just about to call out for the others when I see Matt already standing next to me.
Damn... this high speed thing sure as hell works.
He kneels down next to his brother, placing one hand on his shoulder and forcing the boy to look up:" T.K what is it? Is it your spore?"
T.K for his part shivers lightly, his eyes are covered by his hair and he is breathing heavily. I kneel down on his other side and take his hand in mine, looking up to his older brother who's staring at him, worry all over his face.
"Matt." His gaze flickers towards me reluctantly.
"You go. I'll take care of him. Whatever happened in the command center must be bad... and you're needed there if this is the case."
He stares at me for several seconds – which feel like hours – obviously wondering about what just caused my change of heart tonight and what I must be thinking about. But it seems like he finds what he wanted because he cracks a small smile before nodding, more to himself than to me. He lifts himself up before turning towards the others.
"We should go. Kari can handle this", the others nod in unison, giving me reassuring smiles before they take off again. Matt for his part turns towards me again:" I trust you enough to let the most precious thing I have – beside your brother – in your hands. Don't fuck this up."
He gives me wink before he follows the others into the darkness of the base.
"T.K", I whisper, turning all my attention to the most precious thing Matt has... though that description fits me really well too if I really think about it.
"It hurts Kari... it really hurts", he whispers back, clutching the back of his neck. He squints his eyes and leans against the wall, bending his knees so he can place his forehead against them. I lay Gatomon beside Tokomon's sleeping figure before I scoot closer to T.K, wrapping my arms around him.
"Go Kari, I don't need you here." His voice dropped in temperature, freezing my heart up as soon as I realize what he just said.
"I guess you do though."
He angrily pulls away from my embrace and gets on his feet, looking down on me. I realize in shock that the blue color of his eyes seems to fade away ever so slowly. I get up on my own feet and reach out for him only for him to back off again.
"T.K fight it off", I whisper, forcing my voice to not sound so desperate but fail miserably.
"And why on earth should I do that huh?! Give me one good reason!"
I stare silently at him, the stinging in the corner of my eyes giving away the hurt his words just caused. A good reason? What about me? Am I a good reason to you T.K?
I'd die to say this... but I doubt it would make any difference. He looks like he made his mind up before the spore even acted up because... why on earth should the spore be so powerful to overwhelm him so fast? It took over a year in Dylan... I doubt T.K's that weak.
"T.K..." I approach him again what causes him to back off again. The wall forces him to stop and I am free to close the distance between us. I place a hand on the back of his neck, and force him to look me in the eyes.
I yelp in pain when I feel his hands gripping my arms by such a force that they'll surely bruise. But I ignore it for now.
"Fight. It. Off."
He narrows his eyes at me:" Why are you here Kari? You made your choice. It doesn't make any sense for you to be in our group."
I suppress the urge to laugh out loud. I've silently made my mind up tonight yes... and Davis approved of my decision but somehow a certain somebody who's standing right in front of me just didn't get the hint. And here I was... always assuming that my brother wasn't the brightest bulb in the box. But guess there's another one...
"You're right. I chose." I take a deep breath and do something I should have done weeks... no MONTHS if not even years ago. I tip toe and press my lips on his, catching him completely off guard. His grip on my arms gets stronger, causing me to wince in pain and let go of him again. He screams out before his hand shots up to his neck again. He slowly sinks down on the ground, his eyes completely shut, preventing his tears to come up. The sound of him whimpering in pain tears my heart apart and I squat down in front of him, placing both of my hands on his neck and pull him towards my chest.I silently rock us in what I assume a soothing way.
"Tell me how I can help him?!" I whisper towards the ceiling. Anyone.. please just tell me. What am I supposed to do?!
I close my eyes and place my chin over T.K's head, giving him all the time he needs to calm down.
A sudden bright light blinds me through my lids and I quickly reopen my eyes to check where the light is coming from. I jerk in shock when I realize that the light is coming right out of my palms and is obviously working its magic on T.K's spore because within seconds I can feel the tension of his body decreasing and he stops making any sound. The light disappears as suddenly as it appeared and I feel T.K shift uncomfortably. I loosen my embrace and look him right into his ocean blue eyes.
"It takes me nearly giving in to a spore to get you to kiss me? Really?" He gives me a sheepish smile which I can only return before leaning in again –
"Guys. Whatever you do, please come here." Mimi's voice sounds through our headsets again, stopping us right in our tracks.
I feel my heart sink... Mimi's crying. Fuck.
DYLAN'S POV (before the battle in the arsenal was over)
We're just about to open the heavy steel doors of the hospital wing when they are thrown open and a hysterical looking Kazumi storms out, nearly knocking me and mom – who is still holding onto my shirt – over.
"WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU?" Kazumi shouts right at me before pulling me into a tight embrace.
"How on earth are you okay? What happened? Why did the alarm go off? And what on earth happened to mom? OH MY GOD!" Within an instant Kazumi is right beside mom and examines her blue eye that looks freaking swollen.
That motherfucker hit her good... and god knows what else he did to her. Thank god he didn't get the chance to sleep with her, I know a victim when I see one. But as much as I know she dodged that bullet by an inch.
"Too many questions Kaz. Only thing you need to know; dad was captured when he rescued me. Beelzemon disguised himself as Tai so he could infiltrate the base and get his army of dark creatures and digimon in here."
Her face lost all its color during my explanation and she nervously scans mom's whole body; the very same thing I did when I first saw mom entering the command center. After she comes to the realization that no, mom was certainly not raped, she exhales deeply, looking back at me.
"Now it makes sense why you were like that after 'Tai's' visit...I will fucking kill that son of a bitch."
"We both will. And after that we'll talk about the fact that you didn't tell me about dad being alive."
Her eyes widen in surprise:" How did you find out?"
"He called me... it was him who somehow got me out of that state that was caused by Beelzemon."
A small, nostalgic smile appears on her angelic face:" See? He never left you."
"Now I see." I whisper.
Sudden clapping sounds from around the corner. I feel mom tensing up in fear, causing Biyomon and Agumon to stand in front of her and me and Kazumi both to draw our weapons.
Since Alec destroyed my lance I had to get myself a replacement; the dagger shimmers in its orange – reddish colors, giving me the strength I was lacking off for a few days. Kazumi is gripping her trident, a look of pure determination on her face.
I expect the worst so you can guess that it takes me a few moments to recover from the shock to see my father's face appear around the corner. He approaches us slowly and I am just about to lower my dagger when I hear mom whimper and hide herself behind me.
My glance quickly scans his hands and no shit... the ring is missing. Which means this is Beelzemon.
"Awww come on Sora... what gave me away this time?" He pouts whilst his gaze is fixed on my mom who is desperately trying to regain her calm. I turn around to her and cup her face in my hands:" mom I promise you I won't let him get near you."
"None of us will let that happen Sora", Biyomon assures her, causing said girl to smile lightly and her digivice to light up finally.
BIYOMON WARP DIGIVOLUTION TO... PHOENIXMON!
The whole corridor is engulfed in golden light coming from the holy bird. I smile brightly at the mega form of Biyomon who I only faced in our time before. I didn't even know that this time's Biyomon could reach mega.
My face is obviously enough for Sora to finally – THANK GOD – snap out of it and explain it to me:" we managed to reach mega when we last fought Myotismon. Cool eh?"
"Hell yeah", Kazumi smiles brightly at her before she gets thrown towards the next wall. Mom and I immediately turn around to Beelzemon who still looks like my dad. His hand is still in the same position as when he sent the energy beam towards my sister.
"Kazumi are you okay?" Sora runs up to my sister, helping her up again.
"Oops... did I just attack my own daughter? I am crushed!" Beelzemon places his hand over his chest, underlying his words by that gesture.
"You bastard." I launch forward, ready for my fist to crush his cheekbone but he ducks away successfully, driving his own fist right into my already broken ribs. I can't suppress my scream of pain and I can literally feel my mom wincing by the sound.
"How dare you!" Kazumi appears right beside me like, moving like lighting. She dances around Beelzemon, leaving him completely disoriented because she's so fast.
"Come to a halt you little – ARGH!"
We both back off and join mom's and the digimon's sides again. The trident is stuck in his chest. His eyes turn back into that dangerously shimmering red color again but he still refuses to turn completely into his digimon form it seems.
"Now you will regret what you did to Sora! STARLIGHT EXPLOSION!"
Beelzemon's eyes widen before Phoenixmon's attack completely engulfs him in a bright light. The light dies down and I can clearly see him shuddering before he grips the trident in his chest and throws it towards Kazumi who catches it with no trouble.
What a dumbass...
"Y – You w – w – will regret –t t – t – thissssss." His eyes turn into an even darker shade of red before he slams his fist on the ground, once. But the force is enough to cause the base to shake, for what feels like the millionth time tonight!
This time however the trembling doesn't stop that soon as it did all the other times and I soon find out why... I gulp and take a few steps back, reaching out for my sister and my mother. I pull both of them as well as Agumon closer towards me, waiting for these creatures to come to surface.
Needless to say... they appear as soon as I prepare myself to fight.
"Mom, stay behind us." I push her behind me and together with my sister launch at them. My mind switches on autopilot like every other time I was in a battle. I completely ignore the ache in my recently healed legs as well as the bone – crushing pain caused by the burns all over my body. What really matters now is that I clear the field from these useless creatures whose only use is to distract us, and drain our energy.
"DARKNESS CLAW!"
The attack comes so suddenly that neither I nor Kazumi have time to react. I hear my sister scream out in pain and therefore, forgetting about her defense. Within seconds she's lying on her back, preventing the creature over her to draw its teeth into her skull by holding her trident across and pushing it into its mouth.
"Kazumi!" I shout out and am just about to go and help her when I feel a fist connecting with my face. I am thrown back on the ground and a creature jumps on my burnt chest, increasing the pain. The only thing I am capable of seeing is a perfectly shaped, sharp row of damn much teeth.
I silently pray to god that my face will be restored without any damage when I suddenly hear the creatures scream out, one by one.
I slowly open my eyes just to witness that they are all hanging in the air, being held by what looks like a reddish shimmering aura. My mouth hangs wide open before an idea pops up in my head and I turn around to my mom.
My assumption is proven right when I see her eyes shimmer in the same red color as the aura. She looks pissed... damn she looks fucking furious!
"Let. Go. Of. My. Kids." With one, synchronically move of both of her arms, the creatures all get thrown towards the wall before they sink on the ground again.
"Phoenixmon. Finish them off."
"CRIMSON FLARE!" The flames engulf all of the lying figures, cleaning the field of any unwanted enemies.
What leaves Beelzemon standing there alone. Again.
He grits his teeth in frustration and I can't help but grin at him while I slowly approach him. I come to a halt right in front of him, examining all the small details what differ him from my father.
"What is it dilly? Are you scared?" He cracks a smile that looks nothing like the one of my dad's... and it pisses me off. I haul off and hit that motherfucker right into his face, putting all the frustration and anger I had towards my own father into that one blow. I hear the bone underneath my fist crack and the weird feeling of deep satisfaction washes over me.
"YOU! HOW DARE YOU!"
Before I realize what the heck is actually happening I feel my airways being blocked and I lose the connection to the floor. He has me pinned to the wall, choking me. Though this sure as hell won't kill me... it isn't really a comfortable situation either.
"Let go of him!" Kazumi aims her trident right onto his neck, ready to pierce him with it.
"Or what? Do you think your pathetic mermaid weapon can harm me in any way?"
"Let go of him Beelzemon!" Phoenixmon shouts angrily while she spreads her wings, preparing for another attack.
"Over my dead body."
"Oh... that can be arranged."
A new voice which makes my heart swell in joy and both, Kazumi and Sora as well as the digimon gasp in surprise sounds from the far corner. Beelzemon's eyes get wide and I can feel his grip on me loosening. This swift moment of him being confused is enough time for me to haul off once again, hitting the same spot of his broken cheekbone again. He lets go off me in an instant and I quickly approach my family again waiting for dad to approach us finally.
"Dad? Is that really you?" Kazumi asks, her trident still clutched in her hand.
Dad comes to a halt in front of us. He's still dressed in his uniform. Nasty looking tree – like scars are scattered all over his skin but what makes me freeze in shock is the color of one of his eyes. While one of them is still in its usual brown color, the other one lost it completely. There's only one explanation... which means we should not get too happy about dad appearing now.
"It's him guys I know my partner when I see him!" Agumon calls out happily. Kazumi and I however need a little bit more of assurance; this is why we both don't lower our weapons.
He lifts his hands up in defense, his silver ring shimmering in the dark:" It's me. You can trust me guys it's me."
The room is dead silent for a few minutes before I hear mom make some noise I can't really name and runs towards dad who wraps his arms around her immediately. Kazumi and I both exchange a look before she shrugs and waves off my worries. Whatever the hell they did... it didn't work. Obviously.
Dad slowly lets go of mom before he takes a good look on her face, his expression darkening the moment he does so.
"Who did this?" His voice is dark, sharp... and freaking cold. Sora takes a step back but still holds onto his hand, her gaze directed on the floor.
"Sor –"
"Can you explain to me what Daemon did wrong for you to be still... you?!" Beelzemon interrupts him, drawing dad's attention finally to him. Dad looks at him with wide eyes. He was probably struggling to come up with an explanation on how we ended up in our current situation and I can tell only by examining the change of emotions on his face that he is slowly beginning to understand just what on earth happened.
He takes a glance at Sora again before his gaze flickers back to the pathetic copy of him. This is where the color of his second eye vanishes too... completely. He looks more than Alec than ever.
Kazumi, mom and I all take a step back...if because of fear from him or whatever he'd do I am not sure. Dad looks fucking pissed... angrier than ever before.
An orange – black shimmering aura is surrounding him and the blade attached to his belt catches fire immediately... weird enough, it doesn't do anything to dad.
Beelzemon lifts his hands up in defense, backing off ever so slowly:" Listen Tai... we can work together. I promise your cooperation with us demon lords will be full of advantages for you!"
Dad for his part doesn't even bother to even acknowledge that Beelzemon said something. Instead he grabs him by his collar and pushes him against the wall with such a force that I fear the base will break down soon.
"Did you touch her?" He says in a low voice, his hand slowly wrapping itself around Beelzemon's throat. Slowly but surely his façade fades and he turns into his true self right in front of our eyes.
"Maybe."
In high speed dad grabs his ablaze blade and drives it into the digimon's chest, causing him to scream out in agony.
"I did! SO WHAT?! She's a hard one Tai...wasn't in the mood and slapped me for taking 'no' as no answer."
"You should have stuck to lying." The look in dad's eyes gets even darker and I can literally see him trembling in anger. I feel the ground beneath me starting to shake again, but this time I am sure it is not because of any battle of the other groups, but because dad is barely able to control his anger.
If there is anything that pisses dad off... then it's when you mess with mom.
"Which hand?" He asks further, causing Beelzemon to look at him in confusion.
"What?!"
"With which hand did you touch her?" He drives the blade further into the digimon's body.
"Huh... both."
That's it. Dad let's go of him and he sinks down onto the ground. Tai bends down and takes the blade out of Beelzemon, grabbing his second one while doing so. I am too stunned for his sudden skills to fight like that than to interfere and prevent dad from doing anything that will haunt him afterwards.
Let him have his revenge...
He hauls off with both of his arms and cuts off both of Beelzemon's hands. I hear him scream out in pain, curling into a fetus position on the ground.
Dad looks down on him, not a hint of regret in his eyes. The only two emotions I can see are hatred... and disgust. He looks at both of his weapons drenched in blood before he decides for the one that looks like the tip of a lance.
"P – Please T – Tai!" Beelzemon shouts out, raising his stumps in defense. "Have some mercy!"
Kazumi shots me a confused glance:" A trap?"
I can only nod:" Definitely."
Sora for her part looks at the scene in front of us with deep worry... and I swear I can see her trembling.
"Please Tai! Have mercy!" Beelzemon continues to whimper and I can see dad hesitating... for exactly two seconds before he hauls off again. But before the blade connects with Beelzemon's body Tai gets lifted off the ground.
"WarGreymon! WHAT THE HELL?!" He shouts out angrily, struggling against his partner's death grip. WarGreymon left Tai down on his feet but still gets a hold on his arms.
Huh... how on earth did he digivolve without me noticing it?
"Tai. This is not you, you are no acting on rage. You're power is based on courage."
"Guess not anymore pal. Don't you see it?!" Tai looks his partner digimon dead in the eyes with these damned colorless eyes of his. WarGreymon's expression changes from determined to sad.
"But you're still you. Otherwise you would not stand up for Sora like this."
Dad for his part is completely ignoring his remark:" Let me kill him WarGreymon."
"No."
"WarGreymon you – ", he starts but his eyes widen immediately. "WATCH OUT!"
"HEARTBREAK SHOT!"
Dad grabs his partner by his claws, pulling him down onto the ground with him so the attack misses him by a few inches.
"I knew you were lying! STARLIGHT EXPLOSION!"
"TERRA FORCE!"
Both of the attacks combine and hit the digimon who's still sitting on the wall at full force, leaving him heavily injured.
Tai and WarGreymon share a look before the digimon gives him a swift nod with his head. He turns towards us, looking for approval of what he is going to do. Kazumi and I both give him a thumbs up and gesture for him to know that we're backing him up. His gaze sticks to Sora the longest. I have no idea how they are communicating but after what feels like hours she slowly approaches him, holding onto his hand that was stretched out for her. For what I can see from my spot the brown color of one of his eyes returned the moment she touched him, causing a new theory to build up in my head...
They both approach the almost fallen digimon who gazes up to both of them.
"I was only following my master's orders... please."
UGH... now he's back to begging again.
"And I am only fighting off my worst nightmare", Sora whispers before she takes Dad's blade and drives it into the digimon's chest.
Since we all know what is going to happen we all gather in a circle, a reddish – orange shield built up by all of us together. The spores all bounce off... they have no chance against all of us Kamiyas together.
As soon as every bit of data is gone we dare to lower our arms, causing the shield to disappear. Sora approaches me before she pulls me into an embrace:" Thank you Dylan. I owe you."
"No you don't. You're my mom. I'd do everything for you."
"Well... technically, I'm not. But we let that count for now", she gives me wink before she turns her gaze towards dad. Her expression darkens the moment she does so however... as well as mine and Kazumi's.
Dad's bent forward, breathing heavily. Agumon stands by his side, one of his claws placed on his shoulder in a reassuring way.
"Dad what is it?!" Kazumi asks, approaching him slowly. He lifts himself up and I can see his eyes shimmering with unshed tears. He clutches his chest as if he is experiencing immense pain.
"Alec... Something's not right with him", he whispers, his voice almost breaking off.
"What? What happened dad?!" Kazumi quivers next to me.
"Something went horribly wrong. We have to get to the command center. Fast."
DAVIS' POV (before everyone was called back to the command center)
Alec crashes on the giant table where we always held our meetings, before he slides down on the ground, wincing in pain. His lip burst open and blood's streaming down the left side of his face, indicating that he probably has an injury on his head. Daemon approaches him; after he took off his coat he looks even scarier than usual.
"You became so weak my friend... you should have never put a lid over the power inside of you."
Alec struggles to get back on his feet before Daemon can get to him, but seeing that he already went into battle heavily injured obviously starts to affect him in a way. He stumbles on his feet, closing his eyes before standing upright again. He looks up to his opponent, a weird expression on his face.
"I never did, my friend." I can feel Phoenix next to me taking a few steps back what causes me to do the same. DemiVeemon who gained consciousness again looks at me with his big, begging eyes.
"Let me help him Davis."
I just shake my head:" No. This is his fight, he said so himself."
DemiVeemon frowns lightly before he looks over to Phoenix, obviously hoping that he – as Alec's brother – would appreciate the idea of the digimon helping him. But he shakes his head also.
"Alec's been waiting for this."
I can clearly see that the others have similar thoughts as DemiVeemon since they're all shifting uncomfortable. We even called the others to come down here as soon as they can... after all, you never know.
"What's happening to him?" Cody asks in shock, his face lost all of its color.
I look up to the two giants in front of me again and feel myself shiver; Alec's surrounded by a pitched black aura while Daemon only observes him with interest.
"So? You found a way to control the power of darkness... this is impressive. But I've seen someone doing this before", Daemon shrugs after glancing back at us. What does he mean?!
"What did you do Daemon?!" Alec shouts angrily, the aura around him slowly starting to sparkle.
Daemon lifts his hands up in defense: „Maybe... just maybe did I the same thing to their leader that I did to you? Apart from killing everyone he loved. This gesture was only meant for you."
"Oh my god", Phoenix whispers next to me, his eyes wide in shock. I myself feel like I can't get enough air in here... what did he just say? He did the same thing to Tai what he did to Alec? What the fuck?
"I'll fucking kill you!" Alec shouts out before he sends a dark energy beam at his opponent. Daemon obviously didn't expect him to still have that strength. He looks at the attack in shock before it hits him, throwing him off his feet and right into the nearest wall.
But Alec's not done yet; he grabs the bow and the arrow he somehow managed to get before hell broke loose here and shots Daemon who himself gets angrier the more arrows stuck him.
"How on earth are you even able to stand?!" Daemon spits, grabbing the arrows all at once and pulling them out. He takes one of them and throws it back, catching Alec off guard and hitting him right into his chest, where his injury is. I hear him gasp before the sound of the bow and the quiver falling on the ground echoes through the room. Alec bends forward pulling on the arrow but it's of no use. There's no way he can remove it like Daemon just did.
"Alec", Phoenix says in a low whisper, but it's enough for his brother to hear him. Alec turns around to him, locking eyes with the probably most precious thing he has left. Because there is no better description for a brother. Or any sibling for that matter.
"This is overdue for years already", Daemon speaks up again, standing right in front of Alec. Said boy is slightly bent forward and breathing heavily. He's ignoring Daemon completely, it almost seems like Phoenix and him are communicating in some way.
Daemon grabs Alec by his shoulder, forcing him down into a kneeling position.
"Now this is fitting, don't you think?" His malicious laugh sets my teeth on edge. He's holding Alec upright with one of his hands while he grabs some item out. As soon as my brain registers what it is I feel my breath hitch.
"Alec...", Phoenix whispers again. I slowly turn towards him. Though his face is covered in dirt and dust I have no trouble seeing the tears run down his face...
Oh my god... they are not communicating. They're saying goodbye.
Before I even know what I am doing my digivice is already in my hand:" Guys we have to interfere! He's going to kill him!"
"Yeah!" They shout in unison, hopping off our arms and ready to kick some –
"PHOENIX NO!" Yolei screams out all of the sudden, making me stop right in my tracks and turn around to the spot Phoenix was standing only a few seconds ago.
I don't dare to look at them. Deep down... I was expecting this, but I can't get myself to look. We waited too long...
"Something like that happens, when you get in my way!" Daemon's angry voice sounds again, proving my gut feeling right.
"Oh my god...Davis!" DemiVeemon tugs on my leg, forcing me to finally lift my gaze.
Daemon's still standing in the same position, his hold on the dagger's handle strong as ever. Its tip however sticks right into one of the brother's chests. And it certainly isn't the one Daemon intended to kill.
Phoenix...
"Guys! We came as fast as we could! What's going on here?!" Mimi's voice sounds from the doors. She enters the room, quickly followed by the rest of their group – minus Dylan, Kazumi, T.K, Kari and Sora.
She looks at every one of us before her gaze sticks to the scene in front of us all. Her eyes widen in shock and she stumbles back, inwardly grabbing Matt's arm next to her.
"Well... I guess we're done here. For now." Daemon speaks up after realizing we just got our back – up.
With that he vanishes. Right in front of us.
"Come back here you COWARD!" The digimon shout out angrily, looking around for any sign of the enemies armies... or the enemy himself.
But we're alone. Finally.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: For the ones who want to listen to the song... start now.
"Phoenix?" Alec's voice snaps me out. He holds his brother from behind and lowers him on the ground, laying him on his lap. He wraps his arms around his torso, placing his left hand on his cheek, forcing him to look up.
We all gather around them; while I'd expect Joe to be all over the place and help Phoenix I am rather surprised to see him only standing there.
He knows it's of no use...
"Phoenix?" Alec tries again, his voice shaking. The younger boy's gaze is disoriented but when it falls on his brother he cracks a smile.
"Are you alright?" His voice is a mere whisper but it certainly is enough to pierce through my heart.
I can see Alec's eyes turning into white crystals because of the unshed tears. His lip quivers lightly and his breath goes irregularly. He slowly shakes his head:" Why did you do that?"
"I am so happy big brother", Phoenix doesn't even acknowledges his brother's question. Neither does he wait for him to ask him what he means.
"You came back to me. As yourself. And I could not be more grateful for that."
Alec just shakes his head as if he's trying not to listen to any word his brother his saying to him. Because we all know this is him saying goodbye. I can hear Mimi calling the remaining people of our team to the command center, her voice filled with tears that are streaming down her face.
Phoenix slowly lifts his hand, turning his brother's gaze towards him:" I missed you so much. Thank you for granting me at least a few weeks to be by your side again."
"Why? Just tell my why on earth you would do that?!" Alec tries again, his tears now streaming down his face freely.
"You're my brother and I love you. That's the truth." He finally grants him an answer what only makes things worse.
"Please don't leave me", Alec's voice cracks, as well as the last bit of my self-control.
"I'll always be with you."
Phoenix' gaze turns blank all of the sudden and I literally feel his body going limb in his brother's arms. I can tell Alec does too. He slowly shakes his little brother.
"Phoenix?"
No reaction. His blue eyes lost its shimmer. His shakes get more violent, more desperate.
"No Phoenix please!" He stops shaking him all of the sudden before he buries his face into his dead brother's chest, letting his mask fall completely. His body is shaken from his sobs followed by a bloodcurdling scream. "NO!"
He's losing his grip completely; he tils his head back and looks up to the ceiling, his chest with the arrow stuck in it rises and falls way too fast and I can't help but wonder how long he'll be able to stay conscious this way. His face glisters from the tears and his body shakes violently because he fails to suppress his sobs. He looks down again, before he grips him harder and buries his face in the crook of Phoenix' neck, muffling his sobs in doing so.
Inwardly I register some of the others cry as well, but I am only focusing on Alec who's holding onto his brother... as if he could prevent his soul to leave that body. But it's of no use... Phoenix is gone.
"Please come back to me."
His sorrowful cries are enough for my own tears to fall down finally.
Fuck this. Fuck this all.
End of chapter.
Thank you for supporting me throughout this story. It means a lot to me, really, it does. I hope you liked the chapter I've been waiting to share this with you for a while.
In case you're wondering... I for my part am bailing my eyes out. I freakin' LOVED Phoenix' character.
Please R&R! I'd love to read your thoughts!
See you next time.
14/07/19
