Chapter 12 – Rendezvous
Gallantmon watched horrified as his friend's limp body hurtled towards the ground. The sword was impaled right through Justimon, sticking through his back and out through his chest. He had to act fast but knew he, too, could risk being struck by the remaining sword. Was his life; no, his only chance, worth the risk? If he was also killed, who would be there to stop Owryumon? Or Shimizu for that matter. Surely not Henry. But he had to act.
To Gallantmon, time was in slow motion. His friend fell slowly to the ground; the noise around seemed distant, and even the rain felt like it pelted less and more gently against his armour. The knight looked down at his shield and grit his teeth. He was running out of time. Like it was a frisbee, he hurled his shield towards Owryumon, unsure of whether or not he hit. With all his strength and speed, he shot down towards Justimon, grabbing him by the arm.
As strange as the sight was to see, Justimon's back glistened red. Like he was bleeding, but data leaked out as well. Was it a mixture of both Ryo and Monodromon's blood? He shook his head, there wasn't time to ponder it. Owryumon's sword came lunging towards the knight. His instincts weren't fast enough, for the sword ripped through his pauldron and into his shoulder. Blood and data seeped down his armour. What is going on? Gallantmon wondered. Pulling Justimon close to him, he jumped to the top of the hospital's semi-demolished roof. He placed his friend down, hastily removing the sword. He flung it across the building and off the side.
Within seconds of removing the blade, before Gallantmon were two beings; Ryo and Monodromon. Although unconscious, he could see their short breaths. He was thankful they hadn't dispersed into data fragments. The knight turned to the dragon, floating in the air, boredom smudged onto its face. "How could you do this?" His voice louder than intended. He couldn't help his feelings or his anger. "How can you murder humans and Digimon?!"
Owryumon shrugged, tossing his sword claw to claw. "I have orders to follow, Tamer. Besides, people and Digimon die every day. It's the natural order in life."
Gallantmon shook his head, "no. Murder is not a natural cause. You are murdering innocent families. Innocent children. Innocent Digimon."
"Don't feed me your ignorance, Tamer. In the animal kingdom, animals kill one another for territory, for survival, even for love. Would you call such a thing murder?" The dragon said, his voice calm.
"This is different," Takato's voice shook. "This is completely different. You can prevent this; all of this from happening. Instead, you'd rather watch your fellow human's die. And for what? For what cause!"
The armoured dragon left out a throaty laugh. "You're still a child, Tamer. Perhaps you do not understand. Humour me with your thoughts on this, child, but what are your thoughts on war? The past, the present, and even in the future, all wars can be prevented, can they not? The very fact that they can be and yet humans still choose to act is what justifies the ignorance of this world. Inside every human, there is a thin chain. This chain is clasped to what we know is right and what we know to be wrong," the dragon said, looking into the sky in thought. "Should one of those clasps be even slightly fractured, we make our decision. This is why we have some who agree with war and some who disprove. Do you catch me so far?"
Gallantmon shook his head, unsure of where Owryumon was going with his point. Owryumon sighed, continuing on. "Inside all of us, we all agree with the war. Inside all of us is a soldier. When propaganda or media influence our thoughts, change our beliefs to theirs, that is what cracks our clasps to wrong and right. That is the very foundation of war, child."
"I don't understand," Takato said.
"That I wouldn't doubt. What I am saying is that we all live to be heroes and want to become soldiers, like yourself, especially when we fight for what we believe is right. But hidden beneath that clasp of what's wrong in our world is a desire. A desire to murder. This is why we have wars. At some point in a man's life, we feel the need to take out our frustrations and our corrupted beliefs out on others. All war is murder. Do you not agree?" The armoured dragon articulated, rolling his sword between his claws.
"I-I think I kind of get it. So what you're saying is that you have a burning passion to murder humans and Digimon because of the plagued ideals of Shimizu?" Gallantmon was beginning to understand Owryumon's point.
Owryumon nodded. "Yes, you're finally understanding."
"You're wrong, though, Owryumon. Not all of us have a desire to kill within us. Not all of us agree to war. It's like you said; war can be prevented. Why are you helping to destroy humanity for Shimizu?" Guilmon growled. "Even though I am a Digimon, my desire for my life is to help humans."
"You're a naive Digimon, then." Owryumon reprimanded. "Humans have had their chance to coincide with Digimon. Portals from the Digital World have been opening all around the world and each government destroys it. Destroys it like it's..it's some kind of disease to have Digimon in our world! And Hypnos is of the many causes of which the portals have been closed. Why are humans so afraid to live with the possibility of Digimon?"
Gallantmon lowered his joust, shaking his head in contempt. "Your anger is towards Hypnos then? Why are you all in Italy if Hypnos is what you want?"
"There is a portal under the Colosseum. Theoretically speaking, should the Digital World coincide with the outline of the human world, Italy is the sole basis of where the d-reaper lays. Once the portal is opened, we can unleash the d-reaper and have it destroy the humans and their world." Owyrumon told him.
"Are you nuts?" Takato gaped at him. "Summoning that thing will kill off everything, and your world included. How could you possibly think this is a good idea?"
"Because, child, there is an object under the Colosseum that will give Shimizu great power. Such great power can stop the d-reaper once we've shown the humans we're in charge. We will live in a free world so long as the Digimon reign." The dragon grinned.
"How can you let humans die? All those families. What about your family?!" Takato's voice cracked in exasperation. He gripped his joust tight in vexation. Why is Shimizu doing this?
Owryumon's voice faltered. "My family is already dead. There is nothing left in this world for me."
Gallantmon was taken back by this confession. Could losing a loved one really tear a man into something like this? To want to murder millions of people to show you are in control? Takato swallowed a nervous lump in his throat. He had to press Owryumon to change his mind. To realize what his intentions are, are wrong. He had to take the chance, otherwise, his hands would be dirtied knowing he either killed a man to stop him or wasting too much time that his friend died. He couldn't think of the latter. Not now. He glanced at Ryo, his breathing was shallow. "Would your family want this? If they were still alive would you want this? Would you want a lunatic murdering humans for power?"
"It wasn't fair that they were taking from me so soon." Gallantmon could have sworn to see tears streaking down the dragon's face, but it could have easily have been from the rain. "You will learn that nothing in this world is fair."
"You're putting families through the same anguish you had felt! You can stop this. You can help us stop Shimizu and stop the pain he is causing." Gallantmon argued.
Owryumon's claws began to shake. Gallantmon was breaking through. "My family didn't deserve to die..."
"And neither do these people, Owryumon. Look below you. Look at the scared people running. The many Digimon being killed. Everyone is frightened. Do they deserve this?"
"No...no one deserves to share my pain. M-my wife would be so angry. How could I betray my family like this?" He looked down and watched as a Stingmon drove a claw through a police officer before being shot by a military officer. He began to descend, landing on the roof of the hospital. In seconds, the armoured dragon disappeared, leaving an upset doctor in its place. The doctor tossed the digivice and it skidded across the roof. "I am sorry child."
Gallantmon stood behind him, looking down at Ryo. "Please help us. Aid us through this fight. Help us stop Shimizu before more innocent people and Digimon get hurt."
The doctor nodded, tears streaming down his face. The beat of the rain matted his hair to his face. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "I'll take care of your friend. Please, stop Shimizu. He is at the Colosseum."
Yamaki's back was stiff and his head ached. He touched the back of his head and felt flakes in his hair. Pulling a piece off a strain of hair, he examined what was clearly dried blood. Leaving out a soft moan, he rubbed his eyes. He reached for his cellphone and it suddenly rang.
"Hel-lo," he managed weakly. "Yamaki speaking."
The voice on the other end was Janyruu's. His voice was stern and clearly did not want to waste time. "Yamaki, Dolphin has figured out what Shimizu could possibly be after, however, it's not really known to be a fact yet."
Shaking his head to try and ease the pain, he replied, "and what could that be. Please spare me minor details and get to the point." He stood up and blindly headed towards the door. He remembered walking into a darkened, abandoned hospital and spotting Kazu. After that, everything was a blur.
Janyruu got to the point immediately, "under the Colosseum lies a power that we're sure Shimizu is after. According to a legend, a gladiator was killed and wished for power from the gods. His wish was granted and he turned into a giant lion, killing his foe. He, too, was slew but by the Emperor's men. The legend says he was holding a device that changed his form into the lion."
Not quite catching on, and he was sure it was because of his headache, he coughed out a, "what?"
"My guess it was a digivice. Shimizu probably believes this legend that was told many years ago." He felt himself getting a little annoyed with this conversation. "Have you met up with the children? Are they alright?" He asked, purposely changing the conversation.
Yamaki headed for the door. "Yes, they're fine. They took salvage in a hospital. The city is full of Digimon."
"Are you able to put any of them on the phone?" Janyruu asked, wanting the reassurance that the kids are fine. Not that he didn't trust Yamaki, but he had to hear so for himself.
"That is a bit problematic," he admitted, checking each room in the hospital for the children. "They left probably to fight Shimizu. They're absolutely fine, I can assure you of that. You have my word, Janyruu," he lied, before clicking his cellphone off and heading outside.
Nico and Renamon headed through the corridor that leads to Rika's confinement cell. The corridor was dimly lit by torches, which flickered when they passed. Every once in a while, Renamon would sniff the air in hopes to catch the scent of her tamer. Unfortunately, the only things she had been able to smell were torches, must, and Nico's BO. She scrunched her nose.
"It's not much further now," Nico told her, breaking the awkward silence. Renamon darted her eyes at him. "She's just down this hallway. I had to keep her hidden so no stray Digimon would spot her."
Renamon grunted in reply. As she and Nico rounded a corridor, she couldn't help but to ask, "what is Shimizu holding of yours?"
The kitsune watched as his shoulders dropped with a sigh. "My sister," he answered honestly, unsure of why he was even answering her. Renamon didn't reply. Empathizing just wasn't her thing and to her, it was clear he was in no mood to talk about it.
They both kept silent the rest of the way until the reached Rika's cell. "Rika!" Renamon called, clasping the bars in her paws."Rika, wake up!"
Rika stirred in her bed. She blinked several times before finally seeing that it was actually Renamon. She shot out of bed like a gun, only to be stopped by the immense pain. "R-Renamon. I-is it really you? I so hope that I'm not dreaming?"
"It's me," she told Rika. "We're here to take you to safety." She tilted her head towards Nico.
"What is he doing here?" She half-yelled before choking. "You're working with this murderer?"
"I haven't murdered anyone," he put simply. He unlocked the cell doors. Rika hobbled out and was caught by Renamon in an embrace. "We need to hurry. Shimizu is getting ready to open the portal under the Colosseum."
Renamon tossed Rika a look as if to tell her not to argue right now. She digivolved into Kyubimon and knelt down for Rika and Nick to hop on. "We don't have much time if what Nico is saying is true. But first, we must get you to a hospital."
"What? Why?" Rika asked, gripping Kyubimon's fur. Nico wrapped his arms around Rika's waist.
"You're internally bleeding, Rika. You could die at any moment." The kitsune answered. She trotted through the corridor as fast as she could.
Rika scowled. "Since when? I'm in pain, sure, but the doctor fixed me up. I only had a fractured rib. Nothing that will kill me."
"That's impossible," Kyubimon said. "Nico told us-"
"I lied," he put flatly.
"No surprise there," Rika rolled her eyes.
"Yet again, I am sorry. I had to gain your trust. I got you Rika back, but please, help me get my sister back." Nico cried.
Rika heard him sniffle a few times. "I'm so confused."
"Shimizu is holding his sister captive as a way to get him to do the dirty work," Kyubimon explained.
"That's right. It was my job to get to know you and use your information to learn your weaknesses for this battle. I never meant to hurt you. I just had to show Shimizu that I could still be trusted on his side. Otherwise...he probably would have killed my sister." Nico confessed. He wrapped his arms tighter around Rika's waist and buried his face in her neck. "I am so sorry. Shimizu has something of everyone that he is using to manipulate us all to fight. Please understand."
"What I understand right now is that when we are done here, I am so going to kick your ass."
The ground rumbled beneath Gallantmon's feet as he headed closer to the Colosseum. His body trembled from the mini earthquake and he dropped to his knees. Almost there, Takato. Guilmon assured his partner.
I know. We need to locate everyone and explain to them what Shimizu is after.
Righto, partner.
Gallantmon regained his posture and kept going. Through the pelting of heavy rain, he made out MegaGargomon in the distance. Gallantmon rose his shield and shot a Shield of the Just towards his friend to catch his attention. The rabbit robot turned towards him and waved.
"Henry!"
"Takato!" The thumping of his footsteps created the earthquake. Takato felt a tinge of relief knowing it wasn't Shimizu concocting his malicious plans yet. MegaGargomon picked up the knight. "What happened? Where is Ryo?"
The knight shook his head. "He will be alright but he was badly injured at the hospital. Jeri is with him. Where are Kazu and Kenta?"
"They went with Nico and Renamon to get Rika," Henry answered. "They're taking too long."
Gallantmon sighed, "I don't trust Nico...put me down, MegaGargomon. I'll go looking for them."
As the knight was placed on the ground, Kyubimon, Rika, and Nico emerged from the entrance. Gallantmon de-digivolved. Takato ran towards Rika, embracing the redhead. "Rika, you're alright? I thought you were dying?"
Rika shook her head. "Another wonderfully conceived lie by Nico, I'm afraid. Where is Ryo?"
Takato frowned as he pulled away from his friend. "He's injured but will live. He's back at the hospital with Jeri and the doctor who attacked you guys."
"I need to get there straight away."
"We need to get back to our headquarters and come up with a plan. I have to fill everyone in on Shimizu's plan." Takato said. "Where are Kazu and Kenta?"
Nico thumbed to the buildings behind him. "Over there somewhere. They refused to come with Renamon and me."
"Hey chumleys," Kazu shouted, waving to them. He and Kenta ran towards the others, smiling broadly. "Rika! Hate to say it, but glad to see you."
"Whatever," Rika replied. "Kyubimon and I will head to the hospital to get Ryo. We will meet you back at our hideout."
Takato nodded. "Ok. Be safe. Please."
"Kyubimon, I never would have admitted this before, but I sure as hell hope that Ryo will be alright. I'm worried about him." Rika told her partner. She swiped a speed upgrade card through her digivice.
The kitsune nodded. "I'm sure he will be just fine, Rika. He is a strong tamer." They hurried towards the hospital, only to be stopped by several tanks and army men sporting the Canadian flag. Their guns pointed at Rika and her partner. "It didn't take the armies very long to get to Italy, considering all this started just hours ago."
Rika agreed. "It must just be for the convenience of the story. Besides, they're Canadian, they won't shoot at us."
Kyubimon jumped over the tanks and bullets began spraying the air, some just grazing the Digimon. "You were saying?"
"Well, I guess some stereotypes aren't true. Come on, we can't waste any time." Rika said, swiping another speed card.
They reached the hospital and Rika hopped off her partner. "I'll check this way. You go the other." She made her way through the rumble and into the demolished hospital. The place was like a ghost town and severally destroyed. Walls were crumbling, lights were falling from the ceiling, furniture toppled over. It was a chaotic sight. Rika ran through the halls, shouting Ryo's name and was met by a very distraught looking Jeri.
"Jeri!" Rika embraced her friend.
Tears pooled from Jeri's eyes. "Rika. Oh my gosh, Rika. I missed you."
"I haven't been gone very long, Jeri," Rika assured her. "Where's Ryo?"
"It's not good, Rika." Jeri took Rika by the hand and lead her through the corridor and to a room Ryo was in. He was laying on a bed, a blanket covering him. Monodramon and a doctor stood beside him.
Rika rushed to his side, knocking Monodramon out of the way. "Ryo! Ryo! Wake up!" She took his hand in hers. Tears slid down her cheek. "Ryo, please."
The doctor was forlorn. "I'm sorry. He took quite a bit of damage in the battle. I don't think we can save him."
Jeri placed a hand on Rika's trembling back. "This is your last chance to say goodbye, Rika. Maybe...give him a kiss on the lips. He's unconscious but will probably still feel it."
"Are you nuts?" Rika asked.
Renamon appeared beside her. "Rika. I'm sorry. We were not quick enough to get here."
Rika swallowed a lump and fought back more tears. Her heart raced as she leaned in and pressed her lips to Ryo's, who awoke abruptly. He placed his free hand on the back of Rika's neck and pulled her in closer for a more passionate kiss. Rika pulled away, discombobulated. "What the hell?"
"Your kiss awoke me, Princess." Ryo gleamed. Everyone broke into laughter, even the doctor.
Rika's cheeks flushed with anger. "How dare you trick me like that! I thought you were dying!"
"Sorry, Rika. Kyubimon found us first and suggested we trick you. You had such a rough night, we were just trying to lighten the mood." Jeri giggled. Rika rolled her eyes and stormed away. "We're sorry!"
"Whatever. We need to get back to the hideout and figure out a plan." Rika said as she walked away.
Takato had just finished explaining to everyone what had been going on when Rika, Ryo, and the others joined them. Takato smiled seeing all his friends together again. "Right. I'll fill you guys in."
"No need," Ryo told him, slumping into a chair. "We were filled in along the way. And what the hell is he doing here?"
"I'm here to help," Nico replied.
"Yeah? We don't need your sorry ass here. Get out!" Ryo roared.
"Chill, Ryo," Henry said, placing a hand on Ryo's shoulder. "He's on our side. He rescued Rika for us."
Ryo snorted. "Rescued her? From himself?"
Nico sighed. "I saved her from being killed at the hospital. Can we please move past this. We need a plan for Shimizu."
Takato nodded. "Yes. We need to get to Shimizu before he opens the portal under the Colosseum. If it really is the D-Reaper he is summoning to this world, then we have to act fast."
"I say we hit them hard and with everything we've got!" Terriermon exclaimed.
"It's honestly the only thing we really can do," Rika said. "We would have to get there before the army does, though."
"Actually, the army is leaving that area alone. More than likely to preserve it, especially since no Digimon are really bothering it." Henry told her.
"Yeah, since Shimizu probably told them to stay well enough away. We need to contact Yamaki and get him to find the twin morons' Digimon." Rika thumbed at Kazu and Kenta. "Their partners are weak but we could use all the help we can get."
"Hey, I resent that. Andromon is stronger than Renamon!" Kazu whined. "And besides, Yamaki is in Italy, too."
Henry tilted his head to the side in thought. "That's right. So where the heck did he go?"
Takato stood from his chair. "We can't go looking for him now. We need to get ready for battle. Tamers, let's move out!"
A/N: sorry, short chapter. I'm only planning on having maybe one or two more before the story is concluded, hopefully. Please review!