Last chapter we saw Jun give Dagomon a nice kick to his slimy ass, this time we're going to see him react to it. And the fact he's been on the losing side of things for a while.
I do not own anything.
Chapter Fifteen: Dagomon's Counterattack Pt.1
In his house at R'lyeth, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.
Yes, in his undersea temple, deep beneath the gray-colored waters and lightless trenches of the Dark Ocean Dagomon was indeed waiting and he was dreaming. He had waited for the light to manifest itself once again after countless centuries. He had waited for the tides of despair to reach their peak and had watched them fall and rise again. He had waited for the stars to align and speak to him, to tell him the time was right. He had dreamed of holding that precious light in his hands. To feel its heavenly warmth against his cold, dead skin. He dreamed of spreading his enlightenment beyond the Dark Ocean and the corners and lower-levels of the Human World and Digital World. He dreamt of wrapping his tentacles around Daemon's furry neck and snapping it, watching the life drain from his eyes moments before he threw his body away. He dreamt of drowning each of the DigiDestined in his temple. He dreamed of basking in the light of the sun, millions upon millions of people and Digimon chatting his name as he guides them to salvation.
He was done waiting. He was done dreaming.
It was time to act.
For those unfamiliar with the oceanic Digimon it looked like he was mourning. In a way he was, it was just far more complicated than it initially looked. If there had been anyone with him at the moment they would have gone mad from the low chatting that was coming from Dagomon's lips. The number of beings who could decipher the alien words he was saying could be counted on two hands.
The words carried through the ocean currents and into the land. To all who heard it they felt a collective shiver run through their body. Some would say it sounded like some other word moaning and they would have been half-correct. Others would say they could make out certain words, like some magic spell being muttered before growing in intensity. For two individuals currently fighting for their life they knew the sound meant one thing.
Things were about to get worse…again.
Everyone could tell the past week hadn't been kind to Mr. Motomiya. Yes it'd been an awful week for the city with the monster attacks and criminal rampages but it seemed to have taken an especially hard toll on the man. Sure there wasn't much to smile about but the man's face had become a mask of depression and anger. No one, not even the boss dared to ask what was wrong.
How would he explain it to any of them if they did? His daughter was trapped in some alternate dimension ruled by some giant octopus god because she was involved with the same monsters his son had supposedly befriended? That his son near the heart of the hell that'd been raining down on the world in the past month? For all he knew his daughter could already be dead. It was a miracle that he was even able to find the strength to go to work and keep on like the world wasn't falling apart around him.
Needless to say Souta Motomiya was somewhat relieved when he the time to go home arrived. Home itself had become a strange place with the recent events hitting harder than ever before. No longer were he and his wife able to laugh at the arguments and fights their children got into over the smallest things. Now his son wouldn't meet his eye without feeling a rush of shame, neither could Souta look him in the eye without feeling a rush of anger at why he had to be caught in all this monster business. His wife…she'd spent every night crying at the thought of what was befalling her eldest child.
And to top it all off there was now news a tropical storm barreling its' way through Taiwan and towards Japan.
As he reached the parking lot of his office and unlocked his car he questioned if his life couldn't get any worse.
Before he could get into his car a series of footsteps caught his attention. Turned around he found one of his co-workers, a IT department worker making his way over.
"Excuse me, are you Souta Motomiya?" He asked.
"Yes, I am. Is there something wrong?"
Souta just barely saw the man reach into his coat then his ears practically exploded at the pop. The underground parking lot, his car, and even the keys that slipped from his hands seemed like they were rapidly speeding away from him. At first the pain was small then it racked through his body yet he couldn't scream or shout. His sight was fading and his hearing was leaving him just as fast as reality was.
"A shame you had to raise such a strong daughter." He faintly heard a voice call out.
Chiyo felt the change in the air just after she'd finished her sushi lunch. Something, ever since she'd signed on with Daemon she'd gained something of a sixth sense concerning the darker forces of the Digital World. How it came didn't matter, what did was every time it went off it terrified her. The feeling she got at that point nearly made her choke.
I underestimated that pathetic excuse of digital fish-food. Daemon's voice boomed from her cell phone.
The flames licking the warehouse made Chiyo's skin feel incredibly cold, colder with the rain growing in intensity. When she saw the smoke coming from warehouse she broke into a full on sprint and arrived to find her hideout a blazing heep. Carved into one of the metal walls was a symbol of an octopus head with a digital symbol carved into the skull. Her time under Daemon had taught her what that symbol was.
Backing away slowly she began darting her eyes back and forth. "Dagomon."
Yes. Daemon snarled. She could feel his fury through the growing heat of the phone in her head. He's been holding back this whole time. I knew it but I didn't believe he had this in him.
Sneering she brought the phone to her face. "You could have told me about his cult followers! Now what the hell am I supposed to do?"
Cease your whining! You will continue to do as you've been doing. I will give you the ability to sense his followers however for now you must lay low. He's going on the offensive, destroying my Control Spires, disrupting my sin absorption No, it's worse than that.
"How can it be worse Daemon? What else aren't you telling me?" The brunette questioned.
Naturally in times of crisis you humans will whore yourselves out to any deity claiming to have the power to save you. What makes this time any different?
Chiyo's eyes went wide. "The eighth sin."
Oh Chiyo if only you could see what I see. Sense what I sense. The Demon Lord darkly cackled. Even if the situation had turned against him even he had to admire the chaos and havoc he and Dagomon were causing. The fear, the anger, the despair. The world is draining in these things. Thousands of people are calling for a savior while just as many have given into despair. They belong to that deprived monk now. These storms are his doing; it's not the first time he's done this however it is the first I've seen him expand so much energy. His laughter took on a more mocking tone. He was mocking himself Chiyo realized with silent shock. Despair is born of sadness. Sadness is born out of a lack of joy and happiness. From these things comes sin; the make-up of our being. He's using the anarchy caused by our plans to gather followers, that's how he's able to unleash these storms all over the place.
Now Chiyo got it. "The aftermath leaves cities and countries in ruin. Crimes like looting, rape, and murder. In addition to stopping you he's also building himself up. And you didn't see any of this coming." There was no fighting the joy in her last words. A feint small came to her lips.
Daemon was willing to let the girl's last comment slide. It was the truth. He'd been so preoccupied by his other objectives he'd completely overlooked Dagomon actually taking advantage of the mayhem caused by his forces. He was thankful he hadn't freed any of the others yet especially Barbamon, the bearded bastard would never let him live it down.
"Can't you do something about this storms? Specifically the one about to nail Odaiba?" Chiyo asked looking at the sky somewhat fearfully.
Now that he'd seen his chance he was going to take it. I'm afraid weather manipulation isn't my forte Chiyo. Causing senseless violence and loved ones to turn on each other is my department. Now if you moved a little faster and worked a little harder I might be able to make some head way.
"Is killing his followers out of the question?" She asked with narrowed eyes.
The laughter coming from the phone was haunting and made her stomach twist in disgust. Chiyo, this are human beings we're talking about here. Have you no sense of mercy or compassion left? What happened to that sweet little girl that wanted to be a lawyer like her dad?
The brunette wasn't in the mood for her 'boss's' wisecracks. "These people are bat-shit crazy cultist worshipping Cthulhu. If there's anything left of their old personalities they're probably screaming to be put out of their misery."
She figured if she'd have gotten used to the Demon Lord of Hatred's laughter by that point. The vile in her gut made her believe she never would. That's my girl. Sadly no, they're too many of them and finding them will take too much time. If what I think is happening is…Dagomon will be strong enough to take on any of us Seven Deadly Demons.
Somehow that thought didn't really bother Chiyo as much as it should have. The image of Daemon getting his ass kicked by a giant fish man nearly made her burst out in laughter.
Lucky for us I've got back up coming.
"And that back up is?" For a certain reason Chiyo feared she wasn't going to like the answer.
She could almost hear the smile and disdain in his words. Greed. By the way I'd head over to safe house E if I were you.
Chiyo counted six or ten moving to surround her. Putting away her phone she flexed her hands. "Oh hell." She muttered.
To say things were tense in the Kamiya household would have been an understatement. Upon getting word of the hurricane heading towards Tokyo it was decided they needed to stock up on supplies. They weren't the only ones. Tai and Kari had seen some nasty brawls break out during black Friday but nothing came close to what they saw when they joined their parents. Every store they went to was packed, traffic pile-ups had become common as everyone seemed to be racing from one part of town to the next either to get emergency supplies or to find shelter. Stores were rapidly being emptied out by the masses surging in and out.
Tai didn't need his parents to tell him to protect Kari, he already had a feeling he was going to have to do it the moment they all got into the car. Agumon and Gatomon may have been tailing him but if push came to shove he knew in the end he was going to have to be the one there for her. Kari herself was doing her best to adjust to the chaos that was rapidly gripping her once peaceful hometown. It didn't sit well with her, seeing everyday people pushing and tearing at each other for things such as flashlights and canned food.
Almost every member of the family came home in tears in their clothing and their legs close to weakening. While their parents began set things in their proper place Tai and Kari exchanged looks with their partners. They all had the same thought; if they didn't act fast what they just went through was going to be a walk in the park compared to what was coming.
The duo were watching tropical storm Huo tear through the Miaoli when a call came through. It was their mother who answered it. A moment later her face went ashen before she called Tai over.
Kari watched her brother's face mirror her mother's. "What is it? Mom, Tai, what happened?" Her voice betrayed the panic racing through her.
It was Tai who answered, he struggled to find the words he needed to say. "Davis…his dad was…his dad was shot on his way back home."
Kari pondered what she was going to say to Davis when they finally got to the hospital. She'd counseled friends before but this was something totally different, someone's life was in mortal danger. Neither she nor her brother knew exactly if Davis's father was alive or not, all they'd said was he was shot. If he was dead…no, she didn't want to give that outcome any thought least it become a reality.
Every second that ticked by was torture to the pair. For all they knew their friend's father was dead and they were just on their way to hear it from the doctors themselves. Tai struggled to keep his anger in check. He was the overall leader of the DigiDestined yet to have such an extreme event happen on his watch and to someone he'd almost come to consider a younger brother made his blood boil. It was only through his recalling of previous experiences did they manage to hold some of that rage in check.
Beside him Kari kept her hands clasped in her lap praying. In all her dreams she'd never expected this. Sure she'd had a few evil deities pay her a visit to threaten her or intimidate her but she never knew this is what they could have meant.
You are a kind person. A caring person. That means the number of ways to make you suffer are as vast as they are creative.
A jolt ran through the younger brunette. Could this have been what they meant? Were they going through Davis to get to her?
It wouldn't be the first time some maniac had used innocent people to get to her.
Of the two she was the most hesitant to leave the car when they did reach the hospital almost an hour later. She was sure she'd remember the incident with shame. One of her best friends' father was in the hospital and she was the one acting scared?
Davis deserved more than this. He deserved better than this. Those were the words she repeated in her head when her legs found the strength to move again.
The hospital was packed with patients, many of them injured from either the recent crime wave or from fighting for supplies. More patients were still being brought in as they made their way through the halls. Eventually they saw the others, their faces showing the worry and fear they were no doubt feeling.
Ken, TK, Cody, Yolei, Matt, Sora, and Mimi were there with either both their parents or one of them. Upon arrival the Kamiya siblings saw their faces were far darker than theirs were. Kari almost immediately jumped the worst case conclusion. "Is he…"
"No," Sora said shaking her head. "But Davis's mother…she…had heart attack about twenty minutes ago."
So their worst fear had been traded for something else. "Where's Davis?" Tai asked.
Over the past week the DigiDestined had come to see a different side of the younger goggle head. It was a side that many of them felt they could live without ever having to see. They'd seen him angered, truly filled with hatred. The last time any of them had seen it was during their battle with MaloMyotismon. They saw it the day Jun was sucked into the Dark Ocean, they'd seen peaks of it at school as Davis struggled to contain his guilt and frustration, and lastly they'd seen it when they went head to head with the Daemon Corps barely over a week ago. Now they saw a Davis they'd never thought they'd see; a near totally demoralized Davis.
His shoulders were slumped and his head hung low. His raincoat stuck to his body and two cups of water sat lazily by his side. Every aspect of his body was almost perfectly still save for his twitching fingers. A cloud of near-visible misery and surreal despair had rooted itself above the marooned hair boy and it seemed to have him frozen to the spot.
Beside him Veemon was very much the same as his partner. The blue and white skinned Digimon's formerly excited air had been replaced with sorrow and worry. His eyes were red from the tears he'd no doubt shed over his inability to protect his partner's family. As opposed to the semi-stillness of his partner his hands constantly shook from the tears he was doing his best to hold it.
Those same tears came out when he felt the arms of his fellow Digimon wrap around him; Agumon, Patamon, Hawkmon, Gatomon, and Biyomon just to name a few.
For Davis it took a combined hug from both Tai and Kari before he allowed the dam within him to crack then burst.
It was a painful sight for everyone present. This wasn't the Davis they were all so used to seeing. For weeks he'd been beating himself up over what could be happening to his sister and now both his parents were currently lying in a hospital bed, one fighting for life and the other trying to escape from the nightmare her life had become.
Matt lay just outside of the group too ashamed to join them. The way he saw it he had no right to comfort the younger goggle head. It was his rash actions that had partly lead to this catastrophe. In fact ever since that day he hadn't been able to look Davis in the eye. No matter what everyone said or did the fact remained it was his fault. The sight of Davis's broken down form only served to drive that point home.
He'd gone to the police and asked them if they had any leads on who the shooter was. Needless to say they weren't big on the idea of sharing police information with a seventeen year-old high school student. Regardless he'd managed to gleam enough information from some of the more sympathetic officers. One of his co-workers had done the deed. For some reason he didn't think it was the right time to let Davis that. In his state Matt had a pretty good idea what he would do.
It seemed like an eternity before the doctors emerged from the ER. Everyone instantly shot to their feet with their eyes wide bit none more so than Davis.
"Your father's out of danger. " The lead doctor said much to the gathered group's collective relief. "The bullet was just a few inches from his heart and it was close but he should be fine. As for your mother…she's going to be out of it for a while, a lot of stress build up." He turned to Davis with gentle eyes. "Otherwise your parents are going to make it through."
It took Tai and Kari on both sides of him to keep Davis from falling to the floor. Veemon wasn't so lucky however he did have the others there to help him up.
In another minute they were finally able to get Davis and Veemon to drink something while their parents began answer questions for the police. They all knew it was only a matter of time before their turn came. Until then they all sat in the waiting room, chatting quietly amongst themselves.
"So Tai what do we do now?" Sora asked. She wouldn't voice it but like the others she'd grown tired of being left behind in this three-way war. "We can't just sit around and wait for this to happen again."
"I know Sora and believe me I don't plan on letting this happen again." The first goggle head responded casting a throw away glance at Davis and Veemon. "Izzy's almost neutralized the virus blocking our access to the Digital World. In the meantime I'm calling a meeting of the DigiDestined."
Matt blinked once. "Um, most of us are here. And I don't think it's a good idea to involve all the newbies just yet Tai. I don't know about you but I don't think they're ready for something this big." By newbies the other two knew Matt was referring to all those who'd received their Digivices and partners from the MaloMyotismon incident. He and Davis had coined them newbies since they were entirely new to their role of DigiDestined and had to be trained.
Tai met his best friend with one of the most serious faces the blond had ever seen him wear. "No Matt, I don't just mean those of us in Tokyo. I mean everyone, worldwide."
At that Matt was taken back. "Oh." That was all he could say. He felt light headed at the thought of Tai ordering a meeting of all the DigiDestined worldwide, light headed and grateful he wasn't leader. "Tai, you know as your friend I've always got your back but calling in everyone? How do you know they'll listen to you?"
It amazed both teenagers how calmly the brown haired DigiDestined leaned against the walls. His eyebrows were bent, "I'm not expecting them to follow my every order. I'm not expecting to even be in charge. A Control Spire has appeared in almost every corner of every continent and so far all we've been doing is just reacting like wild animals. On one side we've got Daemon and on the other we've got Dagomon. There's hundreds of us against both their armies, it's time we started using our numbers."
"Tai you're talking about organizing hundreds of thousands of kids. Not all of them are going to listen." Matt said.
"They will if they know what's at stake." He countered.
Now he could see where his friend's thoughts were. "They may not listen to you but at the least we'll all act together."
"A few go to the Digital World, a team to the Dark Ocean to rescue Jun and shut down Daemon and Dagomon," Sora added.
"And everyone else stays behind to defend Earth." Tai finished.
Sora and Matt looked at each other with faintly surprised expressions. It was hard to believe they'd just heard such a sound and rational plan from their formally hot-headed friend. They didn't need to say it, they were both proud of him.
"I had Izzy start sending out emails before my family went out for supplies. Tomorrow morning I'm calling a meeting of the heads of every region; North America, South America, Canada, Europe, Africa, and the rest of Asia."
"That's going to be one heck of a talk." Gabumon chirped in.
"If you think that's big just imagine what everyone's going to have to say." Biyomon sighed.
"What's wrong?" both Agumon and Gabumon asked.
"Well I didn't want to say anything but some of the DigiDestined we met when we were traveling are…they're not easy to get along with." She answered. "In fact some of them seemed to hate the very idea of working with DigiDestined from other countries."
Agumon and Gabumon each made a face. They needed unity now not some petty ideological or national differences. "Think they might change their mind when they find out there's Demon Lord on the loose?" Agumon asked.
Biyomon shook her head looking around the room. "I hope so or else…"
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
All the conversations seemed to die immediately as the collective buzzing grew in volume. Several eyes searched the room trying to confirm if what they we rehearing and seeing was indeed real. Dread, confusion, and fear began to manifest on their faces.
TK was the one who finally pulled out his phone and answered. "Hel-Hello…"
…
"I-It's a text message. That's what it says." He finished.
Hesitantly each of the children pulled out their phones to find each of them had received a text message, all of them reading the same thing: I have a surprise for you.
"What the…hell?" Matt muttered when he received a new text message and opened it. Another series of bings echoed through the room.
"This is impossible!" Yolei screamed falling to her sit.
"How he's doing this?" Ken questioned suddenly feeling weak in the knees.
"We…he…but…" T.K. couldn't get the words out.
"What? What is?" Patamon questioned flying over his partner's shoulders. What he saw made his face mirror TK's.
Agumon looked worriedly at his partner and friend. "Tai what is it? What did he send you?"
The first goggle head spat out a series of words and numbers that made Agumon's blood run cold. Soon enough the other kids followed. Ken's phone fell to the polished white floor, a picture of his apartment frozen on the screen.
"Our addresses," Sora muttered pale-faced. "Our homes…he knows where we live. All of us."
Just when it seemed they finally had a plan of action despair had struck them all down. No one spoke a word because there was nothing to be said by this point. Nothing could lift the dark cloud that had descended over the Chosen Children.
Suddenly Mimi's head shot up and she desperately began dialing her phone.
"Mimi what are you doing?" Yolei questioned.
"Joe and Izzy!" She cried. "If Dagomon knows where we live then that means he knows where they live too!"
Alarm replaced the collective fear they all shared just a second ago.
"Shit!" Tai cursed rapidly dialing Izzy's number. He cursed again when his message went straight to voice mail.
Shooting a glance across the room he could see the defeated and fearful expression on Mimi's face that meant Joe hadn't picked up either. "This is bad. Really bad. I thought we might be able to get the drop on Dagomon and Daemon but instead Dagomon's coming after all us!"
"Damn it now what are we supposed to do!" Yolei yelled. "We can't go back home and if we do all we'll be doing is putting our families in danger!"
If he'd clenched his fist any tighter Tai was sure he'd eventually dry blood. "Mimi and Cody, go to Joe's place and make sure his family is okay! Yolei and Matt go to Izzy's! I don't care if you have to fly through the rain and lightning just make sure both of them are alright!"
Despite his anger Tai was somewhat happy to see Mimi dart off towards her parents the moment he told everyone where to go. She'd have Joe covered and he was sure Yolei and Matt would be able to get to Izzy. Once they were gone he slumped against his chair finally allowing his exhaustion to take hold. His face was no longer the model of bravery but thinly hidden concern.
Kari watched in agony as her brother slumped in near defeat. If she was terrified by this point she could only imagine how he felt. Odds were his pride was probably as shot as his feelings were. "Tai what are we going to do?"
"A few months ago Izzy and Gennai told me about some kind of digital charms," he started staring at his cup of juice. "They work like those ancient talismans people put up to ward off evil. Gennai kept them in storage just in case we ever needed them. Right now I'm glad he did."
Kari nodded her head. "So we go to the Digital World get these talismans and put 'em up around our homes?"
"Yeah. They should hold out long enough for us to at least take care of one of those two." By this point he'd come to silently wish it was Dagomon they were able to take out first. He'd stalked his sister and now he was threatening the lives of his family and those of his friends. "I never thought it'd get this far."
THUNK!
The remaining heads turned to see Davis, quivering in not fear but raw anger. His fist was planted in the nearest wall. Blood slipped down his hand and the wall which had a series of cracks forming where his fist made impact. Veemon, in an effort to contain his anger was now pacing around, completely uncaring of whoever saw him. If one looked close enough they could have seen a dark blue aura of energy slowly manifesting around the Rookie. Biyomon, Gatomon, Wormmon, Agumon, and Patamon did their best to calm the blue-skinned Digimon down to little avail.
Getting up Kari moved over to her friend and gently pried his fist off the wall. "Let's go see the doctor to get that fixed up."
Inwardly groaning Tai walked over to a window to stare at the cityscape bathed in rain. A moment later he felt Sora's arms wrap around his torso then her head leaning on his shoulder. Before they had been on the defensive, now they were turtles tucking themselves in their shells. He hated it with a passion.
As the overall leader he wasn't allowed to show the fear that'd been coursing through his veins at a mile a minute. They'd faced threats of this severity before: Myotismon, the Dark Masters, MaloMyotismon, and Armageddemon; however, they were ones they could confront face to face and destroy. Plus they had the luxury of facing them one at a time. The more he thought of it the more realized they were almost reliving Myotismon's invasion all over again expect it was about five times worse.
From the view of his window the city looked peaceful but he knew the truth. Just beyond the lights the city was slowly tearing itself apart through ever-growing crime waves and a coming storm that was growing stronger with every second that passed. There had been three break-ins at their apartment complex in the last week and at least one person had had been murdered in every one of them. He'd done his best to shield Kari from it though he thought that would be impossible in the next few days.
"So as it stands we're stuck between our town slowly descending into hell and a category four storm blowing it off the map. All courtesy of two crazy digital monsters that seem intent on topping the other before taking over the world. Awesome." Not for the first time Tai wished they could go a while without having some evil force trying to destroy the Human and Digital World. Oh how he longed for another 'temporary retirement' from saving the world.
