I do not own anything.
Chapter Eighteen: Dagomon's Counterattack Pt.4
Having sent Veemon to get Wormmon to safety Davis found himself walking alone through the scarily populated streets of the city. Besides a handful of people recent events had forced everyone indoors where it was safe. Davis was never one for safe, especially when he was in this mindset. Angry and determined, the two seemed to produce some invisible aura that warded off those who passed him on the streets. They could feel the promise of violence radiating off him. It was good; it meant no unneeded questions on why a fourteen year old boy was walking down the streets in the middle of a storm watch with a look that could kill a man.
By some miracle Tamachi Station was still open though certain trains had stopped running. Not the Yamanote Line and the Keihin-Tohoku Line; those was too important to be shut down. The moment Davis walked inside the station he was slightly taken back to see there was JSDF patrolling the station. On the outside he'd seen a few armored vehicles but he had no idea the inside of the station was gradually becoming more military than civilian. "They must be worried some terrorist attack or something is going to take place. I can't really blame them". Davis thought as he waited in line to get his ticket. Among the many things in Tokyo that would make a suitable target the railway stations ranked amongst the highest.
As he was on his way to the railway Davis felt an electric jolt run up his spine. It stopped him in his tracks and put his senses on full alert. He felt like he was back on the soccer field, scanning the area for both the ball and his opponents. First he looked to his right then to his left. He spotted her standing there with black backpack in a green raincoat. Davis could tell just by looking at her she'd had a long day and was looking for a place to rest. "Chiyo?"
The short haired brunette with sapphire blue eyes looked at Davis like she'd just seen a ghost. "D-Davis? What are…where's Veemon?"
His eyes immediately darkened and his fists clenched. "Some thing's happened. Listen to me you have to get home now."
Chiyo hid the shutter that ran up her body when he mentioned her returning home. "I can't Davis. There was a…my apartment was destroyed by a lightning storm. We're staying with relatives."
As sickening as it was it kind of made Davis happy to know he wasn't the only one having a bad day. It just seemed strange that sometimes he only ran into Chiyo when he was having bad days. "Well you should probably get indoors fast. You know that typhoon that's coming is going to be a big one."
"That's why I'm out, getting supplies. What where are going?" She already knew the answer to his question but to keep up the charade she needed to ask it.
"I'm going to Tokyo Bay." He answered coldly looking at the floor. "I…like I said some things happened."
Another half-truth and half lie had brought them together. "I'm heading for the Yokohama." She glanced at one of the various clocks then back at Davis. No doubt he would try to talk her out of going with him but even if he did so she could always fall back on a whole number of back up stories on why she had to go. To her surprise Davis nodded his head and guided her towards their train. He made an attempt to go get something to eat but Davis gently pushed her back into her seat.
"Just stay here and relax. You look like you've had a rough day." He said stepping out.
"Is it really that obvious?" Of course it was obvious, all a person had to do was look close enough and they'd see the dark circles forming under her eyes. They'd notice the way her heads were shaking and the semi-glazed look her eyes slipped into. Those hands that had shed blood a day earlier and eyes that had seen grown men simply bleed out to death right in front of them. When Davis came back carrying five trays of food she gave him a light smile.
The train left Tamachi Station and onto the Tokaido Main Line as the bottom fell out over Tokyo once again. Scattered announcements about safety came in though the two teenagers were deaf to them. Both could sense the misery cloaking the other and were doing their best to dispel it. At first they talked about their favorite interests in the spring which lead to Davis going into detail on his interest in soccer. He started with how he became inspired by his father after hearing him talk about years in school as a star baseball player until he decided not to pursue a scholarship. Chiyo listened quietly to the younger goggle head's tale.
"What about you? What do you like to do in the spring time?" Davis asked finishing his lunch. The aura of anger that had shrouded him through the streets had slowly but surely been burnt away by the conversation with the brunette. That was probably the one weakness he had when he was greatly angered; it took someone who he truly cared about to talk him down.
Her fingers became slightly more fidgety as Davis turned his full gaze towards her. "I…uh…well you see I read and like watching movies. Sometimes in the spring, when it's nice out, I like to go to the movies."
"To see what?"
"I'm into Kaiju flicks and thrillers. It's kind of why I think being a DigiDestined is kind of fun, ya' know, expect for the almost getting eaten part." She admitted. "Are you a fan?"
"What kid isn't?"
"It's just…after everything you've been through I thought you'd find monster movies kind if dull. I mean you've lived through the real thing right Davis?"
Chiyo's question hit s certain point in Davis. Leaning back into his seat he looked out into the window. "It's kind of funny you mention that." His smile was one part sad and another part almost cheerful. "When you go into the Digital World you realize it is kind of like a world of monsters but then again it's also like one big dream land." As he paused his smile became more cheerful and his hands more animated while he traced circles in the window. "When I first went to the Digital World I was totally blown away. I wanted to explore the whole world with Veemon because it was so different from here. The Digimon weren't exactly monsters, the more time I spent there the more I realized they were just like us. They're good ones, bad ones," His grin grew wider thinking of his partner. "And totally awesome ones." Then his smile fell signifying the resurfacing of darker, more unpleasant memories. "The bad ones are, well Chiyo let's just say every time I see some monster on TV a part of me does feel like laughing. Sometimes I do when I pass by a TV and some movie trailer is showing." Before Davis even knew it he'd drawn childish yet still accurate pictures of some of the more evil Digimon he'd faced. "I do it because those things are so far off from the real thing, they don't just want to blow up cities and stuff."
"What do they want?"
"Power, control. Crazy but some of them kind of remind you of some spy movie villains, expect they actually can destroy cities with a sweep of their hands. And they enjoy it. I think that's what I hate most about every enemy we've faced. They enjoy ruining people's lives."
"The world's full of people like that Davis." Chiyo added with darkened eyes.
"But why? What kind of psycho gets off on other peoples' pain?"
Drifting from the boy to the pictures he'd drawn on the window Chiyo felt a well of pity spring up for Davis. If only he'd seen the things she'd seen. "That's life Davis. Sometimes they do it to cover up their own flaws or problems." She could tell he was thinking of Ken and maybe his past self. She had a long list of people to look at for her words. "Sometimes some people or just so…if they're going to be good guys then there have to be bad guys okay? You've saved the world before so shouldn't you be the expert?" She didn't mean for her voice to come out as whiney but that was the best she could do.
To many people Davis was known for a lot of things but reading people was something that wasn't among them. In the past few months he believed he'd been making some headway with that. He could read the bubbling emotions in Chiyo; the inner turmoil that was eating away at her. At first he's first desire was to question her point blank on what it was, on why her hands kept shaking and her body posture spoke of exhaustion and defeat. Perhaps all his failed advances on Kari had done something to teach him a thing or two about being aware of a person's personal space for he didn't ask her. Instead of asking he slowly reached over and took one of her hands in his. Her hands were cold as ice.
The brunette visible jumped as Davis's hand made contact with hers. One side of her brain screamed for her to pull away, to bring up something else to turn their attention away from their personal feelings. That and keep the flower of guilt in her stomach from fully blooming. When it bloomed she knew that would probably signify the end of her life. In those rare moments she had fallen asleep she'd been plagued with nightmares of various extremes: sometimes the Seven Great Demon Lords were victorious, sometimes the DigiDestined were, sometimes Dagomon was, and other times there was no clear victor. The problem with the first was even though she was standing proudly over the ruins of the Human World with Davis at her side her human heart wept in despair at the untold destruction she'd helped bring about. Worse when she turned to Davis, no matter what he said or did she knew deep down he wasn't the same person she'd grown feelings for. The real Davis Motomiya never would have laughed alongside her as two worlds were crushed under the foot of demonic hordes. In nightmares where the DigiDestined were victorious she was cast out, scorned, and looked at with total hatred by all of them, especially Davis. Those were the ones that nearly broke her.
Daemon had told her time and time again to stop despairing as all it was doing was feeding Dagomon but it couldn't be helped. No matter who won in the end she was going to lose. Even the little amount she'd gained under Daemon would be stripped away leaving her as nothing but another raindrop on the window.
"I…"She started noting how hollow her own voice sounded. "I really hate the rain."
Davis didn't know what had run through her mind but his grip on her hand tightened. "I'm pretty sure by this point everyone does. There's one good thing about all of this though," When she looked up at him he shot her his best smile. "When the sun comes out it'll be all the better. Ya know it always is when it comes out because then you get to see a rainbow."
"Yeah it does, I wish I could ask you to see it for me but before all this is over you'll be regretting having this talk with me." The bearer of the Crest of Envy thought bitterly. "I heard on the news there was a stream of monster attacks and fighting in Odaiba. What happened there?"
With Davis feeling in the finer details Chiyo became of aware of why Daemon had been in such a panic for her to get to Tokyo Bay. Without Ken they couldn't revive Lucemon, and without him they wouldn't have the power needed to take over the Digital World. Chiyo would have laughed if Ken's life wasn't in immediate danger. Oh and his death would probably empower Dagomon to the point he could possibly kill them all. Davis may not have known it but the more anger and frustration he spoke of Dagomon with the more he was unknowingly feeding the Sinful Priest of the Ocean Floor. Then again telling him wouldn't really do much because since this was Davis he'd probably do it anyway. It was a trait others found aggravating but Chiyo found to be slightly cute.
When Davis was finished he was shaking with such anger Chiyo thought he would punch a hole in the window. "Daemon did say to use everything I had in my arsenal to make sure Ken comes out of this safe." If she used Davis then she'd probably get a "I'm so proud of you" speech from the Demon Lord. While the thought disgusted her at least she, Davis, and Ken would be alive when it was over. "And you decided to come here all by yourself, without your partner or Kari or any of the others?"
"Well I couldn't exactly wait around for everyone to come together after we all just got out of the hospital could I?" Davis sneered with darkened eyes. "Besides, what if we wait and it's too late to save Ken?"
One of those rare moments when the hardheaded one had an actually point. Even if Kari, Tai, Cody, or any of the other rational minded DigiDestined were there they would have been hard pressed to put up a better argument. After all their enemy was a batshit crazy cult that had made it painfully clear they weren't afraid to use murder and terror bombing to get their way. "So I guess this means we jumped from the Saturday morning special to the late night crime thriller?"
His response to her comment was a cold and humorless laugh. "Chiyo, Dagomon's taken my sister, shot my dad, sent my mom into a coma, trashed my city, attacked my friends, and has just now taken my best friend." The rage boiling in his veins was visible through his narrowed eyes and clenched fists. Somewhere in the Dark Ocean Daemon was probably receiving a glass of sin curtesy of the youngest Goggle Head. "I want to kill him, delete him. If I can get my heads on him then…"
He didn't need to go into detail on what he'd do because Chiyo could just plainly imagine it. There were some days she dreamed of doing the same thing to the various tormenters in her life. "Kra-tie' mai jhun."
The boy went cross at her words. "Did you just insult me?"
"No Davis," she spoke somewhat timidly. "It's a Thai proverb; a rabbit aims for the moon. It means don't aim to do the impossible, stay grounded."
"Getting even is considered impossible?" He sneered once again letting the anger in his voice seep through.
With both her hands pressed together and her gaze turned to the floor Chiyo looked incredibly small and vulnerable under Davis's glare. Mustering up another burst of courage she tried to explain her words further, "That's not what I mean Davis. I mean you just said you're practically fighting against a god. How do you know you're going to win?"
She didn't get an answer for another ten minutes causing her to believe the boy had lost interest in her question. Guilt and sadness swirled inside her. Just like so many other things in her life one little slip of the tongue had ruined one of the few good things she could grab onto.
"I don't know Chiyo but I still gotta try."
Looking up she noticed he wasn't looking at her with anger anymore.
"I've fought monsters before and as far as I'm concerned Dagomon is just another monster. Yeah he's got power, more power than anyone I've ever fought but I've got too much at stake to just run away. That's why we always have to fight instead of running away. Nothing happens in life unless you make it happen." Once their eyes met a light blush ran across the brunette's cheeks. "Chiyo when you love something enough you'd be amazed what you'd do to protect it. That's…how I feel about my family and all my friends. Wouldn't you do the same?"
"I-I…I can't Davis. I'm not as strong as you are." She answered looking away.
"You came all the way out here in the middle of this storm so you mom and aunt could have supplies to survive. That's pretty brave." He countered getting her attention back on him. "When we get there I want you to promise you'll stay safe."
"Safe? Davis you're planning on charging a cult strong hold unarmed and you want me to just ditch you?" She accused.
"Listen I know it sounds selfish but please just do it. I…I already lost my sister and Ken and I don't want to lose you too." She could tell speaking the words were hard for him. "I promise I'll keep you safe."
If it weren't for a whole number of things Chiyo would have broken out in tears at Davis's words and hugged him. Once again the invisible chain around her neck came alive and yanked her back. At best all she could give him was a smile and thank you that belittled the unimaginable warmth his words had brought her. "Do you…do you have a plan?"
"Believe it or not but I do." He grinned.
Moments later they arrived at their stop and disembarked. Just before he shooed her off Davis gently caught her shoulder and shyly asked, "Not to be rude but Chiyo, how do you know Thai?"
"It's part of my heritage Davis. My father's side of the family is from Thailand. We used to visit Thailand every summer when I was out of school." She answered before her eyes grew sad. "Davis…please don't hurt yourself okay?"
"I'll do my best."
Watching his retreating backside she stared up at the darkening sky then back down at the countless puddles on the ground. Even if Davis had a plan there was no way he could fully prepare for what the Deep Ones had in store of him and Ken. He'd never make it out of there alive unless he had back up. Even if Veemon were to show up he wouldn't be nearly strong enough to take on one of Dagomon's servants. He may have been trying but he had a long way to go before he had a firm grasp on tactics and strategic thought. He's going to get himself and Ken killed if I don't do something. Again it was comically how her interests and those of her enemies intersected despite being on opposite paths
The sky was darkening like another heavy storm was about to hit. Looking out over the bay she realized it had rapidly become a ghost town. She and Davis were among the few who got off at the Yokohama Station. It may just have been her but once they stepped off the train seemed to zoom onto its next destination with a little more speed than normal. Life in Yokohama had come to a complete halt thanks to the approaching typhoon meaning just about anything could happen and no one would ever know. A ritual sacrifice for instance.
"I seriously hope Veemon is able to get here in time with the others." Taking out her phone she was able to lock onto the Ken's signal as well as deduce the location of the Deep Ones' hideout. After stopping a corner she began texting into her phone. The address, the warehouse and the level of danger went out to all the DigiDestined she could think of. Kari was the last one for painfully obvious reasons." If she shows up…I could….it would be like handing her over to Dagomon on a silver platter. That wouldn't be so bad right? He wants her anyway, he'd go out of his way to get his slimy tentacles on her even if I didn't do anything." The little voice in the back of her head was practically screaming for her to send out the text to Kari while playing images in her head. The fear on her face as she was dragged into the darkness made her hands tremble in sick joy. "It wouldn't be my fault. No, not one little bit. It'd be up to Tai and T.K. to protect her. Them and…"
When all the text messages had been sent out she began making her way towards the warehouse Ken was being held. She knew the next few hours were going to be total hell for everyone involved. The only advantage Chiyo had was she'd been through hell once before. That didn't mean it was going to be any easier watching Davis or Ken go through it.
Like any other kid in Tokyo Davis knew the fishing business of Tokyo Bay had been all but dead since the end of World War II. Rarely was the area used for legal activities making it the perfect hideout for anyone who wanted to keep a meeting secret or hide something. Davis had to admit it did sound like something out of some horror movie or thriller novel; evil cult worshipping Cthulhu based in a deserted fishing district.
By the time he reached the warehouse a sudden fog had rolled in covering the entire area in a thick mist that obscured anything more than six feet in front of Davis. While the misty blanket slowly covered the area Davis could feel the cold chill running up his spine grow and grow. Just a little further. Just a little further to go. He actually would have preferred a rainstorm over the unsettling mist that was covering Tokyo Bay. He could picture it in his mind. It reminded him of all those years ago when Myotismon set up the fog barrier to cut off the island from the outset world while he searched for Kari.
The warehouse were Ken was being held at was five stories tall and a red brick building that had to be over half a century old. The broken windows, faded paint, cracked brick, and wretched smell screamed of age. The lock on the door was rusty but Davis didn't feel like testing his luck in trying to brick it with his hands. After a quick search he located steel pipe that would serve as both a lock pick and a suitable weapon. Hefting the pipe with both hands it took him two swings to break the lock. The pieces cluttered to the ground with a resounding series of clicks and clanks that sounded ominous in the deathly silence of the area.
Hesitantly Davis pushed the doors open, his pipe at the ready in case anything made the mistake of jumping at him. The combination of darkness of old, dead fish nearly made him stop right there at the door. Without a doubt it was positively the most putrid thing Davis had ever smelled before. If he hadn't already sworn off of sushi then he would have in that very instance. Fumbling around in the darkness for light switch was much less embarrassing and more frantic then he thought it'd be. He knew he wasn't alone in the warehouse and the fear of what could have been in there with him made his blood run cold.
Snapping the light switch on gave him a moment of relief. As far as he could see he was all by himself though Davis now realized finding Ken was going to be a lot harder than he originally thought. He was at the warehouse though beyond that he had no idea what to do next. "Think Davis, think. If I was an evil cult leader where would I keep my meeting?" The more he thought the more kept coming back to the disgusting smell. Every second he didn't figure it out he was forced to endure it. "Damn it where is it? What am I missing here?" Walking up and down the aisles provided him with little answers, worse in some parts of the warehouse the smell grew so strong he felt like passing out. "Wait a minute…" Closing in on the left side wall the stench grew stronger than before as well as the unease in his stomach. Remembering a speech Izzy had once given about his Digivice he took it out and held it up a collection of crates. A small beep continued going off until Davis had pulled back mass of objects to find an old steel doorway.
Prying the door open Davis saw the darkness extend into a long dark hallway that seemed straight out of some evil castle than a modern day warehouse. Davis was not one step into the darkness when his Digivice beeped again, this time faintly showing Veemon's huffing and puffing face. "Veemon!"
"Davis? I-I can hear you in my head!"
"We can save the chit chat for later, Listen I'm in-"
"You're in Tokyo Bay!" Veemon responded. "I can't explain it but I can see you in my mind, where you are but it's fuzzy!"
"I think that'll clear up the closer you get to me." He peered into the darkness before speaking again, "Veemon I want to follow me into the warehouse but don't come to me unless I tell you to. When I give you the signal I want to come through swinging. Got it?"
"Well you be alright until I get there Davis?"
"I'll be fine buddy. Just make sure you're in position when I give the word."
"Okay, you can count on me!"
"Great. Now all I got to do is make sure I'm still alive when you get here." Davis thought grimly as he made his first step into the darkness.
It quickly became apparent if Davis didn't keep his Digivice on hand he'd be alone in the darkness with absolutely no idea where he was going, not to mention totally prey to just about every creepy thing crawling around him. At worst all he'd seen were creepy bugs that grossed him out and…something else.
Just as the walls smelled of dead fish as well as rooting salt water the walls were growing sea algae. It should have be impossible but Davis was staring the strange, sickly green algae eating away at the walls of the tunnel. Once he paused in awe-struck amazement at what he was seeing before his very eyes. The algae glowed with a slight blackish color the closer he leaned in. He never touched; Davis may not have been the smartest guy around but he wasn't that stupid. Not to mention the way it constantly twitched and bristled like they were under water freaked him out way too much. Further down the smell of dead fish became mixed with a smell Davis had become uncomfortable used to; the smell of rotting flesh. The tunnel began branching off into various rooms and in countless directions.
The water started to rise and fall the further down he went; sets of stairs and ladders that groaned every time Davis took a step upward. One the walls the algae continued to grow thicker as well as much more unsettling. Those parts of the wall that weren't covered in the disgusting substance had pagan drawings carved and painted on them. All it took was one sideways glance for him to deduce they were made from blood. The paintings and carvings grew more increasingly grotesque as did the smell.
"It's…It's…It's…Don't…think about it. Don't think about the fact the blood is get-" Davis was so concerned with ignoring the carvings he didn't watch his footing.
He fell into a spiral of darkness and panic until his face hit the cold hard wet floor. His heart thundered in his chest screaming for him to find a light, his Digivice, anything that provided him a sense of safety. The fearful expression on his face was masked by the darkness until he felt his Digivice by his feet. Grabbing it like a squirrel would an acorn he flipped the light on, grateful for the momentary relief. Until he noticed what else his light was shining on him.
"AAAHH!"
The face was twisted in horror just like the hundreds of others on the algae wall. Whole bodies were melded into the algae wall; almost all of them twisted in various positions of horror. Davis scudded back until he fell backwards into the pool. The second leader of the DigiDestined kept his grip tight on his Digivice even as his whole world transformed right before his eyes. For the first ten seconds or so his eyes scrambled wildly from one side to the next. The shock froze his mind until he countless dark shapes near the bottom of the body of water. Out of sheer curiosity he swam forward to get a closer look.
What he noticed about all the bodies was they weren't twisted in horror like the ones on the wall. They seemed almost…peaceful. There were too many bodies to count in the few seconds Davis had any air in his lungs yet he knew he saw at least ten limp bodies at the bottom of the pool; weights of various calibers attached to their legs.
Once again screaming in horror he made a bee-line for the surface; for the first time he was grateful for the salty air that filled the underground network. Catching the first sight of solid ground he swam as fast as he could in his terrified state. Dragging himself onto land he began hacking out both the water and vile that had been festering in his throat. "What kind of sick cult is this!?" He screamed into the darkness.
As if in an answer to his question a strangled grunt followed by a hate-filled scream echoed through the darkness. Jumping to his feet Davis turned his Digivice in every direction trying to pinpoint where the noise was coming from. His light fell on a familiar brunette wrestling with a cloaked figure more than twice her size. Held in one of his hands was a combat knife stained crimson with blood.
"Chiyo!" Davis screamed racing toward them.
Davis tackled the man as hard as he could knocking him off the other teenager. While it may have seemed stupid to do so without a weapon Davis's mind was only turned to one thing: protect Chiyo at all cost. Without an ounce of hesitation he started pummeling the man's face with both his fists. Even though his fists hurt they weren't doing much damage other than annoying the hooded cultist. Snarling he grabbed Davis by the throat, lifted him up, then threw him across the room. He recovered just in time to see the man approaching him slowly with a malicious grin under his hood.
His grin fell when he noticed a certain pain in his side; one that was quickly spreading to the rest of his body. Both men turned their heads to find Chiyo holding the combat knife in her hand, having rammed it the cultist's backside. Her blue eyes were uncharacteristically cold and ruthless, so much so Davis thought he was looking at a different person. He felt both awed and slightly terrified of the shy girl's willingness to maim and possible kill.
Even though the cultist was surely in pain he still managed to throw the teenage girl off him as well as rip the knife out of his back. Kicking her once he sent her to the floor before standing over her with that same malicious grin.
Davis screamed in horror as he brought the knife down only for his arms to be caught by Chiyo who screamed at Davis, even as death was pressing down on her. "Get out of here Davis! Find Ken and get the hell out of here!"
"Like hell!" With Chiyo's life hanging in the balance he searched the area for anything he could use. Spotting a set of chained weights by the wall he dashed for them and grabbed one. "If there was ever a time for strength now would be it!"
"Oh man this is embarrassing, nearly getting killed by my own knife!" Ordinarily Chiyo's weak frame would never have allowed her to hold off the grown man's muscles but with the power of the Demon Lords in her veins it was possible. When she knocked this bastard on his backside she'd just feed Davis a story about practicing self-defense to keep him from asking questions. It was only after seeing the navy blue haired boy charging towards them with a weight in his hands did she realize she wouldn't have to.
In a spectacular display Davis swung the weight like a mace catching the cultist in the ribs. They could hear the bones crack under the pressure causing them to wince. The cultist's body rolled to the edge of the pool, his left arm being the only part to touch water while the rest simply lay on the ground in a silent heap.
Dropping the weight Davis fell to his knees huffing and puffing. "Why…Why the hell did you come down here Chiyo?! It's dangerous!"
Rolling onto her side she shot Davis her best glare. "I was worried about you okay? What did you expect me to do? Just walk away while you quietly went off against some crazy cult only get yourself killed or worse? Davis you're not a superhero!"
"I know that but I at least know how to deal with this stuff! You could have been killed!" he shouted back.
"Then don't ask me to sit by and watch you just kill yourself!" The level of her voice surprised her. There was real fear in her words. Not because of where they were but were her mind was slowly rolling back to. Grabbing a hold of both his shoulders she threw herself into his chest, a single tear rolling down her cheek.
Not for the first time Davis was stunned at being the witness to such an emotional breakdown. He'd always known Chiyo had some self-esteem issues but this was different, she looked so…weak. Davis made a point to never call someone weak but that was the only word that Davis could use to describe the girl before him. Before he knew what was happening he had already brought his arms around her, "I'm won't." He whispered quietly.
She didn't ask Davis to help her up or so much as touched him as they continued their track through the underground complex. Even though they stayed close together there was a sudden wall that had been built between them. The odd thing was to Davis it felt like Chiyo was purposely keeping him at a distance. The more dark corners they turned through and corpses they found the more realized she always seemed to be hiding something from the world. She always wore a hoodie, she rarely spoke out in public, and everywhere they met she was always out by herself. Did she do it because she didn't want Davis to see her as she was just a few moments ago? He could understand her if that was the reason she was being so quiet.
Softly nudging her before they took a step into a half-flooded hallway he spoke, "I get if you're scared. The truth is Chiyo…I'm scared too."
"Davis…"
"No listen, I don't say this often but this time I seriously am scared. Dagomon freaks me out on all kinds of levels but I can't just let that stop me."
"How do you do it Davis? How do you keep going on in the face of this?" She beckoned to the darkness around them.
"Because people depend on me." He took her hand in his. "People like my friends and family and people like you. That's why I can't let this stop me." Without another word he gently began pulling her forward, careful to make sure he remained in the front of the narrow passage.
They kept each other within view as the passages became more and more filled with water. Some whole tunnels being held back by levers and cracks that held back enough water to completely wash out the entire complex. Chiyo theorized they must have been near the waterfront and that was where the seawater was coming from. Davis bristled a little at the revelation; if he died down here his body would more than likely ending up getting washed away never to be found. The same story could be said for the countless others Dagomon had no doubt brought to this warehouse for whatever sick purpose there was. For this reason the two young teenagers kept their hands together whenever the water went to or above their waist.
The current passage way they were in had to be at least five feet wide and four feet deep with the water coming up to their chests. With Chiyo's hand in his left palm and his Digivice in his right Davis pushed forward keeping the light on the other side of the passage. Both teenagers kept their eyes on the exit more eager than ever to get back onto dry land.
Beep!
In less than a minute Davis brought his Digivice to his face then turned his eyes turns Chiyo. "Go."
"What?" She wasn't able to get anymore out before Davis started pushing her forward using both his hands while his eyes stayed locked on their backside.
"Don't ask just go! No matter what happens don't look back!" He shouted.
The brunette nearly jumped at the splashing and squirming that suddenly started booming behind her. Something was in the water with them and Davis had found it faster than she did. Her newly developed instinct told her to turn around and face whatever monster was trailing them but Davis was shoving her along too fast for her to even turn her head to see whatever the threat was. He was keeping his promise to protect her, even if it cost him his life.
"I can't just let him get dragged to God knows where!" A thin green aura grew around Chiyo's fist as her resolve was strengthened. "Stop it Davis! I'm not going to-"
The tentacle that had the second Goggle Head captive was a light blue color she immediately recognized. "Get out of here Chiyo!" He screamed as he was lifted into air thrashing about. "I'll be fine! Trust me!"
Her face went through several emotions before she took off to the other side of the passage leaving Davis alone. There was no doubt he couldn't break free of the disgusting appendage that had wrapped itself around him. His vision was fading slowly but surely, soon enough he knew he'd lose consciousness. Before that happened though he made desperate attempt to bring his Digivice to his face. "Veemon! Are you here yet!?"
"Yeah Davis! I'm in the tunnels now! I'll find you as soon as I can!"
"Remember! Wait for my signal! When I…I give the signal…show up…with a…" His strength was near its end but he was going to make sure he finished his message. "Bring this place down with a bang!"
Those words were the last thing he said before his strength gave out and the darkness of the water took him. "Chiyo you better have gotten away."
It was the feint flickering of the candles that brought Davis back from the realm of unconsciousness. His vision was a collection of blurry orange and yellow embers before they began to focus and come together to form a more reasonable picture. The air still smelled of salty sea water though more than his returning sight or smell Davis could just sense something positively foul in the air. It made his skin crawl and his stomach lurch in disgust. He would have covered his noise if he could move his arms, which didn't struck him as strange. That tended to happen when you were caught in a villain's evil lair.
He was chained to a stone slap in the middle of a spacious stone chamber lightened by various candles set up. Pagan drawings and symbols decorated the walls while ideals to Dagomon stood proudly in every corner. Cloaked men and women stood around chatting in a language Davis wasn't even sure existed on Earth. Ken was wrapped in chambers and suspended by another chain that led to a pulley. What Ken was suspended above was a seemingly natural lagoon swirling with ink black water. That was what Davis focused on; the fact that the water seemed more like pure liquid darkness than anything found on Earth or in the Digital World. All it took was one look for him to realize it was either a portal into the Dark Ocean or something much worse.
And Ken was suspended above it with no way out.
"Let me out of here you robe wearing bastards!" Davis screamed struggling against the chains that bound him.
A few of the cultist stopped their chatting to chuckle at Davis's futile efforts. One of them standing by the pulley decided to humor Davis with a light conversation. "It's impressive you made it this far. It's a pity you did it all for a guy like this." He chuckled at Davis's furious expression. Clearly he knew something Davis didn't and was taking pleasure in not telling him. As the chanting grew louder and Davis's struggles grew greater the man finally confessed, "Oh my no one told you, did they? Kid you should be thanking us!" He laughed insanely. "This kid here, he's the vessel of for Lucemon! The key to his resurrection! The guy you knew as the Digimon Emperor is still inside of him, an egocentrically prick who believes he stands at the top of the pyramid! That's virtually Lucemon in a nutshell! That's what Daemon's been trying to do kid, reawaken that sinful proud so Ken can take back his crown. You know what'll happen if he does that right?"
The man didn't wait for Davis's answer, instead joining the mad chanting of the other cultists. While still wrapped in chains Ken began to scream and squirm, a red aura engulfing him. His eyes snapped open with fear and shock. Below him the lagoon began to transform into a whirlpool. The chain holding Ken up began to lower, every second brining him closer and closer towards the water.
"OUR LORD DAGOMON! WE HUMBLY OFFER THIS HERETIC AS A SACRIFICE! WE AWAIT YOUR REBIRTH INTO OUR WORLD AND GIVE THANKS TO YOU FOR OPENING OUR EYES TO THE GREAT TRUTH!"
It was just as Ken's feet were about to touch the swirling whirlpool that Davis sucked in a huge breath then screamed as loud as he could, "VEEMON NOW!"
From somewhere in the darkness a radiant blue light shined then it turned red and orange; an intense wave of heat blew through the chamber. All the candles were suddenly consumed by intense flames.
"FIRE ROCKET!"
Flamedramon came through the stone walls with an angry aura of fire boiling the air around him. He took one quick look around the chamber before his fists blazed with white hot flames. "Flame Fist!"
Half the cultist ducked behind cover while the other half made a mad dash towards Flamedramon like they actually stood a chance against the Armored Digimon. Easily he swatted them aside while at the same time setting them on fire he melted the chains holding Davis down then grabbed Ken before any of the remaining cultist could get to the pulley to finish the job.
What followed next was a tightly compressed ball of violence courtesy of the angered duo. Ken lay against the wall not quite awake yet his furrowed brows indicated he could hear the havoc Davis and Flamedramon were causing. The fire attributed Digimon didn't have a problem burning the cultist alive or knocking them into the swirling black whirlpool. He'd run out of sympathy for this mad men long before they started going after Davis and his friends personally. Said young man was swinging his fists and whatever else he could get his hands on, the blood or aching in his hands didn't matter, what did was making these men suffer for all the crimes they'd committed.
He was huffing and puffing with bloody knuckles by the time it was all over. Not a single cultist was left standing. Those that were alive were groaning in pain. Their hearts still pounding in their chests the two looked around amazed they'd been capable of such mayhem.
A strained cough brought Davis's attention to a cultist at his feet. Grabbing him by his collar he snarled, "Where's my sister?"
The cultist gave him a weak chuckle, "Ah…your sister…her flesh…was so soft…and good."
It wasn't for the first time Davis had been so filled with anger he couldn't think straight. It was the first time he'd ever lost himself in the animalistic fury that followed. It felt incredibly strange; moreover it felt like he was floating on air. Something kept nagging at him but he couldn't tell exactly what it was. It bugged him yet no matter how hard he tried he could neither identify it nor make it go away. Naturally his first thoughts were to try harder to make it go away. It didn't work. His sight and hearing were lost leaving all his other senses in total confusion. The feeling of touch was the strongest thing he had left, his fists felt wet and raw: a dull pain slowly spreading through them. Next a buzzing sound pierced his hearing; like a beehive it ate away at his skull until his sense of sight awakened.
He was looking at a swollen face and both two bodies were pressed against his. A hand had wrapped around his fist. He could hear the sound of tears running down cheeks and the constant whisper, "Davis! Please stop!"
It was Kari's voice. Turning to his left he saw Chiyo tightly hugging him with her eyes shut and to his right Kari was doing her best to hold back his fist. Beyond them he saw Tai, Sora, Matt, Cody, Noriko, T.K, and Yolei carrying a winded Ken. All of them were looking at him with eyes the size of dinner plates with their mouths agape.
"Oh my God…" Tai started. "Davis…"
Piercing the collective shock was a hollow, demonic laugh that sent a chill up everyone's spine. "Nicely done Davis. I always knew you had some anger in you but my, my. No wonder Daemon's taken such an interest in you. Of course I already have you in my corner so lucky you."
Shaking his head free Davis spread both his arms out thus putting himself between both Kari and Chiyo. "Dagomon." He snarled.
"Yes."
The Chosen Children jumped at the downed cultist Davis had been pummeling. His lips were moving yet based on the damage done to his face that should have been impossible. Besides him the bodies of fallen cultist began to twist and turn before getting their feet like zombies. All of them had blood red eyes. "Kari…" Their eyes zeroes in on the bearer of the Crest of Light. "I knew you'd return to me."
Pushing aside T.K. jumped in front of Kari adding himself to the barricade Davis had created. Patamon flew in front of him joining Flamedramon in the defense of their partners. The hardened glare he gave made it clear he was ready to Digivolve at a moment's notice like all the other rookies.
"Why do you all struggle so much? Tai, you can act brave all you want but let's face it; you're in over your head this time." One of the female cultist lured with a wicked grin. "Just like that time Agumon Digivolved into SkullGreymon." Next spoke a chunky male cultist. "You already lost your father Sora, what makes you think you can hold onto your mother or the man you love?" Another female cackled madly as she turned her words to Yolei. "Do you even know who you're cuddling Yolei? The blood that boy has on his hands? If so then you're just the same spoiled little girl that always cried for her parents when something went wrong. That same girl still believing that fairy tale dream can come true." The voice came from a young male probably in his early twenties with half his face burnt. "It always ate away at you how your father taken away from you didn't it Cody? Don't worry it's okay, everyone loses someone, usually over something stupid. You're not alone in that pain. What's sad is you've chosen to follow his example. The only difference here is you're going to lose more than he did, that special place you always go to make the pain go away. Those people that make the pain go away. Same thing with you Noriko, you can't escape your fate. Do you really believe being a DigiDestined will let you escape the fear you've lived with?"
The swirling whirlpool grew stronger. Haunting moans and cries began to rise up from the abyss. Dagomon's laughter continued shaking the chamber like an earthquake.
Three voices spoke in unison against T.K. who visibly flinched under all the pressure. "Have you gotten stronger T.K.? You always said you hated the darkness yet here you are again, watching everything you love slip out of your hands. Does it hurt? Does it eat you that you're still that little brat crying for his big brother to save him?" Seeing the young boy's reaction was enough to cause him to let loose another throaty laugh. "Davis! You've done so much for me that I can't help but like you! For that I'll tell you this; you're sister's alive. Alive and well." The red eyes split between the younger goggle head and Matt. "She may be no Sora but she's a good woman Matt. A pity you let her slip away just like you've let everything else in life slip right past you."
The two boys were about ready to jump into the whirlpool just for the chance to pound Dagomon's face in if it weren't for those around them holding them back. Kari was positively shaking like a leaf. She knew she was next for Dagomon's verbal assault. IN preparation she shut both her ears yet she could still hear Dagomon's horrible voice. "My sweet Kari don't be afraid. Soon we'll be together. You'll be safe from all this pain, all this suffering. You won't have to carry it much longer, I'll take it all away. In its place I'll show you a pleasure…you've never felt before."
"Heads up guys!" Flamedramon roared.
Snapping out of their traces Davis and T.K. saw the light blue tentacle rise up from the whirlpool and whip towards Kari. Davis grabbed Chiyo while T.K. grabbed Kari; both boys jumped to the side causing Dagomon's tentacle to crack against the stone floor.
"Very well, the sea shall become your tomb!"
The shock wave that shook the chamber startled everyone out of whatever stupor they were in. Grabbing their loved ones the teens made a dash for the exit while their Digimon wrapped themselves in cocoons of data. In a few short minutes the underground complex was flooding not only with water but with brick.
The sight that greeted the DigiDestined on the surface was less pleasing than what they stumbled upon in the underground complex.
"How the hell did he get a hold of a battleship!?" Matt screamed from the top of MetalGarurumon.
"I think you mean ships, plural Matt." Sora whimpered from Garudamon's shoulder.
"Stop them before they blow up the whole bay." Tai commanded tightening his grip on WarGreymon.
"But what about the people on those ships?" Sora asked.
"It…doesn't matter." MetalGarurumon solemnly answered.
"Please tell me you're not saying what I think you're saying." Garudamon questioned.
"Yes Garudamon." The cybernetic wolf confirmed much to the children's horror. "Those ships, there's not one life sign in. All of the crew are…"
None of the eleven warships hammering Tokyo Bay were free of the black coral spreading through their hauls. Like some kind of sick infection they covered over half the ships including the resident US destroyer, Oldendorf.
The fight began in earnest with the warships not really aiming for the DigiDestined but just shelling Kawasaki and Kisarazu without much care as to what they eat. The real fighting came down to the swarm of WaruSeadramon and Ebidramon. Even with the fog still present explosions of light and flames began lighting up the entire Bay as soon military aircraft made their appearance. The once eerily quiet bay was now a roaring battlefield between evil monsters, military, and children who knew they'd walked full scale into a war. Gigantic fireballs, missiles, blazing birds, beams of light, blasts of lightning, and artillery shells sailed across the sky either making contact with a piece of the city or an object. Within the first five minutes the famed bridge was gone, it's exact destroyer unknown due to the hectic nature of the battle.
Next chapter expect to see the overview of a waterside battle with lots of kaiju style destruction. I gotta say writing this chapter was pretty fun because I got to look up different parts of Tokyo. Their railway system rocks, just sad we don't have anything like it in the US. We're at the end of this story arc though I'd say the story's only half way done. Before that we're going to be seeing more battles, personal struggles, and of course who comes out on top of this three way war. Should be fun right?
