And now, here we are with episode 10. Yet another really late in the day update... *sigh* Anyway, let's get started~
Miyuki: "We were all walking in the tunnel when some Dokugumon came down on us. Our partners were fighting them but when one got knocked into the wall, it went through. Devidramon and I followed it, and the place was full of Viruses. The Dokugumon we were following Digivolved into Arukenimon, so we were in a bit of trouble. I made the stupid suggestion to Devidramon about absorbing some of the Viruses around us. It didn't go well... But, now that we're back out in the tunnel, hopefully things will be getting back to normal. Of course, now we're separated from the others. Again."
"Dammit..." Miyuki muttered. DemiDevimon was still out cold from when he fell out after her, but hopefully he'd be back to normal when he woke up. She just wished that bad feeling had come a few moments sooner, but she was also glad that it didn't come any later. But of course, now she had to find the others...
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x
"Okay, we've waited here long enough," Hana said, arms crossed. They'd waited for Miyuki and Devidramon to come out again for about an hour, but it didn't look like they were coming.
"They probably came out somewhere else in the tunnel," Renamon suggested. "It would take hours to try to find her at this rate. I suggest we keep moving for now. We do seem to have a habit of running into each other."
Kiira sighed before turning from the wall. She, Palmon, Yumi, and Labramon had been watching the flowing binary, hoping they'd catch sight of the other two, to no avail. "You're right," she said. "We'll find them again... Sometime..."
"I'm sure they're fine," Palmon said, trying to comfort her partner. "They've been able to take care of themselves without us for awhile now."
"Yeah, and it got Miyuki a severe back injury..."
"Kiira..." Yumi said, putting a hand on the other girl's shoulder. "We just have to trust them. I'm worried, too, but that's not going to do them any good, right?"
Kiira sighed. "You're right."
"Well, now that that's settled," Hana began. "Let's get going. There's bound to be another site that needs us." With that, she started walking, quickly followed by the others.
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x
It took about twenty minutes before a hole opened in the tunnel. "What do you think?" Kiira asked.
"Let's go," Hana replied, stepping in. The others followed.
The group found themselves near the edge of a jungle. Peering through the few trees behind them, they could see a steep cliff and a large expanse of water.
"This is a beautiful view..." Palmon whispered. "It kind of reminds me of where I used to live before we were brought here, but the cliff wasn't as tall or steep." She gave a sad smile. "I miss it."
"I bet you do..." Kiira said softly, reminded of how much she missed her own home.
Hana sighed, noticing the depressing direction the conversation was headed. She needed to get them to focus on something else. "Well, let's see what's going on here, alright?" the blonde asked.
"You're right," Kiira replied. "The faster this is done, the faster we can get home."
It only took a few minutes of walking before they saw some small, pink and green plant Digimon.
"Name: Lalamon. Classification: Data. Threat: Minimal."
"They look fine," Labramon began. "So if there's some kind of virus headed this way, it's not here yet."
"That's a relief," his partner commented. "It gives us a little time to get the lay of the land so we know what we might be up against."
One of the Lalamon looked up at the sound of their voices. "Hello!" she said. "Are you Digi-Destined?"
"We're... still not sure on that," Hana said truthfully. They had been told that Digi-Destined were picked by a 'higher power' or something, and they were just handpicked by their government, so they didn't know if that counted. "But we are here to help. Did you see anything that could be considered dangerous?"
"No," another Lalamon told her. "But we did see another human a little while ago, holding a DemiDevimon."
"Oh, thank god she's okay," Kiira said with a smile. "Do you know which way she went?"
"She was headed further in," the Rookie replied, pointing. "Are you friends with her?"
Renamon looked at her partner, who was about to argue. "Something like that," the yellow fox informed them. She then addressed Hana. "I think we should go find her."
"Fine," Hana muttered, crossing her arms. "Let's go."
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x
Miyuki heard a small groan and looked down to see DemiDevimon finally coming to. "Hey, how are you feeling?"
"Like shit," he informed her. "What happened?"
"You don't remember?" the brunette asked with a frown.
"Nuh-uh. Last thing I remember, Dokugumon Digivolved to Arukenimon and you told me to try absorbing some of the shadows. It's a total blank after that." He looked up, seeing her frown. "What did I do?"
Miyuki sighed. "You remember how you kinda went nuts when I got slammed into the wall?" He nodded. "It was kind of like that, but a little worse. The only way I managed to get you out of it was by getting us out of there."
"I didn't hurt you, did I?" the Rookie asked, disturbed. He felt a huge wave of relief when she shook her head.
"No," she said. "I'm fine. I was a little worried about you for awhile, though. You passed out when we got out of the tunnels and that was probably about twenty minutes ago." She looked around at the trees and vines hanging down. "I managed to find another site, but it looks like nothing hostile is here... yet."
"Where's everyone else?"
Miyuki frowned again. "We got pulled pretty far down that tunnel. I guess they couldn't follow us for some reason so we got separated. I just hope they'll find this place pretty soon, too."
"Yeah, me too," the Virus Rookie replied. Almost as if on cue, they saw the other three girls and their partners emerge from the trees.
"Hey," the brunette said with a small smile.
Kiira returned the smile. "Good to see you again!" she said. "What happened in there?"
Miyuki's face fell. "I don't want to talk about it..." she said softly. The last thing she needed was for Hana to have yet another reason to not trust her. "Anyway, I'm glad you guys are here."
"Have you seen anything suspicious?" the blonde in question asked, getting straight to the point. Miyuki shook her head.
"Got any of those feelings?" Labramon asked.
The brunette was about to say no when a knot began forming in her lower stomach. "Okay, yeah, a little bit."
"About what?" the dog-like Rookie asked.
"I can't really tell the specifics. I can know 'something bad will happen', but not what that something bad is," Miyuki informed him. "And something... kinda bad is gonna happen soon."
Hana was about to speak when an orange burst of energy in the shape of a lion's head flew past them. "What the...?" The group turned as a tall figure stepped out of the woods.
He looked like a bipedal lion with strong muscles and piercing cobalt blue eyes.
"Name: Leomon. Classification: Vaccine. Threat: Medium."
"You shouldn't be here," he said in a deep, commanding tone. His eyes were focused on Miyuki and DemiDevimon.
"What?" the brunette asked, a bit startled. She knew that some of the Digimon here weren't too fond of her due to the fact that she was partnered with a Virus Digimon, but the fact that she was here with the others ones that were actually pretty respected should have been some indication that she wasn't really all that bad.
"I know what happened with the Viruses," he said. "It's only a matter of time before he succumbs to his true nature."
"Hey!" the Rookie said indignantly.
Miyuki's eyes widened. How did he know about what happened before...? He shouldn't be able to... "How did you know about that...?" she asked hesitantly.
"What's he talking about?" Hana asked with a raised brow.
The brunette sighed. "When we went in that place past the tunnel... Well... there were a bunch of Viruses everywhere, and Dokugumon absorbed a few of them and Digivolved. It was an Ultimate and Devidramon was only a Champion, so I though, you know... Maybe Devidramon could do the same but it... it didn't really go well. He... lost control a little."
The blonde's eyes narrowed. "I knew it would be a bad idea to let you join us."
Miyuki ignored her for the moment and turned back to Leomon. "I'm gonna ask again, how did you know about that?"
"Word travels fast," he informed her plainly. He drew the sword from its scabbard at his back.
Renamon stepped between the two, as did Palmon and Labramon. "Stop," she said. "That was the result of a mistake, one that I'm sure won't be made again. Devidramon's loss of control probably came from the evil intent from the Viruses he absorbed."
"And I'm never doing that again," DemiDevimon confirmed.
Leomon was about to reply when they all felt a dark wave pass through them. Yumi looked to Miyuki. "Are you having one of your feelings now?"
"Oh, yeah," Miyuki replied. "Big time."
At her words, three humanoid plant Digimon emerged from the trees, heading in their direction. Their arms, legs, and the large petals on their backs were dark purple, tipped with black. The flower petals covering their heads matched. Their torsos, which may have once been green due to the leafy design, were now a faded brown, their hair was silver and their eyes were bright red.
"Name: Lilamon. Classification: Data. Threat: High."
"Great," Hana muttered. "Ultimates. Three of them. Wonderful." She looked to their partners. "You guys know what to do."
"Renamon Digivolve to... Kyubimon!"
"Labramon Digivolve to... Seasarmon!"
"Palmon Digivolve to... Togemon!"
The group looked to DemiDevimon when he didn't Digivolve with them. He shook his head. "No way," he said. "I don't wanna lost control again." His voice grew quieter. "I'm not really sure if all those other Viruses left my system yet..."
Leomon looked down at the Rookie for a moment. He had been almost sure that he would have jumped at the chance to Digivolve with the risk. Perhaps he was wrong, if the Virus was hesitant to become like the other ones. With the support from these other humans and their partners, perhaps he wouldn't go down the wrong path, after all. He looked back at the virus-controlled Lilamon. He would worry about DemiDevimon's fate later. Right now, he would protect the humans. Regardless of what happened to her partner, the brown haired girl shouldn't be left at the mercy of Digimon that wouldn't hesitate to end her.
"Fist of the Beast King!" he yelled, thrusting a fist forward, letting out the same energy that had been shot at the humans and their partners before.
The Lilamon scattered, avoiding the attack. One spun, pulling on arm to the side before thrusting it out, throwing a blade of dark energy. "Lilac Dagger!"
"Sun's Courage!" Seasarmon yelled, aiming the attack at the dagger, knocking it off course and embedding in a tree.
Another Lilamon turned on him. "Marvel Shot!" she yelled, thrusting both arms out while balls of energy shot out, straight toward him. He managed to dodge one but was hit with the other. He winced upon impact.
Togemon dove at the one that had attacked her friend. "You give plant Digimon a bad name!" she yelled, latching on and pulling her to the ground. Propped up on the Ultimate's back, she yelled, "Light Speed Jabbing!" She got in about five hits before Lilamon managed to knock her off.
"Marvel shot!" One of the attacks hit Togemon head on, making her stumble, while the other was aimed at Kyubimon, who was taking on the third of the virus-Data Digimon.
Kyubimon hissed in pain as she was pushed off course, the fire of her Dragon Wheel going on. She landed on her side.
"Kyubimon!" Hana yelled, concerned for her partner.
The Champion stood slowly, looking a bit unsteady. "I'll be fine," she told the girl.
"Fist of the Beast King!" Leomon yelled again, firing his attack at the Lilamon closest to Kyubimon, giving her a few extra moments to recover.
"Thanks," she said, and he nodded in acknowledgement. "Fox Tail Inferno!" she yelled, sending the fireballs toward the same Ultimate.
Hana watched the battle, trying to decide on the best plan of attack. "Guys!" she called out. "Since they're stronger than you, try all focusing on one at a time. Only retaliate if one of the others starts to attack!"
"Got it!" their partners yelled. They all focused on the one Kyubimon and Leomon had attacked, since it would be the easiest to take out. Leomon stood with his back to them, ready to attack if either of the other two Lilamon made a move.
"Needle Spray!" Togemon yelled, causing the humans and all other Champions to duck. The needles embedded in all three Ultimates.
Seasarmon took advantage of the moment their target was taking to recover. "Sun's Courage!" he yelled, sending it flying into one of the trees. The virus slowly fell away from her, flowing toward Yumi's open Digivice.
"One down," Togemon commented. "Two to go."
"Dragon Wheel!" Kyubimon attacked, aiming for the second Lilamon. Her attack hit the Ultimate in the chest, and once Kyubimon was clear, Leomon fired off his own attack.
"Fist of the Beast King!" he yelled. She managed to dodge this move before spreading her arms, aiming one at Seasarmon and the other at Togemon.
"Marvel Shot!"
Both Champions were sent back into the trees behind them. Kyubimon looked from them back to the Ultimate. "Fox Tail Inferno!" she yelled, putting as much force behind her attack as she could. The Lilamon's virus fell away and she fell to the ground, unconscious like the first one had been.
"You are strong," Leomon commented to the fox Digimon.
"Thanks," she replied. "You're not bad, yourself."
Before anyone else could say anything, they heard, "Lilac Dagger!" No one was able to react when it hit Leomon straight in the back.
"No!" Hana yelled. Granted, they had only just met Leomon, but he was clearly a force to be reckoned with and would have made a great ally. He had also stopped to listen to DemiDevimon and Miyuki instead of immediately destroying them like many other Digimon would probably do.
Kyubimon turned to the remaining Ultimate, furious now. "Kyubimon Digivolve to... Taomon!"
"Name: Kyubimon. Classification: Data. Threat: None."
"You will pay for what you have done," the new Ultimate told her enemy. She raised one of her arms, seeming to draw a symbol in the air. "Talisman of Light!"
The attack hit Lilamon, but she wasn't down for the count yet. "Lilac Dagger!"
Taomon was able to easily dodge out of the way. She had already been fast as Renamon, and it seemed that as she Digivolved, she just got faster. "Leomon was a noble Digimon. He was only trying to help us, and we are only trying to free you." Her eyes narrowed. "Talisman of Light!" The attack hit her in the chest, destroying the virus that held her.
Taomon sighed sadly, returning to her Rookie form. "We should find the others," she said, referring to Seasarmon and Togemon who hadn't returned from where they had been thrown into the trees.
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The group sat in a small clearing in silence. The Lilamon had already come to and apologized before leaving. The one that had killed Leomon had looked as guilty as she should have as she went. No one had said anything to her.
Miyuki finally broke the silence, looking at Hana. "So, you gonna blame us for this, too?" she asked.
"I could," the blonde said before sighing. "But I guess that wouldn't be right. This one isn't on you."
"Damn right it's not," the brunette replied, wrapping her arms around her knees that she had pulled up, resting her chin on her knees.
"So, what now?" Yumi asked. "I mean, there's a good chance that something like this could happen again, and I'm not really sure I'm okay with that."
Kiira stared at the ground. "It didn't really, really hit me until right now. I mean, I knew there was a chance we might die here, but... I don't know... I guess that just made it real..."
"We'll just have to try even harder than we are now," Palmon told her partner.
"We're gonna be just fine," Labramon said, but it wasn't clear if he believed it, himself. He was just saying it because it was something they all needed to hear.
Hana looked to the sky, determination burning in her eyes. She wouldn't let any of them die. She glanced down at Miyuki, who was still lost in her own little world. Even her. She was their leader, she wasn't going to be responsible for losing any of them. Leomon wasn't her fault, but if the other girls on their partners died... that would be on her.
As she wasn't sure if she could deal with that.
Next time:
Hana: Are we... underwater?
Kiira: How are we able to breathe down here?
Miyuki: You really wanna think about that? How about we just be grateful we aren't drowning?
Divermon: You're them, aren't you? We need your help.
Welp, there you are, episode 10. I'm not really a fan of the way this one came out, especially how short it is, but meh, whatever.
See ya on the flipside~ Elisa out~
