11
Tradeoff
"When a rise in the road brings the mountains in view above the deep woods, the feeling of strange uneasiness is increased. The summits are too rounded and symmetrical to give a sense of comfort and naturalness, and sometimes the sky silhouettes with especial clearness the queer circles of tall stone pillars with which most of them are crowned." – H. P. Lovecraft, "The Dunwich Horror"
Astamon lowered his right hand, raising Ken still higher with his left. The right hand took hold of his knife once more. Pucchiemon managed to raise himself to one knee, though his stomach pained him incredibly. He didn't think he could manage to stand, and wasn't close enough to Astamon to use Love and Fire again. Instead, with one hand clutching his stomach, he pointed his finger at the demon.
"Heartener Beam." The pointing finger glowed, and a thin ray of light shot through the air towards Astamon. The beam was not an offensive weapon; its purpose was to drain Astamon's fighting spirit, though Pucchiemon doubted that were possible. The beam found its target. Ken watched Astamon's smile fade, and felt the grip on his collar loosen, the gloved hand letting him fall to the ground. Astamon shook his head as if to clear it.
"Won't work," Astamon said. "Won't work. But I am feeling a little more magnanimous now, so I guess I'll do you a favor and make this quick." Before he could make good on his threat, however, there came the crash of cracking branches and a thud as Fladramon landed.
"Knuckle Fire!" The flaming projectiles combined into one as they flew, and scored a direct hit, Astamon bursting into flames. Ken scrambled to his feet and ran to his wounded partner.
"Are you all right, Pucchiemon?" he asked. Pucchiemon nodded.
"I'll be okay," he answered. "If only I could evolve to Stingmon…"
Astamon grunted in annoyance and shook off the flames.
"That won't work either," he said. He turned to face Fladramon.
"Ken!" Daisuke called as he ran over to join his friend.
"Pucchiemon's hurt," Ken said when the other boy reached him. "He can't fight like this. If he had another form—"
Daisuke's face lit up as an idea came to him.
"He does!" he exclaimed, and held out his D-Terminal towards Ken. Ken understood. Back in February all of them but Ken had used the Digimentals of others in the fight with Pukumon. V-mon had used Takeru's Digimental of Hope to become Sagittarimon. Now Daisuke was suggesting that they try the same strategy again.
"We don't know what will happen," Ken began to protest, but Daisuke's face was determined, and he held the D-Terminal out unwaveringly.
"Here, then," Ken said, reciprocating by handing Daisuke his own D-Terminal. Daisuke looked to his partner, who was parrying the thrusts of Astamon's knife with his claws, sparks flying at each collision.
"Fladramon, come back!" With a glance his partner understood, and leaped back to the other three before the two Digimon released the power of the Digimentals, reverting to V-mon and Wormmon. It was time.
"Digimental Up!"
"Digimental Up!"
"V-mon, Armor Evolve!...Kangaroomon!"
"Wormmon, Armor Evolve!...Shadramon!"
They stood before their respective partners, a large kangaroo equipped with boxing gloves, and a great winged insect whose armor bore flame patterns. Ken could not have hoped for a better outcome.
"Ken," Daisuke said. "Destroy the Dark Towers. We'll hold this guy off until you get back."
Ken didn't like the idea of leaving them behind, but he could see Daisuke's logic.
"Got it. Come on, Shadramon!"
Shadramon hooked his arms around his partner and took off, breaking through the treetops and taking to the sky.
"That won't do," said Astamon. He walked calmly back over to the tree he had destroyed, and pulled from behind its stump a massive submachine gun. "They can't run," he explained conversationally. "My bullets will seek them out."
Kangaroomon bounced forward, but Astamon threw his knife, which embedded itself in his opponent's arm. As Kangaroomon stopped in pain, and Daisuke ran forward to help remove the blade, Astamon pointed his gun up at an angle.
"Hellfire!" Astamon shouted, emptying the entirety of his clip into the air. "Now for you," he said, tossing the empty gun aside.
Ken and Shadramon heard the rattle of the submachine gun behind them, and though they said nothing they both hoped that Daisuke and Kangaroomon would be all right. Ken looked back and saw bright flashes in the sky behind them.
"They're following us!" he exclaimed. Shadramon thought quickly.
"Sorry, Ken-chan," he said, and before Ken could respond, Shadramon flew over a patch of treeless land and dropped his partner to the grassy earth.
"Shadramon!" Ken screamed, as the Digimon darted towards the Dark Tower-infested valley below, and Astamon's bullets buzzed angrily over the human's head in pursuit of the insect Digimon.
Shadramon, unencumbered, put on greater speed, and dove towards the first of the Dark Towers crowning the lower hilltops. He dared not pause to unleash his attack until he had lost those homing bullets. He was fast, and they did not move with as great a velocity as normal bullets, but they were gaining. The first tower was on his left, and as he neared it he quickly dodged in that direction to put it on his right. The bullets behind him tried their best to follow, but a few could not avoid slamming into the Dark Tower, which disintegrated under their impact.
Shadramon lined himself up with the second of the towers. Though no longer Pucchiemon, he was not fully recovered from the wounds that form had sustained. He would have to do this quickly, before he wore out and was brought down.
"Jumping Blow!" Kangaroomon leaped towards Astamon, boxing glove out in front of him. The demon was hit directly in the face, and his head was jerked halfway around by the impact. Slowly, he turned to face his opponent once more, his features dark with rage. He raised his own fists.
Ken watched, agonized, as the red form of Shadramon flitted among the hills. The bullets were apparently still following him. But every time Shadramon passed a Dark Tower, it crumbled, and soon there were no more left standing. The Digimon turned back towards where he had dropped his partner and flew in that direction, visibly struggling to maintain speed.
The insect approached, diving suddenly as he neared Ken's position. He hit the ground, hard, just a few yards from where Ken stood. There were flashes in the air as the last remaining bullets aimed themselves downwards to follow their prey, and for an instant Ken was sure his partner would be riddled by them. At the last second, however, Shadramon gave a sort of feeble flitting hop, and the projectiles thudded harmlessly into the ground just inches from his body.
Kangaroomon staggered back under the fury of Astamon's blows. The boxing gloves were able to block many, but nowhere near all, and Daisuke's partner was weakening. Daisuke himself stood with clenched fists, shouting encouragement. Kangaroomon tried to land a punch of his own, but Astamon saw it coming and lashed out with Maverick. Kangaroomon fell, reverting to V-mon as he did so.
"Daisuke… he's strong…" V-mon groaned.
Astamon brushed off his sleeves and adjusted his clothes. He walked over to where his gun lay, picked it up, removed the drum magazine, and pulled another from one of his deep pockets. Once the gun was reloaded, he turned back towards V-mon, who was being helped to his feet by Daisuke.
"Arrivederci," he said, and aimed.
"Spiking Finish!"
Stingmon plunged out of the air, striking the gun and knocking it from Astamon's hands. Astamon, his mouth hanging open, looked to the fallen gun, then at Stingmon, who now stood between him and the others.
"Impossible," he choked. "No one escapes Oro Salmon's bullets!"
Ken came walking up beside Daisuke.
"The Dark Towers are destroyed," he said. "We can Jogress."