21
The Mist and the Shadow
"There seemed a strange stillness over everything. But as I listened, I heard as if from down below in the valley the howling of many wolves. The Count's eyes gleamed, and he said, "Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!" – Bram Stoker, Dracula
There was still no movement in the mist. Lighdramon remained standing and immobile. He didn't know where the next attack would come from. His attacker could apparently move at will in the fog, so his only chance to counterattack would be to intercept his opponent's next strike. Hopefully he would have the strength when the time came. His vitality seemed to be draining away with the blood still oozing from his side.
Daisuke, Ken, and Wormmon watched, equally tense, atop the hill. The mist shouldn't be able to hide a Digimon of that size, not when they could still dimly see the Dark Tower's outline in the distance.
"The Dark Tower," Ken said.
"What?" Daisuke asked.
"If Lighdramon attacks the Dark Tower, the enemy should try to protect it."
Daisuke understood. He turned and called out to his partner.
"Lighdramon! Destroy the Dark Tower!"
Lighdramon heard, and moved forward. Instantly the fog congealed into solid substance just ahead of him, and the wolf creature sprang up for his unarmored throat. Lighdramon had expected something like it, and lowered his head, attempting to skewer the thing with his jagged horn.
Neither Digimon's attack went quite as planned. Lighdramon's horn slammed sidewise into the batwing-shaped structure shielding the wolf's head, and the wolf's fangs closed on empty air. No sooner had the monster landed, however, than it whipped about to strike again, aiming for the wound it had first inflicted. Lighdramon was too worn out to dodge, and the wolf punched another hole in his side.
"He needs help!" Ken said. "Wormmon! Digimental Up!"
"Wormmon, Armor Evolve! Midsummer Night of Kindness, Pucchiemon!"
The pudgy fairy Digimon pointed his finger.
"Heartener Beam!" The light transfixed the wolf monster, which loosened its jaws and turned its head back to look at them. Released from its grip, Lighdramon reverted to V-mon. Daisuke raised his D-3.
"Now, Fladramon," he said. "Digimental Up!"
But even as he called it out the wolf monster was running in his direction. Before it had traveled very far it faded out of visibility. By then, V-mon had almost completed his evolution. It was just as the process's light was fading that the enemy rematerialized behind the trio on the hilltop. Ken and Pucchiemon had been looking around, trying to anticipate where the thing might appear next, but were both looking elsewhere at that moment. The wolf spoke, and its voice was low and windy.
"Sticker Blade!" The wolf's fur stiffened, and out shot myriad tiny projectiles. Pucchiemon hardly had time to realize what had happened. Suddenly there were a million needles embedded in his body, and without even having time to scream he had returned to Wormmon. Daisuke and Ken whipped around in surprise, but were only in time to see the wolf Digimon vanish again. Daisuke was beside himself with a sort of righteous anger.
"What a coward!" He turned at random, shouting into the mist. "Come out! Are you afraid to fight fair!?"
There was no answer.
Fladramon had turned round to watch what would happen on the hill. He had moved forward to help, but he was tired – his legs wouldn't move with their usual sureness and swiftness. Why did he feel so drained? The evolution had felt odd as well, as though there was more than just himself enveloped in its light.
Once the wolf had neutralized Pucchiemon and disappeared, Fladramon figured that it would be back to finish him. He turned back around and raised his arm, slowly. As he lifted it above his head the claws began to glow with heat.
"Knuckle… Fire!" He thrust his arm forward, and flames shot towards the Dark Tower, just as the wolf sprang out of the mist behind him, and his body was riddled with its numberless little blades. He returned instantly to V-mon, but the attack he had launched continued unimpeded. The Dark Tower cracked, and began to fall.
"Now!" Daisuke yelled. V-mon began to evolve, and the wolf Digimon hesitated, shifting its gaze as if blinded by the light of the evolution. Ken had made sure by now that Wormmon's condition was stable, and also prepared for his partner to evolve. In the battle against Astamon they had seen the rejuvenative powers of Jogress Evolution, and they could certainly use them now.
"V-mon, evolve! XV-mon!"
"Wormmon, evolve! Stingmon!"
"Jogress Evolve! Paildramon!"
The Jogress Evolution to Paildramon was complete, but something was wrong. The feeling of sluggishness had not disappeared, and parts of his body ached. Especially painful was his left side, the place where the wolf monster had bitten Lighdramon. The wolf itself had not vanished again, but stood still, head raised.
Paildramon raised an arm and thrust at the creature with one of its spears. The wolf faded out of visibility just before the attack connected. Paildramon turned around instinctively, expecting a new attack from behind. Instead, the enemy reappeared in the exact spot it had been standing in, and leapt upon the larger Digimon's back. The wolf's fangs were made for tearing into the toughest materials, but were fortunately unable to penetrate Paildramon's armor in a single bite.
Daisuke and Ken watched with teeth clenched in the stress of the moment. How could they beat this thing that vanished and reappeared at will? It wasn't fair! The wolf monster adjusted its grip, seeking a weak place in the armor. Paildramon twisted about, trying to dislodge his opponent, but the movement was weak, and the wolf succeeded in holding on. In place of claws, its feet were armed with metal blades, and these cut long red furrows in its opponent's flesh, and caused sparks to fly from the armor.
"I don't understand," Ken said. "Why is he so slow?"
"He needs to evolve!" Daisuke said by way of answer.
"But he has no energy," the other boy replied. They continued their helpless watching.
Paildramon was running out of options. His back was a sheet of pain. He felt like collapsing, just falling over. A light sprang up in his mind. With what remained of his strength he threw himself backwards, trying to crush the enemy against the ground beneath him.
The weight on his back vanished before he hit the earth. Another dead end. Would he have enough strength to rise again? Would it do any good if he could? Paildramon didn't know what level the other Digimon was at, but a solid attack might be enough to defeat it. Hitting it was the problem. If it would only stop moving…
But he didn't have much time to think. The wolf monster reappeared and pounced on its fallen target. Paildramon managed to get an arm up, and was able to prevent it from getting another bite in. He swept the arm out and managed to fling the beast away.
Paildramon began to sit up, tried to stand, but fell to one knee. His vision blurred periodically, but he saw the wolf standing before him. The creature's fur bristled visibly as he watched, and the innumerable small blades began to fly. Paildramon was riddled with them. The pain was intense, but… Paildramon's eyes opened wide. The enemy couldn't move while using its technique. With a last volcanic burst of energy, Paildramon whipped his cannons around to face forward.
"Desperado Blaster!"
Energy bullets slammed into the wolf creature at a devastating rate. It grew blurry around the edges. As the Desperado Blaster continued, the wolf began to melt away, dissolving into data particles. At the last moment it raised its head for a final howl, and vanished completely. Daisuke prepared to let out a whoop, but it died in his throat.
The light of the sun was diffused by the mist, but still shone weakly, and Paildramon's body cast a faint shadow on the ground. Just as the dying wolf had howled, this shadow began to unaccountably darken. It grew increasingly distinct, and was pitch black by the time Paildramon had managed to stand and turn back towards the humans. The shadow had been behind the Digimon, but he noticed it immediately upon turning.
The darkness upon the ground began to float upward, forming a solid outline of black. Paildramon worried about what it might mean, but as the darkness slowly left the ground, a sensation of relief began to flood through him. By the time the blackness had taken on a distinct shape, Paildramon knew that he had somehow been freed from the poison which had been sapping his strength ever since they entered the area. Color and detail were infused in the black shape, and within the space of a few seconds there stood before Paildramon another Digimon, the twin of the wolf monster he had just deleted.