22
Perversions
"I had always felt, from well-defined undertones of legend and archaeology, that great Quetzalcoatl – benign snake-god of the Mexicans – had had an older and darker prototype… But everything was tantalizing and incomplete, for above the border the cult of the snake was hedged about by fear and furtiveness." – H. P. Lovecraft, "The Curse of Yig"
The snake-like Digimon came on faster than its companion, rushing towards the still stationary Nefertimon. It flew on powerful feathered wings located near its head. The thing looked as though it was planning to ram Hikari's Digimon, and the latter slid sideways in the air to avoid a collision.
"Toltecan Wind!" Another frigid blast of wind whipped just past Nefertimon, a hail of ice crystals forming in midair as it did so. Hikari whipped her head around to follow the enemy.
"That was…!" She saw the opposing Digimon turn to face them, and her eyes locked on its forehead. A symbol she recognized glinted gold in the sunlight. "The Crest of Light!"
"Tusk Driver!" The other newcomer shot towards Holsmon. From under its silver helmet (So similar to Holsmon's, Miyako thought) protruded two long blue spikes, well capable of goring his target. Holsmon, still somewhat shocked by the sensation he had felt on first seeing the Digimon, did not recover in time to launch a counterattack, but he managed to swing his head around.
There was a metallic clang as one "wing" of Holsmon's helmet clashed with his attacker's tusks. Holsmon was driven backwards by the force of the blow, but in the moment of the collision Miyako had gotten a close look at the red sigil etched into the enemy's helmet. This new Digimon wore the Crest of Love.
"Freeze Wave!" The serpentine Digimon began to radiate subzero cold. Nefertimon flew in the opposite direction, trying to outrun the waves, but rime had already begun to accrete on her haunches. Frost also appeared on Hikari's clothes and the skin of her arms; she clenched her teeth to keep from crying out.
"Heat Storm!" The helmeted monster's mouth opened in a roar. A violent wind blew up, and rapidly increased in temperature as it beat against Holsmon's front. Miyako flattened herself as best she could against her partner's back, but couldn't avoid the blistering storm entirely. Holsmon backed away in the air, towards the stone edifice. Both he and Nefertimon knew that they would be unable to fight like this. Their partners couldn't stand up to this kind of punishment for long.
"Who are you?" Hikari shouted at the serpent Digimon. Her voice was steady, though her body was still shivering even now that the attack had ended. "You have the Crest of Light! Why are you attacking us?"
"Yeah!" Miyako agreed, shouting at the tusked, helmeted enemy. "And the Crest of Love!"
The two unknown Digimon maneuvered themselves in the air so that they hovered between the two girls and their Digimon.
"The Crests are meaningless," was the winged serpent's sibilant answer.
"They are only birthmarks," the red, tusked, helmeted Digimon added. "They tell the story of our creation. That is all."
"Your creation?" Nefertimon asked. The serpentine Digimon answered her.
"We were born from data scanned from your Digimentals."
None of the Chosen was able to respond. It seemed too incredible to believe. They could not conceive of Light and Love contributing to the creation of these Digimon.
"You seem surprised," the tusked creature observed. "Our masters found a way to create the same amount of energy as the Digimental, but the nature of that energy is changed. I am Setmon, Love turned to Hate."
"And I," said the other, "Coatlmon, Light furthering the purpose of Darkness."
The elevator doors opened, and the human guide preceded Lilithmon and the others into their new base of operations. He led the way down the broad hall and opened the double doors at the far end. Beyond lay a spacious, cubical room, evidently a computer lab of sorts. There was a pair of double doors on each of the walls. Also on one wall was a large screen, connected by some mysterious means to Sato's own base. On it were displayed the magnified features of Sato himself, and the Dark Man could be seen in the background, smiling placidly.
"So you are Digimon." A fourth human was standing in the center of the large room, waiting for them. His tone was somewhat unsure. "I heard about them in the news, but I never thought I would actually meet any." He took a step forward, then stopped, wanting to appear welcoming, but keeping his distance. "I'm Hiraga Ayaki. Sato-san," he gestured toward the video screen, "wanted me to be here to welcome you."
That was not quite true; Sato wanted Hiraga to come into contact with Digimon as soon as possible so that he could acclimate himself to their presence. He would be working closely with them in the days to come. He had not said as much, but Hiraga could guess his employer's intent, since there was no other good reason for him to be here instead of aboveground. On the large screen, Sato nodded and addressed the group of Digimon.
"You won't be free to explore the city until night falls."
Lilithmon's expression darkened, but she could see the Dark Man nodding, and said nothing. "For now, I want you to familiarize yourself with your new quarters, and with your human brethren." Several of the people he referred to had entered the room since their arrival, or had been working all along at one of the room's computers. The Digimon had little concept of human ethnicity, and thus did not pay much attention to the fact that although some of those present were Japanese like Sato and Hiraga, many were foreigners.
"I'm sure Hiraga-san and the others will answer any questions you may have," Sato continued. "Make the most of your time, and be patient. Once the sun sets, you may do as you wish."
Lilithmon's malignant smile returned.
"How fun…" she murmured. "How fun."
There were several dark chuckles behind her.
"Mach Impulse!" Holsmon knew that he would have to take the offensive. If he allowed the enemy to get another attack in, Miyako might be seriously injured. He had considered, since he was so near the stone structure, letting her alight at the entrance to one of the corridors, but knew that there were still Bakemon hiding within. Setmon and Coatlmon shot apart as the blades of red light came streaking towards them.
Setmon dipped low in the air and propelled himself upwards, trying to gore Holsmon through the stomach with his tusks. Holsmon saw his enemy's plan and dodged the attack successfully. An idea came to him, and he dove toward the trees below.
"Miyako-san, take shelter in the forest. I'll deal with Setmon."
"Okay…" she replied, reluctant to leave her partner, but knowing that he would be able to fight more effectively without her. "Be careful, Holsmon," she said as she jumped off his back and landed without injury among the undergrowth.
After missing his mark, Setmon had turned about and seen Holsmon's plunge. He was just beginning to follow when a pair of red beams erupted from the trees, striking him in the unprotected chin. Stopping with a grunt of pain, the emissary of Hate readied himself. The air around him began to warm, and then to grow hot. Holsmon emerged from the foliage below, immediately launching into Tempest Wing. But this time, Setmon was ready.
"Heat Storm!" Spontaneous flames sprang up around his body, and he barreled forward, a tornado of fire. Setmon's flames thundered against Holsmon's wind, a pair of twisters locked in one place.
After dodging Mach Impulse, Coatlmon slipped through the sky towards the Digimon whose Crest his form mocked.
"Curse of Queen!" As the pinkish beams approached, Coatlmon whipped his sinuous body out of their way, continuing his meandering approach to his enemies uninhibited. Soon, they were within range.
"Fossil Wave!"
Nefertimon felt an invisible energy wash over her. Strangely, she felt no pain, nor did Hikari, who also felt the wave of force as it engulfed them both. Coatlmon continued his rapid approach. Nefertimon prepared to launch a counterattack… but found that she could not. She felt stiff, unable to unleash the powers which usually came to her so easily. Concerned, Hikari tried to lean forward and ask what the problem was, but her muscles were tense and unresponsive. Nefertimon began slowly to sink downwards through the air, and still she and the girl were immobile.
The paralysis was slowly sapping Nefertimon's ability to remain aloft, and gravity was taking over. Hikari wanted to shout, ask what was wrong, but her mouth and tongue refused to answer the commands of her brain; only a low groan escaped her. Coatlmon had come up beside them now, and deftly threw a coil about the paralyzed Chosen Child. Nefertimon continued to fall, picking up speed, and Hikari was left aloft with the winged serpent. Her partner crashed through the branches below, and there was silence except for the roaring of the dueling tornadoes.
"That went better than I expected," Coatlmon admitted to his captive. "I suppose I should take the opportunity to finish her." He slowly descended toward the forest.
Miyako, who had been watching the struggle between Holsmon and Setmon through the canopy above her, turned when she heard a heavy impact somewhere to her right. She saw a white shape in that direction, and recognized it as Nefertimon. Had she been defeated? The thought was followed by a more pressing one: where was Hikari? With a last glance up at the twisters of wind and fire, she hurriedly made her way over to the fallen Digimon.
Nefertimon lay still as Miyako approached, but managed to stir feebly when the girl laid hands on her. The fall had hurt somewhat, but Coatlmon's paralysis seemed to be gradually wearing off.
"Hi…kari…"
The tip of Coatlmon's tail, a gold ornament like a metal flame, emerged from the tree tops, and his coils began to appear. Hikari was held limply in one, her face locked in the expression of concern she had worn when she first noticed Nefertimon's reaction to the Fossil Wave. Soon Coatlmon's head and wings came into view. His grip on Hikari loosened, and she fell without a sound to the forest floor.
"So everyone is here," he said. "I can end this now."