34
Assault on Odaiba
"All this, of course, assuming that the non-terrestrial linkages and the anomalies ascribed to the invading foes are not pure mythology." – H. P. Lovecraft, At the Mountains of Madness
The reunion between partners happened just as it usually did. The Digimon were overjoyed to see their human companions, and significantly brightened the Chosen Children's moods with their enthusiastic greetings. The warm feelings still hadn't worn off as Jou walked about Aqua City, carrying Gomamon in his arms. Every once in a while the furry Digimon would move his head to look around, but for the most part stayed still, since Jou had asked him not to draw much attention to himself.
It was an unusual problem, how to acclimate the world to Digimon. After all the destruction humanity had witnessed in the previous few years, it was understandable that the beings from another world still weren't entirely trusted. All through this year the Chosen had been taking their partners out among the attractions of the city, but no one seemed to take notice. Whether they actually did notice or not was another question.
It had been decided at Koshiro's apartment that the five Chosen Children remaining in Tokyo would patrol the city as best they could in case the enemy made a move in the daytime. After all the debauchery of the previous night, the Chosen thought it more likely that the invaders wouldn't stir again until sundown, but no one had come close to suggesting that the teens and their partners take the day off.
Koshiro, while working on the code which Gennai had sent him, was going to be simultaneously monitoring police activity, so that he could inform the others via D-Terminal if the enemy struck again.
Until that happened, Jou really didn't see much point in patrolling, but his sense of duty led him to stick close to the water, where Gomamon and his evolutions could be of most use.
"We were here on Christmas Eve last year, remember?" Jou asked.
"Yep," Gomamon said. "Good thing there's no Dark Tower this time, huh?"
He didn't know then just how good it was.
NeoDevimon had been the first of Lilithmon's party out of the group's headquarters after the order to capture the Chosen Children came, leaving the humans to dispose of his recently deceased plaything. He had set out for Odaiba immediately. Then, not wishing to waste his time searching for his targets, he decided to draw them to him.
"Deep Sorrow."
The tattered wings beat against the air, which chilled as they passed through it, and darkened with each stroke. By the time he announced the attack he had already been spotted by the people below. In the daylight, his pale body and pumping wings, the color of dried blood, stood out in sharp relief against the blue summer sky.
Out of that sky rushed his dank wind, and gawking pedestrians struggled to stand against the force of the blast. An elderly man began to clutch his head, and crumpled to the ground. This first apparent victim was soon followed by younger men and women, some of whom were knocked off their feet while others collapsed and rolled about on the pavement, moaning as their darker emotions awoke and began to run riot.
NeoDevimon spread his wings wide one more time, held them in place, then thrust them forward with all the force he could muster. Store windows shattered in the onslaught, and the nearer human beings skidded along the ground as the wind caught them like so much litter.
Far along down the street, Jou broke into a run. I never would have thought they would attack again this soon! he thought, not shouting aloud to Gomamon in order to conserve his breath. They had almost come to the nearest of those affected by the enemy's attack when Gomamon himself spoke.
"Let go, Jou! I'll evolve!"
Panting, Jou obeyed, reaching for his Digivice just as his partner touched down on the sidewalk.
"Gomamon, Evolve! … Ikkakumon!"
NeoDevimon saw the light and the influx of data immediately, but did not move forward, only waited to see who his opponent would be. In a few moments, Ikkakumon stood below, his volcanic blue eyes staring up at the demonic Digimon. There was no need for either of them to speak, so Ikkakumon launched directly into battle.
"Harpoon Vulcan!"
His single horn detached itself and sped toward the enemy, but NeoDevimon only turned aside and let it fly past. Only then did he fling himself ahead and down toward the opponent. In the air behind him, the homing missile Ikkakumon had launched released its horn-shaped casing and arced around to follow its target.
NeoDevimon froze just in front of Ikkakumon's broad face, lifting one bladed hand as if to slice into it. Ikkakumon lowered his head, preparing to parry the attack with his horn, but in that instant NeoDevimon shot upwards again, and Ikkakumon's missile slammed into the pavement.
Jou's partner tried blinking the dust from his eyes. He heard Jou yell something behind him. Then he felt jagged blades sink into his flank, and roared in pain as his massive body left the ground. There were a few moments of agony as the claws propelled him upwards, ending in a bolt of more potent pain as their hooked ends tore loose and he flew through the air. There was a shock and a crash as he hit the waters of Tokyo Bay, and sank some distance before recovering and paddling up to the surface.
In the meantime, Jou was running again, charging toward the water's edge with his Digivice clutched in his hand. He knew that they would have to evolve. No Adult-level Digimon would have been able to lift and throw Ikkakumon.
NeoDevimon ignored the human, but flew in the same direction. The Chosen Child was only to be captured. NeoDevimon was in a mood to kill.
Jou came to where the land ended and looked out across the bay. He could see Daiba Park some distance away, and the mainland beyond it, but his focus was on the approximate place he had seen his partner strike the water.
"Ikkakumon!" For one gut-wrenching moment Jou thought that it might not work, that the Holy Beasts had failed them and evolution to Perfect was impossible. But the Digivice was glowing as he called out the name.
"Ikkakumon, Super Evolve! … Zudomon!"
The massive shelled Digimon stood half submerged in water, and was starting to wade back to shore when NeoDevimon dropped out of the sky and hung suspended just over the other water as Zudomon's ripples swept by under him. Zudomon raised his hammer in challenge, but did not have a chance to swing it, because NeoDevimon stretched out an overlong arm and submerged the tips of his metal claws in the water of the bay.
"Stun Claw."
Zudomon stopped suddenly in place. Lightning played about Thor's Hammer, but not in the way that presaged Hammer Spark. The water for a vast area around was glowing, sparks leaping from its surface. Jagged bolts of energy lashed their way up Zudomon's body, and held him immobilized.
NeoDevimon turned his head towards Jou, and addressed him.
"It will be easiest if you stay there until I am done," the demon said in a frozen monotone. "I'm in no mood to hunt you through the city. You will be leaving with me, once I'm finished here. I've been wanting to try this experiment on a Perfect-level Digimon for some time." And so saying, he extended his other arm, and dipped its claws into the luminous water as well.
Yamato had not yet begun his patrol. He and Gabumon had meant to start immediately, but at the last moment he had remembered some housekeeping that should probably be done before his father got off work. There was nothing happening at the moment, and Gabumon was happy wherever his partner was. He had been partway through the laundry when Koshiro's message came in on the D-Terminal.
Something just appeared at Aqua City. It sounds like a Digimon. Get there if you are available.
Well, laundry would have to wait in that case. The pair wasted no time in getting out of the apartment and hitting the street.
It seemed all too convenient to Yamato that Aqua City was the first place targeted, given how close it was to the Chosen Children's apartments. Was it a coincidence that only Odaiba out of all the sprawling city of Tokyo was under attack? He thought of Ken, who had first alerted them to this mess, when he had awakened to find a strange man in his bedroom. For the first time the thought flashed consciously across Yamato's mind: They know where we live.
"Darkness Wave!"
The sun was blotted out. There was a crash as a tide of burning bats met the windows of the apartment building. The old instincts returned to Yamato and Gabumon, and before the sound had entirely died away an evolution was in progress.
"Gabumon, Evolve! … Garurumon!"
"Garurumon, Super Evolve! … WereGarurumon!"
The wolf-like Digimon stood protectively by his partner. A Digimon Yamato knew to be a LadyDevimon stood in midair, laughing to see the effect of her entrance.
"What do you want?" WereGarurumon asked, interrupting her burst of mirth.
LadyDevimon's laugh passed into a chuckle and stopped. She pointed a black-sheathed finger of her right hand with a lascivious smile.
"Oh, just your friend there," she answered. Another, lower laugh bubbled up when she saw the Digimon tense. Slowly she descended until her heeled boots touched the ground. "So," she said to Yamato, "Are you a good boy? Will you come easily? Or…" She shrugged her shoulders. The chain wrapped about her right arm rattled. Yamato did not reply, only stared steadily forward.
"He won't," WereGarurumon growled.
LadyDevimon threw her head back and laughed again. After recovering from the outburst, she faced them once more.
"Good! I had hoped so!"