107

Reception

"What we did see – for the mists were indeed all too malignly thinned – was something altogether different, and immeasurably more hideous and detestable." – H. P. Lovecraft, At the Mountains of Madness

Two figures, each just managing to pass for a man, faced each other in an unlit side street. What they really were few could say – things fouler than mere men, at home in the paltry darkness of the alley as in the ultimate darkness from which they had crawled. One of them pulled the hat from its head and let it fall to the ground. It could not pass for human anymore. The curved horns were beginning to lengthen, and the snout to become more pronounced.

"Yes, what do you want?" Panimon's bestial voice asked. "I'm on my way back to that island."

"There's no longer any need, my friend," said the human voice of the Dark One. "The Chosen Children are nearby, and drawing nearer as we speak."

"All the more reason to hurry," Panimon said, his gaze not leaving the other's shining eyes as he ripped off the remainder of his disguise. "Just point me in the right direction."

"There's still time," the Dark One said. "I wanted to caution you before you went to work."

"Caution me?" Panimon answered with a laugh.

"Oh, just to be thorough, of course. After all, you're up against two Ultimate Digimon and their friends, a combined force that defeated a Demon Lord only yesterday."

"Demon Lord," Panimon sneered. "What is any fallen angel beside a god of darkness? But if it makes you feel better, I'll be careful." He raised his head to the sky, and the wings on his back began to grow and become sail-like. Then he paused, and looked back at the Dark Man. "Tell me," he said, "How much longer will he 'await the time?'"

"Not very long at all," the Dark One said. "Not even by human standards. You're just doing a bit of last-minute house cleaning."

Panimon laughed low in his throat, a sound few besides the Dark Man could hear without flinching. "Glad to help," he said. "This is my kind of work. So…" The slitted eyes smoldered with anticipation. "Where are they?"

There had been some debate among the Chosen Children about how best to approach the enemy base, if the building where they'd fought Lilithmon was, in fact, still a base. They thought it was possible that the police found nothing there because the group had relocated after Lilithmon's defeat. If that was the case, then they weren't headed into a trap but into bitter disappointment. Assuming the building was still occupied by the enemy, the teens and their partners wanted to keep the element of surprise if possible. The problem was that they didn't know how many or what sort of lookouts the still anonymous organization might have.

By the time they'd left Yamato's apartment, the Chosen had decided that speed rather than an attempt at stealth would have to be key – for all they knew, there were people tracking their every move already. They remembered those photos on the basement wall too well to dismiss the possibility.

Despite their hurry to get underway, the plan was as well thought out as any they'd made in the past. Having failed at their first rescue attempt, they didn't want to leave anything to chance. The other six Chosen Children, their partners either defeated or worse, must be saved at all costs. There was no telling… but they all tried not to dwell on that.

It had been decided that only the Ultimate Digimon, accompanied by Taichi and Yamato, would actually enter the building. WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon combined should be enough for any remaining threats. It would be up to the rest of their friends to intercept any of the gang's members that might try to escape from the place with information that could lead to the missing Chosen Children – or perhaps even with those Chosen Children themselves.

Now two huge shapes sped through the sky over the black waters of the bay. Big as they were, they were still dwarfed by the night about them and the gleaming city that awaited them, and the near-dozen smaller shapes they bore were invisible to all but themselves. Conversation among them was sparse – at that speed the wind was loud, and the situation tense.

Sora, sheltered somewhat from the wind by Garudamon's curving talons, would have liked to send a message to Yamato and the others via D-Terminal, but knew that this wasn't the time for it. Probably the beeping of the device wouldn't have even been audible. Beside Sora sat Jou and Gomamon, and BlackTailmon crouched low, peering out at the rapidly approaching city.

They were in the rear, following AtlurKabuterimon's lead. Koshiro had taken pains to acquaint himself with the area around the target building, and his partner would be first to reach it. From there, the Ultimate-level Digimon could make their entrance, while AtlurKabuterimon and Lilimon again took to the sky, where Garudamon would later join them to help survey the site from above. Before then, Garudamon's job was to drop Jou and his partner – the only Digimon of the group incapable of flight – some distance from the building, where they could guard BlackTailmon until the dust had settled.

Before leaving Yamato's apartment, Piyomon and her partner had closely studied the place picked out for their landing on Koshiro's computer. Things looked a little different in person. Still, as Tokyo Tower loomed larger and Garudamon's speed slackened, Sora was able to locate the intended place. Hearing her partner's yell and seeing her point downwards, Garudamon nodded her great helmeted head and began her descent.

While AtlurKabuterimon remained aloft and swung towards the fateful building, Garudamon landed in the wooded midst of Shiba Park. She knelt among the trees, allowing her passengers to disembark. Only Sora remained in her partner's palm, taking the opportunity to stand and stretch her limbs after the rather long flight.

"If anything happens," she said to Jou, "message me. I'll be checking my D-Terminal."

"You got it," he answered, with a smile that immediately faded as he looked towards BlackTailmon.

"No problem," Gomamon said. "Leave everything to us."

"Alright." Sora mustered in her turn a smile she couldn't feel. She suddenly remembered having passed through this same park four years ago, looking for the eighth Chosen Child. As important as that search had seemed and had been at the time, it could not match the grimness and the urgency of this one.

"Can I say something?"

Sora had been turning to face Garudamon and signal her readiness to leave, but stopped at the unexpected sound of BlackTailmon's voice. The four of them looked at the little feline. She hadn't spoken since leaving Odaiba, apparently either thinking to herself – which could be reason to worry – or not wanting to aggravate an already awkward situation.

"Yeah, what is it?" Gomamon asked.

BlackTailmon's eyes flicked in his direction a moment, and then to Sora and Jou. She inhaled slowly. This could be another of those tricky moments, and she wanted to pick her words carefully.

Sora waited, a little impatiently. She had a vague wish to take off again and not to linger. Maybe it was just because she didn't feel like conversing with this problematic Digimon, or because she wanted to be in position and near the others if and when the time for action came. And maybe part of it was a desire to be out of the dark shadows of the park.

"I've been thinking," BlackTailmon began, "and I think that if you guys let me go later I might not be safe. I've seen what happens when someone disappoints—" Again she couldn't think of the right term. "—them, and I may not get off easy after all this."

"Well, that's not really our…" Gomamon began, then hesitated. He looked at Jou.

"Are you suggesting something?" Jou asked BlackTailmon.

She debated whether to push her luck, decided not to. For now she would only hint at a possible defection. She didn't want to commit to anything before the moment of truth came, the point where she could figure out for sure which side was going to be the winning one, the one she wanted to be on.

"No, nothing."

There were a few moments of silence. Jou turned again to Sora.

"You can follow the others if you want," he told her. "We'll keep things under control here. I only wish I could be there to help look for Takeru and the others."

Sora nodded, grateful that the time had come. She looked up at Garudamon.

"Let's—" she began, but was again interrupted. This time the voice was not BlackTailmon's silky purr. Instead it was the worst voice Sora had ever heard, made more terrible by the fact that she had heard it before.

"Ah… Here we are at last."

Jou started and looked quickly into the darkness under the trees where the voice had come from. Gomamon also stared in that direction, as did BlackTailmon, her dark fur bristling. Garudamon remained looking down at Sora, who stood as if frozen. All the color had drained out of her face.

"Who – who's there?" Jou asked.

"Show yourself!" Gomamon shouted, with an uncharacteristic quaver.

"I'm right here," the awful voice answered. Jou thought that it sounded like the grunts of a huge animal, but it was undoubtedly speaking in Japanese. There came a low, chilling laugh. "You've been looking for me, I think." There was a swishing of branches, and Sora spun around. Simultaneously she and the others saw a bulky form distinguish itself from the surrounding shadows. Its essential features remained as they had in her nightmare of the metal table and the computer screen that was really a window on the void. She had no desire to make out any further details, but now the thing had emerged into the twilight, and they saw it complete.

The body suited the voice: the monstrous and animalistic twisted into a mockery of the human. The head was that of a horned and bearded goat, though its slit-like eyes and the upturned corners of its mouth gave it an expression of sly cunning and cruelty. The chest was broad and flanked by bulbous shoulders. Pointed, featureless wings rose behind. Thick black fur covered the shoulders, the forearms, and everything from the abdomen to the knees.

"Who are you?" Jou asked, though he knew the name did not matter. He and Sora both knew exactly what significance this Digimon had in recent events.

BlackTailmon did not. Earlier she had thought it likely that she was the last Digimon in this world not allied with the Chosen Children. She didn't know what this one's intentions were, so for the moment all she decided to do was keep quiet and stay low to the ground.

"You can call me Panimon," the monster said to Jou. "And you are the Chosen Children, of course. I've been intensely eager to meet you…" He winked at Sora. "…again."

Sora hadn't shared her dream with the others, and Jou didn't understand the reference, but he did hear the jest in Panimon's tone, and at that moment part of his fear and hers ebbed away, smothered by indignation. This creature was no uglier than other Digimon they had encountered, and that it should stand here and smirk at them after what it had done to Iori's girlfriend and all the others was unforgivable.

"Gomamon," Jou said as he reached for his Digivice.

"Alright! Gomamon, Evolve! … Ikkakumon!"

"Get down, Sora," Garudamon murmured, resting her hand on the ground. "I will fight too." A little reluctantly, Sora hopped down to the grass. Perhaps Garudamon sensed her hesitation. The great bird didn't know what exactly it was that this new enemy threatened, but she did know that it was something appalling. She caught her partner's eye. "I will protect you, Sora," she promised.

"I know," the girl answered.

Garudamon rose to a standing position and set herself between Panimon and her partner, sturdy as a brick wall. Meanwhile, Ikkakumon wasn't wasting any time.

"Harpoon Vulcan!"

Panimon made no move as the missile launched into the air and shed its conical casing. Only when it had found its target and started back down did he reach up a hand. With one motion he swatted it out of the air, his hairy fist closing around it as he brought it to the ground. There was an explosion and a shower of grass and dirt. Panimon stood as before, undamaged.

"Now, Perfect level!" Jou said, for the moment unfazed.

Panimon sneered. The hand that had dispatched Harpoon Vulcan plucked a small object from his remaining article of clothing, the black belt at his waist. In a moment he had brought it to his lips, and Jou and the others could see it was a simple curved horn. Before Ikkakumon could evolve further, or Garudamon could step forward to interfere, the sound came.

"Do you see anything, AtlurKabuterimon?"

"Nothing yet."

"That's worrisome," Koshiro said under his breath.

"Hey," Mimi said, peering into the brightly lit night in an effort to spot where Lilimon had gotten to, "Do you think maybe they don't know we're coming?"

"I don't know, but I doubt it," Koshiro answered. "It would be logical for them to assume that we would be returning to the building eventually. And they probably have spies of some kind."

"Mm." Giving up on finding her partner in the glare of the city lights, Mimi turned her gaze downward. Standing atop AtlurKabuterimon's broad back, her view of the streets was limited, but from what she could see Koshiro's partner was right. There was no sign of activity at or near the building they watched.

There was a tone from Koshiro's D-Terminal. At the same moment Mimi thought that she caught another sound in the distance, something shrill and unpleasant. She didn't know why, but it made her shiver.

"Taichi-san is in position," Koshiro said. "Now—"

If he said anything else the words were drowned out when the street exploded below, and the lower stories of the enemy's building were engulfed in flame.