Digicross Tamers episode 5
'Beast King Dethroned'
==Tamers Digital World
The battle had been raging for days now, one lone champion level digimon against a pair of Ultimate digimon. Normally, Two ultimate digimon would be more than a match for one champion digimon would, but their quarry was no regular digimon.
Leomon looked from his hiding spot, observing the movements of the two pursuers. He had become intimately aware of the pain his entire body felt, from a combination of fatigue, deprivation, and the strain of never really being able to relax your guard. "And to think" he muttered, "it was only a few days ago that we were friends..." Abruptly, the stone wall he was hiding behind crumbled, and Leomon, surprised and too worn out to recover, fell several yards down the hill to the rocky ground below.
"Leomon" Majiramon, the dragon deva, said. "Where is it?" Beside the dragon, Antylamon, rabbit deva and former guardian of Zhuquiamon's castle, stood quietly, hands already morphed into axe-like blades. "We seek the light. Where is it?"
"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell traitors like you!"
"It is you who betrayed the sovereign" Majiramon replied calmly. "We serve the true master of the digital world. Please, tell us, and we will welcome you back to us."
"Welcome this...Fist of the Beast King!"
==Tokyo, Monday after school.
"Any sign of him" Henry asked, meeting Hitomi after classes were done for the day.
Hitomi shook her head. "No. But I saw him throw this in the trash at lunchtime." Hitomi held up a small notepad that had been held together with rubber bands. Inside were rough sketches of Guilmon and, more recently, pictures of a larger creature that resembled Growlmon.
"I've got a bad feeling about this" Henry said grimly. "That must be the notepad that Takato created Guilmon on. We'd better find him before he does something stupid."
"Are you looking for Takato" Jeri asked, approaching the pair. Hitomi nodded. "Well, I think I saw him heading up to the roof. Is he all right? He looked really sad all day."
"There was some...trouble on Friday with a friend of his" Henry explained.
"It has something to do with what happened at the park, right? It was in the news, and Takato did say he was going there." Jeri started to look worried. "He's alright, isn't he?"
"He's fine" Hitomi reassured her. "He just had a nasty shock, that's all. Would it be alright if I talked to him," she asked Henry.
"Yeah. I'd better get something from the park, Takato left it there on Friday." Henry left.
"Hitomi" Jeri asked. "Everything is alright, isn't it?"
Hitomi smiled. "Yes, he's fine." Hitomi thanked Jeri and left, heading for the stairs to the roof.
Jeri watched Hitomi leave, then shouldered her bookbag and took a different route. She knew the school much better than Hitomi did, and she knew a few ways to the roof that even the teachers didn't know about. There was something going on with Takato, and she was determined to find out what.
==Digital World
Leomon was flung backwards by the force of the blow. So far, only Majiramon was attacking; Antylamon had done nothing yet. "Why are you fighting for that impostor" he snarled.
"Why do you call him 'impostor'? It is you who serve the impostor. He that stole the light and our strength, that cast this world into chaos, where digimon fight each other now for the basest of reasons. It is your 'sovereign' that is the impostor, the betrayer. Leomon, I beg you, old friend. Tell us where the light was taken, how this feat was accomplished. It is not too late for you!"
"N...NEVER!" With a defiant yell, Leomon jumped, landed on Majiramon's back, and stabbed his sword into the dragon's spine. Roaring in pain, Majiramon fell to the ground, stunned by the ferocity of the attack. Leomon, panting now from the effort, wrenched his sword from out of Majiramon's back and retreated, unwilling to finish off the digimon. "I know who I serve. And I swore that I would never reveal what I know."
Antylamon moved forward. "Majiramon. I will deal with him" her voice echoed, sending chills down Leomon's spine.
"Antylamon, don't do this" Leomon cautioned, though he doubted he could do much against the deva.
Antylamon's first attack disarmed Leomon, his sword sent spinning through the air, landing point down in the earth well out of Leomon's reach. Her second attack knocked the digimon back against a stone outcropping, the breath leaving Leomon's lungs. Leomon tried to recover, but one of Antylamon's blades slammed into the rock beside him, grazing his skin. The pain nearly broke him, especially coming from Antylamon. "An...tylamon, please..."
"There is no time for this, Leomon." Antylamon's other hand grabbed Leomon by the throat, her face almost touching his. "We know the light of digivolution was given physical form, and that he was sent to the real world. We even know that he is in the place the humans call 'Japan'. All we need now are the exact co-ordinates, as well as a description of his new form. Tell us now, or we will destroy you." Leomon's defiant expression didn't change. "We have agents there now, you know. It is only a matter of time before we find him, with or without your help. Tell us what you know. If you do, I might even be able to forgive you...someday."
Fear gripped Leomon's heart. They knew all that...there was only one way to go now. With a roar, Leomon knocked Antylamon away, leaped for his sword, sheathed it, and started to run. But Antylamon, not nearly as worn out as Leomon, jumped, and landed in front of the fleeing digimon. "Running away, Leomon? That's not like you at all."
"I...I can't let you do this. Don't you know what this will do to both worlds?"
"Yes, I do."
Leomon stared at Antylamon, stunned that the guardian deva would so calmly accept what her leader was planning. Then he saw her sigil, the sign that marked her as one of the guardians of the Sovereign. It was gone, replaced with a bone white triangle with one of the bars missing. "What have they done to you..." he asked.
"My eyes have been opened. And now I must close yours. Farewell Leomon." Leomon closed his eyes, waiting for the final strike.
"ERASE CLAW!" The attack caught Antylamon by surprise, knocking the deva sideways, dragging her blade-arm across Leomon's chest. As he blacked out, the last thing he saw was something black and mean looking landing near him, and a smaller figure jumping off its back, running towards him.
==Tokyo
The school had easy access to the roof, where students could come up for semi-private talks with other students, or just to stare aimlessly at the sky. From the school, Takato could easily see the park, looking through the 8-foot high chain-link fence.
"I really blew it," he said to himself. "Guilmon, Terriermon, Henry, Hitomi...they almost got..." Takato pulled out his digivice, stepped back from the fence. "I wish I had never become a tamer" he said, voice filled with self-hatred. Part of him cried out not to do it, but he was too wrapped up in guilt over what happened Friday to listen to it. He flung the digivice over the fence, wishing never to see it again.
"You don't think that's going to work, do you" Hitomi asked, walking onto the roof from the stairwell. Takato looked at the girl, not sure what she meant. "Do you really want to get rid of Guilmon that much?"
"NO!" Takato's sadness switched over to anger. "How dare you say something like that!" Takato spun around, slammed a fist against the fence. "I just don't want anyone else to get hurt. You...you take care of Guilmon! You know more about this sort of thing!" Takato's hand started bleeding.
Hitomi walked up to Takato, taking the injured hand in hers, pressing a napkin she had taken from the lunchroom on the injury. "You're lying," she said gently, sounding a lot like her mother for an instant. "You care a lot for Guilmon, I can tell."
"It doesn't change what I did."
"What you did," Hitomi said, "was make a mistake. Trust me, it's nowhere near as easy as it looks on that TV show."
"But when I made Guilmon digivolve, he went..."
"Hey, Henry had the same trouble with Gargomon, remember? And he's been doing this a lot longer than you have. Just give it time, you'll figure it out."
A loud cawing noise caught Takato's attention. Looking up, he saw Noctowl, digivice clutched in his claws. "How..."
"I got up here just as you threw it, and sent Noctowl to retrieve it."
"Why waste the effort? I'll just throw it away again."
==Digital World
Leomon came to, not really sure where he was. Looking at his body, Leomon saw that several pinkish spheres of energy were placed on his wounds; he could feel new energy flowing into him.
"You took quite a beating" the small figure said. "You're lucky Cyberdramon and I were able to get you to this hideout before the other devas came looking for you."
"Cyberdramon...Are you...?"
The boy nodded. "Yep. Ryo Akiyama, at your service. I got word that you might be headed this way, so I came out here to give you a hand. Looks like you needed it."
"My thanks. But I cannot stay, I have to get...rrr..." Leomon tried to stand up, but his body was still too injured to move. He lay down again, wincing.
"You're not going anywhere for a while. Let those data packets do their work. I was told a bit about your mission. Are you really headed to the real world?"
"Yes. Baihumon himself told me to find the light of digivolution and guard it. And now, I must go..."
"Easy, what's the rush?"
"The devas know about what was done to the light, and where it was sent. I have to get there, they said they had agents in place already, searching for it."
Ryo arched an eyebrow. "I can't believe they'd actually send a digimon through. Giant pigs and dragons aren't the most subtle means of finding something that no one even knows what it looks like." Ryo shrugged. "And if Makuramon's leading the hunt, we've got all the time in the world."
"He is crafty and cunning. Not one to be...underestimated" Leomon cautioned the boy, wincing.
"He's an arrogant blowhard who's not nearly as smart as he thinks, and about as subtle as Vikaralamon." Leomon writhed in pain, groaning. "Hey, you OK?" As Ryo and Cyberdramon watched, Leomon's body glowed, and began shrinking. When the light subsided, a new digimon was lying down.
"Oh, great" Gabumon said. "I've de-digivolved. What good am I like this?"
"Probably for the best" Ryo said, trying not to laugh at Leomon's deep voice coming out of such a small digimon. "Giant two legged lions would draw a bit more attention than a walking throw rug."
"Funny. Hey, I'm not hurting anywhere."
"Azulongmon explained it to me once" Ryo said. "If a digimon's too badly injured, it throws off the damaged data, and reverts to a less evolved form. Kind of like a safety valve, letting off excess pressure before the main tank blows."
Cyberdramon stalked into the tent. "Clear" he said in a gravelly voice, sounding a bit disappointed.
"We're trying to keep a low profile," Ryo admonished his partner, "not pick a fight with everything in a 50 mile radius." Ryo walked over, picked up a pack. "Come on," he said to Gabumon, "I'll get you the rest of the way."
==Tokyo Park.
"Do we really have to do this?" Takato, being led by Hitomi, was heading for the small shack Guilmon hid in during the day. Eevee was with them, perched on Hitomi's shoulder.
Hitomi looked at Takato. "No, you'd have come here sooner or later anyway. But I wanted to check on Guilmon too." The two walked up the steps, and saw Terriermon waiting outside. Eevee hopped off Hitomi's shoulder, and the two monsters exchanged smalltalk. "How is he?"
"Hungry, what'd ya expect" Terriermon replied. Eevee sighed, muttering "figures."
Guilmon stuck his head out. "Takatomon! I was so worried about you!" Guilmon ran forward and nearly knocked Takato down trying to tackle-hug his tamer.
Hitomi walked over to the small shack, where Henry was waiting. "Well?"
Henry shrugged. "Well, he was miserable most of Sunday, and still lousy this morning too, from what Terriermon told me. But he started feeling better a few minutes ago. I'd guess about the same time Takato got here. Did you have to drag him?"
Hitomi shook her head. "He'd have come here sooner or later. But it's odd how closely those two are linked."
"Takato did create him" Henry replied. "I guess Guilmon literally is a part of Takato." He shuddered a bit, remembering the fight against Tyrannomon. "I still can't see how someone like Guilmon could have gotten so...wild."
"Digivolution takes a lot of energy" Hitomi said. "I guess all that energy flooding into Guilmon just...shorted him out. Maybe it gets easier with practice or something. Virus digimon can be tricky to handle, sometimes."
"Could be. That fight was the first time Terriermon digivolved since he appeared."
"It's instinct too," Terriermon said, walking towards his partner. "Every time a digimon appears, we just know it, and we can't help but be drawn to them. Before I came here, fighting and absorbing data was the only way to get stronger and digivolve. It's just the way..it always was. Right Eevee?"
"I wouldn't know" the pokemon replied. "I'm...from way out."
"You mean you're really a little green man," Terriermon asked coyly. "You wanna show us your flying saucer now?"
"Wrong channel" Henry said. "Who did June wind up marrying anyway?" Hitomi almost answered, then stopped, staring dumbfounded at Henry.
"Umm...you want to back up for a sec," Terriermon asked.
"Hitomi" Henry said gently, "come on. A D-3 instead of a D-arc, a digiegg that works, you knowing so much about digimon, but you've never even heard of the card game or the show until you appeared here. And you're way too good to have only just found Eevee. And I don't recall those small red and white spheres showing up in the card series or the TV show. Believe me," he went on, pointing to Terriermon, "I looked."
"I..." Beside Hitomi, Eevee was stammering, trying to think of a way out of this.
"The clincher was when you called Kazu a liar last week. You sounded just like June from the TV show. And your last name's Motomiya to boot." Hitomi started to back away. "Relax, I'm not going to turn you over to the government or anything."
==
Takato and Guilmon went over to a small clearing near where other children were playing on swings and climbing all over a wooden fort. "Guilmon" Takato said, "I am so sorry about what happened."
"About what" Guilmon asked. "Oh, me turning into a big firebreathing dinosaur. Is that what you meant?"
"Yeah."
"It OK Takatomon" Guilmon said. "You didn't know any better." Takato blinked, not following Guilmon. "When I digivolved, I felt a part of you in me, it was nice! Except for the turning into a giant firebreathing monster and scaring everyone half to death part. Maybe we just need practice?"
"M...maybe...I just don't want you to get hurt..."
"I'll be fine as long as you're around Takatomon, I..." Guilmon broke off, looking around intently.
"Who's there" Takato asked, half scared. Another noise, a small branch being broken, pulled his attention in a particular direction. Images of government agents grabbing Guilmon and dragging the digimon off filled his mind, until he saw who it was that made the noise. "Jeri?"
Jeri stood up, looking at Guilmon. "I was worried about you, so I followed you here and..." Jeri trailed off, looking at the digimon. Guilmon cocked his head, not sure of what to make of this human. "Is this...a digimon?" Takato slowly nodded, wondering if the screaming or the running would happen first. Then..."he's ADORABLE!"
==Digital World
"So, this is it" Gabumon asked. "This is where I can find a way to the real world?"
Ryo nodded. "Yeah. See those big energy beams? Normally, they just transfer data from one point in the digital world to another. But, every now and then, there's a beam of energy from earth to here that can take you to the real world. There's been a lot of digimon showing up here recently, hopping into transfer beams left and right. Look for the beam that has a blue aura behind it, those are your best bet."
"Why not take one yourself?"
Ryo's face was unreadable for a second. "There's nothing for me there now. Besides, if I wasn't here, who'd control Cyberdramon? There's enough problems here without another Ultimate digimon running amok."
"But the risk...if the Devas find you..."
"Heh. They have to find me, first." Ryo patted a small rectangular pack on his belt. "Even if they do, Cyberdramon and I can give them a fight they'll never forget. Hey, there's a beam now. Get going!" Gabumon nodded, running for the cylinder of light that Ryo indicated. Ryo waved, and watched as Gabumon jumped in and vanished.
"You don't have to stay" Cyberdramon growled. "I can survive on my own."
Ryo swung his head around, eyes flashing. "You and your little brother did enough damage in the 10 minutes you were on earth, Cyberdramon!" He calmed a bit. "I meant what I said. I'll stay here and keep an eye on you. There is no way I'm letting what happened then repeat itself. Clear?"
==Between Worlds
Gabumon felt himself twisted, as if his body was being pulled apart and put back together. Dimly, he could make out a long corridor; it, along with everything else, looked like a giant wireframe model. He saw a tunnel; above the tunnel, what looked like a city, also in wireframe. He could sense life there, as well as...other digimon?
"I must get there...find the light of digivolution..." Gabumon struggled, started running. Around him, he could feel the corridor become more solid, more real. Then, as he felt a wall in front of him give away, he felt himself falling...
==
When he came to, Gabumon found himself in a large pit. As he looked around, a strong smell made him almost retch. "I must be near a sewer or something," he said to himself. "Hey, there was a digimon here, a while back" Looking, he could see the faint traces of footprints, and saw evidence of some sort of explosion here. "That wall looks half melted" he murmured. "Another digimon must have arrived at this point."
A memory from his battle with Antylamon replayed itself. "I have to hurry. If the false Sovereign does have agents here, then there's no telling how much of a head start they have on me!" Getting up, Gabumon crept away, trying not to be spotted by the innumerable wave of humans in the city.
Next Episode
While Impmon recalls what happened just after he emerged in the Real
World, Yamaki takes his crusade against digimon to a new depth. Rika runs
into Calumon and Unown again, and Henry learns Hitomi's true history.
Digicross Tamers episode 6: 'Impmon's tale.'