KEEPERS
Disclaimer: Usual drill, I don't own Digimon, yada, yada, yada...
Chapter 4: Friend or Foe
There was no sound for what seemed like the longest time. Ryan and Richoemon stared with eyes wide and gaping jaws, their expressions matching exactly that of Henry, Jeri, Chris, and Dracaramon. The Apemon stood between the children, breathing heavily, as though it had run a marathon. Twice. It was not this sight that held the Tamers attention however, but rather something else that they had thought impossible, or at least when it came to a champion level digimon like Apemon.
Lying against the remains of a tree was the burnt and battered form of Leomon surrounded by the broken pieces of what was once the proud brave shield of War Greymon.
"No way…" Chris said finally. Unlike his friend Ryan he had knowledge about digimon like War Greymon (he had become something of a closet fan of the show when it premiered back home prior to their trip to the digital world) and was very much aware that the two items on his back weren't just there for decorative purposes. To see it broken so… so… effortlessly had sent his mind reeling, but there was no one more shocked than Henry.
"That's… that's impossible," Henry said and blinked his eyes, hoping that what he saw, what he just witnessed was a product of his imagination. It wasn't. How was it able to do that? Henry thought deliriously. How was it able to use an attack like THAT? Apemon's aren't supposed to be capable of doing something like that, never mind have the kind of power to destroy War Greymon's shield!
"Ooog…" Gargomon began to get up. Henry looked over at the Apemon and saw that it actually was tired. Using that attack took a lot out of it. This is our chance.
"GARGOMON!" He shouted as he pulled out a card and slid it through his D-Arc.
"DIGIMODIFY! RECHARGE ACTIVATE!"
Gargomon surged to his feet as new energy flooded through his body. Wasting no time Henry willed a blue card into existence and slashed it.
M-A-T-R-I-X D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N
"GARGOMON, MATRIX DIGIVOLVE TOOO…"
"RAPIDMON!"
Data stripped off of Gargomon's body as data changed and reorganized itself before solidifying again. His body became more streamlined, and green armor materialized; rocket launchers took the place of the guns that once made up his hands and his feet now bore an uncanny resemblance to elf shoes. It was this last that earned a remark from Chris.
"Whoa, Santa's little helper just got an upgrade," he said in awe, but so focused was everyone on the battle that no one heard him. With the sound of thrusters kicking in Rapidmon took to the air and aimed his rocket launchers at the Apemon.
"TIME TO SEND THIS MONKEY BACK TO THE JUNGLE," He shouted. "RAPID FIRE!" And with that, rockets roared from his arms, flying on a collision course with their target…
Only to shatter into shards of data before they could make contact.
You have GOT to be kidding me, Thought Chris forlornly. Isn't this where we're supposed to beat the snot out of the enemy now? Shoot, this always worked on the TV show, but it looks like someone fell asleep when writing the script. Kinda makes me want to strangle the writer…
"Henry?" Asked Rapidmon in a worried voice. "I think we need a new plan!"
"Uh… Momentai?"
"NOW'S NOT THE TIME HENRY!"
Had the situation not been so dire the sudden change in roles actually would have been funny.
Why can't we get the easy ones? Groaned Ryan as he brought out his digivice. Richoemon stepped forward.
Why are we even bothering? He questioned himself. This guy just took an Ultimate level attack and shattered that shield like it was nothin'. What can we do? He gripped his digivice. Why am I even thinking like that? We've already been through too much to get walked on by some stupid Apemon as if we were a doormat. Chris and I have already faced something like this before that was WAY stronger than this guy. We took down that Mammothmon and we'll take down this guy too!
The screen on Ryan's digivice flickered to life and began to glow as a sphere of data surrounded Richoemon. An electrical current ran its way from the digivice in Ryan's hand and flowed up his arm. It was time to…
Ryan's eyes bulged as his stomach suddenly began to heave. Something was very, very wrong.
"RICHOEMON, DARK DIGIVOLVE TOOO…"
"BLACKTERRADRAMON!"
Chris', Henry's, and Jeri's eyes widened when they heard those words spoken; a shock that was shared by the digimon that were still conscious. The data sphere shattered and in its place stood a black colored, gray –striped version of Richoemon's Champion form, its pale yellow eyes cold and piercing. The Apemon, sensing the change turned to regard its new enemy.
Henry looked at his D-Arc as it displayed the digimon's stats.
BLACKTERRADRAMON
Stage: Champion
Type: Virus
Special Attack: Crimson Burst, Tarturus Fire
"Chris? What going on here?"
Chris didn't answer right away, too stunned by the sight of his friends sudden transformation, but when he finally did he sounded shaken. "I – I don't know. This hasn't happened before, not when digivolving to Champion at least. This – this is new."
Henry growled in frustration. He was getting tired of all these sudden surprises.
Jeri was staring at BlackTerradramon, the scene bringing back terrible memories from her experience in the digital world, memories of Megidramon. Her eyes shifted over to the boy that was this creature's partner. He was on his knees, eyes closed and shaking, his hand clutching his digivice as though it were a lifeline. Watching him, Jeri had an epiphany.
Whatever happened to him in the digital world, it's getting worse.
The Apemon shifted under the glare of BlackTerradramon, as though it were for the first time unsure of itself. With a snarl BlackTerradramon charged. Apemon swung its club at the beast, but the raging creature didn't seem to notice as its jaws clamped down on Apemon's left leg with murderous force before hauling the digimon into the air like a rag doll and unleashing a crimson blast of fire immediately after letting go.
"TARTURUS FIRE!"
The flame impacted with the Apemon and it fell to the ground, smoke curling from its body. Black Terradramon didn't waste any time as it dashed forward and began viciously driving its foot down on its form.
The sound of engines made Henry turn to see WarGrowlmon carrying Takato, Kenta, Kazu, Rika, and Ryo with Taomon, Guardromon, and Cyberdramon following closely behind.
"Henry! What's going on here?" Shouted Takato over the roar of WarGrowlmon's thrusters. For a moment Henry wasn't sure how to answer that. This whole fight just kept taking so many twists and turns that he couldn't get his bearings.
The sound of Ryan screaming broke his train of thought.
Digivolve…
Ryan felt his skin crawling with sweat. Just what was going on here? How had his buddy, his partner digivolved like this? And that voice…
Digivolve…His temples pounded. It felt as though claws were scraping on his skull. Something wanted in and he knew with every ounce of his soul that if he opened the door to see what it was, it was all going to end, one way or another.
Make me digivolve…
No… Ryan stared at his partner. He couldn't believe that… that thing was his friend. Not the same Richoemon that he met in a forest when he and Chris had been separated; who tried to make jokes and failed, who was with him when that living shadow blanketed his mind, and had been there when he ran afoul of Sukamon and Chuumon.
There was just no way that it could be…
Those eyes… Never had he seen such coldness before. They had all the warmth of a tomb and it seemed like they never left him.
He bit back a scream as he felt something tear into his mind like a tidal wave.
Digivolve me…NOW!
No…
DIGIVOLVE ME!
The pain increased. There didn't seem to be an end to it, and it was everywhere. His grip on his digivice became viselike.
DIGIVOLVE ME! DIGIVOLVE…
"NOOOOO!!!"
With furious strength Ryan threw his digivice away from him just as it began to glow. It tumbled a couple times on the ground and the light winked out. Ryan sat on the ground breathing heavily, his eyes unfocused and beginning to glaze while everyone stared at him. BlackTerradramon paused in his pummeling of Apemon, looking at the human with an icy fury in his eyes.
He hissed.
Just what is going on here? Thought Chris numbly.
Without wasting time Apemon slammed its club onto the side of BlackTerradramon's skull and he fell with a crash. Getting up the Apemon ran in the direction where Ryan's digivice had fallen, its free hand opening to pick it up.
"ATOMIC BLASTER!" WarGrowlmon sent twin crimson energy blasts from his chest rocketing towards Apemon, who simply knocked the attack aside with its club. The attack still had some effect though, as the deflected blast burst upon the ground and knocked Apemon to the side.
That's it, thought Chris as his own digivice began to glow. Dracaramon leapt forward as a sphere of data surrounded him.
"DRACARAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…"
"METAL DRACARAMON!"
The sphere shattered, revealing a form similar to Dracaramon, only larger and covered with metal plates. Two-rotatabale laser turrets were positioned on his shoulders, ready and waiting to be used. They didn't have long to wait.
"LASER DISCHARGE!" He shouted as the two cannons swiveled around to sight on their target. Green bursts of energy erupted from them, smashing into the Apemon. The digimon finally screamed for the first time, and its data began dissolving. As the data shattered, the Tamers saw a shadow separate itself from the Apemon, revealing its true, yellow fur for all to see. The Apemon burst apart, leaving the shadow remaining for a second longer before it too melted away.
The Tamers watched in awe as Metal Dracaramon landed back on the ground, grinning fiercely in triumph. How come his digimon was able to affect that Apemon while Rapidmon's and WarGrowlmon's attacks didn't do a thing? Thought Henry. There's more to this than what meets the eye.
METAL DRACARAMON
Stage: Ultimate
Type: Vaccine
Special Attack: Arsenal Barrage, Laser Discharge, Steel Claw
Ryo looked up from his D-Arc after reading off the stats of the new digimon. "Okay, someone care to explain to me what's going on here?"
"In a minute," said Henry turning to the Legendary Tamer. "We've got to check on…"
THUD!
"RYAN!" Chris shouted and ran over to his friend, and the others quickly joined him. Henry knelt down, checked his pulse and frowned worriedly. His heartbeat was erratic and his breathing uneven. His skin felt hot and clammy. Henry didn't take any of this as a good sign.
"I think we need to get him to a hospital…fast!"
"Traffics going to be messed up from all the damage that the fighting caused," said Kenta sourly.
"Not a problem. Rapidmon…"
"At your service!"
"Take Ryan and get him to the hospital, St. Jude's should be closest. We'll call Yamaki and let him know what's going on."
"You got it!" Said the android digimon almost cheerfully (belying how he really felt). Scooping up the unconscious kid Rapidmon soon became a green blur, and left a gust of wind that left everyone's hair a mess.
"Hey!" Said Rika. "Where's that kid's partner?" Everyone took a look about and quickly found a gray, immobile form lying on the ground where BlackTerradramon had fallen earlier. Walking over to it, Ryo pulled out his D-Arc and analyzed it.
GRAY RICHOEMON
Stage: Rookie
Type: data
Special Attack: Dusk Flame, Claw Hammer
"Wha… That's Richoemon?" Asked Chris. "But… Richoemon's…"
"GRAY Richoemon," said Ryo. "It looks like he shifted to another evolution line after de-digivolving." Chris looked at the older kid confused.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" He heard someone, female by the sound of it, bite back a laugh but he didn't bother to look. Kazu stormed up and swung an arm over Chris' shoulder.
"THAT, Chris, is THE Ryo Akiyama, Legendary Tamer extraordinaire, and the greatest Digimon card player of all time! He even beat Rika, the Digimon Queen over there…" Rika gave Kazu a very cold glare, but the boy didn't notice. "He survived in the digital world for eight months before we rescued him…"
"Uh, Kazu…" Ryo began, looking embarrassed.
"He's known and respected throughout the digital world. Heck, you could even say that he's a celebrity there…"
"Sorry, never heard of him," said Chris, pulling a shocked Kazu's arm off from around him. "I was never very good with celebrities."
Ryo laughed. "I don't know whether to feel grateful or insulted that you're not part of my fan-base, but at least you're not worshipping me."
Chris shrugged. " That's just not my sort of thing," he said and extended a hand. "My names Chris."
"I'm Ryo." He said smiling as he accepted the offered hand.
"Yo."
"…"
"Sorry, Ryan's better at making jokes than me." His face fell at the thought of his friend, and then looked over at the digimon lying on the ground. "So, what's this about Richoemon shifting his – what'd you call it? – Evolution line?"
Ryo's face grew serious. "It's not too complicated. When a digimon digivolves they tend to follow a straight line from one form to the next, but sometimes an outside influence can change how they digivolve or appear, kind of like when Tyrannamon became Black Tyrannamon."
"Um… I don't think I'm that far ahead in my digimon episodes, but then I did miss a few episodes before the series entered the Dark Masters story arc."
"Wow, you're out of touch with the times, but we can talk about favorite episodes later. What's all this about? And who was that kid that Rapidmon took off with?"
Chris scratched the back of his head. "That's… a long story. I was helping that 'kid' tell it to the others, or rather the important parts. Some of which may have to something to do with why Richoemon's…shifted." Ryo nodded, but before he could say anything else Henry called their attention as he hung up Rika's cell phone, having apparently barrowed it while the two were exchanging pleasantries.
"Okay, I've given Yamaki a heads up on the situation and he wants us to get over there as soon as possible. He's going to be sending some agents down to St. Jude's to check up on Ryan and pick him up if he's up and about."
"So what do we do about Richoemon?" Asked Chris. Ryo gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder.
"Don't worry about it. Cyberdramon and I will take him down to Hypnos. They have all the things they need when it comes to dealing with digimon."
"Oh…uh, sure. Just one question; what's Hypnos?"
Ryo just smiled at the Tamers. "Have them tell you about it. Right now I gotta get going." He paused. "I suspect that there's going to be one interesting story to all this and I for one would like to hear it. Hope I'm not going to be disappointed." Ryo then turned and ordered Cyberdramon to pick up the little gray colored dinosaur before climbing up on his partners shoulder.
"That's one, big digimon," Chris remarked.
Ryo smirked. "Yeah, but I can handle him, isn't that right Cyberdramon?" The Ultimate just growled. "Don't worry. That's just his way of being friendly. Well, catch you guys later." And with that, Cyberdramon crouched and leapt into the sky, his wings unfolding as he cleared the tree line. As Chris watched the pair fly off with his friends digimon Jeri walked up to him with a battered Leomon by her side and presented to him Ryan's digivice.
"Your friend dropped this," she said tenderly. "You should hold onto it until you get a chance to see him again." Chris was about to thank the girl when he took a look at the digivice. Chris gasped and almost dropped it as though it had just become scorching hot. Jeri looked at him worriedly. "Is everything alright?" She asked.
Chris gulped. No, everything was not 'alright'. Ryan's digivice was now a pure black, trim and all.
Oh, man… he thought, feeling his heart take a nosedive into his stomach.