"Oh, WOW!! This is so CUTE!" Gayathri gushed as she looked at the picture Adam was showing her. She took the picture and showed it to Liu Ying.
Liu Ying looked at the picture, and raised her eyes to look at the cousins Adam and JD who were sitting across the table. She looked down again and a smile tugged on her mouth.
"Who would've thought?" she murmured. It was the picture Adam and JD had taken together during their first meeting, more than 10 years ago.
"It's been two weeks and I still have a hard time believing that you two are actually cousins!" Gayathri said.
JD chuckled. "See…" he said, pointing at his three-year-old self in the picture. "I was as handsome then as I am now," he declared smugly.
"Yeah…you were so handsome that I actually vomited upon the sight of you," Adam murmured with a barely concealed smile.
"Oh yeah?!" JD caught his cousin in an unexpected but playful headlock. "Say that again, I dare you," he mock-threatened.
"Ack!! Let go, Josh!!"
"Wait, you threw up on JD?" Gayathri giggled. "This I've got to hear."
JD grimaced as Adam laughed while still being strained by him. "According to my mom, when I tried to lift him I held him by the stomach, and it happened. And HE was the one who cried!"
"Bad idea," Liu Ying said, shaking her head. "Same thing happened to me once when I did that to my little brother." She scrunched her nose but let out an amused smile at the same time.
Two weeks had passed and Adam had fitted in nicely in his new living arrangement. His sister might have woken up from her coma, but she was still confined to the hospital and would need regular monitoring, medications and physiotherapy that the doctor advised it would be better for her to remain at the hospital. It wouldn't be for another month or two before she would be released.
Alisha was just as astounded as Adam had been upon discovering that JD and his family were their relatives, but took it as a sign that luck was finally shining upon them. Johan and Leeanna had assured Alisha that they were more than happy to have Adam staying at their house. And, it looked like Adam too had benefited a lot from staying with JD. He had lightened up considerably, and the aura of sadness that constantly hung around him was gradually diminishing.
As for JD, he had taken Adam in as a little brother he'd never had. That resulted with him comically hovering around Adam the first few days at school after the discovery. Many wondered of this recent development until words got out that the two of them were cousins – and that got people into a frenzied gossiping. How could Adam – a generally good boy in many teachers' eyes – and JD – classic bad boy and renowned troublemaker – be related? Even the teachers had been noticed to be giving Adam extra-long thoughtful looks. To add to the strangeness of their relation was the fact that JD appeared very Caucasian, despite having one-fourth of the Malay blood in him. And to Adam's dismay many girls had approached him with 1001 questions about his cousin, seeing that JD was the only Caucasian in the school and that had automatically made him one of the school's male heartthrob. Many people were just plain curious about him, and JD wasn't the most sociable person in their eyes. Several days ago all the approaching had stopped, to his relief – only for him to find out that it was JD who had issued a warning that no one was to bug Adam in any way, or they would be answering to him.
Yes, it took quite a lot of getting used to, but the cousins were happy with it. And their fellow DigiWira friends were happy with it as well.
"I hate to break up your family moment, but…" Liu Ying deadpanned as she looked at her fellow teammates. There were only four of them. One was missing. "…where's Manny?"
JD released Adam and exchanged grins with Gayathri. "Actually, our meeting today is about Manny," Gayathri began.
"Tomorrow is his 14th birthday," JD supplied. He looked at his watch. "He should be here in ten minutes or so. I purposely told him to come here at KFC at half-past three, but have all of us here half an hour earlier…" he lurked a glance towards Gayathri who was sitting opposite Adam.
"…to plan out a special birthday celebration for him," Gayathri continued, nodding at JD. The four DigiWira then huddled close to the table they were sharing.
"How did you know about his birthday? I'm his classmate and he's been pretty quiet about it," Liu Ying wondered.
"Maybe he doesn't want to make a big deal about this," JD supplied. "I only know about it because he briefly mentioned it when the two of us were in the Digital World."
"And I've confirmed it with Manny's mother last night – Manny's birthday is indeed this Saturday, 26th March," Gayathri smiled.
"So this means that this will be his first birthday here in Peninsular Malaysia," Adam said thoughtfully. "We have to make it extra special."
"Any ideas?" Gayathri asked, looking at the other DigiWira. "I've asked the counter guy whether we could organize Manny's birthday here this Saturday, but turns out that someone else has already booked this place for Saturday. And McDonald is booked this Saturday too while Canai and Such mamak café says that they are usually packed on weekends although they don't have any problem if we want to celebrate Manny's birthday there. However we go there quite often, so I don't feel like having Manny's birthday there. Unfortunately, right now I'm out of ideas." She had spoken so rapidly and enthusiastically that she was now out of breath as she eyed her fellow DigiWira.
"Well, what does Manny love doing?" Liu Ying asked.
"Computers," Adam supplied promptly. "But PC Fair's not until this coming August."
JD grinned. "Water," he said. His hazel eyes glinted. "And I know just the perfect…"
"Hi, everyone!" Manny suddenly appeared from the stairs which led him to the second-floor of the KFC restaurant, where the other DigiWira were currently at. "Wow, looks like everyone's here," he murmured as he approached the table where his friends were sitting at. He saw them huddling close to each other and frowned for a moment. The frown then evaporated into a somewhat knowing smile which was barely concealed with a blank expression. "What are you up to?"
Manny's choice of question struck the others as odd, and caught them slightly off guard.
"Up to?" Adam asked back, wide-eyed and panicked.
"UP TO?" Gayathri's voice was slightly shrill and she shared Adam's astounded expression.
"Up to?" Liu Ying asked, wondering of Manny's choice of words.
"Uh…we…we…" Gayathri began, looking at her teammates frantically as she tried to think up of a reason.
"We…uh…" Adam supplied unhelpfully. Manny had caught him off-guard.
JD lifted the paper containers of potato wedgies and the French fries and pushed the tray towards Manny. "We want you to get us some fried chickens," he said easily.
"That's it! Chickens!" Adam chirped, clapping his hands once for effect.
"Lots of chickens!" Gayathri added with an excited glint in her brown eyes. "And potato wedgies and fries and some drinks too."
"But…all of you have drinks and fries and wedgies already," Manny pointed out, confused.
"Oh, we're hungry and we need more of them. And shouldn't you get something to eat too?" Adam said, and promptly stood up. "Come on, I'll help you. Uhh…Josh…?"
JD smirked and took out a hundred-ringgit note from his pocket and gave it to Adam. "My treat, guys," he said, effectively stopping the girls from pulling out their purses. "Original-recipe chickens for me, ok Adam? Three pieces." He looked at the girls. "What do you girls want?"
"Spicy for me," Gayathri said. "Two pieces."
"Same for me," Liu Ying concurred, raising her hand partially. "Don't forget the coleslaw and mashed potatoes."
"Hey, what am I, the waiter here?" Adam grumbled lightly as he tried to remember all the orders.
"Nope. You and Manny can get anything you guys want too," JD replied with a grin.
"Got it," Adam said and dragged the confused Manny away.
When Manny and Adam disappeared the remaining three DigiWira heaved their breath in relief. "So? What place do you have in mind?" Gayathri asked.
JD grinned and beckoned for the two girls to lean towards him as he explained his plan. Gayathri and Liu Ying smiled and nodded approvingly.
xxx
xxx
WIRA DIGITAL
Chapter 36 – Dawn of Darkshadow
xxx
xxx
The four DigiWira guided a blindfolded Manny as they made their way towards a building with bright colors. Manny had fumbled a couple of times, and was having a hard time trying to discern where he was at. He could feel the warm morning sun on his arms; he could hear excited squeals of children and sounds of several people running about. He also caught the sounds of water spattered about. But he had no idea where he was at.
"Come on, guys…I know today's my birthday," Manny protested as JD pushed him from the back. "I appreciate that you guys are taking me somewhere to celebrate, but can I have this blindfold off? JD tied it a little too tight…"
The other DigiWira glared at JD as they arrived at the entrance of Sunway Lagoon Theme Park. The famous dry and wet theme park was located beside the equally-famous Sunway Pyramid – a shopping complex built in the shape of a pyramid with a lion statue guarding its front, akin to the pyramids of Egypt. The pyramid part however only held the concourse; the rest of the shopping complex was inside a normal-shaped building but with walls etched with Egyptian designs on the exterior. Inside, however, was modernly designed but with statues and fountains of various nations' architectures added for good measures. Both attractions were situated in the town of Sunway which was adjacent to Subang Jaya, the town where the DigiWira were staying at.
The five of them paused at the ticket entrance and took off the blindfold from Manny. "Ta-DA!" Adam and Gayathri chorused. "SURPRISE!" Liu Ying smiled and JD chuckled as all of them watched Manny's mouth formed an 'O' shape in delighted surprise.
Manny had wanted to come here for years, but having stayed at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah before this made it difficult for him to go there. Never did he suspect that his DigiWira friends would be taking him here. He had expected them to come up with a surprise – that much his little sister Debbie had accidentally revealed the night before – but he'd never expected to have his dream come true.
"Happy birthday!" Adam, JD, Liu Ying and Gayathri chorused, before noticing that Manny was standing there with a frozen expression.
"Hey, you ok there, birthday boy?" JD asked, waving a hand in front of Manny's face.
Manny blinked. "It's just…well…I've been wanting to come here for a long time," he said. "Thank you."
Now that the blindfold had been taken off from him, Manny saw that each DigiWira was carrying a small bag with them. They were also dressed for the occasion and for the warm day. Adam was in a beige T-shirt with crimson collars and short sleeves, and blue jeans. JD was in a red muscle T-shirt with black abstract designs, and black jeans, and he wore a loose band made out of wooden beads hanging around his neck. Liu Ying wore a light yellow blouse and light blue jeans that extended to her knees, and Gayathri's choice of outfit was a pink top and a dark blue denim shorts. And Manny was wearing a dark blue, long sleeved T-shirt tucked in a pair of white khakis that went just above his knees.
All of them had their Juara Digivices clipped on their belts – their Digimon partners had been digitized inside the devices. They were able to see what their partners saw, and the DigiWira had found out that they could digitize foods too inside the Juara Digivices for the partners to eat – they'd just have to make sure that they would finish the foods.
"And here's your bag," Gayathri said, handing Manny a small blue sling bag. "Your mom packed it up for you, with extra pairs of clothes, swimming clothes, and anything else you'd need."
Manny took the bag gratefully and looked at his friends. "I'm so lucky to have friends like you," he said.
That took the DigiWira off guard. "Well, we're feeling pretty lucky ourselves," JD chuckled, and gestured with his head towards the ticket office. "I'll get the tickets."
Manny reached for his wallet, but JD stopped him. "Hey, birthday boy, don't worry about it. It's on us!"
"I can't impose on you like that…"
"Relax, Manny. You're not imposing on anything." JD took out several vouchers from his own wallet. "My mom got these for me – discount vouchers, up till 30 percent. And I think for birthday occasions they'd have it until 50 percent...it's around here somewhere. So all of us are actually benefiting here from your birthday…like commensalisms, or something, I forgot."
"Symbiosis," Adam and Liu Ying both amended the blonde simultaneously.
JD shrugged, grinned and slinked off towards the ticket counter. Adam turned towards Manny and added, "Symbiosis not only because we'll be getting discounts because of you're birthday, but actually, none of us have been here yet."
"Oh…why's that? You all live close enough to come every day if you wanted to," Manny said.
"That's the thing," Gayathri said with a smile. "We live close enough to here, that we've constantly putting off coming here. Sunway Lagoon, I mean…I came to Sunway Pyramid with Dina and Bel loads of time. But it never really occurred to me to come here. It's like I didn't really have a good reason to come here…"
"…until now," Liu Ying said. "And it has been a while since I've been here, mall and theme park both."
"And I've got to say, I'm glad that we're making this our very first non-Digital World outing," Adam concluded smilingly.
Manny took in all the explanations with a bashful smile. "Thanks, guys. It's perfect."
"It'll be even more perfect if we brought a birthday cake along, but the park has a strict no outside food allowed policy," Gayathri said.
Manny shook his head. "There's no need to get me a cake, guys. I'm completely happy now as it is."
"Really?" Adam pouted, which then morphed into a grin. "I think Josh has vouchers for those Secret Recipe's delicious chocolate cakes and brownies…we planned to take you there after this." He grinned upon seeing Manny's astonished face.
"Your parents allowed us to take you out the whole day, and make sure that you'll be at that Thai restaurant in Sunway Pyramid at seven o'clock tonight. We have lots of time," Gayathri said. "And here's the best part; your parents want ALL DigiWira to be present. That means we'll be joining you as well. We'll celebrate your birthday from morning till night!"
"It's really lucky for all of us that today is a free Saturday," Liu Ying said.
"If that's so, we'll get the cake before going to the restaurant," Adam said, and beamed. "This is great! I love Siamese foods."
Manny had never felt so happy before. "You guys have it all planned out, haven't you?"
"Of course," Gayathri enthused before gesturing towards the entrance. "I see JD's gotten our tickets. Let's go then."
Inside, Manny was swelling with happiness. His friends had arranged one surprise after another just for him. And to think that he had doubts prior on moving to Subang Jaya from Kota Kinabalu… he might have known the other DigiWira for about a month but already, they were a tight-knit group. Gayathri was his neighbor and he liked the girl – and their relationship had been going on well after the whole ShadoWira mess, but nothing was declared. Liu Ying was a helpful classmate and the cousins Adam and JD hadn't forgotten to include him in any of their activity.
Upon learning the fact that Adam and JD were cousins, Manny had his reservation, thinking that he'd be left out from the guys. However, that was not the case as the cousins didn't forget to include him in any activity they had planned together, other than those concerning their family. He had even spent a night once with them, just the previous weekend.
Being DigiWira had instigated a powerful bond between all five of them, and Adam's apparent 'sacrifice' during the fight with VenomDevimon had made them appreciate each other even more.
'How lucky can a new kid in town can be?' Manny thought smilingly as he showed his ticket to the guard at the gate.
xxx
xxx
Three hours passed by swiftly before the DigiWira gathered at a vacant table. Their bags were currently stored in coin-activated lockers.
"That was so fun!" Manny said cheerfully as he sat down on one of the benches near the wooden table under a shady tree nearby the Wagon Wheel ride.
"You could say that again," Adam said as he plopped down beside Manny. His hair was in disarray as he didn't share Manny's and JD's preference of using liberal amount of hair gel. But with one run of hand through the straight bangs and his dark hair fell back in places once again.
"Ugh…" Liu Ying groaned, looking pale. She was rubbing her stomach. She looked like she was going to be sick.
JD and Gayathri were both holding trays of burgers and soft drinks which they had bought from a kiosk nearby. They had their lunches, exchanging their stories of what was the most exciting ride from all that had been featured at Sunway Lagoon's Dry Theme Park.
"I love Pirates' Revenge!" Adam enthused as he took a generous bite on his burger. He was referring to the 360-degrees rotating pirate ship, tagged as Malaysia's only rotating ship. "I like how my stomach feels all funny when the ship goes up and down, up and down, up and down…" he said, making sweeping motions with his hands.
"Yeah, yeah, we get the picture," JD grinned and teasingly ruffled the boy's hair, which caused Adam to yelp and swat his hand away.
"Are you kidding?" Liu Ying groaned. "I feel like throwing up after that ride," she said, rubbing her stomach. The Pirates' Revenge ride was their last ride before they went back to their table. "Give me boring Ferris Wheel any day, or Merry Go Rounds, or those Apache Teapots…" Apache Teapots were spinning teapot rides, quite likely among the gentler rides in the theme park. JD snickered at her, which caused her to glare at the blonde. "Thank goodness I didn't join all of you for that crazy Runaway Train ride!"
"You boring old woman," JD shot, which earned him a glare from Liu Ying.
"The Runaway Train is pretty fun," Gayathri said. Her affinity with the winds had enabled her to enjoy such fast rides, although if she were placed in that ride just a year ago, she would be saying the same thing Liu Ying had just mentioned. She looked at Liu Ying with sympathy; apparently, tough as she might have been, Liu Ying didn't share her enjoyment. "And I have to agree that the Pirates Revenge is pretty extreme. But what I do like the most must be that Morphis Simulator." The simulation show was indeed one of the best the DigiWira had ever seen.
At this, Liu Ying smiled and nodded. At least someone else shared her interest of the simulation show.
"That Niagara Falls thing is awesome," JD said. "And that Grand Canyon River Rapids, that's cool too!" His hair and shirt was slightly wet, due to the fact that he'd been the one who had suffered the most from the splashing waters from the thrilling boat rides he'd referred. "Did you see that guy who got his nose knocked on the rails when the Niagara Falls boat was going down? I saw him when we got out of the boat – his nose was bleeding! Poor guy…hehehehe…"
"That guy got a nosebleed! The least you could do is to feel sympathy," Liu Ying said, glaring at the blonde teen. "How would you feel if it were YOU who got knocked on the nose like that?"
JD shrugged. "Well, it wasn't me, was it?"
Liu Ying groaned and massaged her right temple. However it was apparent that she was straining NOT to smile, by taking a small bite on her burger.
"What's your favorite ride, Manny?" Adam asked, noticing that Manny was silent.
Manny smiled. "All rides are great because I got to do it with you guys"
"Sappy answer," JD deadpanned with a crooked grin.
"But it's the truth! This is the most fun birthday I've ever had," Manny insisted.
"That's good to hear," Adam said as he finished up his burger.
"Alright, we've covered the dry park…who's now up for the wet park?" At this, JD grinned devilishly and jerked his eyebrows up.
"Not until you and I go for Zuhr prayers first. If we forego it now we'll never get it done," Adam said, and pulled JD up. They went to look for the nearest surau (praying room) while the other DigiWira waited for them to finish. The cousins returned about ten minutes later and both looked ready to go.
Sunway Lagoon was a theme park constructed on remains of an abandoned mine with high slopes. The higher ground was used to build the Dry Theme Park and along the slopes the path to the Wet Park were made. There were various ways to head towards the Wet Park and one of them being the Wild West themed game arcade, another attraction of the Dry Theme Park. It would lead them towards the Wet Park which was built on the lower ground. They would have to cross some souvenir shops and the gate before entering the lively Wet Park where various water-themed attractions were available for the visitors.
They could see kids running around in their swimming outfits, chased by their parents who were worried that they would slip. The Wet Park was pretty crowded as it was Saturday, but they managed to get a table near the café. They rented two double tyre-floats and changed into their swimming gears. All of them wore somewhat similar gears, with the boys sans JD choosing tanks of light gray and dark blue, and the three of them wore black tight shorts that went down until an inch above the knees; and the girls wore feminine versions of the boys' gears, colored pink and yellow.
All of them piled the table with their bags and towels, and took off their shoes. People were usually barefooted in the wet park as it would be easier and the floor was wet.
"You don't have that scar anymore," Liu Ying said, pointing at JD's right arm.
JD glanced at Adam, who was looking anywhere but at him. "Someone managed to put some scar removing potion of TobuCatmon's on the scar while I was sleeping," he said with a crooked grin. "And somebody else helped him out, too." JD glanced at Manny who immediately went red upon the comment. The eldest DigiWira shrugged. "It's too bad…I kinda loved that scar, but Adam seemed too bothered about it every time he saw them. Us being roommates now didn't help that much, so I pretended to be asleep that one night when he put that cream on my arm. You should've seen their faces when I suddenly shot up and shouted 'BOO!!' at them…their expressions are priceless!"
"Sneaky," Liu Ying commented, glancing at Adam. The dark-haired boy scowled at JD's laughing face. Manny was pretending to be very interested in whatever Gayathri was commenting about the water slides of the wet park. But it was evident that he too had heard of JD's remark, for his face was as red as tomato, and it couldn't be just because of the warm sun rays.
JD snickered as he glanced towards the Wave Pool. The waves were on and a lot of people were already there in the water and afloat on the tyre-floats. Across the Wave Pool was a stage, and there was a deejay with a microphone, entertaining the crowds with some funny jokes in-between of some upbeat songs played. Lifeguards in beige shirt and red shorts were seen patrolling the wet park, occasionally blowing their whistles to kids who attempted a dangerous jump or those who were running about the slippery grounds of the park. Vendors of several fast food kiosks were heard calling for the patrons to buy their foods. Occasionally the blonde teen felt several girls and women giving him second glances, and smiled smugly, but his grin faltered when he noticed a couple of guys were staring at him as well. With an irate snort he quickly returned his gazes towards the other DigiWira.
"Last one in the Wave Pool is a little girl!" the blonde announced.
Liu Ying narrowed her eyes dangerously at JD. "You are so going to pay for that!"
"Can't catch me!!"
The two older DigiWira ran off towards the Wave Pool, with Liu Ying chasing a laughing JD. That scene left Adam, Gayathri and Manny sweatdropping.
'I'll remember this birthday for the rest of my life…' Manny thought with increasing fondness for his friends.
"Well, that's something you don't see everyday," Gayathri said dryly, watching JD and Liu Ying ran off amidst the crowd of people. Two lifeguards blew their whistles at them, but had a wry, amused looks on their faces as they watched the two DigiWira teens running, making sure that they wouldn't get hurt.
Adam laughed. "I think Josh did that on purpose…" he said, which earned him questioning looks from Gayathri and Manny. "Umm… never mind. I don't know about you but I'm going to the Wave Pool too. Coming?" He however didn't wait for their response as a loud siren blared, with the deejay announcing that the waves were about to start. The boy immediately dragged the tyre-float towards the Wave Pool. He was followed by Gayathri and Manny when suddenly, something odd happened…
The bright sunny day swiftly changed as dark clouds obscured the sun and fierce winds blew towards the Wave Pool. The artificial waves were propelled to an unnatural height and people who were floating on the tyre-floats were all sent tumbling. Panicked shouts immediately dominated the formerly cheerful park. Those who were swimming around were sent flailing about – some crashing into the rising waters while some of the unfortunate others fell onto the grounds or the roofs of several wooden huts built around the Wave Pool. The lifeguards were shouting out instructions for people to evacuate the Wave Pool due to the sudden turn of events.
The DigiWira however remained transfixed as people ran past them. They had seen such occurrence before…but it was never at their home world. They gasped when pillars of water erupted from the Wave Pool, with people, children and adults alike were caught inside the pillars. Terrified shrieks were heard everywhere. Children cried as they scampered about and several adults were seen desperately trying to locate their children amidst the mayhem.
JD and Liu Ying rejoined the three younger DigiWira and they retreated under a hut, away from the running people so that neither would get entangled with the panicking patrons. It was total chaos.
"What's going on here?" Adam cried out, trying to make himself heard.
"Don't know! But it's something digital, I bet!" JD hollered back.
"But…but…HERE?" Gayathri said incredulously.
"It's known to happen!" Liu Ying shouted.
'Oh, no…' Manny thought with a heavy heart. Would his birthday be spoiled? Everything had gone so smoothly and he was enjoying himself.
From the sky, crackles of electricity took form before the air rippled. The ripple burst forth and an oval gateway formed and from it five buzzard-like creatures emerged. Each of them was nearly ten-feet wide in length. They were skeletal and deep red in color, with glowing red eyes. All of them were screeching like vultures as they swooped down towards the panicked crowd.
"Those are Digimon!" Adam said in disbelief, avoiding several people who almost ran into him.
"How…" Gayathri was speechless, overwhelmed by shock.
"We need to take cover first! THERE!" JD said, and led the younger DigiWira under a much more hidden hut. They watched as the giant skeletal birds flew all over the Water Theme Park.
Adam took out his Juara Digivice which he had clipped on his shorts and pressed a button. An image of the red buzzard was projected from the Digivice inside a faint column of light. Then a rectangular hologram appeared with the Digimon's basic statistic. Adam quickly read them.
xxx
: DIGIMON ANALYZER :
Name: Velgemon
Attributes: Ultimate level, Virus type
Attacks:
Dark Obliteration – Velgemon creates an energy ring around its opponent, which then constricts to crush the opponent into oblivion.
Dark Vortex – Velgemon shoots out a laser beam from its middle eye towards its enemy with deadly precision.
xxx
The five DigiWira looked around and saw that the Wave Pool was almost cleared out of the civilians. Suddenly one burly lifeguard came up to them.
"You need to clear out right away! Those…those creatures!" the lifeguard said.
"We can't find our friend," JD lied quickly and pretended to squint towards the running people. "You go ahead. We'll hide here until we find him."
"But…" the lifeguard looked scared out of his wits, but he seemed reluctant to leave five teens behind.
"We won't leave until we find him!" JD snapped. The lifeguard shrunk back slightly.
"We'll be alright. Those buzzards haven't spotted us yet. But you better make sure that the others clear out from here safely," Liu Ying pointed out.
The lifeguard considered Liu Ying's words and nodded. "You better make sure you all clears out from here after you find your friend, you hear? I don't wanna hear there are five casualties if this makes tonight's news…" he shuddered and ran off.
After making sure that the Wave Pool and the attractions around them were completely deserted save for the the Velgemon, the DigiWira then took out their Juara Digivices and summoned out their Digimon partners. No one was around anymore to see the Digimon, and even if there were, the DigiWira couldn't care about that now when there were wild Digimon on the loose on their world. They needed to take action now!
"Patamon, Access!"
"Agumon, Access!"
"Labramon, Access!"
"Floramon, Access!"
"Penguinmon, Access!"
Their partners immediately materialized in front of them. They looked around the water park at the sight of chaos. Several nearby huts were dismounted by a couple of Velgemon, while the other three were seen trashing a nearby pond, which was thankfully deserted. The Digimon needn't ask their partners of what had happened – they had seen it via the safety of the Juara Digivices.
"Digimon attack, here?" Patamon wondered, surprised.
"It's an invasion!" Floramon gasped.
Suddenly, faint wails were heard. They sounded urgent, and more importantly, more than one person!
"HELP!!"
The DigiWira froze. "Someone's been left behind!" Gayathri gasped.
"It's coming from the rivers," Liu Ying said, scanning the river which was hidden by the shrubs planted along the artificial waterway. The wails were soft but desperate.
"I'll get to them," Adam said, and summoned his teleportation power. To his surprise, no bright orbs burst from his body. He could not teleport. He didn't even feel his power coming out from him. "I can't teleport!"
The other DigiWira attempted to tap in their powers, and found out that Adam wasn't the only one without power.
"We better Digital Access now," Liu Ying said, worried as the the Velgemon wrecked more havoc. One Velgemon was seen wrecking an abandoned hotdog kiosk, sending foods and sauces flying everywhere. Two were damaging the kids' slides and several huts. Another had crashed the wooden roofs down by cutting off the pillars that were supporting the roofs. One Velgemon punctured a large balloon constructed in the middle of a circular pool.
The Water Park was being demolished right in front of their eyes.
'This isn't how I want to remember my birthday,' Manny thought sadly.
The only reason why the DigiWira were not being attacked yet was because they had chosen a rather secluded spot to hide from. The wooden hut was shielded by a stone waterslide. But that situation would not remain like that for long if they didn't take action.
"Digital Access Digivolution, HAAAA!!!"
Nothing happened as well. The DigiWira and the Digimon did not merge. The five DigiWira froze in mid-stance and the Digimon waited in anticipation.
"Damn. We can't Digital Access too?" JD groaned in frustration, wincing slightly as a nearby hut exploded in flames. Some of the debris went flying towards them, and singed their body.
"Maybe it's because here in your world, you are not data," Labramon said. "But we may still be able to digivolve normally."
"Ok, guys! Do it!" Gayathri said. She pointed her pink and gold Juara Digivice towards Floramon.
Floramon digivolve to… Fairymon!
Seeing Fairymon, the DigiWira were relieved that at least their Digimon could digivolve to fight off the invading Digimon. They quickly pointed their Digivices towards the other undigivolved Digimon. The light that erupted from Fairymon's Digivolution sequence had attracted the foes' attentions and they began closing in towards the hut where they were hiding.
Patamon digivolve to… Sagittarimon!
Labramon digivolve to… Youkomon!
Agumon digivolve to… Flarelizamon!
Penguinmon digivolve to… Depthmon!
"We'll take care of those Velgemon!" Sagittarimon said. "You five get to safety!"
"I'll look for the kids who're still left behind!" Fairymon soared towards the air, using the winds to hear the direction of the voices. The wind sprite sailed away as the other four Digimon prepared themselves to battle the Velgemon.
The five Velgemon plummeted from the sky and destroyed the hut where the Digimon had taken refuge. The DigiWira had run off out of sight, leaving the four Digimon to tackle the flying buzzards.
Sagittarimon galloped towards the shore of the Wave Pool and placed an arrow on his bow. He took aim and shot an arrow of lightning towards one Velgemon. The targeted Velgemon shrieked when the arrow pierced its wings and retaliated with its Dark Vortex technique which was evaded by the draconic centaur. Sagittarimon released torrents of meteorites which soared towards the Velgemon, but the buzzard destroyed all meteorites with its laser beams emitted from its middle eye. The dark bird then summoned its Dark Obliteration which closed in upon Sagittarimon. Sagittarimon struggled to break free from the dark energy ring but the ring was too strong. The ring then electrocuted Sagittarimon so severely until the centaur was slammed against the wall, too weak to move already.
Seeing Sagittarimon's defeat, the other three Digimon increased their guards against the Velgemon. They realized that a one-on-one battle would not work against the Velgemon.
Youkomon transformed into a glowing dragon and shot towards the second Velgemon. The Velgemon evaded Youkomon and spewed forth volleys of lasers, prompting Youkomon to retaliate with her Fox Tail Inferno. The fireballs neutralized the red hot lasers but the Velgemon continued attacking the kitsune Digimon with its Dark Obliteration. Youkomon found herself gasping for breath as the attack was squeezing her tight. She summoned her astral-projection power, letting out a golden-furred version of herself out from her physical body. The astral Youkomon then rolled in midair and morphed into a glowing blue dragon which was about to incinerate the buzzard into oblivion when suddenly the dragon specter diminished into thin air. The reason of it became apparent when Youkomon's physical body was seen flung towards one of the remaining huts. She had been attacked, and the one responsible for it was the Velgemon which had beaten Sagittarimon had aided its comrade. Her slammed weight upon the hut destroyed the hut's foundation, causing it to collapse.
From the distance, two beams of red and blue shot towards Flarelizamon and Depthmon, merging them into Reichmon. Reichmon swung his spear and released a roaring gryphon made out of yellow green flames which slammed against the first and second Velgemon. The two buzzards screeched as the flaming gryphon incinerated them, but they were strong enough to avoid deletion. Reichmon then found himself surrounded by the other three Velgemon and was flustered when the buzzards attacked him simultaneously with red hot beams. He growled and summoned his Manticore Firestorm technique which forced the buzzards in retreating as their wings caught on the flames.
However, Reichmon's victory was short-lived when pillars of water rose up from the Wave Pool. The pillars turned into water tornadoes, spraying water towards the burning Velgemon. The flames on them were quenched instantly and the five Velgemon soared amidst the water hurricanes. The water tornadoes then retreated towards the stage built at the end of the Wave Pool, inflicting heavy damage onto the stage. The stage was blown away by the sheer force of the water towards the lagoon behind it and the Surf Pool located adjacent to the Wave Pool. It seemed that someone was wielding the water hurricanes, but no enemies were seen other than the Velgemon.
The Velgemon charged towards Reichmon and with deafening screeches they attacked the DNA Digivolved warrior simultaneously with their laser beams. Reichmon howled and was propelled into the air, before devolving into Agumon and Penguinmon. Agumon was thrown towards the shore while Penguinmon was flung towards the raging wave pool.
"Penguinmon!!" Manny cried out, appearing from the wrecked huts. Behind him, Adam, JD and Liu Ying appeared. All of them were still in their swimming outfits – they hadn't had the time or the opportunity to change because of the mayhem caused by the Velgemon over the whole Water Park. The four DigiWira stood, transfixed as the Velgemon headed towards the higher ground – towards the Dry Theme Park and the shopping complex Sunway Pyramid located right beside Sunway Lagoon. Adam quickly darted towards Sagittarimon and Liu Ying went to Youkomon, while JD retrieved the severely roughed-up Agumon. Penguinmon however, was trapped within the raging Wave Pool.
The Wave Pool was constructed with a maximum depth of two meters around the stage, gradually decreasing towards the shore. If Penguinmon was flung towards the deeper side of the Wave Pool there was a possibility that he could get himself drowned.
"PENGUINMON!!" Manny cried out again, worried of his Digimon partner. The waters in the Wave Pool were raging dangerously and abnormally. The waves were propelled at a height which would have already violated the safety breach. The waves were not the work of human technology. Water tornadoes rose higher and higher from the lagoon behind the wrecked stage and the Surf Pool, sending rains down towards the Wet Park and upon the four flabbergasted DigiWira.
The stage suddenly exploded and a bigger water tornado emerged from underneath, seemingly erupting from the ground below. The waves calmed slightly but the other water tornadoes remained, spinning and sucking in more water from the lagoon and the Surf Pool. From the bigger water tornado a humanoid shadow could be seen. Its profile became clearer as the water tornado around it receded.
The humanoid was garbed in loose white outfit underneath green leathery hides that protected its shoulders, torso and crotch region. A yellow-beaded decoration adorned around its neck, which was also tied with a long red sash. Its forearms and shins were draped with durable gray armor. This peculiar being had the face of a human but with a short beak of an avian. Deep blue hair framed its face. It held a dark metallic staff with a crescent proximal end and a thicker lower end with both hands.
"Who is that?" Adam wondered and scanned the Digimon with his Juara Digivice.
xxx
: DIGIMON ANALYZER :
Name: Shawujinmon
Attributes: Ultimate level, Virus type
Attacks:
Demon Quelling Staff – Waterfall Formation – Shawujinmon crushes his staff onto the ground, releasing gauges of high-pressured water.
Demon Quelling Staff – Whirlpool Formation – Shawujinmon generates a series of water tornadoes by spinning his staff.
Crescent Moon Slash – Shawujinmon attacks his enemy with the crescent blade of his staff.
xxx
Shawujinmon stood at an impressive eight-foot height over the destroyed stage. He looked down upon the shocked expressions of the DigiWira with mirth. He pointed his staff towards the DigiWira and said with a groveling, slightly squawking voice.
"Behold the power of the Kappa General!" Shawujinmon leaped into the air and slammed his staff onto the surface of the Wave Pool, splitting the water into half before the staff connected with the floor of the pool. "Demon Quelling Staff – Waterfall Formation!!"
The ground rumbled as cracks were generated from the contact. High-pressurized water burst forth from the cracks and soared menacingly towards the darkened sky. Shawujinmon spun his staff and the water pillars transformed into water tornadoes. Then, Shawujinmon guided the tornadoes with his hands, motioning them to bend forward and zoomed towards the four DigiWira and their Digimon, before slamming onto them full-force. All of them were sent flying towards the wrecked huts before a bigger water tornado came upon them. It pulled the DigiWira and the Digimon inside of it, trapping all of them…
Save for one.
Manny had leaped out of the way and into the water before the tornado could pull him in. He swam towards the wall before emerging on the surface, staring in horror as Adam, JD and Liu Ying were caught inside the spinning hurricane of water. Patamon, Labramon and Agumon were also caught within a water tornado. He heard Shawujinmon laughing from the wrecked stage. Manny searched around the separated pathway and saw a blue rotund figure lying helplessly on the ground.
'Penguinmon!' Manny dove into the water and swam towards his hapless partner.
"I don't think so, boy," Shawujinmon laughed and spun his staff. "Demon Quelling Staff – Whirlpool Formation!!"
Underneath the depths, Manny gasped as he felt strong currents pulling him. He saw a whirlpool taking form and struggled to steer away from it, but the currents that were pulling him were so strong that his muscles became strained instantly when he attempted to resist it. He accidentally opened his mouth, and let the chlorinated water inside his mouth. Flailing his arms, Manny panicked as he realized that he was losing air. His ears drummed wildly and his head throbbed.
He was drowning!
xxx
xxx
Fairymon flew amidst the destroyed Water Park with two small boys in her arms. On the ground, Gayathri ran after her partner as they made their way towards the stone stairs which would lead them towards the arcade that bordered the Dry and the Wet Parks. The Wet Park was abandoned completely and was a site of total destruction. The wet park was under attack, it would only be logical for the evacuees to head towards the place which was not under attack.
Fairymon had found the boys huddling in fright behind the artificial waterfall that cascaded over the manmade waterway that surrounded the Wet Park. Amidst the chaos they had been separated from their mother and they were too scared to come out from the river as they had seen the Velgemon causing destruction all over the Wet Park. They had been afraid of Fairymon too, but she had convinced them that they were in good hands.
Upon arriving at the cowboy saloon-themed arcade, Fairymon and Gayathri saw that the wooden door was closed and Fairymon didn't have much time. Gayathri knocked on the door but it was locked and nobody opened it. She glanced sideways and saw her partner lowering the two young boys – no more than six or seven years of age – before somersaulting back in midair. Gayathri immediately pulled the boys towards her and hid behind a table while Fairymon launched a full force Tempest Twist onto the door. The door was instantly pushed open. Loud gasps were heard before they changed into astonished murmurs.
Hiding inside the arcade were the people from both the Dry and the Wet Parks, made evident from the fact that half of them were still in their swimming gears while the other half were fully clothed. All of the people were transfixed upon seeing a beautiful winged woman entering the arcade with two kids in her arms. It didn't help that Fairymon was very skimpily outfitted, but then again, so were some of the women who'd come from the Wet Park.
"Who is that?"
"Look at her wings. Is she a fairy?"
"She isn't in league with those horrible bird demons, right?"
"I don't think so…she's too beautiful."
Gayathri walked in with the two young boys and stood beside Fairymon. Not long after, a woman wearing a one-piece swimming suit and a floral sarong wrapped around her waist rushed past the crowd. Her face was tear-stricken but she looked absolutely relieved.
"Richard! Michael!" the woman cried.
"Momma! Momma!" The two kids immediately ran towards the woman and onto the crying woman. The woman looked past the boys' shoulders towards Fairymon and Gayathri.
"Thank you…" she said.
Fairymon nodded. "You're most welcome." Awed murmurs were heard as their attentions were solely fixed onto the fairy Digimon.
"Who are you?" another man asked with a love struck expression glazing his face.
"What are you?" a teenaged girl who looked around Gayathri's age asked.
"I'm called Fairymon," the sprite said and flew up towards the other entrance of the arcade. "All of you stay here, but we need to go back to the water park." Fairymon bent down and lifted Gayathri up, cradling her with her arms.
"Girl, you know Fairymon?" the love-struck man inquired to Gayathri.
Gayathri didn't answer as she felt Fairymon was about to take flight once again. They sailed through the opened entrance and back towards the wet park, where they saw water tornadoes hovering over the Wave Pool.
xxx
xxx
(Flashback)
Ten-year-old Manny ran excitedly towards the beach. It was his first time being here and he was going to enjoy it to the fullest. Behind him, his parents Abah Jintoni and Kimberly Bhatt, and his two-year-old sister Debbie being carried by his father, followed with a picnic mat and a basket full of food.
"Stay near the shore, Manny," Kimberly cautioned her son. She looked sideways and saw her twenty-year-old brother Kenneth approaching, with his girlfriend.
Manny stepped into the water and giggled upon feeling the warm sea water washing his feet. His soles tingled as the sands underneath moved, following the currents. He jumped into the water and enjoyed the sensation of being soaked until his waist. For a while, he remained there and scanned around the beach with mild interest. He could see kids running about, adults picnicking around and several teenagers engrossed in a game of beach volleyball. Manny turned his attention to his family and saw that his father was going back to their car. His mother's attention was fixed upon Debbie, and his uncle Ken and his future aunt were engrossed in a conversation.
Then, Manny turned around and saw several adults swimming about freely against the calm water. It was a warm day and Manny wasn't content of being just by the shore. He wanted to go in further where the water would reach his neck. He was a big boy, he could handle himself.
With no one to stop him, Manny tentatively walked towards the deeper region of the sea. Soon he arrived at a spot where the water was just above his shoulders. He remained there for a moment before deciding that a few more steps towards the deeper parts wouldn't hurt.
A slow tide came, but it was enough to raise Manny off his feet. He tumbled into the waters and struggled to get up. Not experienced at all in swimming, he began to panic. At the same time his feet became cramped and he winced before slipping back into the water. He couldn't get up. Water rushed into his mouth and nostril as he flailed about. Then everything became black…
Until he opened his eyes and choked out water at the same time. Somebody was pressing on his chest and his back felt warm. Why was he lying on the beach? The last thing he remembered was being in the waters. He blinked and saw his uncle Ken looking very relieved. Then his mother seized him and pulled him into a hug as she cried.
"Oh, Manny…thank goodness you're safe! Thank goodness you're ALIVE! I was so, so worried!" his mother sobbed. Manny blinked and saw that his father was looking very worried as he comforted his crying sister. His uncle Ken and his girlfriend looked very pale. A small crowd had gathered around him.
Manny felt very dizzy afterward and slumped onto his mother's shoulder. When he woke up again he was inside the hospital. His parents told him that he'd nearly drowned if it weren't for his uncle Ken who had saved him just in time. Having been trained in first aid, his uncle had administered CPR upon him and it was his quick thinking that had saved Manny. However, Manny's young body could not handle the shock and he'd drifted into unconsciousness once again after waking up, which prompted his parents to rush him towards the hospital right away.
(End Flashback)
Manny opened his eyes and saw that he was still underwater. However, he could see everything clearly. His eyes didn't feel strained while being open. And weird enough, he could even breathe.
Looking at his hands, he saw that they were coated with blue aura. In fact, his whole body was coated with blue aura. He felt at ease being underwater. Gurgled sounds could be heard, but they became clearer as Manny focused. He could hear screaming. He could hear his friends screaming, and realized that they were still trapped inside the water tornado generated by Shawujinmon.
He swung his arms and glided underwater, looking for Penguinmon. It didn't take long, for he immediately saw his partner still lying weakly on the floor of the wave pool, at the area where the water was parted. Quickly he inched towards the wall of water and extended his hands out, grabbing onto Penguinmon.
Then he saw his Juara Digivice, clipped on his swimming shorts, burst with blue light. A familiar surge of power coursed through his veins.
xxx
xxx
Shawujinmon cackled as he observed the three DigiWira and their partners screaming helplessly while they were trapped inside the raging water tornado. He was controlling the tornado with his innate power of hydrokinesis, being a marine Digimon and an esteemed general of SkullSatamon. There was no way the DigiWira would be able to escape.
Really, what was so hard about defeating this bunch of kids, the Kappa General thought. To think that the Mage and Dryad Generals had been finished off by them and the Puaka Generals severely defeated two weeks ago. It was inconceivable.
'The Hellion General is right to think that the DigiWira are weak in their home world. Here, the children are not data…hence the inability to merge with their Digimon partners. It will be an easy win for me.'
Shawujinmon suppressed the urge to laugh upon seeing the hapless conditions the three DigiWira and their partners were currently at. He pitied them, in a way, for they were doomed. Shawujinmon was merely toying with them at the moment. They hadn't been giving him a decent challenge at all. Even the Velgemon brutes were able to deal with them.
'Really…what could be so difficult…huh?'
A pillar of glowing blue water suddenly shot towards the sky. The pillar burst and a half-man, half-fish being emerged. The merman had sleek blue fishtail, a pale human skin and long aquamarine hair. He was lightly armored on the torso and his face was obscured with a blue helmet. He was wielding a blue trident.
Something clicked in Shawujinmon's mind. This was one of those Wira Digital!
Samudramon had appeared.
'How can this be? I thought those children couldn't merge with their Digimon partners in the human world?'
Samudramon made slow waving motions with his arms and the water tornado that was trapping the other DigiWira and Digimon receded. He then generated water pillars to lower them towards the ground harmlessly. Seeing them safe, he gripped his trident harder and stared with silent anger towards the Kappa General.
'You're wrecking havoc in our world…' Manny thought within his merged body. Samudramon generated blue thunderbolts with his staff. 'My friends have planned out this birthday for me, and you've ruined it. Not only that, but you and those Velgemon destroyed this place…the place where I've wanted to come for so long. And of all days, you just have to attack on my birthday…'
From the water pillar he was floating at, Samudramon pointed his trident towards Shawujinmon and called out, "Cosmic Thunderstrike!!"
Shawujinmon gritted his teeth as he swung his staff to block the thunderbolt. The thunderbolt was diverted away but Shawujinmon staff shook slightly from the power of the thunderbolt. The attack didn't look strong, but Shawujinmon was surprised to have been proven wrong.
Samudramon raised his trident and swirls of water materialized around the pointed weapon. "Deep Ocean Submerge!!"
A wave of blue light was shot towards the Wave Pool and instantly a giant tidal wave took form and was blasted towards Shawujinmon. Shawujinmon retaliated by slamming his trident onto the ground and tornadoes of water burst forth, neutralizing the tidal wave.
It looked like the two marine Digimon were at equal standing. But Shawujinmon had no intention to let it be that way for long.
"Velgemon! Attack the other DigiWira!!"
xxx
xxx
"How come Manny's able to Digital Access?" JD demanded as he held the piggy-backing Agumon close. He watched the two marine Digimon battling it out with a frown so deep that a fissure had formed between his light-brown eyebrows.
Liu Ying shook her head as she looked at Labramon whom she was cradling. "If only we can Digital Access as well…"
Adam, who had Patamon perched on his head, looked up and gasped. "The Velgemon! They're coming at us!"
"Damn it…" JD muttered, shivering slightly as all of them were soaked to the bone. He instinctively ran his hand on his Juara Digivice, which then flared with red light. "Huh?"
"Our Digivices…" Liu Ying said, her own Juara Digivice glimmering with yellow aura.
"They're shining!" Adam said, with his glittering with white light.
The three DigiWira looked up upon the looming Velgemon and took out the Digivices which they had clipped on their swimming shorts. White, yellow and red energy aura spiraled out from the Digivices and around their bodies. Instantly they knew what they needed to do. "Digital Access Digivolution! HAAA!!"
Satriamon and Xianamon both emerged from pillars of red and yellow light, and they saw Adam and Patamon disappearing within orbs of white and gold. The orbs merged and a larger human was formed in a fetal position. As he stood up, eight wings sprang out from his back as his body was coated in white armor and steel plates. Large metallic wings were mounted on his shoulders as a white manteau obscured his face.
Aldiyamon soared towards two Velgemon which had made him their target, and propelled himself upwards at a very sharp angle just before they reached him. That caused the two Velgemon to collide against each other over the heads, earning a laugh from the angel as his silver wings shone with radiant light. A white firebird with metallic wings burst out from his body and pierced the two Velgemon before dissipating into thin air. Aldiyamon then summoned his Heavenstar Gladius and made a vertical slash in midair. A golden pillar of light took form and blasted the two Velgemon with pure light, combusting both buzzards into data particles.
Satriamon slammed his magma self towards one Velgemon, causing the buzzard to shriek as the flames from Satriamon incinerated his body. Satriamon plummeted towards the ground, having lost the momentum to his flight. However his flailing free hand was caught by Aldiyamon.
"You're just in time!" Satriamon said, relieved.
Aldiyamon grinned. "What are cousins for anyway?"
They made their way above the incinerated Velgemon when Aldiyamon let Satriamon go. Satriamon charged his gauntlet with raging flames and launched the powerful Dragonforce Striker onto the Velgemon, deleting it instantly.
Xianamon found herself facing one Velgemon who unleashed its Dark Obliteration technique towards her. The sorceress froze the attack in midair and sprayed the Velgemon with her poisonous needles. She then showered the Diamond World Mandala towards the Velgemon, deleting it instantly. Not long thereafter, from above, another Velgemon was about to attack, but before Xianamon could defend herself from the incoming buzzard she saw the Velgemon being thrown off course by a flowery hurricane.
"Puspamon," she said, and smiled. She could handle the Velgemon, but she sensed that if she did, her sprite friend would not appreciate it. So, she retreated.
"Looks like there's an unplanned party here and I'm all set on crashing it!" Puspamon growled as she sailed above Xianamon and attacked the Velgemon with Jelita Shocker. With a loud parting screech the Velgemon was deleted.
The four Wira Digital then flew towards Samudramon who was pitting strength against Shawujinmon. The two marine Digimon had slammed their weapons against each other and both looked to be at equal ground.
"What are you doing here?" Samudramon demanded, pressing on against the bigger Digimon.
"Isn't it obvious, dear boy? I'm here to destroy your precious home world so that you will know that it's not your place to mess with the Master and his elite Darkshadow Brethren!" Shawujinmon said, and pushed Samudramon away with one mighty thrust. He then slammed the thicker end of his metallic staff towards Samudramon's abdomen. The merman grunted as he was sent flying from the force of the attack, earning a satisfied chuckle from the Kappa General. However, he halted when he saw four more figures had appeared.
Shawujinmon warily scanned his surroundings. 'No…the five of them are together. Even the Puaka Generals in their DNA Mega form were beaten when these children band together. I have to finish this battle as quickly as possible!' The Kappa General hoisted himself towards Samudramon and retracted his staff back. "Crescent Moon Slash!!" The crescent-end of Shawujinmon's staff glimmered with yellow hue as he was nearing the merman…but a roaring dragon and a screeching firebird heading his way forced him back to a retreat. Somersaulting to avoid the fire-based attacks, Shawujinmon hissed in pain as the attacks managed to scorch his garbs. With an annoyed grunt, he summoned water pillars which effectively wiped out the fire specters before they could do more damage upon him.
Samudramon was tumbling backwards in midair when suddenly he was steadied in midair by a pink whirlwind and an invisible force. The merman realized that his friends had come to the rescue. He looked behind and saw Puspamon and Xianamon, both balancing him in midair with their wind and telekinetic powers. Above, Satriamon and Aldiyamon double-teamed against the Kappa General. He grasped his metallic trident tight, watching as Shawujinmon pummeled Satriamon and Aldiyamon with water hurricanes. Satriamon was the first to plummet down, because as a fire-based Digimon Satriamon was weak against water Digimon. And Aldiyamon, upon seeing that Satriamon was heading towards the raging wave pool, had abandoned Shawujinmon entirely to catch Satriamon from falling.
Samudramon used a water pillar to balance himself and signaled an OK sign for the females to attack. He watched as Xianamon froze Shawujinmon partially in midair and realized that Shawujinmon must really be an exceptionally strong Ultimate Digimon for being able to withstand Xianamon's Magical Stasis. Then Puspamon seemed to be controlling something invisible towards Shawujinmon and Samudramon saw the Kappa General writhing in pain. He knew exactly what Puspamon was doing and saw an opportunity to attack. With Shawujinmon being weakened by Xianamon's freezing technique and Puspamon's Dream Rose Mirage, it would be the perfect time to strike.
Samudramon quickly set fourth towards the incapacitated Kappa General. To his surprise the general had broken free from the girls' hold and slammed them with ferocious water tornadoes. The two females were flung towards the sky. They however vanished in swirls of white and gold, and reappeared safely nearby the destroyed huts.
"Your meager tricks won't work on me, pesky children!" Shawujinmon aimed the sharp end of his staff towards Samudramon. "Crescent Moon Slash!!"
Seeing Shawujinmon speeding towards him – the general having the advantage of flight capability to use against him – Samudramon immediately spun his trident to transform it into a double-edged blade. He readied himself and slammed the Double-Edged Thunderblades against Shawujinmon's staff. To his own astonishment Shawujinmon's staff was cut in half due to the sheer force of the spinning weapon. Shawujinmon gasped at this and retreated a few meters back, his hands quivered as he let go of the destroyed weapon. It was evident that he hadn't expected this to happen.
"Go, Samudramon! Finish off that overgrown duck!!" Satriamon shouted encouragingly, and Samudramon didn't need to be told twice.
Taking advantage of the Kappa General's surprise, Samudramon transformed his tail into legs and delivered a powerful kick onto the general's belly, deploying Manny's ninjutsu skill which sent the bigger Digimon plummeting down towards the Wave Pool. A massive splash ensued and Samudramon saw the opening he had been waiting for.
"Divine Rain!"
A heavy downpour showered the Kappa General. Shawujinmon felt power leaving his body and his knees buckled. He attempted to move away, but the clouds where the rains poured down kept on following him, rendering his effort futile. He saw a black energy beam and barrages of needles being showered towards the villain, and realized that Satriamon and Xianamon had also contributed to his plan on weakening the Kappa General.
"Cosmic Thunderstrike!"
Thunders rumbled and a massive blue lightning bolt struck down continuously onto Shawujinmon body. The effect was deadly; Shawujinmon's drenched body was electrocuted severely and Samudramon didn't show any indication that he would be relenting.
Shawujinmon couldn't move at all. All his muscles became rigid and flexed at a horrible angle. He screamed, thinking that he would be done for when all of a sudden; an oval gateway was opened from the sky. From it a humanoid fox with violet fur and garbed in gray monk robe emerged. The bipedal fox was about 8-feet tall and held itself with poise and regality. It coolly brandished a giant paintbrush and drew a symbol which shone with purplish-white light. The atmosphere around the shining symbol grew dark, emphasizing the symbol better.
"Talisman of Night!!"
The symbol then loomed towards Samudramon, forcing the merman to withdraw his attack in order to evade it. The purple symbol came into contact with the ground and caused a massive explosion, throwing all five Wira Digital off balance. The flight-capable Wira Digital easily regained their balance before helping the non-flight capable ones. They then saw the fox generating a swirling purple portal above itself and Shawujinmon. The portal enveloped both Digimon with purple lights and vanished, leaving the Wira Digital with the awful sight of a severely destroyed Sunway Lagoon Water Theme Park.
xxx
xxx
The swirling portal opened inside a massive stone chamber and the Kappa and Shaman Generals stepped out from it. The Shaman General waved his giant paintbrush and the portal closed down. He then eyed his fellow general, who looked worse for wear, and sighed before aiming a sleeve-covered hand towards Shawujinmon.
"Talisman Spell," the Shaman General said, and a red paper talisman shot out from within the sleeve. It pasted itself on Shawujinmon's chest and glowed bright red. "You'll be healed slowly."
"I'm in your debt, Doumon," Shawujinmon said.
"Don't be. We're all brethrens here." Doumon clicked his tongue. "However, it's proven to be foolish for us to take on the Wira Digital one-by-one."
"Obviously," snorted a slurry male voice from the darkness. A demon standing at 8-feet tall – similar to Shawujinmon and Doumon – slinked out from the shadowed part of the chamber. He was dressed in a dark-blue pin-striped suit which looked like it had been pressed. He was spinning a knife with his right fingers, and was holding a machinegun with his left hand. Red eyes twinkled from the black manteau he was wearing. "How about we all attack them together next time?" he said, and wetted his pale lips with his tongue. "I really would like to meet that beauty in pink…"
Doumon's nose twitched. "Don't tell me…" The monk fox eyed his fellow brethren suspiciously. "Haven't you learned, Astamon? You and your desire upon flower-based female Digimon…didn't the Dryad General teach you a severe-enough lesson when you tried to woo her three centuries ago?"
Astamon, the Majin General, smirked. "She was just playing hard to get last time…but it's rather unfortunate that she's got deleted. Hey, you two…" he cocked his head towards two Champion Digimon who were watching their exchanges with idle cautiousness. "Was it Puspamon who deleted Lilamon?"
"Uh…yes, general, sir," Sorcerymon answered. "She and her other two friends…"
"Marvelous," Astamon said. "She definitely will prove quite a challenge, this Puspamon. But I love a challenge."
"Count me in!" Shawujinmon said immediately. "I still have a score to settle with that wretched Samudramon!"
"Count me out," Doumon coolly rejected. "I, unlike you two hot-blooded fools, will remain here to observe the Wira Digital more before I make my move. Besides, who will bail you two out when you are overpowered, like Shawujinmon had been today?" The Shaman General scanned the whole chamber, noticing that two of their members were absent. The Rookie-forms Puaka Generals were still held in stasis inside the pale blue columns of light in order to recover them from their severe injuries. SkullSatamon's two servants were standing at the far corner. "Where are Lucemon and Persiamon, I wonder?" he said, but didn't really sound like he was curious.
"Do you even need to ask?" Astamon said, and snickered. "It's been three hundred years…what do you think they're doing?"
Shawujinmon snorted. "Not again…" The Kappa General then sighed. "Never mind. While they're still at it we might as well begin planning our next move. Doumon can open another portal to the Human World, and I will need at least three days to recover…"
xxx
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Manny was quiet as the five DigiWira walked around the Sunway Pyramid shopping complex. Truth be told, he was feeling down. His birthday was ruined by the Digimon invasion, and to add salt to the injury the culprit had escaped right before his eyes. However, despite his brief anger of the Kappa General had escaped, that soon turned into relief upon realizing that if the battle had dragged on longer, Sunway Lagoon would suffer heavier damage than it had now. The damage the theme park had sustained was extensive, but it had been contained only within the water park. The dry theme park was relatively untouched, and there were no fatalities, from what he'd heard before the team made their way to the shopping complex adjacent to the park.
They had talked about the Digimon invasion for a while, but everyone then saw how glum Manny was due to the unfortunate turn of event and decided to drop the subject momentarily. Seeing as how they were victorious against Shawujinmon and his legion of Velgemon, the DigiWira decided that they would ask Jackie and TobuCatmon about it later, and spent the rest of the Saturday celebrating their friend's birthday.
They soon reached the cake cafe Adam had mentioned earlier that day, and Liu Ying accompanied Manny outside the bakery as the other three DigiWira went inside to choose a cake. They soon returned with a big box of cake, which they would take with them to the Thai restaurant where they would be meeting Manny's parents for his birthday dinner.
"We still got about one and a half hour," JD said. "Who's up for some ice-skating?"
"I'm all over it," Liu Ying said, and looked sideways at Adam. "How about you?"
Adam nodded. "I'd like to, but I don't know how…"
"No problem. I'm quite an expert," JD boasted. "I can teach you." His eyes went to Manny and Gayathri and he jerked his eyebrows up questioningly.
"I'll pass," Manny said slowly. He gave the DigiWira an apologetic smile. "I'm a bit…tired…after the battle with Shawujinmon."
JD looked like he was going to insist, but Adam restrained JD, and urged him to go rent some skating shoes while giving his cousin a knowing look. JD caught it and nodded, somewhat hesitantly.
"Why don't you three go ahead? I'll stay here with Manny," Gayathri said. "Give me the cake, JD."
At this, JD smirked and was about to make a comment for Gayathri's willingness to be left behind, but he was stopped by a cool glare from Liu Ying. The three of them then went towards the counter of the shopping complex's ice skating rink while Manny and Gayathri took a seat on the chairs located not too far from the rink. The TV was switched on and several people huddled around it, watching a cooking show that was on air with idle interest while some other people watched the people who were skating on the rink, staring admirably to those who were skillful and wincing at those who had fallen on their butts.
The two DigiWira observed their friends with interest; JD was seen giving Adam some pointers on how to skate and was demonstrating them, although his eyes were lurked at Liu Ying every now and then, attempting to impress the girl. Liu Ying appeared somewhat amused before she left the cousins alone, skating around the rink with skills that caused several skaters to stop in order to admire her moves. She stopped with a graceful spin after circling the rectangular-shaped rink twice, and was seen shooting JD a triumphant look. That caused the blonde to scowl and he then focused his attention solely on teaching Adam, who was watching their exchange with a wry look. Adam was seen saying something at JD, which caused the blonde to glower at him. Gayathri could have sworn she saw a tint of redness on JD's cheeks.
"I wonder what Adam was saying to JD which caused him to blush like that?" Gayathri began the conversation, staring at a laughing Adam who was attempting to get away from JD who was about to give chase. However, one backward stride had caused Adam to lose his balance and fell on his backside. "Ouch…" she winced, and saw the glower and the blush on JD's face evaporated, replaced with a worried look as he helped his cousin up. From a distance, Liu Ying had halted and watched the cousins with concern, before deciding that they were alright and resumed circling the rink for the fifth time.
"Don't let me stop you from joining them, Gayathri," Manny murmured as his eyes tailed the three skating DigiWira.
Gayathri shook her head. "I've ice-skated a lot of times already. Whenever Dina, Bel and I come here we usually never missed ice-skating." Gayathri knew how to ice skate as well, thanks to her rollerblading experience, but she felt that Manny needed her company. At her reply, Manny nodded with a desolate look on his face.
"If I were you I'd feel sad as well," Gayathri said understandingly. "What happened today was really awful. I'm sorry it didn't work out well."
"It's just that…I've wanted to come here since I was little, and when I finally get to be here…" His shoulders sagged and he shrunk in his chair, looking so dejected.
"Manny…" Gayathri felt so sorry of her friend. Her ears suddenly caught of the sound of the TV. They turned around and saw that someone had turned up the volume of the TV – and their eyes widened upon seeing that a woman in a smart suit and a pair of frameless glasses was doing a report amidst the background of the destroyed Wet Park of Sunway Lagoon.
"Authorities are baffled pertaining to the unfortunate event that had taken place at Sunway Lagoon earlier today. Several unknown creatures, depicted as birds with skeletal features and red feathers, had appeared out of nowhere at Sunway Lagoon's water park and had caused heavy damage there. While there are no fatalities, ten injuries have been reported. Several eye-witnesses claimed to have seen a beautiful fairy in the company of a teenaged girl as they have rescued two boys from the water park but the fairy did not seem to be in league with those giant birds, as she was reported to have rescued two boys who were caught in the melee…"
"Oops," Gayathri whispered, shrinking closer to Manny as the reporter was referring to her. "I shouldn't have shown my face to them. Big mouths…"
Manny smiled a little but his eyes were glued to the TV as they were shown a scene of the battle that had taken place at the Wave Pool. The two DigiWira saw the five of them, as Wira Digital, fighting against Shawujinmon. They wondered how on earth the reporters would be able to record the battle scene. It was surreal; like watching a science fiction show, only now they knew that the fight had been very real.
"The situation however seemed to have been taken cared of by the appearance of five beings that resemble humans. One had the appearance of a white knight with eight wings, the other a merman and the third, a warrior in red armor. The last two are evidently females; one having the appearance of a fairy in pink and the other looked the most human of all, with yellow garb and black hair. They were seen battling the giant birds and another human-like being in white garb."
"Never thought we'd see ourselves in TV," Gayathri joked, trying to cheer Manny up. But she straightened up instantly upon hearing the final revelation.
"The total amount of damage is estimated to be reaching a million ringgit, and the area that is damaged is said to be the wet park. Sunway Lagoon will be closed to public for the time being, but the management has stated that the dry theme park should be operational again once they have done some check-ups to ensure that everything is working in perfect condition. The wet park however will require extensive repair works which will begin effective tomorrow morning.
"Sources from Japan have mentioned that similar attacks had taken place at Odaiba, Tokyo during Christmas 2002. The creatures involved are known as Digimon, short for Digital Monsters who originated from an alternate world called the Digital World. The Japanese government has advised cautions to be taken to handle these threats, and have mentioned that no human military arsenal could be used to counter these Digimon threats. When asked of what measures we could take, we were told to place faith on a group of children…who would have been chosen to protect this country from the Digimon threats. Called as DigiDestined, these children are said to be partnered with good Digimon, and they are said to be the ONLY defense line the country has against the Digimon."
Murmurs were heard from the large crowd that had gathered around the TV. Even those who were skating were now huddled towards a speaker which music had been turned off in favor of the latest breaking news. Manny and Gayathri saw their fellow teammates froze in the middle of the skating rink.
"This is just in. The Japanese government's statement has been backed up by the President of the United States, who stated that similar Digimon attack has taken place around Rockefeller Center, also during Christmas 2002. The Russian government has also supported the claim, saying that the Red Square, Moscow and the Siberian lands have also been attacked by wild Digimon, but were taken care of by the DigiDestined around the world….more faxes have been received from various countries as we speak, backing up this claim which has sounded so unbelievable at first…
"Now, the questions that remain – will we be safe from those Digimon threats? Who are these chosen children that we have been told to put our faith upon? Can they really protect us? Is the attack on Sunway Lagoon just the beginning? This is Rita Kaur, reporting live for TV3. Now back to our usual program…"
"Great," Manny muttered as the news ended. "Now it will go down in the Malaysian Book of Records that 26th March is the day Malaysia first got attacked by Digimon."
"Hey, we've beaten them, right?" Gayathri said. "When they come, we'll be ready for them. Come on, cheer up Manny. You don't look so cute if you sulk around like that."
A warm blush crept on Manny's cheeks. There was a compliment in Gayathri's teasing. "I don't sulk," he protested.
"Yes you do, you've been sulking for hours now," Gayathri deadpanned, but she was also smiling to take out the sting in her comment. "Come on. There's no reason we can't still celebrate your birthday. It's just entering six; we still have one hour before your family arrives here. We should make the best of the remaining time."
Manny thought about what Gayathri had just said, and realized that she was right. He saw Gayathri standing up.
"Gayathri, wait," Manny said softly, and stood up as well. Gayathri looked at him questioningly. "I'd just like to say thanks. You know, for being here with me. And I'm sorry for being so sullen. Minus the Digimon battle, my birthday today is still the best one I've ever had. And it's all because of you, JD, Adam and Liu Ying." He took a deep breath and smiled genuinely for the first time since the battle with Shawujinmon. "I'm very grateful to have friends like you guys."
"I'm glad to hear that, Manny," Gayathri said, beaming. "How about we join the others?"
"I don't know how to ice-skate."
"So was Adam, but look at him now," Gayathri pointed towards their team leader, who was gliding merrily at the rink with JD watching his back with a worried expression. And the blonde's worrying over his cousin was sound when the younger DigiWira suddenly lost his balance and landed on his backside once again. Both Gayathri and Manny winced upon the sight. "Umm…that can happen whether you're a beginner or an expert. But, I can safely claim that I'm quite alright when it comes to rollerblading, so ice-skating shouldn't really be a problem. How about if I teach you? We'll take it slow."
Manny smiled and nodded. "Sounds like fun. Come on."
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Author's Note:
And so the Invasion Arc begins…and the DigiWira that gets the spotlight here is Manny. I feel like I haven't been expanding his character the most, with the Puaka Generals arc focusing on JD and Adam. The Invasion arc will be Manny and the two girls' turns but the cousins will get their spot as well. We get Manny's back story in this chapter. What I hope is that by the time I have finished written this story, all characters have enough background stories.
With the Juara Digivice being similar to the D-Power/D-Arc in Digimon Tamers I have decided to include the same Digimon Analyzer features.
Although the Frontier Human and Beast Hybrid Digimon who have been making appearances in this story are all classified as Champions by me, I have decided to put Velgemon in the Ultimate Digimon category. Having them as Champions would make them so easy for the Wira Digital to beat. Velgemon seems to be on par with Fusion Hybrids in Frontier. Besides, it will work better for the story as Velgemon (and Duskmon) will serve as the Darkshadow Brethren's brutes.
Picture link is at my profile page. :D It's of Adam, JD and Manny.
REVISED: Fixed a glaring error in which I've accidentally put Duskmon in the chapter. They are here in the earlier draft but I figured I wanted to have them appear in later chapters. I've missed a few paragraphs during editing, apparently. :(