"The timing could not be more impeccable," muttered Doumon as he stirred the mercury-like liquid. He watched as replays of two battles played themselves within the cauldron. With every stir, the scene shifted. "It was just lucky that I have managed to procure Valdurmon's allegiance in order to make this work."
He then watched as the elixir in the cauldron before him let out wisps of green smoke. The smoke swirled around the darkened chamber, forming images of Digimon that have been long gone. Particularly, the Digimon who had been under his service; one swirl of smoke took the shape of Valdurmon, the largest of them all. He had managed to procure Valdurmon's allegiance right before Beelzemon and Leviamon ordered him to attack the Wira Digital. Valdurmon had lost, ironically not under the hands of the Wira Digital but by Beelzemon's, whose desperation for a power-up drove him to kill one of their own.
He watched as two swirl of smoke took form at the same time, and smiled. One was Garudamon, the other Asuramon; both of them were the ones he had sent to battle the Wira Digital at the real world while he had the DigiWira pair that constituted Xianamon under his grasp.
One Mega, two Ultimates…hmm…
He uttered an incomprehensible incantation, and the two swirls merged into one. Crackles of lightning were elicited and Doumon smiled, admiring his handcraft as the resulted single smoke-like being emerged as a humanoid bird.
Perfect! Another Mega. Now, join Valdurmon with Ravemon, and this unassuming DigiEgg…
Doumon produced a DigiEgg from out of nowhere and dipped it inside the cauldron. Inclining his head back, he observed as the egg submerged inside the glowing elixir. He flicked his paw, and the two swirls of smoke disintegrated into data particles and showered inside the elixir. Then he resumed stirring the elixir in a steady clockwise rhythm, muttering more incantation as he did, before a burst of light appeared from it. He took a few steps back as something emerged from the cauldron.
The cauldron exploded and the elixir solidified around a glowing body that was two times as tall as him, its head nearly reached the ceiling. The wizard fox smiled, taking note of the being before him. It stood tall and stoic, white-armored with a black sash tied around the waist. The body contour defined it as a male. Glowing purple wings that seemed somewhat metallic were attached to his arms. A black helmet hid the upper half of his face and yellow eyes peered out from the helmet's orifices. A thin fang escaped the corner of his mouth.
"You're a masterpiece," Doumon said delightfully.
The Digimon bowed his head slightly, his mouth set thin. He offered no reply, and Doumon didn't mind.
"A rarity indeed. I have outdone myself. For simplicity's sake let us call you merely as Ravemon now, shall we?"
The birdman nodded once, still offering no word.
Doumon grinned. "My evil game has commenced."
xxx
xxx
WIRA DIGITAL
Chapter 66 – An Evil Game
xxx
xxx
On Sunday morning, Liu Ying and Youkomon headed towards the mountainside region of the Digital World. Glancing at her watch, she gulped; she was almost half-an-hour late.
"Youkomon…"
"Don't worry, Ying," said Youkomon, a hint of amusement in her voice. "I am positively sure that he won't mind at all."
Nevertheless, the kitsune picked up speed and Liu Ying let out a low yelp, grabbing hold on her partner's furs.
Liu Ying sighed and settled on admiring the view as Youkomon galloped amidst the terrains in silent. Adam had mentioned coming here a few times; once was during the time when Gayathri and Fairymon had been placed under a mild abhorrence spell by Sorcerymon, a few days shy before the ShadoWira's appearance. Adam was sent there to look for Wizardmon, who was once mentor for Grademon, and the only one who could provide a counter-spell for Gayathri. The second time he was there, Adam discovered that Wizardmon had been murdered by Karatenmon. The third time, Adam had been there was with 'Aizad' and his 'partner', both being the Puaka Generals in disguise – the very same day she and JD were led to a trap inside the cave of spiders. She smiled lightly at the memory.
With the timing and all, she certainly hadn't been expecting JD to call her the previous night, asking to meet her this morning. Alone. And he was bold enough by saying that he would like to think this as a date. She had blushed, and had stammered her agreement.
She didn't understand JD. He hadn't sound worried at all about his predicament; the cursed tattoo would take effect in a week. Should he not be worrying? Instead, he had asked her out for a date, and she hadn't got the chance to ask him about it. Thinking back, she lamented herself for agreeing too quickly. JD had caught her off-guard. But she was not regretting it, merely wondering why JD would ask her out when they both know that JD was running out of time.
Is that it? She thought uneasily, as they reached the forests that lined the lake by the mountains. She dismounted her partner, and Youkomon devolved into Labramon. They resumed their journey to the lake by walking, and as they reached the lake a voice became clearer.
"You can see my eyes and tell me you're not mine."
"Wow," Labramon commented, impressed. Liu Ying agreed and listened on.
"I don't know why sometimes I get frightened."
Liu Ying blinked. It was JD. He's singing? She increased her pace and caught sounds of a guitar being played as well. The tunes matched the words that JD sung out perfectly. He sounds great.
"You can see my eyes, and tell that I'm not lying."
She reached the last of the trees and peeked out. There, sitting on a boulder was JD with a guitar, and he wasn't alone. A small crowd had gathered by the lake, and over the lake. There was a trio of Betamon who watched JD with interest, obviously entertained. Two Gekomon were sitting at the stone closest to JD, one attempted to blow the trumpet that was curled around its neck before it was stopped by its companion. Not too far from them, a ribbon-wearing ShogunGekomon had a dreamy look as she gazed towards JD. Liu Ying couldn't blame the ShogunGekomon, for JD sounded really good.
In fact, she found herself somewhat entranced by the blond boy too. She shook her head, and stepped out in the open where JD could see her.
JD repeated the last two verses that she had caught earlier before their eyes met, and he made a small gesture with his head. Liu Ying followed his gaze, and saw to her surprise, a thin rattan mat lay over the sandy ground, with a picnic basket laid on top of it. He then played the last notes before ending the song. The small crowd around him clapped heartily and the ShogunGekomon let out an audible sigh, showing her admiration.
"Thank you," JD said, grinning at the Gekomon, the Betamon and the ShogunGekomon. "And you." He winked at Liu Ying and Labramon, and hopped off the boulder. The others gave them a look, before nodding understandably and went back inside the lake, ushering the somewhat unwilling ShogunGekomon away.
"You sound really good," offered Liu Ying. "I never knew that you can sing well."
"Oh thanks," said JD, accepting the compliment. He smiled. "You made it."
"You must have waited long, for you to start singing…"
"No worries." JD shrugged. "Have a seat. You too, Labramon. It's too bad that Agumon is still a DigiEgg, he could have joined you today." His face turned wistful, but a moment later it was gone.
Liu Ying wondered whether hiding their emotions was a trait for Adam and JD's family.
"That's quite alright, JD," said Labramon, giving the place a look around. "If you two don't mind, I would like to explore this place a little. Patamon mentioned this place having a very nice view, and now that I'm here I wouldn't want to miss the chance to do so."
JD nodded, and took something out from the picnic basket. He handed it towards Labramon. "Here. Heard you like banana fritters."
Labramon blinked, before looking at JD with appreciation. She accepted the meal graciously before sauntering away.
"She does that on purpose," Liu Ying muttered. Of course, Labramon just had to leave the two of them alone…
"What?" JD asked distractedly.
"Nothing." She felt so awkward, being left alone with JD. If it were Adam or Manny she wouldn't have minded. With JD, it was different.
It was just a couple of months ago when she had really hated the mixed-blood teenager, and that dislike stemmed far longer than that and neither she nor JD had done anything to rectify it. Throughout the period, JD seemed to always find the time to provoke her, one way or another, though she could not recall him going overboard with his teasing, except that first time which instigated her detestation towards him.
Then JD was revealed to be the Red ShadoWira, and she had felt that her dislike was somewhat justified. Her dislike turned to active loathing upon discovering JD's trickery towards them in general, and towards Adam on a deeper level – to think that he'd actually befriended Adam, earning his trust, before turning it all back so thoroughly. However when the spell was lifted and Adam had forgiven and accepted JD as a member of the team, she was left in a dilemma. The one she hated then had become her teammate. Talk about awkward.
Then came a day when somehow she had ended up with only JD to investigate a threat, which was actually a trap. They were forced to work together, and finally JD had admitted the real reason of him being so mean towards her when they first met. She was amazed upon learning of the reason, and her hate had melted instantly. Once the hate was gone a new feeling began to surface. It was friendship at first, but it was slowly growing into something…more. Not that any of them had said anything about it. She was comfortable with them being friends, but she didn't miss out the hints JD had dropped to her every now and then; she was just good at evading them.
Was she interested? That she didn't know…she had never felt like this to a boy before.
"I'm glad that you showed up," JD said, interrupting her thoughts.
"I said that I'd come." She eyed the picnic basket and the guitar. "I certainly didn't expect those, though."
He grinned lopsidedly. "I guess I'm just full of surprises."
"I didn't even know you play the guitar and sing."
JD shrugged. "It's no big deal. I picked up some guitar playing from my dad. As far as singing goes…it usually never goes farther than my room or bathroom." He smiled a bit, somewhat fondly. "Adam used to complain about my singing a lot, said that I'm disturbing him studying or that his ears hurt from having to listen to me all the time."
"Complain?" Liu Ying didn't think that there was anything to complain about JD's singing or guitar-playing skills.
"Nah, I could tell that he didn't really mean it," said JD, chuckling.
"Well, for what it's worth, you sounded really awesome."
"You think so?" His face lit up upon the compliment.
"Well…I'm not a professional critique or anything, but you're way better than some hopefuls we see on TVs nowadays." She rubbed her chin. "What was that song you sang and played just now?"
"Oh…just some song from my mom's old cassettes she brought from New Zealand. She says that the group is famous over there; it's her favorite song. I grew up getting used to hear her hum it every now and then, when she thought no one was listening. I guess that's how I picked it up."
"You just gained yourselves a few fans," Liu Ying pointed out. "Look, even that ShogunGekomon is still around here."
"Huh?" JD turned around, and true enough ShogunGekomon was still somewhere within eyesight, with the Gekomon and the Betamon trying to push her away unsuccessfully. Upon catching his gaze, the large bullfrog appeared delighted and waved at him, her face retaining that dreamy look she had when JD was singing. He grumbled. Liu Ying chuckled; it was all very amusing.
"Looks like she's your number one fan."
"Oh, man…"
They became silent. Liu Ying let the soft winds breezed through her hair, causing it to flutter. As she adjusted a stray hair out of her face she caught JD gazing at her. Feeling a blush threatening to creep up, she turned away. Something ran through her mind and thinking about it made the blush go away, due to the direness of it.
"How are you holding up?" she asked softly.
JD frowned. "Not too bad," he said. "I try not to think about it too much. Like I've told Adam, I want to live my remaining days the best I can."
It was a valiant answer, Liu Ying thought. It made her even sadder on the inside, seeing how JD was trying to act like nothing was wrong. She had no doubt that the boy was hurting. It must be horrible to know exactly when one's about to die. She braved herself to study JD's face more intently, but found herself unable to do so when the boy kept gazing at her.
"That's why I asked you out," JD continued. "I mean, we both know how I was such a jerk towards you. I'd like to make it up somehow." He gestured towards the picnic basket, grinning sheepishly. "It's not much, but I hope it'll do."
"JD, you don't have to do this," said Liu Ying. "I thought we settled it that day after we escaped the cave? You don't have to bother…"
"I want to." He cut in, and eyed her carefully. "I hope you didn't agree out of pity."
"No!" She stopped herself; that had come out more intensely than she had hoped.
JD smiled, but it wasn't the smirk he always gave to everyone. It was a tender, appreciative smile.
A soft gust of wind blew against their face, and the two teens took a moment to enjoy the scenery. It was truly a scenic place to be. Where they were sitting it was shady, and the waters were reflecting the whitewashed mountains and the lines of pine trees that grew at the base.
"It's almost eleven," said JD, checking his watch. "How about we eat?"
"What did you bring?" Liu Ying asked, and reached for the basket since she was sitting nearer to it; JD's path was blocked by his guitar.
"Ah, just something I asked Bibik to make. I don't even know what she's made, actually…just asked her to make something fitting…" JD took a rectangular plastic container that Liu Ying handed to him, and opened the lid. "Fried rice, kampong style. Nice." He inhaled, and smiled appreciatively. "Pretty spicy from the smell of it. Super sweet."
Liu Ying eyed the rice dish dubiously, the way the sliced red chilies were spread over the very brown rice. She couldn't eat spicy food without a jug of warm water to drown the spicy aftertaste. However since JD had brought it, she supposed she would have to eat it. She took out another plastic container, and heaved a relieved sigh when inside was a caramel pudding, enough for the two of them. Or three, should Labramon return to join them. From the look her partner had given her before she left, however, Liu Ying doubted that the Rookie would show up anytime soon.
JD chuckled after she had taken one spoonful of the fried rice and rushed to drink straightaway from the bottle of mineral water.
"I figured your secret," he said.
"It's not a secret. I can't eat spicy food," she muttered, and gazed at her half-full bottle of water.
JD handed her his unopened mineral water. "You look like you're gonna need this if you're going to eat your half of this fried rice."
Liu Ying used her spoon to divide her half of rice, and pushed a large portion towards JD's half, leaving her with what seemed like three to four spoonfuls left. "You can have it. Nothing against your Bibik's cooking, but I really can't eat that much spicy food."
"You're missing out," said JD, calmly taking in one spoonful and munching them. Liu Ying stared at him disbelievingly. "You can have the pudding if you want," he offered, since she was going to finish up her miniscule portion of rice. "You gave me lots of rice, it's only fair I give you the whole pudding in return."
"Don't you want some?" She wasn't about to refuse though; that pudding seemed to be able to quench the spicy aftertaste on her tongue, which felt somewhat stung.
"Nah...I grew up with it, I know how it tastes like. Trust me, you won't want to miss it." He smirked a bit. "And you need it more than I do."
"I'll take your words for it. Thank you."
JD smiled, shrugged, and ate his rice.
Liu Ying found out that JD could eat relatively fast. He had already finished the rice just as Liu Ying was still halfway with her pudding. Liu Ying saw him looking at her thoughtfully for a moment, before he brought his guitar on his lap. She stopped eating.
"Hey, don't stop. I just thought that while you eat, I'll play a song." He struck an introductory chord, settling in with the mood. "Let's just take our time," he began, and the tune became steadier."There's nothing else to do. What better way to spend the day, than wasting it with you?"
She felt her cheeks burned with mild embarrassment as she took in the lyrics of the song JD was singing. The rest of the pudding was forgotten.
xxx
xxx
"I'm here," said Adam, staring towards SkullSatamon who stood behind the semi-transparent barrier around his bastion.
"Glad to see you," said SkullSatamon in his crotchety voice.
Can't say the same about you, Adam retorted silently.
Be careful with what you're thinking, boy… Adam whipped his head back upon the sudden intrusion in his mind, noticing Lucemon descending from the dark sky. Lucemon had just spoken to him telepathically. Beside him, Sagittarimon tensed. The Master can't hear you, but I…
"Get out of my head!" hissed Adam. It was annoying, having a foreign voice talking in his mind. It gave him a mild throbbing pain on the temples, which irritated him.
The voice stopped. Lucemon smirked at him.
SkullSatamon chuckled. "Now, now. Let's begin, shall we?"
"Oh, wait," said Lucemon, the smirk still on his face. "I should mention this to you, boy. Apparently the Shaman General is planning an attack on your friends today. You will not be joining them, I'm afraid."
"What?" Adam cried out. "But-"
"Now, now, dear boy," said SkullSatamon. "Your dear cousin's life depends on this, and we all know how much time he has left." A low chuckle ensued. "Or rather, how little."
"And I hate to think what the Virago General will think when she finds out about this," Lucemon drawled. "Though I am more powerful than her, I don't make it a habit to cross her. We know what the price for scorning her is, I believe?"
Adam gave the demonic angel a sour look. "How does training my power will help Josh?" he demanded.
Lucemon raised an eyebrow. "Let's just say, the more powerful you get, the better chance you have to save your cousin."
"And how do you know that? I thought nothing else can cancel out the curse other than a sacrifice?"
Lucemon gave him a dry look, though his ice-blue eyes seemed to grow cold. "I have been around for four hundred years, and the Master's even more than that. And you? I'll hazard a guess…eleven?"
Adam's cheeks grew hot. "Thirteen, going fourteen!"
"Could have fooled me," the demon angel returned airily.
"Maybe that's why you got beaten by us back at the 1500s," Adam retorted. Lucemon twitched a bit, and SkullSatamon chuckled.
"I see that you've gotten your cousin's witty tongue," the skeletal demon said.
Adam saw Lucemon giving him a cold stare. He guessed that given his way, the Hellion General could easily kill him right there and then. He must have held personal grudge against him and the other DigiWira for defeating him so humiliatingly back in the 1500s. He needed to traipse his step carefully around Lucemon.
Ironically his only protection against Lucemon was SkullSatamon; even if he could teleport away he had no doubt that Lucemon would be able to pursue him if he wanted to. So far, Adam had discovered that Lucemon was able to invade minds with his telepathic power. The angel was also able to cast a telepathic web, giving him a unique way to view things that were not within his sight. Those made him a pretty dangerous enemy, and he boasted that as an Ultimate he wielded powers that could surpass most Megas. After their encounter at the past, Adam had no doubt that Lucemon hadn't merely been boasting.
It wouldn't be wise to make him his personal enemy.
Glad you know that, came a snide telepathic remark from Lucemon.
Adam narrowed his eyes in annoyance. Get out of my head! He practically screamed his thought. From the way Lucemon looked away, he supposed that Lucemon must have heard it, though there was no way to be exactly sure. Adam was now aware that he was an empath; he could perceive emotions that weren't his, but not thoughts. He would have to be a telepath to be able to do that, and Lucemon was a telepath. A skillful one at that.
He turned to face Sagittarimon. "It looks like you'll have to go to help the others for the both of us."
"But we've made a deal that I'd always be here when you're here!" Sagittarimon protested.
"I can't go, but that doesn't mean that both of us have to stay," said Adam.
"Puspamon and Samudramon both have reached Juara Modes," pointed out Sagittarimon. "They can handle it. What more with Rosemon, Valkyrimon and the siblings in the team." Sagittarimon glared towards Lucemon with utmost distrust. "Besides if he tries anything funny we can become Aldiyamon and take him out."
Take me out? Lucemon snickered telepathically. How crude. I might have been beaten by five supercharged Ultimates when they were at full power and I was at my worst, but I have no doubt that I can deal with one mere Mega. Your light power doesn't affect me as it affected the Puaka Generals…
Stay out of my head! Adam gritted his teeth in anger. Something made him wanted to lash out towards Lucemon, but he didn't have any form of active power to do so. His temples throbbed again as he heard Lucemon's snickers echoing in his mind. His fists were clenched so tight that the nails threatened to pierce the flesh. He didn't care. Stop invading my mind!
A series of small combustions suddenly took place over the ground where Lucemon was standing. Adam gasped and Sagittarimon let out a surprised yelp. Lucemon stared at the ground, where small holes with thin wisp of smoke had formed due to the explosions, and then gazed towards Adam. His cold face showed surprise, before it melted into indifference once again when he caught SkullSatamon's look.
"How did you do that?" Lucemon demanded.
Adam schooled himself to take a few deep breaths to calm himself. How did I do that? He asked himself, not knowing the answer. That's not my power. It's like…
Cold chill coursed down his spine. He remembered clearly the only other one who had possessed such destructive power. How was having this power would help his cousin?
SkullSatamon let out a low chuckle. "Sagittarimon can stay. Adam, that was splendid."
Somehow Adam didn't think so. The throbbing had subsided. Yet he shivered, because lashing out like he had done just now…somehow it felt good.
xxx
xxx
"So this is the Digital World…?" Debbie asked in wonder, taking in her surroundings with eyes wide open and mouth gaping.
"Yes, Debbie," said Manny, smiling a little. He didn't resist when Debbie let his hand go and walked a few steps forward along with Opie.
"What do you think? Is it nice?" asked Gayathri.
Debbie nodded eagerly. "It's so beautiful."
Manny and Gayathri grinned, though to the watchful eyes both looked somewhat strained. It was noon and his family had barely just got back home from church, when Debbie had immediately pestered Manny into taking her to the Digital World. She had claimed that since Opie was officially her partner now, she now had the right to at least visit the Digital World. Manny hadn't any inclination to deny Debbie the opportunity, but with the Darkshadow Brethren all apparently becoming Mega Digimon, the Digital World was not the safest place to be at for the time being.
That was why he had asked Gayathri to come along. Both of them had attained the abilities to become Mega levels, which assured Manny that Debbie wasn't going to be in any danger if she was at the Digital World. Opie had adamantly claimed that he too could become Valkyrimon again and would perfectly be able to protect Debbie.
Strength in numbers, Manny had replied, to which Gayathri had supported. Beelzemon, Leviamon and Valdurmon were all Megas, but each of them could only be beaten with the power of more than one Mega. And his sister was so young, Manny felt a lot better if they had as many Megas around them as possible.
However, the strain in their smiles had nothing to do with Debbie or about them. Manny and Gayathri exchanged one look, and the smiles were gone.
"You look like you didn't get enough sleep," whispered Gayathri.
"So do you," said Manny glumly, once Debbie was out of earshot.
"Let me guess. JD?"
Manny nodded.
Gayathri sighed. "Me too. I couldn't sleep well for two days just thinking about it."
Manny nodded again. "Hey, don't go too far!" he called out to his sister.
Debbie waved back, but didn't reply to him. Manny sighed and beckoned for Penguinmon to follow his sister. "Make sure…"
"Yeah, yeah," Penguinmon waved his flipper once and trotted away.
"Ha, I know that you guys want to be left alone, so I'll join them." Floramon sprinted away, bypassing Penguinmon. "Hurry up, slowpoke!" she taunted.
"Slowpoke?" Penguinmon sniffed indignantly. "I'll show you!"
The two DigiWira shook their heads, and Manny took out his Juara Digivice. Apparently they weren't the only DigiWira there.
"Would you look at that," said Gayathri, staring at the crimson and yellow dots that were blinking quite a distance away from their navy blue, sky blue and pink dots.
Manny smiled wistfully. "Yeah, JD told me that he's meeting Liu Ying here today."
"Meeting?"
"I just knew about it yesterday."
Gayathri peered down at the two Digivice signals. "Do you think they're on a date or something?"
"I'm not sure. JD didn't specifically say why he's meeting her today," said Manny. "But a date? I don't know…won't it be…" He grimaced, hoping Gayathri would catch what he was trying to say. He didn't like thinking that his friend would die in merely a week's time. He hated it more to say it out loud, which was why he'd left his sentence hanging.
Gayathri's face softened. "I know…"
Another beep was picked up. Another dot appeared on the screen, colored a shade darker than Gayathri's pink signal. They looked up and saw Dina materializing from the same TV set they all had come from. Lalamon was with her. Unlike Manny and Gayathri, who were both outfitted in their black and gray uniforms, Dina (as well as Debbie) was in normal attire, which consisted of a violet top over a long-sleeved white shirt and denim skirt. Upon seeing them and hearing Gayathri's call, the girl made way towards them. Manny noticed that she looked demure as always, but somewhat confused.
"Gaya, Manny, hi," said Dina. She didn't look any better than the two of them, Manny noted.
"Hi," replied Gayathri promptly. "We didn't expect to see you here. You should've told me that you're going to be here. We could have come together."
"Actually," said Dina, who sounded hesitant. "I called Adam's house, but Kak Lisha said that he's here. Since morning."
Manny increased the scale of the scanning range, before frowning at the result. "I don't see his signal around here. That's odd; if he's here we should be able to detect him."
"He's not at our world either," said Dina. "I've checked."
"Any specific reason why you wanted to talk to Adam, Dina?" asked Gayathri.
"Well…" Dina hesitated.
"We wanted to ask Adam how he's doing, regarding JD's condition," supplied Lalamon.
"I thought he'd be here," said Dina. "But…" She looked around her once, her face thoughtful. "Adam said, that day when Leviamon and Beelzemon came to our town, that he was at the Digital World. But JD said that he couldn't detect Adam's signal when he was here that same day." She gazed at her Digivice. "It's the same thing today."
"What was Adam's response when JD pointed that out to him?" asked Manny.
"He insisted that he was here," answered Dina. "He said that he didn't know why JD couldn't trace his Digivice signal."
Manny frowned. This was really odd, and suspicious. In fact, there was something familiar about this.
Memories of his days as a ShadoWira returned to him. He felt a churn in his stomach; a reaction he always got whenever he recalled his evil days.
"The signal can be cloaked," he said quietly. "JD and I knew how, when we were ShadoWira. I'm surprised JD hasn't thought of this."
"Given his current condition, can you blame him?" Lalamon returned.
Manny's shoulders sagged. "No. I guess not."
"Are you saying that Adam has been cloaking his Digivice signal then?" asked Gayathri. "Why would he do that?"
"I'm not sure," said Manny, looking at Dina. "But if Adam was telling the truth, then someone else might have done that for him."
"Who?" Dina asked.
"Last time, it was Karatenmon. I have no idea who could do that now."
"Wait a sec," said Gayathri, holding a hand up. She looked alarmed. "Are you telling me that we're even thinking that Adam could be joining the bad guys? There's no way he'd do that!"
"I don't think so too," Manny assured her. "But that's the only lead we have about this matter. I'd be glad to be proven wrong."
"Is there any chance that Adam himself could cloak his Digivice signal?" Dina wondered. She looked even more unwilling that Gayathri in accepting his theory, but Manny himself wasn't sure.
"No. Definitely not," Gayathri answered promptly.
Manny knew that it would be impossible for Adam to become a villain, when he had so adamantly refused to do so back when Manny and JD abducted him, under SkullSatamon's order. SkullSatamon had offered Adam to even lead the ShadoWira, and would be given powers stronger than he could have ever dreamed of, but Adam had refused the demon flat-out. He'd known the risk of refusal would be his life, but that hadn't deterred him.
The only way I know of how to cloak Digivice signals came from Karatenmon and SkullSatamon, he thought. Karatenmon's already gone.
Could it be because of JD's condition…that Adam's seeking answer from all possible sources? We've all been looking for answers from the good side…could Adam have gone to the opposite side? He couldn't have sought out the Darkshadow Brethren; they'd attack him instantly. SkullSatamon however is trapped. He couldn't harm Adam. Could it be that Adam has gone to SkullSatamon?
Manny glanced away, thinking of how close his fellow teammates were. Adam was definitely closer to JD than to any of them, though he was generally friendly towards all the DigiWira. JD had told him that how he had regarded their team leader as a younger brother he never had, and how Adam had looked up on JD as the older brother he had lost.
JD seems to suspect something, but Adam's exceptionally good in keeping secrets, even more than JD himself. None of us knew that he'd lost both parents and older brother until the whole mess with the Puaka Generals. What is it with them both? Keeping dark secrets seem to run in the family…
"Manny?" Gayathri tugged his arm, and Manny blinked. "What are you thinking about?"
Manny calmed his thoughts. He glanced towards his sister, who was happily playing with the three Rookies. With Debbie around, he couldn't carry out what he was thinking of doing. However, Gayathri and Dina might be able to do it.
Yet, he wasn't able to convey his suggestion, for something suddenly moved with lightning speed over the sky before landing on the ground. It was a humanoid avian Digimon, tall as a building and armored all over its body in black and white. Large glowing purple wings were attached along its arms, and its golden eyes seemed to crackle with madness behind the black helmet it wore.
Debbie shrieked fearfully; the creature had landed so close to her. She had fallen onto the ground, and was frozen in fear.
"Debbie!" Manny was about to run towards his sister, but Gayathri was faster. Using her super-speed she went to the little girl, picked her up and returned back to him.
Debbie looked fearful, and Manny quickly hugged her close to soothe her fears. "Shh. It's ok."
"We'll handle this creep," said Gayathri, casting a dark look towards the avian Digimon. "You need to protect Debbie."
Manny nodded. Gayathri and Dina exchanged a look.
"Lalamon can help," Dina assured.
"I can, too," Opie said. "But I'll need Debbie's help to go straight to Mega."
Hearing this, Debbie stirred her face away from Manny's chest and fumbled with her pocket, her hand shaky. She grasped her new Digivice, before looking somewhat lost. Yet the Digivice flared to life and released a burst of cerulean and white auras that Opie absorbed.
Muchomon warp-digivolve to… Valkyrimon!
"Lalamon," said Dina, taking out her own Digivice.
"Ok," simply said Lalamon, allowing the rose red and white auras from her partner's Digivice to shower her with power.
Lalamon warp-digivolve to… Rosemon!
She had digivolved straight into her Burst Mode, which had the power of a Mega Digimon instead of her compromised regular form.
Rosemon and Valkyrimon streaked towards the intruder, now identified as a Ravemon, and begun attacking him.
"Be careful," said Manny, as Gayathri made her move.
Gayathri smiled, nodded, and took out her Juara Digivice. "Juara Access Digivolution,"she called out the new command, and thrust her arm forward. "HAAA!!" A pillar of pink light surrounded her and Floramon and a glowing feminine figure in pink resulted, dancing in the air before the pink light left her, revealing Puspamon Juara Mode.
Manny felt like his breath had been taken away temporarily upon the sight of the beautiful armored sprite, before Debbie began pulling away. He however kept holding on her.
"Don't you want to fight too, Abang?" she asked.
"Not today, Debbie," he said, smiling to assure his sister. He wanted to help, but he wanted to make sure that his sister was safe more.
He hoped that the power of three Mega Digimon would be enough to stop Ravemon. Valkyrimon could fight even without Debbie being around, he decided. It was more pertinent for him to take his sister home, which was what he had promised their parents should any trouble happen.
xxx
xxx
"Love was kept…from me like a secret. And I've sworn that I was through…"
By now, Liu Ying was positively sure that she was blushing furiously. And JD, from the looks of it, seemed to enjoy seeing her in such a state. But she had to admit that the song was very well-sung. The messages however, made her heart race, as JD fixed his blue-green eyes onto her. There was something behind those eyes, the way he was looking at her.
"Until you."
And the song ended. JD grinned at her.
"You're blushing," he pointed out.
"Any girl would have, if you sing that kind of song to her!" she retorted, and looked away.
JD chuckled lightly. "I take it you liked the song?"
"It was-" Liu Ying didn't finish her sentence, for they heard a loud blinking noise coming from a distance away. Her eyes widened; Labramon had gone off that way earlier. She might be in trouble.
xxx
xxx
Labramon settled down beside the lake, enjoying the scenic view while munching the banana fritters JD had given her. If one would wonder why a dog would enjoy eating fried bananas, then Labramon would answer that it was because they were the first real-world food given to her by Liu Ying. The rest was history.
She sighed, when her thoughts shifted to Liu Ying and JD. Having spent nearly nine months with her partner, she didn't need Liu Ying to say things out loud in order to understand her. After all she had spent quite some time listening to her partner grumbling about a certain troublemaker at school who seemed to always attempt in provoking her. That had been going on until about two months ago when Liu Ying and JD reconciled their differences and began developing a blossoming friendship. Though it was nowhere as the one she saw between Manny and Gayathri, she thought that she could see the sparks. What was it that the humans say? Chemistry? She grinned to herself.
"A DigiWira partner, alone?"
Labramon nearly jumped in surprise upon hearing the cold voice. She whirled around, and her eyes widened upon seeing Doumon and a Duskmon stepping out from the forests.
"Good," said Doumon coldly. The wizard held out a paw and fired a blast of cold air that flung Labramon towards a nearby rock.
Labramon coughed. Pain shot all over her body due to the collision. Her eyes darted around, panicking slightly as she gathered himself.
"You shouldn't have left your partner," said Doumon. A flick of his paw, and Labramon was trapped inside a semi-transparent sphere. "Now, this looks familiar…"
"Put her down, Doumon!"
"Ying!" Labramon exclaimed, delighted upon seeing her partner and JD there.
"Well, well…" Doumon smirked, seeing the two DigiWira there. "We meet again."
"Unfortunately," Liu Ying hissed. "Put her down."
Doumon shook his head mockingly. "Both of you are defenseless. The boy there hasn't got his partner hatched. The two of you can't Digital Access at all."
"State the obvious to anyone who's interested, papa fox," snapped JD.
"Such big words for a cursed boy," taunted Doumon. "Tell me, how has life been treating you? Knowing that you will be dead in a week, you must be really upset."
"I've moved past upset and straight to pissed-off!"
JD punched the air and a concentrated crimson psychic blast was unleashed from his fist. The beam slammed into the sole Duskmon that was there, but barely fazed it. Snarling, he generated swirls of flames from his free hand before unleashing it towards Duskmon along with another psychic blast. The combined force actually pushed Duskmon away, although it didn't really do anything to hurt him.
"I'd kill you, boy, but Persiamon won't appreciate it." Doumon glanced towards the Duskmon, who was still awaiting his order. "Entertain him, while I carry out my plan towards the girl."
Liu Ying attempted to throw Doumon off with her power, but Doumon was barely fazed. She lifted one boulder telekinetically and set it off towards the fox, but Doumon merely flicked it away with the long sleeve of his robe. She then raised her telekinetic barrier, but a blast of Doumon's Talisman of Night shattered it. Liu Ying was thrown onto the ground.
Doumon chuckled. "Your powers might be of help against Champion Digimon, but against Ultimates you two don't really stand a chance."
"Back the hell off her you son-of-a-bitch!!"
A torrent of flames set Doumon's robes ablaze. He cursed, but an energized fist was planted on his face before he could do anything, followed by a sound kick on the gutter. Snarling, Doumon lashed with the sleeves and knocked the enraged JD away. A flick of the hand and JD was trapped inside a translucent sphere.
"That'll hold you," spat Doumon. A dark aura glowed about him and the flames were quenched away. He then approached Liu Ying, a sinister smile contorted on his face.
Liu Ying flung two boulders towards Doumon, but the fox was unfazed. One boulder was sent away with a slap of his long sleeve, and the other was crushed by his paw. She gasped, and raised a telekinetic barrier before her. Doumon struck his paw towards the barrier and it shattered; Liu Ying had hoped that she could deflect Doumon with the barrier, but Doumon hadn't used a ranged power attack against it. Physical attack against the barrier wouldn't work to her advantage.
Doumon's shadow loomed upon her. JD and Labramon's shouts were heard, but Liu Ying couldn't do anything. Doumon was just too powerful.
"Don't worry, I won't kill you," said Doumon, his sinister smile never leaving his face. He grabbed Liu Ying's scalp and clutched it tight. "Not yet, anyway."
Liu Ying struggled, attempting to break free, but Doumon's hold on her was just too strong. Her surroundings began to dim. The sounds became muffled, and before long she felt herself drifting away. She stopped struggling as everything became black.
Author's Notes:
Happy New Year 2008 everyone. This chapter really is just a set up for the small mini-arc. For the songs, I'd have included the entire songs, but that would violate the rule of the site and I don't want to risk that. So you get snippets of them instead. If you want to know of the full songs, where you can hear them and why I chose them to be included in this chapter, head over to my blog.