Alisha jumped slightly when the doorbell rang, before quickly darting towards the door. Having already properly attired, she swung the door open. She was only expecting one person that morning; the previous day she and Abu had made plans to go for breakfast together at a café, since Abu had the day off. Yet she would have to cancel that, for she had received very disturbing news.
"Jackie just called," she said breathlessly. Salamon and Gatomon peered from the doorway, careful lest there were the neighbors passing by.
"I know," said Abu grimly. "I saw it on my way here."
"Saw?" Alisha asked, dumbfounded.
"The sky." Abu gestured for her to step outside. Alisha instantly realized what Abu was talking about. She could have sworn that just moments ago it was a sunny morning. Now dark clouds hovered, their shadows loomed upon the world below forebodingly.
"What's going on?"
"This isn't ordinary," said Gatomon, frowning. Her tail ring suddenly glimmered with soft pink light.
"Whoa. Gatomon, look at your tail ring!" Salamon exclaimed.
"Your collar too, brother." Gatomon glanced at her ring before gazing up towards their partners. "Dark Digimon's coming. That's the only reason why our holy charms are acting up like this."
"I've never seen our charms acting up like this since that time with the Puaka Generals," agreed Salamon.
Abu nodded, before gazing back to Alisha. "I assume this is why Jackie called you?"
"No. It's Adam….they said he collapsed all of a sudden. Jackie didn't elaborate, but he mentioned Adam straining himself." She stared at her beau pleadingly. "We've got to cancel that breakfast plan…"
"Of course. Don't worry about it, Lisha. If it'll make you feel better, I'll go there and check up on him."
Alisha nodded gratefully. "I'll go with you. Thank you. Let me get my keys and purse."
"Don't forget the Digivices," said Gatomon.
A minute later the two adults were headed to Abu's car, before blue sparks of lightning caught their attention. Even from the apartment, which was a few good miles away from Adam's non-visible school, they could clearly see four monstrosities looming over the school. Alisha gasped softly while Abu released the Saintly Siblings from their Digivices.
"Whoa!" Salamon gasped. His cerulean eyes narrowed, defying the adorableness that he exuded with his Rookie form. "Four demons. And there's something…familiar about them."
"The only time I've ever heard of a GranDracmon, a Belialvamdemon, a Deathmon and a Murmuxmon grouped together is three hundred years ago, but I thought they're just an ancient folklore," said Gatomon grimly, her expression mirroring her twin brother's. She saw the looks exchanged between their human partners, and realized that more explanation was due. "They formed a group called the Four Terrors…but the Four Terrors were beaten by Ophanimon way before SkullSatamon's era of evil…"
"Four Terrors? There are four of them there," pointed out Abu.
Gatomon pondered about it as she rubbed her chin. "It was never said that they are deleted, though. Only beaten…" She gave her twin brother a dark look.
"This is bad," Salamon groaned. "Sis, we better go check the situation out. No doubt the DigiWira will need our help."
"I agree." Gatomon turned to face their partners. "Kak Lisha, Abang Abu," she addressed their partners the same way Adam would address them, merely out of habit and also of respect, "we need you to digivolve us to our highest level. And please stay here where it's safe."
Alisha frowned. "But Adam…"
"We'll see to it that he's alright," assured Salamon. "No doubt that the Wira Digital would be fighting those monsters now. We want to help."
Alisha and Abu exchanged worried looks, before they saw that their Digimon partners were right. Reluctantly they pointed their Digivices towards the siblings, allowing silver, pink and violet lights to shower upon Gatomon and Salamon, energizing them with power enough to propel them to their strongest fused form.
"Gatomon…Salamon….Warp DNA Digivolve to…. GuardiAngemon!!"
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"Why is it so dark all of a sudden?" murmured Debbie, looking up towards the cloudy sky.
Opie had no answer to that, but he could feel the feathers on his body stood up. He knew that something was wrong. As a former member of the Avian Shines, he had a keen sense upon darkness, being a Digimon of light while in his Mega form. He couldn't explain what was happening, but knew in his heart that there was going to be another invasion.
The Wira Digital would be able to handle it, he knew. Yet he also knew that somehow, his help would be needed.
"Debbie, your brother and Penguinmon might need my help," he began gently. He had to remember that his human partner was very young, and thus he had to be careful not to excite her too much.
Debbie however surprised him when she gave him a solemn nod. She fumbled with her pajama pants, before taking out her Digivice which had been clipped there.
"Do you want mushroom soup when you get back?" she inquired earnestly. "I can ask Mummy to make some."
Opie grinned. How lucky was he to be partnered with her? "That would be very nice, Debbie. Thanks."
Debbie nodded and pointed the Digivice towards him. Showers of white and cerulean lights washed upon Opie.
"Muchomon warp-digivolve to….Valkyrimon!!"
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WIRA DIGITAL
Chapter 71 – Out of Control, Part II
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"Explosion Eye!"
The attack was unpredictable. Deathmon had swiftly raised his hands up; the eyes on the hands and on the face all let out streams of orange energy beam that merged, before creating an orange energy bolt the size of a truck. The bolt streaked towards the panicked students before the Wira Digital could do anything.
"Oh no, stop!" Xianamon gasped, inadvertently raised both hands.
Instantly everything went still and quiet. Deathmon's energy sphere had frozen halfway. Everyone except her was unmoving.
Xianamon had called upon her Temporal Time Stasis. "Better make this count," she whispered, gliding towards Deathmon's energy bolt, positioning herself between the energy bolt and the students. She erected an Elegant Barrier to protect the students, and then forcefully waved her arm towards the energy bolt, sending it blasting back towards Deathmon. Her tampering with something that had been frozen broke the freezing effect, but Deathmon had been sent flying upon collision with the power sphere. The demon crashed upon an abandoned school block, reducing it to rubbles due to his sheer size.
Deathmon let out a moan, his whole body shivering before becoming still. Xianamon sighed with relief.
"What just happened?" Murmuxmon cast a curious gaze towards Xianamon. "You, how did you move from one place to another in a blink of the eye?"
Xianamon saw that the Four Terrors had no idea of what had just happened. If she was able to keep her ability as a secret, the Four Terrors would not know what to expect of them. It would give them an edge for this battle, which they must end as soon as possible. She then eyed the students, safe behind the Elegant Barrier.
They won't be safe as long as they are here, she thought. I have to get them out of here.
She flicked her hand and the Elegant Barrier wrapped around the confined students, confining them in a protective rainbow sphere. She saw many others scattered around the school, and pulled them into the sphere telekinetically. While at first her attempt garnered squeals of protest from the students and teachers alike, including Principal Khadijah, they soon saw what she was doing and stopped protesting so much. She proceeded by pulling in the school workers, canteen operators and the guard on duty as well before levitating the sphere, ready to get the sphere to safety.
"You're not going anywhere!" Murmuxmon pointed a hand towards Xianamon. Dark purple flames flared from it.
"Hey! Worry about this instead!" Puspamon spun her staff rapidly, generating a pink flowery windstorm. "Viveka Chudamani – Hailstorm!"
Rosemon, who seemed somewhat agitated, flew over the vertical windstorm before adding her own effort to it. "Aguichant Levres!"
Samudramon joined in by calling forth his Zeus Ex Thunderstrike. The three attacks coalesced together and headed towards Murmuxmon. The avian demon was forced to forget about Xianamon in order to counter the incoming attacks. Yet Murmuxmon needn't worry when a large armored hand intercepted the attack on his behalf.
Belialvamdemon had stepped in, and being armored the attacks didn't harm him at all. "Go after that sorceress," he grunted.
Murmuxmon left without a word, pursuing Xianamon who had already escaped with the ones she was protecting.
The armored vampire shifted his eyes towards the remaining three warriors. "And as for you… Melting Blood!" His shoulder pods snapped open and spewed forth red acidic mist that enveloped the warriors, causing them to scream as the mist corroded against their armors. For Puspamon and Samudramon the effects were not as severe for they were armored, but Rosemon suffered the most.
"The mist's corrosive!" shouted Rosemon painfully. Her leather outfit couldn't protect her from the mists. She spun around, waving the mists away with her glowing cape.
Samudramon charged his power over water. "I'll take care of it. Grand Wave Tsunami!"
Waves of pure water spiraled around Samudramon, soared towards the sky before washing upon them once again as well as on Belialvamdemon. The mist was drowned by the pure water, and Samudramon seized the opportunity to fire a blue energy orb with the rains of water spiraling around it towards Belialvamdemon.
"Child's play!" Belialvamdemon didn't even bother to move as the orb slammed on his abdomen. It did so little to deter him for he was larger, but Samudramon was ready with a second attack.
"Zeus Ex Thunderstrike!"
Having been saved by the waters, Rosemon quickly joined in the fray. "Aguichant Levres!"
And Puspamon wouldn't be left out. "Viveka Chudamani – Sky Cutter!"
Belialvamdemon was pushed back by the combined force of the attacks hailed his way. He snarled; the lasers from Puspamon's diamond staff did little to harm him due to his heavy armors, but his wings had suffered. Rosemon's laser-spewing hearts had added to the insult, while Samudramon's lightning bolts were not to be underestimated. From the corner of his eyes he saw GranDracmon watching the whole ordeal with an amused smirk, showing no inclination of helping him. In the meantime, Deathmon was still unconscious; the Cyclops must have generated too much power in his attempt to attack, which caused him to be the one who got knocked out by that sorceress's trickery. Belialvamdemon couldn't count on him to help out as well.
Not that he actually needed any. "The fun ends here, foolish ones. Now feel the wrath of my Sodom and Gomorrah," he intoned. "Pandemonium Flames!"
The shoulder pods opened, releasing streams of dark flames towards the Wira Digital. The attacks hit Samudramon, Puspamon and Rosemon, sending them crashing against the school canteen. They were however saved by Samudramon's timely intervention seconds before Belialvamdemon released his powerful fire attack; the Depth Bomber had somewhat toned down the severity of the Pandemonium Flames although it had failed to counter the attack wholly. Belialvamdemon was just too powerful for Samudramon alone.
"He's too powerful," groaned Samudramon, freeing himself from the wreckage.
"They're the Four Terrors," said Rosemon fearfully. "The lady Ophanimon had a hard time defeating them."
"Well we're not going to give up that easily," said Puspamon, turning to Samudramon. "Time for a double-team."
"Right." The couple interlocked hands and crisscrossed their weapons. "Everlasting Storm!"
A chilling snowstorm spewed out from the clouds after a series of thunderstorm, rainstorm and windstorm, focusing upon Belialvamdemon alone.
"Ice and snow against my dark fires?" Belialvamdemon growled. "Smart move, but we shall see whether it's a worthwhile attempt or a waste of time. Pandemonium Flames!"
The flames and pushed against the blizzard. For a moment, the flames seemed to be stronger and at other moment the snowstorm managed to freeze a portion of the flames. It was apparent that the two attacks were equal in strength. Finally, an explosion occurred and both the couple and Belialvamdemon were pushed away from each other. Seizing the chance, Rosemon loomed towards the staggering Belialvamdemon and unleashed flurries of her energy hearts; one could see how agitated she was. He didn't bother to protect himself for his armors would do it for him.
"Tifaret!" Rosemon slammed her star-powered jewels upon Belialvamdemon, but the demon's armor was just too strong that the jewels were deflected away.
"Impudent wench! Melting Blood!"
Rosemon screamed. The corrosive mist was too concentrated for her to withstand. She dedigivolved into Lalamon instantly, still screaming in pain.
"And now to finish you," rumbled Belialvamdemon, raising his massive fist.
"Oh no, you don't!" Puspamon sailed towards Lalamon in top speed and gave Belialvamdemon's fist a sound kick. She retrieved Lalamon and swung her staff forward, releasing lasers to impede Belialvamdemon as she retreated back to safety.
Samudramon saw that Puspamon needed some cover for her escape. "Grand Wave Tsunami!"
Belialvamdemon was further slammed by a concentrated amount of pure water led by an azure power sphere. He was pushed back and the mists were drowned by the waters. He grunted; Samudramon was beginning to become a thorn on his side. Samudramon's pure water was nullifying his corrosive mists. And while he managed to take out Rosemon, doing the same would be difficult against these powerful pair of fighters. He watched the aquatic man with careful eye.
"Depth Bomber!"
"Interesting," commented GranDracmon as Belialvamdemon was overwhelmed with pods of water coming from Samudramon. "They actually have the power to resist us. It was impossible last time…"
"Rather than spewing your so-called thoughtful insights, why not help me deal with these pests?!" demanded Belialvamdemon as he countered the water pods with his large arms.
"I will," assured GranDracmon, "when you need it the most. I was told that there is another Wira Digital we should be keeping an eye on. The one with the power of light, the leader of these defenders of good. He has yet to show himself."
Samudramon and Puspamon exchanged one glance. The Four Terrors didn't seem that much perturbed while the Wira Digital had been giving their best shots. So far they had only managed to take out Deathmon, and that was by Xianamon's time manipulation and telekinesis that caused Deathmon to be at the receiving end of his own attack. No doubt Deathmon had aimed to destroy, thus his own attack had been powerful enough to take him down. For that, they were grateful, especially when Rosemon was down for the count and Adam being unconscious.
It would be up to them to stop Belialvamdemon and GranDracmon.
"If you won't help me, fine," snapped Belialvamdemon, his wings flaring with red and black aura. "Blood Rain!"
Energy whips colored deep red lashed out from Belialvamdemon's wings and struck both Puspamon and Samudramon rapidly. Each struck caused a dent on their armor, and they soon found themselves overwhelmed by the powerful energy whips from the vampire demon. Belialvamdemon advanced forward as the two Wira Digital lost their balances and crashed onto the assembly ground.
"See," said GranDracmon. "You don't need my help after all."
Belialvamdemon grunted and ceased using the energy whips. He watched with a smirk as Samudramon and Puspamon both struggled to even stand up. He was victorious.
"They're not the ones the generals ordered to spare," said GranDracmon. "Why don't you do the honors?"
Belialvamdemon thumped his fists together. "With pleasure."
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"Damn," muttered JD, eyeing the battle via the infirmary's window. "Those damned demons are just too strong."
"Adam!" gasped Patamon all of a sudden, drawing JD's attention back to his cousin.
Adam was letting out a faint white aura before his eyes fluttered open. He appeared dazed for a moment, taking in his surrounding before setting his eyes on JD. His expression made JD recoil a little; the face wasn't that of his cousin that he had come to know about and adored. It still had Adam's features, but somehow he thought that they were different. The silent-anger expression on Adam's face was very alien to him, made apparent by how his brows were knitted together and his mouth set thin. He had seen those before, and he didn't like it.
Those were the expression Adam had when the Puaka Generals revealed their deceptions. It was how Adam looked before he and Patamon transformed into Aldiyamon Fury Mode.
Adam didn't address him. He simply cast a look towards Patamon. "Patamon, let's go," he said, his voice solemn and somewhat echoic.
For a moment JD thought that it was Aldiyamon who had just spoken instead of Adam.
"Adam, you can't," he said, drawing the boy's attention. To his surprise, Adam's angered expression was gone. He looked somewhat serene when their eyes met.
"I must go," insisted Adam. "Samudramon and Puspamon need my help."
JD blinked. "How did you…?" Adam had been unconscious, yet he seemed to know about the battle.
"I feel their silent cries calling out to me," said Adam, sounding absolutely sure. "That's why I must go. Patamon, come."
Before JD could stop them, they teleported away in showers of light orbs. He sighed, as a flash of very bright light erupted from the outside. "Be careful, Adam," he said, once again eyeing the battle from the window, with his hand grasping something inside his trousers pocket – his Juara Digivice, with Agumon's DigiEgg inside it.
He really wanted to go out there and join his friends, but all these days since Agumon's reconfiguration, he still couldn't shake off ChaosGallantmon's words from haunting his mind…
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Lucemon smirked. Adam's empathic window had been raised again, though not by his manipulation. The window was now half-opened.
"As a boy, his power has grown to a point where he could wreck a vehicle," said the Hellion General. "It will be interesting to see how he fares in his Wira Digital form."
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Xianamon flew towards the municipal council's public sports field, with the telekinetic sphere containing the school people hovering over her. In her Juara Mode, she was somewhat relieved that her telekinetic power had grown to a much refined level; she was able to fly as well as levitate without apparent difficulty.
"Gehenna Flames!"
Xianamon gasped as a burning aura grazed her back. It was by sheer luck that her whole being was coated with a light amount of telekinetic barrier, another certain perk of her power. It would protect her from ordinary attacks, yet the one that had hit her was anything but. She glanced back, and saw an unsightly being pursuing her.
"There's no escaping!" intoned Murmuxmon. "Not from me!"
"We'll see about that. Maiden Finesse – Refined Grace."
Her bell-attached ribbon sprang from her body towards Murmuxmon and began lashing out at him like serpents upon being threatened. She wondered how long she would be able to keep Murmuxmon at bay, with her attacks all being somewhat close-ranged. The Jade Heart Rhapsody could probably take the demon out, but seeing how Murmuxmon had easily burned her ribbon with his purple flames, she realized that she had to come up with another way to attack him.
She lowered the protected people down towards the open road; what little vehicles which were there had all halted and people ran about in fright.
Xianamon withdrew her torn ribbons back, but to her surprise they glowed and shattered into data particles. The data coalesced around her right hand, before forming a long gold staff that ended with a golden ring at the top, with the two bells affixed on top of it. Smaller rings were attached to the main large ring, and white sashes draped around the point where the ring connected with the staff, tied into a flower-shaped ribbon with two long ends billowing down the staff.
"A data weaver," commented Murmuxmon. "I see you have close relations to the Sakuyamon and Kuzuhamon species, so you must be a powerful sorceress."
Xianamon had no idea what Murmuxmon was talking about. She felt power radiating from her staff, and knowledge flowed into her mind.
"Nevertheless, you are still no match for me! Necro…"
Xianamon wasn't going to allow Murmuxmon to attack. "Ryoukai Mandala!"
The Ryoukai Mandala worked nearly the same way as either the Diamond Matrix or the Diamond World Mandalas; from above and under Murmuxmon a circle of magical rune materialized, trapping Murmuxmon inside a rainbow-colored barrier akin to the Elegant Barrier. Then lightning bolts followed by waves of energy and flurries of sharp jewels showered the trapped demon from above and below.
Murmuxmon screamed in pain, but at the same time Xianamon could see him glowing with evil flames. The demon extended his arms to the sides and began jutting out flames from his hands. The barrier that was containing him began to falter; the lightning and energy waves ceased while the jewels hovered within the barrier, slowly orbiting Murmuxmon as he continued to release more flames.
Finally the barrier shattered and Murmuxmon was free. The demon heaved his breaths slowly, before snarling towards the sorceress.
"That was impressive," he said. What bothering Xianamon was the fact that Murmuxmon seemed to have suffered little damages; his armors dent and a small portion of his clothes ripped. Otherwise the demon appeared at the pink of health. "But I've been holding out long enough. You're not the one the generals requested to spare, and so I shall destroy you now! Necro…"
"Not so fast!"
Xianamon saw two points of light speeding towards them. She saw Opie first; the Valkyrimon slashed his sword upon Murmuxmon's left shoulder before joining her side. "I saw you, and thought you might need help," said the former Avian Shine. "And I'm not alone."
"Heaven's Ripper!"
Murmuxmon turned back, only to be blinded by white and gold lights coming from GuardiAngemon. Rains of metallic feather projectiles ensued, ripping him apart before GuardiAngemon loomed with his giant blades ready to strike. Snarling, Murmuxmon slashed his fiery claws forward and actually managed to block the giant blades.
GuardiAngemon nevertheless pushed forward. "So you're indeed one of the Four Terrors!" said the angel.
"So you've heard of me," said Murmuxmon calmly, before opening his mouth. "Gehenna Flames!!"
GuardiAngemon was forced to pull his blades back as the flames threatened to burn him. He was armored with Chrome Digizoid, but he didn't know of Murmuxmon's true power and wouldn't risk being harmed this early in battle. Murmuxmon was free from his blades, but GuardiAngemon prepared to launch another attack upon realizing that his holy aura repelled the flames somewhat, what little amount of flames that grazed his armor did nothing to actually harm him.
Murmuxmon assessed his situation, turning his glance from GuardiAngemon to Valkyrimon and finally to Xianamon. "Interesting. All of you have holy aspects imbued within you, but in the angel it's even more concentrated." He smirked towards GuardiAngemon. "So you will be the first to die! Necro…"
"Lightning Arrow!"
Murmuxmon's attack was halted when an arrow of electricity slammed on his hands. He inclined his head towards Valkyrimon, who was holding out his crossbow. "A fellow avian warrior," he muttered. "I have no wish to harm you, but if you're going to betray your own kind for these…"
"Save it," said Valkyrimon. "Won't be the first time I've been called a traitor anyway. Lightning Arrow!"
"Fine. Then you will die as well. Necro…"
"Heaven's Ripper!"
Murmuxmon calmly moved away from GuardiAngemon's incoming attack, but Xianamon was fast approaching. She swung her free hand gently and her whole being glowed with gold.
"Kitsune Mahou!"
A nine-tailed spirit fox projected out from her body and streaked towards Murmuxmon. The kitsune streaked through Murmuxmon, unstoppable by his flames, and caused Murmuxmon to let out a cry of pain. The spirit fox dissipated out of sight, but Murmuxmon was seen clutching his chest as an explosion of light followed.
"Let's finish him now!" Valkyrimon said spiritedly. "Lightning…"
"Heaven's…"
Murmuxmon grunted. "Maybe some other time, fools."
Murmuxmon snapped his finger and engulfed himself with purple flames the shape of a screeching vulture. The vulture wrapped around him before vanishing before any of them could react. The people cheered for their victory, while the good warriors were left astounded of Murmuxmon's sudden retreat.
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Puspamon and Samudramon struggled to get up as Belialvamdemon loomed upon them. Their armors had suffered from Belialvamdemon's vicious lashings, and it was clear to them that the vampire demon had no intention to hold back anymore. He had proven it once, he would do so again.
"It's been a pleasure," rumbled the vampire, "but the fun ends here. Blood Rain!"
The blood energy whips coiled out from Belialvamdemon's wings and lashed towards the fallen Wira Digital, but showers of light orbs coated the energy whips before they exploded into data particles. Belialvamdemon recoiled as a majestic white firebird flared before him. Within the firebird was an angelic knight, sword in his hand.
"Aldiyamon," he snarled softly. He's here. I have to be careful.
Aldiyamon looked at his fallen comrades and his mouth knitted thin. He swung the Heavenstar Gladius towards Belialvamdemon, releasing a bladed energy wave. "Heavenstar Slasher!"
Belialvamdemon prepared to intercept the attack, but to his surprise the energy blade tore through the armors coating his hands. He hissed in pain, but Aldiyamon showed no sign of stopping his assault. With one discreet nod towards his fallen comrades, Aldiyamon had teleported Samudramon and Puspamon away, clearing a path between him and Belialvamdemon. A radiant white bow materialized within his left hand and he fixed the silver sword upon the bow's string.
"Heavenstar Hunter!"
"Pandemonium Flames!"
The sword however tore through the flames and struck his left shoulder cannon. An unearthly shriek ensued before it combusted into data particles and Aldiyamon's sword reappeared in its master's hand. Belialvamdemon let out a surprised gasp as Aldiyamon was about to repeat his attack.
"Lucemon wasn't kidding when he said we have to watch out for you," grunted Belialvamdemon.
Aldiyamon faltered slightly. The mention of Lucemon's name seemed to have distracted him for a moment. A look of recognition suddenly crossed his face, and Belialvamdemon could practically feel the anger burning from him. He heard a light snarl coming from the angel, before the bow of light simmered to nothingness. The sword however remained and Aldiyamon was pointing it towards him.
"Transcendent Purification!"
If Belialvamdemon had thought that Aldiyamon's previous attacks as powerful, he wasn't prepared for an attack of this magnitude. The stream of light energy slammed upon his extended palm, and he hissed upon its pure radiance that threatened to corrode his palm. For a moment he cursed the fact that the Four Terrors were beings of darkness, with light being their bane. Samudramon, Puspamon and Rosemon all seemed to possess a certain amount of holy aspects in their attacks, but Aldiyamon…he was light incarnate.
Despite that, Aldiyamon shouldn't be this strong. His power was somehow equal to Ophanimon's when she was imbued with the power from the Lost Mountain.
The light energy then wrapped around him like a cyclone as Aldiyamon's sword disappeared; the angel was now using his hands to unleash his never-faltering attack. Belialvamdemon gritted his teeth; he would not let his enemy have the satisfaction of hearing him cry out in pain. Nevertheless, the light cyclone was threatening to rip his armor apart, forcing him to cry out, "GranDracmon! Help me!"
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GranDracmon watched the ordeal between Aldiyamon and Belialvamdemon with mild interest before deciding to step in.
"Aldiyamon, cease your attack," he said calmly.
Aldiyamon frowned, but didn't follow GranDracmon's command outright. There was something fascinating about the way GranDracmon spoke to him, like everything would be alright if he did. He thought that it was ridiculous for him to think so, for GranDracmon was the enemy. Nothing the demonic centaur said would be good for him. But why was he having a hard time doubting GranDracmon?
"You don't want to do this," said GranDracmon. "Why don't you stop attacking the poor soul Belialvamdemon there and we talk?"
The longer GranDracmon talked the more Aldiyamon thought it as a good idea. He lowered his hands.
Belialvamdemon grunted. "You're much welcome," said GranDracmon. "Now, Aldiyamon, how do you feel about destroying these unsightly buildings?"
Aldiyamon considered it. Why not? "All…Alright," he said, and began charging up his attack.
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
Aldiyamon blinked. JD's voice invaded his mind so profoundly that he began to feel his mind clearing. It was as if it was foggy at first, and JD's voice had willed the fogs away. Confused, he looked down at JD, who had emerged from the infirmary, staring at him with his fist pumped up.
"You can't be serious! You said alright when he told you to destroy the school? What the HELL is wrong with you?!"
The angelic knight gasped softly. Did JD just say what he thought he had heard? Why did he say alright? It had seemed like a good idea when GranDracmon suggested it to him. But when JD had yelled at him about it, Aldiyamon realized that it wasn't a good idea at all. It was a notoriously horrific idea. What had GranDracmon done to him?
He's messing with my head, realized Aldiyamon, and instantly his anger towards the demonic centaur flared once again.
"Don't listen to him, Aldiyamon," said GranDracmon, still calm. Aldiyamon felt a shiver running down his spine. Whatever GranDracmon was doing, his voice seemed to have an effect on Aldiyamon.
"Stay out of my head!" he hissed, glaring towards GranDracmon with fury. He'd had enough of Lucemon constantly invading his mind telepathically during their training, and now this demon was also messing with his head? Lucemon might have a reason for Aldiyamon not to destroy him, for now, but this centaur certainly had not.
"Transcendent Purification!"
A burst of furious light wave slammed upon GranDracmon. That surprised the demonic centaur, but Aldiyamon wasn't going to stop with just that. Underneath his silver manteau, his brows knitted so tightly that he could have formed a permanent fissure in between his brows. These demons were so going to get it!
He had known that anger was the trigger to his new combustion power, and he was going to put it to use now.
His hands shook as a more forceful Transcendent Purification blasted out towards GranDracmon. The demon, while intercepting his attack so readily seconds ago, let out a soft gasp as the attack began pushing him backward. Aldiyamon could see the demon actually looked somewhat troubled, merely by the way the confident smirk vanished from the demon's face. He snarled, and summoned more power.
However he hadn't counted on Belialvamdemon to join GranDracmon. The two demons attacked him simultaneously.
"Blood Rain!"
"Eye of Gorgon!"
Aldiyamon was blasted towards one of the school's four buildings, and his powers backfired violently. His own power and the attacks from GranDracmon and Belialvamdemon caused the A-block building he had crashed onto and B-block adjacent to it to be ripped apart. The demons laughed, and the last thing Aldiyamon saw was them retreating, disappearing into thin air.
He could sense soft cry coming from afar. Dina! JD's shocked howl ensued, followed by the gasps from Samudramon and Puspamon.
Shutting his eyes, he willed the anger to go away and prayed that he would be able to do this right. He forced himself to take a few deep calming breaths, and summoned his teleportation power. Anger triggered his combustion power, without anger he should be able to call upon his power's basic ability.
In showers of light orbs, he vanished as the A-block crumbled, followed by JD seconds before the B-block would fall upon him. From the intact adjacent C-block, Dina who had been watching also disappeared, as well as Samudramon and Puspamon who had been safely teleported elsewhere previously.
Everything seemed bigger to him as they all rematerialized at the school field. He realized that he was back being Adam, with Patamon plopped onto the ground. Tears stung his eye as they watched as the school's two most prominent blocks reduced to piles of unsalvageable rubbles. The only blocks that remained standing was the C-block and the school's greenhouse. The other three were destroyed.
xxx
xxx
The destruction of the school had caused uproar that day. If previously, there were some who were still hesitant to leave Subang Jaya, by nightfall the town was almost transformed into a ghost town. Never had the town experienced such deathly silence. Somehow, people had made the connection between the attack at the school and towards the two reporters, and had realized that it would be best to evacuate to the nearby towns which had relatively enjoyed safety from Digimon attacks.
The official evacuation order had come out that night. It was impossible for everyone to leave the town, for there were some who had no place to go, but everyone had been alerted to safety measures should there be another attack. Within the town itself, the three shopping complexes, the hospital, other schools and mosques were used as places for people to gather whenever there was an attack, and these locations were made public so that the Wira Digital would know of it. The government had no known connections with the mysterious team of superheroes, and had hoped that by making this information public the Wira Digital would be able to defend these locations from harm. The town borders were guarded by the government soldiers and policemen to aid the evacuation process.
That night, Adam sat alone by the swings within his apartment complex. He and his sister had opted to remain in the town, for both of them had Digimon partners that would be able to protect them from harm. Adam nevertheless wasn't sure of how able he was to protect his sister – his powers had become so destructive this day alone. Abu and Jackie had informed him earlier that day that Rita and Chia would be fine, but they would remain at the hospital for the time being for observation. Jackie had made them forgot about the incident, instead making them belief that they had been involved with an accident. Abu had questioned the ethic of altering their memories, but eventually agreed to it in order to protect Adam.
Adam hated it. He had done something horrible and now he had people covering up for his mistakes. Not only he had nearly killed the two reporters, he had also inadvertently caused the destruction of the school. Many believed that the evil Digimon were responsible for both. If only they knew.
"Adam?"
He nearly jumped in surprise. JD stood across the badminton court, gazing at him. Adam noted, as his cousin brother crossed the court, that he was dressed somewhat nicely, as if ready to go out somewhere in his black buttoned down shirt and blue jeans. He stood up with trepidation; was JD here to question him about all that had happened today?
JD gave him a small smile. "Relax. I'm not here to interrogate you for what happened today and your weird behaviors these past few days."
"Huh?" Adam asked, dumbfounded.
"Let's sit down, Adam." JD gestured towards the bench, where they had made their blood oath just three days ago.
"Are you going out somewhere?" Adam sat down beside JD, taking in his appearance once again.
"That's what I'm here about," said JD, clearly unenthusiastic. "My folks decided to evacuate. We'll be staying somewhere near the international airport, which according to Dad, is pretty far from here."
Adam nodded weakly, his heart heavy. "And you're going along."
JD gazed at him for a moment, as if considering his words. "For three days, yeah," he said finally. "I'm coming back here on Friday. I'm hoping to be able to stay with you and Kak Lisha."
Adam looked up, confused and surprised at the same time.
JD sighed. "I don't want my folks to know about the curse. So I thought…" He gazed up at the moon, which had the shape of a bowl. It would be full moon in less than a week. "It's better if they think that I…got killed during a battle instead of the curse. I'm gonna spend these last few days with them, then the final two days with you and the others. I don't want them to see me die."
"Josh…"
"And Adam," said JD, raising his hand to silence him. "I don't know what you've been up to, but is it about me? About the curse?"
Adam nodded. He didn't want to lie to JD if he didn't have to.
"Found anything?"
Thinking about it for a while, he shook his head. "But I won't give up, Josh. I won't."
JD smiled. "I know. I appreciate it, Adam, but don't get too worked up about this ok?"
"How can you ask me not to?" Adam asked, his voice broken. "Do you expect me to just accept the fact that you're going to die because of a stupid curse? Do you? I don't know about you, but even if you have given up, I haven't. I won't." Adam stopped, realizing that he had rambled on too much and his eyes stung with tears again. Quickly he took in a deep breath, schooling his mood to become calm again. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally combust something.
JD's smile didn't falter much. "You taught me one thing," he said. "You said that if it's meant to happen, it will happen, right? Remember? When you told me about your brother and parents?"
"It's…I…" Adam was at loss. He did tell JD those. "But I won't just wait around until it happens, either. Not when there might be a way to get around it. I just have to find it."
The way JD smiled at him seemed to tell him not to get his hopes too high up. It pained Adam when JD seemed to have accepted the curse as his undoing. Well, he would do something about that. He was training for it now. He had lost one brother before; he wasn't about to lose another for a curse. It wouldn't be fair for everyone.
"Adam…as far as I know about your new power, its source is your feelings…and the feelings of others that you're feeling," said JD.
Adam stared at his cousin. JD spoke about it as if he knew about it.
"Do you know what happened yesterday? During the battle with Barbamon?"
"No…"
"Something…interesting happened. Your combustion power…somehow I managed to do it yesterday. I couldn't do it again now, but at that time, I was trapped inside a barrier and Liu Ying and Labramon were in danger. Barbamon was going to kill them, so I had to escape. But when I punched the barrier, my fist was stuck and the barrier lashed back at me by jolting me with electricity…"
Adam gasped. "That…that was awful!"
"It was." JD nodded, now placing his hand on Adam's shoulder. "I didn't know what to do. I thought the barrier was going to kill me for sure…so I called out for you. In my mind."
"Really?" Adam had actually heard JD while he was training with Lucemon. So JD had been in trouble then.
"Yeah…and all of a sudden my stuck fist let out these light orbs, those that only you could do. The orbs coated the whole barrier, before causing it to explode into data, like deleted Digimon. It was wicked. I knew that it wasn't my power which had done that, so it must have been yours. You have such a cool power now."
"Cool? I can't control it," whispered Adam. "I don't know whether I'd teleport or combust stuffs now."
"Is that why you were MIA yesterday? And for last week..."
Adam recognized the opportunity to lie. JD had provided the opening; Adam would have to seize it. "Yes…that was it. You saw what happened today. I shouldn't have come to school at all."
"If you didn't, everyone would get trashed by those Four Terrors. Or worse, killed," pointed out JD, "because let's face it, those demons were winning before Aldiyamon stepped in."
"But the school…"
"They would have leveled it down anyway. What happened today was not your fault."
"How about Rita and her assistant? It was me who caused the van's explosion. My powers spiraled out of control…"
"When they threatened you," JD cut in. "They had it coming. They went too far, they dug too deep. You had to shut them up, and you went ballistic. Hell, I went ballistic when they were around." JD smirked. "You think maybe I rubbed you off the wrong way? Only I didn't go around exploding stuff, I used my fist to do it." He jerked up his eyebrows in a provoking manner.
Adam shoved JD lightly. "Not funny."
"Maybe, but you're smiling a bit. That's a good sign."
"We shouldn't be joking about this," Adam insisted.
"Heh…ok, ok. Sorry. But at least they're alright right? No harm done."
"Except that I had literally obliterated their van…"
"There's that. Never mind. Let's drop it."
Silence. JD then cleared his throat. "You know, I was thinking. About yesterday. When I thought of you that time, somehow I managed to channel your power." JD gazed at him, as if searching for the answer inside Adam's eyes. It made him somewhat uncomfortable but Adam didn't look away. "And today, you woke up because you said you heard Samudramon and Puspamon's pleas for help."
Adam inclined his head slightly. JD had brought up two valid points, but he hadn't asked anything yet.
"Those are your empathy's doing?"
Adam considered it. "I think so. It's also the reason why my teleportation becomes destructive. Different emotions caused different things to happen, but most of the time I'd end up exploding stuffs." Adam closed his eyes briefly, before opening them again. "I heard you calling out to me yesterday, but I couldn't come though I really wanted to. I really wished at the time that I would be able to help you. You sounded like you really needed my help, from your voice I could tell. But I didn't know what happened until you told me about it just now."
JD merely nodded. "You left so quickly today, you missed what Lalamon's told us about the Four Terrors. Watch out for that GranDracmon guy. Lalamon said that he has this freaky voice that could spellbind any angel Digimon to do his bidding. And since you're such a little angel I thought I warned you first hand." He gave Adam a small teasing smile. "I guess that's why you thought that destroying the school was a good idea when GranDracmon suggested it, huh?"
Adam instantly felt ill. JD laughed and patted his shoulder. "Hey, no worries. Between you and me, I sometimes felt like doing so as well."
"You pulled me out from GranDracmon's…spell, or whatever," Adam noted.
JD shrugged. "I happened to be there."
Adam thought that there was something more to it. JD was able to channel his power, and he had discovered that he was able to feel what JD was feeling. Both would happen when the need was great. He had felt the same need from Samudramon and Puspamon, but not to the extent of actually being able to lend his power to them. When it was JD, it was as if he had become an extension to Adam himself. It was somewhat puzzling, but Adam supposed it was because he was closer to his cousin brother than the others. Was it because they were a family? Satriamon even was able to wield the Heavenstar Gladius; the sword would accommodate Satriamon the same way it did Aldiyamon.
"I should probably get going," said JD, glancing at his watch as he stood up. "Mom and Bibik probably are done with the packing. I'll give you a call when I reach wherever we're going, ok?"
Adam nodded, pulling his lips in to suppress his dread for what was going to happen to his cousin if he couldn't come up with a way to vanquish the curse.
JD clapped his shoulders. "Bye, Adam." He smirked, and patted his younger cousin's cheek in a teasing manner. "Don't look so sad. If it is my time to go, then I'd be gone no matter how, right? The curse won't really be the reason why I'd be gone, you know that, right?"
Adam nodded again, biting his lip. Silently he promised to perfect his powers so that he could vanquish the curse. He wouldn't let the curse becoming his cousin's undoing.
"I'll call you when I reach there." JD then walked away.
"See you again," said Adam, feeling the need to say that out loud towards JD's retreating back.
JD paused, and looked back. "Yeah, see you. Friday. Take care."
Author's Notes:
The Four Terrors' prowess has been demonstrated, as well as Adam's empathy power. Given the dark setting I have placed towards the last scene of this chapter, a history lesson concerning the Four Terrors would be included in later chapters. Things will speed up a bit for the next chapter, which will pick up sometime before JD's return.