Adam and Manny held their breaths. JD closed his eyes, his body relaxing as the light orbs entered his chest where the tattoo was imprinted.
Suddenly JD grunted. He clutched his chest, his face contorted in pain and his breaths became ragged. The grunt turned into a howl as he dropped on his knees before falling on his face. Within seconds he rolled over, screaming and trashing about as an astral black cat projected out from the tattoo. It let out a fierce feline growl; its crimson eyes gleamed with menace as it repelled the light orbs. Then it vanished, but JD continued trashing about.
"AAAAGGGHHHH!!"
Adam was horrified. "Josh!" He knelt beside his cousin, but was knocked away. He lifted himself back up. "Josh…"
"JD…" Manny stood there, transfixed, not knowing what to do.
JD's scream echoed over the quiet night for a while, before it died down. He became still, lying on his back, and his hand fell limp on his side.
"Josh?" Adam crawled towards JD. No response. JD's eyes were closed; he was unconscious. "Oh, no…"
Adam placed his shaking hand over JD's chest. He gasped. "No…"
Manny knelt on JD's other side as Adam clasped his mouth. The sound that came from Adam was incoherent, and under the moonlight Manny saw that Adam was close to hyperventilating. He placed his palm on JD's heart, and his eyes widened in fear. He reached for JD's wrists with both hands, waited, a frown forming on his face. Then he placed two shaking fingers on JD's neck, exerted a small pressure on it… and sighed in relief. "Adam, there's a pulse. It's weak…but it's there. JD's alive."
"It should have worked," whispered Adam, repeating what Manny had done. "It should have. It worked on Lucemon before…"
Manny picked up JD's shirt and blanketed the latter's bare body. Footsteps were heard approaching. Obviously they had heard JD's screams and were coming to see what was wrong. Manny grasped Adam's wrist, pulling it slightly so that Adam looked at him. The younger boy was too distraught to notice the footsteps.
"Adam, teleport us to the ward now. Quickly. Before someone sees us."
When the people who'd heard screaming showed up by the garden, all they saw was hints of light dusts hovering in the air.
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Lucemon was in the astral plane again. His telepathic web had picked up a disturbance in Adam's emotions. For the past few days, the Master had instructed him to keep a close watch on Adam whenever he was not with them, and to make things easier Lucemon simply cast his psychic web with Adam as the target. Adam hadn't trained with them since the previous day, when the Master deemed that he had enough training upon his success to vanquish Lucemon's tattoo.
In truth, however, Adam never managed to control his power. The boy never could summon an ordinary tattoo away from the surface it was imprinted on, let alone a cursed tattoo. The tattoo he was able to remove from Lucemon the other day was a faux one – a painted one, using removable material. Water could have removed it.
Poor, poor Adam, he thought sardonically.
It was all because of him Adam was able to seemingly control his power. Lucemon had discovered a new aspect of his psychic power and that was to influence another person to do his bidding. He had gotten the inspiration from GranDracmon's voice charm, but since he never attempted it his mastery over it was close to nil. Nonetheless, he'd worked on it and was able to tap into Adam's mind since his was the mind Lucemon was exposed to the most. Able to maintain a certain degree of control over Adam's powers, from there Lucemon was able to tame them somewhat. Adam had obviously benefited from his interference, by finally able to attempt teleportation and combustion without having to fear to mix the powers up. And Lucemon also benefited from it, by being able to read Adam's thoughts without having to actually be near him to do so.
SkullSatamon had warned him to be discreet about it. Adam would not appreciate knowing that he had been lied upon. However, they were also banking on Adam's anger for his power to evolve, but it must not be achieved prematurely. There was no need to rush. The anger must be developed; SkullSatamon wanted Adam to feel the rage he had felt towards the Puaka Generals upon their cruel deception. The concept itself had been the same: Mephistomon had taken the guise of Adam's dead brother, thus instilling hope in Adam that his brother, somehow, was alive, before crushing that hope into pieces. Now they were playing the same game: JD was like a brother to Adam, a replacement to the one he had lost, and now he was faced with the prospect of losing a brother again. The offer to train his power had been assumed to be at JD's best interest, and the effect of that deception was what SkullSatamon hoped to achieve from Adam.
The empathic window came into view. He sensed strong currents coming from the opening. Facing the window, he marveled at how much the window had opened.
It was now three-quarter opened, and to his surprise he picked up various sounds coming from the opened window. It took him a while to orient himself to the sounds, before realizing that those were in fact voices. People talking. The echoic voice belonged to Adam, or more specifically his thoughts. Lucemon could practically hear Adam apologizing nonstop to his fallen cousin – it was chanted like a mantra. It amused him.
More voices came up. Lucemon knew Adam was feeling all these. He was picking up the emotions from the people around him.
Lucemon listened to the voices. Perhaps he could pick up something from this.
At the same time, he also had to use his power to control Adam's, lest the powers consume Adam wholly.
xxx
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WIRA DIGITAL
Chapter 73 – Led Down the Primrose Path
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"What happened to Josh?" Jade asked, as soon as he and Jas appeared in the ward. They stopped short, upon seeing their brother unconscious on the bed. On his chest were six leads and the electrocardiograph was beginning to print out something. Abu took the electrocardiogram and read it, a frown forming on his face.
"This isn't good," muttered the doctor, looking at Jade and Jas.
"What's not good?" Jas asked. "What happened to Josh?"
"And what is that?" Jade pointed to JD's tattooed chest. "Since when did he get a tattoo?"
The blond-haired siblings saw the grim faces on everybody inside the room. Adam, who was sitting by the bed, was puffy-eyed and had his legs pulled up on the chair. Their brother's other friends all stood behind the chair, their expressions mirroring each other's. Alisha sat by Adam on the armrest, rubbing Adam's back in an attempt to comfort him, she herself looking direly worried. Jackie leaned against the wall, a hard look on his face.
"Josh doesn't want you to know, but it's time to tell you about it," Abu said finally, as nobody else volunteered to answer the siblings. He explained what happened a month before and JD's wish of not having this told to anybody and how the others came to know about it. He showed the electrocardiogram to Jade. "I took an ECG reading on Josh just last week and everything was normal. No signs of heart pathologies at all. I even confirmed it with a chest x-ray and an ultrasound. But now…it is as if his heart's failing."
"No," gasped Jas, "it can't be true! He was perfectly fine a few minutes ago!"
"The curse takes effect as the full moon blooms."
The voice surprised everyone. It was weak and pained, and it came from JD.
"Josh!"
"JD!"
JD blinked, taking in everybody's faces that loomed upon him. He managed a weak grin as Abu removed the ECG electrodes from his chest and Alisha used a tissue to wipe off the lubricant used for attaching the electrodes on JD's chest. "Hey…everyone," he managed, his hand trailing on the tattoo.
"I'm so sorry," whispered Adam. His voice drew JD's attention to him. "Josh, I'm so sorry…"
"Adam, stop," JD sighed. He looked straight into his cousin's damp eyes, not liking what he was seeing within them. Adam always had dark eyes, but he didn't remember them being this dark. "Now you know that they can't be trusted." Adam nodded once, looking down. "But you tried," said JD, "and I don't blame you on it. Neither should you. Remember I said that before you tried 'porting the tattoo away?"
The DigiWira girls looked amongst each other, realizing what had happened. Manny, who had been there when it happened, fixed his eyes on JD without saying a word.
"Josh, why didn't you tell us?" Jas asked, wiping her eyes. She sat at the edge of the bed, with Jade standing by the bed.
"You've been carrying this for a month and you didn't even say a word to us?" Jade looked at his brother, his face harboring the fear and pain he was feeling for his brother's impending doom. "Josh, I know we're not close, but you shouldn't…" He stopped, because his voice had turned into a choke. "You shouldn't…" He tried again, but failed once more. Thus, he looked away, shivering as he tried to maintain control of his feelings.
"I'm sorry," JD quickly cut in. "I'm sorry, Jade, Jas."
"Mom, Dad and Bibik don't know about this too?" Jas asked. She was freer with displaying her emotions, thus severely ruined her mascara with her purplish-black tears. She gazed at her younger brother, and clasped his hand with both of hers.
"No. I…" JD inhaled, and took his time to exhale it out. The pain was gone, but lying down without a shirt he could see the tattoo as clear as day. He grimaced. "I don't want any of you guys to worry. I thought, its better if you…if you think I was gone in a battle instead because of a curse."
"Wedeserved to know," Jade choked. The eldest sibling of three had returned looking at JD, and everyone saw him blinking back tears. "Josh, we're your family."
"I know. I'm sorry." JD bit his lip. "I won't stop you if you want to tell them now."
Jade and Jas looked at each other. With shaking hand Jade took out his cell phone from his trousers pocket and flipped it open, reaching for the quick dial function. He took one look at JD, who looked miserable, and flipped the phone close. But even so, he didn't keep the phone back inside his pocket but handed it to his sister.
"You do it."
"What do you want me to say?" Jas demanded, crying. "How do you expect me to do it? I can't do it."
"Neither can I," said Jade. A tear streaked down his cheek after he blinked. He looked around helplessly.
"I'll make the call," offered Abu, having enough practice of breaking bad news after being a doctor for four years. He took Jade's phone and stepped out of the ward.
"Surely there's a way to remove the tattoo?" Jas asked. "Jade, you're a future doctor. Surely you know how?"
JD felt bad for causing such grief to his siblings. He had seen enough people crying for his impending death. This wasn't what he wanted. He'd feel better if the curse would take his life when it was first inflicted, rather than making him wait for one month, forcing him to see the people he loved grieving even before his time was due.
"No, there isn't…" he began to say.
"Laser can remove tattoos," interrupted Jade at that exact moment.
"No," said JD, much more resoundingly. "This isn't a normal tattoo, guys. Stop thinking about this in a logical manner; you can't grasp the concept. You won't be able to. This is black magic tattoo. And…" He trailed his eyes to his friends, a hidden message relayed in it, before looking back at his siblings. "There's no cure. We've looked. Adam…" He glanced at Adam, a soft smile played on his face as Adam choked a sob. He reached up and patted Adam's arm. "He got tricked by one messed up villain, tried to 'port it away with his powers earlier…it didn't work."
"I made it worse," said Adam, despair evident in his voice. "I'm so-"
"Adam." JD gazed at him. Adam bit his lip. "It wasn't your fault. You tried. I appreciate that. Besides…" His hand went lower so that it would grasp Adam's. "It would've affected me anyhow tomorrow. No difference. It's only a matter of time."
"What about Salamon and Gatomon?" asked Jas, still unwilling to accept it. "They have healing powers, don't they?"
"They tried," said Alisha, "even as GuardiAngemon, they couldn't do it."
"We can't just sit here and accept it," said Jade.
"I've accepted it," said JD. He looked around the ward, on each person's face. "So should you guys. Please…everyone, don't cry anymore."
Adam stood up suddenly, frowning.
"The deal's off, then," said Adam, his voice hard. His brows knitted together, and everyone let out a soft gasp. For a moment they saw Adam's face darkening, figuratively speaking. Adam's gray eyes grew shadowy, almost pitch black, and traces of veins became evident on his pale face. Alisha clasped her hands over her mouth and the other DigiWira backed away in shock. His mouth quirked slightly and he seemed to be concentrating onto something.
An explosion of white light took place at a distance, but everyone saw it happened through the window.
Jackie started. "Digimon!" The digital man could sense a Digimon's signal as easily as any other Digimon.
"They're Labramon, Floramon and Penguinmon," said Adam, his voice still hard. "I called them back."
"No." Salamon and Gatomon looked at each other. Their holy charms were glimmering. "It's not them. Something's…different."
"No," said Adam, eerily calm. "I called them back. It's them."
"Your charms," said Alisha, forcing to shift her gaze from her brother to the Saintly Siblings. She pointed towards their holy charms. "Didn't they do that whenever the Four Terrors are here?"
"Yes, but it's not the Four Terrors this time," said Gatomon.
Sounds of buildings crumbling were heard as showers of lights illuminated the dark night. Explosions were heard this time around, followed by ripples of smoke that soared towards the sky.
"Whoever they are, they're not friendly," Jackie cautioned.
"Without our partners, we can't fight," realized Liu Ying.
"Lalamon can," said Dina, nodding towards her partner.
"I'm ready," affirmed the vegetation Digimon.
"I'll get Opie," said Manny, already heading towards the door as it swung open and Abu entered.
"GuardiAngemon's definitely needed for this one," said Alisha, nodding to her fiancé.
Adam grunted. "It's them. I'm sure of it. But if it's a threat, then Aldiyamon-" He was stopped short when his wrist was grasped. Hard. He looked down and saw that JD had reached out to clasp it. Clearly JD was still in considerable pain, his contorted face bore evident to that fact. Yet he still reached out to stop Adam from walking away. Within seconds, everyone saw the darkness on Adam's face evaporating – his face was no longer veiny and his eyes returned to their original hue. The differences were remarkable, once everyone thought of it. But Adam seemed to not think that he was any different.
"No, Adam," said JD, with much difficulty. "I can't keep an eye on you if you go out there."
Adam seemed surprised, and he looked his usual self once again. "But, Josh…"
"No. Stay here with me." JD managed to glare at him. Even with his condition he was still able to make Adam squirm. "GranDracmon might be out there and we both know his voice charm affects you. GranDracmon thinks I can break his charm and it's somewhat proven. So stay here, Adam. Without me out there you can't break it. Aldiyamon will end up attacking the others, and without the other Wira Digital we can't risk that. So stay."
Adam reluctantly nodded. He looked at Patamon. "We'll go only when we're needed."
"GuardiAngemon is vulnerable against GranDracmon's voice charm too," pointed out Liu Ying.
"If it ever comes to that, I'll step in," said Lalamon, drawing everyone's attention. She clarified, "As Rosemon, my whip is able to charm my opponent into falling in love with me."
"Excuse me?" Dina asked, surprised. All other females in the room blinked.
"But it won't lift the voice charm's power," continued Lalamon. "GranDracmon's much too powerful; his spell will be stronger than mine are. The only advantage I have is the fact that GuardiAngemon is a DNA-digivolved Digimon. He is…unstable as compared to Valkyrimon and myself. Too many enchantments will disrupt his digital makeup, and he will definitely devolve. Once devolved to their rookie forms, GranDracmon's spell would definitely be lifted as it works on angelic Digimon only." Lalamon gazed at Adam. "A Wira Digital's form makeup is far more stable than a DNA-digivolved one. I'm afraid you will still retain your Mega form despite being under my love charm."
Adam sighed. Then Liu Ying took out her D-Terminal and began typing something on it.
"What are you doing?" asked Gayathri.
Liu Ying shook her head while pressing the buttons on the device fervently. "This is getting out of hand. I have to take up his offer now."
Everyone frowned. "Whose offer?" Gayathri asked.
"Koushirou Izumi," replied Liu Ying, "on behalf of the Japanese Digidestined team."
"In that case," said Gayathri, whipping out her cell phone. "I'm calling Willis. He's at Sabah. He said to call him if we need any help."
"Right now," said Liu Ying grimly, "we need all the help we can get."
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Lilithmon smirked as Lucemon entered her new dark fortress, once the proud landmark of the DigiWira's country.
"I like what you've done to this tower," complimented Lucemon, looking around the gothic interior admiringly. "It feels almost like the Onyx Pyramid. You even have crafted a throne of your own." He gestured towards an elaborate chair that stood in the middle of the chamber that was revolving in a circular motion, overlooking the whole stormy city of Kuala Lumpur.
"What brings you here?" asked Lilithmon. "I know you don't simply make social calls. Something's up."
Lucemon nodded. "I've picked up Adam's thoughts. His empathic window is raised again. I'm not sure what had happened, but I suspect that he's discovered that he's been tricked."
"So? It's what the Master wants now, is it? To get the boy riled enough so that his power increases?" Lilithmon smirked again as she sashayed towards the throne. "He'll get angry enough now, because he's just called back the three DigiWira partners…only that they're no longer the partners those brats know. The abhorrence spell works marvelously, although without something to anchor on the spell I ended up DNA-digivolving them with some Duskmon to strengthen the darkness the spell gave them. These Duskmon have been given somepower-propeller spell as well before being infused with the partners. They'll serve as anchors to render the resulted dark Megas unbreakable."
"That's complex work," noted Lucemon.
"It did require me a few minutes to come up with," agreed Lilithmon. "Why look so surprised? You thought I wasn't up for it?"
"No, no…just stating. I've never attempted that, to be honest," said Lucemon.
"How flattering to hear that," Lilithmon laughed. "It's so rare to hear you so humble…something must be wrong with my ears or something?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Or there's something that you want from me, Lucemon?"
"There is, but it serves to our benefit rather than yours," said Lucemon. "I've picked up another of Adam's thoughts."
"You seemed troubled. That's rare. I'm listening."
Lucemon smiled sourly at Lilithmon's sarcasm. "Those DigiWira are planning to call for some reinforcements."
"So?"
"From what I could make of, the ones they're calling are stronger than them."
Lilithmon waved her hand airily. "Let them come. What are we afraid of? I'm a Mega, you're practically a Mega and that's without having to actually digivolve to one, the Four Terrors are Megas, and so are the three corrupted Megas we have in our hands. That's NINE Megas, against…how many?"
"Six," said Lucemon. "But still, it's unwise to underestimate our opponents when we don't know their strengths. They could disrupt our plans. They're not our enemies." The demonic angel smirked as he rubbed his chin. "Yet. But one thing at a time. No use rushing, we might end up losing everything. Just look at what happened to our unfortunate brethrens."
"You do have a point," agreed Lilithmon. "So what do you propose we do?"
"Combine our powers," said Lucemon, "and cast an unbreakable Shield of Waja around this area. Let it spread to include the town where those children are seeking refuge in."
"You're forgetting one thing. Those interferers are also similar to those DigiWira," said Lilithmon, "which means they have means to travel between worlds. They'd use the Digital World to travel into the region we surrounded with the shield."
"Not when the Shield of Waja is concerned. I thought you've studied the shield's casting method thoroughly?" said Lucemon gleefully. "The shield is powered by dark magic. It reacts accordingly to what its caster wants upon casting it. If we're specific enough, no Digiport can be opened within the shield."
"So cast the spell, Lucemon," said Lilithmon. "Your Seraphimon form is supposed to be powerful."
"Yes, but we don't know their strength yet. For all I know those meddlers might have a Mega eclipsing my powers. I prefer not to take chances."
"Is it actually possible for us both to cast a single shield?"
"It hasn't been proved, but if we succeeded the shield would be unbreakable with both our powers imbued in it," admitted Lucemon. "The Negations only mentions about it and any other arts in it to be used only for evil. Good intentions will destroy the caster. So I suppose there's nothing to be worried about. Unless if you have a change of heart?"
Lilithmon glared at her fellow general. "The sooner we do this, the sooner I can celebrate JD's death without any possible interruptions. Come on."
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Spirit foxes blasted against a row of buildings, destroying them. A woman's laugh was heard as she glided under the moon, her features made prominent due to her glistening bronze armor. At one look, she seemed to resemble Xianamon greatly in terms that they both wore facemasks that bore the look of a fox's head. Their weapon was almost the same. But their choice of colors was different; the woman was in bronze and black, whereas Xianamon was resplendent in gold and white.
Gliding along the winds meters under the armored woman was another woman with strong floral affinity: scantily dressed in rippling white skirt that was parted in the middle, revealing her undergarments; dark violet leathers that wrapped around her body tight; unhealthy purple skin, and a budding yellow flower as a helmet. She wielded two scepters; one with a jewel on its tip was blasting out a rainbow energy wave that sent a tall building tumbling while the other with a carved snake coiling around it shot out dark blue energy blast from the snake's mouth. This woman was laughing heartily in an attack-frenzy, starkly contrasting the first woman who did her dark deeds in silence.
The wrecked roads were suddenly flooded, and a heavily-armored merman swam over it. His tail was bigger and thicker than a merman would usually have, thus costing him his agility. He had to use waters in order to move, but his lack of movement was compensated with his abundant power. Using his weapon – a staff with a shark's head as tip, he sent blasts of blue lightning all around him, destroying everything in sight.
"Stop!" screamed Rosemon as she approached the trio of evil. Without wasting time she launched an attack towards the nearest offender. "Aguichant Levres!"
Her evil counterpart sneered. "Oh. Great. Another wannabe." She swung her serpent staff forward. "Serpent Ruin!"
The two attacks collided and exploded. They looked to be evenly matched.
"Who are you?" demanded Rosemon, curious of her foe's appearance.
"I'm insulted," said the flower woman flamboyantly. "You don't know me? I'm Lotusmon." She pointed both scepters towards Rosemon. "Your worst nightmare."
"I can see why," muttered Rosemon. "You're everything I hoped I'd never become."
Lotusmon sighed in an overdramatic matter. "These grounds need some weeding done. Let's start with you." The jeweled scepter sparkled with multicolored aura. "Seventh Fantasia!"
In the meantime, GuardiAngemon advanced towards the bronze-clad female who was blasting the abandoned houses with waves of lavender energy and cherry blossom storms. Seeing how relentless the woman was, GuardiAngemon knew there was no talking the woman into ceasing attack. Thus he summoned his giant blades and formed a sword, before blasting the woman with a beam of Holy Espada. The light attracted the woman's attention, and she spun around, retaliating immediately.
"Amethyst Mandala!" More cherry blossom storms were sent his way. GuardiAngemon grunted as his attack was cancelled out by the flower petals. The woman swung her staff forward, generating two crescent-shaped energy blades which streaked towards GuardiAngemon. "Twin Blades of Beauty!"
"Two can play that game, Sakuyamon." The steel saint spread his metallic wings wide. Pure lights burst forth from his very being. "Heaven's Ripper!"
Energy blades met holy-charged projectiles, resulting in a sound explosion. Both GuardiAngemon and Sakuyamon emerged from the smokes unscathed.
"Now that's more like it," mocked Sakuyamon, sneering. "And now to show you what a real Mega Digimon can do. Spirit Strike!!" She emitted a yellow aura and four spirit foxes spiraled around her body before moving out, yowling, before streaking towards GuardiAngemon. He retaliated by unleashing another Heaven's Ripper, but to his surprise the foxes glided in between the projectiles before slamming full force on his body. He was sent flying. Sakuyamon smirked. "Told you so," she snickered.
Opie the Valkyrimon swooped down from the sky towards the dark merman Digimon. Something seemed to draw him towards the merman; the aquatic Digimon reminded him too much of Samudramon who was of the same species. In fact, this trio all reminded him of Samudramon, Puspamon and Xianamon.
Could it be?The similarities between him and this Digimon are uncanny. Opie thought, halting his descend as the merman's profile became clearer amidst the moonlight. Wait a minute…I recognize this Digimon. Isn't he one of the Olympus Twelve?
"Neptunemon?" wondered Opie, brandishing his sword and shield simultaneously. If he was about to face a member of the Olympus Twelve then he had better be careful; the Olympus Twelve members were regarded as having deity-like powers. He wondered whether this Neptunemon was one of the Olympians or just a regular Mega bearing the features of the highly regarded King of the Oceans. It's impossible that he's actually an Olympian, thought Opie, because the Olympus Twelve and the Royal Knights are both extinct after battling the Seven Great Demon Lords. That is what it's said in the legends. This must be a regular Neptunemon instead. Our powers shouldn't be too much disparate. He gulped. I hope.
Something didn't bode well with him though. He was getting a very familiar vibe from Neptunemon.
"So you recognized me," said Neptunemon in a dark echoic voice. "I don't believe we've met, though I recognize you from somewhere." For a moment, the merman stared at Opie curiously, before shrugging it off. He chuckled. "It doesn't matter anyway," Neptunemon pointed his shark trident towards Opie, "Because you shall be dead. Vortex Penetrate!!"
Spirals of dark waters burst forth from around Neptunemon. Crackles of lightning followed forth. The two forces intertwined with each other, generating a forceful attack that would destroy anybody it hit upon. Water and lightning were a deadly combination.
Opie took a deep breath and summoned his ice and wind powers. While his technique could never match Samudramon and Puspamon's Everlasting Storm, he hoped that it would at least deter Neptunemon's attack. A cyclone began to take form around him as the temperature decreased rapidly. The Valkyrimon hoisted one arm towards the sky and pointed the other towards the incoming attack, calling forth, "Punishing Storm!"
Winds and hailstorm lambasted against the waters and thunderbolts. The water froze, but the lightning struck through the hailstorm, only to slam against Opie's golden shield. Opie was pushed backward with an involuntary outcry, his arm behind the shield numb due to the force of the attack. He gasped.
Neptunemon smirked. "Not bad…" The smirk contorted somewhat, as the Olympian added, "Opie. Now I know why you seem somewhat familiar…"
"Penguinmon?" realized Opie. He glanced upon his comrades and took in their foes' appearances. He had thought that the similarities were purely a coincidence, but with Neptunemon's identity was confirmed as Penguinmon, it was fairly obvious that Sakuyamon and Lotusmon were formerly Labramon and Floramon. He wondered whether GuardiAngemon and Rosemon had realized that; the way they were going at it, he thought that perhaps they didn't know. Sakuyamon and Lotusmon were not relenting with their attacks, forcing his comrades to fight their best. He turned back, only to see Neptunemon charging up his staff.
"WAIT! Let's not fight!" pleaded Opie.
Neptunemon's smile was cold. "No. Let's."
Opie barely avoided an incoming lightning bolt sent his way by making a back flip. Neptunemon, still remaining where he had been, had fired him that blast. Opie noted that Neptunemon hardly moved about. His weight. That tail's too heavy for him; he's lost Samudramon's agility. I can use that to my advantage.
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Adam leaned against the chair, pulling his legs up and close to his body. He stared at his cousins, who were talking with each other. Jade had stopped crying, and was telling something about JD's childhood, while Jas, being smaller than her brothers, had somehow managed to convince JD to scoot aside to make room for her on the bed. She was half-sitting, half-lying down, stroking JD's hair with a sad smile, her tears never stopped. JD was basking in the attention, but every now and then he would steal a glance towards Adam to make sure that he wouldn't feel left out. It made Adam smile; he had never seen his cousins to be this close. But it also made his heart ache thinking that it had taken JD's life to reinitiate their bond.
His empathy was picking up their emotions, and it pained him. He could even feel a dull pain on his own chest – no doubt JD was feeling worse. JD's pain had also become his, although to somewhat lesser degree. Jackie had informed him that it was another aspect of his new power. His empathy was letting him experience not only other people's emotions, but also their pains. It was an aspect that Adam hoped he had never gotten, but in a way, it gave him a better understanding of what his cousin was feeling.
He gazed towards the clock. It was three minutes to midnight. The others had been gone for almost a couple of hours now, rejoining their family at that late hour, while his sister and her fiancé went to the café along with Jackie to get something for JD to eat.
Adam wondered whether the three Digimon had found the partners. He felt guilty for somehow being involved with their kidnappings, and now it was revealed that it was all a trick. SkullSatamon had wanted him to develop his powers so that he would be able to break through the Shield of Waja. His powers had grown and he was in control.
Lucemon. The name alone caused suppressed anger to resurface. He'd trusted the demonic angel and it turned out that everything was a lie.
All of a sudden he was taken back to the time when he met JD at the Dark Ocean. He remembered having difficulties in trusting JD back then, when he knew that JD had returned to good. It wasn't even JD's fault that he was evil; he couldn't be taken into account for his actions. Yet Adam had refused to believe him when the other DigiWira had done so. How difficult it had taken him to trust JD, but how easy it had taken Lucemon and SkullSatamon to gain his trust.
I'm so stupid, thought Adam despairingly. How could have I trusted them? They've been close in killing me…and still I trusted them. Stupid Adam.
The clock struck midnight. Adam counted heartbeats, waiting in anticipation. Josh only has one day left…
"AAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!!"
Adam snapped out of his thoughts. JD was trashing about again, and this time it looked to be more severe than before. He screamed, and tears streaked out from his eyes, signifying just how much pain he was feeling. Jas gasped, aghast as she was thrown from the bed by JD, while Jade slammed the button to call on the medical personnel. Adam and Jade quickly attempted to restrain JD, but overwhelmed by pain JD had become too strong for them to hold. Jade was at least, strong enough to maintain grip on his brother, but Adam was much smaller and thus weaker. He backed away, helping Jas to stand instead.
"The tattoo!" gasped Jas, pointing at it fearfully. "It's moving!"
The black cat was indeed moving. Its eyes shone crimson as it seemed to dig its claws into JD's chest. JD howled in pain, clutching his chest while trashing about. His screams hurt Adam too, for Adam felt what he was feeling. The pain was too great, and by the time Abu came with a nurse JD had passed out. Jade choked out sobs as he was comforted by Alisha, while Adam tried his best to comfort Jas while crying himself.
"There's a beat," said Abu grimly after checking JD's pulse and heartbeat. He connected the heart monitor to JD, and frowned at the monitor. "God…what's happening to him?"
"Josh…" Jade whimpered, staring at the monitor. The lines were all wrong, the patterns changing in split seconds, baffling all the medical personnel.
"I've never seen anything like this," said the nurse, staring at JD curiously. "Doctor, what's happening to him?"
"I don't know, Amy," said Abu grimly. "Get some IV painkillers. The boy is in pain and no medical books have described this condition. Painkillers are the only thing I can think of. Go, now!"
The nurse skittered out of the room. Abu took a small towel on the medical tray and began wiping the sweats on JD's face and body. In his attempt to withstand the pain JD had sweated profusely; Abu was worried that JD would dehydrate soon. He stared upon the black cat tattoo, which seemed to be sneering back at him. Its sharp claws were all dug in. JD's breathings were ragged – he was doing it with so much difficulty. When the nurse returned with the requested medication, Abu injected the painkiller into JD's system and silently prayed for the best.
JD stopped trashing about. His breathings took a long, rhythmic pace. The monitor began showing a heart pattern, but still it didn't look normal to anyone.
Abu sighed. It was the best he could do. The heart pattern was abnormal, the pulse rate too low, the blood pressure too low. Everything was wrong.
All the while, Adam had felt what his cousin had felt. The pain, the sorrow, the dread… everything. Adam had also, somehow, glimpsed into JD's mind and realized that despite his brave front, JD was never ready to die. JD didn't want to die. The waves of emotions, dreams and desires from JD flowed into Adam, overwhelming Adam until it became too much for him to handle.
Adam rushed out of the ward, but before long he slumped by the nearest corner. Clasping his mouth, he tried hard not to cry but the tears wouldn't stop flowing. Patamon called out to him from the Digivice but Adam couldn't even stop his cries to let out Patamon. Isn't there any other way? He thought despairingly. Any way? Any other way?I don't want you to die, Josh. This isn't how it should be. It's not fair. Why…why is this happening to him?
He felt someone kneeling beside him, gently pulling him in a comforting embrace. Catching a familiar fragrant smell, he realized that it was his sister, and sobbed in her embrace. "Why did we have to go through so much, for it to end this way?" he blurted out in between sobs.
Alisha hugged his brother tighter, having no answer to his question.
xxx
xxx
From a distance, a speck of light appeared from the sky. Within seconds the speck grew larger, and a gigantic blue dragon in black armor zoomed down from the sky. The armored dragon was flanked on the left by an angel in light armor, with blue shields mounted on his shoulders and arms, and eight golden wings, and on its right by a woman in white avian-themed armor whose flowing hair was the colors of rainbow.
"Okay, Imperialdramon, stop here," said a teenage male's voice from within the blue jewel located on the dragon's back.
"It's not like we can move any further, Ken," responded the dragon, Imperialdramon, in strange dual voices. "There's a force-field blocking us from entering the city."
"Imperialdramon's sensors indicate that the city and the regions around it are surrounded by the force-field," said another male, relatively younger than the first male.
"That's odd. Izzy didn't mention anything about a force-field," said a female. "You'd think that the bad guys are expecting us or something."
"What should we do?" a feminine voice, gentler than the first female's, inquired.
"I say we blast the shield!" said a spirited, masculine voice.
"We can't, Davis," implored a calm voice that hinted the speaker's laid-back attitude. "Imperialdramon's attack is too devastating for the surrounding area. We better let Dominimon or Irismon try breaking the barrier with their swords first."
"TK's right," said the bird-woman, Irismon, also in dual voices. What was stranger was the fact that while Irismon was clearly a female Digimon, her voice was the amalgamation of a stern female and a polite male. She raised her shining rapier before her obscured face, and gazed into the jewel encrusted on the hilt. The rapier began to shine with white aura. "I'll try first. Storm Gazer!"
A blast of cyclone with white lightning bolts escaped the tip of the rapier as Irismon swung it in a horizontal direction. They slammed upon the barrier, but the barrier crackled with electricity before dark red lightning bolts danced around the surface of the barrier, nullifying Irismon's attempt to break it.
"What?" Irismon gasped.
"It didn't work?" Imperialdramon and Dominimon were clearly astonished as well.
"Someone's coming," alerted Dominimon, also possessing dual voices. The three Mega Digimon saw a being that screamed contradiction approaching. They couldn't figure out whether this being inside the force-field was a demon or an angel; he could be both. "I don't believe what I'm seeing," muttered Dominimon.
"Well, well," said the demonic angel, smirking haughtily. "An Imperialdramon, a Dominimon and an Irismon. I shouldn't have bothered with the shield, but no matter. We'll get to you when we're done with them. For now, you may watch as events unfold around here. One of the DigiWira will meet his doom in less than a day from now, three DigiWira have lost their partners to evil, and one…I believe, will be in our grasps soon. Interesting itinerary, yes? Well, until later."
"WAIT!!" roared Imperialdramon, but the strange Digimon had flown away. "Davis, Ken, what do you think? Should I blast the shield?"
"That strange Digimon sounds too full of himself," said Ken, "Imperialdramon, go to Fighter Mode and be ready to intercept the attack should the shield deflects it."
"Why are you expecting that to happen?" asked Davis. "Irismon's attack only got canceled out."
"I was an evil overlord. I'd know," replied Ken with a tone that was both wry and grim.
From a quadruped Imperialdramon transformed into a taller bipedal form of himself, gaining several humanoid characteristics. The dragon head had become part of the armor protecting his torso, and from the dragon mouth a cannon emerged. It blasted a giant violet sphere towards the dome-shaped barrier, but to their surprise, the barrier retaliated by deflecting the power sphere back towards Imperialdramon. It was a testament to Imperialdramon's durability when his own attack didn't faze him at first, though his armors were severely dented. He reverted to Dragon Mode.
"You okay, Imperialdramon?" asked Ken, worried.
"Just a bit shaken up, that's all," said Imperialdramon. "I've felt worse."
The relieved smile was nearly obvious on Ken's reply: "Glad to hear it. Sorry to put you through it, but you're the only one who's heavily-armored – the blast would have devolved Irismon and Dominimon. And we can't risk the blast destroying this place."
A golden glow appeared from a distance. "More enemies?" Dominimon wondered, readying his shining energy blade.
"No," said Cody, "that's a Rapidmon. A golden-armored one."
"Willis!" said Davis ecstatically. "I nearly forgot that he's in Malaysia too for a vacation. He told me about it in his recent email. He met a girl too…one of the five core DigiWira, according to him…"
"Details," said Yolei, an amused sarcasm was there in her voice. "Willis has an online blog, remember? We've read all about it there."
"He didn't actually mention meeting one of the DigiWira in his blog," said Kari, to Davis's defense. "Though he did mention about a girl."
"Hey guys," called Willis, who was mounted on top of Rapidmon's right shoulder. "Gayathri mentioned about you guys coming too. Things have gone pretty serious for the DigiWira. Gayathri was actually crying in the phone when she called for my help…something about one of them going to die soon and their partners captured… I couldn't get all the details but I promised I'd come."
"We couldn't go any further," said Davis, dejected. "One Goth angel-demon guy came by when we tried blasting the force-field."
"Why don't you come inside the cockpit and we fill you in with some details?" invited Yolei. "Cody's calling up the Digimon Analyzer for a match to the Goth guy Davis was talking about."
"And some other Digimon inside that dome, too," said Cody, a hint of worry in his voice.
"Sure." A beam of light showered upon Willis and Rapidmon. Willis was pulled inside the blue jewel on Imperialdramon's armor, and found himself in the company of six Japanese Digidestined. He took in their appearances; a tanned boy with spiky mahogany hair, a pale boy with dark curtains framing his face, a girl with her chestnut hair pulled back in a chic half-ponytail, a bespectacled girl with her long silky violet hair let down, a blond boy wearing a Gilligan hat and finally a stern-looking boy with short brown hair.
Willis offered a smile to his Japanese friends, though his expression was grim. "What do we have?"
"The Digimon that came to us," Cody said, indicating a screen, "is Lucemon, an Ultimate. In fact, he's the only Ultimate inside there other than abundant number of Duskmon and Velgemon. Despite that, he actually has powers rivaling Megas."
"And here I thought MagnaAngemon's the only one who has that," said TK with disdain.
Cody caught his DNA partner's sarcasm. "Funny you should mention MagnaAngemon. You'll be surprised to learn that one of the newer DigiWira…an honorary DigiWira, actually, has a MagnaAngemon as a partner." He nodded towards Kari. "And another honorary DigiWira has an Angewomon. They both can DNA Digivolve to form GuardiAngemon, a Mega Digimon close enough in terms of power to rival Dominimon."
"I bet these two honoraries are a couple," muttered TK.
"Actually, they're listed as engaged," said Cody matter-of-factly.
TK and Davis shared a look, before both shifting their gazes towards Kari who was whispering something to Yolei, unaware of the two boys' gazes upon her. TK grumbled somewhat, while Davis looked at his blond friend curiously.
"Why are you grumbling?" he whispered. "If anybody should grumble, it's me. You at least have that online thing with Catherine."
Cody shook his head. "Back to our current pressing matter," he said, trying to get the two boys' attention. "There's a girl partnered to a Rosemon, and a much younger girl partnered to a Valkyrimon."
"Those two are Megas!" Willis sputtered.
"Even Izzy was baffled. It's so rare for anyone to be partnered with Megas, yet this country has loads of them," said Yolei.
"I thought the core DigiWira have all reached Megas?" inquired Kari. "Except for one."
"Yes," nodded Cody, checking the analyzer. "Aldiyamon, Xianamon, Puspamon and Samudramon have all reached Megas."
"What about that cool-looking dude?" suddenly inquired Imperialdramon, with a single voice that sounded much like Veemon. "You mean Satriamon," said Wormmon.
"Satriamon remains an Ultimate for now," said Cody, reading the data displayed on the screen, frowning. "The DigiWira who constitutes half of Satriamon is the one whom Lucemon said will die. It's said here that he has been cursed with an incurable blight. No cure has been found."
"That's awful!" gasped Kari, genuinely horrified. "Who could have done something like that to him?"
"A Mega Digimon called Lilithmon," said Cody. "She's also inside the barrier."
"Our sensors are picking up her digital signature coming from that tall tower," supplied Imperialdramon.
Yolei studied the image provided by Imperialdramon on the screen. "That's the KL Tower, a famous landmark for this country. I even have a postcard with that tower's image from my classmate who came here last winter's holiday." She frowned, as the image of the entrapped city came into view. "The city's practically deserted…"
"Man…" muttered TK. "These guys have it hard. But…any team with seven Megas should be able to handle practically any level of Digimon attacks."
"They're not dealing with usual Digimon threats," said Cody. "Remember what it took for us to finally destroy Daemon?"
"Even Omnimon and Imperialdramon weren't enough to stop him and the reconstituted Daemon Corps," said Ken, his eyes darkening.
"Luckily Irismon, Dominimon, Phoenixmon, and Vikemon appeared when they did," said Yolei.
"Don't forget my Kouji and his Beowulfmon. They helped too," reminded Kari in a somewhat dreamy voice, earning her dark looks from TK and Davis, though she was oblivious to it. Yolei, Ken and Cody merely shook their heads while Willis took in what he was seeing with stride, having heard of some one-sided details from Davis.
Cody coughed; while Kari, Davis and TK were still friends, the topic of Kari's new boyfriend was always a sore spot for Davis and TK. "Anyway," he began, drawing his teammates' attention. Yolei and Ken seemed glad of his call. "The Malaysian team is currently facing six demon Digimon, and had beaten five in recent past. Seven of these demons belong to the Great Demon Lords group, where Daemon was also a member." An image of the Seven Great Demon Lords appeared on the screen, causing some of them to cringe. "They have beaten Daemon, Belphemon, Beelzemon, Leviamon and Barbamon." With each name being mentioned, the corresponding image on the screen vanished. Only two remained now. "Lucemon and Lilithmon remain, but they are now joined by GranDracmon, Belialvamdemon, Deathmon and Murmuxmon. According to the Digital World's history, these four are known as the Four Terrors."
The images of the Four Terrors appeared on the screen, joining Lucemon and Lilithmon.
"Hey, that's MaloMyotismon!" pointed out Davis. "What's that freak doing back here?"
"I don't think it's the same one, Davis," said Ken.
Cody nodded. "He isn't. I don't know why he's called Belialvamdemon here. But that's not their biggest problem…" Cody pressed several buttons, and three more Digimon joined the rank. "According to Imperialdramon's sensors, three more have been identified as villainous Digimon – Neptunemon, Sakuyamon, and Lotusmon. And, oh…" He looked away, somewhat embarrassed, while TK and Davis's eyes flew up in surprise upon taking in Lotusmon's appearance.
Davis whistled. "Check her out!"
"That's a Digimon, you two!" Kari protested. Yolei went one step further and pinched the two teenage boys on the cheeks. Willis sweatdropped while Ken and Cody exchanged wry looks.
Willis thought that it was best to change the topic of conversation. "Anyone knows who's the head honcho for these demons?"
Cody typed something on the console. A skeletal demon appeared on the screen. "Look familiar?"
"Him?" asked Kari, sounding unimpressed.
"A SkullSatamon, yes," said Cody, "but remember that it took Imperialdramon Fighter Mode to beat him, and he's only an Ultimate." Kari nodded.
"And with hordes of Mega under his command, no doubt that this SkullSatamon is able to reach Mega too," said Ken darkly.
"How can we help them when we can't even get through the barrier?" grunted Davis, rubbing his horribly red cheek.
Silence. The Digidestined exchanged uncomfortable looks.
Willis raised a hand. "We can look around for computers to open a Digiport. Go to the Digital World and find a way to open a port towards somewhere inside the dome."
"That could work," said Ken, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Then let's get to it!" said Davis, full of spirit. "Let's help these guys."
Kari nodded. "With one of them cursed to die…they're going to need all the help they can get to get through it."
xxx
xxx
Subang Jaya's entrance point lay in ruins. Remnants of houses scattered about, half-buried under the subsiding waters. Abandoned vehicles had been turned upside down. Roads wrecked, lamp poles strewn about, adding to the sight of total destruction.
Jackie squinted, trying to look for any signs of his Digimon friends. This was the place where GuardiAngemon, Rosemon and Valkyrimon had gone to battle the most recent threats. Two hours had passed and everyone had grown worried when they hadn't returned. Dina and Debbie especially had grown very restless, for their partners were out there. With Alisha busy comforting a devastated Adam, and Abu consoling JD's family members, it was up to him to look for the Digimon. He was thankful that he'd decided to look for them the old-fashioned way – by utilizing his abilities as a digital human instead of having to restrict himself to the ways of the regular humans. In times like this, flight and psychic powers were useful.
He halted in midair, noticing a glow from under piles of rubbles. He could have missed it for the glow was very faint. Descending there, he utilized his own telekinetic powers to remove the rubbles, and saw Salamon, Gatomon, Lalamon and Muchomon there – dirty, drenched, injured, and unconscious. The glow came from the charms worn by the Saintly Siblings.
"They've been beaten," sighed Jackie as he collected them and headed back to the hospital.
Author's Notes:
The Japanese Digidestined and Willis only appear as cameos, as per request and valid reasons pointed out by readers. :D The Japanese team would have intervened if things get too out of hand for the other teams, being the most experienced and all that. Just look at what they'd done during the 02's World Tour episodes. This way I get to feature them, despite only in one scene, and I tried squeezing in as much information as I could to what they have done since the events on 02 ended. Willis reappears because I have formerly established him to be somewhere in the country, holidaying with his family. Dominimon and Irismon (Ancient Irismon) are chosen to be the advanced forms of Shakkoumon and Silphymon because I want to be different.
Never say never, though. I admit it would be nice to have the Japanese team helping out the Malaysian team, but still…I'm still undecided on this one. We'll see. No influencing me on this one, ok?