The profiles of Sakuyamon, Neptunemon and Lotusmon became clearer as they approached him. Satriamon saw Rosemon and Valkyrimon soaring towards the sky, both battle-ready with their weapons grasped tight. Jackie and the other DigiWira ran towards him, seeking refuge from the dangers that lied ahead.
"This is gonna be tough," said Satriamon. He was about to charge, when a gust of wind caught his attention. A shadow loomed over him. Everyone looked up, and Satriamon smirked.
"We came here as soon as we could," said GuardiAngemon.
"The more the merrier. You've fought those guys before. Just how tough were they?"
"Very," said GuardiAngemon grimly. "They didn't hold back at all."
"And we did," said Valkyrimon. "We tried to talk them out, but apparently the spell over them was too strong."
"Tell me about it," said Satriamon, remembering how his Digimon half was corrupted by Lilithmon. Nothing they tried worked in bringing him back. In the end, ChaosGallantmon was deleted, but thanks to Aldiyamon's intervention he was reconfigured. Aldiyamon isn't here now, he reminded himself. The tingling sensation returned to his hand, and he was half-expecting to receive the mental images again. But they didn't come.
"Isn't there any other way?" asked Gayathri despairingly. "We're going to lose them…"
"What should we do?" Manny wondered; he and his girlfriend both looked at Liu Ying questioningly.
Liu Ying frowned. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"We've lost Adam," said Jackie. "That makes you the team-leader. You'll have to make the final decision. What are you going to do?"
"But…" Liu Ying seemed to be at a loss. "Jackie, you're from the Digital World. Surely you know of another way?"
"I know of only one way," said Jackie, his voice soft but stern in order to get his point across, "but you're the one who's gonna have to make the call for it."
Liu Ying was quiet, as everyone waited for her decision. Satriamon thought that he saw her swallowing, and it was clear that she was nervous. He understood why; they were clearly at a severe disadvantage in this battle. They've lost Adam, thus losing Aldiyamon whom, from how he seemed in those retro-cognitive visions he'd received earlier, was the strongest of them all. They've also lost three partners, and they in turn had been placed under the hate spell and were given powers to ascend to Megas independently.
Hate spell? Something stirred in his mind. He began to receive a sense of deja-vu. He wondered whether Liu Ying had thought of it too.
"We've already lost them," Liu Ying said finally, her voice soft. "And the only way to save them is by…" She stopped, inhaled, before addressing her fellow DigiWira. "Labramon, Penguinmon and Floramon wouldn't want to be used for evil."
Satriamon frowned. Don't they remember?
"No. Wait a sec, guys," he said, "there might be another way. I was under a hate spell too, and I snapped out of it. Karatenmon placed Manny and I under the spell. Manny broke it when he…well, you know why," he said, nodding at Manny. "And I broke it when Karatenmon was gone. I still don't know how Karatenmon got himself killed, but thank God for that. I would've…" Satriamon stopped. Lilithmon's words rang in his mind – how he'd attempted on Adam's life so many times that eventually Adam did die for him. He closed his eyes briefly, composing himself.
"What are you trying to say?" asked Manny.
Satriamon opened his eyes. "Just try to hold 'em off as long as you can. Knock 'em out, if you can, but don't delete them." He raised his gauntlet and sword. "I'm gonna go and get rid of the source. I've a score to settle with her, both Agumon and I."
"You mean, with Lilithmon gone the spell would be lifted?" asked Gayathri.
"That's the theory," nodded Satriamon. "If it works, then those three would be returned to us. If it doesn't work…well, we'll cross the bridge when we get there."
"How do we know if it's even the same spell?" asked Manny.
"We don't," said Satriamon. "But don't you think that it's worth a shot?"
"Not if Lilithmon gets to you," said Liu Ying.
"Not a chance. She won't. I won't let her." His tone hardened with determination. "Adam's dead because of her, and I've promised Kak Lisha that I won't get myself killed. I'll figure something out, but whatever it takes, I'm gonna flay that bitch and be alive afterward." He gazed down at his teammates and mentor. "Hold them off while I do so."
The DigiWira and Jackie exchanged looks, before looking up at him.
"How did you get so resourceful all of a sudden?" Liu Ying asked, admiration evident in her tone.
"Experience," said Satriamon. "And circumstances," he added wistfully, before shaking his head. "So, are we game?"
"Got it," said Rosemon, nodding.
"We'll do the best we can to hold them off," said Valkyrimon.
"But what about you?" asked GuardiAngemon. "You can't go out there alone. There are still the Four Terrors and Lilithmon out there. Even though you have Aldiyamon's sword with you, but against five Megas…"
Satriamon beckoned towards the corrupted partners. "Then you better take those three down as fast as you can. Get ready, here they come!"
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WIRA DIGITAL
Chapter 76 – Carpe Diem, Part I
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Satriamon had gone to the twin towers, and the Megas were now engaged in a fight against their corrupted comrades. He and the DigiWira, in the meantime, were on the rooftop of a skyscraper; just several moments ago he'd gotten an idea of how to slow down the corrupted Digimon. It was a long shot, but he had to give it a shot anyway.
He pressed his index and middle fingers on each temple, and closed his eyes. As a digital human he possessed various special powers, but it was his psychic power that needed the most concentration and mind strength. Altering memories of humans was an ability he had perfected; stripping others of their free wills was another, but he wasn't going to do that. Skilled psychics could do so, he on the other hand, hoped that he could just slow the corrupted down so that it would be easier for Rosemon, GuardiAngemon and Valkyrimon to take them down without being forced to kill them.
"Jackie, what are you doing?"
He opened his eyes; he should've informed the DigiWira first of what he was trying to do.
"I'm trying to use my psychic power to get into your partners' minds. Maybe I can slow them down a little."
"Didn't you say that your power is limited?" asked Liu Ying.
"I did. That's why I'm up here." Jackie frowned, throwing a glance towards the nearest competitors: Lotusmon and Rosemon, who were only at the end of the block, trashing each other. The others were in sight, but farther away. He couldn't get to them from where he was at. "I need to focus," he finally said, and closed his eyes, focusing on what mind patterns he could get from the Digimon. Being a digital being himself, it was easier for him to identify another digital being's mind. In a way, he was like a Digimon; he could sense other Digimon's presence.
His theory had never been attempted, but he was relieved to see that they worked. He'd gotten glimpses of Rosemon's mind, and then Lotusmon's. Ignoring Rosemon, he began focusing on the other flower woman, trying to decipher the scrambled, obscured data readings he could get from her.
The DigiWira must have gotten the message, for they didn't ask anything anymore. "Gayathri, Manny," he heard Liu Ying addressing, "we'll have to use our powers to make sure that nothing could interrupt Jackie from what he's going to do. Dina, stay close." He smiled, and amidst the shrieks from the two nearby flower women, he began to concentrate.
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Surrounded by buildings that had been blasted all over, the battle between Rosemon and Lotusmon was coming to an end, despite having just started about ten minutes ago. Lotusmon seemed keen to prolong the battle, if only to mock Rosemon for her previous defeat. Rosemon, however, wanted to end this as soon as possible.
"Serpent Ruin!"
Lotusmon's attempt to blast a building was thwarted by a wave of Forbidden Temptation sent her way. Rosemon's lesser-powered form's attack wasn't as strong as her current form's, but it was the one she could send without risking her own strength. It wasn't powerful enough to counter the midnight-blue blast, but it at least managed to make Lotusmon stop attacking…in favor of mocking her instead.
"You call that an attack?" asked the corrupted maiden loftily. "Please. You can do better than that!"
"I intend," muttered Rosemon.
She suddenly saw Lotusmon becoming rigid, whereas she was relentless previously. That gave her the chance to launch a well-targeted Aguichant Levres over Lotusmon's legs, and the corrupted flower maiden toppled over the intersection below, knocking down the lamp poles and billboards around her. She caught sight of Dina, the other DigiWira and Jackie on a rooftop of a building not too far from there. Jackie seemed to be concentrating hard on something. She remembered that Jackie possessed a degree of psychic power; could he be the one who caused Lotusmon…? She thought, before it was interrupted by Lotusmon's cough.
"Blasted weed!" snarled Lotusmon, looking up at her. She attempted to move, but cried out in pain when it was apparent that she couldn't do so – she couldn't even move her injured legs.
"This ends now," said Rosemon, gathering power in her hands to form a blood-red sphere.
"You wouldn't dare," taunted Lotusmon. "What would Gayathri think, her best friend's partner deleting hers?"
"Don't worry," muttered Rosemon. "You'll be around to find out."
She hesitated for a moment – the attack she was about to launch was her strongest one; it could wipe Lotusmon out instantly if Lotusmon wasn't strong enough to withstand it. Underneath her rose tiara, her eyes trailed Lotusmon's limited movement – both of her scepters were glowing with energy. It was now or never.
"ROSEN BLOOD!"
The horrendous shriek that followed the Rosen Blood disrupted Lotusmon's concentration for one brief second, which was all it took for her to be left open for the attack. The sphere disintegrated her outstretched scepters before pushing her deeper into the ground. The ensuing explosion resulted in a shockwave that pushed Rosemon back, and when it subsided she saw, to her relief, that Lotusmon was not deleted. However, she wasn't moving too, lying still on the broken roads.
Lotusmon was knocked out unconscious.
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"There," said Jackie, wiping the sweat off his brows.
"What did you just do?" asked Manny.
"My original intent was to hamper Lotusmon with my psychic power," said Jackie, "but I've made an interesting discovery while reading her mind. It seems that she is actually a they. Lotusmon is a byproduct of a Dark DNA Digivolution." He paused, taking in the surprised reactions the DigiWira showed him. "I suspect the same is true for Neptunemon and Sakuyamon."
"DNA Digivolution? With who?" said Gayathri, casting one look towards Lotusmon's unconscious form.
"I don't know, but it's repulsive," said Jackie with distaste. "There's dark spell involved as well. A normal DNA-digivolved Digimon would have dedigivolved after receiving an attack such as the one Rosemon sent to Lotusmon, but as we can see Lotusmon's still intact." He inclined his head up, where two battles were still going on.
"So…there's a way to get our partners back?" Liu Ying asked hopefully.
Jackie gave them a grim look. "I do know of one thing: if we're able to separate them from whatever that have been fused with them, we might be able to get them back." He then saw another battle that needed his interference, and flew off towards it.
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"Opie, Opie, Opie…" snickered Neptunemon, blasting everything in sight with the thunderbolts from his staff. "I never thought that you managed to survive last battle."
"Well, sorry to ruin your fun," snapped Valkyrimon, charging his sword with holy-powered lightning bolts to counter Neptunemon's dark thunderbolts. He was waiting for the right moment, having thought about it just a few seconds ago. It was a strategy he had once implemented against a water-type Digimon a long time ago, and it had worked then. He had seen Neptunemon utilizing one particular water-based attack during their last battle, and was hoping that Neptunemon would do so again.
For now, he used his advantage to the fullest – flight. Neptunemon couldn't fly, and thus was at a disadvantage against him.
"Oh, you didn't. As you can see I'm having a blast." The ocean king spun his staff and bubbling waters materialized under his thick fishtail. "I can take to the skies too."
The waters formed a pillar which propelled him upwards so that he would level with his avian foe. Valkyrimon couldn't believe his luck; just after hoping that Neptunemon using that attack and Neptunemon did so thereafter. Today must be my lucky day, he thought, speeding down towards his soaring foe. He spiraled down the tower of water, utilizing his speed to the fullest.
"Punishing Storm!"
Cold aura lowered the temperature around him drastically as he circled around the tower of water. Soon a sub-zero cyclone was formed, and the water began to freeze into blocks of ice. Neptunemon's tail was within the waters, thus it too froze along with the rest of the waters. Valkyrimon let out a victorious cry and sped away, grinning towards Neptunemon.
"Yeah! Game's over," said Valkyrimon.
"Why you little…" Neptunemon swung his staff, ready to destroy the crystalline tower. Suddenly it was snapped out of his hold by a Lightning Arrow, sent his way with deadly accuracy.
Valkyrimon smirked; his plan worked. Now was the time to finish the ocean king off once and for all. He summoned his sword, and called out his most powerful technique. "FERAL SWORD!"
Neptunemon was blasted squarely over his chest by a light-charged wolf generated from the sword. It sent him and the embedded tower of ice under him crashing against an abandoned building, and his massive weight tore the building apart. Neptunemon laid in the midst of the broken building, dazed from the attack, before the building lost its foundation and crumbled over him.
"There. Crumbling building didn't kill us last time, it won't kill you," muttered the former Avian Shine, before catching a blur of white flying towards a building near where GuardiAngemon was battling Sakuyamon. Jackie? He thought, as everything fell into places. No wonder.
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GuardiAngemon in the meantime, wasn't as successful as his fellow comrades. He was having a hard time facing off Sakuyamon, who had the advantages of barrier-generation and sending his attack away with the winds she generated. For the past ten minutes, he hadn't been able to lay a single blow against the sorceress, while Sakuyamon didn't have such limitations. It was just his luck that his Chrome Digizoid armor was able to withstand most of her blows; he didn't like to think what could have happened to him should he wasn't as armored.
"Amethyst Wind!" Sakuyamon sent hails of cherry blossoms upon GuardiAngemon when he charged towards her.
The winds dampened his momentum, but drawn by instinct GuardiAngemon united his blades together before him as he would do when he wanted to summon the Holy Espada. The blades merged and an explosion of light resulted. When it faded, the steel saint was surprised to see that a large shield was formed, shaped like the blade of a broadsword. Gleaming with metallic sheen, it was lined with cerulean pattern which formed a cross, and a dark blue jewel was embedded at the center. Digital runes etched in gold decorated the blue cross-shaped star.
"Sacrosanct Starburst!"
The digital runes glowed, and the shield unleashed a stream of holy energy that streaked towards Sakuyamon. However, she was able to raise her barrier in the nick of time, and the holy burst slammed loudly upon the barrier. Refusing to give up, GuardiAngemon pushed on his attack, as an idea came to mind. She's able to block one attack, but what about two?
"So you have a new attack," Sakuyamon sneered, within the protection of her shield. "You still can't harm me."
"Guess again," replied GuardiAngemon, wings outstretched. "HEAVEN'S RIPPER!"
The stream of light from the shield was joined with bladed energy projectiles, all slamming furiously against Sakuyamon's spherical barrier. Bolts danced around the barrier, and Sakuyamon gasped as the barrier faded and the attacks blasted upon her. She let out a shriek and was sent flying, shards of her broken armor tailing her way before they dissipated into flecks of data.
"Way the go, GuardiAngemon!"
The fused Mega turned around and saw Jackie hovering not too far from him. "I didn't even have the chance to manipulate Sakuyamon as I did Lotusmon and Neptunemon," said Jackie. The mentor must have caught the blank look he was giving him, for he merely waved a hand dismissively and beckoned towards the twin towers, standing proud all the way at the end of the straight road. "Come on. Satriamon needs our help."
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Satriamon touchdowned at the KLCC Park, briefly reminded of the first time the park and the buildings around it fell prey to evil Digimon's attacks. The twin towers were somewhat obscured by a layer of bronze light which had the shape of a giant bell.
She could be anywhere inside those towers, he thought, or inside the shopping mall under it.
A stream of dark fire suddenly shot the ground just beside him. Surprised slightly, he turned around and sneered at the giant visage of Belialvamdemon that appeared from behind the skyscrapers around the park. The vampire was soon joined by the other Four Terrors from the other three sides of the park. He was surrounded, but that did nothing to dampen his spirit.
"Finally. I was wondering where the welcoming committee is." Raising his golden gauntlet and tightening his hold on the silver sword, Satriamon smirked. "Bring it on."
The Four Terrors didn't reply. Satriamon suddenly noticed something odd; the four demons had a similar glazed look on their faces.
GranDracmon's without his smartass comments, Belialvamdemon isn't a grouch…well, not as grouchy as I remembered. Something's not right.
He looked at them more closely. There was something odd about them: the way they moved, the way they looked, and the complete silence. Then it occurred to him.
They've been brainwashed! That bitch…how did she manage to control them? These guys are seriously bad-asses…damn, they're attacking!
Each Terror was charging up their signature technique, and Satriamon was surrounded from four sides.
Flames danced around his golden gauntlet as the silver sword sparked with brilliant white aura. Launching himself up via the Flaming Torch technique, barely evading the attacks from three, Satriamon decided that he might as well began the battle by taking down one of them first. He aimed for Deathmon, who was the closest and smallest.
"FIRE STORM SLASHER!"
He hacked through Deathmon's lasers with his sword, and when he was close enough, launched a flaming white tornado upon the cyclopean. It engulfed the demon; Satriamon saw sparks of explosions erupted all over him, but failed to throw him off his feet by the time it subsided.
"Explosion Eye!"
Satriamon held up his gauntlet as a shield, and was pushed back. One laser singed the armor on his shoulder, another chipped off the chest part. One was deflected by the shining sword, and two more made him jump from the ground. "Man, you're tough," snarled Satriamon as he landed on his feet. "Let's see if you can take on this! DRAGONFORCE STRIKER!"
Deathmon countered by hacking his claws towards Satriamon's fiery gauntlet. A loud clang ensued and Satriamon was forced into somersaulting back towards the ground, while Deathmon didn't move. Damn, he's strong! Thought Satriamon, feeling a dull ache from underneath his gauntlet.
Rumbles were felt. Satriamon saw the other Terrors coming. And he's not alone too. What's taking the guys so long?
Deathmon roared. Satriamon turned his head back to face his foe. "Relax, egghead," he said. "I haven't forgotten about you."
The remark provoked the demon lord. He raised his hands, and the eyes on the palms began spewing out energy arrows that nearly flustered Satriamon. He attempted to evade, but the arrows were fired at rapid pace and two struck him squarely over the chest. He fell on his back, and Deathmon launched more arrows upon him.
A flash of white light erupted from Satriamon, and Satriamon saw a protective spherical barrier had contained him. The arrows slammed upon the barrier and were deflected away, but at cost of the barrier itself, which crackled with electricity bolts before dissipating.
The Deistic Guard, realized Satriamon – an attack that belonged to a regular Aldiyamon. Adam… He shook his head. Concentrate, Josh, he chided himself. Agumon, any thoughts?
"The Deistic Guard is an Ultimate-level attack…it couldn't resist Deathmon's. But it sure came in handy," responded Agumon, from within their joined body. "With Adam's Digivice with us, I suspect we can actually summon Aldiyamon's attacks."
"Really?" Satriamon gazed at the glowing sword. The jewel sparkled slightly, as if agreeing with Agumon. "Let's try it out."
Recalling how Aldiyamon utilized his sword techniques, he slashed the sword in a horizontal motion, calling out, "Heavenstar Slasher!"
Nothing happened. "I suspect that because we're still an Ultimate, Aldiyamon Juara Mode's attacks are too powerful for us to handle," deduced Agumon. "Ultimate-level attacks shouldn't be a problem."
"Let's stop suspecting and find out." He soared as high as he could, and slashed the Heavenstar Gladius in a vertical direction, summoning the sword's name. A glowing pillar of light resulted, and it slammed upon the surprised Deathmon. The demon lord remained standing, but an audible hiss was heard; the demon lord had covered his eyes with his hands – as if blinded by the light from Aldiyamon's sword. Satriamon saw those shriveling arms blistered due to the focused ray of light.
"This is awesome!" said Satriamon, launching himself forward without wasting time. This time around, he channeled his power towards his gauntlet. "Dragonforce Striker, POWERED UP MODE!"
Deathmon snarled and retaliated by clawing at him. The two attacks met, but with a stronger fire attack Satriamon wasn't pushed back. They pressed on, but his ears caught on sounds of attacks coming from the back. Sneaking a look across his shoulder he saw flames, black and purple, coming his way. He was forced to move away, but that impulsive move proved to be beneficial when they caught on Deathmon instead – sending him tumbling down.
"Thanks!" said Satriamon sarcastically. "Couldn't have done it without you."
Murmuxmon and Belialvamdemon, both eyes looked dead red, grunted. Satriamon saw Deathmon trying to get back up on his feet, but with his egg-like body structure it proved to be a difficult feat once he had fallen on his back. He gazed up the twin towers, and then his three opponents.Deathmon's out of commission, but there are still these three freaks and their bitchy mistress, he thought, grasping his two weapons tight. Gauntlet and sword both shone in their respective colors, as if assuring him that he'd make it out of the battle. Adam… I know this is stupid, really, but if you're out there watching…watch my back, will ya lil' bro?
The Heavenstar Gladius flared with white light. Satriamon gazed at it oddly. Strange enough, he felt assured by the sword's response.
"Josh, I sense other Digimon approaching," alerted Agumon. Satriamon whipped his head back, and saw three familiar visages that put his heart at ease.
"At least they're friendly." He raised the flaring sword up, hoping to catch GuardiAngemon, Rosemon, Valkyrimon and Jackie's attentions. "Hey, what took you guys?"
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"Do you think we should be there with them?" asked Manny, casting a faraway look towards the twin towers. They could hear explosions, but the park was located on the other side of the towers. They occasionally saw sparks of light coming from there, but the towers as well as the buildings that lined the road leading to the towers obscured the battle from their sights.
"We can't help much," murmured Liu Ying. "They can fight better if they don't have to watch over us." A shriek caused her to turn back sharply.
Gayathri, pointing towards somewhere, was backing away. She was visibly afraid. "Guys, the Digimon…!"
"They're awake!" Dina gasped, backing away from the edge of the rooftop. "And they're coming!"
Lotusmon, who was nearest, trudged towards them, legs injured. Neptunemon crawled out from the piles of boulders that buried him, armors wrecked. And finally Sakuyamon, clad only in her black suit without her bronze armor, appeared from the corner of the block. The three corrupted Digimon caught sight of the DigiWira, sneered, and approached them. They were all injured, but that didn't make them any less dangerous, especially against four teenagers.
"Your friends should've finished us when they had the chance," said Lotusmon acidly. "That Rosemon wench will pay, with the death of her human partner!"
Dina screamed, alarmed. Gayathri went towards her. "NO!" shouted Gayathri, gazing up at her corrupted partner. "Lotusmon…Floramon…."
"Floramon is gone," said Lotusmon. "No use trying to call for her."
"Then I'm really sorry I have to do this," whispered Gayathri, and looked up towards the sky. Instantly, the winds began to pick up and dragged Lotusmon away.
"Wind power?" snorted Lotusmon, shaking off the winds. They subsided instantly. "Pathetic. Let me show you how…"
She was pushed back by a stream of water and an invisible force. The combined powers did little to damper her, but it did buy Gayathri and Dina time to retreat.
"Hey! Fight your own partner!" Sakuyamon loomed down towards Liu Ying, one hand extended. Similarly, Neptunemon sent a stream of water that knocked Manny off his feet.
Liu Ying raised her telekinetic barrier with one hand while slowing Manny's fall with the other. The boy was barely able to thank her when Neptunemon send another stream of water, which nullified her telekinetic hold on Manny. Manny fell on his back on the floor, groaning.
Sakuyamon laughed and slammed her hand upon Liu Ying's telekinetic barrier, destroying it, sending Liu Ying rolling towards Manny. Liu Ying groaned and saw that she had scraped her knees and arms. Ignoring the pain, she tried hoisting herself up.
"We're sitting ducks out here," said Manny, helping her up when it was clear that she needed assistance. They retreated towards Gayathri and Dina, as the three corrupted loomed upon them.
"What should we do?" whispered Gayathri, fear-struck.
Thoughts raced over Liu Ying's mind. She was reminded of Jackie's explanation; the corrupted were the results of DNA Digivolution. And if they could force the digivolution to break up, there might be a chance for them to get their partners back. "In our Wira Digital forms, we DigiWira are the dominant halves," she deduced, her shaking hand reaching for her Juara Digivice.
"What?" Gayathri said, looking at her with apprehension.
Liu Ying knew that she was on the right track. It was a bold and impulsive move - something that JD or Adam would do, not her. She would stick with facts and figures, but not this time. It just felt right. It had to be. There was no other way. They had to take this leap of faith.
"You two, take out your Digivices now."
"What do you have in mind?" Manny asked, already following her lead. Gayathri followed suit.
"Those little devices won't be able to stop us," Sakuyamon sneered.
"Liu Ying…?" Gayathri said desperately.
"No time to explain," Liu Ying said quickly. "It's a long shot, but it's the only thing I could think of. We have to Juara Access with them."
Manny and Gayathri both started. "Won't it be dangerous?" voiced out Dina; the other two DigiWira were speechless.
"It's still better than waiting for them to finish us off! There's no time for us to wait for Satriamon to beat Lilithmon; we'd be dead by then."
"But what if…" Gayathri's voice trailed off.
"We'd be dead anyway," Liu Ying cut in, and Gayathri flinched.
Sakuyamon, Lotusmon and Neptunemon all raised their hands – sparks of energy were emitted. They all looked dead-set in finishing the DigiWira off once and for all.
"We have to risk it then," decided Manny quickly. "There's no other way."
"Okay," was all Gayathri could say.
Liu Ying's nod was grim. "Let's do it."
Juara Access Digivolution….HAAAAAAA!!
Dina backed away, clasping her mouth with one hand as her friends turned into motes of yellow, pink and blue lights, soaring towards the three corrupted partners before they phased into the Digimon's bodies. The corrupted partners screamed and convulsed horribly as streaks of lights escaped eyes, noses, mouths and the in-betweens of their fingers. Their screams were horrible; Dina could hear her friends' howls intermixed with the screams of the Digimon, echoing all around the ghostly metropolitan. She was tempted to run out of sight, she couldn't take the sights…before something remarkable took place.
Three identical dark-armored beings – Duskmon, she was able to identify – were expelled from the three partners. Then streams of yellow, blue and pink engulfed the Duskmon and reduced them into specks of data. Dina looked up as the lights subsided, almost crying with relief upon the familiar sights before her.
"Xianamon, Juara Mode!"
"Puspamon, Juara Mode!"
"Samudramon, Juara Mode!"
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Lilithmon monitored the battle from the topmost floor of the left tower through the glass windows. The Four Terrors were winning, and she had no doubt that they would. Satriamon was only an Ultimate, and while the other three were Megas, they were nowhere as strong as the Four Terrors. But she would have to be careful, and that meant monitoring the battle to make sure that things would go her way. Despite what she had said to JD earlier, she didn't want the Four Terrors destroyed. She just wanted Satriamon to achieve Juara Mode, and when it happen, she would initiate her plan.
I'll need all of them to prepare for the Masters arrival...to trounce him!
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(Flashback)
Lilithmon, inside the safety of her Shield of Waja, glared towards the Four Terrors as they advanced towards her. Seraphimon had been obliterated and the Four Terrors had just taken out Aldiyamon. Adam and Patamon's lifeless forms were on the ground. By this time, she thought, JD would be dead.
At what cost? She was the sole Darkshadow Brethren that was left. She couldn't seek the Master; he was still trapped back in the Digital World. The Shield of Waja she and Seraphimon had cast was still intact. There were Digimon waiting outside, all ready to assist the DigiWira once the barrier was lowered. Now, she alone couldn't break the barrier. She couldn't escape the real world – the conditions she and Seraphimon had determined while creating the shield was to not let anything emerge from the digital world into the world contained by the shield, and vice-versa.
She was trapped.
"What are you going to do now, Lilithmon?" asked GranDracmon smoothly. "Once you lower your shield, we'll attack you at once. There will be no chance for you to inflict any of your attack."
"Why wait?" Belialvamdemon sneered. "Let's break the barrier now! Pandemonium Flames!"
The flames struck against the barrier around her. It glowed and repelled the flames. Lilithmon was relieved; Belialvamdemon was no stronger than she was. Murmuxmon and Deathmon were weaker. GranDracmon was presumed to be the strongest, but he didn't even bother trying.
"You're powerful, Lilithmon, and with vast arrays of attack that we've never seen or heard of," said GranDracmon, "but there's only one of you, and four of us. The Hellion General is…oh, I'm sorry…was the strongest of all the generals, right? And where is he right now?"
"You planned this from the start," said Lilithmon. "Lucemon's told me that you four couldn't be trusted."
"Indeed. It was his fault to ally you generals to us, after knowing what we have in mind," said GranDracmon.
"You couldn't beat him on your own, you have to use Aldiyamon to do your dirty trick," spat Lilithmon.
"Not much difference. You should be thankful that we've taken out Aldiyamon for you. From what we've heard, he's after your blood," said GranDracmon, shrugging. "And please, Lilithmon, don't talk to us about dirty tricks. You've done the same thing against one of the DigiWira, the one the boy there has been striving to save for the past few days." The dark centaur waved his hand with flourish. "Think about it. If it weren't for YOU inflicting the curse on JD, all of these wouldn't have happened."
"Not as easily, at least," said Murmuxmon, smiling fiendishly. "But GranDracmon's right. It wouldn't be so easy to bring down Lucemon. But thanks to you, we didn't even have to lift a finger."
"Don't you turn this against me!" shouted Lilithmon.
"Guilty much?" asked GranDracmon sarcastically.
Lilithmon growled. It took all of her willpower not to attack the Four Terrors rashly. She kept the barrier raised up; there was nothing the Terrors could do to shatter the barrier. As long as she remained inside the Shield of Waja, she was safe. But for how long?
"Now, now, let's not be enemies," said GranDracmon suddenly.
Lilithmon's brows shot up; she hadn't expected that.
"You generals follow your Master blindly," said GranDracmon. "Haven't you stopped and think about the rationality his orders were to you? Don't tell me that it has never crossed your mind why your Master insisted on having Adam trained? Or does allying with SkullSatamon made you all lose the capability of logical thinking?"
She snarled. "The Master wanted Adam trained so that he could use his combustion power to set him free."
"To the point of enabling Aldiyamon to bypass the second threshold of his Mega form?" GranDracmon challenged. "To the point of making Aldiyamon more powerful than ANY of you?"
"It was unforeseen!" Lilithmon snapped back. "Lucemon too had bypassed the second threshold! The Master expected that Lucemon and I would be able to keep Aldiyamon at bay."
"Really," said GranDracmon. "Everyone knows how uncontrollable Adam's powers had been. The plan wasn't foolproof. Surely your Master had foreseen that."
"He…" Lilithmon was at a loss. What GranDracmon said made sense. "He trained Lucemon to be the best. He had trained Lucemon for centuries! Surely, he couldn't have expected Aldiyamon to win over Lucemon just like that!" Her words sounded convincing, but it only raised her inner doubts even more.
"You know what I think? I think he really was counting on Aldiyamon to obliterate Lucemon."
"What?"
"I've seen what he is capable of," said GranDracmon. "He doesn't know that I know. He's made sure that none of his generals know about this. But I do, and I have seen it happen."
"What do you know?" GranDracmon's tone was darkly inviting, Lilithmon couldn't help but ask.
"There were times when the Onyx Pyramid became too boring for me to stay put. There really wasn't much thing to do. You generals were always so secretive, training to wield your Mega forms to perfection, and honing other skills to complement your own. So I, at times, decided to venture out of the bastion and flew amidst the darkness of the night. Several times, I was led to the Shadow Realm, but I always made sure to remain hidden within the dark clouds hovering over that arid region. And from there, I saw your Master…trying to digivolve. I always overheard him talk to himself – sometimes I wonder whether he knew that he was talking out loud. Probably a habit ingrained for being captive for several centuries."
"I don't see where you're getting at," said Lilithmon.
"I heard him mentioning about being able to digivolve to Mega once Belphemon and Daemon were defeated," said GranDracmon. "He became Diablomon from their powers."
"You're lying!" snapped Lilithmon. "I know of the Master's Mega level. He could become Diablomon. I've seen it."
"His digivolution power was wiped out during his battle against Grademon," pointed out GranDracmon. "But of course, you wouldn't know about it. You were already imprisoned, but yes, I heard him mentioning losing his power during the final battle. And yes…" He smiled, almost a kind smile towards Lilithmon, but also a mocking one, "I've heard him mentioning about a back-up plan he had. How he had prepared to restore his powers to full glory."
"What…?"
"Weren't you curious of the reason why this Grademon never deleted you all? Rather, he entombed you, when he could have easily destroyed you?"
GranDracmon had a point. She stared at GranDracmon curiously.
"Grademon knew of your Master's plan," said GranDracmon. "So he foiled it by entombing his servants before going after him. Smart guy."
"But then those DigiWira fools went and destroyed the entombed servants," laughed Belialvamdemon. "Grademon wasn't around to prevent it from happening."
"In short, you were all his puppets," said GranDracmon, "and he's the puppet master, orchestrating everything to happen. With every general deleted he grows stronger. I couldn't fathom how much power he'd gotten from Seraphimon's deletion. Seraphimon's very powerful… you know," he shot her a dark look, "he might have already escaped. And he'd be coming after you."
That shook her up. "You…you're lying."
"But you believe us," said GranDracmon simply.
She did. And she didn't like it. But what GranDracmon had said – all of them made perfect sense. She cast the leader of the Terrors a long, suspicious look.
"You know, perhaps we can work together on this one," offered GranDracmon.
"You want me to ally myself with you?" That came out harsher than she had expected.
"The decision is up to you. As for us, we don't want your Master to gain full power. As long as you live, he won't be at his strongest. That means you don't have to worry about us killing you."
She narrowed her eyes. "Then why let Aldiyamon kill Seraphimon?"
"Seraphimon, smart as he was, was blindly loyal to his Master. He would never believe us. You, on the other hand, have brains. We know you'd see reason." GranDracmon smiled. "There's always a room for a fifth Terror. Join us, and we'll help you against this Master of yours."
I'll be damned if I trust you four. I have a better idea.
She lowered the Shield of Waja. GranDracmon's smile turned to a grin as she slowly approached him.
(/Flashback)
xxx
xxx
None of the Terrors had seen it coming. None had expected it when she used the abhorrence spell to take control over GranDracmon. The spell was for corrupting good beings, which would make the whole corrupting process a lot easier. Corrupting evil Digimon…it was like giving a pillow to a sleepy person, as she had discovered that night. GranDracmon had fallen under her will instantly, and with GranDracmon she was able to outclass the other Terrors and seized control over their minds. She didn't even need to infuse the Duskmon inside the Four Terrors – the spell alone sufficed in turning them under her will.
She had taken precautions against the Master. If he was coming after her, then let him come. She had the Four Terrors and three DigiWira partners under her power. That was seven Mega Digimon. If Satriamon reached his Juara Mode, he would be the eighth. It was either Satriamon Juara Mode or ChaosGallantmon, she didn't care – both were powerful. When he digivolved, she would step in. No need for him to wipe out her army.
But of course, there's also my trump card.
Lilithmon cast a look towards the corner of the dark chamber where a bell-shaped barrier stood erect, a prone figure within it. She smiled darkly.