Looking around her with dread, she saw herself inside the dark jungle again. Shadows loomed from the canopies above, light was scanty. She looked around, anticipating what would come her way in a matter of seconds.
Someone darted past her, as if she wasn't even there. The boy seemed scared, panting, running for his life. He didn't notice her.
A roar echoed, and she saw a large panther leaping towards her. She would have screamed in fright, but she didn't, for she knew from experience that the beast couldn't harm her. But out of reflex she did gasp and raise her arms, but it simply flew past her, fangs bared with saliva dripping from them, as it chased the running boy. The boy turned around – her heart ached upon seeing his tearful gray eyes – gasped, and picked up pace.
She had seen this numerous times. She knew what would be taking place. The boy would continue running, and eventually he'd lose the panther.
But then something unexpected happened – something that she had not seen during her previous experiences.
The boy tripped, and toppled onto the ground. The panther leaped towards the boy, eyes gleaming red as it loomed upon the boy…
"Adam! NO!!"
Alisha screamed. Her eyes snapped open and she was nearly jerked forward hadn't it been for the seatbelt she was wearing. The car skidded to a halt. Abu, who was driving, gazed at her, concerned. She saw his unspoken question and sighed.
"It's that dream again," said Abu knowingly. She nodded. "That's the fourth time you've dreamt this, Lisha," he pointed out.
Alisha nodded again, weakly. "I didn't expect to doze off…"
"You haven't been sleeping well," said Abu gently, "You were up all night after Josh said that he'd go to look for Adam's body."
"Every time I sleep, I'd see Adam," she said. "He's always running from a panther. I'd wake up as they disappeared…but today I saw something else happening…" She swallowed a lump in her throat. Her heart raced wildly. Her instinct was telling her something, but it was impossible.
"What did you see, Kak Lisha?" Jas, who had been sitting at the back with Jade, peered beside her, concerned.
"Adam fell, and the panther got to him…" Her voice broke. "I don't know why I'm dreaming this over and over again."
Silence. Jas rubbed her shoulder softly. "Josh will find him," she whispered. "He won't rest until he does. He told us that, remember?"
"I know. It's just…" She wiped her tears. "Moving on is just so hard with these dreams…"
They were on their way to Kuala Lumpur, after seeing Lilithmon's image projection over the sky, having heard what she had claimed to have. It had caused a stir at the hospital, where the name JD and Adam were both familiar. JD's cursed tattoo had become a gossip at the hospital, and with Lilithmon mentioning his name people had begun to connect the dots. Wanting to avoid the unnecessary questions, as well as concerned for the DigiWira's safety, Abu and Alisha decided to go after them, with Jade and Jas tagging along.
The car moved again along the deserted highway leading to the metropolitan capital. Everyone's eyes were fixed at the Twin Towers, contained within an opaque bell-shaped aura.
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WIRA DIGITAL
Chapter 77 – Carpe Diem, Part II
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"Deathmon's out," said Satriamon, gazing towards the remaining three Terrors. Suddenly a roar ensued, and the ground rumbled.
"Apparently you spoke too soon." Rosemon pointed towards Deathmon, who had managed to get back up on his feet.
"Damn! It's four against four again."
"At least it's better than four against one," said Valkyrimon.
"Okay. It's open buffet for everyone. Help yourself." Satriamon smirked, powering up the gauntlet and the sword again.
GranDracmon summoned his crystals while Belialvamdemon's shoulder pods opened as dark energy coalesced within them. A fiery vulture flared about Murmuxmon, while Deathmon merely grunted, having weakened from being blasted by the other Terrors earlier. Satriamon and his allies braced themselves, their gazes changed intermittently from each Terror.
"They're still too powerful for us," insisted Rosemon. "Lady Ophanimon…"
Rosemon was interrupted when the sky thundered; flashes of lightning ensued, illuminating the darkened grounds of the KLCC Park and the shield that was containing the whole city. Winds picked up as thunderbolts danced over the ground, forcing the Terrors to back away. The bolts however didn't come near any of the good guys, as if not wanting to harm them. They turned around, and to their surprise they saw Samudramon Juara Mode descending from the sky, lightning bolts coalescing about him. He was followed by Puspamon Juara Mode whose body was engulfed by faint pink hurricane, and finally Xianamon Juara Mode, with Dina in her arms. The three Juara Wira Digital headed towards the others and Xianamon lowered Dina beside Jackie.
"Talk about a grand entrance," said Satriamon, smirking. "Welcome back. How did you guys do it?"
"How did we do it? Oh, I'll tell you how we did it," said Puspamon, glaring towards Xianamon. "Liu Ying suddenly decided to pull a JD on us."
"Pull a what?" Satriamon asked, confused.
Xianamon shrugged while returning Puspamon's glare. "Hey, it does work!" She glanced towards Satriamon. "We Juara Accessed with them when they were about to kill us," she said, deadpan.
"Whoa!" That surprised Satriamon. "That's so not like you."
"I know," agreed Xianamon. "Puspamon's right. That's more like you." She smiled at the comment. "But it was a leap of faith worth taking. If we didn't do it, they would have…umm…it doesn't matter now," she amended suddenly. Satriamon knew why; the Digimon halves of the three Juara Wira Digital would be uncomfortable if the matter was addressed.
"Lookout!" Samudramon swirled his hands and called out, "Grand Wave Tsunami!"
Torrents of water projected out of Samudramon's hands and collided with curls of dark flames from Belialvamdemon. Samudramon was pushed back for Belialvamdemon's attack was stronger, but Puspamon immediately stepped in with her wind power. The hurricane wind spiraled around the water and Samudramon began to regain his stance. The temperature began to drop, water and wind enveloped the flames and the flames froze into chunks of ice that crashed upon the ground.
The two Juara Wira Digital leaped to the air. "We'll handle Belialvamdemon!" said Samudramon.
"He'll pay for what he did to us back at the school." Puspamon joined the aquatic dragon-man, as they streaked together towards the massive armored vampire.
Satriamon saw Xianamon staring towards Murmuxmon, who was charging up another fiery vulture. He saw Xianamon raising both hands, and the next thing he saw was Murmuxmon trapped inside an energy column formed by two glowing Mandalas, shrieking with rage as magical storm furiously ripped him apart inside the Mandala column.
"Time freeze?" he asked.
"Guilty," she replied, and flew towards the avian demon lord. Satriamon smirked, but was surprised when lasers singed his pauldrons.
"Man, you don't waste time now do you?" he grunted towards Deathmon, and evaded another blast of Explosion Eye. "Sheesh!"
Deathmon snarled and unleashed several beams in a fit of drunken rage, which almost blasted Satriamon and GuardiAngemon, while Rosemon and Valkyrimon instantly leaped to the air.
"Holy Espada!"
GuardiAngemon summoned his metallic broadsword before taking on the cyclopean demon lord. Deathmon retaliated by sending lasers, but they were deflected by the steel saint's sword. The angel then tried slamming the sword upon the demon's head, but the demon managed to head-butt the sword – a move unexpected by the angel – before blasting GuardiAngemon back with lasers from his main eye. GuardiAngemon however refused to back away, his armored body protected him from being fully harmed by the laser. The holy sword vanished as GuardiAngemon began to shine with silvery pink light.
"Heaven's Charm!"
A pink vertical column formed around GuardiAngemon as he brought his hands together towards his front. Then he opened his arms wide, sending a horizontal wave of holy energy towards Deathmon. It singed Deathmon's hands and caused him to shriek.
"Wow. He's damn good," said Satriamon, looking up at Rosemon and Valkyrimon. "You two, help Xianamon out, okay? GuardiAngemon and I'll fry this egghead."
Rosemon and Valkyrimon shared one look and sailed towards Xianamon wordlessly.
"C'mon, Dina, we better find some safe place to hide," said Jackie, beckoning for the girl with him.
"Mr. Chan, can't you use your psychic power against the Four Terrors like you did to the partners earlier?"
"If I'm not as taxed as I am now, I can," said Jackie. "The others can handle this. C'mon."
Watching as the two ran to safety, Satriamon charged his weapons with power, smirking, "Alright. Let's seize the day!"
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"Impossible!"
Lilithmon couldn't believe what she was seeing. The scales had tipped to favor her foes.
Gazing down through the transparent window, she saw Belialvamdemon having his hands full against Puspamon and Samudramon, Murmuxmon fighting against a coalition formed by Xianamon, Valkyrimon and Rosemon, while Satriamon and GuardiAngemon worked together against Deathmon. GranDracmon, left alone for the time being by the Wira Digital and their allies, sent his attacks against the Wira Digital, but in his controlled state he wasn't as efficient or as crafty as he had been. That coupled with the fact that the Wira Digital were in close range with the other Terrors made it difficult for him to fix his targets properly. And the Wira Digital had the advantage in numbers; their strategy worked marvelously, for one would watch out for the other in the battle, fending off GranDracmon's attack whenever it got too close to them while the other focused on battling the Terror they were fighting against.
Her eyes fell on Satriamon. He hasn't reached Juara Mode yet, she thought, thinking of her plan against SkullSatamon. Everything's falling apart. I can't let them beat the Four Terrors. I have to interfere with this battle, and wipe out all of those goody-two-shoes myself!
She blasted the window and flew down the eighty-eight levels before hoisting herself back up just seconds before reaching the ground. Calling off the Shield of Waja surrounding the twin towers, she began heading towards the weakest fighter of the team.
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"Satriamon, LOOKOUT!!"
Xianamon's scream alerted Satriamon and he turned, but it was too late for he was struck by barrages of corrosive hearts from out of nowhere. The attack was too strong and sudden that he was blasted off his feet, falling on the ground. Quickly summoning his flames to burn off the corrosive hearts, he glared towards the culprit as she sashayed towards him.
"You."
"And I'm here to finish what I've started," said Lilithmon sleekly, raising her formidable claw.
He would have fought Lilithmon there and then, but that would leave GuardiAngemon alone against Deathmon.
"Go! I'll handle him!" urged GuardiAngemon.
That was all he needed to hear. He readied his weapons, blood boiled with anger as he remembered what she had done to him and the deadly outcome it had on Adam.
Lilithmon's eyes glinted. "Serpent Shadow…"
Suddenly an energy ribbon wrapped around the hideous claw and halted Lilithmon. Satriamon saw Xianamon abandoning her fight with Murmuxmon, her eyes now trained towards Lilithmon.
"Not so fast." Xianamon flicked her hand inward. The ribbon tightened around the claw.
"Xianamon, this is –" He however didn't have the chance to finish his words, when Xianamon cut him off quickly.
"Don't you dare say that this is your fight," said Xianamon. "She's aiming for you, and out of all of us you're the only one who's still an Ultimate. You need my help."
There was no use telling her otherwise. She was determined to help him. He might as well accept her assistance.
"How touching. Two lovebirds wanting to fight side by side," snickered Lilithmon, an in rapid succession she called out, "Darkness Love!"
The energy hearts instantly corroded the ribbons, freeing her claw, but Xianamon had retaliated with the Kitsune Mahou which Lilithmon fended off with more Darkness Love. The attacks cancelled each other out, but before the resulted smoke subsided Lilithmon had launched herself towards Xianamon. Xianamon retaliated by thrusting her hand, halting Lilithmon with her power before sending her back flying. The demoness was able to regain her stance by flexing her wings out before launched her dark hearts again, but those too were sent back towards her.
Satriamon could almost smirk upon hearing Lilithmon snarl in anger, but he had to be on alert. An angry Lilithmon could only mean more trouble. He was going to step in, but the battle between the two females grew even more heated that he was forced to step back and reconsider.
"Phantom Pain!"
"Elegant Barrier!"
Satriamon thought that it was odd for Lilithmon to send out mists, of all things, before realizing from the smell of them that the mists were corrosive. Xianamon was smart to raise her barrier up – even the barrier was corroded by the mists before it combusted into data. But it had given Xianamon enough time to soar higher and launch her ribbon towards the demoness.
"Maiden Finesse – Refined Grace!"
"Nazar Nail!"
The ribbon moved with swift agility, evading Lilithmon's direct claw thrust. He then saw a chance to attack after catching Xianamon's brief look upon him. He might have imagined it, it was too hard to tell, but Xianamon seemed to be distracting Lilithmon more than actually attacking. That was the nature of the Refined Grace anyway, flustering and making the enemy losing patience, Satriamon knew. He crept slowly behind Lilithmon, the Heavenstar Gladius infused with power, and when he was close enough…
"Fire Storm Slasher!"
His sword slashing however clanged with a bell-shaped barrier that formed from out of nowhere. Lilithmon laughed heartily and turned to look at him.
"Did you really think I'd leave myself unprotected from you? With the Shield of Waja you can never harm me!"
"Really? How about taking on this for size! Dragonforce Striker, POWERED UP MODE!"
Lilithmon didn't even budge; the bell barrier was enough to shield her from his attack. He grunted; his hand under the gauntlet numbed.
"You can't harm me," chuckled the demoness, "and unfortunately for you, I can! Darkness Love!"
For the briefest of seconds, the barrier vanished as the hearts sailed towards him, reappearing again as they slammed upon him. The second blast of these hearts was enough to penetrate his armors, and his flames had barely vanquished the hearts before they actually made contact with his skin.
"RYOUKAI MANDALA!" shouted Xianamon. A column of light closed in by two Mandalas contained Lilithmon and her shield, but even the attack didn't work to break the armor.
"Not good enough," taunted Lilithmon. "The shield can only be broken by someone stronger than me. And of course, also by the evoker. Darkness Love!"
Xianamon toppled onto the ground, her armor corroded. Lilithmon laughed heartily.
"I don't know how you've managed to break the spell on your partner, but no matter," said Lilithmon, sending another Darkness Love to both of them. "I'll kill you anyway."
Satriamon hoisted himself up from the ground. "If you think we're just gonna stand here and believe your shit about the shield, then you're wrong! Dragonforce Striker!" The bell barrier electrocuted his gauntlet upon contact, but he persisted on, trying to stab the shield with the sword. The barrier retaliated by electrocuting the sword as well, and the electric conducted into his body. He screamed in pain before both the gauntlet and the sword combusted into data particles.
"No…" He wouldn't care much of his gauntlet destroyed, for it would come back during the next digivolution. But the Heavenstar Gladius...what if it was a one-time deal?
"Aww, you lost your toys." Lilithmon smirked evilly. "It's okay, I'm done playing anyway. Now it's time to destroy you two losers."
"No," said Xianamon resolutely, standing back up. "Don't be too sure of yourself yet. There's a way to beat you still, Lilithmon."
"You're welcome to try any way you wanted," said Lilithmon, spreading her arms wide in a mock-inviting way.
"You asked for it. Satriamon," she said, glancing towards him. "Get ready. I'm going to channel my power to you."
"WHAT?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Lilithmon frowned.
Xianamon's mouth thinned. "She's said it herself: only one power stronger than hers could destroy the barrier. I'm a Mega, you're an Ultimate. If my powers are added into yours, it's either you ascend to Mega, or you wield my power in your current form. Either way, you'll become a temporary powerhouse with powers from two Digimon inside a single being…which should be enough to stop this wretched demon!"
There was a certain edge in Xianamon's voice that Satriamon couldn't figure out. It was anger, sadness, and hate towards Lilithmon all mixed into one. "Xianamon…"
"It might be the only way to beat her," whispered Xianamon. "Adam's a good friend of mine too," she added, her tone forlorn. Satriamon knew instantly that this was the DigiWira half of her speaking. What she said convinced him entirely. "The others would do the same thing, but only I can do what I'm intending to do," she finished, as her ribbon glimmered with golden aura.
Satriamon nodded. "Okay. Let's do it."
Xianamon floated behind him. "Maiden Finesse – Refined Grace!"
The energy ribbon wrapped around his waist and arms. He wondered what would Xianamon do, when the second variant of her Maiden Finesse was called out.
"Maiden Finesse – Flowing River!"
He felt his body being jolted, before a rush of power flowed into his body. It was a comforting feeling of warmth and grace, as her powers intermixed with his own. He closed his eyes, feeling their power synchronizing. What mild injuries he had sustained from Deathmon and Lilithmon were healed, and he felt even more power flowing in that the warmth suddenly became a burning sensation that was too great for him to handle. The amount of power was too great for him to handle.
"Oh, no…" whispered Xianamon fearfully.
"No, keep going!" The process was painful, but it was nothing compared to the pains he had felt from the curse. He could do this.
The yell he let out could have split the earth apart as his legs and arms grew rigid. His form bulked up and his armor was expanded to their limit. Spirals of flames coalesced around his body followed by psionic crimson bolts and glittering golden stars. He felt the ribbons loosening and Xianamon's weak sigh. She's given all she's got.
Satriamon thrust his arms forward as surges of power coalesced around his arms and were released in a manner similar to how Aldiyamon had sent out his Final Purification. The flames and psionic bolts slammed into the bell-barrier, and began pushing it back. Lilithmon grunted, as the blast successfully shook the barrier.
This is it, he thought, as a Mandala lined with flames materialized before him. The powers he was unleashing were greatly amplified by the Mandala. And then, to his surprise bluish white light orbs spiraled around the flames and bolts he were releasing. Xianamon's power, my own power, and traces of Aldiyamon's power…all in one. Gotta make this count.
"FIRESTORM PURIFICATION!"
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Launching the Heaven's Ripper was definitely a good call, realized GuardiAngemon, as Deathmon was once again sent toppling on his back. His egg-shape figure made it hard for the demon to get back on his feet. That brought his attention towards the battle taking place between Rosemon, Valkyrimon and Murmuxmon.
That's one demon lord we don't have to worry about for now, he thought, as the ground shook slightly. He cast a look towards the edge of the Twin Towers, where a fearsome wave of flames was unleashed by Satriamon towards Lilithmon. Xianamon slumped upon the ground not too far away, and GuardiAngemon was surprised to see that she was only clad in her white suit – the golden armor and facemask was gone. She looked terribly weakened, but somehow still retained her Mega form. Looks like Satriamon's going to defeat Lilithmon…amazing…we don't have to worry about Lilithmon attacking for now. What about the three other Terrors?
Valkyrimon and Rosemon were dealing well with Murmuxmon, but with Valkyrimon continuously having to shrug off GranDracmon's attacks that would leave only Rosemon to fight Murmuxmon. The rose woman however had profound skills of a swordsman; she dealt blows one after another against Murmuxmon with her shining rapier-vine.
We need to get rid of at least one of the Terrors to be on comfort zone, said Angewomon from their joined mind.
Right, agreed MagnaAngemon. So…Deathmon or Murmuxmon?
A scream was heard. Rosemon was suddenly overwhelmed by Murmuxmon's flames, and Valkyrimon was forced to summon his ice power to quench the flames. From afar, GranDracmon had seized the opportunity to strike both of them with lasers from his crystals. The lasers threw both his comrades away.
"Two can play a dirty game like that," GuardiAngemon snarled, joining his bladed arms to form the Sacrosanct Shield. "SACROSANCT STARBURST!!"
The blast of holy energy struck Murmuxmon from the side. It caught him by surprise, sending him toppling onto the ground.
Focusing on the fallen Murmuxmon, GuardiAngemon directed the holy blast to further engulf Murmuxmon. The demon lord shrieked as he tried to get away from the intense holy-charged attack. GuardiAngemon however was relentless, nodding towards his comrades to follow up with their own attacks. As a famed Terror, Murmuxmon was strong, but together, theyhad to be stronger.
"You're through, Murmuxmon!" snapped Rosemon, getting back up her feet as she cornered Murmuxmon from the side opposite to GuardiAngemon.
"Yeah, the table's turned now!" Valkyrimon formed a triangle of three warriors surrounding the avian demon lord, and initiated the first attack. "FERAL SWORD!"
"AGUICHANT LEVRES!"
Rosemon's attack was the final toll for Murmuxmon, as three attacks proved to be too much for him to take in his weakened state. The demon lord was the first to be deleted, exploding into data before their eyes. This elated all three fighters as they withdrew their attacks from the now-empty spot.
Withdrawing his shield, GuardiAngemon was elated. One Terror was down for the count. But he suddenly saw a large, oval shadow loomed over him, followed by an infuriated snarl.
"GuardiAngemon, look out!" screamed Rosemon, and her seven jewels shone brightly."TIFARET!"
"LIGHTNING ARROW!"
The two attacks sailed over GuardiAngemon with amazing speed and slammed upon the shadow's master. He turned around and saw Deathmon toppled onto the ground, blisters all over his body and his large one eye struck by Valkyrimon's crackling arrow of light. The Cyclops was writhing horribly, howling with pain, and GuardiAngemon closed his eyes. Deathmon was evil, but GuardiAngemon didn't believe in letting one suffer before deletion. He pointed his shield towards the demon lord.
"SACROSANCT STARBURST!!"
Deathmon shrieked and combusted into data as well. Their victory however was short-lived for the battles had taken their tolls on all three of them. Rosemon and Valkyrimon both devolved at the same time into Lalamon and Muchomon. GuardiAngemon remained in his digivolved state, albeit feeling weaker than ever. It had been a long day and he had outstretched the limits of his power with the new Sacrosanct Starburst, which was by far his most powerful arsenal.
"You two better seek out a safe place to hide," he advised to Lalamon and Muchomon. "I'll stay around to see where I can help out."
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Despite teaming up together, Belialvamdemon still was a powerful opponent against the two of them, what more with GranDracmon's interference from the background. It was hard for Samudramon and Puspamon to lay any strong blow against Belialvamdemon, with the vampire being too heavily armored. Normal attacks couldn't penetrate the armor. All their efforts had been in vain thus far.
"Grand Wave Tsunami!"
"Dahlstar Sunset Pink!"
Spheres of water and nature slammed on both Belialvamdemon's shoulder pods; they'd aimed to destroy the pods so that Belialvamdemon couldn't attack them with the Pandemonium Flames. Yet the pods were closed, thus their blasts merely dented the pods more than actually damaging them.
Belialvamdemon laughed darkly. "BLOODY RAIN!"
Crimson energy whips struck Puspamon and Samudramon hard. Puspamon's mask was torn away and her body was seized by the whip, while Samudramon was whipped repeatedly. The vampire laughed and brought Puspamon close to him, sneering as Puspamon tried freeing herself from the whip.
"Let me go!" She couldn't attack. She even felt vulnerable as her nose caught the sickening blood-like smell from Belialvamdemon.
"Puspamon!" Samudramon couldn't get to her, with Belialvamdemon's whips attacking him relentlessly. Finally, losing his patience Samudramon summoned lightning bolts that blasted the whips back into the vampire's wings. However, the vampire retaliated by calling out the Pandemonium Flames, focused directly on Samudramon. Samudramon countered with the Depth Bomber, but realized soon enough that with Puspamon held captive he couldn't use his severest attacks without risking Puspamon's safety.
Puspamon wiggled hard to break free, but it was useless. She was forced to watch as Belialvamdemon loomed towards Samudramon and struck him hard with his claws. Samudramon shot to the ground, barely avoiding the full blow of the attack with his trident which was destroyed in the process.
Belialvamdemon then drew her close to his face. She glared towards his dead-like eyes, and for a moment she thought that she saw, from Belialvamdemon's eyes, that her own eyes were shining with pink light. Belialvamdemon was not blinking; Puspamon saw that his fierce look slowly diminishing, replaced by a mesmerized look. She blinked. Belialvamdemon remained dazed.
Suddenly she knew. She didn't know how, but she just. It was her fourth attack, one she hadn't used before – the Fatal Attraction. Her mind raked for how it worked, and within seconds it came – the attack held the opponent's mind in her control after they had maintained an eye contact.
"Let me go," said Puspamon. Belialvamdemon gazed at her blankly. She frowned. Okay, so much for mind control. She balled her hand in a fist, angry…and the whip tightened around her body so rapidly that she couldn't breath. Gasping, she un-balled her fist, and the whips released her. She realized instantly what was going on. Oookay… so he'll follow my every movement?
She tipped her chin, and Belialvamdemon mimicked her action, which nearly made her laugh because with that posture, Belialvamdemon looked downright comical, unbefitting his demonic form. To test her theory again she placed both hands on her hips; Belialvamdemon did the same thing and she couldn't stop herself from bursting into laughter at this absurd, but seemingly powerful, technique. She could feel Samudramon's odd gaze burning upon her back.
"What are you dong?" Samudramon asked oddly, as she scratched her cheek. Needless to say Belialvamdemon did the same.
"I don't know. It's my new technique: Fatal Attraction. I don't get what's so fatal about it though, all he does is follow what I'm doing."
Samudramon frowned. "He'll follow whatever you are doing?" he asked, skeptical.
"Apparently yes." She blew a kiss with flourish to further test her power.
Samudramon couldn't bear to look at Belialvamdemon blowing a kiss, especially when it was directed at him! It made him want to vomit.
Puspamon giggled. "Don't worry. I swear I won't get jealous."
Samudramon looked at her exasperatedly, before it melted into a thoughtful look. "Maybe we can use it to our advantage. How long will this attack hold?"
"No. Why?" She gazed at him. "Anything on your mind?"
"Just an idea." Samudramon smiled conspiratorially. "We can use him to attack GranDracmon."
"Oh..." She had to admit that it was a good idea. There was only one problem, though. "How do I make him attack? I can only control his movements."
"Looks like you have to use whatever physical techniques you know."
"I don't know any of those! I've never taken any martial arts!" A thought crossed her mind. "But I can use the Pushpa Vimana…"
Puspamon launched the said attack around an empty space after making sure that GranDracmon was close to Belialvamdemon. Belialvamdemon mimicked her, despite his moves rendered somewhat sluggish due to his bulk, but he had tackled GranDracmon so hard that the two monstrosities collapsed upon an abandoned building. Puspamon pretended to get back up on her feet; Belialvamdemon quickly followed. She kicked the empty air; Belialvamdemon slammed his foot upon GranDracmon's chest.
It was then that GranDracmon had had enough. The dark centaur blasted Belialvamdemon away with lasers, and apparently the centaur was angry enough that he'd sent lasers one after another upon Belialvamdemon, not caring that Belialvamdemon was his comrade at all. Belialvamdemon was sent crashing against another building. Puspamon made a notion of getting back up on her feet…but to her surprise this time around Belialvamdemon didn't follow suit. She saw Belialvamdemon slowly getting up at his own accord.
"Uh oh…that blow might have snapped him out of your power," cautioned Samudramon.
Puspamon tried waving her arm…and Belialvamdemon followed suit. "I think there's a time limit for this one rather than having to maintain control with my mind," she said, getting more and more familiar with her new power. "I better try something to finish him off once and for all. Can you distract GranDracmon for a few seconds?"
"What do you have in mind?"
"Oh…just a little…dance."
GranDracmon began advancing towards Puspamon, but was pushed back by Samudramon's lightning bolts. Samudramon was careful not to hit the crystals, for they would only deflect the attack back to him – physical strike was the only way to destroy the crystals. "One minute," he gritted his teeth.
"Okay," said Puspamon, and began spinning over the air like a spinning top. Belialvamdemon followed her action, but in his process of spinning he had knocked many buildings over. Puspamon tried moving away so that the vampire was led to an open space. The idea was to make Belialvamdemon dizzy so that it would be easier to beat him. She spun faster and faster, nearly becoming a tornado and Belialvamdemon had a hard time trying to catch up.
Then she halted, and Belialvamdemon slowly stopped, his eyes were Xs as he collapsed onto the ground.
"Samudramon!" she called out. "Double-team!"
Samudramon nodded, and they linked hand. "EVERLASTING STORM!"
The thunderstorm and windstorm resulted from the attack pushed away GranDracmon as the snowstorm was focused on Belialvamdemon. Ice blocks confined Belialvamdemon until he was nothing more than a crystalline megalith. The winds slowly raised the frozen vampire up towards the thunderous clouds formed by the Everlasting Storm, and when it was high enough it attracted the raging lightning to strike all over it from multiple directions.
The sheer force from the lightning, coupled with a well-timed Zeus Ex Thunderstrike and Double Dragon Thunderblades from Samudramon, destroyed Belialvamdemon into million bits of data.
"We're not done yet," said Samudramon, beckoning towards GranDracmon who watched the whole ordeal emotionlessly.
"Yes, but…" Puspamon gasped as her body glowed pink. Samudramon too shimmered with blue light, before they both became motes of light that streaked towards the ground. When the lights diminished both Juara Wira Digital had devolved to their composite selves. "We've devolved!"
"The attack took out a lot from us, but at least we get to beat one of them," said Manny, helping Gayathri up as they saw GuardiAngemon. He looked at Penguinmon – it was the first time both DigiWira saw their partners after nearly a week of separation. "Penguinmon?"
"What…happened?" Penguinmon blinked, looking so confused. "How did I get here?"
"The last thing I remembered was fighting the Four Terrors at Subang," said Floramon, frowning. "And we're now in KLCC…where we fought the Puaka Generals…"
Gayathri and Manny exchanged looks.
"Long story, but apparently the Four Terrors are now…" Gayathri looked around, noticing GuardiAngemon, Lalamon and Muchomon, as well as a fiery Satriamon blasting flaming waves towards Lilithmon, with an unarmored Xianamon behind him. There was no sight of the other Terrors. "It's only One Terror now."
GranDracmon roared. The four of them quickly ran towards GuardiAngemon, who had a massive metallic shield ready to intercept GranDracmon. And not too far away, a fiery Satriamon was unleashing torrents of unforgiving flames towards Lilithmon.
xxx
xxx
"Curse it…" grunted Lilithmon, as the Shield of Waja flickered. "Impossible!" She narrowed her eyes. He hasn't even digivolved, and he's already breaking the shield?
She quickly gathered power in both hands, preparing to attack as the shield combusted into data particles. Ignoring the rush of winds against her, she blasted out the Serpent Shadow Sutra and the Darkness Love ruthlessly towards Satriamon. The attacks collided with the Firestorm Purification and resulted in an explosion that pushed both of them back. She flapped her wings to regain his stance, and saw Satriamon somersaulting once and landed firmly on his feet.
He even matched two of my attacks! She thought, hearts thumping as Satriamon glared at her. It was then that she noticed some discreet but remarkable changes in Satriamon's features; ones that she hadn't noticed before.
Formerly clad in red armor over a black tight suit, the suit was now white while the armors had become bulkier and with sharper edges. Blazing flames the shape of a bird's wings flared from his back, acting as his own wings. Within his right hand was a formidable saber – the outer edge was jagged like the shapes of flames while the inner side seemed to be made out of purely crimson energy. With the new advancements, Satriamon looked deadlier than he had been before. His emerald green eyes glinted when their gazes met. She swallowed a lump.
"You…digivolved," she choked finally.
"Point for stating the obvious," said Satriamon Juara Mode, looking at his saber wistfully. He looked back at Xianamon, nodding at her. "Go take cover," he said, bending down to help the weakened sorceress up. "And thanks for the power up."
"You're our only hope now," said Xianamon, smiling slightly before she flew towards GuardiAngemon, who was protecting Gayathri, Manny and the four partners. She then devolved into Liu Ying and Labramon, and Satriamon provided cover for them as they retreated.
Satriamon then turned to face her, an unmistakable look of determination flaring from his green eyes. "You're dead," he said solemnly.
Lilithmon looked around. Other than GranDracmon, the other Terrors had been deleted. Her plan was foiled. If SkullSatamon were to arrive, she would be dead. If she released GranDracmon from the spell, he and Satriamon would fight against her.
I have to retreat, she decided, and wait until SkullSatamon and these Wira Digital fight against each other. Both are strong; there may be no victor and loser, the real victor will be me!
"Tell me where Adam's body is," demanded Satriamon, his voice hard.
Lilithmon snickered. "Before I tell you, you have to agree on my terms."
"Just tell me where his body is," said Satriamon, undeterred. His saber flared with radiant flames.
"Not until…"
"Just TELL ME WHERE ADAM'S BODY IS!!" Satriamon shouted, losing his patience. "Or I slay you with my saber, bitch."
Lilithmon was slightly taken aback; Satriamon's voice thundered inside her eardrums. Rage, she thought. Before she knew it, Satriamon charged towards her, saber raised up.
"DRAGONFORCE SABER!!"
"Darkness Love!!" She retaliated, but Satriamon hacked the energy hearts to dusts. Satriamon was getting closer; she had no choice but to retaliate."NAZAR NAIL!"
Satriamon however changed his strategy quickly, withdrawing his saber before making a one clean swipe towards her extended claw, severing it from her wrist! The Nazar Claw plopped onto the ground lifelessly before combusting into data. She screamed and clutched her dismembered arm, where clear liquid and data particles poured out, staring at Satriamon with disbelief.
"Just be thankful that you didn't lose the whole arm," said Satriamon indifferently. "Yet," he added, with venom, pointing the tip of the blade toward her. "Start talking."
"That's it," snarled Lilithmon. "For that, your cousin's body shall rot at wherever I've left him! Darkness Love!"
The hearts were blocked by Satriamon's Dragonforce Saber. Lilithmon realized that she was getting nowhere.
An ugly idea crossed her mind – one that would seriously deliver a blow against Satriamon's ego. She stopped attacking him.
"Fine," she said, as defeated as she could muster, "You win. But you won't want to kill me…"
Satriamon seemed taken aback before shrugging it off. "On the contrary, that's what I really wanted to do right now."
"If you kill me, my powers will be added to SkullSatamon," she revealed, addressing SkullSatamon without the usual reverence to further throw off Satriamon. She saw a surprised look crossing the dragon man, and chuckled. "Yes. It's ALL about him. We generals are his tools in getting stronger." She approached Satriamon, silently channeling power to her remaining good hand. "With enough power gained, he will become strong enough to shatter the Shield of Waja surrounding his bastion."
"Liar," spat Satriamon. "You're saying all these to save your ass."
"Am I?" she retorted, now circling the dragon man coyly. "That was why Grademon entombed us instead of outright deleting us back then. And trust me, he could have finished us all if he wanted to, but he didn't. So if you kill me…you're only giving SkullSatamon the ticket to the ultimate power, a power you'll never be able to beat!"
"Don't trust her!" shouted Xianamon.
Satriamon pointed his saber towards Lilithmon's neck. "Why should I believe you? You villains are all the same."
Lilithmon chuckled. "SkullSatamon genuinely wanted your cousin to become stronger, so that Aldiyamon would become stronger, stronger than any other Digimon that has ever walked the two worlds. That's why he instructed Lucemon to train him…and poor, blindly loyal Lucemon, did so without questions. SkullSatamon hoped that, with luck at his side, Aldiyamon and Lucemon would end up destroying each other…which was pretty much what happened to them.
"So you're right…I am just trying to save my own ass, but this is a proposition where the two of us wins." She approached Satriamon, her finger trailing the saber's metallic edges. "I'm the only general that's left. If you kill me, you'll all end up dead. If I'm alive, then he won't be at full power. There's a glimmer of hope that you will be able to beat him."
"You're awfully calm about all this," said Satriamon suspiciously.
"I don't have anything to lose by telling you all these, but lots to gain."
"A while ago you were trying to have our heads."
"A while ago I was fooled with the notion of turning you to evil, again." She grimaced. "I was wrong."
"Now you're admitting you're wrong?" Satriamon asked incredulously. "Now I know something's wrong. Nice try."
"Fine, if you don't trust me," Lilithmon stood just within an arm's reach from the dragon man. She spread her arms invitingly. "Go ahead, kill me. It won't do you any good."
"If I let you live…"
"Then Adam will be the only one who has perished," said Lilithmon, purposely using Adam's name to distract Satriamon's attention.
And then…
"BLIGHT OF BASTET!"
She struck Satriamon's chest with her good hand, the fingers flexed as her nails dug through Satriamon's armor. She laughed upon the look of disbelief on Satriamon's face.
"Adam's sacrifice is in vain after all!" Her hand shook as Satriamon yelled and swore, trying to shake her off. "It's no use. I…AHHHHHH!!"
Spirals of crimson energy blasted her hand away from Satriamon's chest, numbing it. That came as a surprise; it had never happened before.
A burning pain rose from her chest. She looked down, and there it was on her left breast – the black cat tattoo. "No! It can't be!"
"DAMN YOU!" roared Satriamon, flames dancing around him. "FIRESTORM PURIFICATION!"
Caught by surprise by the outcome of her curse, Lilithmon didn't manage to defend herself. The attack caught her at close range and she choked out blood as it burned through her outer outfit, leaving her only with the black catsuit underneath before she crashed onto a mound of earth. Satriamon gained on her, leaping towards her, fist flaring with flames as he loomed towards her, before his eyes caught sight of the tattoo on her chest. The rage-filled eyes calmed into that of curiosity as he landed before her.
"Well, what do you know," he smirked.
"What did you do?!" she screamed back, blood trickling from the side of her mouth. "Why did the curse rebound to me?!"
Satriamon blinked. "How the hell would I know?"
Lilithmon sweated. This was unexpected. He's healed from the curse…could it be that hes also immune to it now?
She scrambled up to her feet and flapped her wings, heading for the top floor of the tower. And strangely, Satriamon didn't pursue her.
Everything's falling apart! I have to make him heal me. And I know just the way how!
xxx
xxx
After Lilithmon's retreat, Satriamon braced himself to face GranDracmon, thinking that Lilithmon would order the demonic centaur to attack. However, the centaur retreated from the park, leaving them alone. Her action bewildered him, who then devolved quickly. There was still one matter that he needed to check. If Lilithmon had cursed him again, Adam's sacrifice would be in vain.
JD quickly pulled his shirt up, dreading to see the curse…and sighed with relief.
No tattoo. His chest was unmarred. Thank God. Thank you…
He heard footsteps approaching. "It's alright, guys, I'm okay," he said, lowering his shirt.
"Thank goodness," said Liu Ying, her alarmed face calming. "We were afraid that…"
She was cut off when sky suddenly thundered. Lilithmon's image projected on the sky.
"Oh, it's you. Good luck finding someone who'd love you enough to take the curse in your place," said JD, sarcastic.
"I don't think I have to," the demoness returned darkly. "You will cure me. I know you have the counter-curse for the Blight of Bastet. It seems to me that when your dear cousin took the curse on your behalf, your healed body created an antibody for the curse. I want that antibody."
JD didn't expect that. The revelation only made his heart ached even more – not only Adam's death had saved him, but it had also given him a way to protect himself from the blight.
"You're hesitating. Let me give you an incentive." Lilithmon bent down, as if snatching something from her feet. When she straightened up, everyone gasped in shock.
"Adam?" JD gaped, eyes widened in shock.
Lilithmon was clutching Adam by the neck. And Adam was struggling to be let free.
"Let…go…" The voice was weak, strained, and sounded to be in great deal of pain, but there was no mistaking that it was Adam's voice.
"He's alive?" Adam seemed to have gone through a great ordeal; exhaustion and pain were evident from his pale face, marred with soot and dust. Traces of dry blood were seen at the side of his mouth, and trails of dried tears were there on both cheeks. It pained him to see Adam in such a state, but at the same time, there was joy and relief, for Adam wasn't dead. "Adam…"
"Josh…help…" And Adam's head hung limp.
"ADAM!!" JD glared at Lilithmon's image. "You LYING BITCH! What did you do to him?!"
"Oh don't get too riled up, he's still alive," said Lilithmon, shaking the limp boy like he was a rag doll. "He's been doing this for the past five days."
JD swore at her. "You told me the curse's fatal!"
"And it is," agreed Lilithmon. "I don't know how this little kitten survives. The curse should have killed him during the full moon, but somehow, it didn't. But this certainly puts certain things at a perspective now, isn't it?" She flashed him a wicked smile. "I don't care how you do it, but you are going to heal me. Then I will let you heal your dear cousin."
"NO! You give him back!"
"I have one month before the next full moon," said Lilithmon. "And Adam has survived the curse for only so long…yet the curse still inflicts pain on him, even more horribly so than how it had done to you. I don't know how much longer his young body could take it. He's carrying a full-term curse for it's the one he's gotten from you. The effect is severer, he might be dead soon, if you don't hurry and figure out how to heal me." She inclined her head sideways. "And don't even think of climbing up here to get him. If you do, I'll order GranDracmon to obliterate you all."
"And you won't be healed," retorted JD.
"Would you risk it?" challenged Lilithmon. "I don't think so."
JD's hand found Adam's Digivice clipped on his belt, and gripped it hard as if it was a lifeline. He stared towards Adam's limp form. "Adam…"
Adam's Digivice suddenly burst with white light and Lilithmon shrieked. JD saw Adam vanishing in swirls of white orbs, and his heart nearly halted with anticipation for one split second, before Adam reappeared on the ground before him.
"Adam!" He knelt by his cousin brother, his shivering hands clutched Adam's shoulders. He gave the boy a shake. Adam stirred weakly.
"Josh...you...here..."Adam winced and gasped out in pain, sounding as if he actually wanted to scream but had no energy to do so.
JD's eyes fell on Adam's chest and he swore – the tattoo had burned its way through the bloodstained shirt. The skin around the tattoo was scalded, and there was a stinging smell coming from it. He couldn't describe it, having not smelled it before, but suspected that it was blood that was burned.
His eyes stung. Adam had suffered a lot…in his place.
"Fine then," snapped Lilithmon, angered of what had happened. "GranDracmon! Destroy them all!"