DISCLAIMER: I do not own Digimon, but I do own the plot and the concept of DRAGOON.
Digimon Continuity
Quest For The Digimon
Chapter 27
Hello, Chaos
:. Digital Plane – Sovereign Plane
Ruins of Zhuqiaomon's Palace
05:50 PM JST
"DRAGOON!" Dukemon exclaimed as the D-Reaper practically leapt up and swallowed DRAGOON whole, just like it did Zhuqiaomon. In his surprise, Dukemon stopped completely in his tracks, half wanting to turn tail and rush straight back to the D-Reaper and save his friends, the other half being logical and wanting to get out of there first, reasoning that he would only get himself hurt and not be able to do anything anyway.
But since he was in a dilemma, he just stood there, frozen in shock at what had just happened.
"Henry! Rika! Impmon! Anyone! Answer me! Are you alright?!" Takato pleaded, hoping that there would be an answer through the 'hidden radio' within him.
No answer came. It were as though the others had been cut off from he and Justimon... or that they were all d–
No. Takato injected firmly. They are alright... they are inside DRAGOON and are alright. They have DRAGOON's armour holding the D-Reaper at bay now. We just have to get them out of there before the D-Reaper overcomes the armour and... His trail of thought came to a halt as he did not want to think further. Tears threatened to overwhelm him, and he had to keep saying to himself over and over again that the others were alright and he had to get them out fast.
"Takato..." Guilmon's uncertain voice came, before it strengthened, as though Guilmon knew that he needed to be strong when Takato himself was not. "The D-Reaper thingy just ate DRAGOON! We must get them out!"
Inside the crimson sphere, Takato took a deep breath, though it was more for the calming purposes than really taking a breath. "You're right, Guilmon," he told the darkness around him that was his partner. "We have to get them out of there."
"Justimon," Dukemon said, his voice sounding a lot calmer than he actually was, though in Takato's opinion it sounded slightly shaky. "Any ideas?"
"I don't know..." Justimon said. "Will what happened to DRAGOON and Zhuqiaomon happen to us if we approach? Should we go for long-range attacks? Or should we risk it, go up close and try to dig them outta there?"
Takato was grateful that Justimon did not mention the unspoken possibility that lay between them... that there was no one left to save.
They had to hope.
And furthermore, they had to defeat the D-Reaper before it did anymore damage or took anymore lives.
And before it reached the Real World. No one knew what kind of damage this new D-Reaper was capable of.
No doubt they didn't want to find out.
"Come on then!" Dukemon forced himself to sound upbeat. "I'll head up close and try close-range while you attack from here."
Justimon nodded. "I don't like this plan, putting you at risk. But you have the armour... and you'll stand a better chance should anything happen as well, given how you are more powerful." Dukemon was slightly surprised to hear Justimon praise him in such a way. Justimon was oblivious to his reaction, continuing on. "But we should try and focus on a single spot, to better our chances of getting through."
"Okay then," Dukemon said. "Let's hurry!" He began to charge both his shield and lance, ignoring his aching joints as he began to run, pushing all the pain aside, hoping to get off a long-range blast before he reached the modified D-Reaper to pull off the plan.
"Please be alright..." Takato muttered inside the sphere, praying to whatever god there was up there. As if in reply to his statement, the modified D-Reaper's body suddenly bloated up for an unknown reason.... as though there were an explosion on the inside...
"They will be alright, Takato. The others are strong too," Guilmon's voice said confidently, perhaps due to the bloating up of the D-Reaper, or perhaps it was what Guilmon wanted to say all along.
Strength wasn't going to matter in the face of the D-Reaper's disintegrating power, Takato wanted to say. But he didn't. He wanted to hope too.
"You're right. Let's do this!" "FINAL ELYSIUM!!"
"What happened?" Calumon asked, his voice quivering, just like his person was, breaking the tension.
"We... crashed..." Henry's astounded voice said. Renamon just listened, not really comprehending the situation at the moment. One instant they were flying, and the next they were jammed in what looked like the guts of the monstrous Chaos. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she was unable to do anything, which resulted in her lightning quick reflexes (physical and mental) being dulled.
"No duh, Brainiac," Rika said, before asking the question on everyone's minds. "But why aren't we dead?"
Inside her mind, however, Rika showed her true concern behind the sarcasm. "Renamon! Are you alright? Is anyone hurt?!"
Renamon, even in this situation, had to hide a smile at her partner. Even more so at herself. Because, thanks to her partner, her senses suddenly sprang to life, as though just waiting for her partner's order. Renamon mentally sighed (though not on the connection between her and Rika) and shook her head at herself. She was getting soft.
"I don't know" was Henry's reply from somewhere far away. Renamon kept track of the conversation, while also doing a quick scan of everyone to answer Rika's question. She found this ability to multitask most useful in times such as this.
Renamon only did a quick glance on herself. Save for the crash webbing, which was digging into her chest after preventing her from soaring to the front of the chamber, she wasn't hurt.
Terriermon seemed shaken, the crash-webbing he had on almost squishing him into his seat, but he looked ready to let out a stream of badly-timed jokes, which Renamon assumed meant that he was okay. His partner, Henry, was up front at the moment, hurriedly tapping on the keys. Renamon turned her attention to those behind her.
Lopmon and Impmon were now struggling to get out of their webbings, Impmon cursing softly at both the webbing and the situation while Lopmon calmly telling him that he should not curse.
Calumon was a whole different story. He was positively shivering in fright. Renamon frowned, knowing that she had to do something about him.
"I am fine, Rika. So are the others. We are not hurt in anyway. But you should take a look at Calumon."
At that, a click was heard and Rika tore off her crash webbing, rushing over to the back to check on Calumon. Renamon heard her taking off Calumon's crash webbing gently (Renamon still had no idea how the little guy got his crash webbing on in the first place), before whispering words of comfort to the former Catalyst.
Soon, Rika appeared once again, Calumon in her arms. Renamon smiled at the sight. Rika looked positively like a mother hen, cuddling Calumon like that, though Renamon would never mention it to her and Rika would never admit it out loud. Despite her tough exterior, Renamon knew on the inside that Rika was truly as much a softie as Jeri was.
Of course, she just had a different way of expressing it.
"Rika? Uh, bad news," Henry said.
"What kind of bad news?" Rika asked in her usual tone, as though nothing had happened and she did not have Calumon in her arms currently.
"I lost contact with Dukemon and Justimon. We're cut off from them somehow by the D-Reaper. Also, it seems that while DRAGOON's Chrome Digizoid armour is holding, it is slowly eroding, which would explain somewhat the scraping sounds." Henry waved a hand as if to emphasise.
"It is like DRAGOON is the shell and we're the fleshy beings inside!" Terriermon summarised, as expected. Renamon rolled her eyes at the analogy.
"Terriermon!" Henry exclaimed, flinching slightly about how Terriermon had implied that they were the 'meal'.
"What?" Terriermon asked in a whiny tone. "I'm right, aren't I?"
"I believe that is the problem, Terriermon," Renamon at last said.
Terriermon pouted; a scene so familiar that some of the tension had already begun to drain out in spite of their situation. "Great, I'm wrong even when I'm right."
"Whatever," Rika said, glaring at Terriermon. The image was so off that Renamon herself had to resist laughing out loud by biting her lip. Rika holding Calumon and glaring at Terriermon at the same time was indeed an amusing scene.
Nothing like a good dose of humour to liven up the place. And by the gods do we need livening up.
"So what's the solution, Brainiac? How are we going to get out of red and gold around us before we're all eaten?" Rika asked, at last releasing Terriermon from her glare and turning her gaze to Henry, where he sat in a thoughtful pose, pondering.
"I'm working on it," Henry said. "I think that the only way is to somehow get the D-Reaper to give us some distance. Enough so that DRAGOON can get his thrusters blasting. Right now, DRAGOON has to seal them up to prevent the D-Reaper from getting in."
"And how are we going to do that?" Impmon spoke up. "It's not like we can push the D-Reaper away from us right? Unless DRAGOON can expand his armour."
As Renamon watched, it was as though a light had been turned on in Henry's eyes. He began nodding to some idea inside that only he knew. Then he began grinning like an idiot.
"Did someone hit Henry too hard on the head?"Rika mused inside Renamon's mind.
"Perhaps," Renamon replied mentally. "We may have something on here."
"Hey, Brainiac! Stop looking like a fool and tell us already!" Terriermon finally said before Rika no doubt would.
"I had a brilliant idea!" Henry told them, beaming. Renamon chuckled at the almost child-like expression on Henry's usually mature face.
"No duh, spit it out already!" Impmon grumbled irritably. The room was full of sarcastic beings.
"Well, we could use your idea, Impmon! We could expand a shield around DRAGOON and push away the D-Reaper long enough to probably get out of here!"
"May I inquire how we are to do as such?" Lopmon asked.
"Yeah, it's not like we can expand DRAGOON like Impmon said," Terriermon piped in.
"No," Henry said, still grinning. "But I do recall Taomon using a shield not so long ago."
"Ah," Renamon said, finally getting the gist of his idea. It was a good idea... however...
"Brainiac, I swear you did bang your head too hard. Have you forgotten that Renamon can't reach Taomon? None of us can reach Ultimate, ring any bells?" Rika pointed out more forcefully than necessary.
Henry's crestfallen face was painful to watch, and the scraping of metal made it worse. Renamon turned away, not wanting to face the disappointment on Henry's face.
"No," Henry began carefully, picking his words slowly. However, his next words came out in an exclamation, causing Renamon to turn her gaze back to Henry. "But we can use the cards!"
"Cards?" Rika asked, clearly implying for Henry to elaborate, though Renamon could see the understanding in her eyes.
"We can use a Taomon card! And Renamon can use the spell to cast a shield, and then expand it!"
"That is a good idea," Renamon noted, smiling at her friends.
"Hurray! We're going to get out of here!" Calumon suddenly exclaimed from Rika's arms, surprising everyone.
"Alright already, shesh, let's get to work!" Terriermon called.
With that, everyone hurried into place as Henry outlined his plan. First of all, Rika and herself were to generate a shield around DRAGOON, holding back the D-Reaper for as long as possible. The other Digimon were to begin charging their most powerful attack in preparation for firing at the D-Reaper.
When asked how they were to do that, Henry told them that they would be firing from DRAGOON's side door. It was to work like this. Renamon was to collapse the shield the moment everyone was ready and in place, and everyone (including DRAGOON) was to fire at one specific point of the D-Reaper, thereby weakening that area, long enough for DRAGOON to be able to burst right through the D-Reaper to get out.
It was a simple plan, but there were of course complications.
"FINAL ELYSIUM!!"
"It seems the battle against the Chaos has already begun," TigerVespamon mused.
"Indeed," Darkdramon replied, trying to go for the calm and collected tone that TigerVespamon was using but failing. He could not contain his eagerness at being given a weapon of the Saviour (and what power! Even now, he could feel the pulsing of the weapon he held in his hand in his veins).
Of course, Darkdramon could see the irony of how he, a Virus type Digimon, was wielding the Holy Victory, a weapon that was supposed to be wielded by angels against those like him.
He and TigerVespamon were flying at full speed toward the Chaos, which they could see from even where they were, miles away. Darkdramon found the colouring of the Chaos now odd, seeing how it was had patches of gold on red, which made Darkdramon think that the Chaos had probably absorbed some of the energy released by the Saviour when he supposedly destroyed it. It appeared to have taken up residence at a Sovereign's old ruin of a palace. Darkdramon vaguely wondered what happened to the Sovereign and decided that he would find out later.
"Prepare yourself, Darkdramon!" his companion ordered as they neared.
Darkdramon nodded. Time to try out his new weapon.
"Holy Victory!" He called the weapon's name, causing his blade to begin glowing, starting from the gem to the tip of the blade itself.
Now, time for a little trial and error... and hopefully, some destruction as well.
"Dark Roar!!" Darkdramon stopped in mid-air while TigerVespamon soared onward, not looking back at him as the latter already knew what he was about to do. Darkdramon opened his mouth and an orb of pure Dark Matter began to form. He held the Holy Victory in front of him with both hands, the tip facing the Chaos and the gem facing up. With that, Darkdramon 'placed' his attack on the gem, and thus began concentrating his attack on the weapon itself.
It was interesting to watch as the blade began glowing even further as the gem absorbed the entire attack slowly, while another, far larger version of the attack formed on the tip of the Holy Victory. It was, in contrast to the pure black colour of the original attack with various bolts of purple lightning across it, a far lighter colour. The new powered up Dark Roar was golden, with black bolts sizzling across the surface of the orb.
And, it was far bigger than the original attack.
Darkdramon let out a laugh of pure exhilaration as he released the attack straight at the Chaos.
He watched proudly as his new attack flew right past TigerVespamon's open-mouthed expression and impacted right on the Chaos, causing an explosion so big and so loud that the ground shook for a few deafening moments where Darkdramon could not even hear his laugh.
Once the echoes of the explosion had faded, Darkdramon waited eagerly for the smoke the clear as well. And when it did...
His face fell.
There wasn't a scratch or any visible mark on the Chaos that indicated the damage the attack inflicted.
Angry now, Darkdramon charged straight at the Chaos, firing Dark Roar attacks randomly at the Chaos. He watched as the Chaos gave way under the attacks... and then absorb them.
"Stop wasting your energy, fool!" TigerVespamon barked. "Energy attacks are useless against it!" He said in a tone that implied that he knew so all along.
"Shut up!" Darkdramon raged, going berserk and beginning to rain blows on the Chaos the moment he reached it.
He was only vaguely aware of TigerVespamon calling him a fool once more before flying off to do whatever it was that the bee for a Mega did.
"Ready, Renamon?" Rika asked. Everyone was in position. Gargomon (Henry had Digivolved Terriermon), Impmon and Lopmon were at the door; ready to go through it the moment the shield came up. Henry was at the controls, setting everything up. Calumon, after being comforted, was strapped once again into the crash webbing. The remaining D-Terminals that had been scattered across the ground had been picked up and either tucked into pockets or, like Henry's, glued to the control panel.
Renamon nodded. She took deep breaths, obviously trying to clear her digital lungs in preparation of the pressure that had been placed firmly on it the moment she realised that the entire plan was on her maintaining the shield long enough. Rika sympathised with her. Even though Renamon was... well, Renamon, the pressure usually fell on both of them as Sakuyamon, not just Renamon. Being a warrior and all did not teach one how to deal with pressure.
"Don't worry, Renamon," Gargomon said. "If the shield collapses, the only thing that would happen is that we will become one with the Force."
"Way to put pressure on her, Rabbitmon," Rika scolded, though her heart clearly wasn't in it, seeing how she herself was trying to resist a smile at the Star Wars reference. Even she knew enough about the English language to know that.
"I swear, you watch too many American shows..." Henry muttered from up front. "I don't even know where you get them in Japan..."
"Momentai, both of you," Gargomon said, grin on his face. "And the Internet is a good way. I download them! And besides, language barriers don't matter to me!"
While the two livened up the tense atmosphere, Rika ignored them, focusing on her partner and their link. "Renamon, you sure you're ready?" Rika sent, voicing her fears only on this private connection.
"Everyone is relying on me, Rika," Renamon replied, looking into her eyes. "I have to be ready..." Rika didn't like the answer and was about to say so when Renamon continued. "However, I believe that I am ready, Rika. Trust in me. Trust in my power."
With a sigh, Rika gave in. "Alright, but don't you push yourself too hard, okay?"Rika asked, making it more a request than an order.
Both of them knew that even so, Renamon would push herself to her limit and beyond should there be the need. Neither of them voiced it though, so it hung in the air, a wraith between them.
"Alright! Enough of the chitchat!" Impmon's voice cut into their silence, breaking it and bring the both of them back into reality. "Let's do this already! I don't want to remain here any longer than I have to be!"
"Okay," Rika said, spinning the Taomon card in her hand nervously, yet making the action seem confident. She held her D-Power steadily in her other hand. Taking a deep breath, Rika looked straight into the eyes of her partner, holding it there for a moment, just the two of them...
And then she swiped the card.
"Digi-Modify! Taomon! Activate!"
Immediately, Rika felt the strain via her connection with Renamon as a talisman appeared in her hand, a glowing almost transparent orb materializing around Renamon, before it slowly spread. It went through Rika, making it feel as though she had just broken through the calm surface of a lake to the air above. The shield passed through the others as well with no resistance at all before going through DRAGOON's walls.
"Now!" Henry told the door crew. Gargomon immediately rushed to push open the door as Henry hit the switch, unlocking the door. Henry spun around and began typing, no doubt to prepare DRAGOON to fire the thrusters at maximum the moment the shield went down. Over his shoulder, he asked, "How long, Renamon?"
Rika felt Renamon flinch at the question and knew that her partner almost lost the concentration to hold the shield, which held the D-Reaper's devouring mass at bay. So, she quickly answered for her partner. "Not long."
Rika could sense Henry frown, and perhaps Renamon sensed it too, so she risked a moment to give him more details. "A minute max."
Henry threw a grateful look over his shoulder and was about to proceed with his typing when Gargomon came rushing back in, his face grave.
"We have a problem."
Crap! Rika cursed.
Okay, I have officially decided to not care about how Japan would likely not really know what American shows are about and use a reference on Star Wars anyway... which is hopefully famous enough to have been heard of even in Japan. Hopefully...
Well, I would like to thank the usual gang for their reviews, as well as Crazyeight, who did the Beta Reading. A million thanks to you all.
I hope that I will be able to update soon. REVIEW!