DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.
Chapter Nineteen: DFC
Friday 5th November - 3:35pm
Nonaka Residence
"Grandma, we're home!" Rika called as she opened her house's front door and stepped into the entrance hall, Sam following close behind her.
"We're in here," a voice answered and the two girls followed it to the living room where they found Seiko laid out on the sofa, with Miranda frantically wiping the coffee table in front of her with a damp cloth.
"Um, I think it's clean now," Sam noted with a puzzled frown as their housekeeper started scrubbing harder.
"Oh, it might look that way to the untrained eye, but I can see over a dozen spots that need a good cleaning!" the Irishwoman replied, beads of sweat running down her brow.
"Miranda, I hardly think Rumiko is going to mind if the house is just a little bit messier than normal," Seiko sighed and shook her head. "You have been busy looking after me, remember?"
"Oh, this isn't about Miss Rumiko - this is about me!" the younger woman growled as she leapt towards the vacuum cleaner, turning it on and shouting over the noise as she wheeled the machine around. "I've never left a house with a speck of dirt when the owner returns - my professional pride is at stake! THIS HOUSE ISN'T GOING TO BEAT ME!"
"I think she's lost it…" Rika muttered and rolled her eyes.
Miranda started to rebuke the girl but was interrupted by the telephone, which started to ring loudly and insistently. The Irishwoman ceased her hoovering and pounced on the phone, answering it breathlessly.
"You've reached the…Nonaka Household…" she gasped, then frowned in confusion. "Oh, Miss Rumiko! Is something the…I see, well would you like to speak to…hello? Hello? Hmmm, I think her battery must have died."
"Let me guess," Rika sighed and slumped onto the armchair. "She's not coming home this weekend, is she?"
"Oh, she's coming back, but she won't get home until after seven. There's been some trouble on the motorway and she's caught in traffic," Miranda replied.
"Well, in that case I don't see why you can't go round to your friend's house early," Seiko piped up with a smile.
It was Cam's birthday and the boy had invited Steph and the Tamers to a mass-sleepover at his house. The plan had been for Steph and Takato to arrive at four, with Rika and Henry arriving soon after five-thirty. The redhead was arriving late so that she could have some time to catch up with her mother after she got home from London, while Henry was visiting his grandparents.
"Really? Are you sure you don't need any help with stuff?" the Tamer asked, waving her hand at her grandmother's injured leg.
"Oh, we'll be fine!" Miranda replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. "You go on round to your little sleepover - I can take care of your grandmother. And remember your toothbrush, young lady!"
"Thanks," Rika replied with a brief smile and quickly ran upstairs to get changed and gather the items she would need for the overnight stay. She grabbed an old backpack and stuffed in a pair of pyjamas, a toothbrush, a change of clothes (including spare sweatbands for her wrists), a spare Xbox controller, a memory card and Cam's present (a poorly-wrapped Digimon Card Game starter set including a card reader and cards for the full 'Gaomon' evolution line). When she was satisfied that she had everything, the girl typed a quick text message to Cam (she had grudgingly exchanged numbers with him when he had become a Tamer) and clipped her D-Arc and cards onto her belt.
"Okay, grandma, I'm going! See you tomorrow!" Rika called as she made for the door.
"Hold on a second," Seiko replied, looking pointedly at Sam. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
The redhead frowned in confusion. The younger girl had arranged to go round to the Wong house to spend time with her new friend Suzie, and the original plan had been for her to accompany Rika to Cam's house where she would be picked up by Janyuu as he dropped Henry off.
"Um, are you sure you wanna come with me?" the Tamer asked her sister. "I mean, we'll probably be playing video games or cards for the whole time. You'll be bored out of your mind for over an hour."
"I don't mind," Sam replied with a shrug. "Besides, I wanna learn how to play cards. It looks fun."
"Uh, okay then," the older girl shrugged and motioned towards the door. "I guess Cam won't mind if you show up too. Let's go."
Ridings Residence - 4pm
"Hey, Rika!" Cam greeted the girl cheerfully as he opened the door to see the redhead stood on his doorstep with a younger girl he presumed was Samantha. "Come on in. So, what's with the change of plans?"
"My mum got held up in traffic on the way back from London, so…" she replied and rolled her eyes as she stepped through the door. "This is Samantha, by the way."
"You can call me Sam," the girl piped up with a small smile, causing her sister to blink in surprise.
"Whoa…I thought she only let her friends call her 'Sam'."
"She must have decided that she likes Cam. Sovereigns know why…"
"Okay, then Sam, I'm Cam," the black-haired boy replied with a grin and a mock bow. "Welcome to my humble Adobe."
"It's 'abode'!" Steph's voice shouted from the living room. "Adobe is the software company. Now get back in here so I can kick your butt!"
"Your wish is my command, oh great one," he replied sarcastically and waved Rika and Sam through into the living room. "My parents are still at work, by the way, so we can be as loud as we want for a while."
"Great. Oh, while I remember…" the older girl mumbled and pulled the poorly-wrapped gift from her backpack. "Happy birthday."
"Dude…" Cam sighed in ecstasy as he eyed the card reader and MirageGaogamon card at the top of the starter deck. "Thanks Rika!"
"Meh, I need a challenge," Rika replied with a smirk. "Brainiac and Goggles are too predictable and I was getting sick of fighting against the Terriermon and Agumon line."
"Whoa…did you just pay me a compliment?" the boy gasped with a look of exaggerated shock.
"Don't get used to it," she replied and frowned as she walked into the living room and saw the game currently being played on the Xbox. "Hey, when did you get AC For Answer?"
"I bought it in town after I played it at Henry's house. I was about to have a match with Steph," Cam replied, nodding in the direction of the impatient, bespectacled blonde girl sat on the sofa.
"Hey, Rika," Steph called, blinking as she noticed the girl's companion. "I guess this is…"
"Sam," the younger girl nodded and gave a small smile.
"There it is again! What the hell?"
"Maybe it is because they are your friends," Renamon suggested. "She probably just trusts your judgement of character."
"So, you guys ready to watch me annihilate Steph again?" Cam chuckled and picked up his controller, pressing the 'Start Match' button.
"Third time's the charm," Steph growled as she cracked her neck and adjusted her grip on the controller.
Sixty seconds later, Steph's midweight NEW-SUNSHINE class unit named 'DeviantSaint' was left slumped over, billowing sparks and smoke as Cam punched the air and cheered victoriously, performing a victory lap in his own lightweight SOLUH 'Mirage'. He's good, Rika thought with a frown. But not as good as me…
"Oh, yeah! Who's the man? I am indestructible!"
"Wanna test that theory?" the redhead chuckled as she pulled her memory card from her backpack and plugged it into the Xbox 360, loading up the schematics for her own heavily-tuned and customized TYPE-LAHIRE 'StillBleeds' and enjoying the look of fear that passed across the boy's face as she did so.
"Damn…" he sighed as he took in the rapid-fire assault rifle, energy blade, railcannon and high-speed missile launcher.
"Let's get to it!" Rika chuckled, Sam and Steph settling down on the sofa behind her to watch the fight.
Cam knew he was in trouble from the beginning. Even using his high-accuracy laser rifle, he couldn't manage to land any real number of solid hits on StillBleeds, while Rika was consistently pummelling him with super high-velocity railcannon shells and rifle fire. The end came when the boy tried using a cluster of nearby buildings as cover from the relentless volley of fire while his shields recharged. Rika spotted his plan and boxed him in between two buildings with a missile volley, forcing him to dodge into an isolated alley. Before Mirage could escape, she quickly switched to her melee weapon and struck, slicing through the enemy machine and levelling a large chunk of both of the surrounding buildings with the long, violet blade. As the 'Winner - Player 2' message appeared on screen, the victorious redhead smirked and began to sing.
"Every broken enemy will know
That their opponent had to be invincible
Take a last look around, while you're alive
I'm an indestructible master of war!"
"You can say that again," Cam chuckled. "That was amazing! I've never seen a NEXT move like that. How did you get so good?"
"Practice," Rika replied with a smirk.
"You must have had a hell of a lot of practice…" Steph said and shook her head. "Hell, you must have lived on your Xbox."
"I basically did. Before Renamon came along, I didn't have a lot to do in Japan."
Before either of her friends could reply, a knock came at the door. Cam stood up and walked into the hall, opening the door to reveal a sheepishly grinning Takato.
"Heh, sorry I'm late. My dad managed to set fire to the living room curtains…again…" the begoggled Tamer chuckled and handed his friend an artfully-wrapped DVD boxset of Gundam Wing. "Happy birthday!"
"Whoa…cheers, mate! I've been looking for these for ages!" the taller boy grinned as he gazed hungrily at the DVDs. "So, what's the deal with your dad and those curtains? Does he have a grudge against them or something?"
"Beats me!" Takato replied with a shrug and a grin which turned into a frown as he walked into the living room and saw Rika. "Oh, man…I'm not that late am I?"
"No, I'm just early. And nice to see you too, Gogglehead."
"Gogglehead?" Sam said slowly and frowned. "That's a weird name."
"Oh, that's just a nickname Rika gave me - my real name is Takato," the brown-haired boy laughed. "So, I guess you're Rika's sister, right?"
"Yup. I'm Sam," the girl replied cheerfully.
"So, what are we up to?"
"Well, until you came along, Rika was gloating about breaking my winning streak on ACFA," Cam smirked, then brandished his new card reader and deck. "So, anyone up for a card game?"
A few minutes later, Cam and Steph were in a doubles match against Takato and Sam. For both Sam and Steph, this was their first game and Rika spent her time coaching both of the rookies. The game ended with a close victory for Cam and Steph, after MirageGaogamon got in a pair of perfectly-planned strikes that deleted Takato's WarGreymon and crippled Sam's Kuzuhamon. The younger girl held her own, defeating Steph's Crusadermon before being annihilated by a "Full Moon Blaster" attack from her other opponent.
"That was fun!" the youngest girl exclaimed as soon as the battle ended, surprisingly not bothered by her defeat.
"Yeah," Steph agreed with a nod and a smile. "Shame about the whole getting deleted thing, though."
"Everyone gets deleted in their first battle," Rika chuckled.
"With one exception…" the blonde-haired girl noted, glancing pointedly at her red-haired friend.
"Rika's a special case," Cam interrupted with a grin. "She is, statistically speaking, the best player in the world, remember?"
"Really?" Sam asked, her eyes wide with admiration.
"What, don't tell me you didn't tell her about the whole 'Digimon Queen' thing?" the black-haired boy sighed in mock exasperation. "Sam, your big sister is the best Digimon card player in the entire world. There's only one guy who's anywhere near as good as her, and he lives all the way over in Japan."
"Great, let's just tell her about our secret plan to conquer the world while we're at it," the redhead grumbled sarcastically and shook her head. "Can we please drop the subject now?"
As the words left Rika's mouth, a rather convenient distraction came in the form of three D-Arcs simultaneously squawking into life, an orchestra of shrill alarms cutting off Cam's reply. The three Tamers glanced at their respective devices, each of them frowning as they saw an abnormally powerful signal.
"What's going on?" Sam asked, oblivious to the urgency of the situation. "And what's that weird beeping thing?"
"Oh, it's nothing," her sister replied dismissively, stuffing her D-Arc into her pocket. "Gotta think fast…gotta get away somehow…"
"Hey, we should go round to the shop and get some snacks for tonight!" Takato piped up with a grin and a subtle wink to his fellow Tamers.
"Uh, yeah, good idea. I'm getting a craving for chocolate right about now…" Cam added quickly.
"Let's go, then," Rika agreed and got to her feet, cursing mentally as Sam did the same. "Um…hey Sam, why don't you and Steph stay here? That way you can have another practice battle while we're out."
"Okay…" the younger girl agreed reluctantly, sitting back down and gathering her cards.
"See you guys later!" Steph called and smiled, trying to hide her concern as the trio headed for the door.
"Let's get to the park!" Rika shouted as she stepped out of the door and broke into a run, heading for the park at full speed. "By the way, quick thinking Goggles."
"I have my moments."
Kirkfield Park - 4:44pm
"That's a big one," Cam gulped as he stared at the Digital Field currently enshrouding an enormous clearing at the centre of Kirkfield Park. "Maybe we should wait for Takato and Guilmon…"
Unfortunately, Guilmon's Den had not been en route to the Digital Field, meaning that Takato had been forced to leave the other Tamers in order to pick up his partner. Gaomon and Renamon, on the other hand, had met their Tamers at the edge of the park.
"If we are so badly outmatched that we cannot defeat this foe with one Champion and one Ultimate, I highly doubt that Growlmon will make any difference," Renamon noted as she gazed into the impenetrable fog.
"Agreed," Gaomon nodded from the kitsune's right, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck as he spoke.
"Besides, if Goggles turns up halfway through the fight then he can ambush whatever we're facing," Rika noted as she drew a card from her belt. "The element of surprise can go a long way towards winning a difficult battle."
"Well said," a harsh, metallic voice chuckled from in front of the group.
Ridings Residence
Why would Rika lie to me? Sam asked herself as Steph set up for another game of cards. I know I heard her say she was going to the park…and what was that weird beeping thing she had? I think Steph knows…she looked really weird when I asked her about it…but why won't she tell me?
I guess there's only one way to find out…
"Um, I need to use the toilet," Sam lied and shifted in her seat.
"Okay, it's just by the front door. You walked past it on your way in," Sam replied helpfully and smiled.
"Thanks," the brunette chirped and made her way to the bathroom, opening the door and closing it again without stepping inside. Quickly and quietly, the little girl slipped on her shoes and opened the front door, stepping out and closing it silently behind her. With a small smile, Sam began to run towards the park as fast as her legs could carry her.
Nobody lies to me!
The Tamers and Digimon turned to look at the source of the voice and were shocked to see the cloud of fog rapidly dissipating, revealing a strange, chicken-like Digimon about three feet tall. Its body was spherical and made out of purple metal with Chinese characters painted in black on the front. A pair of golden wings and two scrawny yellow legs emerged from the armoured shell and a long, flowing tail fluttered behind it. A strange, double-ended weapon that looked two taloned, bird-like legs made of solid gold joined together at the knee rested on its back. Finally, a golden rooster's head with a long, red plume protruded from the top of the shell, its eyes glaring and red.
"What the hell is that?" Cam asked with a frown as he scanned the Digimon with his D-Arc and read out its statistics.
Name: Sinduramon
Level: Ultimate
Attribute: Data
Note: One of the Twelve Devas
Special Attacks:
Positron Pulse
Bao Chu
"That's a Deva?" Gaomon frowned and took up a fighting stance. "I expected it to be taller."
"Don't underestimate him," Rika warned as the card in her hand glowed blue. "Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"
"Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!"
"I don't think so," Sinduramon snarled as the strange talons on his back began to glow yellow. "Bao Chu!"
Suddenly, a stream of electricity shot from the Tamers' D-Arcs and connected to the Deva's 'Bao Chu' weapon. The small devices let out a pair of alarm-like shrieks before their screens went dead, cutting off the twin Digivolutions.
"No way!" Rika complained as she shook her D-Arc violently, rapping the screen with her knuckles in a desperate attempt to make it work.
"Is this size more to your liking, my dear Gaomon?" Sinduramon chuckled and the group of humans and Digimon turned to see that the rooster Deva had grown to over ten feet tall.
"He absorbed the energy from the D-Arcs! How is that even possible?" Renamon gasped as her eyes flashed. "Rika, I need a power card!"
"I'm trying!" the girl protested as she repeatedly slashed a card through her D-Arc's card reader with no effect whatsoever. "This can't be happening…"
"Hmmm…two Rookies against a Deva? The odds are not in your favour…" the rooster remarked with something approaching a smirk. "I am going to enjoy killing you…Positron Pulse!"
A bolt of azure lightning sprung from the twin talons of the Bao Chu and tore through the air towards Renamon. The kitsune leapt to the side, barely managing to dodge the attack as it tore a massive crater in the ground where she had been stood.
"Power Paw!" the vulpine Digimon called in reply and leapt at Sinduramon, only to shriek in pain as her flaming paw rebounded off of the thick armour on his midsection.
"Aww, did foxy get an owie? Maybe some electro-shock therapy will help!" the Deva cackled and slammed his wings into his stunned opponent, lightning arcing between the golden feathers. Renamon was sent flying with another agonized scream as electricity crackled across her body, landing in a heap at her Tamer's feet.
"Leave her alone! Gao Rush!" Gaomon roared and leapt into the air, flying towards his opponent's unarmoured head from above at incredible speed.
"Nice try…" the rooster began, pulling his head and wings into his shell like a tortoise as the blue-furred canine launched into a series of rapid punches. The attacks had just as little effect as those of his wounded comrade's, but Gaomon managed to avoid injuring himself thanks to his padded boxing gloves. "…But you'll have to do better than that! Positron Pulse!"
Sinduramon rolled forwards and smashed his attacker on top of the head with his left Bao Chu claw before unleashing a lightning blast at point blank range. Gaomon screamed as he sailed through the air, a thick-trunked oak cutting his impromptu flight short with an audible 'THUD'. The blue-furred Digimon groaned and struggled to stand as the rooster re-extended his head and wings and began pacing slowly towards him.
"You Tamers are such a disappointment. I heard that you actually had some skill, but I guess the rumours were exaggerated. Sovereign knows how Mihiramon managed to get himself killed by such a pathetic bunch of weaklings…" the Deva chuckled darkly as he halted, towering over his diminutive opponent. "And now, the grand finale…"
Gaomon, no! Takato gasped mentally as he ran into the clearing with his partner just in time to see the enormous rooster plodding towards the prone canine. Why aren't they Digivolved? Unless they did Digivolve and they got beaten…oh, man - this guy is gonna rip me apart! I don't stand a…
DAMN IT, TAKATO, SNAP OUT OF IT! I've got to help them! the boy decided, a determined look passing over his face as he drew a card from his card holder. What was it my grandpa said…"A truly brave man is not fearless - in fact, he feels as much fear as any other man, but refuses to let his fear master him!"
As Takato raised the card to his D-Arc, he noticed it change colour to a glossy blue. With a triumphant grin, the Tamer slashed the card just as Sinduramon's Bao Chu began to glow blue.
"Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"
"WHAT?" the Deva squawked and span on the spot, his Bao Chu glowing yellow as he searched for the source of the voice. "Bao-"
MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION
"Guilmon Matrix Digivolve to…"
"…Chu!" he finished, cursing as his opponent's data sphere exploded and he realized that his attack had come too late.
"WarGrowlmon!"
If Growlmon was terrifying, then WarGrowlmon was something else entirely. The lower half of his body was basically the same as that of his Champion form, but that was where the similarities ended. His torso was encased in silver and red metal armour with a black Digital Hazard emblazoned on the chest between a pair of stubby cannons, and his arms had been completely replaced with robotic versions, each tipped with three razor-sharp claws. His massive forearms were encased in thick, dark grey bracers and an enormous axe-like blade extended from each of his wrists to his elbows. The massive saurian's lower jaw had also been replaced with a crude bionic substitute, a set of metal teeth gleaming in the evening sun. A long, whiplike tail made of silver metal protruded from between a pair of blocky silver fins on his back, the underside of each fin lined with engines.
"Leave my friends alone!" WarGrowlmon roared and activated his Vernier engines, rocketing towards Sinduramon at breakneck speed. "Radiation Blade!"
The massive cyborg's arm-blades crackled with blue energy and he slashed at his smaller opponent, scoring a pair of deep grooves in the rooster's armour. Sinduramon shrieked with rage and fluttered into the air, unleashing a bolt of lightning with a call of "Positron Pulse!". WarGrowlmon crossed his arms in front of his body, allowing the lightning bolt to arc across the massive blades and supercharge his next attack. With another roar of "Radiation Blade!", the saurian leapt forward and slashed the plasma-coated blades at his foe. The Deva squawked and dodged the first slash from WarGrowlmon's right claw by retracting his head into his armoured chest, blinding himself and leaving him open to attack in the process. WarGrowlmon exploited the rooster's mistake with glee, slamming his energized left claw into the rooster's chest and splitting the armour open like an eggshell. Sinduramon's head was clearly visible through the hole, and the Deva gulped as his massive opponent grabbed him by the wings and glared into his panic-filled eyes.
"Time for some Digi-Fried Chicken!" WarGrowlmon chuckled and lowered his opponent so that the rooster's face was level with the cannons mounted on his silver chest, a red glow emanating from the short barrels. "Atomic Blaster!"
Sinduramon screamed as a pair of red energy beams tore from the cannons and flooded into the breach in his armour. The Deva's head was instantly reduced to data as the beams tore through him, the back of his armoured chest bulging outwards before bursting like an over-ripe melon and finally disintegrating into data. As usual, WarGrowlmon left the data for his wounded comrades, who absorbed it gratefully and climbed shakily to their feet.
"Thanks for the save there, Takato," Cam called to his friend. "I thought we were toast when that chicken fried our D-Arcs."
"He fried your D-Arcs? How did that happen?"
"He used this move that drained the power right out of them," Rika explained as she helped Renamon to stand. "Sinduramon used that power to make himself bigger and stronger - he was about three feet tall at the start of the fight."
"Whoa, that's messed up," the brown-haired Tamer mumbled. "Is everything working again?"
The redhead pulled out her D-Arc and was relieved to see that the screen was once again lit up. "Yeah, everything seems to b-"
CRACK!
Rika stopped talking suddenly as a loud 'CRACK!' resounded through the clearing. WarGrowlmon span around and let out a feral growl, seeking out the source of the noise. The cyborg fell silent as his angry gaze fell on the culprit - a twig that had been snapped in two by the foot of a seven-year-old girl with long, reddish-brown hair.
"Sam?" Rika exclaimed in surprise as she too noticed the girl.
"Eep!" Sam squeaked and ran towards her sister, gripping her in a tight hug and burying her face in the older girl's stomach. "Make it go away!" she cried, terrified by the enormous, snarling robot-dinosaur hybrid.
Ooohhh…I made scary Rika's little sister get scared… WarGrowlmon thought with more than a hint of guilt as his eyes brimmed with tears. I didn't mean to do it…oh, I know how to make it up to her!
"It's okay, Sam, he's a friend," the redhead said soothingly in an attempt to calm her sister. The Tamer shot a quick glare at the massive Digimon - a glare that quickly turned into a puzzled frown as she watched his whiplike second tail reach out and pick a small flower from underneath a nearby tree in a surprising display of dexterity. "Sam, he's not going to hurt you. Look…"
Sam reluctantly pulled her face away from her sister's shirt and turned to look at the gargantuan cyborg. The little girl was surprised to see him gazing down at her sadly, his eyes wet with unshed tears. "I'm sorry," WarGrowlmon pined and looked at the floor dejectedly. "I didn't mean to scare you. Look, I brought you a present!"
With that, the saurian's long tail snaked out and deposited the flower gently in the little girl's hands. Sam gazed at the flower for a few seconds before looking up just in time to see WarGrowlmon begin to glow white and revert to his Rookie form of Guilmon.
"Can we be friends? Please?" Guilmon asked hopefully, staring at the girl with his best 'puppy-dog' eyes. After a few more seconds, she nodded slowly and the little dinosaur leapt into the air with an enormous grin on his face. "Yippee! Thank you!"
"What…what are you?" the brunette whispered tentatively as the saurian continued his exuberant cheering.
"I think I'd better explain that one," Rika sighed, leading the girl towards a nearby log so that they could sit down. "Oh, and thanks for the help there Goggles."
"Man, that was a close one…" Cam chuckled and grinned at his goggle-wearing friend.
"Are you talking about the Deva thing or the whole 'Rika was about to kill WarGrowlmon' thing?" Takato sighed and slumped against a nearby tree.
"Both, I guess. Oh, that reminds me - when did you make an Ultimate form for Guilmon? You never showed me any pictures and Henry and Steph never mentioned it."
"Oh, well I didn't. At least, not properly," the brown-haired boy shrugged, continuing when he saw his fellow Tamer's confused look. "I drew a couple of…what's the word…concept sketches and came up with the name, but I never wrote any stats or anything I could scan. Actually, I had everything figured out in my brain and I was gonna try and do the final drawings tonight. I guess my D-Arc decided to save me the trouble and just took the info out of my brain."
"I wonder, then, why it did not do that in your fight with Sangloupmon," Gaomon pointed out with a frown. "From what I have heard, Rika seems to think that that situation would normally have triggered a Digivolution to Champion."
"Huh, you have a point there…" Takato mumbled, glancing at the redhead to see her deep in conversation with her sister. The younger girl was wearing a disbelieving frown - a frown which quickly disappeared as soon as Renamon materialized a few metres away. The kitsune de-Digivolved to Viximon in a flash of light, letting out an audible sigh as Sam squealed with delight and grabbed her in a tight hug.
"It is times like this that make me infinitely grateful for the fact that you are an only child…" Gaomon chuckled with a glance at his Tamer and shook his head.
"Help…me…" Viximon gasped telepathically as she felt her air supply being cut off by Sam's painful bear hug.
"Um, Sam? I think you're hurting her…" Rika chuckled, causing the younger girl to loosen her grip on the small fox slightly.
"Thank you," Viximon croaked and leapt to the floor, Digivolving back to her natural form of Renamon. "I do not understand why she finds this form so intimidating. I thought humans liked furry creatures."
"Uh, don't take this the wrong way, but…it's probably your eyes. To people who don't know you, they look a little…how should I put this…?"
"Cold?"
"Yeah, I guess," the redhead chuckled mentally, before turning to her oblivious sister and switching back to verbal communication. "Okay, Sam, I need you to listen very carefully. You can't tell anyone about this - not my mum, not Miranda, not your friends."
"Not even Suzie?" the little girl asked, her eyes wide.
"Especially not Suzie," Rika replied, shuddering as she considered the repercussions that would result from the youngest Wong learning that Terriermon was actually alive. "The only people you can talk to about this are me, my friends, the Digimon and grandma."
"Grandma Seiko knows?" Sam gasped, a little hurt at being kept out of the loop by so many people. "Why didn't you tell me about this stuff earlier? I could help you guys out!"
"No!" the older girl exclaimed suddenly, making her sister jump slightly. Cursing herself inwardly, she continued in a much softer voice. "I mean…no. I don't want you to have to fight and go through what we do. It's hard work and really dangerous - if things went wrong you could get hurt."
"But we're the good guys! We'd never lose!" the brunette protested naïvely.
"The good guys don't always win," Rika sighed and looked at the floor sadly. "We've lost fights before, and even when we win we can get hurt. Me and Renamon have gotten beat up pretty bad before and so have most of the others - especially Goggles. Just ask him about Sangloupmon. Or Mihiramon. Or Gargomon."
Or IceDevimon… the redhead thought, shuddering at the traumatic memories of that particular encounter.
"Okay…" Sam muttered reluctantly.
"Thanks," the older girl smiled and placed a hand on her sister's shoulder. As she re-joined the rest of the group and they began to walk back to Cam's house, the girl's phone began playing an incredibly loud heavy metal ringtone. Cursing quietly, Rika pulled the iPhone out of her pocket and answered it. "Hello?"
["Rika, please don't freak out…"] Steph's voice replied shakily. ["But I think I might have lost your sister…"]
"I know," the Tamer growled and clenched her teeth. "She turned up just in time to get the crap scared out of her by WarGrowlmon and I had to tell her everything. Great babysitting, by the way."
With that, Rika hung up and thrust her phone back into her pocket angrily. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her and she turned to her younger sister with a confused frown.
"Uh…how exactly did you get away from Steph?"
Digital World, Sovereign's Plane - 6pm GMT
My lord is not going to be happy… Caturamon sighed mentally as he strolled through the enormous stone double doors that led into the Sovereign Palace of the Southern Quadrant. The leader of the Devas cast a wary glance back at the hellish volcanic wasteland that waited outside and shook his head ruefully. I would sooner bathe in that lava than face the wrath my lord is sure to unleash upon me after I deliver this news.
"Another failure, Caturamon?" a high-pitched, manic voice chuckled from the shadows behind the canine. "Our wise and powerful master will surely have your head for this one…"
"Be quiet, Makuramon," the dog Deva growled menacingly. "I am still leader of the Devas and am well within my rights to punish you for your insolence."
"Somehow, I doubt that you will be retaining your title for much longer."
"Do you presume to tell me what I think, Makuramon?" an ancient, booming voice echoed through the titanic entrance hall and the monkey Deva fell to his knees in supplication.
"No, my lord, I merely meant tha-"
"SILENCE!" the voice roared, causing Makuramon to cower in fear. "I will hear what my agent has to say for himself before I pass judgement. Let it not be said that I am unfair in my rulings."
"My thanks, oh wise and benevolent lord," Caturamon grinned as he padded towards the second set of massive double doors at the far end of the hall.
As the canine reached the doors, they swung open of their own accord, revealing a colossal, dome-shaped chamber which sloped upwards to a height of at least forty metres at the centre. At the centre of the room was a ring of enormous marble columns, each twice the size of a house and topped with a wide, curved slab of stone. The stones interlocked to form a ring-shaped platform more than wide enough for a decent-sized Digimon to walk along. Far more impressive than the rather spartan structure, however, was the Digimon stood at the centre of the ring.
He was enormous. From the tip of his fiery, lizardlike tail to the point of his sharpened beak he had to be half a dozen storeys tall, with the largest of his pairs of wings having a span of twice that. His bird-like body was covered in blood red feathers, changing colour to orange and then yellow at the tops of six of his eight wings, creating an illusion of flames. The illusion was completely unnecessary, as an aura of heat powerful enough to be visible to the naked eye surrounded the phoenix-like Digimon Sovereign. The upper half of his long beak was covered by a jagged helmet made of red metal and six crimson Digi-cores floated around his grey-feathered neck like pearls on an invisible necklace. Six more Digi-cores orbited around his torso and tail at regular intervals like miniature moons. As Caturamon gazed upon the form of his master, he fell to the floor and whispered his name in reverence.
"My Lord Zhuqiaomon."
"Come closer, Caturamon," the phoenix ordered as the double doors slammed closed behind his canine servant. The Deva obliged, climbing to his feet and leaping into the air. He landed on top of the ring surrounding the Sovereign and winced as the heat emanating from the fiery Digimon's body began to sear his flesh. "So, tell me…why does Makuramon seem so convinced that I shall kill you?"
"I…I bring grave news, my lord," the bulldog stammered, visibly shaking with fear at the menace in his master's voice. "Your loyal servant Sinduramon has fallen in battle against the abominations. Another of their number has managed to Digivolve to Ultimate."
Zhuqiaomon's roar of rage caused the earth to shake violently, dust cascading down from the ceiling to land on Caturamon's face. Desperately fighting the urge to sneeze, the Deva whimpered in pain as the heat searing his flesh increased in intensity.
"Do we have the details of this latest…farce?" the Sovereign growled as soon as he had calmed down enough to speak.
"Yes, lord. Our espionage program captured the entirety of the fight, in addition to the ten minutes which came after Sinduramon's demise."
"Show me."
Caturamon wailed in agony as Zhuqiaomon used a telepathic probe to force his way into his mind with all the care and subtlety of Vajramon in a china shop. The Sovereign reviewed the recording inside his subject's mind slowly and carefully, purposefully extending the painful procedure for as long as he could maintain the link. Eventually, he withdrew from the canine's mind, leaving him laid on the floor and panting in exhaustion.
"Get up," Zhuqiaomon spat contemptuously and Caturamon climbed shakily to his feet, looking dazedly at his avian master. "This girl here, she is not a Tamer. Who is she?" the phoenix asked, sending a mental image of a brown-haired girl much younger than the other humans present to his servant.
"According to my sources, she is the sister of Rika Nonaka, the Tamer of the Renamon. She is of no importance."
"I DECIDE IF SHE IS OF IMPORTANCE!" the Sovereign roared at earth-shaking volume once again. "She has been exposed to a Digimon, is related to a Tamer and is at the correct age…the odds of her becoming a Tamer herself are high. Hmmm…I wonder…"
"My lord?" the bulldog called hesitantly after almost a minute of silence.
"Inform all of our forces to discontinue Project PHANTOM," he replied with a low chuckle. "I have a new plan."
"My lord, please! I know that PHANTOM has suffered many setbacks, but I belie-"
"SILENCE! You have failed me one too many times - the deaths of so many Devas cannot be ignored. Now get out of my sight before I incinerate you!" Zhuqiaomon roared, sending his Deva scurrying for the door. "And send in Makuramon. Perhaps he will actually show a level of basic competence…"
"My most gracious lord," Makuramon called from the doorway as he stepped into the chamber. "Forgive me for intruding, but I could not help but overhear your most majestic of voices. May I ask…does this mean that…?"
"Yes. Now that we have a suitable subject, I am giving Project NOSFERATU the green light. Bring me a list of additional candidates by the end of the next night cycle."
"Yes, my lord!" the demented monkey cheered, cartwheeling through the massive doors with a look of insane glee.
Soon… the phoenix thought. Soon I shall have an army of Mega-level Digimon at my disposal, and I will be the master of the greatest force to grace this world since the fall of the Royal Knights! I SHALL BE A GOD!