I'm so sorry. I really meant to have another chapter before this point, but several things happened in close succession, causing a massive delay to this update. My mom broke her arm Christmas morning by slipping on the ice, meaning I had to help her out until she got her cast off. Then, my step-sister got married and we had to go out of state to attend. Add to that my imagination getting kidnapped again for another topic and starting school back up after break… When I did get a chance to try and write, I got sick. To sum it all up, I've been busy. I hope that this chapter makes up for the inescapable delay.
Another thunderous blow caused the ground under the young man's feet to quiver, but he managed to keep his balance. It did spark of a momentary fear of what could happen if he was knocked down by the shockwaves and lost his glasses, leaving him to flounder around blindly on the battlefield. Fortunately, Joe was able to shove that unnerving scenario aside. After all, he had enough to worry about already without inventing new problems.
As soon as they had reached the shore, blue-tinted Kuramon and Chrysalimon charged out of the unusual fog bank towards them. One quick digivolution later and Zudomon had taken his giant hammer to the streets. There were no immediate signs of the other Digidestined, but that wasn't too unbelievable considering how far the mist had spread. There was a lot of territory they could be in and the pair had just arrived on the scene.
"Vulcan's Hammer!" announced Zudomon, smashing the steel implement to the ground and sending the small creatures flying from the shockwave. Switching his grip on the tool, the giant ultimate threw it and shouted, "Hammer Boomerang!"
Joe watched his partner catch the returning object and prepare for the next strike. Suddenly, a brightly-colored new shape swooped low overhead. Something dropped from the figure before it regained altitude. The young man looked directly towards the fast-moving entity just as it began to glow with flames.
"Meteor Wing!"
The shape, a huge orange bird, sent flames towards the aggressive entities. Her attack produced shrieks of pain and surprise from the targeted Kuramon and Chrysalimon. Joe gained a relieved smile at the arrival of the familiar champion.
The figure that had dropped off a minute before came over to the young man's side. Still in her tennis outfit and carrying a racket, Sora gave him a questioning look.
"Do you know what we're facing?"
He shrugged, "Dangerous fog, hundreds of these little guys, and our friends somewhere in the middle of it. Beyond that, I only know what Izzy said on television."
The teenage girl blinked, "Izzy was on T.V.? I just got a message on my phone." She glanced back at Birdramon as she pulled out her digivice. "Either way, we need to find the others. We need to make sure they are all right and to help them."
"Birdramon digivolve to… Garudamon!"
The avian ultimate looked slightly more humanoid. Her feathers were now crimson red except for a patch of white on her chest and neck. She now had clawed hands to match her avian-taloned feet. On her back, she still had a pair of wings. A red helmet covered the top of her head with only her eyes exposed. Two braids, one on each side, framed her bird-like face while the rest of her blond hair flowed down her back. Mostly, she was simply big.
"Wing Blade!" she stated, her wings launching bird-shaped flames at the swarm of creatures still emerging from the blue fog.
Adding to her fiery strike, Zudomon announced, "Vulcan's Hammer!"
The combined attacks destroyed a number of the lower-leveled digimon and also struck the mist. Both the creatures and the artificial weather shattered with the impact. Joe stared at the newly cleared area.
"That's one way to get in," he remarked slowly.
His partner nodded, "Time for the cavalry to go charging in. I just hope we go charging in the right direction."
"Is it just me or are they slowing down?" asked VictoryGreymon.
"What do you mean?" Takato's voice asked as Gallantmon swung his sword through another Chrysalimon. "That one was just as fast as the others."
"But they aren't replacing the earlier digimon as quickly anymore," clarified Tai's voice as the large Biomerged reptile smashed his heavy weapon on another blue-tinted creature.
He had a definitely point. Earlier, each destroyed digimon was immediately replaced by two or more identical combatants. Now, there was a slightly noticeable delay after their destruction before another one appeared out of the fog. The pair of megas was keeping up now instead of being nearly overwhelmed by numbers.
Guilmon's voice suggested, "Do you think they are running out of them?"
"Maybe. Or it might be a sign that they are up to something new," remarked VictoryGreymon.
"Data Crusher!" announced one of the champions.
"Invincible Sword!" Gallantmon retaliated.
As the knight struck the Chrysalimon, an ominous deep rumbling sound began. The remaining blue-tinted digimon didn't react to the noise. The Biomerged megas, however, exchanged concerned looks.
"Why do I get the feeling we're in trouble," muttered VictoryGreymon.
"Wait, back up for a minute," snarled Impmon, glancing between the now-hugging woman and avian rookie. As soon as the adult whispered the bird's name, the pair had broken down into a teary embrace. The human seemed to be muttering frantically a series of barely-comprehensible apologies while Hatomon was reciting her own. Most people would see this as a heartwarming reunion of some type and feel some level of empathic joy themselves. Considering the day he'd already experienced that day, however, the purple virus was out of patience and wanted answers. "Are you telling me that Blondie, who tried to kidnap my twins and has been freaking out about how digimon are a threat to kids everywhere, is the partner to Tweety? Does anyone else see a problem with this picture?"
"Tammy?" asked Hatomon, pulling back from the hug enough to look at the woman questioningly.
Slowly, uneasily, and cautiously, she began to explain, "I… couldn't remember. It was so foggy and I spent so long believing it was a lie… trying to not remember. Somehow I knew, though, that I was missing… something… something important and I wanted to stop being so… lost. When digimon first started showing up in the public eye, it felt… familiar, but I couldn't…" She stopped for a moment. The confident and cool woman that had been in the apartment earlier (and been splashed with batter) seemed to be unraveled by some mind-blowing revelation. A thick wall against the world had broken down and she didn't know how she ended up there. Impmon recognized the feeling of having to face the truth of who and what they've become when everything came crashing down. "Denial and a fear of being crazy wouldn't let me… I'm sorry, Hatomon. I couldn't even remember you. It was frustrating. And… I think I subconsciously blamed everything on… something I knew was coming, but never did. I blamed digimon without understanding why. I was angry and hurt, but DADP seemed to offer a way to… fix it. To get rid of something that was testing my view on sanity and to protect kids from ending up… like me. I didn't understand my logic and couldn't even try to figure it out. It was just… a mess." For a second, her features twitched into a vague smile and gave a watery chuckle, "When this is over, I am definitely calling my therapist. He made me think I was crazy for years and I'm going to make him sorry. 'Delusion,' my foot."
"This is my fault. I promised I'd see you again and…" the bird muttered.
"You did," she assured. "I just wasn't patient enough. I should have had more faith."
"Okay, I only got about half of what you just said, but I'm guessing you're on our side now," remarked Impmon. "It's never too late to switch sides, fix mistakes, and other sentimental whatever, but can we save the sappy reunions and 'it's all my fault' stuff until after the crisis is over?"
"The Guardian program," nodded the blond adult.
"The blue stuff?" Mako asked. "How did you know about it?"
"Maybe Destiny told her," suggested Ai.
Somehow, the purple rookie was willing to bet that wasn't the case. While the prophetess seemed to be able to be everywhere and talk to everyone, this didn't feel like her work. The woman confirmed it by shaking her head at the child's words.
"I made it. Well, Diaboromon took an idea of mine, perfected it, added his own evil twist on it, and made it seem like I made it on my own," she explained, her words filled with fury at the manipulation. "But he won't get away with it. I… We," she corrected, glancing at her partner and receiving a nod of agreement, "will stop him. Tamiko Mizutani wil not be used by an overgrown bug. I brought Guardian into existence and I can take it out."
"Nice plan, but do you know how you're going to do that?" asked Impmon. "I'm no expert at computer junk, but considering we have a fog over most of he city, you're going to need more than a giant delete button."
"Like that weird gun you had earlier," Mako suggest hesitantly.
The DigiDestined shook her head again, "They use the Guardian program to operate. Right now, it would be more effective to throw them at someone. And I need to take out the source of the problem and hack into the DADP's central computer directly. The one that was empowering the shield."
"The overgrown bug-zapper," muttered the viral rookie.
"I was heading that way, disconnecting any computer I encountered on the way, when the little jellyfish things showed up," she continued, rubbing her arm awkwardly. "And as long as I'm able to isolate the system from the 'fog spewing' program they all seem to be running enough not to get killed by it, I might be able to undo some of this mess. I think I can do it if I'm at the source."
Impmon reminded, "Don't forget, even if there aren't that many of the creepy digimon running around in here, there has to be a few guarding something like that. No one is that stupid to leave obvious sources of power unattended. Which means I'll be baby-sitting you for a little longer apparently."
The grey-eyed woman smiled slightly, "I think we can take care of ourselves fairly well. Right, Hatomon?"
She pulled out a small, electronic device. While different than the D-arc around Ai's neck, Impmon could easily guess its purpose before it started to glow.
"Hatomon digivolve to… Darcmon!"
Replacing the avian rookie was a more humanoid champion. She possessed two sets of shining, cream-white wings that she had pulled tightly in the closed spaces. Most of her blondish-white hair was hidden beneath a red turban bearing a blue gemstone that resided in a decorative setting. The setting seemed to have a set of tiny, ornate, white wings. Golden armor protected her legs and lower arms while colorful cloth and leather belts covered the rest of her. Twin swords, one resting in its sheath at her waist while the other resided in her grip, announced her more dangerous nature. Her other hand held a staff with a winged orb on the top. Her face was partially concealed by a golden mask in a fashion very similar to Sakuyamon, except the being's golden-green eyes were still visible.
Ai held out the purple D-arc and read slowly, "'Darcmon, a champion angel digimon. Like her Dancing Sword attack, she is as deadly as she is beautiful.'"
"Okay, that's a little better, but…" began Impmon. Before he could finish, however, a deep rumbling sound began. The noise could be felt as vibrations through the floor in addition to being heard. This quickly indicated to the small group that the source was either very big, very close, or both. Judging by the amount of luck generally on their side that day, the purple rookie assumed it was both and it was also out to kill them. "Fine, you're on your own. Just point me towards the closest window out of here and go play techno-wizard with the bug-zapper."
She quickly pointed towards one of the office doorways. Without another word to the adult or wondering how well the pair would be able to see without his fire present, the virus took Mako's hand, who grabbed on to Ai's, and pulled them into the room. Dodging the mist, the trio moved around the computer desk to the large window that ran across the back wall. Impmon extinguished the flame in his free hand and released Mako from his other.
"Munchkins, I think it's time to try out the crest thing now," he suggested.
The child's nod was just visible with the light that filtered through the blue fog-covered window. His sister reached over the D-arc for him to slide the card-like object.
In unison, they announced, "Digi-Modify! Crest of Balance Activate!"
"Impmon Crest Biomerge digivolve to… Fatemon Balance Mode!"
"Gauntlet Claw!" shouted Turuiemon.
"Gargo Laser!" his brother added, firing at the Kuramon and finishing it off.
A dark figure moved across the battlefield, announcing, "Crimson Claw!"
"Nice job, Devidramon," commented Doumon. "But I can do better. Exorcism Scrolls!"
The red paper spells destroyed and damaged a larger number of digimon than the champions' attacks, but the grayish-blue furred ultimate was not the only individual doing large-scaled destruction. Though she was a delicate-looking being, Lillymon was alternating between blasting away with her flower cannon and tying her enemies up with vines. Even Mikemon was able to take out a number of Guardian-infused digimon by weaving in and out of the crowd. Only Mari's partner, Pafumon, had a low body count due to his level and the girl retaining a hold of him.
"Electro Shocker!" shouted Kabuterimon.
"Flower Cannon!" the floral ultimate added.
One part of Willis wanted to be optimistic. All the signs seemed to indicate they were holding their own in the fight, if not flat out winning. On the other hand, his experience with the virus and from what he'd observed of Diaboromon specifically on the computer years ago suggested that it was far too early to get cocky. There had to be a plan that hadn't been revealed yet. A blue mist and numerous low-leveled digimon would not be his only defense. He was too smart for such an obvious final defense.
As if the universe was determined to prove him right, the ground began to shake with an ominous rumble accompanying it. Several of the digidestined and their smaller partners struggled to retain their balance in response to the unexpected vibrations. The various stages of Diaboromon's digivolution line didn't react, as if they were expecting it.
"Guys… Any idea what's going on?" asked Ren.
"This isn't normal seismological behavior," Izzy stated uneasily. "Lacking a natural cause, we should assume it is from an artificial source. And until we have any more concrete evidence to develop a different theory, it is probably best to assume it is connected to Diaboromon."
"Which means we should assume the worse," his partner remarked.
"Don't you always?" asked Mimi.
Izzy grinned wryly, "Statistically, it generally proves to be the worst possible scenario for us."
"Doesn't mean you can't hope for the best," she pointed out.
Before Willis could either ask them to focus or to lightly tease them for acting like an old married couple (he hadn't decided which one yet), the digimon closest to the blue mist screamed in surprise and dove for safety. What looked like a gigantic, blue, clawed leg had burst through the fog bank and slammed into the road with enough force to crack the blacktop into large chunks, barely missing Mikemon and Turuiemon. The taloned-foot was slightly too large to fit perfectly in the road and tore up the side of the buildings near it without being at all hindered by the concrete structures.
Everyone began scrambling backwards, Devidramon and Kabuterimon grabbing their smaller brethren in an effort to increase the distance from the unknown creature emerging.
"Move!" shouted Lillymon, diving to grab her partner.
"Run," added Gargomon.
No one needed further prompting since the humans were already moving, but the new entity seemed determined to offer greater encouragement. In the distance, but still too close for comfort, another limb exploded out of the mist and crashed onto another street. The rumbling and shaking of the ground was continuing throughout the event and the smaller blue-tinted creatures were following the fleeing figures.
"Kyo," the young Mari yelped, one hand holding her frightened partner and the other one grabbing her brother. "What is it?"
A heavy jerk of the vibrating ground and a distant crashing sound indicated a third limb hand emerged somewhere in the city, but the group of digidestined and digimon couldn't see where. Everything indicated this thing was huge. It was easily larger than Kerpymon or Magnadramon, the largest digimon Willis had seen personally. And they hadn't even seen the body yet.
"Judging by the size of the limbs required to support its weight, the likely body mass would fall into a range around…" Izzy tried to theorize over the loud noises as they fled, but Jay interrupted.
"Less thinking, more running."
A less extreme jolt, but still a forceful one, suggested a fourth limb had landed at an even further location. The sounds of destruction lasted longer this time. The blond American assumed it had landed directly on a building instead of mostly on the road, explaining the difference in noise.
"Everyone, grab onto Devidramon, Kabuterimon, or Youkomon," Ren yelled, separating the two digivices and causing Doumon to revert to her champion stage.
"Gargomon and I can keep the smaller guys at bay," added Lillymon, handing Mimi over to the large insect as other humans proceeded to follow the DigiDestined's suggestion. "We just need to get the humans and smaller digimon back."
As the framework for the retreat strategy was formed, the shaking of the ground intensified. Willis glanced back and saw an enormous mass breaching the surface of the ocean of fog like a giant whale. Or rather, like Godzilla. The difference was that this shape kept rising higher and higher above the mist. The scale of the creature seemed impossible, distracting the boy from noting any other detail about it. Several skyscrapers were slightly "grazed" by the ascending form and were utterly decimated by the mild impact. It wasn't facing them yet, but the boy knew what it was deep down. The towering being rising from the mist was his mistake, once again returned to haunt him.
As if in answer to the digidestined's suspicions, the creature began to turn and, in a deep and thunderous voice, bellowed, "Willis."
More details of Diaboromon's new form will be revealed when it gets to a viewpoint that is not so close to the ground. For a human at the angle Willis is, the clearest detail obvious in all that chaos is big.
Once again, I'm so sorry about the wait. It was simply out of my control. I hope this chapter made up for it somewhat and the next update should be sooner this time.
Thanks.