Once more, I am deeply, deeply, deeply sorry about the wait. But I have a very good excuse this time. I had to study for testing. Lots of tests. It took up a huge chunk of my time and I didn't want to rush this chapter anyway. Ragnamon has Gallantmon in his grip, like King Kong about to climb the Empire State building. Only things are going to go a little differently than that movie (starting with the fact that Ragnamon is too large to climb any building anyway…). In fact, things are going downhill very quickly at the moment for our Royal Knight. The same events will be covered by several angles (covering very short time periods each time… like a matter of seconds in most cases), so I hope it won't be too confusing.
He glared at the armored mega in his claw. Ragnamon was tired of the annoying small creatures flitting around like insects. Besides the single fatality earlier, he hadn't managed to destroy any of them properly. They refused to remain still, trying to harm him with their weak attacks. As long as he had his blue-cloud Guardian program, they couldn't succeed. Still, Ragnamon wanted destruction now.
Grabbing the crimson knight surprised both of the winged creatures that had been flying above him. They had flown far higher than the others, but not quite high enough. The green-eyed one responded with an inarticulate shout at the giant digimon rearing up on his hind legs. Ragnamon, as much pleasure as it could gain by destroying the entity in his claws and his companion, had bigger ideas.
"Catastrophic Meltdown!" he snarled, blasting the plasma-like beam down towards the other gathered digimon. He continued to rapidly fire away at them, trying to cover a large area this time instead of hitting a specific target. "Catastrophic Meltdown! Catastrophic Meltdown!"
His drones, Kuramon and Tsumemon, observed Willis' expressions as the deadly blasts demolished the area around the megas and ultimates. And, because they could see the look of horror, Ragnamon could see the boy as well. Why wasn't he happy? Couldn't Willis see that his partner could provide the greatest destruction ever?
Vaguely, the gigantic beast noticed the grey-winged mega trying to free the crimson knight. He was yanking at the talons, trying to pull his companion out of the tight grip while muttering something about "Big Blue." Ragnamon decided that enough was enough.
Pausing momentarily in his efforts to pepper the area in plasma-like beams, he glanced at the multi-winged mega in his claw. He increased the strength of his grip, producing a dual-voiced scream of pain and a quick explosion of data as the shape collapsed under pressure. Whatever small fragments of the creature left, he tossed them aside. Even if there was still a shred of life in his little handful, it wouldn't survive much longer. With a slight feeling of satisfaction about destroying the crimson knight, he whacked the green-eyed mega and returned to firing down at the other creatures.
"Stupid Big Blue," Fatemon muttered, pulling at the giant claws while the enormous creature was distracted by trying to kill the rest of their friends (a less than helpful thought at the moment). "Let go of Pineapple-head now."
"Hurry up," urged Gallantmon. The knight's arms were pinned at his side, but that didn't stop the Biomerged mega from struggling to get free. So far, neither of them was making any progress. "This isn't very comfortable and makes me feel like one of Suzie's dolls."
"Working on it. Just wish that Big Blue wasn't so… huge," Impmon's voice growled.
His efforts were distracted as the greenish-yellow eyes turned back towards them, stopping his previous attacks. The grey-winged mega felt a shiver of dread as the insane gaze focused on the trapped Gallantmon.
With his hands holding the giant talon, he felt Ragnamon swiftly and mercilessly tighten his grip of the crimson knight. He heard both Takato and Guilmon scream in agony at the pressure, Fatemon's attempts to relieve it as useless as before. And, because he was so close to his friend, when Gallantmon Crimson Mode shattered, he could see it far too clearly. For a split second, he thought he could see the limp shapes of the boy and rookie that made up the Biomerged mega, but Ragnamon's taloned limb ripped sharply away from him. The large creature hurled the dispersing cloud of data and the pair of beings Fatemon hoped were okay through the air.
"No, no, no, no," he snarled, his wings beating as he tried to follow. All three entities that formed the mega refused to accept what he was seeing: their friends tumbling through the air towards the deadly blue mist below. If the fog didn't kill them, the fall itself would be fatal. The twins were terrified, but their partner was being distracted. Impmon was experiencing a discomforting sense of déjà vu, but he supposed to be falling while the knight tried to save him. It was the D-reaper all over again and he barely survived it. And now Guilmon and Takato could… "Not going to happen."
As fast as he flew, he was still within range of Ragnamon when he swung his clawed limb and slammed it against Fatemon. The winged was sent painfully tumbling by the impact, struggling to regain control of chaotic plummeting before he crashed. But even as he managed to prevent his own crash and begin flying properly again, he knew it was too late. He wouldn't be able to reach his friends in time.
No…
The group of Digidestined, hidden and protected in her bubble, was still fairly far away from the unbelievable larger creature that had risen from the blue fog. The others, the team of children chose long ago to be defenders of two worlds and the veterans of countless battles, still gasped in shock when he first rose into sight. The sight of large creatures destroying their city, their home, was one you never really get used to. Even with the knowledge that they were shielded, hidden, and guarded by JewelBeemon and Magnamon, the distant digimon that announced the name of Ragnamon as his identity unnerved them. The size was just impossible to accept. Kari and T.K. could, sometimes, make out the figures of their partners flitting around him like insects at this distance, their size in comparison making Ragnamon seem even larger.
Destiny was less focused or shocked by the creature. Her mind was busy chasing the memories of her past. She knew she was close to regaining her partner, if she could simply find the right memory. A single point in her past, a key event, was the one thing she needed to recall. She was so close now, though it didn't feel like it, and even the presence of a giant blue-shelled digimon re-enacting Godzilla in the middle of downtown wasn't going to distract her. She'd seen stranger things before, at a far closer distance.
Surrounded by deadly pink goo, the only reason they could even remain here was due to the shield her crystalline D-arc. One step outside and the hostile environment would destroy them. They were here to observe, to ensure events progressed according to the prophecy. And, in this case, it meant waiting for a death.
High above her and Fate, humans and digimon fought together against a deadly foe. A dangerous, chaotic program evolved into an entity that was almost a force of nature, changing into shapes that looked like the product of nightmares. At the heart of this, in the middle of this killing goo and cable-attached drones, was a heart-broken girl. The lonely child, trapped in sorrow and pain to power the abomination, deserved better. She had lost so much already. Still, there were those who would not rest until she was safe. Her friends were up there, fighting all around the impenetrable orb the brown-haired girl lay within. And a former enemy…
Nearly directly above Destiny and Fate's hidden shield, a dark shape pounded relentlessly. Each impact was fueled by guilt and an unshakable desire to make things right. He knew his crimes, understood the pain he'd caused, but wanted to undo the harm. The former murderous monster that only cared for power, a gluttonous beast that devoured data and sowed fear among those who he encountered, now only cared about fixing the damage of his actions. The digimon intended to rescue the trapped child, the one he'd wronged the most and still chose mercy instead of revenge, or he would die in the attempt.
"'Two individuals, one inside and one outside. One, who carries the weight of the deaths of innocents from his actions, will try to rescue the one who deserved life far more than he. But the Chaos brings about the greatest pain and punishment to those who seek to do what is right. And another digimon partner shall be lost,'" recited Fate, his sea green eyes locked on the desperate being above them. "I know we've seen plenty of unfair events in the past, Dee, but still… he doesn't deserve that. He's trying to turn his life around, he just reunited with those little kids, and his reward for doing the right thing is to die?"
"It has to happen," she reminded, personally agreeing that it seemed wrong and yet there wasn't much choice. "Someone with a history of causing innocent deaths will die trying to save someone else. We don't have to like it."
Her partner tugged his hood up, concealing his expression from her, "I don't. Maybe it's because he so similar to me, but it feels wrong. We've allowed so many good beings to die because of prophecies. We're nothing but tools of murder and destruction. We might be balancing things, making the universes the way they should be, but honestly… that doesn't mean it's always right. Someone trying so hard to do the right thing, trying to redeem himself for past crimes, deserve better."
The prophetess turned her gaze upwards towards the exhausted dark figure that was still trying to break the imprisoning orb, still trying to save the girl, and quietly agreed with the rookie, "He deserves a second chance, but life is rarely fair. There is no other way. No one else fits the prophecy."
"Maybe…" he whispered.
The memory, one that she knew was vitally important, was interrupted as gasps of surprise from the Digidestined beside her drew her attention back to Ragnamon. The giant creature had risen up higher, standing up on his hind legs. He was blasting away at those below. In one of his clawed limbs, he was holding something. A figure, too distant to identify properly, was near the fist. When the huge entity tossed whatever he had away from him, the unknown creature tried to dive after it. The blue-shelled digimon backhanded the smaller one, knocking the unrecognizable being away.
This entire sequence gave her a sense of déjà vu. She was too far away and she felt the players were mixed up and wrong, but she had seen this before. Or at least, something similar.
Abruptly, the answer hit Destiny. She finally understood exactly what she was supposed to remember and why this particular prophecy was so important to her own personal one: to remind her of what happened once before.
"Ouch…" muttered Rika, wincing slightly within the blue mental orb as Sakuyamon tried to straighten up. No one had been prepared for Ragnamon to stand up and start blasting the entire area. It had been unbelievably abrupt and the shaman mega had been grazed by one of the attacks before she could adapt to the creature's new strategy, knocked to the ground with her own miniature crater. How badly the others were harmed or where they ended up being knocked by the assault was anyone's guess. All she knew was that the earlier explosions of destruction had suddenly paused. "Did he stop?"
Renamon's voice answered, "He seems to, but I don't know w…"
She stopped speaking as Sakuyamon turned her gaze skyward and saw Gallantmon in the giant mega's grip. The knight was the focus of Ragnamon's attention. As she watched, Fatemon tried to free the Biomerged mega and probably been trying for a while, but it wasn't enough. In a matter of seconds, she observed her friend go from merely trapped to… gone.
The explosion of data that erupted as his mega form shattered felt like a punch to Rika's stomach. Not another death, let alone two. The group already lost Ryo and his partner. They couldn't lose anyone else. It wasn't fair. Her mind raced through a loop of denial of what she had seen, her thoughts moving too fast to realize how little time had passed.
As Ragnamon carelessly tossed two small objects away, a glint of hope broke through the horror of personally observing what appeared to be Gallantmon's death. If those two were actually Takato and Guilmon, it might not be too late. She launched herself just as Fatemon dove after their friends. One of them would reach them in time; they had to succeed.
The universe disagreed with the red-haired tamer's determination and immediately attempted to prevent that goal. Ragnamon slapped away Fatemon, sending him falling out of the sky uncontrollably. At nearly the same instant, the creature opened his mouth again.
"Catastrophic Meltdown!"
Diving out of the path of orange-yellow beam, Sakuyamon managed to avoid injury. Unfortunately, she lost sight of the falling forms of a human boy and red reptile. She couldn't see them and she couldn't save them.
She couldn't save them.
He almost blacked out, the crushing pain almost too much to bear. Takato managed to keep awake, however, as he collapsed out of his mega form. He was left as an exhausted human in Ragnamon's grip, his partner thankfully equally alive beside him. He wasn't allowed any time to recover from the painful and shocking experience, though. Seconds after being crushed out of his previous shape, the giant digimon hurled him away.
The boy heard stories about seeing your whole life flashing before your eyes during a near death experience. He didn't see it. Instead, everything had slowed down except his thoughts. It was like falling in slow motion while the wind still raced by his face, tossing his hair and crest wildly and yanking his shirt roughly around.
He held tightly to Guilmon, who had grabbed on as they were thrown, and simply refused to accept this was the end. He didn't know how, but Takato truly believed they would find a way. Logically, he knew he was about to die. Grani wouldn't be swooping in to save the day this time. There was no hope.
But he refused to accept that. Takato, tired and sore, tumbling through the air like a ragdoll, and heading for the blue fog-covered streets at lethal speeds, still believed they would survive. He and Guilmon would find a way to get out of this. They would live and defeat Ragnamon. It was unthinkable for anything else to happen. They had to succeed.
He met his partner's yellow eyes. The rookie obviously see how bad things, but neither of them had the strength to try digivolving into a shape that could fly. Guilmon, his wonderful partner who balanced cheerful naivety and intriguing insight, still looked at him trustingly. As long as the boy felt they could survive, the rookie would believe it was possible too.
"Everything will be all right," he whispered as he closed his eyes, actually meaning the words and not just saying them to comfort his partner. He truly and utterly felt that something would happen that would make it right. If he could create a digimon partner from a sketch, surely anything was possible? "Don't worry."
He didn't know if the reptile heard him. The wind was whipping by his head so quickly and there was that weird ringing in his head… Wait a minute. Ringing?
The tamer's eyes snapped open and he noticed a glow emerging from the crest chaotically whipping around his neck. Red lines had been spreading across the surface of the card, forming a triangle. Inside the shape, the line continued and formed a spiral. As this odd event occurred, the unexplained ringing shifted into words.
Belief. The ability to be convinced that something is true or possible, no matter how improbable or illogical it may seem. A powerful force that transforms the world and overcomes obstacles. It creates the indescribable and destroys the "impossible." Accepting that evidence is not always needed to keep faith in a concept and that facts against can be ignored if the conviction is strong enough.
It does not need logic to support or reason to exist. With enough faith, anything is a possibility and everything is achievable. No matter if it is an idea, a hope, or a dream: if the will is strong enough and the desire true enough, they can become a reality.
There are times where that belief will be tested and strained to the limits. Common sense, logic, dire circumstances, or even your own allies may argue against possibilities, but if you manage to keep the faith through it all, the world can be transformed by that power. Nearly anything that exists or has occurred only became reality because someone refused to give up on what they think could be possible.
Belief.
The tamer, the Goggle-head, the Dreamer, the boy who refused to accept what he knew wasn't right grabbed the crest that jerked in the whipping wind with his free hand. He felt energized, empowered by the card-like object's activation. A chance to live, to fight again, and to win was here. The way to succeed, the one he believed so strongly to exist, was in his grip.
His mind had finally realized how far he'd fallen, however. The blue mist, and thus the ground, was rushing up to meet them. He was out of time. If he didn't act this second, they would splatter across the street.
Letting go of Guilmon, he grabbed his D-arc. Takato slid the crest through the device just as they fell into the cloud line of the Guardian program.
"Digi-Modify! Crest of Belief Activate!"
The group of humans panicked slightly at Ragnamon standing upright and beginning to blast large sections of the ground below, but none of the orange-yellow blasts struck near them. Willis understood exactly why. The Kuramon and Tsumemon that were staring at the American intently until Minervamon stabbed them demonstrated why. The monster was trying to impress him. He wanted to make the boy see his every move as he slaughtered everyone.
Willis saw something get thrown away by Ragnamon during a brief pause in the creature's assault. A large black figure, one of the strange digimon who had been fighting the boy's mistake for a while, tried to follow after the discarded object. A quick backhand and Ragnamon returned to blast away at large sections of the city.
"Okay, we could really use a better plan than sheer force now," remarked Kyo. "Because he has more force than any of us. Does it have a weak point or something?"
"No, it appears not," answered Izzy. "Judging by the strange coloration and the fact the copies are unharmed by the mist, he likely incorporated the Guardian program into his data. Perhaps he is even drawing power from the blue fog. As long as Ragnamon is in contact with the mist, he might not be able to be stopped. No matter what we throw at him, he'll likely shrug it off."
"So we need something new to win," summarized Matt.
As the words left his mouth, something shot into the sky farther away. Coming from the direction that Ragnamon had thrown something.
So, not as long as some of my chapters lately, but I didn't want to make you wait much longer. Once more, I apologize for the extreme delay. I just had too many tests lately and very little creativity time. The next one should hopefully be longer.
Reviews are deeply appreciated. They make me happy. Thanks.