Hey. Hope you're all enjoying this so far. Here's the next installment
Disclaimer: Me and this franchise have nothing to do with each other. Our relationship is strictly acquaintance-like.
LAST TIME:
DAICHI: After that Tyrannomon business, we learned from Wormmon that he most likely worked for some secret organization bent on world domination: the Digi-Agents. And it wasn't long before we met another member. Sepikmon tried to dissuade us from progressing any further, but we soon proved he was lying and battled him. But that Spirit Boomerang was trouble: Shadramon couldn't get past it and Sepikmon even tried to throw it at me. In a last-ditch effort, Dracomon mananged to Digivolve to Coredramon and take Sepikmon down. Now we have to go to a lake that, thanks to Sepikmon's blabbing, we believe may help us stop these Digi-Agents.
Chapter 5
Strike!
Inside a cave, covered in sheets of ice and decorated with icicles, a lone figure swung his arm in anger, destroying an ice crystal on a platform. "Huh, I lose more seeing-crystals that way," he said in a deep Brooklyn accent. "But I've got more pressing problems; those human brats have learned about the lake. That is the last time I trust a guy who wears a mask to keep a secret. I'll just have to keep sending in more of my minions to destroy them all before they even hit the middle of the canyon."
"Not just any old minion, I hope. Right, Hyogamon?" a dark, female voice said. The male figure stepped out of the shadows to reveal his appearance to his new visitor: he looked like a blue-tinged ogre with a gaping mouth filled with teeth.
"What do you want, DarkLizardmon?" he asked.
DarkLizardmon, with her fiery body surprisingly not giving any more light, said, "Just wanted to bring some warmth into your life. How do you stand this cold?"
"We can't all be ice warriors, flame-brain," Hyogamon replied rudely.
"I couldn't help but notice you seem to have a pest control problem," DarkLizardmon said, changing the subject. "How can two humans and their pets defeat your soldiers?"
"Pure dumb luck," he answered, using his ice powers to create a new crystal. "But that may soon change; they're going to the lake as we speak."
"If they reach there, they'll get the—"
"Don't remind me what happens if they do," Hyogamon interrupted. "Which is why we need to destroy them before anything else happens."
"Allow me to play with them," the fire-lizard said. "I haven't had any fun since razing that Gazimon village yesterday."
Hyogamon began to think about DarkLizardmon's proposal. He looked into his new seeing-crystal. "Those brats are almost at the edge of the forest. See if you can convince them to… change direction."
"Any preferences on methods?" DarkLizardmon hissed.
"As long as they don't reach the lake, I don't care," Hyogamon said. He heard her take off and leave him in solitude. "The good thing about this battle is whether those brats survive or are destroyed, at least I'll be rid of one problem."
Daichi, Isamu, and their Digimon woke up on the forest floor. Soon after their battle with Sepikmon, it started to get darker. They all decided to rest for the night and, after selecting a secluded overgrowth, the humans rolled out their sleeping bags and fell asleep almost instantly. When morning finally came, they cooked breakfast and began to pack up for their newly-realized trek.
"Gotta tell you," Isamu said, "sure was nice to have a full night's sleep, complete with a good, balanced breakfast. I mean, I haven't eaten since before we left."
"Personally, I've always preferred leaves as a good food source," Wormmon said. "They're in great abundance and variety."
"Speak for yourself," Dracomon said. "I actually liked those… uh… what'd you call those things again?"
"Hash browns," Daichi answered. "What do you normally eat, Dracomon?"
"Usually just whatever fruit I can find," Dracomon answered. "Problem is they're not always as easy to find as Wormmon's snacks."
"We'll be sure to find some fruit along the way," Daichi said. "In the meantime, let's head for that lake."
"Like I said," Wormmon stated, "the lake is on the other side of a canyon just beyond the forest." The rest of the group followed Wormmon through the trees
"So do you think we'll run into anymore Digimon?" Daichi asked.
"If these Digi-Agents are as afraid of us getting to the lake as we think," Isamu said, "we should see a few obstacles along the way."
"Bring 'em on!" Dracomon said. "These guys won't stand a chance against us."
"Careful, Dracomon," Isamu said. "Confidence can easily lead to pride, and I assume you know what pride leads to."
"A medal of honor?" Dracomon asked. ("Just forget it," Daichi whispered in embarrassment.)
After they walked for more than about an hour, the group noticed that the population of trees began to thin. Where there were once trees covering almost every square foot of forest, now they could see the ground, which started to become less like dirt and more like rock.
"I think it's safe to say were almost out of the forest," Daichi observed.
"The canyon's not too far ahead," Wormmon stated.
"Nor am I," a voice called out, almost hissing. Something immediately jumped down and landed in front of the Digi-Destined; it looked like a bipedal lizard, its body resembling flames, though whether they were was up for debate as they were dark brown, and a metal helmet covering the top half of its face, which also sported a gaping mouth.
"You will not go through me," it said in a feminine voice, holding its arms wide.
"Please," Isamu said, "we did this already with Sepikmon."
"Something tells me she's our next 'obstacle,'" Daichi said, Digi-Analyzer in hand. "That's DarkLizardmon. Even if she wasn't a virus type (which she is), she's still classified as an evil dragon Digimon, whose Dark Flare attack is just as evil."
"You flatter me," DarkLizardmon said. "Now be good little boys and leave the Digital World, with the promise to never come back."
"It doesn't take much to see that you're in league with the Digi-Agents," Daichi said, "so I'm afraid we'll have to disappoint you."
"Who's disappointed?" the fire-lizard asked. "In fact, I was hoping you'd say that. Dark Flare!" The flames on her body began to spread out and move in on her opponents.
"Silk Thread!" Wormmon quickly spun a wall of thread between the two factions, holding the flames back. "This won't work long," he said.
"Won't have to," Daichi said, holding a Digivice card. "Just long enough." Isamu also held up his D-3.
Digi-Armor, energize! Wormmon Armor Digivolve to… Shadramon, the Inferno of Courage!
Digi-Modify! Digivolution, activate! Dracomon Digivolve to… Coredramon!
When the webbing finally dissolved, both Digimon immediately leapt into battle. "Flare Buster!" Shadramon shot two fireballs at DarkLizardmon, both of which were rendered ineffective against her natural fire-like body.
"We've got this," Daichi said. "Digi-Modify! Devidramon Crimson Claw, activate!" Coredramon's right hand became surrounded in darkness that took the form of a red claw-shaped aura. "Crimson Claw!" He moved his hand forward and the aura elongated to meet DarkLizardmon. The claw struck and hurt her.
"Why you… Dark Flare!" Her fire began to spread out again, this time heading only for Coredramon. The attack was too wide to avoid along the ground.
"Uh, Daichi, I have a confession to make," Coredramon said; "I'm not exactly a high altitude flyer in this form."
"That's just great," Daichi said. He looked through his cards. "Hang on, I have an idea. Digi-Modify! Hyper Wings, activate!" Shining white wings attached themselves to Coredramon's back, and without warning, he began to fly high enough to avoid the attack. The wings soon disappeared, though, but they lasted long enough for Coredramon to dodge the flames completely.
Meanwhile, Shadramon was coming up with a plan of his own. "If she's made out of fire, then I can take advantage of that." He pointed his arms at DarkLizardmon. "Psychic Wave!" DarkLizardmon just stood there, not moving at all. "What?" Shadramon asked in surprise. "But how come you're not doing what I want you to do?"
"You ignorant firebug," DarkLizardmon hissed. "This is no ordinary flame, but dark fire. Its power is borderline to hellfire. You could never control such an evil force. You may be a virus like myself, but you do not share my capacity for evil." Shadramon backed away. "Darkness Ray!" Two beams of dark light shot out of DarkLizardmon's eyes and hit Shadramon, who suddenly De-Digivolved back into Wormmon.
"Wormmon!" Isamu yelled in concern. Wormmon slowly got up, revealing he was all right. "Can you keep going?"
"Not as Shadramon, I can't," he answered. "Even if I had the strength left, my attacks wouldn't do anything."
"We can't just give up," Isamu said. Suddenly something grabbed his left shoulder, something hot.
"I agree with you," DarkLizardmon said. "It wouldn't be as much fun if my prey didn't fight back." She lifted Isamu against a nearby tree. "So here's how this will work; you, with the cards…" she pointed to Daichi, "if I see so much as one more card, consider your friend charbroiled. So feel free to grab one," she added with a certain delight.
"Are you saying you kill for the fun of it?" Isamu asked.
"I would never say that," DarkLizardmon answered halfheartedly. "I would say 'enjoyment.'"
"You're a sick monster," Isamu said angrily.
"You know what, forget it," DarkLizardmon said. "I'll just kill you now." Isamu felt his shoulder become hotter, until it came to the point where he could feel it burning. He screamed in pain.
"Isamu!" Wormmon yelled. He ran toward DarkLizardmon and made one large jump toward the two.
"Wormmon, no, don't!" Isamu yelled. Nobody, except Daichi and Coredramon, saw Isamu's Digivice glowing, soon to be joined by Wormmon.
"Wormmon Digivolve to…" His overall form changed from an insect to virtually humanoid. He head looked like a mask that sported two large, red eyes and antennae. His newly formed hands were covered by gauntlets, each complete with a weapon apparatus. His shoulders were also girded with spiked guards. Behind him grew large wings that resembled a dragonfly's. "Stingmon!"
DarkLizardmon continued to keep her fiery grip on Isamu, paying no heed to the events behind her. Stingmon rushed over and punched her to the side. She was forced to let go of Isamu as she rolled along the ground. "Don't tell me I Digivolved just so you could ignore me," Stingmon said.
"Hey, I thought I had the witty comebacks," Coredramon said.
"Have to get them in while I can," Stingmon retorted. He turned to Isamu. "You all right?"
"Yeah, just a little hot under the collar," Isamu said. "And my shirt." He motioned to a hole that had burned through the shoulder of his shirt.
"Believe me, human," DarkLizardmon said as she got up, "when I'm through with you, a burn mark will be the least of your worries… assuming you're even conscious enough to worry," she added with a hiss of delight.
"You won't touch him," Stingmon said defiantly. "You are right about one thing, though. I don't share your evil, but that suits me just fine." His shoulder guards lifted and he held up is fist. A purple blade appeared from his gauntlet. Just as DarkLizardmon jumped for them, Stingmon thrust his arm forward before rushing to meet with her. "Spiking Strike!" The blade pierced DarkLizardmon's body and she started to convulse. Soon her data began to disappear until the last bit left the blade.
Stingmon withdrew the blade and De-Digivolved to his rookie form, followed by Coredramon to Dracomon. "Hey Digimon, hey Digimon," Isamu said in awe. "One shot."
"I can tell you why," Daichi said, holding his Digi-Analyzer. "Stingmon makes the perfect assassin, since he can pinpoint an enemy's physical flaws and specializes in one-hit KO-type moves."
"I'm just glad he's doing the assassinating on our side," Dracomon said.
"By the way," Daichi said, "what are we going to do about your shirt?"
"I got it," Wormmon said. "Silk Thread." He opened his mouth and shot out a line of silk that stuck itself to Isamu's shoulder, creating a makeshift patch. "That should hold for a long time to come," Wormmon said, "as long as we don't run into any more fire lizards."
"Come on, then," Isamu said, "let's get going before something else happens." The humans and their Digimon finally began to take their first steps out of the forest.
That's another one down. But what will Hyogamon try next? And just what is at the lake that he's so worried about? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!
That's all from me today folks. Hope you like it, and hope you'll keep reading.
This is CF, signing out.