Okay, let's get another chapter out of the way, shall we?
Disclaimer: ...You know what I'm gonna say.
LAST TIME:
DAICHI: We broke into the airship's bridge, but no one was there. We found a transmission from the ship's apparent captain, CannonBeemon, and something calling itself GranDracmon, likely the Unifier. Suddenly, one of the pods launched back to the ground. When we got there we were face-to-face-to-face witha Deltamon. Even though they were near ultimate level, Isamu and Kiyoko's Digimon couldn't harm it. Against my better judgment, I allowed Dracomon to go into the fight, and while Deltamon was defeated, Dracomon lost consciousness.
Chapter 43
Machine
Mechani-Ville is a city that easily reminds one of some of the bigger cities in the human world. Most of the Digimon who live here are robots, cyborgs, or otherwise mechanical. The Digi-Destined had come to this city shortly after their battle with Deltamon and immediately headed for the nearest hospital. They waited in the lobby while Dracomon was being examined. Daichi had his head lowered in worry.
"Listen," Wormmon said. "If I know Dracomon, he's much too stubborn to simply keel over."
"I know," Daichi said. "I'm just nervous. It's just… I have this sort of bond with Dracomon. I know we've only been together for more than a week, but I just can't imagine life without him now." Suddenly, the doors to the examination room opened. A Digimon about the size of an adult human came out. She had yellow armor and large, silver wings, adorned with purple, that were shaped like a butterfly's.
Daichi stood up and walked to her. "How's he doing, Butterflymon?"
"It seems there was little to worry about," the Digimon said. "It was simply fatigue. I've got my best aromatherapists working with him right now." Daichi breathed a sigh of relief.
Isamu stepped up. "Is he awake?"
"I doubt he'll be up until tomorrow morning at the latest," Butterflymon answered. "If you want, I have some spare rooms for you all to stay the night in. I doubt you have any place to stay and it's cheaper than finding a hotel."
"We'd appreciate that. Thank you," Kiyoko said. Butteflymon led them all to the guest rooms.
Isamu woke up the next morning in the top bunk with Wormmon at his side. He climbed down and saw that Daichi, who was supposed to be in the bunk below him, was gone. He ran over to Kiyoko's room next door and informed her of Daichi's disappearance.
"I bet I know where he is," Kiyoko said as she led everyone out of the halls.
Everyone went to the waiting room. Once they got there, they immediately found Daichi sitting in one of the chairs and reading a magazine. "Knew it," Kiyoko said. This grabbed Daichi's attention and he turned his head to them.
"Oh, morning, guys," he said.
"Morning," Isamu replied. "Listen, Daichi, next time you want to run off without telling me first, do me a favor." He paused. "Tell me first."
Daichi smiled. "Deal."
Suddenly, the doors to the operating room opened and Butterflymon walked out, with Dracomon walking beside her. Daichi stood up and almost ran to his partner. "Feeling better?"
"Much," Dracomon replied. "I had no idea smelling flowers would work wonders for you."
"Well," Isamu interrupted, "now that that's settled, how about we grab some breakfast?"
"You guys go on ahead," Kiyoko said. "I'll take care of the co-pay."
The boys and their Digimon went to a drink stand near the lobby. They ordered some hot chocolate and some herbal tea for the Digimon. Kiyoko arrived later to make her order and Gatomon's before paying the Starmon running the stand. Everyone went back to the main lobby to prepare to head out.
"Glad to have you back with us," Wormmon said to Dracomon.
"You missed me, huh?" Dracomon asked
"Only because I didn't have a Digimon friend I could argue with," Wormmon replied.
"Hey, Daichi's not acting all weird again, is he?" Dracomon asked.
Daichi heard this and asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Let me put a couple names to you," Dracomon said. "Groundramon. Wendigomon. What do they both have in common? I'm out of it for a little while and you start worrying too much."
"Hey, I'm the Digi-Destined," Daichi argued. "I'm the one who sends you into battle."
"And I'm the one who wants to go into battle," Dracomon countered. "What's with the recap?"
"Actually," Isamu said, giving Daichi a look, "right before we left, he said that he sometimes hated bearing his crest."
"Only because it means I have to accept my current situation, whether I like it or not," Daichi responded.
"Um, Daichi," Kiyoko started, "I know I'm relatively new to this whole Digimon thing, but the crest is supposed to be your strongest trait. Whether that's a good thing or not isn't important." Daichi stared at Kiyoko for a few seconds then tilted his head back and sighed. "What?" Kioyko asked.
Dracomon smiled "My guess is it's because the rookie," he said, motioning to her, "has outsmarted the master."
"Keep it up, Dracomon," Daichi said, "and you'll be back on that hospital bed."
"Healthy relationship?" Wormmon asked.
"Healthy relationship," Isamu returned. "Plus it's nice to know that Dracomon is back to his old self."
Suddenly, everyone heard an explosion coming from outside. They all looked out the window in surprise. They set their drinks down and ran out the door of the hospital. They noticed that several Digimon were running around in panic. They looked around until Isamu pointed them to the sky. Several robotic Digimon were flying above the streets.
"What are those?" Kiyoko asked.
"The short brown ones are Guardromon, and the humanoid ones are Andromon," Isamu answered. "I'd recognize those anywhere."
"But what are they doing?" Daichi asked.
"They're the military around here," Wormmon answered. "They're the perfect Digimon for defending an entire city."
"But what are they defending it from?" Kiyoko asked.
"My guess," Gatomon answered, "that." She pointed to where the Digimon were flying and they all saw the Digi-Agent airship. "I'm guessing it's finally on the attack."
"Then let's take it out," Kiyoko said. Everyone ran toward it when something shot out of the stinger. It landed in front of them, causing dust to fly everywhere. When it settled, they could see another pod. It opened and a hand made of bones gripped the side, hauling its body to the outside. The figure lifted itself up and revealed that it was entirely skeletal. Its size and features were enormous. Three pairs of spikes protruded from its back that resembled what could have been wings if there was any flesh. It's back also sported what appeared to be a missile. Its skull had a gaping mouth and a horn positioned on its forehead. Its low, throaty growl was just as terrifying as a roar. Several of the Guardromon and Andromon stopped their pursuit of the ship and began to attack the Digimon.
"Oh no," Daichi said.
"I second that," Isamu agreed.
"What, who is it?" Kiyoko asked. She noticed that even their Digimon, while looking ready for battle, had a hint of nervousness.
Daichi held out his D-Power. "SkullGreymon," he said solemnly. "Virus type, ultimate level. If you thought Deltamon was bad, you haven't seen anything. This Digimon lives, in a manner of speaking, to do nothing but destroy, and with his Dark Shot attack, that won't be too hard." Suddenly, the D-Power started to beep and the screen shifted. It now looked like a compass, with a triangle swiveling in the direction of SkullGreymon. "That's new," Daichi said.
Isamu and Kiyoko noticed this. "What's that?" Kiyoko asked.
"I remember that feature," Isamu said. "It acts as a radar, telling you when a Digimon is nearby."
"So?" Kiyoko asked. "There's three kinds of Digimon in front of us. Why tell us that?"
"I think maybe it's revealing something a little farther than that," Daichi said. He moved the D-Power around and finally tilted it up, toward the airship. The screen changed once more and made Daichi almost yelp in surprise.
"Daichi, what is it?" Isamu asked.
"Guys," Daichi answered, "That airship's no airship. It's CannonBeemon himself." Everyone else nearly screamed, "What?" before huddling near Daichi. The image on the D-Power's projection was of the airship and the word CannonBeemon was printed under it. "CannonBeemon is a mechanical ultimate level virus Digimon. That wall on his back is actually a group of ammo pods that launch its Sky Rocket attack."
"Now what do we do?" Dracomon asked.
Daichi thought for a few seconds. SkullGreymon had succeeded in knocking away its attackers. CannonBeemon, for the first time, didn't seem to be going anywhere. Daichi turned to the others. "You guys go up and try to take out CannonBeemon. Dracomon and I will stay here and fight SkullGreymon."
"What?" Kiyoko almost shouted. "Why?"
"I have to agree with her," Isamu said. "Since CannonBeemon is in the air, Wingdramon will be able to fly circles around him."
"CannonBeemon is one of the Digi-Agents," Daichi pointed out, "and in case you haven't noticed, those Digimon seem much stronger than they should be. You'll need GranKuwagamon's help for that."
"But what about you guys?" Wormmon asked.
"Listen, I may have just woken up from an eighteen-hour snooze," Dracomon answered, "but I can still take this guy." He pointed to the skeletal Digimon.
"Besides, if I'm right," Daichi added, "Dracomon should be able to access his green line, which is stronger than most of our other Digimon."
"You've really made up your mind, huh?" Isamu asked.
"Well, if our experience with Karatenmon has taught me one thing," Kiyoko said, "it's that you're too stubborn to let go of the most ridiculous ideas."
"I'll take that as a compliment," Daichi said. "Just get going, we'll join you as soon as we can."
"Can you guarantee that?" Gatomon asked.
"You know me," Dracomon said. "If Daichi's too stubborn to change his mind, then I'm too stubborn to just die."
"That's what I told them," Wormmon said.
"If we're going to take the fight to CannonBeemon," Isamu said, "we'd better get going." He held up his Digivice, and Kiyoko hers.
Wormmon Warp Digivolve to… GranKuwagamon!
Digi-Modify! Crest Digivolution, activate! Gatomon Crest Digivolve to… Angewomon!
Isamu and Kiyoko climbed onto GranKuwagamon's back and the big insect took off, followed closely by Angewomon.
As soon as they were in the air, Dracomon turned to Daichi. SkullGreymon had seen the two and started walking slowly toward them. "Bet you wish you were up there with them, huh?" Dracomon asked.
"Listen, just because I may not like the choices I make doesn't make them any less necessary," Daichi answered. "That's all acceptance is: realizing that what you have to do is not always your favorite option and following through with your decision regardless." Soon, a teal glow appeared near his chest. Daichi lowered his head, almost as if in a trance and held his D-Power between his hands. "Acceptance, give us the ability to fight however we must." The crest glowed and a violent teal light shot out from it into the D-Power and ricocheted into his pocket. Daichi, after regaining awareness, saw this and dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out the Blue Card. It was glowing the same color as his crest and D-Power. The color started to fluctuate until it finally settled on a solid red.
"A red card?" Daichi asked. He looked up and saw that SkullGreymon was getting closer. Daichi said nothing, but held the transformed card to his D-Power. "Digi-Modify! Secret Digivolution, activate!"
Dracomon began to glow a brilliant, violent green. "Dracomon Warp Digivolve to…" His body disappeared and was quickly replaced with an image of Coredramon, then Groundramon, and finally stopped on a large creature that looked like an excavator. Its hands looked like digging claws and its back, face, and two tails sported a total of six drills; one each on its face and tails, and the other three on its back. Its chassis was colored green with a sort of camo motif to it. The front of its body had an extra shovel that straddled the ground. It finally cried out a deep, nearly monotone, "Brakedramon!"
Daichi looked up at his newly Digivolved partner and decided that he looked scarier than Groundramon. Remembering what had happened then, he hesitantly asked, "How you feeling?"
"Ready to break a few bones," Brakedramon said in his monotone voice. "His in particular." He pointed one of his claws at SkullGreymon.
Daichi smiled. "Go for it."
SkullGreymon stopped advancing and bent its head low, showing the missile on its back. "Dark Shot," it said in a slow, dark voice. The missile launched off its back and flew toward Brakedramon.
"Destroyer Rush!" He pointed his tails toward the missile and all the drills flew away from his body. The drill from the face plowed through the missile and kept flying forward. If SkullGreymon was surprised, it didn't show. All six drills crashed onto SkullGreymon. The Digimon let out a roar and bent over in what looked like exhaustion. The drills flew back to Brakedramon and landed in their proper places. SkullGreymon looked back up and a fiery aura surrounded it.
"Ground Zero!" it said with a little more emotion. Another missile appeared on its back and launched as it was replaced by yet another missile. The process repeated until there were six missiles heading toward Brakedramon.
"Infinity Borer!" Brakedramon raised his drills, the three on his back raising via robotic limbs. The missiles continued their flight relentlessly. The drills began to spin and whir and the missiles made contact with them, creating an explosion. The smoke soon lifted and Brakedramon was still standing. "Nice try."
"Let's take this guy out now, Brakedramon," Daichi said.
"Got any ideas?" Brakedramon asked.
"Simple," Daichi replied. He took out one of his cards. "We modify your drills so that they become a vaccine attack. Digi-Modify! Digmon Gold Rush, activate!"
The drills flew off Brakedramon's body again and struck SkullGreymon. But this time, the skeletal Digimon screamed in pain and fell on its hands.
"Now for my own attack," Brakedramon said. "Destroyer Rush!" He shot just the drill on his face and it hit SkullGreymon's. The shot was enough to cause its data to break apart and disappear.
Brakedramon grunted. "That's one less Digimon we have to worry about."
Daichi walked up to his partner's side. "So let's take care of the other one, then. Think you can hit CannonBeemon from from here?"
"We'll soon find out," Brakedramon said. He raised his head and tails toward the giant Digimon. "Destroyer Rush!" All six drills shot up and flew to CannonBeemon. Daichi used his D-Power and activated the camera feature to try to get a better view. To his surprise, Brakedramon's vision was exceptionally good, and he could also use some form of telescopic vision to enlarge far-away targets, which Brakedramon was doing now. The drills crashed into the chassis of CannonBeemon, but no visible damage was done.
"Now what?" Brakedramon asked as the drills came back to their proper places.
Daichi thought for a second and said, "Well, we know what your green line can do in mega form. Maybe we should check out your blue line next." Brakedramon nodded and started to glow and shrink. He finally stopped De-Digivolving and looked different from Dracomon. He was now green and had no arms or legs, just small wings and a white tail.
"Dracomon?" Daichi asked.
"Babydramon, actually," the in-training Digimon said.
"I should have known this would happen," Daichi said. "If it happened to Wormmon, it would happen to you too."
"Can we deal with this after we take out CannonBeemon?" Babydramon asked.
"But at your current level—"
"Daichi!" Babydramon interrupted. "We can work it out when we get to that point, okay? For now, let's just get up to the rooftops."
Daichi sighed. "You're right. Isamu and Kiyoko are waiting for us. We can't stand here and worry right now." He picked up Babydramon and ran toward the building under CannonBeemon.
Sweet! Dracomon can go mega! But can he get his energy back in time? And how are Isamu and Kiyoko faring through all this? The answers sure to be on the next Digimon: Digital Monsters!
So, how many of you saw that coming? Hard to believe CannonBeemon was in front of us the whole time, huh? See the climax next time.
This is CF signing out.