Chapter 33: Extreme
"Bloody Lord!" Vamdemon murmured in disbelief, stepping away from the crystal ball, trembling.
"He's with the chosen children? Now that's scary!" Agumon exclaimed.
"The Tyrant is Takeru's partner?" Gabumon was shocked. "B-But he seemed like such a kind digimon… he saved us…"
"What did you say?!" Vamdemon inquired, glaring at Gabumon. "You're associated with the chosen children? With him?!"
The vampire was about to take out his whip and punish the other when Picodevimon intervened:
"Wait, Master! If you kill him in the human world, Gabumon will never come back!"
"Why would that be a bad thing?!" Vamdemon asked the little bat floating by his side. Picodevimon gulped, shaking.
"Y-You only have the three of us now." Picodevimon told him. "If y-you just imprison Gabumon, you'll give him time to think. It'll be a show of mercy that will earn his l-loyalty. With the chosen children in this world, you c-can't afford to lose followers, s-sir."
Vamdemon studied the pathetic trembling bat monster; that sight delighted him. The tiny bat was terrified of him, like he should be. However, if Picodevimon was so scared, why would he try to help Gabumon? Was it because he was worried that their odds would be worse without him? But that meant that he didn't trust his Master's power! On the other hand, Picodevimon had failed to murder the chosen children twice before. He had also searched for the godly power over the city for hours, allegedly not finding anything worthy of mention.
The suspicion that Picodevimon could be a traitor crossed Vamdemon's mind, but he quickly dismissed it. His servant was too much of a coward to betray him and align with the chosen children. Nevertheless, it wouldn't hurt to remind the little bat of his power.
"Agumon, take Gabumon to the dungeon for now." He ordered, not noticing Gabumon's sigh of relief. Then, Vamdemon turned to Picodevimon and said:
"You'll come with me."
"W-Where?" Picodevimon asked.
"To defeat the Bloody Lord and the chosen children, obviously."
During Patamon's explanation of his past, Takeru wasn't able to utter even one word. He kept hoping that his partner would eventually say that everything was just a joke and that there was no way he could possibly have been a tyrant that murdered millions. However, the digimon's expression made it clear everything was true.
And then, his partner's behavior since his rebirth made an awful lot of sense. Everything clicked together too perfectly. The broodiness, the guilty faces, the vague words… Patamon had remembered his past and couldn't cope with that knowledge. How could he, though? How would anyone feel after suddenly remembering a past life like that?
Takeru shivered. He didn't know how to reconcile who his partner used to be with who he was now. The Patamon he had gotten to know on File Island was childish and a bit of a cry-baby, but brave and kind. He had sacrificed himself to save them from Devimon! But he had also murdered Palmon in her previous life and destroyed an entire continent. How could they be the same digimon?
"Fate made you do that…" Takeru whispered.
"Everything I did was by my choice." Patamon affirmed, hovering in front of the boy. Takeru had the impression that he had been hugging the digimon before. When did he let go?
"Even if that thing didn't possess you, it manipulated you! You were tricked!"
"That doesn't make me less responsible for what I did!" Patamon shouted, letting a couple of tears fall from his eyes. "I killed more innocents than I can count! I spread terror on the world, believing I was fighting for peace! And, because of my crimes, my own generals turned against me and my sister was forced to-"
"Don't take the blame away from the Queen! She killed you! Her own sibling!"
"TO SAVE THE WORLD FROM ME!" Patamon cried. "You weren't there! You didn't see how it went down! You didn't see her…"
The sobbing stopped the digimon from continuing the narrative. After a couple of minutes, he spoke again:
"Ofanimon was good… and I hurt her immensely. I'll never forgive myself for that."
"So that's her name…" Takeru commented.
"You remember Aurora Town, right? How well regarded she was? Meanwhile, my statue got what it deserved… and countless Tokomon and Patamon died because other digimon were afraid they could be me… I didn't deserve to be spared of that destiny. I didn't deserve to become your partner, Takeru. Something horrible like me doesn't deserve anything good!"
Patamon cried more profusely and his small body was shaking. Takeru felt that he should hold him but could not move his arms. His partner was being devoured by guilt. He was kind and sweet, Takeru knew that. But if Patamon really did those things, should he be forgiven so easily?
Wasn't Takeru the most adamant about punishing evil digimon not long ago? Most of it was fueled by his pain over his partner's loss, that was true, but didn't the boy truly believe that was the just thing to do? Seeing Etemon saving Mimi and realizing the shady things Kanda had done disrupted his ideal of easily identifying which side was good and which was bad. However, what Seraphimon had done was irrevocably bad. There was no justification for his actions. If Takeru overlooked that, wouldn't he be a hypocrite?
Patamon was his friend, the dearest friend he ever had. Takeru loved him. To cast him aside now, when his partner needed him the most, would be a betrayal of that love. To walk away from Patamon, just because things became difficult, would be a betrayal of himself.
However, it was the digimon who turned his back to the boy, intending to fly away. It was so similar to how his father had walked out of his life. The man grabbed Yamato by the hand and walked away with him, without looking back.
"Mom and Dad won't live together anymore. Yamato wants to go with him."
"It's not like we'll never see each other again. We'll just… meet less often."
Several memories of his childhood flashed before Takeru's eyes. The house that had suddenly become too big and too quiet, his mother's sadness despite saying that everything was okay with her, Yamato's pained expression, his father's distance. His family fell apart and half of it left him, without ever coming back, with Takeru being the only one reaching out to them. And, in that moment, Patamon was about to do the same thing.
"We should part ways, Takeru." Patamon muttered. "It's better like this."
"NO!" Takeru shouted, startling the digimon. Patamon turned around and saw the boy's enraged stare.
"Ta-Takeru?"
"YOU'RE NOT GOING TO LEAVE ME! NOT YOU!" Takeru stated as his eyes got filled with tears, feeling as if his heart was being ripped from the inside out. "We can overcome this! We can figure this out together!"
"I'm doing this for your good, Takeru!"
"LIAR! YOU'RE GOING AWAY BECAUSE IT'S EASIER TO DO THAT THAN IT IS TO FACE YOUR PROBLEMS!"
"So what if it's easier?!" Patamon contested. "You don't understand how painful letting you know about this is to me! You don't know how agonizing it is for me to think about how you're feeling-"
"I'M GOING TO FEEL WAY WORSE IF YOU ABANDON ME!"
"DON'T TREAT IT LIKE THAT, TAKERU!"
"BUT THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE DOING! JUST LIKE MY DAD DID! AND ONII-CHAN-"
The door of the balcony was suddenly opened. Yamato stood there, staring at Takeru with wide open eyes.
"I heard shouting…" Yamato said in a concerned voice. "What's going on here?"
"How long have you been eavesdropping?" Takeru asked, wiping away his tears with the back of his left hand.
"You were talking about Patamon abandoning you like…" Yamato hesitated. Then, he slowly approached his brother. "I never… Dad just… you don't know how hard it is for him…"
"This isn't about you or Dad!" Takeru shouted, glaring at his brother. "I have other things to worry about!"
"What are those things?!" Yamato asked. "I'm trying to understand! I'm trying to help!"
"BUT YOU CAN'T!"
Takeru regretted saying that as soon as he saw the hurt expression on his brother's face. However, the sound of something violently hitting the street caught their attention. The siblings ran to the edge of the balcony and looked down. Patamon was lying in a small crater about his size. When the brothers looked up, they saw a carriage floating in the night sky and a vampire hovering in front of it, holding a whip in each hand and looking at Patamon with contempt.
"Do you remember me, Bloody Lord?" Vamdemon inquired as he dove to land another attack. Patamon screamed when the whip hit him a second time.
"PATAMON!" Takeru cried, running into the apartment in order to get to the front door. Yamato stopped him by force once they entered, holding the kid with both his hands.
"You can't go down there, it's dangerous!" Yamato told him.
"I can't just leave Patamon like that!" Takeru cried, struggling against the hold.
"I'm not saying that you should leave your partner! Just don't go there unprepared!"
The little boy stopped struggling and turned to the older one. Yamato looked at him seriously and said:
"I have a plan."
"You're… that Picodevimon…?" Patamon asked in a weak voice before Vamdemon delivered another strike.
"So you remember!" The vampire shouted. "You made me your slave! You humiliated me!"
"I also destroyed your village and killed everybody you knew…" Patamon murmured. "I'm so sorry…"
"Do you think apologizing will make me show you mercy?" Vamdemon laughed. "Are you that scared of me already?"
"I don't want mercy, nor am I scared of you." Patamon explained.
"Liar! You're terrified of me! You were once the most powerful digimon alive and now you're a weak rat being threatened by a much stronger monster! What else would you feel but fear?!"
"Just finish this already!" Patamon ordered. "Take your revenge! Punish me! That's just what I deserve!"
The way that small creature looked at him, without a shred of fear or concern for his safety, bothered Vamdemon. He wasn't the Tyrant anymore! That digimon was small! He was weak! Vamdemon had lived most of his life believing that any little creature would cower in fear and beg to be spared when confronted by a perfect level monster. That was only natural. He had to be scared of him!
"I'll make you tell me the truth!" Vamdemon promised, stepping on the other. "It doesn't matter how long it takes!"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Patamon cried.
"YES, YOU DO!" The vampire screamed. "I WON'T LET YOU PLAY WITH ME EVER AGAIN!"
Something hit Vamdemon's face and fell on the ground; it was a garlic head, which made his skin itch. He looked at the direction from where it had come and saw a blond human child holding a pan filled with garlic, having another head in hand. A smaller boy was behind him.
"You better go away, I know everything about vampires!" The older boy said.
That defenseless human is not taking me seriously as well… Vamdemon thought, feeling rage boil deeply in his heart. Why isn't he afraid of me? Doesn't he know what I'm capable of? I'll show him!
Vamdemon took two steps in the direction of the kids.
"He's coming at us!" Takeru shouted, alarmed.
"Don't worry." Yamato spoke in an assuring voice. "We're inside the building. Vampires can't enter someone else's place unless they're invited, everybody knows that."
Taken over by homicidal thoughts, Vamdemon prepared his whip, not flinching at the other garlic heads being thrown at him. However, an attack from behind surprised the perfect level monster. He turned around and saw Patamon hovering a few steps from the ground, glaring at him.
"Stay away from my partner and his brother!"
"Just how stupid are you all?!" Vamdemon inquired, looking from the small monster to the children. "I'm a powerful perfect level digimon that led an army! You can't defeat me with food and shots of air! You'll pay for underestimating me!"
"You're the one underestimating us." Takeru said, with a grin. "We took some time before coming down here. Don't you want to know what we were doing? Even if it's about a secret weapon against you?"
"Quiet, Takeru!" Yamato spoke in an anxious voice. "We can't get him if you-"
"GET ME?!" Vamdemon completely lost his patience. "THERE'S NOTHING ANY OF YOU CAN DO AGAINST ME! YOU'RE POWERLESS CHILDREN! I'M DESTINED TO RULE-"
Before he could finish his sentence, meteors of fire hit him from behind. Takeru, Yamato and Patamon looked up, where Birdramon and Sora were descending from the sky.
"Takeru-kun, Yamato-kun, are you alright?" Sora asked, jumping from her partner's foot.
"Fool!" Vamdemon snarled, stumbling towards the fire bird. "You're still an adult level and I'm a perfect level digimon!"
"Is that so?" Sora questioned, picking up her digivice from her belt and holding it. The object turned red and sent fire sparks flying. Orange and red light enveloped Birdramon.
"Birdramon super evolves to… GARUDAMON!"
The giant digimon grabbed Vamdemon with one hand and threw him to the sky, following him right after.
"Patamon!" Takeru cried, running to where his partner was. Unable to stop him, Yamato followed his brother. Sora got to the small mammal first and carefully took him in her arms. Patamon tried to break free from her grip.
"Thank you for coming… after what I did…" Yamato muttered to Sora. "Thank you for protecting Takeru… also, sorry for how I acted earlier."
"I feel like you're always apologizing to me, Yamato-kun." She chuckled. "There's nothing for me to forgive you for, though. I understand why you reacted like that."
Yamato's cheeks became slightly pink, and he looked away. Sora kept looking at him, smiling.
"You tried to protect me…" Takeru said to his partner, feeling tears coming to his eyes.
Patamon stayed silent for a couple of seconds. Frowning, he told the child:
"You shouldn't have done that."
"I know that the garlic plan was silly, but we had to buy time until Sora-san-" Takeru began.
"Wait, you found my plan silly?" Yamato questioned, with an awkward expression.
"You… didn't?" Takeru asked.
"It's not silly. Our enemy is a vampire, after all." Sora said.
An explosion was heard above them. The fierce battle between Garudamon and Vamdemon continued. The vampire tried to evade her fire attacks and fight back with whips, punches and clouds of bats, but Garudamon resisted and fought back.
"In my other life, I destroyed Vamdemon's village and made him my servant." Patamon said. "I didn't have to do that, but I found him so pathetic begging for his life…"
"What are you talking about, Patamon?" Sora inquired, loosening her grip, which enabled the small digimon to fly from her arms. He didn't escape from there, though. Instead, he looked deeply into his partner's eyes.
"Vamdemon sought revenge against me, it wasn't your place to-"
"You're not seriously telling me that I should've let you die for a second time, are you?!" Takeru shouted, trembling.
"It's said that digimon that die in the human world don't come back." Patamon told him. "If you had let that guy punish me, I would never return to cause harm to the world anymore! I would finally get what I deserve!"
"Takeru-kun, what is he saying? Why is he saying that?" Sora asked nervously.
"You guys were arguing back then…" Yamato remembered. "What was it about? What is this about?"
Takeru hesitated for an instant, but then explained:
"Ever since he came back for the last time, Patamon remembers things from his past… from before he was my partner. In his previous life, he had done bad things…"
Sora and Yamato stared at him in shock, not knowing what to say.
"I tried to conquer the Digital World!" The digimon corrected. "I've taken more lives than you can imagine! I destroyed a continent and everybody in it!"
"But that's not who you are anymore!" Takeru protested. "You're my partner! You fight for me and try to keep me safe! Who you used to be before we met doesn't matter!"
"You can't simply shake off the past like that!" Patamon shouted. "If it was that easy, you should no longer be upset for your family being split apart!"
"Takeru…" Yamato muttered, looking sadly at his brother.
"Don't bring my family into this!" Takeru yelled.
"Your problems are way simpler than mine and you still can't let go of them!" Patamon insisted. "But you expect me to forget my past? Why? Because it makes things easier for you? Because then you wouldn't have to think about how you're partnered with a mass killer?!"
"I didn't want you to go away!" Takeru cried. He didn't know what to think about his partner's past or how he should feel about it. What Takeru knew was that he didn't want to be left alone. Was it wrong of him to desire that?
"You're better off without me…" Patamon murmured.
"Patamon, you're that Seraphimon, right? The one represented in that vandalized statue?" Sora asked. "I understand that you did terrible things, but you can't just run away from your mistakes. Takeru needs you! There are so many dangers-"
"There's nothing more dangerous than me!" Patamon stated, at last flying away, towards the two battling digimon.
In the carriage, Picodevimon watched in a crystal ball, with apprehension, the battle between his master and Garudamon. To his surprise, the vampire wasn't winning easily. Despite his powerful punches and speed, he was head-to-head with the large bird creature.
That's just one of the chosen digimon and he's having a hard time… Picodevimon thought. If others arrived, he could actually… lose…
For the first time in his long captivity, the idea that someone could defeat his master crossed his mind. Vamdemon put him through torment every day, reminding Picodevimon of how weak and pathetic he was and of what would happen to him if he disappointed his master. He had been raised to believe that Vamdemon's power was overwhelming and nobody would ever be capable of defying him. Maybe that was illogical, considering that the vampire was still a perfect level digimon, but it was real to the little bat, and his master clearly believed in his power.
However, the sight of Vamdemon getting hurt by that bird's fire opened Picodevimon's eyes to his vulnerability. That monster could be defeated; the child level digimon could get away from him. He remembered the two chosen children that had showed him mercy. One of them was the partner of the Garudamon. If Picodevimon asked her help…
The pain from the last time Vamdemon had punished him was still too present. He couldn't escape, he couldn't run from him! Vamdemon would find him and torture him for days! Nobody could help him! All Picodevimon could do was comply with the vampire and wish that he would, someday, be merciful.
"How can you be so strong?" Vamdemon angrily asked Garudamon, as Picodevimon watched in the crystal ball.
"Sora's love gives me power!" Garudamon stated. "As long as the flame in her heart doesn't end, I will not be defeated!"
"Love…?" Vamdemon asked, paling. "That girl's crest… don't tell me…"
As Picodevimon heard that, he remembered the prophecy he had read a long time ago. In that instant, all his fear vanished. A feeling he didn't remember having erupted, coming like a ray of sunshine after the longest night.
That kind girl was the bearer of love. She was the one destined to defeat Vamdemon.
Not waiting for that wonderful feeling to flicker, Picodevimon opened the door of the carriage and sneaked away.
After talking to his parents, Koushiro called Jyou to his bedroom and told him everything that had happened.
Sitting on the bed beside the younger boy, Jyou was paralyzed by shock and horror. He looked for Gomamon but his partner had left with Tentomon during Koushiro's narration.
"Are you freaking out?" Koushiro asked.
"I think so…" Jyou muttered. "What about you? How come you're not freaking out?"
"I don't know… I'm not sure if I've calmed myself or if I'm just numb…"
"What are we going to do now?" Jyou questioned, nervously. "How can we help…?"
He was about to say "Fate" but stopped himself in time. It didn't feel right to keep calling that being like that. But he couldn't bring himself to use another name.
"I don't know how we can help him." Koushiro said. "Maybe we can't, but I'd like to try. He's very messed up and has been through too much pain…"
"That damn Wisemon!" Jyou pronounced that name with disgust not only directed at the digimon ,but at himself as well for not realizing who the con-man really was. "If I ever see him again… what he did to you, to… him… damn it… damn it!"
Tears busted out of Jyou's eyes and he sobbed loudly. Koushiro put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry! I-I'm s-so sorry!" Jyou barely could speak. "I wanted to say something t-that could make you f-feel better… I-I wanted to support you b-but… I'm such a bad friend… I don't know what to say… I don't know what to do… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
"You're a great friend." Koushiro assured. "I wouldn't have shared all of this with you if you weren't."
In an impulse, Jyou pulled the other boy into a tight hug. Koushiro didn't resist it.
Meanwhile, Gomamon and Tentomon were talking in the living room of the Izumi family, while Koushiro's parents were in the kitchen.
"I'm really sorry about your partner's situation…" Gomamon mumbled. "I understand. Jyou almost gets himself killed several times per day… but mainly because of his foolishness, not because of a psycho computer… except that one time."
Tentomon was quiet, looking through the window in the living room. The insect monster had fled the bedroom immediately after Koushiro had finished telling Jyou the truth about Fate. Worried, Gomamon followed him. But his attempts in making the other talk weren't working.
"I wish there was a way to assure that they would be safe." Gomamon whispered, thinking about his own partner.
"I want to help him." Tentomon muttered, looking at the sky. "I keep thinking of Koushiro-han going through all that… it makes my heart hurt."
"At least he's in home and safe now." Gomamon tried to cheer the other up. "We need to think on what to do to stop Fate so it won't keep hurting our partners."
Tentomon slowly turned his head to face the seal digimon.
"Don't call him that." The insect monster said in a severe tone.
"What?" Gomamon was confused.
"Don't call Koushiro-han 'it' ever again."
The serious way Tentomon demanded that sent shivers down Gomamon's spine.
"You understand that Fate is not your partner, don't you?" The seal digimon asked. "That might be a computer program that has the memories of another version of your partner, but that doesn't make it Koushiro."
"But he thinks like Koushiro-han! He feels things like-"
"It's a thing, Tentomon!" Gomamon almost shouted. "A thing that tried to kill us! A thing that we need to defeat! To destroy!"
"I won't let you kill him!"
"It's not even alive!"
They stared each other for almost one minute in silence
"Would you still say that if it was Jyou-han?" The insect asked in low voice. "If your partner had been the one tortured to death and tormented by solitude for billions of years, would you still be so adamant in calling him a thing and wanting to destroy him?"
"If I were in your place, my real partner would still be threatened by an evil computer program from another universe. You can bet your life that I'd do everything to protect my Jyou."
They didn't talk more after that. Koushiro and Jyou made their way to the living room, saying that they had seen fire in the sky through the bedroom's window. Masami and Yoshie heard about it and went to talk to them.
"You're not thinking in going out, are you?" Yoshie asked her son in the most serious voice the boy had heard.
"I think it might be Sora-san's partner fighting, I can't just ignore it!" Koushiro said.
"You still haven't recovered from what happened!" Masami stated.
"The snow has melted now, besides, I don't think he would be acting up this soon." Koushiro told them.
He… Gomamon thought. I hope Jyou isn't thinking of that creature as a person as well.
"I agree with your parents, Koushiro-han." Tentomon said.
"Gomamon and I can take care of it. You should take some time to rest." Jyou advised.
Koushiro was about to contest but couldn't bring himself to do it. He knew very well through how much distress he had put his family and friends that day. Aside from that, the boy felt too drained to do anything. Maybe it would be better for him not to force his limits.
"Please, be careful, Jyou-san." Koushiro asked.
"Gomamon is going to be with me, there's nothing to worry about." Jyou affirmed.
His partner frowned at that statement.
The bearer of love!
While evading Garudamon's attacks, Vamdemon searched for an opening that allowed him to go down and get close to the redhead, the girl that prophecy warned him about. Getting rid of her became his main priority.
"Garudamon, stop!" Patamon shouted, flying in their direction.
"What are you doing here in that form? It's dangerous!" Garudamon inquired, turning to Patamon. Vamdemon took the opportunity to begin to murmur a spell.
"You have nothing to do with this! None of you should get involved!" Patamon stated.
"What are you talking about? That's the digimon that almost made his army kill our partners!" Garudamon contested.
Suddenly, both she and Patamon became paralyzed. Below each of them, a glowing circle with astrological symbols appeared. Vamdemon laughed, flying down, in Patamon's direction. The small monster expected a finishing blow against him. To his shock, Vamdemon passed straight by his side, heading to the children on the ground.
"Takeru, we need to go inside the building!" Yamato urged, pulling his brother by the hand. Sora, who was a few steps away from them, kept her eyes locked at the coming vampire taking out his two whips.
"He's… coming after me." She murmured. "I'll lure him away! You two, get shelter!"
Both Yamato and Takeru protested, but that didn't stop Sora from running. As she predicted, Vamdemon was following her. The girl hoped that her athleticism would buy the two boys enough time. However, as the vampire was a few meters away from her, something that looked like a fluffy ball coming from the right hit him in full force, making Vamdemon collapse on the floor.
Astonished, Sora stared at the little monster that had thrown himself against Vamdemon to protect her. Picodevimon stood up and smiled at the girl.
"I told you I wouldn't forget." He said.
Takeru and Yamato ran to where Sora was. The smaller boy stopped when he saw who had saved Sora.
"You're…" He murmured, not believing his eyes.
"Yeah, I remember you as well." Picodevimon told him. "Good that you don't seem as bloodthirsty as back then. But considering who your partner is…"
The small child paled intensely at that comment.
Meanwhile, Yamato was talking to Sora.
"How could you do something irresponsible like that? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" The older boy inquired.
"Takeru-kun is well, that's what-" The girl began to say.
"Taking care of him is my job! I don't want anyone else getting hurt because of-" He insisted.
"Your brother is important to me as well!" Sora raised her voice.
"I know he is!" Yamato yelled. His whole body was trembling. "I'm not criticizing you. I didn't mean to shout, I never do, but when I get worked up…" He took a deep breath. "I get tangled in meaningless stuff and never say what matters… "
Sora stayed quiet for a couple of seconds. Then, she smiled at him and said:
"Thank you for worrying about me."
"Yeah…" He mumbled, awkwardly.
The break of Vamdemon's concentration would soon free Garudamon and Patamon from the spell. The vampire stood up, knowing he didn't have much time. Picodevimon, the traitor, was a couple of meters in his right, along with the Bloody Lord's partner. The other two children were closer to him. Between him and the girl was the taller boy.
"Look out!" Sora shouted when she noticed Vamdemon. Yamato turned around, but it was too late. The vampire had grabbed him with both arms, securing the child against his body.
"Onii-chan!" Takeru shouted.
Yamato tried to tell his brother that everything would be alright, but Vamdemon pressed a part of his neck and made the boy lose consciousness.
Patamon and Garudamon broke free from the spell. The giant digimon swooped down, landing behind Sora.
"If you don't want me to crush this child to death, you'll let me get away!" Vamdemon threatened. When Patamon arrived, the vampire turned to him and said: "We'll settle this later!"
Vamdemon flew with Yamato until where his carriage was, fleeing afterwards.
"We must follow them!" Garudamon urged. However, she had to devolve to her child form, having spent too much energy in the battle.
"If you're spotted, Yamato-kun would get hurt!" Sora protested.
"I… know where Mas… I mean, Vamdemon's hideout is." Picodevimon told them. "I know that you probably don't trust me, but if there's any way for a coward like me to be helpful…"
"That day, you said that you never wanted to hurt anyone." Sora recalled. "You were really brave to defy Vamdemon like that."
"It could be a trick!" Piyomon said. "Vamdemon and Picodevimon might've planned the whole thing just so this guy could lead us to a trap!"
"It'd be stupid to do that when that guy had the perfect chance to kill us." Sora pointed out. "I wonder why he came after me, though."
"There's a prophecy he obsesses over." Picodevimon informed. "It says that he would become Venomvamdemon and rule the human world, and that he'd be invincible until love engulfed him."
"Sora's crest…" Piyomon muttered.
"The bearer of love must be the biggest threat to him." Picodevimon said. "It's shameful to me to admit it, but that realization helped me to switch sides. For the first time, I believe that someone is capable of stopping him." He gulped, thinking about all the abuse that monster had put him through.
"Prophecy or not, it doesn't change what we have to do." Sora said, determined to rescue Yamato.
"If we're going to do this, I'm going to have to eat something to recover my strength." Piyomon told her partner.
"My Dad's apartment is in the third floor, number 303, the door is open." Takeru informed. "You'll find food there."
"Aren't you coming too?" Sora asked. Takeru merely stared at his partner, a few steps away from him, bearing a devastated expression.
"We're going to save your brother, Takeru-kun." The girl vowed, entering the building with Piyomon. Picodevimon stayed behind, studying Takeru and Patamon. It was still hard for him to believe that such a tiny monster had destroyed his home. Maybe that should motivate him out of allying himself with the chosen children. However, two of them had showed him mercy already, unlike anyone did ever since he had been captured by Vamdemon. Picodevimon wasn't willing to throw that chance away.
The boy approached his partner. The small monster was covered in bruises and was looking at the sky, where Yamato had disappeared.
Anger boiled inside the child's heart. He had seen what happened. If Patamon hadn't distracted Garudamon, Yamato would still be there. But now his brother was a prisoner of a sadistic digimon. What could be happening to him? Was Takeru going to see him again?
But then he remembered how Patamon seemed to want to die, how his guilt and shame were hurting him. The digimon was probably feeling guilty for what had happened. Rubbing it on his face wouldn't help Yamato. It would simply make Patamon feel worse. But if he didn't say anything, Takeru felt that he would be consumed by nasty feelings.
He could feel the weight of his crest around his neck, pulling him down. The crest of hope, that once belonged to a boy who had been murdered in front of his sister. It didn't seem to have worked with Shinsuke, would it work with him? With his brother in danger and his relationship with Patamon damaged to that extent, how would Takeru activate that crest? How would he bond further with his partner when he wasn't sure he knew him anymore?
A small blue car parked not too far away from the child. From it, a couple got out, along with Mimi and Palmon.
The girl was wearing a pink robe over her pajamas. She was exhausted and wouldn't have agreed to going out had Palmon not insisted that the lights in the sky could mean that some of the other chosen digimon were fighting. Mimi couldn't ignore her friends possibly being in danger. She was glad that her parents had asked to accompany her and Palmon, though.
"We saw the lights in the sky…" Mimi murmured, approaching Takeru. Picodevimon spotted her and flew in her direction.
"It's you! The kind girl that saved me back then!" He said, smiling. "I'm glad to see that you're alright!"
"You're that Picodevimon!" Mimi exclaimed, happily surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"I…" He hesitated. "I have a lot to explain to you…"
"You don't seem so scared anymore." Mimi observed, showing him a smile. "That makes me glad."
Picodevimon's eyes shone when he heard that.
"What happened here?" Palmon asked, looking at Patamon. The smaller digimon turned to her, showing the plant monster his tear-brimmed eyes.
"Hey there, Banchou." He greeted. "I've disgraced yet more innocent people now. Are you here to punish me?"
That question made Takeru's anger explode.
"You're still with that talk?!" He shouted, clenching his fists. "After my brother got kidnapped because of your self-loathing, you're still at it?!"
"What? Someone got kidnapped?" Satoe asked, nervously.
"Should we call the Police?" Keisuke inquired.
"That happened because you intervened!" Patamon told Takeru. "If you had let Vamdemon-"
"Can't you stop being selfish for a second?!" Takeru cried. "I get it! You did terrible things in your past life and you feel terrible about it! But your self-destruction isn't helping anyone! Nobody you've caused harm will get better if you die! You just want to be killed because you don't want to deal with the mess you created!"
"What… are you talking about…?" Mimi asked, horrified. The boy ignored her.
"Thinking about the past can be painful." Takeru said. "You get lost thinking 'why did things go that way?' or 'if we had done things differently, we wouldn't be like this now' but it doesn't matter. You either adapt to how things change or you run from them… but if you do the latter, aren't you just a coward?"
"Coward…?" Patamon murmured, staring at his partner.
"If you feel so terribly about what you've done, take responsibility!" The boy insisted. "Work on how you can atone for those bad things instead of searching for an easy way out!"
"How could I possibly atone for what I did?!" Patamon asked, among tears.
"Start by choosing to live! Start by helping me save my brother!" The child told him. "We can figure things out as we go, we can take our time for it!"
Takeru offered his hand to Patamon, who was unsure about what to do.
"You know already, don't you?" Palmon asked the boy in a serious tone of voice. "You know that your partner used to be the tyrant Seraphimon and terrorized the Digital World."
"W-What?" Mimi was shocked. "What are you talking about, Palmon? There's no way-"
"It's true." Patamon confirmed. "I'm the Bloody Lord that once took her life, among many others."
Astonished, Mimi took a step back. Her parents didn't understand what was happening, but didn't think their daughter was in any condition to explain anything. Picodevimon stared at Patamon, reminiscing about the Cloud Continent. Meanwhile, Sora and Piyomon left the building; the digimon was eating a large piece of bread.
"Mimi-chan!" The older girl called, surprised to see the fourth-grader there. Mimi's trembling body and horrified expression worried her.
"What's going on here?" Piyomon asked. "We need to hurry and go rescue Yamato! A dangerous digimon-"
"The most dangerous digimon is already here!" Palmon stated, pointing at Patamon.
"You… know already about the Seraphimon thing?" Sora questioned in a murmur.
"Seraphimon? The one from the statue?" Piyomon asked, perplexed.
"The one that killed me and everybody I knew!" Palmon shouted. "The one I vowed to destroy!"
"This is getting a bit intense, isn't it?" Keisuke asked.
"Is that how digimon normally talk to each other?" Satoe wondered.
"Hey, Palmon…" Mimi spoke in a weak voice. "What are you saying? You're not thinking about killing Patamon, are you?"
"What's this madness, Palmon?!" Piyomon asked. "We've known Patamon our entire lives! He's our friend!"
"I'm not going to let you lay a finger on my partner!" Takeru told her.
"Why are you opposing me? He is the villain!" Palmon shouted.
"I don't know what he did in his previous lives or what I did, but that doesn't matter!" Piyomon stated, walking in the other's direction. "We've always been with Patamon! We know who he is now!"
"We really can't afford to waste time discussing this when Yamato-kun has been taken away!" Sora told them.
"Palmon, you're not seriously considering…?" Mimi couldn't finish her question. Tears began to pour from her eyes. "You grew up together, right? Doesn't that make you family?"
The younger girl felt something cold touch her forehead. She looked up and saw several snowflakes falling.
"Fate!" Mimi screamed. "We have to get out of here!"
"We have to go after my brother!" Takeru shouted.
Patamon was the only one observing Palmon, noticing how increasingly distressed she was getting.
"He's evil… he's the enemy… I must destroy him… for the sake of the world… why nobody listens to me? I'm right… they're wrong… they're all wrong!" Palmon muttered, with her eyes wide opened.
She sounds like… me, back then… Patamon thought, horrified. If I let her take her revenge against me, what would I be turning Palmon into?
"Mimi-san won't lend you power to destroy him." A young male voice echoed in Palmon's mind.
"Who…?" She murmured, soon realizing that it had to be Fate talking to her.
"I can give you power to complete your mission." The Spirit said. "Or you can let go of your hatred and forgive Patamon for murdering all those guys."
I don't need you! Palmon thought.
"You know you can't take on him without my help." The other retorted. "None of them will let you get close to him."
I must stop him… it's my duty… I have to do this! Palmon was getting desperate. The faces of everybody she lost in her previous life flashed before her eyes.
"I'm only offering you power. What you'll do with it is up to you." Fate told her.
Patamon approached her, worried. Palmon had suddenly stopped talking and was looking up, as snowflakes covered her face and petals.
"Palmon?" He called.
The only response he got from the plant digimon was:
"Give me the power."
A whirlpool descended from the sky, enveloping Palmon. When it ceased, a different monster was standing in her place.
"T-That's…" Sora muttered, recognizing that figure from the portrait Babamon had showed them in Aurora Town.
However, the woman with a rose emerging from her head looked different. Her cape was pink instead of green. Her whips and boots were black and the rest of her body was white, emitting a faint glow.
"A Rosemon…?" Patamon mumbled. "But that's not who you're supposed to…"
"Palmon reached ultimate level? The same one Babamon had?" Mimi was disturbed; she picked her digivice from her pocket and examined it, but it didn't show any change. Whatever had happened to her partner had nothing to do with the girl.
"It's worse than just ultimate level!" Picodevimon shrieked. "That's burst mode!"
Rosemon turned her face to Patamon and said:
"Die!"
She turned one of her whips into a spear and was ready to stab him, but Piyomon's voice behind her caught her attention:
"Piyomon evolves to… Birdramon! Birdramon evolves-"
"Don't interfere!" Rosemon ordered, turning the spear back into a whip and using it to grab Birdramon's neck mid-evolution. Afterwards, she threw the bird digimon in full force, making the adult level monster land several meters away while creating craters in the street.
"So, this is Fate's power…" Rosemon said, amused. "With this, I can certainly put an end in evil and protect the innocents forever."
"Takeru, please, lend me your power." Patamon requested, surprising his partner. "She's being deceived by Fate the same way I was! I need to get through to her and open her eyes before she does something she'll regret!"
"You… want to help her?" Takeru asked. "You're not running away anymore?"
"You were right." Patamon acknowledged. "I need to take responsibility instead of destroying myself."
Light came out of Takeru's digivice and enveloped Patamon.
"Patamon evolves to… ANGEMON!"
Angemon set flight, rising to the sky. Rosemon followed him, shouting that he wouldn't get away from her.
Sora got to where her partner was at the same time that Jyou arrived in his bike, with Gomamon in the basket. The boy looked up and saw the two digimon engaging in combat.
"Who's that fighting Angemon?!" Jyou asked.
"It seems that Palmon evolved with Fate's help and wants to kill Angemon because he was once that Seraphimon that killed lots of digimon!" Sora explained quickly while examining Birdramon's face. Her partner was unconscious.
"Y-You can't be serious!" Gomamon stuttered, looking at the two digimon fighting. "Patamon wouldn't hurt anyone!"
"Maybe not now, but in the past…" The girl muttered.
"Fate did that to Palmon…?" Jyou asked, in horror. "Why would he…?"
The boy then noticed Mimi on the sidewalk, where both her parents hugged her. The girl's mortified expression broke Jyou's heart. He grabbed Gomamon and ran to where she was. She barely reacted to seeing him.
"What should I do?" Mimi asked in a weak voice once she saw Jyou, letting a few tears roll from her eyes. "Patamon was a bad digimon once… Palmon was a heroine who died fighting him… but that's not the case anymore, is it?" She looked at Jyou with pleading eyes. "They're supposed to be friends and y-yet… is it just that I can't understand her? Because I'm naïve and sheltered… because I'm weak…"
"Honey, don't say that about yourself!" Satoe told her.
"I don't exactly understand the situation but I'm sure that anyone would react the same way as you!" Keisuke assured.
Jyou thought about what he could say to the girl. Mimi had always been the one to know which words to use to lift his spirit. If it wasn't for her, he would still be the same coward and unsure guy that didn't believe in himself. But Mimi had seen the best in him and brought it forth. Jyou owed so much to her and cared so deeply about her, he swore that he wouldn't let her down.
"You know that I'll never lie to you…" He began. "You're strong like nobody else. Your heart is resilient and you believe in everything you say. You're not afraid of talking about your feelings and know how to encourage other people. I can't think in anyone wiser than you."
"But I can't understand what Palmon is going through!" Mimi contested.
"Then, ask her to tell you about her feelings!" Jyou said. "And tell her about yours! Does Palmon even know how she's making you sad?"
"Would she care about that?" Mimi asked. "She was a warrior and I'm just some ordinary girl!"
"There's nothing ordinary about you!" Jyou stated. "You're braver and stronger than you can imagine! Not to mention how kind and empathetic you are! Your heart is like a stronghold, Mimi-kun…" Jyou lowered his voice. "I really admire you for it."
"Palmon told me that a couple times… she called me strong…" Mimi muttered, gently getting away from her parents' embrace and approaching Jyou. "But that was before she remembered who she was…"
"What is that even supposed to mean?" Gomamon asked, still in Jyou's arms. "I don't know who I was in my last life! And, frankly, I couldn't care less if I were to find out that I was some nasty guy that did bad things! What matters is the life that I have now, with the people I've met! The Palmon I know never stopped being excited about Mimi's arrival. She was the most responsible one and was always giving us advice… she took care of Tokomon when he was afraid of storms…" Gomamon's eyes got wet. "She can't just forget the life we had together, as if it meant nothing!"
"Mimi-kun, you can get through to Palmon!" Jyou assured. "You're her partner, she will listen to you!"
"I can't talk to her when she's up in the sky!" Mimi pointed out.
"Your hearts are still connected." Gomamon told her. "If you concentrate on your feelings, I'm sure they'll reach her."
"My feelings…" Mimi mumbled, looking at her digivice and holding it with both hands. "Can I really… do that?"
Jyou gently placed his hands over hers, while looking into her eyes and giving her a reassuring smile.
"I believe in you, Mimi-kun." He said.
Mimi felt new tears coming to her eyes and a warm feeling taking hold of her heart. She smiled to Jyou as well, saying "Thank you."
When the boy let go of her, Mimi closed her digivice in her hands and looked to the sky, where Angemon was evading her partner's attacks.
Meanwhile, Picodevimon was observing Takeru.
"Does that digimon have history with your partner?" He asked.
"It seems that Palmon used to be a heroine that opposed him and died." The child replied.
"I remember a digimon like that in the Cloud Continent." Picodevimon said. "She had a dazzling smile and brought hope to everybody… there was even a ballad in her honor. She was an ultimate level digimon, but wasn't a Rosemon."
"You're from that Continent…?" Takeru asked in low voice. "I'm really sorry…"
"My memories of my life there are so distant that they're almost like a dream." The digimon told him.
"Do you hate Patamon for what he did?"
"I certainly hate Seraphimon. However, I don't know your partner well enough yet."
"They're the same digimon, though…" Takeru said, sadly.
"I like to think that people can change for the better." Picodevimon replied. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be here now, helping the chosen children."
Those words put Takeru at ease.
Angemon wasn't attacking her. Rosemon hit him with the whip sometimes, but wasn't capable of holding him still and delivering a fatal blow. Why can't I finish him? She wondered. I'm more powerful than I've ever been now! I can finally save the world from him!
Rosemon thought about her home village, where she was the first digimon to reach ultimate level. The children smiled at her and asked her to let them play with her yo-yos. Her carefree days, however, didn't last long. News from the Server Continent arrived. There was an angel digimon slaughtering innocents. All those she knew sought her, in hope. "You're strong!" "You're an ultimate!" "You can save us!" They said. How could she decline their requests?
She got allies and traveled to that place. What she found there was destruction. Death plagued every corner. Despair was imprinted in all those faces. The digimon saw her, an ultimate level monster, and begged her to save them. Some begged her in their last breath. How many was she not capable of saving? How many of her promises fell on deaf ears?
How many of her allies were murdered before her eyes, pleading her to defeat the Tyrant?
She kept fighting, without ever resting. She killed many enemies, his subordinates. For a while, she thought she could actually win the war, believing the ballad the people sang for her.
Her spirit beaming with incandescent courage.
Her dazzling weapons soaring with justice.
Banchou! Banchou! No one compares to her force!
The one and only who can oppose the Bloody Lord!
But then, when she faced Seraphimon in battle, she lost. Her entire army, her friends, all massacred. She died with a sword piercing her heart, crying. In her final moments, all she could do was to vow to return. She wouldn't disappoint everybody who had put faith in her. She would fulfill her duty and take the Tyrant's life.
However, she didn't remember anything when she was reborn. Ignorantly, she befriended her enemy, shared with him her hopes for the future, and cared for him. All part of Fate's sick joke. The same entity to whom she sold her soul to acquire the power she needed. Her pride didn't matter. All that was important was to put an end to her enemy and honor those who had fallen.
Then, why couldn't she bring herself to kill him? Why, whenever she looked at him, she saw the tiny digimon she had grown up with instead of the merciless murderer? And why was that Tyrant barely fighting back when he should know that, if he got killed in the human world, he would never return to life?
"You inspired people." Angemon told her. "The masses followed you out of love. On the other hand, all I could ever achieve was to inspire fear in them."
"That's what you wanted!"
"I wanted to save the world. Fate granted me power saying that I could do that… convincing me that I was right about everything…." Angemon said. "But deep down, I knew that what I was doing couldn't be right. I kept lying to myself… but that nasty feeling never went away. Now, it consumes me… it's so unbearable that all I wanted was to get rid of it, no matter how…"
"Are you expecting me to pity you?!" Rosemon snarled.
"I don't want your pity. I know very well that I've done unforgivable things." Angemon clarified. "But I also know you. That noble warrior that fought me for the sake of other people wouldn't give in to her anger and accept the help of the same entity that started everything."
"So you think I'm a hypocrite?" Rosemon tried to imprint indifference in her voice.
"I think you're confused and in a lot of pain." He told her. "You're crumbling under your guilt and shame, and forgetting who you are."
"I know who I am!" She stated.
"You know who you were once and now you're trying too hard to be that again. But you don't have to. We were reborn! We have the chance to make different choices and forge different lives! You don't have to be bound by your past!"
"Shut up! You're just trying to mess with my head!" Rosemon shouted, tying Angemon with a whip while turning the other one she had into a spear. "I'll put an end to you!"
"Is that what you truly want?" He asked, sadly.
"Be quiet!" Rosemon ordered. However, deep sadness emerged from her heart. The snowflakes that were still falling made her shiver. She thought she could listen to Mimi's pained voice calling her.
Was the girl upset again? Upset because of her? But Rosemon was doing what was right. Mimi had to understand that. If she couldn't, then maybe they shouldn't be partners. She didn't need that child's power to save the world. That thought, however, made her heart ache.
"Takeru believes I can change." Angemon said.
"He's a naïve child."
"He's kind, like how I wanted him to be. Do you remember how you hoped Mimi-"
"Don't bring her into this! Mimi has nothing to do with this!"
"She's your partner!" Angemon stated. "Do you think she's okay with what you're doing?"
Rosemon knew that Mimi wouldn't accept that, ever. If she went along with it, she'd be throwing away her relationship with Mimi. Wasn't it selfish to worry about that when there were more important things in stake, though? Nevertheless, to think that she would never listen to Mimi laughing or to the words that she spoke from her heart, to think she wouldn't see her partner smiling again and that she would cause her misery… it filled Rosemon with agony.
She didn't want that. But what kind of dishonorable digimon would she be if she spared that Tyrant?
"If I don't kill you, you'll do it all over again…" She muttered.
"Never." Angemon said with unshakable conviction.
"If I don't do this… everybody you've killed…"
"Nothing I've done will be changed by my death."
"I can't forgive you!" She roared, tightening the whip around his torso. "I can't ever forgive you!"
"It's not about forgiving me! It's not about me at all!" Angemon told her. "You have to think about what's best for you! By taking my life, you'll enter a path that will only bring you pain and solitude. Please, don't make the same mistake I did! Don't sacrifice your happiness like that!"
Rosemon lifted the spear and pointed it at the middle of the other's chest. She could kill him in a second and it would all be over. Everything would end for him and for her. Mimi's anguished cry echoed in her mind. It should be her imagination, but it felt real, as if the girl was there to stop her from diving into her darkest impulses.
Sweet and brave Mimi, always so strong… she loved her so much, and Palmon loved her too.
She let go of Angemon, letting herself fall, slowly. The snow stopped coming, and she felt Fate's power leaving her body, which was getting smaller. She closed her eyes, expecting to hit the ground. Instead, a pair of soft arms received her.
Tanemon opened her eyes and saw Mimi's crying face.
"I'm sorry…" The digimon muttered.
"You better be sorry!" Mimi said, showing her a trembling smile. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!"
"I won't." Tanemon promised.
Angemon descended from the sky, turning into Patamon.
"You did it!" Takeru said, smiling at him.
"Thanks to you." The digimon replied.
Yellow light shone briefly under Takeru's shirt.
A couple of minutes later, Sora returned to where the others were. Birdramon had woken up and was flying above the girl.
"It seems that you guys sorted things out by yourselves." The leader said, smiling.
"Then, we should go after Yamato now." Birdramon proposed, to which her partner quickly agreed.
Takeru explained to Mimi and Jyou what had happened prior to their arrival and asked them to tell his father about it if the man appeared. After that, the boy, along with Sora, Patamon and Picodevimon, held onto Birdramon's feet as the bird flew away, following Picodevimon's instructions. Takeru took the necklace from under his shirt, looking at the crest of hope.
I'm coming, Onii-chan. Wait for me!
When Yamato regained his senses, he found himself lying on the cold ground of a badly lit jail cell.
"Hey, there!" Someone greeted from his right. The boy sat up and saw what looked like a lizard wearing a fur coat smiling to him.
"You look like Takeru, do you have any connection to him?"
"Do you know my brother?" Yamato asked.
"He's a friend of mine. I came to this world to look for him, but things got out of hand. Do you know where he is now?"
"Safe with Sora, hopefully…" The boy muttered, looking around. The walls, the ceiling and the floor were made of rocky blocks. The metallic jail bars in his front were thick. He couldn't think on a way to get out of there.
"I'm Yamato." He introduced himself.
"You can call me Gabumon." The other replied.
I'm very sorry for taking so long to update. Thank you for the patience and support. Next chapter, "Ishida Takaishi," should come in October.