41) Another Juri
The next thing Jen knew, he was in some very odd place. Was it real, or imaginary: he didn't know. Everything was green, and he was being scanned.
"When I was younger, I guess I was pretty selfish. I wasn't the oldest, and having two older siblings, I craved attention. I began to study Kenpo with Cho-sensei. I got into a fight with some other kid from the neighborhood - I don't recall what it was about. I used what I'd learned to beat the shit out of him. I didn't like that about myself. I didn't believe I could trust myself, and so I avoided conflict. I took a lot of shit from school bullies, because I was afraid of what I might do if I allowed myself to lose control. This gave me an overbearing attitude towards my partner. I wouldn't listen to him, understand that he couldn't change his nature as a digimon. I really thought I was doing him a favour: saving him from fighting. It took me longer than it should have to understand that some things are worth fighting for, that only we can do what's necessary to preserve life"
"Matrix Evolution!"
Terriermon Evolve! ...
... SAINT GALGOMON!
"It's not easy being the youngest", Shuichon thought to herself, "always the hand-me-downs from my older sister. I know I was a bother for Jen, with his being asked to take me to the park while mom cleaned the apartment. At first, I blamed him for resenting me. That was unfair of me, as it also kept him from doing the things he'd prefer. That goes with being an older brother. I know he wants the best for me, but sometimes he's a bit over protective. I was never jealous of his relationship with Terriermon, and it wasn't my idea to become a Tamer. It just happened, but now I'm happy Lopmon became my partner. We're strong and capable, every bit as much as Jen and Terriermon"
"Matrix Evolution!"
Lopmon Evolve! ...
... CHERUBIMON!
"I liked digimon for the longest time, playing the card game with my friends. After Takato got Guilmon, I was jealous at first. Later, I wanted to do my best to help my friends. I felt so inadequate, the best I could do was draw a Blue Card... I never expected it to actually work. That's why I went looking for a partner of my own, to the Digital World. I wonder why it took so long? Instead of realizing my partner was there all along: Impmon. I do regret not being more honest with my folks about going to the Digital World".
"Matrix Evolution!"
Impmon Evolve! ...
... CUCHULAMON!
"I didn't know what to expect, when Father told me we were coming to Japan. Sure, I'd heard the usual stories from Mother, and Father when he was stationed at the Navy base in Okinawa. It was still a foreign country. Then, I met Renamon, even if I thought she was a furry. That led me to Takato, Jen, and the others. Yeah, Father was right about one thing: it would have been a lot easier to just walk away, pretend it's none of our business. However, I've come to feel something special for these folks"
"Matrix Evolution!"
Renamon Evolve! ...
... SAKUYAMON!
"I always liked digimon, playing the card game, watching the anime. I got a bit bored with the card game, especially usually losing to Kazu. All I wanted at first was a new character to spice things up a bit, and one with enough power to give me an edge. Before I could convince the others to play with my OC, Guilmon appeared, he really appeared. I wasn't expecting that. Since that day, we've become close friends. I also never figured on actually becoming a digimon. I felt what Dukemon felt, the wind in my face... everything. Guilmon, me... nothing will keep us apart!"
"Matrix Evolution!"
Guilmon Evolve! ...
... DUKEMON!
Lutramon Matrix Evolve! ...
... HOUOUMON!
"D-reaper: you seek to reduce the living beings of two worlds to nothingness. I, Dukemon, shall never allow you to get away with this... Royal Sabre!"
Alice watched, perplexed, as red and blue particles circled her. These coalesced and took a definite form.
"Dobermon?", Alice called out, hopeful that he would return. The dog's head flew to her as she stoked the side affectionately. He gave her a canine kiss just before disappearing. He wasn't returning, and this was his final farewell to her.
"Dobermon", she called out as the head burst into red and blue data.
"Dob... ermon", she called out as she watched the last of his data drift away.
Dukemon used his shield to deflect the numerous energy bursts the attack drones were firing. He took them out with a Royal Sabre.
Hououmon took off to give air cover.
"Starburst Explosion!", she fired. The bursts rained down on the D-reaper agents.
"Dammit!", Ruki cursed. "That didn't work!"
"There's nothing there to purify", Lutramon explained. Starburst Explosion wasn't a destructive attack. It worked by purifying corrupt digimon.
("As we speak, the digimon are engaging the organisms spawned from the D-reaper, called 'Agents'. Are these digimon our allies? It would seem this is indeed the case...")
Saint Galgomon opened up with all gun ports, taking out even more of the attack drones. Stray shots struck the Chaos Mass.
"Crimson Flare!", Hououmon used this attack instead, eliminating a bunch.
"Crystal Sphere!", Sakuyamon swung her staff, creating something looking no more substantial than a soap bubble. It was both offense and defense. This time, she used it offensively, sending it into another large group of attack drones. These burst apart on contact.
"Hero's Light!", Cuchulamon took out even more.
"This isn't right", Koichi said from inside his Data Sphere.
"How do you mean?", Renamon asked.
"The damn things are falling too easily. We could've done this without evolving".
"It doesn't care: it can make them as fast as we can destroy them. It does seem to be playing with us".
Saint Galgomon opened up with another salvo.
Alice could do nothing more than be a spectator. Nothing she could do to help, as she turned and walked away. With Dobermon gone, it had no further interest in her.
"Lightening Spear!", Cherubimon fired.
"Royal Saber!"
The attack drones kept coming, diverting their attention from the blue-gray entity that had given them all the problems.
Hypnos Temporary HQ
"The digimon are attacking", one of the techs reported.
"Digimon?", Yamaki asked.
Janyu Lee was entering the room and over heard: "the children can't be far away", he observed. "Are we just going to let those kids fight all by themselves?!"
Rob McCoy picked up a framed picture he always kept with him. It showed his son, his son-in-law, and their only child, a daughter.
"Children...", he said to himself. "Alice...", he looked at the golden haired, blue eyed girl. The picture had been taken several years ago.
"Janyu!", Yamaki called out as Janyu was headed back out the door. "You once told me there are things we can do... that we will do. You said so yourself", Yamaki reminded. Now was not a good time for Janyu to be giving into depression.
"But...", Janyu began, "over there... that's my..."
"Your son and the others are fighting with the digimon", Yamaki told him. "The digimon you created are facing this crisis together with your son and his friends. Humans, and these lives humans created, can stand up against this new threat! Isn't that right? I have confidence in these kids. So... Janyu...", Yamaki encouraged.
"C'mon, what are all of you doing?", Janyu announced to the Wild Bunch colleagues who'd gathered behind Yamaki to see what this was all about. "We have to find a way to eliminate the D-reaper!"
"Yamaki", he said. Yamaki did seem to have a talent for saying what he needed to hear when he needed to hear it - the flip side of the emotional blackmail he'd once used.
Yamaki gave a wordless "You're welcome" with a nod, as the others took off to get back to work.
The Overpass
Saint Galgomon ran forward. This time, the much larger, blue-gray attack drone that had brought down the overpass retaliated with those tendrils that quickly ensnared him, threatening to bring down his considerable bulk. This is what Koichi had feared: a set-up.
"Jen!", Shuichon called out.
"Wh... what!", Jen called out as the thing emerged from a crater.
"I thought we destroyed that damn thing!", Shuichon called back.
It was indeed back, and more attack drones were joining it. This time, they were different: copies of the first agent they'd fought and defeated.
"I'll take care of it", Sakuyamon announced.
"Spirit Foxes!" The red, blue, and green Spirit Foxes flew around her with a ghostly yipping. They wrapped themselves around the attack drones, eliminating them with an electrical attack.
"They didn't try to deflect and replicate that attack?", Koichi asked. "The last time it was just the one and Takato, Jen, and the others couldn't defeat it without Hououmon's help".
"I don't like this one bit", Renamon told him. "Best to stay alert for something else, something really nasty. I wonder if it isn't just probing our capabilities?"
"Huh?", Dukemon asked himself. He recognized the observation drones, knowing these had no attacks.
Koichi noticed: "It is just sizing us up!"
Hypnos Temporary HQ
"Daisy", Yamaki requested. "The Ark you designed is still functional, but barely".
"I thought the Ark was out of power", she pointed out. "Impmon had to tap its reserves to get the kids back, remember?"
"No", Yamaki disagreed. "It contacted me. The signal was very weak though. Didn't you once say that, in the Digital World, information was power? What I propose is powering up the Ark once again. Will you help me?"
"Of course, what would you have me do?"
The Overpass
Dukemon ran forward, leaped mightily, and slammed the thing in its face with his shield.
"Raptor Slash!", Deinondramon freed Saint Galgomon of the tendrils.
"Burst Shot!", he fired back.
"Storm of Judgement!", Cherubimon held it back while Dukemon readied his main attack. The yellow arrows around his shield began lighting.
"Final Elision!" This time, it was eliminated as it clearly dissolved into Chaos Mass.
They looked on. The Chaos Mass had grown so much that it had engulfed half the old Hypnos building.
"D-reaper!", Dukemon called out, "what are your intentions?!"
"That won't do any good, Dukemon", Sakuyamon said. "It doesn't seem to be much of a conversationalist"
"All we can do is fight it", Saint Galgomon agreed. "We aren't going to get any answers from it".
Kenta's Home
"Dammit!"
"Pee pii puu plolo", Marineangemon replied.
"I'm a Tamer too!", Kenta said. "We can't just sit around doing nothing! We're goin'", he announced to his partner. They were in his bedroom, watching the drama unfold on the TV. He slipped out innoticed.
"Kenta", his mother called out, "about your new school...". She entered his bedroom.
"Kenta?"
The Overpass
They ran forward. The Chaos Mass responded by moving much faster than they'd ever seen, flowing towards them. A pseudopod shot forth..."
"Wait!", Sakuyamon called out. "Don't..."
"Dukemon!", Sakuyamon called out. He had either not heard, or decided to ignore her warning. It had ensnared Dukemon, as he was in the lead. Sakuyamon took fierce swings at the mass with her staff. It had no effect whatsoever.
"Dukemon!", she watched, horror stricken, as he was pulled towards the main mass. It was as she feared: a set-up. It led them into a sense of over confidence.
"Did we lose him?", Koichi asked.
"I... don't know", Renamon replied. "If this was the Digital World...", she couldn't complete that thought.
"Dukemon?", Koichi said from his Data Sphere. "Takato!", he called out.
"Fuck!", Saint Galgomon called out. He was too far away, too uncertain of firing at the mass.
"Starlight Explosion!", Hououmon fired off in the hopes it might do something, anything. It did nothing, the bursts simply disappearing into the Chaos Mass.
"Lightening Spear!"
"Hero's Light!"
Cherubimon and Cuchulamon tried hitting it at the base. They slowed it down, but not long enough to buy Dukemon enough time to free himself.
Takato screamed. He couldn't help but cringe as he saw the Chaos Mass rushing up. He was certain he was about to be deleted. Isn't that how it worked in the Digital World?
The others watched, helpless, as Dukemon disappeared into the main mass. A brief gold shimmer spreading out along its surface, like ripples on a pond, was the only sign of his passing.
Takato was pleasantly surprised to see he was still in one piece. Below him, entire buildings had been torn from their foundations and were now standing atop columns of that red mass.
"What a fucked up place", he said.
"Takato!"
"What is it, Guilmon?"
"I don't think I can hold this form for much longer!"
Takato looked around: "There!", he pointed to a stand of trees that looked as though they were unchanged off to his right.
Dukemon barely made it in time. Takato and Guilmon broke their form on a walking path. This area had once been part of Chou Park. He looked around.
"Why is everything OK here?", Takato asked.
"The trees?", Guilmon speculated.
"It is because the analysis of physical life forms is not yet complete", a voice said.
"Huh?", Takato asked himself. "Juri" stepped from behind a tree, still wearing the yellow PJs and orange sweater.
"Juri! Everyone's been worried sick about you!". Something didn't feel right: "Juri... what are you doing here? How did you get here?"
"The human individual known as Juri Katou has been a most fascinating specimen...", "Juri" was explaining.
"Ehhhh?!", was all Takato could say to that. This wasn't how Juri talked.
"A foreign body entered the network as data - a human. Its behaviour algorithm was discovered to be much like that of the D-reaper..."
"What the hell're you saying?!", Takato called out as he took her by the shoulders. She grinned back at him: "Juri's thought processes lead only to futile and destructive behaviours..."
"JUUUURI!", Takato shook her. "Snap out of it!"
He didn't notice the form was beginning to change.
"It seems the humans have a term for it: sadness..."
"Takato! That's not Juri!", Guilmon warned.
"What're you talking about! She's warm. She's alive! It's Juri! Juri!"
"D-reaper analyzed the specimen known as Juri in order to act independently of the humans who'd created it. In so doing, it acquired human language..."
"Juri!"
Takato gave a small jump backwards as the figure began to emit reddish "fumes". Its height nearly doubled.
"That's the D-reaper too!", Guilmon called out as he began to growl. Two light blue wings sprouted from its back, though these looked more decorative than functional. The wings did, however, resemble those of the observation drones.
"D-reaper loaded digimon data and thereby discovered how to create for itself autonomous entities you call 'Agents'..."
"Juri?", Takato said. "Then where's the real Juri?!", he demanded.
"This is a message for humans and digimon", "Juri" continued as though everything he said was beneath contempt. "D-reaper has concluded that neither of you are worthy of existence. Beings so weak, so imperfect: humans and digimon".
This Juri look-alike began advancing. The leaves of two trees she passed instantly withered, died and dropped to the ground. D-reaper had finished its analysis of physical life. Takato and Guilmon both backed away.
"Tell me where Juri is!", he demanded again.
The figure smiled back at him.
"Takato! We can't stay here!", Guilmon warned.
"It is meaningless", "Juri" informed him. "The D-reaper will eventually delete her"
It turned and walked away.
"I'll never let that happen!", Takato called after it.
"What are we gonna do now?!", Cherubimon asked. "He didn't..."
"I don't know", Saint Galgomon said.
"We can't just walk away?", Hououmon said.
"Let me think", Sakuyamon told them.
"Here's the deal", she explained, "I can get in there, but there's a problem".
"What?", Deinondramon asked.
"I can make a Crystal Sphere big enough for just one of you... any more and I can't guarantee its integrity for the whole trip".
"Even if you get in, then what?", Cherubimon asked.
"Hope like hell Takato and Guilmon are OK, and that we can somehow get them back out".