Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. Or Heroes of Olympus. Such a shame, I know.
Author's Note: Written for the Novel with Prompts Challenge found on the Digimon Fanfiction Challenges forum. The prompt for this chapter is "wicked".
Another shockingly quick update. (What? One week is shockingly quick for me!) Almost everything in the summary has now happened. More still needs to be explained, but that will of course come later. I hope you all...
Enjoy!
Chapter Three
Debris rained down upon them. Wood and tiling crashed into Elecmon's living room, showering them with chalk dust. The baby digimon screamed, and quicker than Takato thought possible, Elecmon had them all gathered up in the playpen while he and Centarumon used their bodies as a shield against the rubble falling down on top of them. Pieces of ceiling crushed and cracked games, toys, and the tea set that was still sitting on the kiddy table.
Takato threw his arms up over his head; it was the only instinctive action that made sense at the moment. He never saw the heavy piece of tiling headed for his head, but he was very glad when Guilmon tackled him out of his chair to avoid it.
"Thanks, boy," he breathed.
Guilmon just growled as his gaze shot up toward the ceiling. Something blue and gold flew overhead, but Takato only saw it for a second. He figured that he must have been severely dazed by the explosion, though, because he was pretty sure the blue and gold thing had been a bird the size of a car. Takato brought his hands up to rub at his eyes and shook his head. The only thing to be seen was blue sky.
Not possible…
Considering he just had tea with a centaur, dinosaur, and red puppy-turned-nanny, Takato was really going to need to rewrite his definition of the word possible.
"Go! Everybody out!" Elecmon yelled.
The walls around them groaned with the sudden instability. Centarumon shook debris off of his shoulders as the baby digimon scrambled onto his back before he galloped out of the small cottage. Elecmon, Guilmon, and Takato were right on his heels. They all came to a sudden stop right in front of the home, and it wasn't hard to guess why. Flapping its wings lazily and hovering about twenty feet in the air was one intimidating giant bird. It was electric blue and gold with lightning designs along its wings and face. White fur ran down its back. Protruding out of its forehead was a golden spike in the shape of a lightning bolt.
"That is one angry looking chicken," Takato said, his voice shaking. He turned to look at Centarumon. The baby digimon on his back were all huddled together, crying, and trying to hide behind Centarumon's muscular frame. "Is he the one who…?"
Centarumon nodded. "I believe so."
"What is he?"
"A digimon."
Duh. Takato should have really expected that. "Okay," he said slowly. "Who is he?"
"That's Thunderbirmon," Centarumon answered.
From the way he just stopped talking, Takato figured that was all he was going to get out of him. But he was burning with questions, and the bird wasn't attempting to peck out their eyes yet, so Takato figured that now was as good of a time as any to ask them.
"And what have we done recently to upset him?" he asked.
"Nothing as far as I know," Centarumon said.
"So why is he attacking us!?" asked Takato.
Centarumon shook his head. "I have no idea."
Then Thunderbirmon did something that Takato should have really expected to be possible but still managed to nearly give him a coronary – he opened up his orange beak and laughed.
"Of course you don't!" Thunderbirmon squawked, his voice cracking like a teenage boy going through puberty. "You claim to be a keeper of the most important information the Digital World has to offer, and yet you have no idea what's coming!"
"I'm a keeper of history," Centarumon said stiffly, "not a prophet."
"What do you think you're doing?" Elecmon shouted, pointing a sharp claw at him. "You can't just go around attacking Primary Village! You could hurt somebody, especially one of my babies!"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Thunderbirmon said, his voice falsely apologetic. "Here, let me fix that by actually hurting somebody! Spark Wing!"
Thunderbirmon flew back several feet before expanding his wings out full length. The feathers crackled with electricity, and the air around him grew dark before several spears (that were actually feathers) of lightning shot out toward them. Takato surprised himself by leaping out of the way without even a second thought, but the others weren't so lucky. Centarumon held up his metal gauntlets to deflect the electrified feathers as he used his body to protect the baby digimon. Elecmon and Guilmon took the full blast of the attack and were thrown backwards, slamming into the walls of the still smoldering house.
"Guilmon!" Takato cried.
Guilmon shook his head as he shakily got to his feet before growling at the bird digimon. Elecmon stayed down, having a harder time shaking off the attack's effects. Guilmon started to charge forward, but Centarumon held out an arm to keep him back.
"Guilmon, protect Elecmon," Centarumon ordered. "Takato, get the baby digimon to safety."
Takato wasn't sure where safety exactly existed, but he ran up to the centaur and gathered three of the squirming baby digimon into his arms. The other two perched on his shoulders. Centarumon held up one of his gauntleted hands toward the bird digimon as if he was trying to tell him to stay away, but Takato realized that it was a threatening gesture.
"Oh, come on, Centarumon," Thunderbirmon said in a voice far too chipper for the situation. "Let the little rookie attack me! When was the last time you were in a battle anyway? You've been nothing but a bookkeeper ever since you were retired to that stupid temple. My master has been planning this for years, and you and your precious Gennai haven't had a clue!"
"Is that so?" Centarumon asked in a voice that was so calm that it was hard to believe that a roof had just fallen on his head a few minutes ago. "Then, tell me, Thunderbirmon… who is your master?"
"You'll find out soon enough!" Thunderbirmon roared. "Spark Wing!"
"Takato, go!" Centarumon shouted.
Takato didn't need to be told twice. He darted to the side as the baby digimon screamed in his ears. Behind him, Centarumon deflected most of the electrically-charged feathers with his gauntlets, but Thunderbirmon had been aiming lower this time, and a few grazed the half-horse's legs, bringing him to his knees with a grunt.
"Centarumon!" Guilmon cried worriedly.
"Isn't that cute?" Thunderbirmon turned toward Guilmon. "The little rookie is worried for his new friend. Don't worry. It's your turn now."
Takato came to a skidding stop. He couldn't just leave Guilmon there. He didn't know how, but he knew that Thunderbirmon had more power than Guilmon. Something about the way he said rookie like he wasn't made Takato realize that he had to be a champion or higher. Where the term champion came from, he wasn't sure, but he wasn't really looking to question it right about now. The baby digimon seemed to realize that Takato's retreat had come to an end, and they jumped out of his arms and off of his shoulders. He spun to briefly watch them ducking into a nearby hut before his attention returned to the digimon standoff happening several feet away.
Thunderbirmon pulled back. "Goodbye, little dino! Spark Wing!"
"Pyro Sphere!"
A red-hot fireball shot out of Guilmon's mouth, catching the electrified feathers and incinerating them on impact. Takato was certain that Thunderbirmon would easily dodge the fireball still heading toward him, but he seemed too stunned by the fact that his attack had just been neutralized to do much more than take the pyro sphere right in the face. Elecmon was no longer dazed, but he could only get to his feet before Thunderbirmon was squawking in rage.
"Nice try, rookie." He glared at Guilmon. "But you'll have to do better than that! My master told me to expect you and your partner," he threw a glare over at Takato as if his mere existence disgusted him, "any day now. Be patient, I was told, be patient and just wait… someone special was coming… I don't see what's so special about a measly human, but I listened to my master, and now, here you are! I will be rewarded greatly for your destruction."
Centarumon was still kneeling, trying to get his injured legs back beneath him again, but a charge was building in his gauntlet, a sparking light that he brought up and pointed at Thunderbirmon. "Solar Ray!"
Thunderbirmon easily dodged it. He wasn't as distracted as he had seemed after all.
"My turn!" Thunderbirmon shouted. "Thunderstorm!"
The skies over Primary Village turned an angry gray as Thunderbirmon rapidly flapped his wings without moving from where he was hovering in the air. Wind started to whip around them as clouds gathered overhead. Takato was just starting to think that maybe ducking for cover would be a good idea when Thunderbirmon let out a squawk-like cry. An arc of lightning shot out of an overhead thundercloud and blasted Takato right in the chest.
Bang! Takato found himself flat on his back. His mouth tasted like burning aluminum foil. He tingled from the tip of his fingers down to his toes. When he lifted his head, he saw that his clothes were smoking, and his shirt had been torn right over his sternum in the shape of a soot-covered ring.
Thunderbirmon let out a wicked laugh. Lightning crackled around the area, aiming for Elecmon, Guilmon, and Centarumon now that its first target was down. Guilmon roared defiantly, but it all sounded tinny and far away.
The three digimon shot off attacks, desperately trying to shoot Thunderbirmon out of the sky, but he was just toying with them. He easily dodged every attack long before it even got close to landing. Thunderbirmon had the advantage of the skies, but eventually, he would grow bored and deal with them, maybe get rid of the baby digimon at the same time. The thought angered Takato, and somehow, amongst his shaky knees and trembling hands, he rose unsteadily to his feet.
"Stop," he croaked. He wasn't sure who was more surprised: him or Thunderbirmon.
"How are you alive?" Thunderbirmon actually sounded frightened. "You're just a measly human!"
"My turn," Takato said. Through everything that had just happened, he still clutched the card from earlier. He let instincts take over. He pulled out his digivice and slid the card through the reader along the side like he'd done it a thousand times before. "Digi-Modify! Hyper Wings Activate!"
Six angel-like wings appeared on Guilmon's back, and the dinosaur took flight without missing a beat. Thunderbirmon flew back several feet, not looking too confident anymore.
"How did you do that?" Thunderbirmon asked.
"Pyro Sphere!" was Guilmon's response.
Thunderbirmon wailed in outrage as the blast singed his feathers on his left wing. Dodging became a lot harder when the distance between the two was closed up. "Impossible! Who are you two!?"
Centarumon just looked stunned. "How…?"
"Who cares how!?" Elecmon cried, punching his tiny fists into the air. "Go, Guilmon!"
Thunderbirmon squawked at them, but Takato could see fear in his eyes. "You have no idea the powers that are brewing and the enemies that you've awakened! My master will destroy all you blasted digidesteined! This is a war you cannot win!"
Above them, the storm continued to rage, turning into a full-force gale. Sheets of rain started to pour down on their heads. Guilmon had to fly lower to avoid being thrown off balance. The ground started to tremble, and Takato crouched to avoid falling over. Considering the alarmed looks on both Centarumon and Elecmon's faces, this must not have been normal Digital World behavior.
"My master calls me back!" Thunderbirmon cried with wicked glee. "And you, digidestined… you will come with me! Spark Wing!"
The electrified feathers caught Guilmon full force in the chest and neck, snapping his head back, and sending him crashing into the dampened ground. His wings flickered before dissipating. Thunderbirmon lunged at Takato, but Centarumon tackled the bird digimon from behind the second he got close enough. Both of them went sprawling. Elecmon surged forward to help, but Thunderbirmon managed to roll in Centarumon's grasp and get both of his wings free as he squawked, "Spark Wing!" Centarumon got hit on both sides at pointblank range, and he fell back, dazed and groaning.
"I got you now!" Thunderbirmon screamed.
He glided forward, and before Takato could even think about running off, Thunderbirmon had a claw around his ankle and yanked him right off the ground. The world turned upside down, and Takato yelped as he was lifted up into the air.
"GUILMON!" Takato cried.
But the big red dinosaur still didn't stir. Takato wondered if this might be the end and if it was a good thing that he didn't have any memories of the people who might be sad about his death when Elecmon suddenly launched himself at Thunderbirmon, managing to gain some serious height with the strength of his hind legs. He landed right on Thunderbirmon's face, and the bird digimon screeched in surprise before losing grip on Takato. Takato dropped safely (if albeit quite painfully since it was headfirst) to the floor, but Thunderbirmon turned his claws onto Elecmon instead.
Elecmon tried to head-butt him, claw him, and even tried a "Super Thunder Strike!" right in his face. But having already lost his previous prey, Thunderbirmon refused to let go of this one. They rose into the air, gaining speed, and getting further and further away.
Elecmon shouted down to them, "Protect my babies!"
Then the digimon nanny and the electrified bird spiraled into the clouds and disappeared.
A part of Takato wanted to just stay sitting down on the wet grass, staring up at the sky in complete shock, and never move. But the other part was louder, and that was the part that had him scrambling to his feet, ignoring the pain in his neck from the awkward landing, and sprinting over to Guilmon. He turned the red dinosaur over. His red scales were glistening from the impromptu rain, and he still looked pretty dazed, but at least he wasn't dead.
"Elecmon went up," Guilmon said.
"And never came back down," Takato finished.
Guilmon's ears drooped in guilt. "I'm sorry, Takato."
Takato was too busy reaching out to hug him to realize that he had dropped the –mon business. "Don't be sorry, Guilmon. It's not your fault. You were great!" He pulled back to give him a reassuring smile. "We were just caught a little off guard. We'll get him next time." He didn't stop and think about why he was so sure there would be a next time.
The storm dissipated. Baby digimon, more than just the five that Takato had rescued from Centarumon's back earlier, peeked out from around the buildings and trees in the area. They seemed all equally horrified and grateful, but none of them had the guts to come any closer. Takato was glad for that; he wasn't sure what he would tell them.
"Takatomon," Guilmon said suddenly. "I think I hit my head harder than I thought."
Takato pulled back to give him a worried look. "Why do you say that, boy?"
"Because I see a giant bug, and it's flying right at us!"
At first Takato thought Guilmon had his head too hard. Then, he saw a dark shape descending from the east – too slow for a plane, too large for a bird, too many wings for another Thunderbirmon. As it got closer, he could see that Guilmon had been right; it was a giant insect. It was flanked on either side by a winged-cat and an angry looking bird that put Thunderbirmon to shame.
"I really hope they're on our side," Takato groaned.
"Indeed they are," Centarumon said.
He had awoken at last. The sides of his helmet were charred and covered with sooth, and his gait was unsteady as he made his way over to them. But considering the face full of electricity he had just received a few minutes prior, Takato thought he looked pretty okay for a man-horse.
"The digidestined?" Takato asked, remembering their previous conversation. "I thought you said you had to call them to tell them to come?"
"Apparently, they were already on their way," Centarumon said.
Takato watched as the three digimon descended upon them and landed just a few feet from him. The flying cat carried two teenagers on her back – a petite short-haired girl about his age and a college-aged brunette boy that looked like he could have been related to the girl. Teenagers rode on the back of the angry red bird and the insect as well, all of them looking sleep-deprived and pale. The petite girl leaped off of the back of the winged-sphinx before she had even stopped moving and ran toward him while the others dismounted a bit more safely.
"Did you send the email?" the girl said. Her amber eyes looked painfully hopeful.
"What email?" Takato asked.
A second girl joined the first. This one had long lavender hair, glasses, and looked ready to punch him in the jaw. His face hurt just thinking about it.
"Look here, bud," the second girl said, poking him in the chest. "If you know where he is—!"
"Yolei!" the first girl said, taking her arm and pulling her off of him.
"Kari, look," the college-aged said, pointing at something on Takato's head.
Takato immediately reached up, feeling self-conscious about the way everybody was staring at him, like they expected him to do a flip or something. He felt something plastic sitting there and peeled off a pair of goggles. His head felt empty, naked without them there, as if he wore them all the time. He clutched the accessory to his chest, as if afraid that they were being pointed out because the guy wanted to take them from him, but he made no move to do that.
"The one with goggles has the answer," said the college-aged dude. "It wasn't Davis after all."
"I told you I didn't know anything," a kid about Takato's age huffed. He was also wearing a set of goggles on his head. Takato wondered if this was some weird fashion trend that he didn't remember (along with everything else) that he had decided to follow or if they were just two of the weirdest people in the world.
"Fine. You didn't know anything!" This time another college-aged guy spoke, but he was blonde with fierce blue eyes that made Takato want to run in the opposite direction, which didn't help when he walked right up to him. "But that means you do. So, tell me where he is!"
"Uh, excuse me, Mr Angry Man, sir," Guilmon said. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't mind, Matt," a redheaded girl said. She walked up to the blonde dude and gently pushed him back, much to Takato's relief. "You gotta cut him some slack. We're trying to find a friend of ours who has been missing for three days. We're all kind of going out of our minds with worry. We were hoping he'd be here."
"Who?" Takato asked.
"My brother," Matt said. "Takeru Takaishi."