Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. I do not own Heroes of Olympus. And I'm still here!
Author's Note: Written for the Novel with Prompts Challenge found on the Digimon Fanfiction Challenges forum. The prompt for this chapter is "moon".
Reminder: I post all review replies on my personal forum topic found right here on this site. Just navigate to the little button at the top of the screen to Forum to Anime to Digimon to Digital Connections. The topic you are looking for is called "Blurring Boundaries: And so it begins..." Or you can go to my profile and use the direct link there!
Also written for July's Camp Nano. It is officially over. My final count was 26,775/40,000. Not quite there, but over 75% done. And this story is literally just chapters away from being complete, so I consider it a win in my book anyway. I'm serious, guys! Just chapters away! You could literally count how many chapters are left on one hand. That's how close we are. And now... for the moment we've all been waiting for...
Enjoy!
Chapter Fifty
A wolf launched itself at Takato. He dodged to the right as WarGrowlmon stepped in place. He swung his large chrome digizoid-covered arms into the Fangmon's snout with a satisfying crack. It didn't destroy him, but it would at least give it a nice Tylenol headache.
Takato turned toward the sound of hooves and saw a Moosemon bearing down on him. He looked around the room at his options before he finally evaded the charging Moosemon by climbing up WarGrowlmon's back. He pulled himself up over the digizoid armor and settled himself onto his partner's shoulder. WarGrowlmon waited until he was situated before he spun and blasted the offending armor digimon to smithereens.
Through the chaos, Takato caught glimpses of his friends. Ken and Yolei stood back to back, surrounded by the Devidramon, but their digimon seemed to be holding their own. Stingmon and Aquilamon refused to let any of the Devidramon through, and they were taking turns taking to the air to attack them from overhead while the other stayed on the ground to protect their partners. From Takato's vantage point, they looked quite impressive as they fought. Aquilamon in particular appeared to almost be glowing, like he was getting energy from a source nearby.
Ankylomon had digivolved to join in the fray with the Fangmon; Gatomon fought by his side. Kari and Cody stayed near Gennai's cage, dodging to the left or the right every time a stray attack came their way. Gatomon's small size was helping her dominate the fight. The Fangmon didn't seem to know what to make of her – or maybe they were under the effects of her Cat's Eye Hypnotism. It was hard to tell. The Fangmon stared at her in awe as she did acrobatics over their head, forgetting that they were supposed to kill her. They'd watch dumbfounded as she did a particularly impressive flip – until she sliced them apart with her claws, and they melted into data.
Davis and AeroVeedramon had taken on Caturamon alone. While fighting a deva was no easy task, AeroVeedramon was the right 'mon for the job. Caturamon kept sending out howls of wind at him, mini-tornados, and shockwaves of air. AeroVeedramon took it all like pro. Davis followed right along AeroVeedramon's flank, refusing to leave his side. His D-3 and crest flickered with glimmering signs of life like Davis was giving everything he had to AeroVeedramon so that he could take on the deva one-on-one. AeroVeedramon advanced on Caturamon, using his large red wings to swipe aside any digimon that got in his way.
Takato realized that AeroVeedramon was the only reason they were still all conscious. Caturamon kept trying to suck the air out of the room, like he had done when he first arrived and probably how he had managed to knock out the other digidestined, but AeroVeedramon kept throwing up his Wind Guardian, countering his attempts. Without him, they would've been captured and bound like the rest of the digidestined and probably in the process of being hauled off as trophies. Wherever AeroVeedramon went, Caturamon's mini-cyclones dissipated. Even the older digidestined pinned to the walls were starting to slide down toward the floor as the wind around them grew weaker.
Caturamon slowly backed away. His expression went from enraged to shocked to slightly panicked as AeroVeedramon and Davis got closer.
WarGrowlmon was running out of enemies. Armor digimon evaporated into loose data. Some slunk away into the ruins, trying to nurse their wounds. Stingmon stabbed the last Devidramon, who toppled to the ground before exploding into data. Ankylomon sent the last Fangmon flying into the far wall, where he was knocked out cold. Takato rode on top of WarGrowlmon's shoulders as his partner tore through the last armor digimon (a Lynxmon), breaking it into particles of data. Then they wheeled around and saw Davis bearing down on the dog deva with AeroVeedramon standing threateningly behind him.
"You're too late," Caturamon snarled. "He's waking! And don't think you've won anything here, digidestined. Gennai's plan will never work. The world will crumble before you can ever stop us!"
AeroVeedramon set the blades on his wrists ablaze with energy and slashed the beams of light toward the deva, but Caturamon turned into the wind, literally – a vague wispy visage of himself. AeroVeedramon's Twister Saber attack flew through the ghostly image, dissipating it into nothing.
Gatomon was breathing hard, but she smiled. "Nice work, team."
"Is that it?" Yolei asked. "Did we win?"
"Not quite," Gennai called from his cage.
Takato climbed down WarGrowlmon's back and landed safely on the ground. They gathered around Gennai's cage.
Davis frowned. "Uh, Gennai, is it just me or are you see-through?"
"I fear time is running out. You need to hurry."
As much as Takato was unhappy with Gennai at the moment, what he saw in the cage alarmed him. Not only was Gennai see-through, but Takato could see the data particles slowly leaving his body and floating out of the cage toward the center of the room. He looked like a digital ghost. "The Demon Lord wakes," Gennai warned. "You only have seconds."
"Right," Davis said. "Cody, what was your idea?"
"Uh…" For a moment, Cody looked uncertain before he gripped his D-3 with confidence. "Yolei, take your D-3 and point it at that spire over there."
"What?" Yolei said.
"Just do it! I think the power of our D-3's is going to be what brings down the cage."
"Alright, if you say so."
Yolei pulled her D-3 off of her belt and pointed it at the spire to the right, and Cody did the same with the spire on the left. Both of the devices exploded with light – Yolei's red and Cody's yellow. It seemed to have some immediate effect on the cage. Gennai was dissipating more slowly. The tendrils seemed to stop growing and started to wilt – like it was dying. And slowly the spires started to unfurl as it started to sink back into the earth. Then Ankylomon and Aquilamon suddenly de-digivolved.
"What just happened?" Armadillomon asked.
"I believe that whatever Yolei and Cody are doing with their D-3's requires all of our energy to pull it off," Hawkmon said. "Which unfortunately means that if there is any further fighting, I fear we may be a bit in the way."
"Don't worry, if any other jerks show up, we'll send them running," Davis said. "Isn't that right, AeroVeedramon?"
"You said it!"
Their confidence didn't last long. A buzzer sounded, like that of an alarm. Takato turned slowly and realized that it was the clock on the teddy bear digimon's chest. On the other side of the pool, the chains wrapped around the teddy bear digimon crumbled with a sound like a tree snapping in half. The alarm clock buzzer came to an abrupt halt as it disintegrated into data. The outer coating of darkness exploded from the top down, encasing the entire teddy bear in an inky blackness. Then from the depths of the shadows, a monster rose as the Demon Lord of Sloth awoke.
Takato hadn't thought anything could be scarier than Barbamon.
He was wrong.
Belphemon was much taller and much beefier than Barbamon. Despite being a fire breather, Barbamon hadn't radiated heat or given off waves of darkness the way that Belphemon did. There was something entirely more terrible about Belphemon – a kind of strength, even magnetism, as if the Demon Lord were so huge and dark that he could create his own black hole to engulf everything around him.
Unlike Barbamon who had been mostly humanoid-looking, Belphemon seemed like a creature that came straight from the depths of Hell itself. His body was all muscle and covered with dark fur with elongated arms that had knuckles nearly scraping the floor. Six purple wings adorned his back. He had no hair and the face of a beast with two ram horns on top of his head. He wore brass knuckles on his hands that glowed with an eerie green light. His body was wrapped in a tightening chain that oozed darkness. When the Demon Lord opened all four of his eyes, they were blank red, like blood. He took a deep breath.
"Awake!" he bellowed. "And now the whole world shall burn at the feet of the Demon Lords!"
Takato made a heroic little whimpering sound he hoped his friends couldn't hear. He was very sure that no digimon could solo this guy. Belphemon could melt mountains. He could crush WarGrowlmon with one hand.
"C-Cody," Takato said, trying to control his trembling voice.
"Y-yeah?" Cody said.
Davis's mouth was wide open. Even their digimon seemed dazed by Belphemon's appearance.
"You and Yolei keep working. Get Gennai free!" Takato said. "The rest of you – protect them, make sure nobody stops them."
"What are you going to do?" Kari asked. "You can't seriously—"
"What do you think, WarGrowlmon?" Takato asked.
"Entertain a Demon Lord?" WarGrowlmon said. "Why not?"
"It's not like we have a choice," Takato added.
"Excellent!" the Demon Lord roared as Takato and WarGrowlmon approached. "An appetizer! Who are you—Child of Courage? Child of Friendship?"
Takato thought about going with that and hoping the title would be enough to make him hesitate in destroying them immediately, but something told him not to.
"I'm Takato Matsuki, a tamer," he said. "And this is WarGrowlmon."
All four of Belphemon's red eyes bore into him. Behind him, an array of red and yellow light bounced off of the walls, but the light seemed weak and wavering, as if it were reacting to Cody and Yolei's fear.
Belphemon threw back his head and laughed. "A tamer?" He looked around Takato at Gennai. "So you started the destruction for us? The gesture is appreciated, but it will not save you."
Gennai didn't answer him. No help from him or any of the digital entities. Takato and WarGrowlmon were on their own.
He pocketed his cards. His hands were covered in splinters and burns and who knows what else, but that didn't matter now. He had a feeling that it didn't matter what card he drew; it wasn't going to be enough. He and WarGrowlmon had to buy Cody and Yolei some time, but a power up card wasn't going to help with that.
It was time to act a whole lot more confident than he felt.
"If you knew who we were," Takato yelled up at the Demon Lord, "you'd be scared. You'd be trembling in your boots!"
"Takato, he's not wearing boots," WarGrowlmon pointed out.
"Uh, right. Well, not boots, but in his… furry… feet. That's not the point! I hope you enjoyed your two and a half minutes of rebirth, Belphemon, because you're about to be nothing but floating data!"
Belphemon's eyes narrowed. He planted one foot outside the pool and crouched to get a better look at his opponent. "So… you wish to try to intimidate me. Do you know how you look to me? You are a mere puny human with a slave of a pet for a digimon. You are lower than ants. I am Belphemon, Demon Lord of Sloth. Where I go, darkness follows. My flames purge the world of all that is good and innocent and turn it to ash. I am what nightmares are made of!"
"But every nightmare must end," Gennai said, "as shall you."
"This nightmare is real life, and it will end when I destroy you. Still hanging on, Gennai? Your time is nigh. Huanglongmon is waking. He has given into the darkness, and he has risen many fine servants. Our armies will shake all of the worlds – and we will destroy the very core that has kept us all prisoner for so long."
"You wouldn't dare. It will destroy your world, too," Gennai said, but he was weakening. Takato could hear it in his voice. He was starting to sound distorted, echoed, like he was speaking over a bad radio connection. Cody and Yolei kept their D-3's focused on the spires, trying to bring them down, but the earth was still destroying his data from the inside out, absorbing it to feed it to Belphemon – as if the guy needed anything more to eat.
"Wouldn't we?" Belpemon said. "Myotismon sought to conquer both worlds, envelop them both in darkness. A bold plan, but ineffective. You cannot control that which is flawed and unable to be controlled to begin with. The Dark Masters had a better idea. Rewrite the world in their image so that they could better control it. We're just going to start over. The rot of these worlds must be dug up completely like rotten trees – we will destroy both Digital Worlds at their very cores so that we may rewrite the entirety of the Digital Chain."
Belphemon's gaze suddenly settled on the back of Yolei's head, as if he'd just noticed her and Cody working at the cage. He growled deep in his throat, then stomped the ground with his enormous feet. The ruins shook. All around the hall, digimon started to reform – armor digimon, Fangmon, and Devidramon, all answering the Demon Lord's call.
"Great," Davis groaned. "Just what we needed!"
"More enemies," Cody said.
"Hurry," Gennai urged.
"We know!" Yolei snapped.
"Don't lose focus," Kari said. "Yolei, Cody, just focus on the energy flowing through you and into your D-3's. You can do it."
"We believe in you," Ken said.
Belphemon roared into the air, and black flames shot from his chains wildly in every which direction. A few of his newly risen minions took the brunt of the show of strength and were destroyed once more – before immediately reforming. "So, tamer! I have finished my intimidation. Now it's your turn. What were you saying about destroying me?"
Takato looked at the ring of monsters, waiting impatiently for their master's order to tear them to shreds. The yellow and red lights kept glimmering off of the wall, but it seemed hopeless. Gennai was almost completely transparent.
"I-I… I am Takato Matsuki, Digimon Tamer!" he shouted, stepping forward as he gripped his D-Power tightly in his hand. "My friend and I have battled Wild Ones and Devas! We've braved a world that tried to separate and kill us at every turn! I fought Zhuqiaomon himself to a draw!" Takato didn't quite know what he was saying, but he rattled off battles and vague memories like he'd recounted them many times before. And to Takato's surprise, his words seemed to actually be getting through to Belphemon – especially that last one.
The Demon Lord's eyes widened slightly with an almost uneasy look.
"I slew the D-Reaper's most powerful agent, and I annihilated the Parasimon horde in a single strike! And now I'm going to destroy you, Belphemon, and make sure you hurt nobody else!"
"Wow, dude," Davis said. "You been eating red meat?"
Takato took a page out of the book of the other digidestined and just ignored him. "Ready, Guilmon?"
A flash of light later and WarGrowlmon had de-digivolved back to his rookie form, as if he already knew where this was going even while Takato was just going through the motions. But there was something there, an anticipation to meet of an old friend.
"Ready, Takato!"
"Here we go! Together!" Takato punched his D-Power toward the sky as it exploded with light. Over the roar in his ears, he could barely hear Kari call out, "Takato, wait!" but it was much too late for that. "Biomerge Activate!"
x X x
The idea of this scrawny little fifteen-year-old suddenly becoming a knight in shining armor was so ridiculous, even Belphemon seemed surprised. Half flying, half leaping, Gallantmon barely waited until the light of digivolution had faded before he threw himself at Belphemon. "Lightning Joust!"
Belphemon caught the lance just inches from his abdomen, stopping Gallantmon cold. "You dare!?" he bellowed.
Gallantmon presented his mighty shield Aegis as it started to glow. He yelled, "This is for my friends! Shield of the Just!" and the shield exploded with light, ramming into Belphemon at point-blank range.
The super-surge attack had such power behind it that it threw Gallantmon free of Belphemon's clutches. He landed across the room in a crouch. When he looked up, Belphemon was staggering. Scorch marks decorated his chest. The chains around his biceps were smoldering. His wings looked singed. And unless Gallantmon's eyes were deceiving him, loose data was floating up around his wings.
"He did it," AeroVeedramon gasped.
"I don't get it," Gatomon said. "Where's Takato?"
"Whoa, you're right. Where did he go? Did he get vaporized?" Davis asked.
"Davis!" Kari snapped.
"I'm sure he's fine," Armadillomon said. "Somewhere…"
"Who is that digimon?" Cody asked. "I've never seen anything like it…"
Belphemon almost fell. The digimon army let out a collective growl and moved forward – Fangmon, Devidramon, and armor digimon, all with their eyes fixed on Gallantmon.
"No!" Belphemon bellowed. He regained his balance and glared at him. "I will kill him myself." Belphemon extended his claws as they began to glow with a greenish dark energy that sent a chill straight through the entire room. "You want to play with the Dark Side? I am a Demon Lord. I was created to be a bane to all you children and pathetic pet digimon who were chosen and who chose to protect these world. I am the curse to the innocent. I was created specifically to destroy all of you, so trust me when I say, I know exactly what will kill you."
Something in Belphemon's voice told Gallantmon he wasn't bluffing.
Takato and his friends had had a good run. The six of them had done amazing things. Yeah, even heroic things. But as the dark aura surrounding Belphemon's body began to crackle with unrestrained energy, Gallantmon knew there was no way he could evade this strike without putting his friends in danger. It would have to be him or them.
This was the end.
"Gift of Darkness!"
Gallantmon dropped into a crouch and hid behind the width of his shield. As the blast from Belphemon's claws slammed into Aegis, he was thrown clear across the room.
"No!" Ken yelled.
"AeroVeedramon, do something!" Davis said, so forcefully that his D-3 actually flickered with life as if trying to react to his voice.
Takato, tucked away in the Tamer Ball as spiritual energy, wasn't sure whether he and Guilmon were okay or not at first. All he could see was dust and debris. Stone and petrified wood lied broken around them. Overhead, he could make out stars through the broken ceiling. The clouds had parted. The moon had risen.
"We're not done yet, Takato," Guilmon's voice said. "Not yet."
Takato took a deep breath and tried to regain control of Gallantmon's hands once again. They were still there, still intact. He nodded. "Not yet," he agreed. "Not until this guy is defeated. Not until our friends are safe."
Gallantmon tightened his grip on his lance and dropped his shield with a clatter to the ground. He leapt into the air and out of the dust. He heard Yolei and Kari gasp. The Fangmon howled in denial. Belphemon roared, "What?!"
"Never again will you hurt our friends!" Gallantmon cried. "This is your final judgment!"
Gallantmon raised his lance high over his head, and the air crackled with electricity as it gathered into his spear. The lightning conducted off of the metal of Gallantmon's armor and across the room. Fangmon and Devidramon whimpered and yelped as they were struck by stray strokes of lightning.
"Got it!" Cody cried.
"Yes!" Yolei screamed.
Yellow and red light burst throughout the hall, pushing back the darkness. Energy surged through Gallantmon's limbs, and he let out a mighty battle cry before turning the spear onto Belphemon. The stone and wood cage around Gennai crumbled. The tendrils keeping the Crests of Justice and Passion prisoner turned to dust. The little trinkets landed safely in their respective owners hands. Gennai's data returned as he solidified once more.
And Gallantmon cried, "Lightning Charge!"
Gallantmon dove toward Belphemon, aiming straight for his heart. Moments from impact, Belphemon reached over and grabbed an armor digimon – a Tylomon. He threw him in Gallantmon's path. The digimon disintegrated on impact with a cry of fear and pain as Belphemon dodged around the attack. Gallantmon landed in a crouch.
"No!" Takato's voice yelled from within.
Belphemon sent a scathing glare toward the now free Gennai and seemed to check his odds. He said nothing, but he gave Gallantmon one last look of hatred. His message was clear: Another time. Then he roared and stomped on the ground before the earth opened up and swallowed him whole, like he'd just disappeared down a secret escape hatch.
Around the courtyard, the digimon army began to panic and retreat without their master, but AeroVeedramon, Stingmon, and Gatomon took care of the stragglers. There would be no escape for them.
Gallantmon could feel his strength waning. He stared down at his lance with disappointment. "We let him get away," Takato said.
"We'll get him next time," Guilmon's voice promised.
"Yeah, we will."
Then Takato felt the oddly familiar but also new sensation of the biomerging coming to an end as Gallantmon disappeared in a flash of light. For a brief moment, he remembered Kari's protest to him and Guilmon digivolving together. But it had been too late then, and it was far too late now.
He felt his human feet touch the ground, and he stared down at his palms as an odd sensation coursed through his body that he was pretty sure wasn't supposed to be there. He watched as his hands faded in and out of existence, as if they were coming in on a bad satellite channel. Takato fell, the image of his legs vanishing out from underneath him searing into his mind, and his last thought was that his body was no longer there.