Act 1: Beating Heart
Segment 3: A Glorious Arms Race
Chapter 3-9: This Dark Machine
Title derived from: A Dark Machine by ShockOne
I can't breathe, I give in this time, a dark machine's always inside
The things that feed are only mine; closer it seems, dark machine
The train ride to Ariake-tennis-no-mori required the Hanzomon, Oedo, and Yurakucho Lines, as well as the Yurikamome, but they got there eventually. Satsuki had tried to assure Ryuta that it was as direct as they could get, but he seemed unhappy about it anyway. But it wasn't like there was much other option. Everything else took even longer.
They stopped in front of Ariake Garden and scoped out the data centre from the other side of the street. The police were directing people away as much as they could. Two of them guarded a garage entrance while another police car was parked in front of the personnel entrance. This wouldn't be easy.
"Ideas, anyone?" Kazuhiko whispered. He watched as a few people walked past, giving them glances. "We probably should start moving soon."
"I don't know at all," replied Satsuki. "The building itself is built like a fortress."
Ryuta squinted. There was an apartment right next to the data centre, and what looked like a relatively short fence there. They might even be able to go around the side with nobody noticing. "Guys, let's cross the street. You see that apartment building? Doesn't look like anyone's guarding it. We can slip through under darkness."
"Uh… Ryuta, that sounds illegal," replied Asuka. "You sure?"
"Do you have any better plans?"
"No…"
He wordlessly crossed as the light bade them walk. The other three kept up with him. As they passed the apartment building, they looked to their right. It was indeed unguarded – completely. It wasn't like it mattered.
"Ryuta, this is bad," said Amedramon from his phone. "I think the whole building has been engulfed."
He nearly tripped over himself. "What?!" he hissed into his mic. "Are you serious?" He still had his earbuds in.
"It's intense even from in here. Something that bad… it has to be huge."
Ryuta was bewildered. "What about the employees? How… how has nobody seen anything yet? There has to have been some sighting!" He doublechecked the news article. The building has been evacuated, it read. He facepalmed. Perhaps that was why. Still… by now, police inside might have seen something. They should have. Perhaps they were simply keeping things under wraps for now.
Satsuki poked his shoulder and motioned to his earbuds. "Nobody else can hear it."
"R-right." He pulled one out. "Amedramon thinks the whole building is just an illusion right now."
"Uh…"
"The Junction is replicating the building in its entirety."
"Can they do that?"
Ryuta inhaled and thought about it. It was weird and unlikely, but… even in Yamada Denki, the Junction had managed to create aisles so realistic that it fooled shoppers. The stairwell in Waseda had looked completely normal. This was just another step forward. "Well, if it's a giant Junction, then – hup!" He grabbed a pebble on the ground and whipped it at the building. It never bounced off.
"There's your answer," Asuka dryly commented.
Kazuhiko whistled. "We're in over our heads."
"And we have no choice as well," Ryuta replied. "Let's do this." As they stepped forward, they noticed, finally, the faint shimmer in the air – and as they walked into it, they walked into what seemed to be a normal data centre.
"Well then," Satsuki remarked, "that's one way to break in."
Ryuta put a hand out as he slowly walked forward. His head flicked back and forth. "We should be careful. At this point, I don't know what's real and what's virtual. Amedramon?"
It appeared beside him. "I'm not sure where to go next."
"Then let's explore a bit. We should be on the ground floor, assuming all is normal." Monodramon, Gabumon, and Hawkmon also popped out and looked around. Row after row of black cabinets contained rack upon rack of blinking, humming server slabs.
"Wow, this place is … windy?" Monodramon remarked.
"It really is ruffling my feathers," Hawkmon replied. "Do they need such intense fans in here?""
Ryuta replied, "If they didn't, having this many computers in one place would turn the building into an oven, and the servers would just shut down. Hence, the air conditioning."
"At least we have that going for us, which is nice," commented Kazuhiko.
Satsuki glanced about. She'd never seen the inside of one. Neither had Makoto, in truth. "I wonder why nobody's reported anything."
Ryuta checked his phone. No signal. "Right. Signal dies in these Junctions."
"But surely the Junction didn't just flare into existence and grow to be this big. Right?" Asuka wondered.
Ryuta shrugged. "Maybe when the Junction's borders reached them, they got lost."
"I hope that didn't happen."
"Me neither." They reached a set of stairs and an elevator. Ryuta reached out for the button, but thought better of it and headed for the stairs.
"You don't trust that at all?" asked Kazuhiko.
"Not in the slight – what?!" Ryuta froze. The stair's floor number read floor seven. There was no floor seven. He waved his hands about in disbelief. "How – whatever. This place is messed up." No stairs up, at least. There was only down. "Amedramon, how many hearts do you sense?"
Amedramon's lip curled. "A few big ones."
Ryuta grimaced. "Then I hope we're not about to walk into another cavern like last time." They descended the stairs, watching with grim anticipation as the walls were progressively covered in thin black webbing.
"I'm not a fan of this," Kazuhiko whispered, watching intently as the space became more corrupt. "Please don't have any egg sacs…"
They stopped in front of the door to the sixth floor – or it would have been, if the plate next to the door didn't read "2". Asuka was about to point it out, but she shrugged. Junctions like these didn't need to make sense. The stairwell further down had seemingly been blockaded. Asuka looked it up and down and muttered, "That's weird, shouldn't this go all the way down?"
Hawkmon replied, "Anything goes in these abnormal spaces." It pushed against the concrete wall, but there seemed to be no give. "I suppose we have only one choice."
Amedramon growled and took a battle stance as Ryuta steeled himself and put a hand on the door handle. He paused for a moment, then swung the door open. The server room inside was half-covered in the dark material. Racks and cabinets seemed to go on farther than the building should allow for. The eight of them stepped into the server room gingerly. The sound of air vents hissed above them.
"There are hearts on this floor," whispered Amedramon.
Monodramon punched its palm. "Let's get 'em!" Amedramon nodded and continued pacing forward.
Amedramon continued forward, then turned left. "It's not far, everyone," it whispered. "Get ready. I sense something else there."
As they winded their way between server racks, they spotted the heart some paces away. As they approached, though, a figure turned the corner. They froze. It stared back at them. Were it not for its glossy, semi-fluid body, purely white eyes, and lack of mouth, it was fully human-shaped. It was also about three metres tall.
Kazuhiko turned around, looking for an escape route. There was one standing in their way in as well. "Guys?" he squeaked. "We've got trouble."
Gabumon looked around. The gap between rows of cabinets was too tiny for it to evolve – too tiny for itself, Amedramon, and Hawkmon. This was bad. They had no idea how strong these enemies were, or what they had come from. It hoped it wasn't the people trapped inside the building, but they had no choice – they had to attack.
Especially now that the two humanoid aliens were bearing down on them with blades for hands.
"Feather Slash!" Hawkmon was the first to react. The feather bounced harmlessly off the charging alien's head. "Ah, I had a feeling…"
Amedramon roared as best as it could and jumped up. If these humanoids had good defence, it would have to take the hurt right to them. "Amethyst Edge!" It spun rapidly tail-over-head and slammed into the alien humanoid, grinding its amethyst horn against the humanoid Plasmid. It groaned and shielded itself with its arms, which had fused and molded into a shield of sorts. Then, it shoved forward, flinging Amedramon backwards. "Aaahh!" it yelped as it skidded along the floor and came to a stop in front of Hawkmon.
Behind Ryuta, Asuka, Amedramon, and Hawkmon, the other four were just as preoccupied. "Petit Fire!" The blue flames surrounded the Plasmid, but it seemed completely unaffected as it sliced them away with its blade hands. It reared back and screeched, making the four Tamers and the Digimon wince and cover their ears. That gave the humanoid enough time to close the gap on them. It charged at Satsuki with its blade arms raised.
Kazuhiko watched. Time seemed to slow as it approached. His chest tightened as he stared at it gracefully soar into the air with its weapons drawn. What should he do? Satsuki was helpless. He was helpless. Monodramon? Unlikely. It was just a Rookie. All of the Rookies were struggling. What should he do? Something. Anything. Anything at all!
"No, you don't!" he yelled. He grounded his feet and bodychecked the charging Plasmid, ramming it into a server cabinet. He wasn't about to let this one touch Satsuki, or anyone, for that matter. He yelled and grabbed it by the waist and picked it up. It was lighter than he expected. Good, he thought. All the better to send it. He hoisted it and slammed it into the ground. The tiles buckled and cracked. He panted, surprised that he'd just done that, and stared at his hands as though they weren't his. The humanoid Plasmid rolled backwards onto one knee, preparing to try again.
Monodramon raced past him with fists ready to go. "My turn! Beat Knuckle!" First its left fist struck the humanoid Plasmid's torso as it tried to get back up. It doubled over, as if the air had been knocked out of it. "Yaa!" The fierce right-fisted uppercut knocked the Plasmid backward. "No mercy! Zutsuki Kougeki!" Its forehead plate smashed right into the humanoid Plasmid. It wailed as its body split and dissolved.
Satsuki turned around. Amedramon and Hawkmon were doing their best, but they could only beat back the humanoid Plasmid for so long with their smaller and less powerful forms. "Kazuhiko, let's help them!"
"Yeah!" He checked over his shoulder. "Huh?" Monodramon was pacing back toward them, but the horn behind its head was looking odd, as though it was not rendered. Instead, there was exposed, glowing wireframe. He cracked a grin. "Monodramon?"
It nodded. "Let's go!"
"Make way!" yelled Kazuhiko. "Dragon coming through!" The Tamers pressed themselves against the server racks as best they could while Amedramon, Gabumon, and Hawkmon ducked. Monodramon yelled incoherently as it started to thunder toward them with fists raised. "I'll finish this off!" it yelled as it evolved. Strikedramon launched off with one foot, literally taking on flames as it passed by, and rammed its metal head plate right into the lunging humanoid Plasmid. The alien being shrieked and melted as Strikedramon continued to run with arms raised.
"Let's end this!" it roared as it cut the heart apart with its claws. With just two strokes, the heart shuddered and burst. Amedramon ran toward it, excitedly whooping, as Satsuki clapped Kazuhiko on the back.
"Bit extreme from you," she remarked. "Are you sure you ate dinner? You seem a little hangry."
Kazuhiko squinted at her. "I just saved you from getting hit over the head and that's what you respond with?" Satsuki snorted and burst out laughing. "Aw, come on, give me some credit!" he complained.
Asuka slapped him on the back as well. "Your back will be tight next morning. You might want to get Monodramon to help massage that out." Kazuhiko cringed. The thought of Monodramon's fists shoved into his muscles was an incredibly unpleasant one.
"So, Amedramon, where to next? That way, I'm guessing," Strikedramon pointed, away and off to an opening between the racks of servers. There was a labelled door in the distance.
"You feel it too, huh?" Amedramon asked.
"I think so. Everyone!" Strikedramon waved. "No time to lose!"
"Right. Let's go!" Hawkmon flapped after the two, followed by the other five. As they approached it, they were able to make out what the door label read:
UPS ROOM | WARNING: HIGH VOLTAGE
Strikedramon punched through the door anyway. It came flying off its hinges and struck the metal cabinet behind it with a loud boom. "Screw words, let's get this done!" it yelled as it stepped through the now open doorway and continued plodding in with its fists prepared. Kazuhiko and Ryuta ran after it and Amedramon.
"Oi, oi, wait!" yelled Hawkmon. "Take some stock of your surroundings!"
The warning fell on deaf ears. The beating heart squeezed out multiple humanoid Plasmid forms with their fists crackling with electricity. One of them immediately punched back Strikedramon, paralyzing it temporarily and sending it flying. It wheezed as it was slammed into a metal cabinet and fell to the floor. "Grh… mistake…" Strikedramon grunted as it got back up to its feet.
Amedramon was more lithe and nimble, and was parkouring around the metal cabinets whilst dodging the punches and kicks. Kazuhiko ran over to Strikedramon to help it back up. "Ahh, you silly, you're not seriously injured, are you?"
"Nope, just had my dignity hurt," it laughed. "I'm just more fired up!"
Kazuhiko watched in awe as it ran off to rejoin the fight and help out Hawkmon, Gabumon, and Amedramon. The room was still a bit too small for them to evolve in. As Ryuta walked by, looking for some way to gain an edge with the six Plasmids matching the four Digimon, he suddenly broke into a sprint. Asuka wasn't watching, and the beating heart had produced two more Plasmids that she had no idea about. "Asuka! Run!"
She turned to him with wide eyes, not sure what to run from or where. He tackled her out of the way and screamed as the crackling fist rammed into his shoulder, sending him skidding along the tiled floor, coming to a stop against a metal cabinet.
Asuka ran back to him. "Ryuta!" He grunted and struggled to move as his muscles refused to respond. "Ryuta," she knelt next to him, "try to tell me how it is!"
"Worth it."
"Now's not the time for that, you numpty! Can you move your toes?"
"Yes, I think."
She sighed in relief. "No broken bones?"
"Ugh, it feels sore, but not broken."
She looked around. Kazuhiko and Satsuki were stuck on the other side of the room as a Plasmid had come after them, and Strikedramon and Gabumon were doing their best to protect them. Hawkmon was flitting around and doing its best, although it was pretty ineffective. So where was Amedramon? She yelled for it. There was no response. "Where is it?!"
It suddenly burst around a corner and ran towards them. "Ryutaaa!" it yelled, eyes burning with passion. "Ryuta!" it yelled again and nuzzled his injured shoulder. "You… you…"
"I'll be fine," Ryuta winced. "I got Asuka out of the way, at least."
"I…" it growled. This couldn't go on. This heart was only ready to produce more Plasmids, and its large Champion form was useless and immobile in this room. If only it had some smaller evolution to go to! Its tail whipped wildly as it shook its head and roared.
"Don't worry about me, okay? Do your best."
"I will! I will!" it declared as it paced towards the two approaching Plasmids. Its body began to glow. Ryuta's eyes widened. This was more intense than last time. Its body glowed, then the glow grew – to the height of a tall human, perhaps two and a half metres tall. It proudly stood on its two legs as its silver-white tail whipped about. The sapphire tail spike flailed about as it took a battle stance, hands open and glowing with energy that it was drawing from the electricity cabinets around it into its horn. As it raised its hands, each one grasping a ball of plasma, its blue wings flared out, and it roared. "Spectral Blast!"
The thrown plasma balls zapped and evaporated the humanoid Plasmids approaching them instantly. Rhodramon roared in triumph, getting the attention of everyone – including the other eight Plasmids in the room, which approached it. One of the Plasmids returned its own volley of ball electricity. Rhodramon raised its arms, which were covered in blue greaves. The ball lightning dissipated harmlessly off the greaves. "Do better!" it taunted as it tucked low. It grinned. Time to show off.
"Full Throttle!" The bipedal dragon man, wearing a blue chest plate, helmet, and boots suddenly turned into a blue and white flash as it suddenly punched it, flying forward with such speed that a shock cone formed in front of it and slammed into four of the Plasmids, which evaporated instantly. Rhodramon came to a stop on the other side of the battery room, hands and feet ready to rappel off the wall. The Plasmids only had enough time to turn before they were completely annihilated by Rhodramon's rush. Then it turned around, maw raised to the ceiling, as electricity flowed again into its horn. "Catalysis!" The energy burst from its maw. The beam of light and plasma struck the heart and evaporated it.
It turned back to Ryuta, grinning. "How about that?" it asked as it held out a clawed and armoured hand.
He returned its toothy grin and took its hand. It pulled him back to his feet. "How about that," he murmured. Rhodramon's purple eyes, behind its visor, glittered at him. "Thanks…"
"Rhodramon!"
He was breathless. Rhodramon was incredible. "Ultimate, right?"
"Yep!"
Kazuhiko hollered from across the room, hands up in the air. "That was nuts!" he yelled. "Strikedramon, we gotta up our game too! Rhodramon and Cyberdramon – think about it!"
Strikedramon highfived Rhodramon and embraced it, like two athletes who had just finished a game. "Let's finish this Junction off!" Strikedramon encouraged.
"You got it! Ryuta, how's your shoulder?"
He rolled it around while Asuka examined him. "It will probably look terrible in a few hours, and might be messed up for a while, but it seems intact. You'll heal," Asuka remarked. She gave him a pat on the back. Ryuta coughed. It stung a bit.
"You leave the protecting to me, you get me?" Rhodramon mussed Ryuta's fauxhawk. Ryuta chuckled.
"I heard you, I'll stay back."