Chapter 23 - The Power of Golgomon
Mephistomon prayed for ascension. Inside, he now prayed for it more than anything else in this world. After watching the exquisite agony that the fallen angels of the Dark Area had been gifted with, the way their bodies had bent and cracked, how the very data which comprised them had altered at the mere command of their lord Golgomon- Mephistomon was positively seething with jealousy. He would have to prove himself worthy to ascend in the same way, and he would do so at the nearest opportunity. He shuddered with joy at the thought. Though he wanted in that moment to gaze upon his master's magnificence one more time, he did not dare. He was not worthy. Daemon had commanded his respect and loyalty- but Golgomon had brought out a fervour within him that bordered on the religious. For in his eternal apathy and nihilism, Mephistomon valued only power, and Golgomon was now the purest embodiment of it he had ever seen.
It was as these thoughts swirled in his mind that he heard a noise, like a crack of thunder. Distant, but still loud. Beating his stubby wings, Mephistomon floated away from his master and Barbamon and looked out at the smoke-filled night's sky. Odd, he thought. A moment later, the smoke was parted by the flying spin of two gigantic spike maces, which struck Mephistomon with such force that for a moment as he fell he truly believed the weapons had killed him. As he hit the ground with a thunderous clatter, ripping trees from their roots as he barrelled through the ground, the two maces suddenly lost all momentum and became frozen in the air. Then, with a snap of his fingers, Vikemon summoned his two weapons back to his hands. The Mega-level behemoth rode on a bridge of lightning with Rosemon on his back, flying as though he were the God of Thunder himself. Golgomon's Data Beasts bared their teeth and hissed at the enemy before throwing themselves at him, and while a few managed to get close enough to be pulverised beneath the blows of his mace or cut to pieces by the slashes of Rosemon's thorn whip, many were blasted from the air by a barrage of cannon-fire from below. From beneath the cover of the trees, Cannondramon stood with Cody on his back, sending precise blasts of fiery death up at their enemies. All the same The Data Beasts began to pour forward in even greater numbers. Though hundreds had already passed into other realities through Barbamon's portals- many thousands still stood guard around their master- and these thousands of corrupted reasonless beasts now descended on the Digidestined. Little did they know though, the battle was just beginning.
Ascending from the cover of the trees came Valkyrimon and Justimon, slashing away at the Data Beasts in an almost beautiful display of perfect swordsmanship. Their two blades shone in the air as the slashed in wide curves around themselves, sending limbs and wings and heads flying with every cut. Like locusts the enemy fell upon the two warriors, and the air was heavy with the smell of burnt flesh and hot steel as the two warriors transformed that endless onslaught into suffering and death. Eventually though, they met resistance in the form of a particularly large and formed Beast who managed to intercept one of Justimon's slashes in a huge clawed tentacle that had hung limply from its head. Perhaps it was once a MarineDevimon, but now it was just a bloated form of black skin and exposed red muscle decorated haphazardly with tentacles and a single large, toothed maw in the centre of its body. As it took hold of Justimon's arm with its muscular long appendage, Valkyrimon broke off from his engagement with several other creatures to lay a long slash across the monster's tentacle, freeing Justimon. The creature reared back and screamed shrilly before letting loose a barrage of black flame from its mouth which struck the two swordsmen and sending them flying backwards.
The creature might have sought to press its advantage, but the moment it surged forward on its ragged red wings to attack again it sounds its entire body bisected in a single slash by Imperialdramon, who had appeared seemingly from nowhere in his gleaming Paladin Mode. The white dragon knight's sword flashed like lightning in the sky and with a single slash he destroyed hundreds of Golgomon's minions. Finally, from behind Imperialdramon there came a great and commanding voice yelling "Supreme Cannon!". A burst of white-hot energy came shooting out across the sky following closely by a barrage of missiles and a flurry of multi-coloured spirits streaking through the air, all of which exploded against Golgomon's body. Flying to Imperialdramon's side- MegaGargomon and Sakuyamon were acting as defence for Omnimon, who sat astride Phoenixmon's back with Tai, Matt and Sora tucked in front of him. Assembled now, the cadre of Mega-levels watched the gout of smoke surrounding Golgomon with trepidation.
Slowly the smoke parted, and those fiery golden eyes shone out from the gloom. The remaining Data Beasts roared in fury at the insult that had been given to their master, and as one they descended on the righteous warriors. Thousands of deformed monstrosities splayed their wings and rushed at Golgomon's enemies, and with a great and furious battle cry in their heart- the Digidestined and The Digimon Tamers responded in kind. The sky was a furious maelstrom of conflict- Vikemon send innumerable beasts flying with blows from his maces while on his back Mimi and Joe cheered him on.
At that moment Sakuyamon came flying around him and turned a dozen of the flying beasts to dust with a single slash of her staff. As this dust parted a gigantic red and black monstrosity came roaring towards Sakuyamon only to be beheaded by a flying slash from Valkyrimon. Phoenixmon went flying by shooting gales of fire from her wings which incinerated at least fifty more of the monsters and as she span in the air Omnimon lashed out from her back with his Transcendent Sword and bisected any who were unlucky enough to fly too close. Hundreds more of Golgomon's creatures were then swatted from the sky like insects by the combined explosive artillery of MegaGargomon and Cannondramon, who exploded the beasts into atoms with laser precision.
Still the Data Beasts continued their mindless assault, and at the centre of the battle stood Imperialdramon with his Omni-Sword, slashing down the beasts as though he was reaping a field of wheat. Though he was powerful, even in this form his body moved slowly, and all too soon the creatures began to rise in a tide before him faster than he could cut them down. Their black hands and bloated red bodies fell upon Imperialdramon like an avalanche and though he dwarfed them in power, they outnumbered him by the thousands. On his shoulders, Ken and Davis kicked and swore at the approaching monsters as Imperialdramon panickily tore them from his body to avoid them getting too close to his partners. But dozens of creatures quickly became scores more and soon his hands and arms were pinned down by the weight. All too soon though Davis let out a terrified scream as a creature with no eyes and four arms wrapped a set of long spindly red fingers around his left leg and began pulling him down Imperialdramon's body. Ken reached out for Davis's hand, but it was too late, as the creature had Davis now firmly in it's grasp. Slowly, it opened wide a mouth of jagged teeth and prepared to swallow the boy whole. It was at that moment that Justimon's beam sword came whizzing through the air and cut the creature cleanly in two, setting Davis free who scrambled back up to Imperialdramon's shoulder. "Thanks Ryo!" Ken said with a smile, watching Justimon continue slashing away at the monsters until Imperialdramon was again free.
Omnimon and Phoenixmon were attempting to slash and burn their way towards Barbamon to stop him from allowing any more of the Data Beasts through the dimensional gateways, but it seemed like for every ten of the creatures they destroyed, twenty more took their place. From Phoenixmon's back Omnimon fired volleys from his cannon which turned creature after creature to dust, but all the same they kept coming. Behind them, Vikemon and Rosemon were beginning to be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the creatures, while near them the three tamers fought in a circle, each defending the other. MegaGargomon struck out with his steel fists and flattened creature after creature. It was quickly becoming clear that they had the power to defeat these creatures, but not the numbers. Golgomon's army numbered in the hundreds of thousands and even with a steady stream of them departing through the dimensional gateways and laying waste to other realities- there were still plenty here to protect their master.
Golgomon's voice was so loud and deep that it thrummed in the chests of the Digidestined, and even Barbamon reflexively cringed at the sound. "Devastation Ray!" he roared. His jaws opened wide, and a concentrated beam of Hazard energy came exploding out. Phoenixmon listed sideway to avoid the initial onslaught, but MegaGargomon was clipped on the right shoulder by the beam. Almost instantly the missile launcher on his shoulder exploded. Internally, Henry Wong and Terriermon screamed in mutual torment as if daggers of molten metal had slashed them all over. All the while Golgomon's Devastation Ray continued, cutting a fiery path through the forest below and making snaking walls of fire rise high into the sky along the path of his beam's devastation Rushing forward, Vikemon and Rosemon leapt at the great dragon. Pulling back his two great maces, Vikemon roared "Arctic Blizzard!" while beside him Rosemon shouted, "Ivy Hug!". In that moment strong fibrous vine of Ivy wrapped themselves around Golgomon's maw and forced his mouth shut, ending his Devastation's Ray's path of destruction. At the same time, his body became covered in a white frost which soon thickened and hardened into a hard and unyielding block of ice. "Now- shoot!" Joe shouted at the other Digidestined.
"Positron Laser!" Imperialdramon shouted, firing a laser blast from the dragon-mouth on his chest. "Crimson Flare!" yelled Phoenixmon, sending a barrage of flames at Golgomon. From her back, Omnimon raised his cannon and shouted, "Supreme Cannon!" sending an almighty burst of pure energy at their enemy. While Justimon cleared a path and kept the Data Beasts off them, MegaGargomon shouted "Gargo Missile!" firing it's one remaining rocket from its shoulder, while beside him Sakuyamon raised her staff and screamed "Spirit Strike!". From below, Cannondramon trained both of his cannons on Golgomon's hind quarters and said, "Dynamo Cannon!" sending out a flurry of projectiles while near him Valkyrimon summed a glowing golden javelin into his right hand and chucked it at Golgomon, shouting "Laser Javelin!"
The sky flashed like a strike of ungodly lightning as these attacks met their mark, and despite the ear-ringing noise of the explosion- Golgomon's roar of pain and fury was even greater. As if the link holding them together had been momentarily weakened, several of the smaller Data Beasts, perhaps those that had once been DemiDevimon or Vilemon, suddenly dissipated into data and were gone, as if they had absorbed some of their master's pain for him. As the smoke cleared, Golgomon's great draconic body was again beginning to glow, as if the muscles beneath his skin had caught fire and were about to explode. That fiery red glow overtook him, and an involuntary scream escaped his huge maw as his body began to shrink slowly and painfully. "I think he's dying, look- he's getting smaller!" Sora said hopefully from next to Tai, but Matt shook his desperately "No…he's just changing form…"
Indeed, Golgomon's form was shifting from the original dragon form he had taken to something new. His front which had been bulky and bare began to bulge with muscle, while horizontal spine curved into a vertical shape and his huge tail shortened, along with his massive wings which slowly and painfully shrunk down. His front legs painfully reshaped as he grew a pair of shoulders, and his long snaking neck shortened until he barely had any neck, then with a painful crack his skull and jaw shifted in orientation, allowing him to move his head properly in this new form. His huge bulk was gathering up, folding in on itself into a gigantic muscular frame. A moment later, the energy dissipated, and Golgomon gasped. He was growing more accustomed to the energy of The Hazard. Good, he thought.
Billowing his impressive new wings, Golgomon surged forward with a speed so unmatchable that to the eyes of the children it looked as if he had simply teleported. For in the next moment he was towering above Valkyrimon, his new upright muscular body casting a dreadful shadow that engulfed the mega-level. Without fear, Valkyrimon struck out with his sword, and as if it was no effort at all Golgomon caught the blade in the air with his new left hand. For a moment the two were simply frozen there in that position, and then with a terrible high-pitched shattering, Valkyrimon's sword burst into a thousand shards of steel. Before Valkyrimon could make another move, Golgomon reached out with his massive hand and lifted him by the neck. Everyone was rushing towards him now, but it was too late. Valkyrimon could vaguely here Yolei screaming his name below while Cody held her back and Cannondramon fired round after round at Golgomon- but each shell was intercepted by one of the Data Beasts before they could get close. All the while, Golgomon's vicelike grip only tightened around Valkyrimon's neck. He struggled, he kicked his legs furiously and lashed out uselessly with his fists, but in the next moment Golgomon closed his fist and Valkyrimon's data burst apart, and he was gone. Yolei's screams echoed through the forest as she fell to the ground in Cody's arms, Golgomon only smiled. "One down…" he said to himself.
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Dominimon ripped a piece of his sash off and tied it around the bloody cut on Kari's head. Slowly the blood began to soak into the yellow fabric as Kari rest her head back against the granite wall of the cave system they had fallen into. The great fissure that swallowed them had at a certain point given way to a great many deep and winding tunnels far beneath the mountain, and with no clue as to how they would escape, the five of them had been sitting down there in almost complete silence since the rumbling above them had ceased and the collapse of the mountain had settled. Seeing no further use in their current form, TK and Patamon separated. Kari looked wearily up at TK's worried face while he stroked her head. "I'm gonna be ok TK, I promise…" she said with a faint smile. "I know you are, because I'm gonna look after you." TK said. "I just need to rest here for a moment…" Kari said. "Ok, you rest here. I'm going to go talk to Ophanimon about getting out of here." Kari gripped his hand as he rose. "Check on Takato, please…" Kari said. "I will…" TK lied.
As he walked away from her towards the other end of the cave, he watched Ophanimon kneel next to the prostrate form of Takato Matsuki, while his Digimon looked on. He had not made a sound since they had been here in this cave, and though TK was perfectly fine with that under the circumstances, it was also slightly unnerving. While under Daemon's control, Takato and Guilmon had nearly killed all of them and had seriously injured Kari, and for that reason alone TK would accept any excuse to beat the living daylights out of the boy. But as angry as TK was, with every passing moment he looked at Takato that anger was dissipating. The young man seemed well and truly devastated, not only by what Daemon had done to him but equally what he had done in turn to his friends. Kneeling next to Ophanimon, TK asked "Do you think we'll be able to get out of here soon?".
Ophanimon turned to TK, her expression one of immense worry. "I really don't know. All of Daemon's magic has left Takato's mind, but I just can't seem to reach him." TK looked down at Takato again, whose unfocused eyes seemed to stare into space as if he no longer even knew or cared where he was. Reaching out, TK softly put a hand on Takato's shoulder. Every fibre of his being wanted to grip that shoulder as hard as he could and shake Takato violently, but he swallowed that impulse and tried to speak as evenly as he could "Takato, come on Takato, we need you…"
For a second TK thought this would have no effect at all, and then Takato's eyes flicked up to meet his. Takato's mouth opened, but no words came out. It was if there was a horror within him that he could not summarise. Finally, he said softly "I killed them…". TK was puzzled. "Who?" he asked. "The Digimon…and…I nearly killed Kari…." He buried his head in his hands. "I'm a monster…" he said. TK was lost for words, but it turned out that he need not have said anything, for in that moment Guilmon stomped between them and bit Takato hard on the leg. Takato let out a shriek of pain and batted the dinosaur away. While he nursed his sore calf, he shouted "That hurt, why did you do that?".
For the first time since TK and Patamon had met Guilmon, they saw him give a display of great anger as he shouted. "Nobody calls my best friend a monster, not even him!" Everyone was taken aback at this, but it was Takato who said, "You don't get it buddy…I let Daemon brainwash us". But Guilmon did not calm, instead growing even angrier he shouted, "That's not your fault!". Ophanimon took this opportunity to stand up, saying "He's right Takato, it's not your fault. Its mine." All four of them turned to look at her, and she continued "I panicked due to my own history with Daemon and ran away from him, leaving you in his care when that was the last thing you deserved. You were a hero who went out of your way to help those in need, and I let you down. I left you in the hands of a monster. I do not deserve to be forgiven, but all the same I am so sorry." With these last words she lowered her head in shame. "I forgive you." Takato said, a single tear falling down his cheek as he said it. TK was at least happy that Takato was talking, as that was some progress. He turned back to report to as much to Kari, but then was frozen by the sight that greeted him.
Kari was gone. With a gasp of sheer panic, TK ran forward. Where was she, he thought desperately. He turned back to Ophanimon and Takato and noticed that they too had seen Kari's absence. In the few moments they had been talking she had seemingly disappeared. "Where is she?" TK asked the two of them, panic rising in his voice. Takato for the first time rose to his feet, ready to help. Turning to Guilmon, he said "Do you think you can find her by scent boy?". For a few moments the dinosaur raised his head and sniffed the air, and then said "Yes, she went this way!" before setting off running to the left down into the deep dark of the tunnels. Before TK or Ophanimon could follow him, Takato bolted off in the same direction as his partner, and TK could not help but admire the young man's tenacity and commitment. Following, Ophanimon and TK disappeared into the darkness in search of Kari.
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Check out The Data Beasts along with Golgomon Form 2 on my tumblr altusshimura.