Chapter 7 – Striking Back
Takato gripped onto WarGrowlmon's neck tightly as his partner's jet's sparked and then ignited, sending them both shooting high into the sky. Lowering his goggles over his eyes to guard against the heavy wind and whip of dust, Takato surveyed the area around them from the sky. Far below, he could see Greymon carrying Tai, TK and Patamon on his back, crossing the wide expanse between where they had arrived and Barbamon's fortress. He knew that the guys would keep a safe distance until Takato and WarGrowlmon launched their "distraction", whereafter they would attempt to slip in past the enemy and rescue Kari. A solid plan, in theory. If they could manage to not screw it up, Takato thought wearily. The last few days had weighed heavily on Takato, and even now as he played his part in this plan, he thought of how effortlessly Barbamon had wiped the floor with Gallantmon, making Takato worry that no amount of backup would be enough to stop this enemy.
All the same, Takato and WarGrowlmon pressed on. Pointing to a high cliff far off to the west of his friend's location which gave a great view of the towers of Barbamon's fortress, Takato shouted over the wind to WarGrowlmon, "Buddy, I think that would be a good spot for what I have in mind!". In response, WarGrowlmon shifted his weight and brought them in to land, his huge dinosaur feet making a reverberating contact with the cliff edge. Sliding down off his friend's metallic body and then down his tail, Takato looked out across the dark sky to their target. Even at this distance, he could see Tuskmon and DarkTyrannomon patrolling on the ground, as well as Megadramon and Airdramon flying though the air between the towers. Takato was sure the centre tower, by far the largest and the tallest, was where Kari and Barbamon probably were.
Ok, he thought, let's do this. Reaching onto his belt, Takato pulled out his Digimon cards. This was something he had been thinking of trying for some time, and now he finally had an opportunity. Turning to WarGrowlmon, he gave a nod and smile that his partner returned. Good, they were ready. Taking out three new cards that Takato had paid all his allowance for from a rare card trader, Takato readied his Digivice and began swiping:
"Digi-Modify- Metal Greymon's Giga Blaster- Activate!"
"… MetalGarurumon's Grace Cross Freezer – Activate!"
"… Machinedramon's Giga Cannons – Activate!"
Suddenly WarGrowlmon bristled with weapons- along with his own Atomic Blaster, now various cannons and missiles on his body all directed themselves at the enemy stronghold. In a few moments, a rain of fire was about to be let loose. And deep within Takato, he felt a sense of joy about it. Good, he thought, time to get even. Raising his hand, he pointed at the stronghold and said, "Fire."
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Matt and Mimi and their partners had been walking for a few hours through nothing but what had seemed like repeating patterns of the same forest with Leomon with little being said. Matt could not help but be reminded of Puppetmon's forest years ago, and all the trouble that creepy little marionette had caused The Digidestined, and Matt in particular. He and Mimi had often been at odds when they were younger. Her sensitive and emotional personality had often run into his abrasive and short-tempered side, something he had felt bad about then and still felt bad about now. Of course, he and Mimi were close friends and he loved her like a sister, but still he felt bad for the way he had sometimes talked to her when they were kids. He had thought of her as weak and soft, but now he knew she was perhaps the most resilient and yet compassionate of all the Digidestined. Maybe he should tell her that, he thought. But then, Matt was pretty sure she knew. It was as these idle thoughts buzzed through Matt's head that Leomon suddenly stopped. Turning to his companions, the noble lion spoke for the first time in hours. "We have arrived."
The clearing they found themselves in seemed nondescript, and Matt wondered for the first time if maybe their friend Leomon might have led them astray. But he need not have wondered for much longer, for soon they saw several figures emerge from the woods into the clearing. The first of them was a friend they knew all too well. "Ogremon!" yelled Palmon, running forward. Indeed, the ornery green brute with his large, tusked mouth and signature club was the same Digimon they had known and befriended years earlier. He ran forward, and dropping his club he leaned down and patted Palmon on her little flower head. "Wow it's great to see you guys, and look at you Mimi, you're nowhere near as puny as you used to be!" he laughed. "What are you doing here Ogremon?" asked Mimi curiously. "Well, you're looking at the Deva of the Lord Ebonwumon!". Said Ogremon with not a small amount of pride. "They don't just hand this authority to any Digimon mind, it was only because I'm so strong and cool!".
"It was because of your service to the Digidestined, the same as I!" said Leomon grumpily. Ogremon picked up his club again and brandished it as Leomon, but then softened "You're lucky our masters forbade us from fighting weakling…" said Ogremon surlily. Leomon gave sarcastic grin in response. "Sure I am…" From behind Ogremon came the figures of Centarumon and Monzaemon. "So let me guess, you guys are "Devas" too, right?" said Matt. "Indeed, we are," said Centarumon. "Monzaemon serves the lord Zhuqiaomon, and I serve the lord Azulongmon".
"Congratulations by the way" said Mimi with a smile. All four digimon nodded respectfully. Matt was about to ask why of all places they had been brought here, when suddenly his question was answered. Before them, right in the centre of this clearing, a beam of pure light burst out of thin air and flattened itself into a three-dimensional doorway, which hung in the air silently for a few moments before Yolei, Cody, Joe, and their respective Digimon partners walked through. "Oh, hey Matt!" said Joe with a smile. "Uh, Joe don't take this the wrong way, but what are you doing here?" replied Matt, quite perplexed at how his friends had suddenly arrived here. "It's a little complicated, but to make a long story short- an angel sent us!" said Gomamon from Joe's shoulder. "Makes sense to me," replied Gabumon with a shrug.
Turning away, Leomon drew his sword, and spoke aloud "We four servants meeting here at the appointed time and place, do summon our Harmonious masters- by the power of the west!" Raising his club, Ogremon joined Leomon, shouting "And north!", Raising his arm, Monzaemon said "South!, followed quickly by Centarumon saying "And east!". For a moment there was silence, then a great rumbling overtook the forest, so great that Matt began to wonder if the whole digital world was shaking apart.
From the compass points which the Devas had called out, Matt and Mimi watched in wonder as rainbow bridges began to descend from the sky. These bridges of wondrous light struck the ground and ignited into great pulsing auras. For a moment all assembled were blinded, and Matt heard Mimi cry in fear. Reaching for her, he put himself in front of her as their sight began to return. When it did, Matt was shocked at what he saw. Before him, in this previously non-descript clearing, stood four of the most impressive Digimon he had ever seen. A great two-headed turtle which he guessed was Ebonwumon stood behind Ogremon. Beside Leomon sat a blue and white tiger so tall and muscular that he dwarfed the very trees. Baihumon. In the sky to the south floated a red bird so large and burning with such ferocious energy that Matt felt like he could feel the heat of it from here. Zhuqiaomon. And to the east, descending from the highest clouds was the great dragon Azulongmon.
Lowering his great head so that his four eyes were directed down at the assemblage, Azulongmon was the first to speak, "Digidestined, thank you for heeding our summons and coming here. A time of terrible difficulty is at hand." One of Ebonwumon's heads was the next to speak "Aye, Azulongmon speaks true- an ancient evil is about to rise, and we need you to lead the battle against it!"
"Yamato Ishida and Gabumon- step forward!" came the rumbling voice of the great tiger Baihumon. Matt could feel the tiger's deep voice reverberating in his chest as he stepped towards it, feeling a small twinge of fear as he looked at the great beasts long black claws and gleaming white teeth. "All assembled here will be empowered to fight in the war to come…but you Yamato and Gabumon must accept an even greater power, one passed down to us from an authority so sacred even we dare not speak its name." Zhuqaiomon spoke next "You will be our General, our leader. It is you that all Digimon who heed our summons from the four corners of the Digital World will follow into battle- for you are the child of Friendship, and more than any other trait, it is the bonds of friendship which we must rely upon to bring us victory!" Before Matt could speak, before even a doubt could enter his head, he felt a buzzing in his pocket. Reaching inside, he pulled out his old digivice. The small flat piece of technology shot out a stream of light from its screen and before his very eyes, morphed into a new shape.
Matt's new digivice was larger, with an entirely blue body and a circular gold band around the screen. A small strap extended from one side to the other on the bottom, and as he admired it Matt realised the new digivice fit the form of a watch. Tightening the strap around his wrist, Matt looked up at the Sovereigns and showed them his new device. "With this new Digivice, you and your partner can reach a form even greater than before!" said Azulongmon. "Wait…me and Gabumon…together?" said Matt, never having heard of anything so outlandish. "Yes, for through your connection, you are a being of data just as much as he!" said Ebonwumon, stepping forward with great lumbering steps.
"Well then, why don't we try it!" said Gabumon excitedly. "I don't know, are you sure we're up to this buddy?" said Matt with a sigh. "Come on Matt, if anyone is up to this its you!" said Joe with a cheer. Matt turned to his friend, shocked at such unequivocal support. "Really?" he said. "Definitely, when we went through some of our darkest times as kids- it was you who kept us together Matt" said Mimi, touching Matt on the arm to show her support. "Your strength, your grit, your levelheadedness- if the Sovereigns want you for this, then I totally see why!" said Joe, giving Matt a smile, which gave his friend strength. Good old Joe, he thought, he always knows what to say. Well, let's do it.
Turning to the Sovereign, Matt said "So what do I do?". Baihumon responded "Simply say the words 'Cipher of the Ancients- Activate Spirit Evolution!' and you will see the form we have in store for you!". Looking down at Gabumon, he said "Hey buddy, can I hold your paw for this one?". With a smile, Gabumon raised his paw and took Matt's hand. With a sigh, Matt closed his eyes. For a moment there was silence, and then he shouted "Cipher of the Ancients- Activate Spirit Evolution!"
A ball of light enveloped Matt and Gabumon and drew they high into the air. The rest watched in wonder as a voice rang out from the shining light:
"GABUMON, WARP SPIRIT DIGIVOLVE TO….ANCIENTGARURUMON!"
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Kari watched as Barbamon used his staff to extract code from the digital probe's memory banks. Lines of actual data streamed out of the green device and directly into the monstrous Digimon's memories. By and by he was learning how to open dimensional portals, how to travel between worlds. And when he finally processed and understood that information, all he would have to do was reach out and touch Kari and they would both be in The Dark Ocean. At least, that was how Shibumi had explained it after Barbamon had threatened to kill Kari. No, not Barbamon. Not really. Myotismon. The figure that had haunted Kari since she was a little girl, the dark vampire king of the Digital World hellbent on conquering the earth. But now he was so much more. Now he had his memories back of his old identity, and the power that came with it.
In this moment, Kari could feel nothing but defeated. Every time they had destroyed him, he simply came back stronger. And now he was so strong that he threatened to conquer not only their world, but all worlds. What could anyone do against such unstoppable evil. Lowering her eyes to the ground, Kari began to feel them well up with tears. What was the use of all their fighting if it had led them here?
Hearing her quiet sobs, Barbamon broke off from his work and looked over his shoulder at Kari's crumpled, defeated form. "No tears Kari, not yet. Save those for later…" Turning back to his work, he let out a low rumbling laugh that was interrupted by the most almighty and deafening series of impacts, as if the very tower was falling to pieces around them. Kari quickly realised that may in fact have been true, as she watched small cracks spiderweb their way across the walls and ceiling around her. Turning around with a roar, Barbamon summoned a ball of energy into his clawed hand and flung it at the wall to his right, making the entire structure dissipate and revealing the open air outside.
Kari watched with wonder as far off to the west, a single point of light sent wave after wave of conflagration barrelling towards Barbamon's fortress. Missiles of fire and ice knocked the tops off stone towers and sent the rubble careening down onto the heads of Barbamon's troops at ground level. At the same time, gigantic blasts of energy both red and yellow seemed to snipe at flying Digimon from afar. One particular Megadramon took a blast of yellow energy to its neck, which pierced all the way through and made the digimon burst into a stream of data almost instantly. With another roar of frustration, Barbamon yelled "Beelzemon, kill whoever dares assault me!"
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Tai and TK watched from behind a large rock as many of Barbamon's forces on the ground and air peeled off from the fortress and its environs to attack Takato and WarGrowlmon out to the west. In just a few minutes, the way which had been littered with enemies was suddenly nothing but an empty pathway between a series of cliffs, leading all the way into the centre of the fortress. Agumon and Tai slid down from their vantage point and nodded to TK and Patamon, who prepared for part two of their plans
"PATAMON DIGIVOLVE TO….ANGEMON!"
Scooping his three friends into his arms, Angemon extended his great angelic wings and flew them at double-speed through the now empty canyons and cliffs. Every now and again he would deftly fly low or manoeuvre carefully so that they would remain unseen to any stray eyes, and in no time at all they found themselves touching down in the central courtyard. WarGrowlmon's assault had long-since stopped, and TK and Tai guessed Takato was now buying them time in another way. "Listen guys," said Tai turning to the two digimon, "This Barbamon guy is no pushover, and we can't mess around when Kari's life is on the line- so we need you to go all out from the beginning, you ready?"
The two digimon nodded and with a look of determination, prepared to digivolve.
"ANGEMON DIGIVOLVE TO…MAGNAANGEMON!"
"AGUMON WARP DIGIVOLVE TO…WARGREYMON!"
"Oh, a weakling angel and and an overdressed lizard, how droll…" those words rang out from above them and made Tai and TK's blood run cold. From high above the courtyard came the form of Barbamon with Kari tucked tight under his left arm. "I could simply leave now, after all I have what I need, but I feel like indulging in some revenge…" Letting Kari go, she was instantly enveloped by a clear bubble, trapping her as she floated helplessly in the sky. Looking down at her brother and boyfriend, she began to bang hard against the impermeable forcefield, shouting words they could not hear.
Lowering himself down to ground level, Barbamon pointed his staff at his two opponents, and said with a sickly glee, "Hit me with your best shot!"
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That's it for Chapter 7. See you all for Chapter 8 where we'll have Beelzemon vs Gallantmon Round 2 (Well, round 3 technically) and we'll see how our heroes are gonna survive against Barbamon. As I always say- please leave a review if you're reading, it helps to know if people are enjoying the story.