Let's get Year 2 kicked off, shall we?
Chapter 13 - The Earnest Wind
—
"Emil, please. I think you're reading too much into this."
"I don't think you're reading enough into it, Elliot! This wasn't just some random ambiguous action, this was a fight to the death. It HAS to mean something."
"It doesn't have to mean something to US, Emil." Elliot sighed, rubbing his head. "There are any number of reasons they could have been in combat that do not benefit us in any way whatsoever. Maybe they didn't like each other, maybe they were competing against each other and it got out of hand, maybe it was a lover's quarrel or whatever thing those monsters have that equates to that. The point is, it doesn't mean it does US any good."
Emil wasn't so sure he was ready to settle it at that, even if it wasn't something he could refute. "But if there's some kind of discord between them…"
"I already think I know what you're thinking, and the answer is no. We can't trust them. We don't know the first thing about them, what they are or why they're here. And I definitely do NOT want to put myself in a position where we might have to rely on them."
"They might be the only thing that actually knows what we're up against and how to fight it."
"And they might have an agenda that allows them to exploit us while playing savior. We can't afford to think the best of anything that we don't understand, Emil, because that lack of understanding is exactly what leaves us open. Jumping to conclusions won't help anyone, so don't do it." They reached the technician's office, which meant Emil had to let it go anyway; he wasn't sure how much he agreed with Elliot on his stance, but on the other had, he had to admit there was a lot that he didn't know about the situation. It could very well have been himself misreading it…perhaps he was just grasping at straws because of how helpless he felt.
Inside the office, Rudy Panmechia was rapidly working at the computer, his fingers flying and his eyes lit up with an enthusiasm the agents could only envy. "Fantastic, absolutely sensational! This is the most incredible thing that's ever happened to me! This could turn the entire world upside down!"
"I'll settle for getting back to right-side up," remarked Elliot bluntly. "I hope that means you have something."
"Oh, yes, absolutely! Those hairs you brought me were extraordinary, Mr. Katran!"
Emil raised an eyebrow. "Hairs?"
"From Derek's stray," explained Elliot. "I had a bit of a hunch, that I think was right."
"Wait…you thought…the DOG was a monster?"
"Too many suspicious pieces lining up. What did you find, Rudy?"
"Have a look, sirs!" Rudy beamed as he showed them an output window on the screen. Both agents looked, and what they saw was a long, long strong of 1s and 0s flooding the window.
Elliot scowled a bit. "Rudy, is this a goddamned joke? This is just…binary!"
"Exactly, sir!" Rudy was practically vibrating. "It's binary! This is what the sample analysis returned! Pure, simple, honest-to-goodness binary code! That's what the bio-matter you gave me is compose of!"
"This is…no way…" Emil breathed. "What are we talking about here? Robots? Or…what, living computer programs?"
"Not just computer programs...extremely complex computer programs. Programs that are actually complex enough to replicate life! Different from robots - robots are machines, and these are actual creatures. I'd imagine they'd look pretty similar to ours in some ways, a very good analogue of organic life! I suppose you could think of it as digital life, if it helps!"
"More like digital monsters," growled Elliot. "And one's been under my nose this whole time…"
"Under your nose? Uh…sir, should I ask where you got these hairs?"
"Never mind that. It looks like my hunch was right. I should've known from the start…" Elliot trailed off as he took a closer look at the output. "Hey, Rudy…did you notice that there seem to be some repeating patterns here?"
"Oh! You're right!" Emil noticed as well, as soon as it was pointed out. "It seems like they might be…clustered in some way?"
"You're right indeed!" affirmed Rudy. "I wanted to try to see if I could convert this into ASCII, but I wanted to get your impressions first."
"It might provide a clue," said Elliot with a nod. "Let's look at a sample at least. Maybe there'll be a code of some sort in there. Like a digital signature a hacker might leave."
As Rudy got to work, Emil looked over at Elliot incredulously. "You don't seriously think this is the work of a hacker?"
"Emil, I honestly don't know what to think. We crossed into unprecedented territory ages ago, what can we even take off the table? It sounds crazy that a hacker could be that good that they could literally make computer programs come to life…but, what if that's what happened? It WOULD make a certain amount of sense for them to be data, right? And maybe that's why they can easily disappear, or…dissolve, as you said that woman said the one did. And how they can do things that real creatures shouldn't be able to. The fact is, right now, I'm willing to believe anything if it gives us a chance to deal with the problem properly."
"I guess…if it is a hacker, then that at least tells us there's one target we need to be looking for to neutralize everything," conceded Emil. "But hacking strong enough to break into reality? Strong enough to violate every law of physics we know about? I'm not sure I'd WANT that to be true, that seems like an impossible battle to fight."
"All the more important we catch onto them before they catch onto us. Huh…" Elliot scrutinized the nascent output Rudy was putting together. "A, C, T, G…Rudy, are you seeing anything else here?"
"No, not so far. It just seems to be these four letters, appearing fairly sporadically. It doesn't mean much, does it?"
"It means everything, actually." Elliot started to smile, rubbing his chin. "Those are DNA bases. Adenine, cytosine, thymine, and guanine. The building blocks of life…and perhaps whoever's behind these creatures decided to copy our homework."
"The biology degree finally decided to pay for itself, huh?" Emil cracked.
"It had to start sometime. And that gives me an idea. Rudy, how long do you think it would take to run this all the way through?"
"I could get an algorithm to do it probably in a matter of hours," replied Rudy. "Why?"
"Do it. And then see if you can find a DNA profile to match it to. I know not every life form out there has a sequenced DNA chart, but if you can even get it sorted to the point where you can match a chromosomal profile, that could give us insight. It's possible these creatures' signatures are modeled after the DNA profile of something that exists."
"I see…but what would that tell us?"
"Think about it for a second. Say that we find out that it's related to, say, a mosquito. What if we were to find that they respond to insecticides the way mosquitoes do? Or if they're modeled off of a fungus, or a plant, or a pest animal that we have poisons for. Or, even better, bio-engineered viruses or bacteria or parasites that preferentially target those animals - and not humans. I know it sounds absurdly Hollywood, but at this point, why not? It's worth checking to see if there's some kind of weakness we can exploit."
"Elliot, that's actually brilliant!" exclaimed Emil. "I mean, we don't know if it would work, but just the idea itself is fantastic!"
"I'll see what I can do on short notice!" Rudy agreed enthusiastically. "It'll depend on a lot of factors, but if I find anything, I'll let you know!"
"Good. In the meantime, I have some business to take care of." Elliot turned and left, making Emil have to scramble to catch up. And he had a good idea what Elliot meant…and suddenly wasn't sure his friend was taking the right approach.
"Elliot! Are you…you're not going to confront Derek and the dog, are you?"
"I have to. We need to pin that dog down and get it to yield its secrets."
"Elliot, just hold up for a moment. Right now, the dog hasn't hurt anyone."
"That we know of."
"It's been around Derek constantly. How could it have had time to do anything to anyone?"
Elliot glowered. "We have an unaccounted-for shadow creature that we still need to figure out. A black dog seems like the perfect ruse."
"We barely know what the shadow creature is, much less that it's done anything. Elliot, I'm just saying we should slow down. If it's…well, okay, we've confirmed it IS one of those creatures. But you just rushing out to confront it is liable to get it running, or attacking. We should come up with a plan that could hem it in, before it realizes what's going on. We can work together, get the other agents involved-"
"Emil, please. I know how to handle my son."
Emil frowned. "I thought we were talking about a dog."
"…Right, that too. This is my business, Emil. I'm taking care of it. You focus on finding other reports in the meantime. And, since it seems to have slipped your mind, maybe have someone go back to the scene of that battle yesterday and try to see if there's a blood trail to follow."
Emil froze, giving Elliot a chance to slip away. That one stung a bit - he really should have thought of that before. And it rained last night…not much, but enough that there probably isn't much to follow anymore. He sighed, mulling over sending someone out anyway, but that wasn't where his mind was really focused. Whenever it has to do with Derek, Elliot won't let things go…he's probably going to foul it all up. But what can I do to stop him? He always complains about how stubborn Derek can be…I wonder if he ever realized where Derek gets it from…
—
Iris hadn't been expecting to run into Derek on her way to do some reconnaissance. But it was all the better she did, because there was something on her mind.
"What do you mean, you think someone's found out?"
"I just do, Derek." Iris shook her head. "I wasn't able to find any clear evidence, but I just…got this feeling that someone was around our 'secret base' this morning. And I think that means we need to be extra careful…I don't know if it was human or digimon, but it can't be good either way."
Derek seemed unconvinced. "You said Andrexmon didn't notice anyone, right? And he even used his advanced tech to try to find them?"
"It means nothing," chimed in Shockavimon. "We know Emperius can use devices to hide from their sensors. And we know there's a few troublemakers running around hiding from us with them. And it's possible that a human could have found one and figured out it was connected with the attacks."
"Paranoid presumptions are typically not efficient to pursue lacking contributing evidence," remarked Blackcanismon. "Nevertheless, historically Shockavimon has demonstrated an uncanny capacity for perceptive acuity. I daresay Boltfalkemon likely possesses similar capabilities."
"Even if that's the case, it doesn't necessarily MEAN anything," persisted Derek. "It could've just been someone walking by. It's not like we're exactly secluded there, we have to watch out for people all the time when we're there."
"Maybe, but given that everyone's supposed to be on the lookout for us, I think it's better to play it safe," Iris countered. "Especially because we've been using that spot a lot, since we're trying to hold prisoners there. If it's a digimon, they could be trying to free them…if it's a human, they can't defend themselves."
"Begging forgiveness for perceived callousness, but I disagree that their security from those they intended to destroy is a necessity," grumped Blackcanismon. "Any assault directed at themselves could only be classified as appropriate consequences."
"You haven't spent enough time talking to them, then," Shockavimon replied somewhat coolly. "Crestmon was all but press-ganged into Emperius, it's clear he doesn't want to be here and didn't want to be involved in this in the first place. He deserves better than that."
"And Shadowdramon?" asked Derek.
"Maybe not as yielding as his buddy," replied Iris, "but all the time I've spent talking to him, he doesn't seem to have any of Emperius's fanaticism. It's really more just his own."
"His own?"
"You know that archetype of the lone-wolf warrior who seeks nothing but challenge and strength, and constantly gets into battles because of it? Take that and concentrate it into three feet of bratty shadow dragon. Dude just wants to fight us. He doesn't even care about other humans, as far as I can tell, it's always been about us to him."
"I cannot discern positive reason not to provide him his sought-after self-termination," remarked Blackcanismon with asperity. "Subtracting distractions seems pre-eminently beneficial towards our endeavors."
"Remember our pact, BC," Shockavimon warned.
"My recollection is unblemished, Shockavimon. I am merely complaining regarding the inconvenience of our adherence."
"Aren't you usually the laid-back one?"
"Ideally I would continue as such, but our unfortunate circumstances mayhaps be excessively weighing upon my psychology of late."
"Nothing worth doing was ever easy, right?" said Iris. "I don't blame you for being frustrated, but I'm also 100% behind the deal we made. Just taking them out because they're an inconvenience…it doesn't sit well with me, even if it does complicate things."
"I don't DISagree, but I don't see a lot of progress, either," Derek pointed out. "We can't just hold onto them forever. If we can't get them back to their world and we can't get them to cooperate…I mean, if Crestmon is willing to play ball, maybe we could get Reyn's family to keep him secure, but we can't do that with Shadowdramon if he's intent on trying to fight us."
Iris bowed her head. It was a point that wasn't easy to counter - they couldn't just let Shadowdramon run free and attack them when they weren't ready for it, but they couldn't keep him locked up forever, either. It was hard to figure out what the right thing to do was there…but before she could dwell on it much, she heard a buzzing from nearby. "Derek? Your phone?"
"Uh, yeah, one sec." Derek pulled out his phone, looking at it before answering - and the scowl he got told Iris exactly who it was. "Hello? What is it, dad?" Quiet for a moment, and then Iris felt a pang of anxiety as she saw Derek's eyes widen and his face pale a bit. "Oh! That's…that's great to hear! …No, no, I mean, yeah, I guess I got a bit attached, but Shadow's not mine, it's only right that I return him. Where do they live? …Home? I mean, I can go straight there-okay, okay! I'll take him home if you really want that…yeah, yeah, whatever. See you soon." Derek hung up the phone, his expression fouler than ever. "Son of a bitch."
"I happen to uphold the position that such individuals can be inherently upstanding gentlemen," Blackcanismon asserted rather indignantly.
"Might not be the time for that joke, BC," said Shockavimon. "That was your dad, Derek?"
"Yeah…" Derek took a beep breath. "He said he found Shadow's owners."
"He did?" Iris raised an eyebrow. "That would be a mean feat, considering you made up that whole story."
"Yeah. Which means that he didn't find them at all. Which means he KNOWS. Or at least, he knows enough to make my life hell. Especially because he demanded I bring Shadow home rather than bring him to the owners. He wants a confrontation, I know he does."
Blackcanismon certainly wasn't in a humorous mood now. "An unfortunate complication. Strategization is now imperative. Our approach to this conundrum?"
"I can't let Dad get his hands on you," Derek insisted forcefully. "But he's going to go hunting for me if I don't at least face him on this. We'll have to talk it out between ourselves from a distance, I guess. Beyond that, I don't really know what our options are…there aren't many, are there?"
"He could go to our base, but if there IS someone skulking around, that could be dangerous," said Shockavimon.
"Maybe Reyn's family could let him stay there?" ventured Iris. "Since they already know about everything, I doubt they'd say no."
"I'm not going to do that without at least asking," replied Derek. "But it's something I'll have to think about. Right now, I need to get back…"
"Might I not render myself imperceptible to your perpetual paternal problem and maintain such inscrutability?" asked Blackcanismon.
"Too risky. Dad'll figure it out if I'm trying to hide you in the house. But I can't imagine he would search other people's houses looking for you - I doubt he'd ever think that anyone else would be harboring one of you guys. I don't think I'll be able to get to Reyn today, though, Dad'll probably be making sure he listens in on any calls I make, or making sure Mom does if he has to leave."
"A solitary nocturnal period underneath the stellar orchestra is hardly absurdly inconvenient," Blackcanismon offered. "Particularly if it secures future convenience more appropriately."
"Yeah, well, I don't like it…I'm going to do anything I can to get out tonight and be with you. Maybe we'll go to Reyn's place personally in the morning, that might be better than a phone call." Derek stood up, looking grim but determined. "I guess I'd better face this down…he's gonna be pissed that I didn't bring you with."
"Good luck, Derek…" Iris said, but Derek didn't really respond, just turned and stomped off. And she wasn't sure what was bothering him more - the inconvenience of not being able to be around Blackcanismon when danger could strike at any moment, the fear for Blackcanismon on his own, or the anger at yet another conflict with Elliot. I wish it was just a bad joke that I think he likes me better than he likes his own son…
—
Skylar didn't really want to spend more time at Isaac's house now that there was no more point to trying to draft e-mails. Or so he thought…but it turned out, that wasn't necessarily off the table, if they could find a different target. So there he was again, brainstorming with Isaac about potential destinations. It wasn't going well.
"Homeland security? DOD? Even through Reyn doesn't like the idea?"
Isaac shook his head. "If the FBI's blocked me, I think any government agency is out the window. And DOD definitely wouldn't be it even if there were options, Reyn's right about Wheeler."
Skylar let out a bit of a sigh. "I suppose I'm not going to win on that, even if I don't understand what it is you're all so overwrought about."
"That's because you pay less attention to politics than Reyn. And HE pays less attention than nearly everyone else."
"Can I help it if I have zero interest in stuffy and pompous suits blathering about things that I know nothing about?"
An eye roll from Isaac. "You kinda CAN, really. But don't rush into it, enjoy the few years you have left before you HAVE to care about it. I'm kinda annoyed that I went down that rabbit hole that early, there's no getting out of it."
"I'm with Sky!" chimed in Breezedramon. "Lotta big yappy talkers that say a lotta stuff that doesn't matter, I don't wanna pay attention to any of them!"
"We're lucky enough that we don't really have to," added Datacarnomon. "Northern Tetraquaz is a bit…different from other places. But is this guy you're talking about really that bad? And how'd he get into a power position if he is?"
"Because some people choose their political stances based on how many other people they can hurt," grunted Isaac. "Which is how selfish assholes get into power and make everyone's lives worse. Wheeler's a different case, though…on the surface, he kind of plays at being this 'neutral force' who doesn't really stick with anyone, going along with wherever the power lays. It's hard to figure out what he actually thinks or believes in…but…just listening to him talk, you just get this FEELING that there's something up with him. Reyn and I aren't alone on this, Iris and Derek don't like him either, and I don't get the sense that that's an exception in their families."
"Admittedly I don't think I've ever seen any video of him talking, but it sounds like a reach to figure anything out from that," Skylar maintained.
"But do you really think he'd not want to do anything about giant monsters?" Breezedramon asked dubiously.
"It doesn't sound like that would make sense, but…" Isaac shook his head again. "If we have to contact someone, we ought to at least try to go with someone that we don't actively distrust, at least. Someone who you're constantly worried is gonna stab you in the back, I don't think that's the best way to keep our focus."
"I'm surprised you'd think about any government figure, then," remarked Skylar with a hint of asperity.
"Not my first choice, but Reyn's right, they're gonna get involved somehow. But at this point the feds are out, we're more likely to be hunted down if we keep it up. What about the governor?"
Skylar frowned. "It's not my area of expertise, but what can they actually do? They don't command much in the way of military or anything. It feels like we need firepower. Maybe is there someone we can contact in the Army or something?"
Isaac's expression soured as he folded his arms. "I get the idea, I'm just worried about getting the WRONG guy there. And trust me, there are some VERY wrong guys."
Skylar rolled his eyes. "Are you still not over that?"
"Dude, you do NOT know what it was like looking up stuff on that idiot. If I was trying to get things under control, Malcolm Sykes is the LAST person I would ever want to show up. He might already be leaping at the chance to go fight monsters, and he probably wouldn't care which ones he attacked. Any message would HAVE to go to someone high enough up on the food chain that he could talk them into it."
"There ARE other generals, you know."
"Hate to say it, but Ike's got a point here," interjected Datacarnomon. "Tasked with choosing a general that WANTS to head into battle and others that might have reservations, I'd think they'd be likely to send the former."
"And Sykes is as bad as they come," continued Isaac. "Though I think any military guy who WANTS wars to happen is probably at the dead end of guys I want fighting them. But a nut who carries a broadsword like his idol Mad Jack, who eagerly talks about setting up a running tally kill total, and who's said that he thinks military coups are usually justified? Hard pass."
"Are you sure you're not just bitter because you got a lackluster grade on that report?" needled Skylar.
"Hey, just because the teacher wanted mindless hero-worship!" Isaac growled back. "Swear to god, already one of the worst assignments ever, what kinda twit thinks 'modern military figures' is a good topic of study? We didn't learn a goddamn thing from that that would be useful in any way…"
"You learned you wanted to avoid this guy, though!" Breezedramon pointed out.
"…Tch. Well, I guess that wasn't knowledge I ever EXPECTED to be relevant…but I'll give you that one, I guess. Still, for anyone else, useless."
"Even I would struggle to disagree with you on that point," conceded Skylar. "Okay, so if that's out…what about a major news network?"
"I'd been thinking about that, but…I'm just not convinced we wouldn't attract more of the wrong kind of attention than the right. It's basically the same thing as exposing ourselves, because you know they wouldn't accept it without actually seeing us. And if we're gonna reveal ourselves, I'd want to do it on a smaller scale first, so we would know what kind of reaction to expect."
"How many more resorts do you think we have left?" asked Datacarnomon. "Because I'd kinda like to rest at one sooner rather than later."
"Causing a mass panic is the opposite of what we want to do," pointed out Skylar. "And unfortunately…that's kind of a good point he brings up. Somehow."
Isaac snorted. "Thanks. Asshole."
"If what we show sends people into full-on chaos, that'll make it all the easier for Emperius to swoop in and take advantage of it. If we could guarantee that they'd respond reasonably, it would be a lot better, but…well, that's way too much to guarantee."
"Maaaaaan…" Breezedramon flopped onto his back, scowling at the ceiling. "Why's this have to be so stupid comperfiliculatated? You'd think just the fact that thing's're coming over here and attacking would have everyone getting weapons ready in a heartbeat!"
"Some probably are, and they probably aren't the ones we want to try to rely on," remarked Isaac. "But I think a lot of people still don't know what to make of all this. Heck, it's so surreal that I still wake up some days wondering if it's all just been one long dream. And I have lots of reasons NOT to think that, so someone who doesn't…"
"The BICI's taking it seriously, though," noted Datacarnomon. "Seriously enough to put out info sheets on our merged forms. Which, you know, would be better if they had the RIGHT targets…"
"They're not military, though. They have agents who are armed with handguns, but that's not gonna do much to most of these monsters…heck, I'm not even 100% sure they'd be enough on US, not that I want to find out. They've got probably some extra firepower if they ring the cops in, but still not nearly enough to be a threat."
"…Maybe more than you think," Skylar said suddenly. "Breezedramon, did you say you saw helicopters at Jordan Air Field?"
"Ah, yeah!" the dragon piped up. "Those big metal machine things! There were two of them there! They were way cooler than the ones that chased us, uh, jeez, was it like a week ago?"
"More like a week and a half, this world's time," corrected Datacarnomon. "Aerial assault vehicles? You think they were brought in to hunt us?"
"If they were, then consider it a big step up from what we've faced so far on this end," sighed Isaac. "Great. Just what we needed. Helicopters are a lot more of a danger to us than fighter planes, they're built to engage closer to the ground and they're a lot more maneuverable. And here I was worried that they'd send jets to scout around overhead."
"I do NOT want to engage one of them directly," muttered Skylar. "I'm not sure what kind of firepower they're packing, and I'd rather not find out first-hand. But I feel like if anyone's going to come face-to-face with them, it's either us or Boltfalkemon…and I'm even more worried if it's her, she doesn't fly as fast as Skydramon does."
"Well, so far we've had just the worst luck engaging on our own terms-" Isaac almost had a stroke as his bedroom door suddenly opened, leaping up and looking wildly over at Ashley, who just grinned at him. "For the love of CRAP, Ashley, have you ever heard of knocking?!"
Skylar and Breezedramon froze dead at the sight of her - there was no way they were going to hide. Whadoido, Sky?!
Just stay still! Maybe she'll be too focused on Isaac to notice!
Ashley did seem focused on the other boy, at least for the moment. "What'sa matter, little bro? You talking about secrets I wouldn't want to hear about in here?"
"Maybe we are! And even if we weren't, it's called common courtesy!"
"Consider it payback for all the times you barged into my room when you were younger. Anyway, Dad called, he wants you to get the dishwasher running so we have something to eat off of tonight."
"What, are your hands too delicate for that?" grumbled Isaac.
"I have my own stuff to do, bro, and you've been holed up in your room an awful lot since you started hanging out with Dinobot, they're trying to pull you out." Ashley's gaze suddenly swerved over towards Skylar, who'd gone even paler, and Breezedramon, who was trying to emulate a statue and failing. "Oy, dragon dude, you gotta learn to keep it down, your voice carries WAY more than Dinobot's."
Breezedramon gulped. "…Uh. Th…thanks?"
"No problem-o. I gotta run, catch ya later." With a wave, Ashley left, shutting the door behind her as she flashed one last grin towards Isaac, who looked like he wanted to commit fratricide. Once she was out, he brought both hands to his head, rubbing it as if trying to relieve a very potent pain.
Skylar gave him a look. "Were you going to tell me she knew about Breezedramon?"
"I didn't KNOW she knew about Breezedramon. Ugh, though I probably shoulda guessed she'd figure it out…you should probably get going, then. Oh, right, I'm supposed to give you food for the prisoners…ugh, I don't know what Mom and Dad aren't gonna miss, but guess we'll have to figure something out. Gotta figure out too many things…I'm feeling like we didn't figure out very much except why all our ideas were bad ideas."
"I'm beginning to wonder if there ARE any good ideas to find here." Skylar stood, shaking his head. "We're gonna have to talk with the others, because we might end up having to go with a bad idea if we want to do anything."
"Sounds about right. This whole thing has been bad ideas from start to finish, why break the trend now?" cracked Datacarnomon, though it was clear he was only half-joking.
—
To call Elliot's mood 'bad' would have been wasted understating things. And that was before Derek arrived in his house…without the dog. "Derek. Where the hell is that thing?"
"Shadow ran off." It was short, abrupt, and acidic, about as angry as Elliot had ever heard Derek, and he'd heard Derek angry a LOT. But, as was often the case, his anger rapidly watched his son's level, if not exceeded.
"What?! How could you let it run off?! You were supposed to…to bring it back to its home!"
"Do you think I'm an idiot, dad? Do you think I don't know what's going on here?!" Derek lashed out. "I know you didn't find any owners!"
If looks could kill, Elliot's might have been the end of Derek right then and there. "So you knew. Of course you did. This entire time, you knew you were harboring a dangerous creature. This entire time, you were keeping one of them in MY HOUSE!"
"Shut up! Shadow wasn't dangerous at all! He didn't hurt anyone! And he sure as hell cared more about me than you ever did!"
"EXCUSE ME?!"
"Don't 'excuse me' me! You never cared! All the time, I was just a burden to you! Someone who was an inconvenience because I didn't act exactly the way you wanted me to! I wasn't good enough for you, I wasn't RIGHT enough for you!" It wasn't the way Derek had intended for this to go, but the pot had boiled over - everything he'd been bottling up for years was suddenly bursting out, and to him, it stopped being about Blackcanismon at all. "BC actually cared about me and understood me! He didn't try to change me into his own obedient little pet, he actually cared that I was HAPPY!"
"How DARE you speak to me like that!" roared Elliot. "After everything I've done, everything I've tried to do! I've only tried to keep you safe, protect you from YOURSELF, and your deranged habits! No one normal does the things you do, and there are damn good reasons they don't! You're going to get yourself killed out there and you'll be spending your last minutes wishing you'd listened to me rather than carelessly goofing off at night and harboring MONSTERS IN MY HOUSE!"
"Maybe you should've asked yourself why I'd want to be anywhere but inside most of the time! Why I'd rather be anywhere other than around YOU! And if BC was so goddamned dangerous, why the hell do you still think you're alive?! He didn't even touch you even though you've been trying to hunt him down like some menacing goon! Now he's gone and I'm back to being stuck with assholes who hate me for who I am!"
"Go to your room, right this instant! I'll make you regret every single word of that filth you're spewing later, but by GOD I will not be spoken to like that by my OWN SON!"
Derek could have argued that, but at the moment the last thing he wanted was to be around Elliot for a second more than he had to be. He stomped up to his bedroom, slamming the door shut hard enough to make things rattle a bit. He'd never been so angry in his life, and the thing with Blackcanismon was only the start of it...at that moment, he was very strongly considering running away completely. Where to, he had no idea, but at the moment anything seemed better than there. This has to be the last straw. I can't do this anymore. I can't deal with this constant attack! There's got to be somewhere else I can go…maybe live at our base, if they can sustain a couple of digimon captives there they can house someone like me…but there's no way he won't eventually find me there…
Even as mired in anger and frustration as he was, though, it was impossible for Derek to miss the screech outside. Oh, crap. I hope someone else can handle it, because I don't think I'm getting back out of here any time soon…
—
Elliot's fury wasn't quick to abate this time. Having accusations like that hurled at him was something he didn't need on top of everything else that was going on, consuming him so much that he didn't even notice the screech. How dare he say things like that…all I've done is try to be a good father to him, teach him right and keep him straight and protect him from all the crap in the world, as ungrateful as he is about all that…
He also didn't believe Derek for a second that the thing had just run off without telling him. It had to be out there somewhere, and there was no way Derek didn't have an idea where that was. I'll have to get him to talk somehow…hm. Maybe if I tell him that the creature could put Iris in danger…if there's anyone he does give a damn about, it's her. Last thing either of us would want is her wrapped up in this mess…
His phone suddenly buzzed, and annoyed that his thoughts were interrupted, he picked it up. "Katran. This had better be good." After listening to the voice on the other end, though, his eyes widened, and all thoughts about the dog were shunted aside. "When?"
—
Skylar's mood was not particularly great as he walked down the street, trying to clear his head after the less-than-productive meeting and an even less productive feeding. And for once, it wasn't Isaac that was causing his frustrations. The lack of response, the lack of good alternate options, and the lack of security in what they were doing was weighing more heavily on him than ever, and trying to deal with a bratty Shadowdramon who seemed intent on goading him into a fight wasn't helping matters. Skylar really wanted to be rid of him, but they still hadn't figured out how to get him out of their hair safely.
I can just hear Kirsten saying "You can't keep him locked up, it's not right!" Would like to see her do anything better…ugh, why am I inventing family conflicts in my head, I've got enough conflicts out of it. It's getting harder and harder to figure out how to navigate this goddamned mess. It feels like every one thing that goes right for us is met with two or three things that go south. And too much of it is stuff we just don't know enough about to navigate around…nngh. I'm starting to feel like Salmandmon was right in the first place about how over our heads this all was. Not that it matters since we're in it already, but…what I wouldn't give for some more worldly resources right now.
"Sky? You all right?" Skylar started as Breezedramon swooped down, looking at him with concern. "You look beat."
"Breezedramon! You're not hidden down here!"
"I know, so keep it down! I'm worried about you! You look like you're about to just fall over and pass out!"
"I'm fine…well, okay, maybe I am a bit tired. I haven't been sleeping as well as I'd like. Just too much trouble getting things to go right lately…not to mention too many instances of our group getting beat up."
"Sky…" Breezedramon flapped up to put a hand on Skylar's shoulder. "I know I'm not the best at helping with stuff like this, but, you know…you can talk to me when you're having troubles like that. I want to help as much as I can, but it's hard to do if I don't know what's bothering you! And I don't want you feeling stressed, that's my job."
Skylar blinked in confusion at the dragon. "…Your job?"
"Well, yeah! I'm the one here who's been fighting for years, and the one who got you into this whole mess in the first place. If anyone should be feeling the heat, it should be me! I mean, not that I'm NOT, really, but I should be feeling it worse than you should, I owe you that much."
"Owe…mph. Breezedramon, you…don't owe me anything. If anything, we owe you, we'd probably be dead twenty times over if you hadn't come over and given us a sporting chance against these nutcases. It's not your fault that it had to be this way. You didn't expect this to happen, and you didn't really get many other options when it turned out they were jumping over at almost the same time."
"…Maybe so, but…" Breezedramon frowned. "It…shouldn't have happened. We should've been able to take care of this over there. You guys should never have had to hear of us until someone over there who wanted peace came and talked to you. Because we didn't, you had to get put in this position…it doesn't matter if the circadmumitandintances didn't give us any choice, what we did before could've."
Skylar let out a deep sigh. "I…guess that would have been ideal, yes. But it's not like you wanted that, either…things don't always go our way in this world, I would guess that's true of yours as well. It's…more important that, when things went badly, you didn't leave us to struggle on our own. It'd be a huge fabricantulation if I said I wish it hadn't been different, but it's NOT different, so I'm glad there's something I can do to keep myself and everyone I care about alive. I just wish I wasn't so drained from it, though."
"Well…maybe I can help with that!"
"What do you mean?"
"You know! That energy transfer thing!"
"…What energy transfer thing?"
"Sky! We all talked about it after we met over how to deal with the prisoners! How Reyn saved Sal by, uh, giving him his energy after he almost got eviscalanturivantidated! I could do the same thing to you!"
Oh, right…wow, I AM out of it, I didn't even remember that. "Uh, I appreciate the thought, Breezedramon, but that might be a bit overkill…I'm just a bit weary, not bleeding out."
"I know that! But I gotta be able to at least give you a tiny bit! C'mon, lemme show you!" Without waiting for an answer, Breezedramon swooped around and landed on Skylar's shoulders, clinging to the boy's head and nearly knocking his glasses off.
"Ack! Breezedramon!"
"Hold still! Whoa, wait, that probably wasn't the best idea…but hey, you hold me up better than I thought you would!"
"Mph, months and months of carrying a textbook-laden backpack builds up those muscles, I guess. But still, is this really necessary?"
"Relaaaax. It's just a little pick-me-up! Well, pick-you-up, I guess." Still holding to Skylar's head, Breezedramon focused hard, not sure what he was supposed to feel but sure he'd notice it when he felt it. Sure enough, he felt that link between them form and become more tangible…gently he sent a few pulses Skylar's way, trying not to overdo it but hoping to ensure that his partner felt better. After several seconds, he pulled back, feeling a bit worn out himself now but not nearly as bad as he had in some previous battle aftermaths. "Phew, that takes a bit more than I thought…how're you feeling?"
"Well…whoof…that's definitely a rush…" Skylar definitely wasn't feeling weary anymore - more the opposite, he felt rather wired and over-alert now, there was a rush in him that he hadn't been expecting. "I feel way more keyed up than I've felt in…jeez, I can't even remember."
"It's better though, right?"
"Yeah, well, I don't feel wiped out anymore, yeah. Almost a bit too amped up, though, I feel like I almost want to let it go bursting out somehow…is this how you feel all the time?"
"Uhhh…dunno! I'm not sure how to know how you're feeling exactly?"
"Hm…well, maybe I can try to explain better…wait…" Skylar straightened up a bit, going quiet. Breezedramon, do you hear something?
Hear something? Breezedramon focused a bit, not sure what he was supposed to be hearing…and then he caught it, a rustling in bushes not too far behind them, off the right side of the road in someone's yard. Yeah, someone's in the bushes!
And that means they've seen you! We need to confront them! Skylar wheeled around, nearly throwing Breezedramon off his shoulders - the dragon took wing rather then be flung off, following behind Skylar as he raced towards the bushes.
Sky! What if it's a digimon?!
It was a bit too late for Skylar to pull back the impulse to check by the time that thought registered in his head. But as he did, he quickly was finding he wished that had been the case instead of what he saw - his little brother Benny, shrinking back fearfully as he was discovered. "BENNY?! What the hell are you doing out here?!" he snapped harshly, forgetting to mind his tongue in his amped-up state and shock.
"Sky! I just…I wanted…I wanted to see where you were going with the dragon!"
"And you FOLLOWED me?! Benny, it's dangerous out here! You can't just go out on your own like this!"
"Sky! E-easy!" Breezedramon pulled on Skylar's shoulder, snapping the boy back into attention. He suddenly realized Benny was trembling, looking like he was about to burst into tears. Now he was kicking himself - this wasn't helping, it wasn't like he'd told Benny what was going on enough for him to know better, he didn't know that they were confronting deadly creatures on the regular…which didn't mean Benny should have been sneaking around to follow them, of course.
Taking a breath to calm himself, he reached out and helped Benny to his feet. "Benny…listen, you can't just be following me and Breezedramon around. No matter what's going on, that's not a nice thing to do to someone. If you're curious, you need to ask about it, but sometimes it's stuff that you aren't supposed to know about. And it's especially important right now that you don't do that, because there are monsters that're showing up around here, and they could hurt you."
"But…but you're always going out…and Breezedramon…I don't wanna see you get hurt, Sky!" Tears were forming in Benny's eyes, and it looked like a breakdown was imminent. Skylar was cringing inside - he didn't have a good answer for that. I need a way out of this mess…
A loud, aberrant screech from off in the distance answered his prayer in the worst way possible. Of course. I think Breezedramon and I are just cursed. Every time we dare the universe, it makes us pay.
"What…what was that?" Benny's voice was quiet, squeaky, and terrified.
"I don't know, but it's not good." Skylar couldn't see anything yet, but that was the sound of something big…
"Ohhhh no…that was an Airdramon," said Breezedramon nervously. "And that did NOT sound like just one of them…"
"Damnation." Skylar turned back to Benny. "Benny, listen to me, you have to run home, like, as fast as you possibly can. It just got REALLY dangerous out here, you need to get there as fast as possible and stay inside!"
"But Sky! You gotta come home too!"
"I…I can't! I…"
"He's gotta find the friend he was meeting and help them!" Breezedramon suddenly jumped in. "They could be hurt if he doesn't! He'll be home just as soon as he's done with that, he promises!"
"Y-yeah, I promise!" It didn't sound like the most robust save in the world, but for a five-year-old, it was probably enough. And sure enough, Benny reluctantly nodded, though he still looked very sniffly. "Please, Benny, hurry up and get back, and make sure you don't leave until I'm back! And even when I am, for that matter, I'll come check up on you when I'm done."
"Okay…p-please…be careful, Sky…" Benny turned and hurried off down the road, Skylar watching until he was out of sight.
"Sky, are you…sure he should be going on his own?" asked Breezedramon nervously.
"Not even remotely, and I hate everything about it, but if we don't get up there NOW, everything's going to go to hell. And I can't leave Boltfalkemon up there alone…and that's hoping that she heard and is going up there as well, because I don't want to be up there alone either."
"I guess…then let's get to it so that we can keep our promise and make sure he gets back all right!"
"Right!" The two of them merged, forming Skydramon once more, and took off into the air, hurrying to engage. The fear of what could happen to Benny was in the back of his mind, but he had to take down the enemies so that they didn't threaten his brother or anyone else either…he was REALLY going to have to talk with his parents about this later on…
—
"…Oh. MY. GOD."
"Did I tell you, or did I tell you?"
Kirsten's jaw was dropped halfway to the ground from what she'd just seen. "I…can NOT believe this. Skylar, of all people?"
"Crazy, huh?" Ashley was grinning pretty wide, seemingly enjoying herself. "Who'da thought our goofy little bros would be pulling crazy stunts like this?"
"I can't believe he kept that hidden from any of us! Skylar's always so crazy bad at hiding anything, but he's been doing stuff like this since that giant bird creature appeared…"
"It's because you were so focused on the thing he was trying to hide badly that you didn't realize there was a deeper layer. Same thing happened with me with Isaac, I figured all he was doing was trying to hide that little robot dude, so I was totally floored when I saw him do that weird fusion thing with it. Gotta say, though, they've been doing a hell of a job out there, they sound like they got a whole operation going on! Wild to think about, huh?"
"Yeah…I'm not so sure I'm that big on the whole 'taking prisoners' thing, though." Kirsten shook her head, frowning a bit. "Sky isn't very good at knowing how to treat people he LIKES…"
"Eh, I'm sure they're fine. We should head back, though, I didn't like the sound of that screeching."
"Right, I definitely don't want to run into THAT. And I need to go get Benny…I don't know how he snuck out but I need to make sure he gets home safe." The two girls turned, but before they'd taken more than two steps, they heard another loud sound, what sounded like the scream of a little kid. "Oh, no! Benny!"
"Whoa, hey!" Ashley couldn't stop Kirsten from taking off. Cursing, she hurried after her, hoping that whatever it was that was happening wasn't WAY over their heads.
It wasn't more than about thirty seconds of running before Kirsten reached the source of the sound, which was indeed Benny…and froze as she saw the scene in front of her. It appeared that what she'd heard wasn't a scream of terror, but a squeal of unbridled glee, as her littlest brother was latched onto a purple-furred creature that was flailing around underneath him. "It's so CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE!"
Ashley was panting as she caught up, but had heard the last words that sort of defused the threat. "D'awww…kids find the darnedest extraterrestrial creatures out here, don't they?"
"G-get him off me!" gasped the creature, trying to escape Benny's clutches. "Ack! Mercy!"
"…I'm suddenly not feeling as terrified of these creatures as I think I should be," remarked Kirsten, trying not to laugh.
"If only they were all small enough to be cuddled to death by five-year-olds," agreed Ashley. "You want some help with them?"
"Ah, no…thanks, I'll, uh, I'll take it from here. I have something else I want to take care of, too…"
—
It didn't take any time at all to see the threat - one Airdramon was big enough, three of them stuck out at least three times as well. And they were making their way towards the tallest buildings in the city, no doubt finding them attractive targets for destruction and chaos, just as Aquilamon had…and three of them could be at least three times as destructive if left to their own devices. Skydramon's Force Gale was speeding him up, but he still felt anxiety eating at him, they could create pretty powerful wind attacks, and they weren't going to wait around for him…
Sure enough, he saw one of them launch a Wing Cutter attack at one of the buildings. He winced as he saw debris flying off the top, the building wasn't imminently in danger of falling but the marks of the attack were clearly there. I hope no one's in there…this is gonna get to be a disaster, I don't think I can do this all on my own without there being a lot of consequences!
"Spark Wave!" He heard it in front of him before he saw it, an electric attack flying at one of the Airdramon, hitting true and making it screech, drawing the attention of all the others. Skydramon pumped it further, feeling both relief and added pressure - Boltfalkemon had somehow made it up there before he had, he wasn't sure how that was possible, but he wasn't going to complain. But she was there alone for the moment, and alone with three big sky serpents focused on her was not a good position to be in.
Wing Cutter attacks flew at Boltfalkemon, who at least had enough distance to avoid them, though they were cutting up some of the foliage off the trees and he could hear a few panicked bird calls get cut off. She flew up higher, drawing their attacks away from the ground, and making it easier for Skydramon to go undetected - he didn't slow down even a bit as he reached the lowest Airdramon, sweeping past him with his charged claws. "Aero Nail!" The attack connected true, getting a screech out of the Airdramon and sending a spray of blood out, the long furrow in its body leaking that vital fluid.
Skydramon didn't waste time, following up that attack with a pair of Twister Orbs directed at the other two, throwing off their focus as they tried to evade - their large sizes made that pretty impossible, though the spheres didn't do as much damage as he would have liked. But the lowest one was flying erratically, his Aero Nail had done quite a bit to it…and that made it an ideal target for Boltfalkemon, who dove at it forcefully with her charged body. "Static Cracker!" She collided with the Airdramon's back, sending a furious jolt through it, and that was enough, the creature disappeared with an agonized screech.
"Nice!" Skydramon shouted eagerly, swooping up next to her. "Too bad it blew up a couple dozen birds before you could do that."
"Tch, we could do with a few less rotten pigeons around here anyway. But keep your eyes open, these aren't the only threats up here!"
"Huh? What?"
"There's a Pteramon among this crew! And I think it's less interested in property damage than us! And that's not all!" She pointed off a distance away, where Skydramon could see a pair of helicopters rising into the air. "I was trying to see what was going on with them when I heard the screeching. They weren't brought here for us! They were brought in for these big nasties!"
"What? The military's actually doing something useful? And here I thought we were the only ones who mattered!"
"Don't get complacent and watch your attacks! They might still go after us if they see us as enough of a threat! And we still have to protect them! Don't let the Airdramon go for them!"
"I don't suppose asking politely would help?"
Boltfalkemon crackled a bit. "Skydramon! Take this seriously! If they get hit, the pilots are almost certainly dead!"
"Okay, okay, okay! I'll keep them safe, I promise! Let's get these oversized lizards wiped out already!" The Airdarmon seemed to be in disarray still, caught between focusing on the hybrids, the helicopters, and the buildings. Powerful though they were, they weren't the brightest among digimon, and these ones seemed to be in a feral trance which made them even less bright…that made them useful minions, though, and there were plenty of them among Emperius's ranks. It likely wouldn't be the last time they saw them, or more powerful variants...Skydramon couldn't sight the Pteramon, though. He didn't have time to worry about that at the moment, though, there were two creatures right in front of him that were a more imminent threat.
They broke off and flew up to challenge the Airdramon and draw their attention. A Twister Orb and Spark Wave both hit home, getting the two dragons screeching and trying to attack them. Getting them split apart was the first goal, making sure that neither Boltfalkemon nor Skydramon could be easily double-teamed. Beyond that, though, things were getting tougher…the first Airdramon had been dispatched more easily because of the element of surprise, and without that, it was a lot harder to get their most dangerous attacks out. The ranged blows weren't doing the trick, and they'd have to get at least several blows in with the stronger ones.
And that was without the issue of being attacked. Skydramon yelped out as he got caught up in a Wing Cutter, flinging him around a bit and making him feel the pain of that slicing attack - not as bad as it could've been thanks to his element, but he knew that wasn't going to save him forever. All this while the helicopters were getting closer, putting them in more danger…
Or…maybe giving us an opening. "Boltfalkemon! Draw their attention! Put them in their crosshairs!"
Boltfalkemon didn't respond immediately on account of needing to weave around another attack, but she heard it clearly enough. "You think the copters can pull it off?"
"We oughta find out at least!"
"Right!" Another Spark Wave caught her Airdramon's attention quite nicely, it continued to pursue her, and she rose upwards to try to get some extra distance over the city, just in case things didn't go as planned.
Skydramon was trying to do the same, but was encountering trouble - his Airdramon had taken note of the helicopters, and it wasn't breaking away from them, even as he pelted it with another Twister Orb. They're not gonna get a surprise attack in if Airdramon isn't surprised! And I don't trust that Airdramon's attack won't trump theirs…c'mon, you annoying snake asshole, look at me! Another Twister Orb, another lack of response…Skydramon's frustration was ticking up. And I just know it's gonna ambush me if I try to swoop in with an Aero Nail…hm, wait…maybe…
It was a gambit, but a low-risk one, as Skydramon grinned deviously. He took a deep breath and roared out with all he could. "OY! AIRDRAMON! YOUR MOTHER WAS ROPED AND RIDDEN BY A CHUUMON!"
"What the hell are you doing?!" snapped Boltfalkemon from afar, but Skydramon was too preoccupied to respond - the Airdramon had taken notice of that and roared furiously, suddenly lunging for him. Clearly, it had taken all the offense to that, just as Skydramon had hoped, and he cackled madly as he drew the Airdramon upwards, keeping it attended with Twister Orbs and ensuring the helicopters had no interference…and a clean shot.
"Bolt! Now!" Skydramon shouted out as the helicopters fired, a barrage of rockets driving out from one of the launchers mounted on each one. The two hybrids swooped away, the Airdramon focused on them and not on the danger coming towards them…they each launched out a Wing Cutter at Boltfalkemon and Skydramon, just before the rockets impacted their hides, blasting large chunks out of their bodies and making them screech in pain. The attack looked brutal, but it did the trick, both Airdramon slumping and then bursting into data.
"Hell yeah!" Skydramon pumped a fist. "Now if only we could get them on our side for real!"
"Skydramon! Watch out!"
"Hu-AUGH!" Boltfalkemon's cry didn't come soon enough, as something blitzed HARD into Skydramon, knocking him for a serious loop - he barely managed to stay airborne, and the jolt to his ribs had him panting hard. "Wh-what…the hell…"
"Hmhmhm…" Skydramon turned to see another digimon - a smaller one that looked like a hybrid of plane and dinosaur, grinning smugly at the wounded dragon. "Thanks so much for getting rid of those annoyances for me - I won't have to play escort anymore once I've claimed your head as a trophy! Kaikosen!" Its mouth opened wide and a beam of energy blasted from it, Skydramon unable to move quickly enough to avoid it as it pummeled him and threw him even further away from the fray.
"Static Cracker!" Pteramon's attack was stopped by Boltfalkemon coming in to interrupt it, just in time as Skydramon managed to hang in with the last of his energy. He was exceedingly dizzy and weary, though, the multiple blows had really done a number on him…Pteramon were stronger than they looked, so many dangerous and destructive attacks, and he hadn't been ready for them…he needed to get back in there, though, because that thing was going to fly rings around Boltfalkemon. But trying to get his body to cooperate was proving a struggle.
Boltfalkemon was finding herself outmatched pretty quickly - Pteramon had weathered her Static Cracker and forced her to back off as it launched a missile at her. More of them followed, and she was hit once, then twice, flinging her back and making her struggle to stay up; she was just able to evade Pteramon's own flying tackle, and if things weren't bad enough, the drone of the helicopters was getting louder. She swooped lower, hoping to try to figure out how to get to Pteramon while it wasn't distracted…
Pteramon seemed to be interested in going for Skydramon again, though, lining himself up with the wounded dragon from afar and opening its mouth, the beam attack charged ominously. Skydramon could see it, but he didn't think he'd have time to get away from it, he was moving far too slowly…but Pteramon suddenly cut off the attack, and dove as another barrage of rockets fired out from one of the helicopters. None of them hit the mark, flying off into open air and terminating uselessly in the sky.
"Hah! Pathetic, you don't have a fraction of our power!" Pteramon's eye glinted as it lifted its wings, several of its own missiles dislodging from them. "Learn your place, scum! Missile Storm!" The missiles streaked towards the helicopter, which took evasive and defensive action, its machine gun firing to try to intercept the missiles before they reached…a few of them were stopped, but too many got through, and several of them hit hard, blowing the upper rotors and tail off of it.
"NO!" Skydramon's stomach dropped as he saw the damage, and the helicopter begin to fall. He forced his body to move, rushing towards the machine without really thinking about it…but he was too far away, there was no way he was going to catch up to it, not in his wounded state, and nothing he could do about it even if he did. And yet he kept going, trying to dive to speed up, blood pounding in his ears. I can't let it hit the ground, I have to save them! I promised! I've got to do something! Anything!
Nothing was coming to mind, but he didn't care, he was fixated on that one thing, fulfilling his vow, nothing else but that and what it meant…he didn't even notice the glow forming around him, the rapid shifts in his body causing what looked like a sky blue streak to suddenly rush through the air. The glowing form rushed under the helicopter with merely seconds before impact, driving upwards to try to slow it down…the heavy machine had so much more mass, though, it wasn't slowing enough, at this rate it would merely crush him at the same time…
"Psycho Squall!"
A violent rush of wind suddenly kicked up - upwards from the ground, an unnatural angle guided by the will of the wind warrior summoning it. The powerful rush ramped up the air resistance of the falling body, slowing its descent far faster than before, the entire body shaking and shuddering madly but holding together. The figure underneath came into shape as he gained full control over the descent, a powerful new body controlling the drop to the end, landing safely and bringing the damaged craft down on its thankfully intact legs.
Only now did he become aware of what had happened, and what he was. Taller, almost seven and a half feet now, and with a lean body that still felt brimming with strength. His sky blue scales were now partly covered with a light green armor, a chestplate and bracers and shin guards, as well as a helmet that formed over the back part of his head, leaving his long ivory horns exposed but covering his eyes with a shielded visor. His wings bore two powerful jets on each one that were alive with a potent energy, and an extendable voulge attached to the back of his armor, ready to be pulled off at a moment's notice and used to devastating effect.
I…I evolved! I became Jetdramon! How…no, not gonna ask that, no time for that! Pteramon's still up there and Boltfalkemon's not gonna last against him! Time to take out the trash! The jets on his wings flared to life, and he shot up into the air, at speeds he wasn't remotely capable of before - yet once he was up there, he stopped himself almost on a time at a moment's notice, jolting himself a little bit. Whoa! That was a fast stop…is…is my inertia dampened in this form? Wild, I could make turns that no plane could ever dream of! He scanned the sky in front of him, and quickly sighted what he was looking for. Boltfalkemon and Pteramon…and it looked like the latter was getting the better of the former. It was time to fix that.
Boltfalkemon was unaware of anything that had been going on, not having a moment to spare to think about anything except Pteramon, who was out for blood. And she was outclassed and she knew it - he was just so much faster, there was no running away, and he could fly around her even when she tried to engage. About the only thing she had was that her Static Cracker was keeping him from landing a devastating physical blow, but her Spark Wave wasn't connecting and she had gotten pelted with a couple more missiles…fatigue was catching up with her, and she knew that was what Pteramon was waiting for. The other helicopter had booked it, not that she could blame it, but it was just her and Pteramon up there, and she wasn't liking her odds - but she couldn't figure out what to do about it, besides fight until she was a sitting duck for his beam attack. Pteramon was starting to taunt her, too, knowing it had the edge. "You can hit the ground any time you want, little birdy, I'll be happy to drag your broken body back to Emperius to show them what happens to those who fight our destiny!"
"Go…to hell…"
"Not without taking you there first!" Pteramon opened wide, readying his beam attack…a fatal error, as it turned out, it left him exposed for what he wasn't ready for. A roar of "Shear Claw!" was the only warning, and it wasn't enough to get Pteramon out of its exposed state, the beam cutting off and getting replaced by a piercing screech as glowing claws savagely cut across its wings and back; it dropped down several feet before catching itself and flying back up, though it was clear it wasn't moving as fast as before. "What…what was that?!"
"Oh, just me, nothing special!" Jetdramon swooped down in front of Pteramon, grinning madly. "Didja forget about me? Cuz I think you forgot about me!"
"You…how were you not flattened by that machine?!"
"Hah, gonna take more than that to finish me off!" Jetdramon's words almost sounded like they were about to run together, he was speaking them so quickly. "But let's see how much it takes to finish YOU off!"
"Damn you freaks! Missile Storm!" Pteramon fired off his missiles, and Jetdramon surged up and away, twisting and turning to avoid the seeking salvo. The corners he took were so tight it seemed almost like he was freezing time to take them, angles that the missiles couldn't hope to match up, and one by one they went sailing off harmlessly into the air, exploding at nothing. That was bad news for Pteramon, who knew immediately it couldn't match up…it tried to fly off, but never got the chance.
"Static Cracker!" Boltfalkemon hit it hard once again, throwing it for a loop and scattering its thoughts once again. "Not so tough with your wings clipped, are you?" she snapped as she kicked away from it, making Pteramon nearly fall out of the sky. It was dazed, and that was all Jetdramon needed.
"Time to end this, you fanatical Fokker!" Jetdramon's right hand glowed brightly as he raised it at Pteramon. "Jet Stream!" A piercing blue beam of energy rocketed viciously fast at Pteramon, who screeched as it enveloped it. The cloud of data it burst into was quickly blown away by the attack, scattered rapidly into nothingness. Jetdramon cackled in triumph as he cut the attack off, pumping his fist. "Hell yeah! We did it! Score one more for the good guys!"
"I don't think anyone's keeping score here," grumped Boltfalkemon, sounding overly worn out. "Especially given that 'one for them' is pretty much all they need. What happened? Last I saw you were barely moving in the air…"
"I dunno! But I'm glad it did! Thanks to this, I think I saved those pilots!"
"You…really? Jeez…I thought they were done for, it was making me kinda ill thinking about it…" But as Boltfalkemon looked down at the damaged craft, she could see a few people crowded around it, including two in flight suits. "We should probably split before someone with more firepower comes to check in on them. And maybe you should be in a less flashy form as we do."
"Good idea!" Jetdramon shifted back to Skydramon and they took off over the skies again, seeking a safer place to land and leaving the rest of the cleanup to others. He wouldn't be forgetting that rush any time soon, though…
—
While the rest of the city was distracted with the Airdramon attack, someone else was hiding near a certain home.
"Heh heh heh…thought you could hide from us forever, did you? I remember you, mechanical menace, you gave me a few shots that hurt for days. All I need to do is wait for you to cross my path, and you and your human will be thunderstruck into oblivion! Then I'll have redeemed myself!"
He'd been waiting kind of a long time, though. "Sheeze, don't these people ever leave their cushy homes? Get a move on already!"
His focus was so fixated on the house that he was unaware of everything else around him. Without warning, a blow to the back of the head sent him down for the count, his last thought being that someone from Emperius had finally done him in…
—
"…Signals are gone. They did it!"
"Damn, that one had me worried!" Isaac let out a sigh of relief. "They were outnumbered out there, I never like when the math isn't at least even."
"Airdramon are big, but they're really not as tough as they seem," said Datacarnomon. "Their hides are really lightweight and weak. Whatever that small one was was more of a problem, but the way Skydramon was zipping around out there…"
"You think he evolved?"
"He sure as heck wasn't moving that fast before. More of that we get, the better off we are. Only problem is that if Emperius knows we're more capable, they'll step up their game more, too, especially if they see us as a threat that needs more urgent attention."
"Lovely. So we're gonna have to get even more powerful, huh?"
"Yeah, but that's tricky to do naturally. I'm wondering…"
"What are-" Isaac didn't finish as his door was banged open, making him jump a bit. He turned to scowl at the intruder. "Ash, would you just…knock?!"
"What?!" Datacarnomon had turned as well, and his jaw dropped. Standing there, grinning proudly, was Ashley, holding by the tail a completely KOed Elecmon. "…What the HELL?"
Ashley merely kept grinning. "Yo. This guy one of yours?"
"…Uh, one of ours as in from our world, yeah, but definitely NOT one of ours if you mean friends. Where the hell did you find him? And why isn't he pinging when he's right in front of me?"
"Well, I dunno about the second part, but this thing might." Ashley tossed a small electronic device onto Isaac's bed - one of the personal signal jammers they had found back during the initial fracas with Elecmon and his buddies. "And if this isn't one of your friends, if you don't mind, I'd like a crack at him."
"A crack at him?" Isaac's head was almost spinning from the twists and turns. "What are you talking about?"
"You know. Tie him up, secure him like you secured those guys in your hideout."
"Wait, how do YOU know about that?!" exclaimed Datacarnomon.
"Because she's Ashley, she always figures out too damn much about what's going on," groaned Isaac.
"More than you even know, little bro," Ashley said proudly. "C'mon, chop-chop, make with the tech already."
"Yeah, yeah…good thing we already had stuff made in case we managed to find him ourselves. But anything you do that violates the Geneva Conventions, I know nothing, got it?"
Ashley snickered. "Agreed, if only because I love the idea of you saying 'I know nothing.'"
—
"Sir! SIR!" The nurse at the front desk yelled at Emil, waylaying his sudden incursion into the ER. "You can't just run in there!"
"Sorry, sorry!" Emil hustled to the desk, looking very frantic and out of sorts. "I need to talk with the pilots who were just brought in! Immediately! It's a matter of extreme importance!"
"Sir, this is an emergency room! We deal with matters of extreme importance on almost a daily basis here. You have to wait your turn!"
"It's all right, Gwen, I can take it from here." Emil turned to see a marginally familiar face approaching. "I would ask that you keep it down, though, Emil, it's chaotic enough as it is in here these days."
"Dr. Kessilik. My apologies." Emil wasn't exactly thrilled to be told off, but he was trying not to take it personally - he was familiar enough with Treylor, given how close their kids were. "We're trying to deal with these attacks so you don't get nearly so many people in here. I need to talk to the pilots who were attacked, if it's possible to do so."
"You're in luck. They're both awake and in relatively good shape for what I heard happened to them. Come with me." Treylor motioned for Emil to follow him, and they headed towards one of the more isolated rooms in the wing. Inside were two men, both still in their uniforms. One, a tall and lean black man, was laying on the bed, with an arm over his head; the other, a broader and larger white man, was sitting in a chair, looking more calm and collected, holding an ice pack to his head.
"First Lieutenant Arthur Corazón." Treylor indicated towards the man on the bed. "Treated for mild lacerations and bruising, heart palpitations, and given a mild sedative to stave off a panic attack. And over here," he pointed towards the other, "we have Captain Gregory Heinz. He's been treated for a concussion and head laceration, as well as mild lacerations and bruising otherwise. I'll be honest, when you hear 'helicopter crash,' you expect a whole lot worse than what we got."
"I was fearing the worst myself," agreed Emil. "Sirs, on behalf of everyone in Braun, I deeply appreciate the courage and fortitude that you showed today. If it's all right, I'd like to ask some questions about what happened up there."
"I'm not so sure I'll be much help…" muttered Arthur from the bed. "My head hasn't stopped spinning from that fall…pretty sure I'm still trying to process that I'm alive after dropping from the air like that."
"I'll answer whatever questions ya have," said Gregory shortly. "So long's I don't get any more headache than what I already got. Damn madness up there, I tell ya…"
"I understand, I'll try to keep this as brief as I can." Emil flipped open his notebook, hesitating briefly at the sight of his earlier notes. He shook his head a bit and flipped to the next page. "I understand you successfully eliminated the monsters in the sky?"
"You understand wrong," grunted Gregory. "Us'n the others iced two of the big bogeys."
"…Only two? I was under the impression that there were three creatures up there."
"You suits getta lotta wrong impressions, don't you? There were six creatures up in the sky out there. Three big ones, a little bugger that was worse than all'a the big ones, and two'a those ones y'all've been yapping about."
"Oh, my! You saw the bird and the dragon, I'm presuming?"
"Saw 'em good. Saw 'em tear down one'a the big-ass beasts up there, too. Blasted it right to smithereens."
"I…what? Are you…saying they were fighting?"
Gregory nodded. "Damn straight, an' fiercely, too. At least until we came inta the picture. But they got the other big nasties up there trained on 'em, and we had an open shot. Damn glad those things can still be blown up, weird as they are."
Emil was sort of wishing he was sitting down now himself. "I'm…sorry, Captain. I don't mean to be a pain, but…are you…implying that those creatures were HELPING you destroy the larger beasts?"
"Implying? Buddy, I've been up in the air goin' on eight years now. I've watched more pilots fly around than you'll prob'ly ever see in your whole dang life. If they weren't herdin' those things into position, I don't know what the hell you'd call it." The pilot leaned forward, giving Emil a look. "An' if that ain't enough for ya, lemme tell ya about what happened after that. That little purple bastard up there was zippin' round like it owned the damn sky. We tried to fire on it, an' it REALLY didn't like that, and blasted us outta the sky. I thought we were cooked…and then somethin' slows us down, rattles the entire goddamn hull like it was 'boutta break apart from the wind. And I look up, and wouldn't ya know it, that blue dragon thing's zoomin' back up there inta the fray. That thing saved our asses."
"That's…! Captain, my apologies, but are you quite sure you aren't suffering some confusion from your concussion? That sounds completely crazy-"
"It's TRUE!" Arthur suddenly snapped, bolting upright. "That damn dragon swooped down and saved our necks from slamming into the ground at top speed! You all say it's a monster, but I say it's a damn angel! It did more up there than we did!"
"Please settle down," Treylor said gently, putting a hand on Arthur's shoulder. The airman's breathing slowed back down and he laid back again, but he clearly looked a bit more out of sorts than he had been.
"I…don't understand this at all." Emil was looking over the notes he'd taken, already wondering how much of it could be trusted. "This doesn't align with anything we know about these creatures. They don't just…do these sorts of things! It's crazy!"
"I don't think there's any reason to doubt these two are of sound mind, Agent Conover," Treylor remarked, a bit curtly. "And you seem to be making an awful lot of assumptions. Seems to me like some of these 'monsters' might not be that bad."
"Please leave this to me," groaned Emil. "This has been messy enough as it is."
"Yer dang right it is, an' it'll get messier if you don't listen up," Gregory insisted, with a dark look. "We ain't got an endless number of birds ta throw at these things, and that's just the ones that go up inta the air. I think ya might wanna rethink whether all'a these things are all that bad, 'cuz we might not be able ta do a damn thing without 'em."
"I…will take that under advisement, Captain. If you'll excuse me…" Emil left the room, rubbing his head and stashing his notebook away again. This is utter madness…first we get the cyborg talking to the kid, then the fight between the lizard and another monster, and now the flying ones are…supposedly HELPING our pilots? And saving their lives? Are we misreading this entirely? Why would they be fighting creatures they're making appear…but how would they be appearing without something making them appear? The more I learn the less anything seems to make sense…I feel like I know less about what's going on than I thought I knew before, and I thought I knew NOTHING before! I need to talk to Elliot…ugh, and yet I don't want to, I don't know how he's going to react…or maybe I DO know how he's going to react, and that's the problem. Maybe he'll have to listen this time-huh? Emil was shaken out of his thoughts by the feeling of his phone buzzing. Quickly he snatched it up and answered. "Hello?"
"Emil." Speak of the devil, it was Elliot's voice.
"Elliot! I'm glad you called. I have something important I need to tell you ab-"
"Nothing you have to tell me is as important as this," Elliot said, cutting him off. "Emil…they caught one."
"…What?"
"A monster. I got a call not long ago from McGovern. A monster was subdued and brought in. It's not one of the ones we've been looking for, but it's a monster nonetheless. I'm here at the BICI, I've confirmed it's genuine, and I want you there as soon as you can be so we can prepare. This might be just what we're looking for to get to the bottom of this mess. Get back ASAP!"
"W-…and he's gone…" Emil sighed as the phone cut out on him. "Dammit, Elliot, there MIGHT be more than one thing going on today…" Still, he wasn't about to try to argue now - if they had one of the monsters, then that was huge, and maybe another break. He'd just have to focus on the other wrinkle after that.
I fear I might have peaked too early - I don't know how I'm going to top THAT pun.
Another case of the same basic idea as the previous equivalent chapter, but I added in a LOT more to the flow of it. A lot less of things just happening because they needed to happen and a lot more being set up and then executed much more effectively, at least in my eyes. Also particularly important because things hit a very compressed time flow starting now and going on for a good long while.
One thing I hope gets conveyed better is the thinking behind the decisions of the main characters. I feel like this is especially important because some decisions are…far from optimal, let's say. And that should make sense, because they should NOT know all the right things to do in a situation like this, but they should at least have good reasons for thinking they way they do. If it feels like it makes internal sense, it doesn't necessarily have to make perfect external sense, particularly with third-person perspective, which gives the readers insight the characters wouldn't necessarily have.