Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ DigiTerra: The Digital Earth ❯ Chapter 2: Sorrowful Battle! To Fight For the Ones You Love ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

So the game has taken an interesting turn.

Before, it had begun changing far too quickly for even me
to manipulate directly, but now... now it truly begins. It's
even moved into MY world. I suppose it's still trying to break
me. But it won't work. I'm far too strong and intelligent to
fall into despair over such a simple ploy as that.

I can't be crushed just because of one little loss. Why should I
be? I am a superior human being.

These lesser humans... they cry out for my help, for my genius.
I'll give it to them. The mewling fools are too stupid to do
anything for themselves, after all, so it's only fitting that I
should save them. In fact, I'll give them the chance to find some
meaning in their pathetic lives the only way they possibly can:
by serving me.

I'm sure you think it sounds cruel. But it isn't, really. I'm
ruthless, not heartless. The lesser humans will, after all, take
their rightful position as the greatest of my servants. They'll
be children watched over by a stern authority figure that knows
what's best, not slaves. They'll still have their free will,
after all.

But those animals - no, I won't dignify them by calling them
that. They're not real animals, they're things. Mindless bits
of data that had the misfortune to escape their computer. They
need to be controlled absolutely. And my rings, my precious
rings that I've been developing for so long... they'll be able to
do it.

Free will is the privilege of superior beings, like myself, so I
also have the right to take it from those who are inferior. And
there is nothing more inferior than those... those things. Save,
perhaps, those freaks that turn on their own kind and allow
themselves to be turned into their lackeys.

But I digress... the game is what matters now. I know the freaks
are out there, and I know they'll try to play. I wonder when
they'll begin to make their moves....

+ + +

His name was Wormmon.

His small, green segmented body was scrunched up on the ground as
he lifted his head to observe the monitors that were constantly
fed images of all different parts of the city of Tokyo. He
clicked his mandibles together slightly as he watched one
particular series of events.

"FIRE ROCKET!" The screen flashed red light down on Wormmon's
body. He watched a roughly human-sized blue dragon Digimon
wearing bright red armor throw himself head-first into the midst
of his foes, a group of scattering Gizamon. The threat of the
fire that wreathed his agile body was enough to prompt them into
frantic retreat.

"TEMPEST WING!" Another digimon was fighting alongside the fire-
dragon, flickers of pink light appearing as he made his attack
cry. This one looked more like a griffin, and wore an elaborate
winged metal headdress with a mark that resembled the Crest of
Love etched in purple right over his forehead. He could also
apparently fire intense-looking blasts of pink energy from the
headdress. The Gizamon appeared to be learning this the hardest
way possible, as they were battered aside by the blasts.

"GOLD RUSH!" The last creature almost defied description, seeming
to be best described as a thickly armored humanoid beetle of some
kind. The hands of its two upper arms lacked any sort of
manipulative appendages; instead, each one had three nasty-
looking metal drills set into it, with another one serving as the
Digimon's apparent nose. The Digimon's attack appeared to be
firing these drills out from its body like heat-seeking missiles.
The Gizamon fled in terror just at the sound of his attack cry.

More flickers of light blanked out the monitor as Wormmon turned
away. "I knew it...." he said proudly to himself. "I knew I'd
find them. Now to tell the Master. He'll be so happy!"

+ + +
DigiTerra: The Digital Earth

A Digimon: Digital Monsters Fanfic by Christian Rogers (AKA The
Flashman) and Alicia Ashby (AKA Lynxara)

Aided and abetted by: Damien Karolev, Shelby Scott,
Ben-San Arizona and Jeff Yang

Digimon is copyright Toei Studios, Saban, and FOX Kids.
+ + +

Chapter 2: Sorrowful Battle! To Fight For the Ones You Love

+ + +


Hello. My name is Iori Hida, age 14. Everyone calls me Cody,
though. And you know... I still don't understand why I'm an
armadillo.

I suppose I shouldn't be worrying about this right now. It's
been such a strange day and it promises to be even stranger yet,
if what Asuramon told us is true. First the events of yesterday,
and then the Gizamon's attack and our new friends... it's enough
to rattle anyone.

Except maybe Davis. He seems almost... eager for this sort of
thing. I don't think it's the fighting. He's sort of...
oblivious sometimes but he's never struck me as cruel. If
anything, he seems taken with the adventurous aspects of it all.
Having a magic animal like Veemon -- excuse me, he's Flamedramon
now -- for a companion and a superheroic mission to fulfill
sounds like something right out of a Sunday morning cartoon. I
can't understand why he's not frightened by how much of this
hasn't been explained to us... but I shouldn't be making
judgements of his character like this. I don't really know him
very well at all, and it could be any number of factors that are
making him behave like this.

The only people I really do know well are Mom, Grandpa, and
Yolie. I'm... glad Yolie is here with us. I mean, I don't like
the idea of her having to get into fights, but at least I know
she's okay and that she can have something as powerful as
Halsemon by her side whenever she needs it. Plus... it just
feels right having her there, by my side. We've been there for
each other ever since we were both little kids, so why shouldn't
we be together for the figurative end of the world?

And, for the record, I don't think there's anything wrong with
armadillos at all. Especially armadillos that can turn into big
armored bugs and shoot steel missiles, like Armadillomon can when
he becomes Digmon.

It's just... when someone who looks like he walked off the side
of an Indian temple painting begins handing out totem animals
that are supposed to reflect your inner spirit, and you get an
armadillo while everyone else is getting hawks and dragons...
well, you start wondering what that says about yourself. I mean,
in the figurative list of 'Symbolic Magic Animals', armadillos
don't seem to really have a listing. I'm sure I'll figure out
what it means eventually... I just hope it's something good when
I do.

The Gizamon have started running away - they seem to have gotten
the idea that they can't win this battle. Once the last of them
are out of sight, Flamedramon, Halsemon and Digmon all glow, and
then... well, they begin shrinking. The light pulls away from
them and rushes back toward our new little computers, and then...
it's gone. I think it went inside the computer, so maybe
that means that our Digimon can change back if they need to
again. After that, all that's left behind is Veemon, Hawkmon and
Armadillomon, just like then whey met us a few minutes ago. They
all look really proud of themselves, and rightfully so.

"Yeah!" Veemon cheers. "We kicked butt!"

"Indeed," Hawkmon replies, shaking a few motes of imaginary dust
off of his 'hands'. "And now that this location has been
secured, we should plan our next course of action."

"Ah dunno about ya'll," Armadillomon says, "but ah think we
should see about gettin' some food 'er somethin'. If we're gonna
be fightin' a lot, we're gonna need the energy."

Davis and Yolie both take thoughtful poses. With Davis, I feel
like I can almost see the gears grinding and the steam coming out
of his ears. But with Yolie, I can't help but notice... the
little things. I guess it's because she's my best friend. The
way her lips purse, and the way she flicks her hair back behind
her shoulders, the way her eyes just seem to be naturally
glistening...

... um.

It's a bit... irregular to be thinking about one of your friends
like this, isn't it? Mom did say I was getting to be 'that
age'....

I wonder if I could be....

"Hel-LOOOOO!" Davis yells suddenly. I'm surprised the force
didn't break my glasses. "Cody! Are you paying attention at
ALL?!"

+ + +

Cody blinked down at Davis for a second. "Just thinking...." he
said, adjusting his glasses nervously and looking away.

"Well it's obviously clear what we gotta do," Davis pronounced in
a manner that was clearly intended to be heroic. "We gotta go out
there and find all the evil Digimon that wanna hurt people and
stop'em from doing it!"

"And just HOW do we know if a Digimon is evil or not, Davis?"
Yolie replied, her voice becoming sarcastic. "I mean, do we just
go up to every Digimon we meet and say, 'Excuse me, but are you
evil'?"

"Wow... that'd take a really long time!" Veemon marveled, eyes
widening.

"It doesn't seem terribly efficient, does it?" Hawkmon said.

"We need to go home," Cody said, once he was confident enough
that he wasn't blushing to turn and face the others. "We need to
make sure our families are okay, and we'll also need to pick up
supplies. After that... well, after that, we'll see how things
stand and decide what to do then."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Yolie said. "We can drop by my
family's convenience store and see what we can do about getting
food there!"

"Alright then," Davis said, nodding in approval. "We've got a
plan, so let's put it into action!"

The group of six made their way off the school grounds and into
the streets of Tokyo. The sight that greeted them was entirely
different from their memories of how the street looked when
they'd entered school that morning.

"Whoa..." Davis said as they looked around in shock and surprise.
"Freaky."

The buildings around them were intact. However, many had gained
new additions to their features, almost as if they had been
forcibly combined with the landscape of some strange and alien
world. Some looked like they had been fused with trees to form
'tree houses' in the most literal sense possible. Many others
gleamed in the sunlight thanks to the addition of
futuristic-looking metallic alloys, and many more looked as if
every piece of them - glass, metal and wood - had suddenly turned
to stone.

"I feel like we're in a Picasso painting," Cody marveled.

"That's some kinda nut, right?" Davis asked. Once the initial
shock wore off, he seemed as indifferent to his surroundings as
he usually was.

"That's a pistachio, Davis," Yolie corrected. She was too
stunned to feel like being sarcastic with him at the moment.

"Oh," Davis said. "Well, my home is probably closer to school
than any of yours, so let's go there first, okay?

"Hey!" Yolie exclaimed, shaken out of her stupor. "Our homes
aren't THAT much farther! Wouldn't it make more sense to go where
we can take care of getting supplies, and THEN go to your place?"

"I disagree," Cody said. "If we take care of what's closest
first, then we minimize the possibility of having to go over the
same area more than once. And if one area along the way proves
to be particularly treacherous, we won't have to risk passing it
again."

"But Cody!" Yolie said, turning to look up at her friend. "Aren't
you..."

"I'm just as worried as you are," Cody said, raising a hand
gently. "But if we lose our heads thinking of what MIGHT have
happened, we risk not being able to focus if trouble arises.
Then we won't be any good to our families at all."

Yolie sighed, her whole body seeming to sag downward in defeat.
"I know you're right. You're always right about things like
this. I'll try not to let it get to me, but... look, I'm just
gonna be really tense until I know what happened to my family,
alright?"

Cody would have hugged her if Davis hadn't been there. Instead,
all he could bring himself to do was nod in understanding. "I'm
sorry. I know that doesn't sound comforting, but..."

"No," Yolie said, removing her glasses to wipe away a few tears
that managed to escape through her strong facade. "You're right.
We need to stay focused. Superheroes don't fall apart just like
that, right?" She put her glasses back on and smiled at the two
young men with her as if absolutely nothing had happened to put a
damper on her usually sunny demeanor. "So let's go!"

The group continued walking for a while, unable to keep from
gawking at all the bizarre alterations made to the once-familiar
scenery. When they happened across the little park that lay
between the high school and the neighborhood where most of them
lived, they found that the little forest there was now made of
equal parts trees and road signs, the latter of which were
sprouting from the soil as if there was no other, more natural
way for road signs to be placed.

"I don't think this is what Grandpa meant when he told me about
finding a direction in life," Cody commented as he passed through.

"Do you think this is some kinda sign?" Veemon asked.

"It's a lot of signs," Hawkmon replied. "'Stop', 'Yield', 'No
Parking'...."

As the group emerged from the other side of the park, Davis
pointed at a nearby apartment complex that seemed untouched by
the changes that had warped so much of the remaining landscape.
"It's over there!"

"Guys...." Cody said suddenly as he looked up. "Is it just me, or
has it gotten darker all of a sudden?"

The others looked up as well. "You're right," Yolie said,
thoughtfully. "But that doesn't make sense! It's still noon, the
sun's high in the sky, and it definitely doesn't feel like it's
going to rain...."

"Yeah, but check it out! It's still getting all dark and stuff,
like the sun was goin' out or something!" Davis said. "I mean,
this is getting almost as dim as my math grades!"

"Nothing could be that dim, Davis," Yolie retorted.

It got even darker as they got closer to the apartment building,
at points so dark that the street lights had cut on in a vain
attempt to beat the supernatural shadows away. With the darkness
came a chill in the air that all three humans felt even through
the new outfits they'd been granted along with their other
abilities. The Digimon seemed to feel it, too, and they all made
a point of staying as close as possible to their respective
human's heels. As they continued to walk, they noticed that it
continued to get even darker, until it was nearly as black as
night in some places they passed through.

Davis suddenly exclaimed in shock and pointed to something off in
the distance. "Guys! Check THAT out!"

When Cody and Yolie turned to look, they found nothing more than
the familiar outline of Tokyo Tower in the distance... or at
least, what used to be Tokyo Tower. Now, it was a gigantic
mountain, with the steel girders of the former Tower weaving in
and out of the stone. The surreal melding somehow achieved a
peaceful, harmonious look, almost as if the Tower and the
mountain had always been together.

"It even got the Tower? At this rate, the only normal patch of
ground left in Tokyo is going to be Davis' apartment building!"
Yolie exclaimed.

"No way!" Davis replied. "June lives there, so it was bizarre
before any of this weird stuff even started!"

"Do you think what happened to the Tower might somehow be
important to what's happened in the rest of Tokyo?" Cody asked,
thoughtfully.

"I guess so, but we don't have any proof," Yolie pointed out. "I
mean, besides the fact that's what always happens in comic
books."

"I dunno, this could pass for an issue of 'X'! Well, it could if
we had a chick here hot enough to wear lingerie in public...."
Davis trailed off, lost in what could be loosely termed
'thought'.

"DAVIS!" Yolie shouted at him, face reddening.

Cody buried his face in his hands. "... the world's doomed, isn't
it?"

"What?!" Davis shouted. "I don't see what's so..." Then he
blinked. He could feel a little hand tugging urgently on the
right leg of his shorts.

"Davish?" It was Veemon. When Davis glanced down, he could see
the little dragon Digimon staring off into the distance, away
from Tokyo Tower. His eyes were wide with fright.

"Hey, Veemon," he said, kneeling down so he could look his
partner in the eye. "What's wrong?"

"I shmell shomething," Veemon replied, his lisp becoming
noticeably thicker as his little body tensed up. "Shomethin' real
bad...."

Those words quickly drew the attention of the other two humans,
who also looked down toward their partners. Hawkmon and
Armadillomon also seemed tense, and were staring off in the same
direction Veemon was.

"Ah really don't like this," Armadillomon said. "There's
somethin' out thar that... just don't smell right."

"It's an evil smell," Hawkmon said. "Like... the smell of
corrupting data."

"C'mon!" Davis exclaimed, running off in the direction the
Digimon were staring.. "Let's go check it out! If it's evil, then
we'd better get ready to fight it!"

"Davish!" Veemon yelled as he ran after his human. "Wait for
meeeeeee!"

"Hey!" Yolie exclaimed. "What happened to finding our families?!"

"It's near my house anyway!" Davis cried back as he kept running.
"So I gotta check it out!"

Yolie growled and clenched her fist. "I don't BELIEVE him
sometimes! First he's begging us to go to HIS place first and now
he's just RUNNING off just like that and... Cody? What's wrong?"

Yolie bit her lower lip in concern as she looked up at her
friend, who was looking off in the distance. His eyes were wide,
and he shivered slightly. "I..." he began, then swallowed and
took a deep breath. "I think I know what the Digimon are talking
about... I can feel it. Have you ever been in a funeral home,
Yolie?"

She rapidly shook her head. "No, never."

"The feeling in those places... it's like this. There's death in
the air," Cody was struggling to keep calm as bad memories
resurfaced.

Yolie gasped. Without another word, the two friends and their
Digimon ran after Davis and Veemon. They stopped dead in their
tracks as they found them.

Davis was on his knees, looking up. He was utterly,
uncharacteristically silent. Tears flowed freely from his eyes as
the occasional quiet sob shook his body. "Davish? Davish...."
Veemon tugged desperately at the collar of his jacket. "Please
tell me why you're crying. If you tell me, I can fight it and
fix everything for you...."

But it was obvious to the other two humans that no amount of
fighting would correct Davis' problem. In front of him, raised
high off the ground on wooden poles, arms spread wide in a
hideous mockery of crucifixion, were a pair of human bodies. One
was male, the other female. They showed signs of having been
cruelly beaten at some point, perhaps to death, and the blood
running down from their bodies to pool on the ground below them
was still red and fresh. But the thick, foul smell that hung in
the air, making the Digidestined choke and gag, could only
be coming from the withered black and green patches that further
mangled the bodies. The corpses had obviously begun to rot.

Between the bodies was a pillar of stone. In the middle of the
stone, easily visible to all, was burned the image of a stylized,
clenched fist. Whatever had burned that image there had been
powerful enough to carve deep grooves in the rock.

"Oh my God..." Yolie breathed in horror. "Those poor people...
how could anyone just leave them here like this?"

"Well...." Cody finally spoke up and took a few steps toward
Davis, trying very hard to keep himself from trembling. "...
Davis, I know how terrible this has to look, and I don't
understand it either. But this had to have happened weeks ago
for them to be in this kind of condition, and more than ever this
means we need to find our families..."

"This IS my family!" Davis all but shrieked back at him. Cody's
eyes widened and he instantly fell silent as Davis rambled on,
grief and his spasmodic sobs slurring his voice. "They were fine
when I left them this morning...."

Veemon gasped in sudden understanding and wrapped his little blue
arms around as much of Davis' shoulders as he could. "... I'm
still here, Davish."

Davis numbly raised a hand up and placed it over Veemon's
relatively tiny paw. Other than that acknowledgment, he didn't
seem to notice that anything in the universe even existed besides
himself and the horrible sight that lay before him. His gaze
drifted from one mangled corpse to the other. "Mama... Papa...."

+ + +

My God... Poor Davis....

I'm still in shock. It's... we're not even out here an hour and
we've already suffered our first tragedy. I mean... I knew it'd
be part of it all, I guess. All superheroes have to experience
tragedy at some point, right? But still... I never imagined it
getting this bad this fast.

Oh! I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. Heya. I'm Miyako
Inoue. Just call me Yolie, okay?

Right now, I don't really know what to say... or even if I should
say anything. I just stand there with Cody, looking on as my
stomach turns in knots. Cody looks like he's trying to hold back
his lunch, too... and I can tell just by looking in his eyes that
watching Davis is making him remember how he felt when his father
died, too. He has to understand how Davis feels right now, and I
bet he feels awful about how he spoke too soon before. But
knowing Cody, he'll be too embarrassed to try and apologize.
Instead, he'll try to pretend like it didn't happen and probably
won't say much at all around Davis for... well, it's hard to
tell. I've seen him go on for weeks like that before, with
everything locked up inside. It really worries me when he acts
like that.

I feel so guilty. Davis is in such pain and I wish there was
something we could do for him... but we've also got to keep going
and find the rest of our families instead of just standing here.

I'm sort of surprised when Cody speaks up so soon. His voice is
really quiet, though, and it's pretty obvious that he's forcing
himself. "Davis," he says. "You said something about having a
sister, didn't you?"

Davis glances up at Cody, Veemon's arms still wrapped around
his shoulder. After a moment, he nods.

"Well..." Cody says, after taking a deep breath. "... she
shouldn't be alone during a time like this, either."

Davis stands and wipes his eyes as he takes a deep breath...
and then starts running off toward his home once again, with
Veemon in his arms. Veemon looks as startled about it as we do,
but he doesn't seem to mind.

"DAVIS!" I shout. "Wait for us, you...." I bite back the
word "jerk." I can't really bring myself to say it right now,
even if he is being as much of a stubborn idiot as ever. Not
after seeing those two bodies hung up like a property line.

That strange black fist... what could it mean?

Hawkmon and I run off after Davis, and Cody picks up Armadillomon
and carries him so he can keep pace with us. It's not long before
we reach the apartment complex.

"Guysh!" We hear Veemon shout from a window several stories up.
"Up here!"

After another good run up a few flights of stairs, we
follow Veemon into one of the apartments. We're greeted by the
sound of doors opening and slamming. Davis is tearing the place
apart and shouting. "June?! Where the hell are you?!
June! Answer me! Please... c'mon, answer me!"

The place seemed... untouched, besides the mess Davis had made.
It was completely abandoned, too. There wasn't anything that I'd
call the sign of any sort of struggle around. They must have
already have been out on the street when whoever did that to
them... did it.

Davis staggers back into the living room. He's finally beginning
to show some signs of stress. It's kind of awful seeing him like
this. He's usually so... well, perky, I guess, and nothing ever
seems to really upset him. Now he looks like a complete zombie,
all worn out and red-eyed from crying. "It's gone..." he says.
"All of it. June's clothes... her CDs... her stereo... it's all
gone. They robbed the place, too!"

Cody shakes his head. "No. If it was a robbery, then why leave
all these things?" He gestures at all the tables and chairs, the
sofa, the TV, the Playstation, and a lot of other stuff that
would have made good money if sold. "And what about your things?
Are they still there as well?"

Davis blinks and then just nods, slowly. "Yeah...."

Cody's face settles into a warm, soft smile that even I've never
seen that much. It's something that only happens when he's
being truly open and speaking from the heart, and that's always
seemed to be hard for him to do. "Then that means she's probably
found a place to hide and be safe," he says. "And we'll find her.
I swear it."

I think it goes without saying that I'm very proud of Cody right
now. Making himself open up to Davis of all people, and so
quickly! Maybe the world isn't doomed after all.

Davis wipes his eyes on his jacket sleeve and looks at
the two of us, then down at Veemon. "He'sh right, Davish!"
Veemon says. "And I'm gonna help, too!"

Davis manages a sad smile and turns around, heading back for his
room. Veemon jogs after him, faithful as a puppy. "I'm gonna go
get some stuff together..." he says as he walks into his room.
He closes the door behind him and Veemon. I guess he's feeling
just better enough to be able to get embarrassed about so many
people seeing him being this emotional. Typical for a jock.

He's gone for an hour. Cody's meditating or something on the
couch, Armadillomon's taking a nap by his side, and I think
Hawkmon's preening himself. Me? I'm going crazy! I REALLY hope
Davis isn't trying to do something stupid like... like... I don't
know, like maybe trying to hurt himself or something. We NEED
that moron right now. And I know I don't want to lose him so
soon after getting to see that he's not a TOTAL dork....

Cody opens an eye to watch me pace and says softly, "Don't worry
about Davis. Veemon is with him and I don't think he'd try
anything as long as he thinks his sister might still alive."

It amazes me how he can read my mind like that sometimes. Well,
we HAVE been friends a long time... ever since I met him after
his father's death. Strange how you can mark time by tragedies
so easily.

But his words do calm me down. Cody's always been really good at
helping me keep things in perspective. It reminds me again why
he's such a good friend. Sometimes I think I'd go completely
NUTS if he wasn't there to keep anchoring me down.

I really should tell him that someday... let him know how much I
appreciate all he's done for me... and what he means to me.

What? No WAY! Not like THAT! He's not a guy, he's... he's
Cody! And I don't think that's a fair question to a--

"Why do you think the sky is so dark like that?"

I jump and let out a little scream in shock, despite myself.
Okay, that's one thing I DON'T like about Cody... he's so quiet
that he can just sneak up on you out of nowhere if you're not
paying attention. I swear, one of these days he's going to give
me a heart attack.

Although, he seems to have realized what he's done quickly enough
and an embarrassed little blush tinges his cheeks as he says,
"... sorry."

I smile at him to let him know there's no real harm done and I
look back out the window. "I honestly don't know," I say. "I
mean, there's no clouds in the sky, no eclipse or anything
blocking out the sun... it's just so dark. It's like something
sucking up all the light before we can even see it."

"An' there's somethin' else, too..." Armadillomon says from the
couch with a yawn. "It's kinda hard fer me ta explain but the
closest ah kin get ta decribin' it is ah feel cold and ah just
can't seem ta warm m'self up."

"I felt that outside, too," I nod. "Something is really
wrong here, and I get the feeling it won't be right again until
we fix it."

"In the meantime... maybe we should turn up the thermostat?" Cody
asks.

"I'm afraid it's not a physical kind of chill," Hawkmon says,
flapping his wings nervously. I can tell that he's shivering a
little now, too. "It's... more like an inexorable feeling of
dread. Dark forces reside here... and I do hope we won't have to
stay here for long before whatever is causing this decides to
return."

"That may be a problem, then," Cody says. "It's possible
we may have to at least spend the night here."

"WHAT?! Cody, you CAN'T be serious," I say, anger and fear and
worry all bursting out at once. Well, look, I did warn him that
I'd be pretty worked up until I found my folks. "We CAN'T stay
here! We have to keep looking for our families! What if,
while we're sitting here on our butts letting Davis cry for
GOD knows how long, whoever it is does this to OUR families too?!
Or maybe something worse?! Cody, do you want to lose your
mother this early in your life too?!"

And as soon as the words leave my mouth, I feel awful. That was
a low blow, even for me. I really hate the way my temper runs off
sometimes and leaves all my common sense behind, because then it
doesn't seem to care who gets hurt. I can see the change come
over his face for only an instant, but in that instant I can see
the face of a little boy whose entire world had fallen apart at
the edge of a drunken man's knife.

And in the next instant, Cody's back, though his eyes continue to
shimmer as he speaks. "I'm worried too," he says. "I know Grandpa
can still take care of himself... but mom... she's so gentle...
and she wouldn't...."

He closes his eyes for a moment... and I can see a single
tear fall down the side of his face. Stupid, stupid me! I
should've known all this would be hard on him, too, and I
should've been helping him instead of just blowing up all over
the place and snapping at Davis and doing all the stupid little
immature things I always do. "We have to stay together. We have
a better chance of surviving whatever is out there and saving our
families, if they need saving, if all three of us are together,"
he continues. Cody's trying to force his voice to sound as calm
and even as it always does, and he's not really doing a very good
job. But he opens his eyes again as he finishes. "And we can't
leave Davis alone either. His sister doesn't want to lose him as
much as he doesn't want to lose her."

"Cody..." I say, my voice cracking after a long time of silence.
"I'm... I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said..."

He places a hand on my shoulder and I look up. The glasses he
has to wear now make his face look more narrow, but they can't
hide the depths of his eyes as he gently smiles down at me.
"We're all entitled to a... moment to let it all out and act a
little bit crazy," he says. "It's been a crazy day."

The door to Davis' room finally swings open and he and Veemon
walk out. Davis has that huge duffle bag he carries his gym
stuff in swung over his shoulder and... is he smiling?

"Well, let's get going!" he says, his voice actually sounding
kind of close to the way it usually does.

"Davis?" Cody and I both ask at the same time, looking
at him like he's crazy. The change came so fast... it makes me
wonder if he's used to acting all vapid and cheerful when he
doesn't really feel it on a regular basis.

I should really go out of my way to be nicer to him.

"We can't spend all day here," Davis says, his eyes glancing
downward again for a moment before he looks back up. For a
moment, I can swear I actually see him look a little uncertain
and insecure... but he's all smirk again by the time he looks
back up. "Besides, June's out there somewhere and she's probably
gonna be all over some poor guy, and we're gonna have to rescue
him!"

Stunned silence is the only response either of us can think of.

"And besides that," Davis adds, "I'm sure your families are
worried about you guys, too, and I'm not gonna keep you from 'em.
So let's go!"

"Davis..." Cody begins. "Are you sure..."

He trails off as Davis just gives us... it's the most intense
look I've ever seen in my life. I'm not sure how to describe it.
It was pain, sadness, anger and determination all combined at
once. "Someday, I'm gonna find him. And when I do, I'm gonna
kill him," he says. He sounds really serious right now, so
serious that I know it's scaring me and even Cody looks a little
bit rattled. "But until then... well, Asuramon said I was gonna
be in charge and if I am, then I've gotta keep my head together
and help take care of you guys. So let's get outta here while we
still can, alright?" And then he's all smiles again.

I feel really sorry for that guy when Davis finds him.

We nod and walk out after him without another word, with our
Digimon following. About two blocks after we had to pass the
bodies again, the shock of it all finally wore off. I'm not
ashamed to say that I was the first one to lose my lunch. I had
good company to do it in.

+ + +

Cody's footfalls were nearly silent as he crossed the length of
the dojo's wooden floor. It had been the same here as it had
been at Yolie's home and Davis' apartment. The building was
completely abandoned. The only thing that prevented the
atmosphere from being completely terrifying was the fact that the
unnatural darkness had begun to fade as they'd moved away from
Davis' apartment building. The bright sun shining through the
windows seemed to slightly negate the unearthly emptiness of the
streets and buildings.

There were two more items Cody needed before he could leave. The
first was his bokken, which he had already strapped to his back
via a makeshift carrier. Considering the current state of the
world, there was no telling how bad things could get, so it was
best to be prepared for all possibilities.

And that brought him to the second item, which sat on its display
rack. The jade green scabbard felt cool in his hands as he lifted
it free of its stand. He gently wrapped his fingers around the
hilt and drew the sword's blade partially free, looking at the
reflection the silvery metal cast.

He decided that he looked very tired.

Cody slid the katana's blade firmly back in its sheath and placed
it within the duffle bag full of clothes and supplies that he was
now carrying. He hoped the sword would never need to be drawn
forth and used. Before he rejoined the others, he bowed before the
display in order to thank his ancestors for leaving the sword behind
for his use, should the need arise.

The three humans and their Digimon partners left Cody's house
almost immediately. The mood had grown understandably more
somber, and they barely seemed to notice the surreal quality of
the landscape now. They had heard the noises that might have
been caused by human or Digimon habitation, but the unknown
creatures or persons always fled from them the moment they began
approaching. So far, there had been no need to fight again.
They hadn't even seen another living thing in the entire
wasteland that Odaiba had become.

"We're almost to the store," Yolie said, after a long, quiet
period of walking. "It's right around this corner."

The store was completely untouched by the alterations of the
landscape around it, just like the homes of the Digidestined had been.
It stood amidst the chaos and waste that seemed to characterize
the Digital Earth just as it had when Tokyo was a thriving
metropolis.

Yolie opened the door and felt her heart painfully deflate as she
entered total darkness. The freezers in the cold foods isle
still hummed, the racks were still full of food, and the
magazines and newspapers had even been updated with that
morning's arrivals. But there were no people or Digimon in sight.

"Let's get some of..." Yolie began before she had to catch
herself on a counter-top to keep from toppling over and being
trampled. Veemon, Hawkmon and Armadillomon bumped recklessly
into her legs in sheer excitement as they surged forward.

"YAY!" Veemon exclaimed as he charged a display of potato chips
and began tearing into the bags. "FOOD!"

"VITTLES!" Armadillomon agreed, hopping up into the fruit
displays and munching away at several apples.

"SUSTENANCE!" Hawkmon said, taking a box of sushi and gently
nibbling at the small rolls.

"HEY!" Yolie shouted fruitlessly as the feeding Digimon. "We
still have to pay for that!"

"Mrph?!" Davis gagged, choking slightly on the beef jerky he'd
started to eat. He swallowed and said, "You gotta be kidding!
Besides, we need to save our money for important stuff!"

"This IS important, Davis!" Yolie shot back. "Just because no
one's here now doesn't mean it's going to STAY this way! No
matter what's happened to Earth, there's still a need for food
markets and if we take everything just for us without paying then
we'll go broke trying to restock the place and I WON'T be the one
who lets the family business get ruined!"

Davis said nothing for a moment, looking guiltily at the
partially eaten jerky. He then looked up and said, "... Ummm...
Cody... could you lend me some money?"

Yolie's right eye began to twitch.

Cody glanced over at Davis, then over at Yolie, and took a long
step back from the both of them.

And that was when they heard the scream that quite possibly saved
Davis' life. It was a distinctly human scream which was quickly
followed by Veemon and Hawkmon running towards them, their eyes
wide. Armadillomon was hurled violently after them, landing
helplessly on his back.

From behind the fruit isle, three screaming human figures
brandishing brooms raced out after them. They swung relentlessly
at both the Digimon and the humans.

Cody dodged to the side of the clumsy swings aimed at him and
quickly darted back in. He grabbed the broom as it was swung at
him again and disarmed his unknown assailant with a flick of his
wrist.

"Hey... ow! Wait a-- ow!-- second! Ow!" Davis tried to say as he
was smacked on the shoulders and legs by another broom. "That
hurts!" Apparently, it didn't hurt badly enough to warrant
trying dodge aside, however.

Yolie screamed in surprise at the sudden attack and hastily dived
back, flicking on the light switch by the door. When the lights
came on, she looked up and saw the face of her father. Everyone
present froze as Yolie looked around. She saw her mother still
futilely striking at Davis as her sister gawked up at Cody.

"Dad..." Yolie said, adjusting her glasses, almost too afraid to
believe her eyes. "Mom... Sis...." She had no time to say
anything else. She abruptly found herself in the middle of a
giant group hug as all three of her family members rushed over to
her and took turns embracing her and begging her to confirm that
she was, in fact, okay.

Davis walked over to Cody, running his hands through his hair in
irritation before checking his goggles for damage. "Man," Davis
muttered. "All that dust is gonna give me split ends."

Cody smiled softly as he replied. "A small price to pay, wouldn't
you say?"

"Yeah, I guess," Davis replied, patting out more dust from his
hair. "But if Kari sees me like this, she won't think I'm sexy
anymore!"

Cody blinked at Davis.

"What?" Davis replied defensively. "She's still out there, too,
and she's probably as scared and alone as we are! But she is NOT
gonna stay that way if I can help it. So if I'm gonna be there
for her, I want her to see me at my best so I can completely
inspire confidence in her!"

"Is confidence all you're trying to... inspire?" Cody asked
softly.

Davis blushed slightly, and emitted a nervous laugh.

"Oh Yolie!" Yolie's mother said, still hugging her child. "We
were so worried about you..."

"Oh, you've no reason to fear for Miss Yolie's safety now,"
Hawkmon said. "It is my sworn duty to protect her from all harm."

Her mother started at the unfamiliar voice and glanced down at
Hawkmon. Her eyes widened in horror as she looked at him, and
she emitted a loud scream as she tried to pull Yolie away.
Yolie's father darted forward, swiping his broom violently down
at the bird Digimon.

"Get away from my daughter!" Yolie's mother furiously shouted at
Hawkmon.

"MOM!" Yolie shouted in protest, trying to pull away from her.

"You heard her! Leave my family alone, you monster!" Yolie's
father spat vengefully, moving to place himself between Hawkmon
and his family.

Hawkmon easily evaded the blow and flapped backward from the
furious human. "My WORD!" The bird Digimon exclaimed in alarm.
"Did I commit a faux pas?"

"DAD!" Yolie exclaimed again, this time with more force in her
voice. "It's okay! He's with me! He's a good monster and he
helped protect me from the bad monsters when they attacked our
school!"

Yolie's father took on a slightly less tense pose and glanced
back at her in confusion. "... a good monster?"

"But there's no such thing!" His wife exclaimed, wringing her
hands in worry.

"... all Digimon are bad? That'sh an awful thing to say about
ush," Veemon said. He sounded legitimately hurt.

"An' it ain't one nary bit true. That's like sayin' all humans
are bad!" Armadillomon added, indignantly.

"The Digimon that attacked us at school seemed more confused than
really evil, anyway. Just like when you attacked us," Cody added
with a nod.

"Yeah, what gave you an idea like that? That's just so completely
wrong!" Davis exclaimed.

"He called himself the Digimon Emperor," Yolie's sister spoke,
stepping forward. "I couldn't get a very good look at him because
he was so far away, but he seemed to be wearing this official
uniform and everything. A little while after the monsters first
appeared here, he showed up, too, on the back of this big flying
dragon monster. He said that he ruled over all Digimon by
birthright and that he could put these black collars on them that
would make it impossible for them to attack anyone. He asked
people to help him capture all the monsters he could, and just
about everybody here pitched in. Once the collars were on them,
they not only wouldn't attack us, but they'd do anything the
Emperor told them to!"

"He turned them into slaves?!" Yolie exclaimed.

"Precisely! This so-called Emperor is using Dark Rings!" Hawkmon
nodded. "They're utterly awful mind control devices that leave a
Digimon unable to do anything but what the maker of the rings
commands!"

"They're pure evil!" Veemon added. "And anybody who made 'em or
uses 'em hash to be, too!"

"But if everyone who lived around here helped him catch the
Digimon...." Cody trailed off. He didn't really want to finish
that thought.

"There's no way my family would go along with somethin' like
that! Not even June... 'specially not mom and dad...." Davis
clenched his hands into fists and fell silent. The implications
if that were true reflected especially darkly upon this 'Digimon
Emperor'.

Yolie's mother continued the story, her voice soft and muted.
"When he'd caught all the monsters, he said he'd use them to help
evacuate everyone he could from this area to somewhere safer.
Most of the people who lived here left with him, but we didn't
because we couldn't bear to abandon the store. A few other
people wanted to stay behind or go somewhere besides where the
Emperor wanted to take them. So before he left, he said that
we'd probably be okay out here by ourselves, but that we should
be careful and kill any monster we saw before it could kill us."

"He told you WHAT? Tell me you guys didn't! Please!" Yolie
glanced anxiously at her family members.

"He said that it wasn't wrong even if it seemed otherwise,
because they weren't really living things..." Yolie's father
said. He looked shaken and almost a bit ashamed, though.

"Ah don't agree with that, neither," Armadillomon said with a
sharp frown. "Ah sure as heck feel alive ta me!"

"Digimon eat and sleep and play and do all the stuff humansh do!
How could anyone think we weren't really alive?" Veemon asked in
confusion.

"No one who knew any better, and I think this 'Digimon Emperor'
most certainly has to. That can't be anything but an outright
lie he told innocent people so he could make them do his dirty
work for him!" Hawkmon replied, voice harsh and indignant.

"This Digimon Emperor," Davis asked, quietly. "Did he or any of
his stuff have some kinda black fist marking anywhere?"

"A fist?" Yolie's mother said. "No... not that I can remember.
There were just black rings around the Digimon's bodies."

"Huh. So there's gotta be someone ELSE, too..." Davis said,
looking down at the ground.

"I wouldn't jump to conclusions yet, Davis," Cody mused. "This
Digimon Emperor seems to know how to use people's fear to
manipulate them. There no reason to believe he's not the one
who... well, I just wouldn't take the absence of the black fist
on his equipment to mean that he was wholly innocent just yet."

"I dunno. This guy sounds like a total evil jerk, but he was
still trying to save humans... even if he wanted to hurt Digimon
to do it," Davis replied, uncertainly.

"HELP!"

The group turned as one toward the door as they heard the scream
from outside. "PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP US!" the unknown woman
continued, a terrified, pleading tone in her voice.

They ran to the door and looked out to see a stand-off between
three humans and two unknown Digimon. One of the humans, obviously
the woman who had screamed for help, seemed about middle-aged.
She had long brown hair and wore a long blue dress, and had a
terrified expression on her face as she hid behind the second of
the humans. He was a serious-looking young man with blue-black
hair and wire rim glasses who wore a long white coat over a
button-up shirt and slacks. He, in turn, was hiding behind a
panting elderly man dressed in a black karate gi who brandished a
bokken in front of him shakily as he sternly said, "You will let
us pass. All we wish to do is pass through here to a hospital in
free territory and return this young man to his work. You will
not be allowed to deny aid to those who suffer."

One of the enemy Digimon he faced were what appeared to be an old
tree trunk that had adapted four of it's larger limbs into arms
and legs and wore a strange black belt around its middle. The
other was like something out of a children's fairy tale with long
messy white hair, warty green skin, and a large muscular body
connected to a vicious-looking face with a large mouth that
seemed to be permanently gaping open, showing his large fangs.
A black ring was strapped around his neck like a collar.

The green thing raised its right arm, brandishing its bone club
at the old man as it said, "Too bad ya don't hear as well as ya
can fight. This is the Emperor's area, so ya gotta pay respect
ta the emperor before passin' through."

"Never!" the old man shouted sternly.

The younger man clenched his hand into a fist and shouted
fearlessly at the Digimon. "I'm not going anywhere that's under
that slave driver's control! There's no way I'm going to work
for a tyrant!"

The green Digimon merely chuckled at him. "You're puttin' up a
good defense, old guy, but ya ain't gonna last much longer. Not
wit da way yer stick's shakin'. Be smart and surrender, why
don't cha? All the Emperor wants is what's best for you."

"Oh no!" Armadillomon said. "The one on the left's Woodmon. He's
a right nasty fella whose bark IS his bite! His Branch Drain'll
leave ya'll tuckered out for good if he gets ya with it!"

"And that other unpleasant fellow is named Ogremon," Hawkmon
pointed out. "He is quite strong in both physique and body odor.
Don't get in the way of his Pummel Whack or you'll have a
headache for weeks after!"

"Alright, guys, it's obvious what we've gotta do!" Davis said,
adjusting his goggles on top of his head. "Let's get--"

He stopped in mid-pep speech as Cody raced past him, Armadillomon
galloping hastily along after him in an attempt to keep up.
"MOM! GRANDPA!"

"Hey, wait up a sec!" Armadillomon said. "Ah'll save 'em! Just
hold up th' Digivice and say th' words!"

Cody nodded and removed the small palm computer from his pocket.
"DIGI-ARMOR ENER... GIZE!"

"Armadillomon, Armor Digivolve TO..." Armadillomon's body was
surrounded by a sphere of light that absorbed the Digimental of
Knowledge as it materialized in a burst of golden light from
Cody's Digivice. After it had fully absorbed the pixilated data
of the Armor, a shell of hard rock and compressed dirt ripped
upward from beneath the asphalt he stood on to cover his body
like a hard shell. That shell increased in size until it was a
cylindrical pillar over six feet tall, which was torn to shreds
by Digmon's whirling steel drills as the reborn Digimon torn his
way free. "DIGMON! The Drill of Knowledge!"

Cody skidded to a halt as his Armored Digimon charged forward
towards the ring-Dominated Digimon. "What da..." Ogermon said.
"We got us some company!"

"Cody?" his mother breathed in disbelief.

His grandfather stared on at the boy and his Digimon partner as
well. "... is that creature Cody's ally?"

"And then some!" The strange young man that was standing with
them shouted in joy. "Just stand back and let them fight! Trust
me, they're the good guys here!" Cody's mother and grandfather
stared at him oddly, but did as he told, moving back as far from
the fight as they possibly could.

"Hey!" Davis said with a frown. "Are we gonna let Cody and
Armadillomon do all the work and hog all the glory, Veemon?"

"No way!" The little dragon Digimon replied.

"DIGI-ARMOR ENER... GIZE!" Davis shouted as he pulled forth this
own Digivice.

"Veemon, Armor Digivolve TO..." A violent flash of crimson light
enveloped Veemon's body in a glowing sphere of light. As the
Digimental of Courage appeared and pixilated into it, it grew
into a raging column of fire that melted the asphalt around it
with its sheer intensity. The fire could be seen solidifying and
breaking apart, turning into the armored claw-gauntlets and
wickedly horned face mask of the slender, agile-looking dragon
Digimon that emerged from within the inferno. "FLAMEDRAMON!
The Fire of Courage!"

"Cody..." Yolie whispered to herself as he pulled out her
Digivice. "... No one else is dying today! DIGI-ARMOR ENER...
GIZE!"

"Hawkmon, Armor Digivolve TO..." Hawkmon's body was enveloped in
its own glowing sphere of light that assumed a soft pink color as
the Digimental of Love pixilated into it. The orb grew into a
great egg of rosy-colored radiance that glowed with a soft and
gentle heat that did not disturb the landscape that surrounded it
in the least. However, the savage-looking griffin-like creature
that tore its way free of the rosy egg of light was anything but
gentle-looking. "... HALSEMON! The Wings of Love!"

"GOLD RUSH!" Digmon cried, his drill missiles launching towards
the two enemy Digimon. Ogremon leaped into the air, dodging the
attack as Woodmon crossed his arms over his chest to block the
incoming projectile. The force of the impact drove him back as
the steel missiles buried themselves in his wooden arms.

"Be careful, Digmon!" Cody shouted. "That's my family behind
them!"

"Don't worry, Cody," Digmon replied. "That was just a warnin'
shot!"

"Yolie," Halsemon commanded. "Stay back here with your family
while I go assist the others."

The young girl nodded and ushered her family back into the store
as the griffin-like Digimon flew off to assist Flamedramon. The
fire-dragon Armor Digimon easily avoided the swings of Ogremon's
club, and seemed merely to be waiting for the right opening to
make his counter-attack.

"TEMPEST WING!" Halsemon shouted as his body began to spin
horizontally in mid-air. Halsemon's rapidly whirling body
became the beginning of a narrow but intense cyclone of high-
speed air that slammed into Ogremon's side and sent him reeling.

"Izzat yer best shot?" the Ogremon growled, narrowing his glowing
red eyes as he rose back to his feet. "I could take ten a' you
guys without breakin' a sweat! PUMMEL WHACK!" The Ogremon
thrust his fist forward, a shockwave of compressed air heading
toward the two Armor Digimon.

Flamedramon and Halsemon darted up and over the attack and rushed
toward the Ogremon, who simply swung his bone club to try and
bat them aside. He was able to strike Halsemon across the side
of his armored head and send him crashing to the ground, but in
the process gave Flamedramon the opening he needed to attack.
The fire-dragon Digimon slammed his gauntlet-covered arm forward
to punch Ogremon across the face, dazing the larger Champion
Digimon. Flamedramon then spun around and knocked Ogremon back to
his knees with a spinning kick from one of his powerful-looking
armor-covered legs.

"FIRE ROCKET!" Flamedramon cried to finish the battle, thrusting
his claw-gauntlet forward and unleashing a hail of fireballs that
battered the Virus Digimon into unconsciousness.

"EAGLE EYE!" Halsemon added. His eyes glowed with red energy,
then unleashed a pair of laser-like beams of power that flew with
pin-point accuracy at the Dark Ring. The dark device shattered
into a storm of black pixels as the power beams hit it. Ogremon
was thrown violently back by the blast and collided with the wall
of a nearby building, the falling rubble burying his body.

Meanwhile, Digmon charged at Woodmon, his drills spinning as he
thrust his upper arms forward at him. The drills connected with
the Dark Ring around his midsection and broke it, too, into
nothing but a shower of black pixels. Woodmon stopped dead in
his tracks and blinked his eyes in obvious confusion. "What
the..." the Woodmon said as he looked around. "Where am I?"

"I get it!" Davis said in excitement as he watched. "If we break
the rings then they're not being controlled anymore! Cool!"

"Mom! Grandpa!" Cody shouted again as he raced past Digmon and
embraced the old man and the woman. He seemed to be on the verge
of tears.

"Cody..." his mother said softly, tears in her eyes as well as
she wrapped her arms around him. "My boy... you're safe..."

"He's a survivor..." his Grandfather said, pride in his voice.
"He has great skill... and a strong heart..." Cody felt a chill
run down his spine as he noticed that his Grandfather's words
were uncharacteristically slurred, and that the old man's skin
was icy cold and clammy. He felt his heart drop into his stomach
as his Grandfather lost the strength to stand and swooned. Cody
easily caught the old man, choking on his own rising emotions as
he heard his grandfather somehow force himself to keep speaking.
"... He'll carry... the school... well... and protect... the
family..."

"Grandpa..." Cody said, his eyes opening wide even as the eyes of
his Grandfather closed for the final time.

"Let me see him!" The young man in the white coat said. "I'm a
doctor, I can help!"

Cody gently laid his Grandfather on the ground and let him get
close. The young doctor placed his ear against the old man's
chest for a moment and then began applying CPR.

Minutes passed, feeling like an eternity as the doctor pressed,
breathed, listened... pressed, breathed, listened... pressed,
breathed, listened....

Finally, he sighed, stood up and sadly crossed the arms of Cody's
grandfather over his chest.

"No..." Cody stammered in disbelief. "No... Grandpa..."

Yolie, who had made her way over to where Cody was, kneeled down
next to him. Her concern was obvious in her eyes, though she
seemed at a complete loss for words as she looked up at the
doctor. She didn't need to ask any of the many questions that
were obviously on her mind.

"My name is Jim Kido," the doctor said with a sigh. "As for how I
know about what you guys can do... that's a long story I'll get
into later. But I was driving back to work from lunch when
everything went nuts and got into a wreck with the Hidas. We
were trying to make it back to the hospital where I worked on
foot so we could get away from the Digimon Emperor and maybe keep
it from falling under his control. But we apparently got into
his territory and the old man insisted on trying to defend us...
I guess his heart was weaker then he thought it was. I'm sorry."

"He was taking medicine... our doctors said there was something
wrong with his heart..." Cody said softly. He'd sank to the
ground next to his grandfather's body, knees drawn up to his chin
as he silently cried. "He said he wouldn't be able to teach me
as much anymore... and that there wasn't much left to teach... he
said he had only a year or two left anyway... but I still want
him... I want my Grandpa!" Cody usual stoic manner was entirely
gone, washed away by grief, and all that remained was an
anguished little boy who had just lost another important part of
his life. Yolie reached out and hugged her friend along with his
mother as his tears and grief flowed out freely.

Davis turned away, clenching his fists in anger. "Damnit," he
growled softly, surprised to find that there were still tears
left in him to cry. "It's not supposed to be like this! We won!
Nobody else was supposed to get hurt!"

"Davis..." Flamedramon trailed off, at a loss for words himself.

"We're not just rolling over and taking this!" Davis shouted,
clenching his fist. "There's... there's something we've gotta
do! Flamedramon, are you strong enough to carry me?"

"Easily," the fire-dragon nodded to his human partner.

"Okay, then... Yolie, you take care of things here! I promise
I'll be back in a few minutes, but there's something important me
an' Flamedramon have gotta do!"

Yolie blinked at him in surprise and then nodded numbly to him.
She'd ask him about whatever it was later, but for now, it seemed
best to let Davis have his way. She watched Flamedramon hoist
Davis up in his arms and bound off back into the deserted city
before she turned her head and watched her confused family walk
out of the store. Then she turned back to comforting Cody.

She had never felt guiltier in her life.

+ + +

Flamedramon knew they were getting closer as it began to grown
unnaturally dark once more. Through the thickening cloud of
unnatural shadow he traveled, hopping from roof to roof and
carefully maintaining his grip on Davis' waist.

His eyes glistened for a moment as he reached their destination.
"Are you sure you really want to come back here, Davis?"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my entire life!" His
human responded.

Flamedramon finally touched down and released Davis, then
silently looked at the two rotting bodies hanging on their
crosses. "And are you sure you want me to do this?"

Davis glanced down, his voice wavering. "It's... it's what they'd
want. And it'll send a signal of our own to whoever did this!"

"Then so be it," Flamedramon growled, as viciously as if he was
going into combat. "FIRE ROCKET!"

The bodies were instantly engulfed in flames. They burned with
unnatural speed and intensity, almost as if the fire had a power
that consumed the dark rot that infected them instantly. Little
smoke rose from the bodies, keeping the characteristic smell of
burning flesh to a minimum.

"And that thing!" Davis shouted, pointing at the stone pillar
with the black fist engraved upon it. "Smash it down!"

"My pleasure!" Flamedramon launched himself into his Fire Rocket
again, throwing his flame-covered body head-first at the
offending stone. The great metal blade that protruded from his
face-mask slashed the pillar neatly in half, the stone shattering
further as it hit the ground. The fist symbol had been broken
into countless pieces.

"And now... now we're gonna leave a mark of our own here, so the
Digimon Emperor and whoever did this and every other evil tyrant
there can know that we're here, and we're NOT gonna let them get
away with it!" Davis said.

Flamedramon turned toward his human. "What sort of a mark?"

"We'll use... uh... I know! That mark on the back of your
armor!" Davis exclaimed brightly. "It's the same as the one on
the Digi-egg of Courage, right? So that's the best way possible
to let the bad guys know that we did this and not anybody else!"

"The emblem of the Crest of Courage? I can't think of a better
calling card for us!" Flamedramon exclaimed in agreement. "I can
rip it into the middle of the road to make sure our enemies can't
miss it."

"Yeah! That's perfect!" Davis all but cheered.

From a near-by roof top, unseen by either the human or his Armor
Digimon, a small Digimon watched as Flamedramon begin ripping
deep trenches in the asphalt with his claw-gauntlets. First a
great circle was etched into the ground, then it was surrounded
with eight triangles in such a way that it gave the emblem the
appearance of a stylized sun. The resemblance was enhanced when
Flamedramon filled the trenches he'd ripped with fire. If only
for the few moments it took for the fire to melt the asphalt so
that the emblem could not be easily torn up or filled in, the
bright light put off by the burning copy of the Crest of Courage
dispelled the supernatural darkness that had settled over that
particular part of Odaiba Ward like a plague.

The Digimon blinked his eyes. His body and head were combined
into a single silver orb that from which a pair of red arms
extended. A strange black fist-shaped mark, just like the one on
the pillar that Flamedramon had just destroyed, was etched on his
forehead. "The boss," he said to himself, "is definitely gonna
want to hear about this."

+ + +

I am the Lord of Domination.

I have been fated from birth to fight for power until the day I
die. I will fight with my family against the eight children
fated to be our enemies. We hate them.

There is one that I hate in particular. He bears the Crest that
stands in direct opposition to my own Crest of Domination. His
is the Crest of Courage. He will fight without fear for that
which he loves, and what he loves above all things is this world
and children who were chosen to defend it alongside him. So I
hate those things. They will kneel before me and be Dominated by
my will, or they will be destroyed.

But my Mamemon has returned to me with news of a new player in
our game of power. An outsider with a Digimon companion that I am
unfamiliar with, and who has the audacity to destroy my symbols
and leave yours in their place. What is he to you, bearer of the
Crest of Courage? A protege? A new soldier, whose aid you've
enlisted against me? Are you really so afraid to face me
yourself? Do you really think such a pathetic fighter will tilt
the balance of power in favor of your family? If so, then you
are an idiot.

He will pay for defacing my property. He will pay for trying to
take what is mine and give it to you. Like everything else you
think you possess, bearer of the Crest of Courage, he will kneel
before me and be Dominated by my will, or he will be destroyed.
Perhaps I will destroy him anyway, just to watch the agony the
loss will bring to you. Regardless, this outsider's role in our
game of power will not fail to be interesting.

But its my move, now. And I don't think this new child will
survive to see the next round.

+ + +
To be continued...
+ + +