Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Morphs: A Digimorphs Tale ❯ A Comedy of Errors ( Chapter 44 )

Digimon / Digital Monsters and all related trademarks belong to Bandai. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author's permission.

 

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A Comedy of Errors

By nightdragon0

 

 

 

WHAM!

The hole in the ship was a little too small for Leviamon to fit through, leaving it stuck half-in and half-out. Furiously, the oversized crocodile snapped its jaws inches away from the tip of Steve's snout.

“Talk about your close encounters…” Steve stared through the shielding of his visor. “Where's the crocodile hunter when you need him?”

However, the distraction had given him enough time to pry himself loose and swim further into the ship. Leviamon's threshing eventually widened the hole enough for it to follow. Steve barely got out of the storeroom's door in time, slamming and bolting the door shut as he did so.

He shoved his whole body weight against the strong iron door as Leviamon continuously pounded on it from the other side. Eventually, the thumping on the door slowed till it stopped, leaving just the rapid thumping of his heart ringing in his ears.

“Whew…” Steve relaxed his tensed shoulders. “I think he's…gone now…”

The Depthmon happened to turn his head….only to realize that he was inside a room with a huge glass window on one side. And Leviamon was glaring at him from the outside.

“Oh son of a…”

Leviamon didn't even give him a chance to finish the sentence before smashing through the window. The aquatic beast did knock an overturned table aside in its charge, giving Steve a chance to duck beneath it and flee. He managed to get through another iron door and slam it shut…only to have Leviamon smash its head through the wall this time.

“Gargh!” Steve gasped, staring at the three walls before him. He'd stumbled into a dead-end room.

Frantically glancing around, Steve backed into a stack of barrels and caught sight of the nearest one.

“Danger, explosives.” He grinned. “Perfect!”

Using the tip of his merman tail, Steve flipped the barrel up and punched it towards the threshing head of Leviamon. His pursuer got the barrel caught between its incisors, which served to enrage it further.

Steve triumphantly raised his wrist, which continued a hidden gun within its armor.

“Crap! I can't blow the barrel up!” He suddenly realized. “Not without blasting myself to sub-atomic particles too!”

Ignorant of the barrel, Leviamon continued to push through the hole it had created.

“What now?” Steve muttered as the jaws drew closer.

Another glance through his limited resources had him coming up with a small cylinder full or crude oil. Steve knew he had to take a chance and slowly unscrewed the cylinder's lid.

Everything happened in an instant.

Leviamon burst through the hole and Steve ducked to the side, hurling the opened cylinder. The crude oil inside clouded the waters with a haze of blackness, making it nearly impossible to see. Steve immediately swam up along the ceiling and bolted out the door.

Back in the large room with the broken window, he whirled around and heard Leviamon's roars coming from the adjacent room. Without thinking, Steve fired his wrist blaster.

“Bubble Bomb!”

His shout was met by a much louder explosion. Steve was both deafened and blinded for the second that the force of the blast propelled him away from the ship, out of the water…and onto the rocky shoreline of the underground lake.

Screaming all the way, Steve landed face-first and lay there, panting for a while.

“Gargh…arghh…whew…it's a wonder that I'm so good at this.” Steve gasped, rolling over onto his back.

He tried to stand, only to remember that he was currently in his merman-like Depthmon form. Steve immediately felt for the D-Dragon on his left wrist to change armors….and found it missing.

Momentarily panic hit him like a hammer, but a glimmer of light soon caught his attention. The Digivice had been thrown inland by the blast, and was lying by the entrance to a cave further up the shore.

Unfortunately, that left Steve with the dilemma how to get it whilst in his Depthmon form, one that was not exactly built for moving on land.

“AAARRRRRGGGHHH!” Steve pounded his head on the floor before proceeding to crawl up the shore, dragging his merman body along. “Why do these things ALWAYS happen to me?”

Of course, there wasn't anyone around to answer that question.

 

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Because it would be so much easier to assimilate you.

The phrase just kept repeating in Sekata's mind, over and over again. It didn't help that AncientGreymon fell silent after that and did not speak up again, even as Sekata landed on one of the many castle tower rooftops.

Poised on the rooftop, the Dorugoramon took a moment to bask in the moonlight and check the surroundings. It was a full moon, something Sekata hadn't seen in a while. Not since the time he'd spent locked up by his own comrades.

He didn't blame them, even though his memories of the event were still fuzzy.

It wasn't even his choice, and Sekata knew that he was just the pawn in a game between AncientGreymon and Death-Xmon. But deciding which was the lesser of the two evils was difficult.

AncientGreymon had existed within him for a much longer time, playing all sorts of tricks with his mind. The former ancient warrior had at first tried to make Sekata think he was like `another' side of himself. And when that didn't work out, AncientGreymon gradually fell more and more out of the act, revealing more of his true persona.

Deep down in there, Sekata was beginning to feel that his tormentor was just another dragon.

However, Death-X was an entirely different entity. As Sekata clenched his claws and looked down into them, he thought about AncientGreymon mentioning Death-X's other half.

But if AncientGreymon was so against that, why didn't he come up and stop it himself? And why was he so concerned about Sekata not bonding with Death-X? Could he really have no power against it?

A chilling presence suddenly snapped Sekata out of his musings. With his keen eyes focusing in the dark, Sekata made out the ominous form of Death-Xmon hovering above the castle. His sense of smell picked up that same, awful scent too and there was no mistaking it.

Immediately, Sekata felt his blood boiling with rage. Leaping off his perch, the dragon spread his wings and sped towards his opponent.

Death-Xmon looked towards him, snickering. And suddenly, the huge beast was out of his path, causing Sekata to stop short.

“What? RRARRGGHH!” Sekata was hit in the back by a claw swing and sent spinning through the air.

The dragon managed to regain his bearings and flipped over in mid-fall, turning back towards Death-Xmon.

“Brave Metal!” He roared, draconic body glowing ablaze with flames.

Death-Xmon opened its jaws and sprayed him with a green, acidic gas that caused Sekata to choke. The purple dragon stopped his attack midway, leaving him open to a counter attack from Death-Xmon.

Sekata was pounded several times in the face, sending the Dorugoramon crashing into one of the castle towers.

“Why you…” Sekata hissed, dusting himself off.

He bounded back and lashed out with a fist that managed to catch Death-Xmon on the snout. His opponent screeched with an odd howl as it was thrown backwards, stunned. Sekata let off a ferocious battle roar as he slashed Death-X's body with his claws.

All of a sudden, the pain came right back. In horror, Sekata found two sets of three-fingered claw marks on his chest…the same places he'd just slashed Death-Xmon in. His nose was bleeding too, and Sekata remembered the blow he'd dealt to Death-Xmon earlier.

Not again…why is this happening?

Death-Xmon's claws suddenly extended and tore through the leathery sections of Sekata's wings. Howling in agony, he went crashing into the castle's rooftop and rolled over onto his back. His foe remained hovering in the air, seemingly unscratched. Once again, the wounds Sekata had inflicted were completely gone.

Everything I do to him just comes back to me. Sekata hissed. But he seems to hurt me without feeling a thing! However, his wounds heal quickly, whereas mine do heal…but at a slower rate. Is that part of his assimilation?

Sekata had to move as Death-Xmon rained down more of its acidic green breath, melting the tiles where he'd been standing on a moment before. He tried to open his wings, feeling a stabbing pain when he remembered that his wings had been torn to shreds. Whatever healing properties he shared with Death-Xmon hadn't come round to mending his wings yet.

The next second, Death-Xmon glowed with a dark energy and fired a blue energy beam from its jaws. The result was a blinding explosion that blew Sekata through the roof and deep down into the castle.

 

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“Harghh…gasp…I hate it when these things happen.” Janet panted, leaning the wall and trying to catch her breath.

Running mindlessly down the corridor had apparently gotten her more lost than ever. However, she did remember climbing up several flights of stairs. As such, Janet down stood in a corridor with several doors visible along its walls.

Guess I should try opening one of these… She thought. As long as I don't have to go back to where Dynamo…

Thinking of him made Janet shudder, quickly pushing those thoughts away. After all, she didn't need to bother about what happened to him in the end, did she?

As the old wooden door opened with a loud creak, Janet caught a glimmer of something shiny. She shoved the door fully opened and jumped back in fright….only to realize that she was looking at her own reflection in a full-body length mirror.

Curiously, the Strikedramon walked into the room and found many more mirrors mounted on the walls. It was weird seeing her reflection in so many shapes and sizes at the same time, much like an amusement park's hall of mirrors.

There was a desk in the corner of the room and Janet found a single, circular mirror on top of it, placed neatly under an oil lamp. However, all she saw in this mirror was a hazy fog.

“What's this?” She touched the mirror's surface and the fog suddenly begun to clear itself away.

Janet gasped when the scene on the mirror was revealed. It showed the moonlit night of the sky above the castle…and two dragons fighting on its rooftop.

There was no mistaking the more humanoid-looking one as Dorugoramon. With its silver armor and purple coloring, plus the long tail and distinctive wings, there was no denying it. Even though he was rather beat-up, Dorugoramon was still fighting hard.

The leathery purple sections of its wings had been shredded, along with some of the bones in the wing, called wing phalanges. Sweat was visible trickling down from beneath his helmet and over the exposed lower jaw and neck. She saw the jewel embedded in his forehead glowing too, seemingly along with the tension that was showing in his eyes.

However, there was also something strapped around his right hand too…something very familiar.

“Wait a minute…” Janet glanced down at the map on her D-Dragon's screen, noticing a signal she hadn't before. “Sekata's signal is close by! So that Dorugoramon could be him!”

Sekata's opponent was a huge Digimon, seemingly a mix of a centaur and a dragon, but with a series of jointed legs like a crab's, along with the head, upper torso and tail of a purple colored Dorugoramon. Its arms were different too, being extremely long and thin.

“What the heck is that thing?” Janet gasped. “Oh no!”

The enormous creature's body seemed to turn black as it fired a shimmering blue beam down on Sekata's position. At that very moment, the entire room shook, knocking Janet off her feet. The Strikedramon had to cover her head as bricks from the roof fell and shattered mirrors left and right.

Janet looked up just in time to see the `viewing mirror' fall off the desk and shatter into dozens of pieces. She didn't have anymore time however, and quickly dashed out of the room.

It was apparently the entire castle, not just the room that had been shaking. Janet positioned herself in the door frame until the shaking had stopped.

That mirror must've been viewing a scene on top of the castle. Janet realized. Then, if that really was Sekata up there…he might be hurt badly!

Instinctively, Janet reached for her D-Dragon. However, another thought suddenly crossed her mind. It was about the mural she'd seen earlier, the one with the two dragons fighting above the castle.

One purple and one black? Could it be?

She was still deciding what to do when a soft scream rang out.

“Hmm?” Janet kept her ears pealed.

“Help….someone…help!”

That almost sounded like…no, it couldn't be… Janet scratched her head. But it's coming from the next room!

The Strikedramon walked across the corridor and found the door containing the source of the noise was locked. Frowning, she pressed her ear against the door…only to hear the soft cries for help again.

“All right, here goes!” With a yell, Janet kicked the door down.

 

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Flashback…

“Are you just going to stand there all day? You should learn to relax a little.”

“Hm? Oh, I was just thinking.” Siavon blinked, shaking his head.

“Sometimes you just think too much.” Evza remarked.

“Hey! Mom! Dad!” A voice from below called. “Are you two just gonna stand up there all day?”

“Just hold on a minute Zelia, we're coming.” Evza leaned against the railing of the two story building.

The cottage was one of the many lining the shoreline, each one built on raised platforms with their main doors facing the sea. On the beach below their rented accommodation, a blue V-dramon and his velociraptor-like sister were casually rolling about in the sand.

The latter of the two, Zelia the Raptordramon, had her metallic helmet and body armor off. Those parts had been thrown in a heap together with a bunch of other beach equipment.

“Zelia don't leave your armor on the sand like that.” Siavon called. “You don't want me to make you polish it again when it gets rusty!”

“Geez, I got it already dad!” The raptor replied, pulling herself up from her basking spot.

“There you go thinking about work again.” Evza huffed. “There's no point in having a vacation that way.”

“Sorry, it's just that I have this big project coming up in Kencric soon.” Siavon muttered.

“We'll be coming with you of course.”

“No, you don't have to…”

“Oh shush and don't worry about it.”

“Well…”

“Or are you thinking about the past again?” Evza said softly.

“…”

“I apologize. I suppose I shouldn't bring that up. I wasn't able to find any help for you and…”

“No, it's not your fault.” Siavon shook his head. “I've already accepted that some things are best left forgotten. I can't keep dwelling on that, or I won't have a future to look forward to.”

“Hey! Mom! Dad! How about this?” The V-dramon, Zack, was waving a camera in one of his claws. “We should get a picture since we'll be stuck in the city for a while, eh?”

“Well…” Siavon begun.

“Oh you're not getting out of this one!” Evza grabbed the BlackWargreymon's hand and dragged him down to the beach.

Why am I still here? I am not a real Digimon, am I? Shouldn't I just fade off into the void?

You may not have been at first, but you've proven that you wish to be so much more. But to cut a long story short, we can make you an offer.

An offer?

A chance to start anew, a different time, a different reality. And to have what you've always desired…a heart…a soul…

And what do I give in return?

You will remember nothing of the current world, and never will. It is the way of things, for all must remain in the circle of equilibrium.

I accept then.

Hmm? I expected you to consider the offer first.

I have nothing else to lose. Perhaps in this new world you speak of, I will find my true place.

So be it then…

“Camera's counting down!” Zack's voice suddenly interrupted. “3…2…1…smile!”

“Hmm?” Siavon blinked as the automated camera's flash shook all those other voices out of his mind. And just as if having awakened from a dream, Siavon found he couldn't even remember the conversation clearly.

“Dad? Are you paying attention?” Zack waved.

“Oh, sorry.” Siavon muttered.

“Check out the picture.” The V-dramon thrust a photograph into his hands.

It showed the four of them standing by the seaside, under the light of the setting sun. Evza stood with their two children, whilst Siavon was a little off to the side, obviously distracted again.

“You think this would look good if I put it in a locket dad?” Zelia looked up. “You know? Sorta for good luck.”

“It would look good Zelia.” Siavon smiled. “It certainly would…”

 

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“Hargh!” Janet stepped into a fighting stance and glanced around the area, only relaxing when she determined no threat was present.

But this room was an odd one. There were no windows, lights, or entrances other than hers. A single table was the only piece of furniture in the room, with a row of lights candles on stilts leading towards it.

Janet strode curiously into the room and noticed several buckets filled with a strange gray ooze too. The soft voice sounded again and she almost passed it off as being the wind. However, something on the table had caught her eye and the Strikedramon walked slowly forward.

Arranged in neat lines were a series of clay figures that resembled chess pieces.

“What are these?” Janet muttered, leaning closer.

“Hey! Down here!” One of the `figures' suddenly squeaked.

“Yargh!” Janet fell back onto her butt, and quickly scrambled back onto her feet.

“Hey princess! Am I glad to see you! Get me out of here!”

“Dynamo?” Janet stared. It didn't take her long to find his clay figure, for he was the only one that resembled a Guilmon. “What the hell happened to you?”

“Heck if I know! I got grabbed from behind and dragged into the false wall, and that's all I remember!” Dynamo replied. “Next thing I know, I'm shrunk and can't move! You gotta get me outta here princess!”

“Oh really?” Janet placed both of her elbows on the table.

“Please?” Dynamo begged. “For old times sake, eh?”

“Now THIS is for old times sake!” Janet grabbed his clay figure in one hand and begun shaking him violently.

“Gargh! Argh! Wargh! Hey! Cut it out!” Dynamo yelled. “I'm sorry you're still mad at me over the last incident!”

“Oh no, I'm having too much fun.” Janet smirked. “So now you know how it feels like to be on the receiving end of a giant manhandling you.”

“Aragh! Put me down!”

“Now why should I?”

“There's someone behind you! Watch out!”

“I'm not falling for that one you little pipsqueak.” Janet hissed. “You're probably just…”

The Strikedramon suddenly became aware of the scraping noise behind her. Janet whirled around just in time to see a bluish, skeletal paw smack her between the eyes.

WHAM!

 

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“You all right?” Zoe asked.

“Yeah, I'll be fine.” Rain nodded. “But what was all that shaking?”

“I have no idea.”

The two had remained trapped in their watery prison when a sudden shaking rocked the castle. Much to their relief, the roof hadn't come down on their heads as they awaited Steve's return.

“Think bro ran into any trouble?” Rain asked with concern.

“Probably, but Steve has this thing for always getting out of the trouble he gets into.” Zoe replied with a laugh. “Somehow at least…”

At that, the grunts of gears shifting echoed throughout the area as the ceiling trap slowly begun to move. It was a sluggish process with a lot of creaking and groaning, but the heavyweight steel slab rose up, allowing the two room to move.

“Hey guys!” Steve called from a newly opened corridor across the circular area. “Over here! Hurry!”

“Bro! Are we glad to see you!” Rain gasped, dashing over to the Flamedramon's position.

Steve was waving and calmly leaning against a circular valve handle. Beside him was a set of machinery connected to a computer.

“I found this thing here and figured out how to operate it.” Steve winked, taking his arm off the handle. “It was as simple as…”

CRASH!

All three started as the ceiling trap hit the ground again. Fortunately, the group was already safely inside the corridor and out of its reach.

“Oops, sorry about that.” Steve muttered, with a large sweatdrop on his head.

Zoe and Rain could only stare with much of the color drained from their faces.

“Hey, I got you guys out of there, didn't I?” Steve scratched his head.

“We appreciate it, although you could have warned us that you were holding the ceiling trap up with your elbow.” Zoe sighed.

“Sorry, my bad. But not like I knew.” Steve replied. “See, I sorta dropped my Digivice and stumbled into this cave by accident. I figured out that this was some kind of control device and when I wound the handle, that hidden door opened and I saw you two.”

“A control device?” Rain wondered, looking over the machinery. “Specifically for that ceiling trap?”

“Yeah, I think that someone might have been watching us.” Steve fiddled with the controls. “There's both an audio recorder and a video camera linked to this terminal too. Perhaps whoever it is who's hiding out in this castle set us up…”

“And he's right over there!” Zoe suddenly yelled, rolling forward and snatching a metal pole off the ground. The XV-mon threw it like a javelin, resulting in a loud clang as it prevented a hidden door in the adjacent wall from being closed.

“OW! Darn it!” A high-pitched voice echoed off into the distance.

“Great job Zoe.” Steve grinned as the trio approached the door. “Now we can go after him!”

Zoe and Steve took hold of the pole and begun to pry the door open. Rain backed away to give the two more room.

“Did you get a look at him?” Steve asked.

“Not that well, but he seemed like a pretty small Digimon.” Zoe grunted.

“Hey guys, that might not be such a good idea.” Rain suddenly spoke up. “If that's the guy I think he is, then he's got all sorts of magic tricks and potions up his sleeve…”

No sooner were the word out of his jaws did a small explosion rock the area. Zoe and Steve were engulfed in a cloud of purplish smoke. Rain could make out their two shapes being sprayed with some sort of liquid before the gas hid them from view.

“Guys! Gargh!” The smell practically stung his nostrils, causing the Raindramon to start coughing. “Steve! Zoe! Are you there?”

Rain wiped his watering eyes with a paw and stared harder. The gas was beginning to clear out and Rain spotted their two limp forms lying by the stairwell.

“Guys, are you…” Rain stopped short, staring in shock. “Guys?”

 

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Flashback…

“Zelia! Zack!” Siavon screamed over the din of the explosions. “Where are you two?”

Dammit! Why did I let them go alone into the mines like that? Why did I even bring everyone to this town in the first place? I'm such a fool!

Dozens of Digimon were scrambling to get out of the collapsing mine and Siavon seemed like the only one crazy enough to be going in. There had been a lot of tension lately between the dinosaur-types and the other Digimon in the area, but no one had expected that it would escalate into a group of separatists setting off bombs in the mines.

“Zack! Zelia!”

Siavon felt a great heave of relief as he spotted the pair, running together with the crowd. Neither seemed to be hurt badly, but he wasn't close enough to reach them with his voice yet.

Then, a part of the wall exploded, throwing Zack to the ground. Pieces of falling debris pinned him down on his back as he howled in pain. Siavon was already running as fast as he could, but Zelia was by her brother's side first and scrambled to help him.

However, her head jerked up to the sounds of weapons cocking.

And all of a sudden, bullets and energy attacks were flying everywhere. The bullets literally rained down on the pair, leaving the sibling's blood to stain the ground.

Siavon's roar of fury thundered through the rumblings of the cavern as he fell upon the attackers. He never even saw who or what they were. The BlackWargreymon never took notice of the terror on their faces as he tore them to pieces with his dramon-killing claws.

“Siavon! Siavon!” Evza's voice slowly brought him back to reality.

Siavon was involuntarily leaning against the wall and panting, covered by both bruises and the blood of his enemies.

“Take Zelia!” Siavon yelled. “And help her!”

“What about you?” Evza called as the Lilithmon scooped up Zelia's limp body in her arms.

“I'm going back for Zack! Just get out of here now!”

However, Evza hesitated and watched as Siavon dashed over to where Zack lay. Evza was shouting something lost in the din of the explosions, but Siavon never heard.

The armored black dragon never even made it to Zack, unfortunately.

A sudden explosion sent him spinning into darkness. All Siavon remembered was hitting cold water…and nothing else after that.

 

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“Great going princess.” Dynamo moaned sarcastically. “You could've gotten me outta here, but nooo….”

“Oh shut up.” Janet hissed. “You're not making this any less humiliating.”

Janet had awakened to find herself shrunken, stuck in clay and placed into the row of clay figurines along with Dynamo. As if to add to that insult, her Strikedramon clay figure had been placed right next to Dynamo's.

“Well, you just had to get so caught up in revenge, didn't you?” Dynamo continued. “It wasn't my fault that you got turned into a wooden puppet in the first place!”

“No, but it's your fault that I'm tiny and stuck in clay right now!” Janet snapped.

“Oh yeah? Everything's MY fault?”

“Put that aside. Did you see him?”

“Who?”

“The one who knocked me out and apparently did this to us.” Janet growled.

“Hey, your body was blocking him.” Dynamo replied. “And besides, you were shaking me so much that I couldn't get a good look even if I'd tried.”

“Great…” Janet moaned.

“Not like that would've helped anyway. I've been screaming for help and you're all I get?” Dynamo remarked. “Man, the gods must be crazy.”

“Shut up you moron!” Janet yelled. “Your voice is driving me crazy already!”

“Well if I don't keep talking, then the clay around my mouth's gonna harden. Then I won't be able to talk at all.” Dynamo shot back. “So keep that in mind if you intend to scream for help.”

“Hey! Whoever's playing these dirty tricks! I know you're out there! Let us out now! Or you'll be really, really sorry!”

“Oh that is so threatening. Am I supposed to be intimidated?”

“If you've got a plan, than spit it out.” Janet told him.

“I was hoping you'd be the one princess. After all, you are the smart one.”

“Is that meant to be an insult?” Janet struggled against the clay `prison' to no avail.

“No, it was a compliment. Gargh!” Dynamo let off a screech as Janet's struggling shook her clay figure, knocking into Dynamo. “Hey, do that again!”

“What? This?” Janet threw her entire body weight to one side as best as she could. The motion caused her body to slam into Dynamo's, knocking him a little out of the line.

“All right, hang on! Rargh!” It was Dynamo's turn to shake his body, striking Janet's and moving her immobilized form too. “Whew! This is hard work! But if we keep at this, we can knock ourselves off the table!”

“The hardened clay would shatter, and then we could get out!” Janet realized. “Right, here I come! Yargh!”

 

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Groaning, Sekata spat the last of the blood out of his mouth and shoved the broken debris off his body. Death-Xmon had certainly pounded him hard, and Sekata was too dazed to guess how many floors he'd broken through in his fall.

The Dorugoramon found himself lying in a wooden corridor with a large hole in its ceiling. No doubt that he was the cause of the hole in the first place.

But looking upwards, Sekata noted that he couldn't see all the way to the sky. Apparently some rubble from the floors he'd broken through had fallen and covered the holes at several levels. That could explain why Death-Xmon was slow in catching up to him.

Still, Sekata's body was aching badly all over and he knew that he was in no condition to confront Death-Xmon at the moment.

With a grunt, Sekata dug his claws into the wooden walls and agonizingly pulled himself to his feet. His eyes tried to focus as the dragon shook his head, attempting to clear out his `double vision'. With that done, Sekata found that he was standing in a straight corridor with a single door on either end.

Hoping that he would be able to find something useful, Sekata stumbled over to the nearest door and shoved it open. He was startled to find the room full of Digimon, staring towards his position.

Initially, Sekata backed out of the room. But when none of them moved, the dragon plucked up his courage and fumbled against the wall until he found a light switch.

With light streaming into the room, Sekata realized that the place was a storeroom for rows and rows of life-sized mannequins. Several were humanoid in form, while others were dragon-like in shape, with wings and tails added on. Still others had various animal forms, although most of them were posed in upright positions.

“Whew…and these things gave me a fright…” Sekata gasped.

Suddenly, a banging sound caused him to turn around. Looking back into the corridor, Sekata saw a set of claws piercing through the other door…Death-Xmon's claws.

I can't fight him like this! Sekata thought, clutching his side in pain. Got to hide out in here and stall for some time!

Flicking off the light, Sekata bolted the door shut and dropped to all fours. Frantically, he crawled beneath the rows on mannequins in the darkness, searching for a place to hide. However, the storeroom's door soon begun shaking as Death-Xmon pounded against it from the outside.

Could it sense my presence? How good is its hearing, or its sight in the dark? The thoughts ran through Sekata's mind.

Completely caught up in trying to escape, Sekata somehow found himself crawling towards a terminal with several lights glowing on its screen. There, he bumped into a small creature, which promptly turned around and snarled at him.

This Digimon was Fangmon, who took on the distorted shape of a reddish-brown fox. Its entire body was wrapped in black leather, held together by a series of leather straps. Its three fingered, purple claws were left exposed, as was its red and white fox tail.

Fangmon also had an exceptionally long snout lined with rows of razor-sharp fangs. Interestingly enough, its eyes didn't have any pupils and `glowed' with an eerie white.

Before Sekata could react, Fangmon sunk its teeth into his hand. Sekata managed to suppress his scream, but still jumped up in surprise and knocked into the terminal. The fox-like Digimon leapt up and hit something on the keyboard, causing a blinding beam of light to hit Sekata in the face.

The Dorugoramon stumbled and crashed into the nearest mannequin, resulting in a chain reaction that knocked the entire row over. Death-Xmon had broken through the door by this time and instinctively squeezed its huge mass towards the source of the noise.

Sekata, however, was in the midst of feeling his body suddenly stiffen. He hit the ground with a thud that seemed very much like wood hitting wood and lay there, unable to move. His jaws tried to open in impulse, only to find that they were stuck shut too.

As terror spread throughout his mind, Sekata realized his head was lying facing the shiny terminal casing and caught a glimpse of his reflection. The dragon would've screamed if he could.

His entire body had somehow been turned into wood. In fact, it was not unlike the mannequin he'd knocked into earlier, only that his Dorugoramon features had been imparted to the dummy. It was an exact likeness of his body, down to the wings, tail and purple-sliver coloring.

The only thing was that he couldn't move a muscle.

What the hell? Not this again! I barely got out of the last ordeal!

“Hehehe…” A soft snickering came from nearby as Fangmon silently snuck away into the shadows.

However, Sekata was left lying there helplessly as Death-Xmon stomped over to his position.

No! It can't end like this! No! His mind cried in raw panic. Help! Please! Someone help me!

His silent pleas were met with no reply as Death-Xmon paused over the spot where he lay. Slowly, the huge creature lowered its head and begun to sniff around the area.

No! Get away from me! Help! Help please!

Then, Death-Xmon lowered its head and nudged Sekata's immobile wooden body.

 

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“Guys?” Rain gasped.

The smoke had almost cleared out and Rain could now roughly make out the shapes of Steve and Zoe. Or at least what were supposed to be their forms, though a lot smaller. In fact, they looked almost like…

“V-mon?” Rain trotted forward.

The two small Digimon lying on the ground were V-mon, a Rookie level blue dragon. They walked on two legs and had tails, but no wings. Each one also had a small horn on the nose and a yellow, V-shaped mark on their foreheads.

The hidden door had been blow to pieces, leaving yet another humanoid figure lying on the stairs. He was coughing and busy wiping the dust out of his eyes.

“Puppetmon!” Rain growled. “What did you do to them?”

“Ugh…wha…” The Puppetmon slowly got to his feet. “That spell was supposed to…never mind what it was supposed to do, but they messed it up and…”

Then, one of the V-mon, the one Rain was standing closest to, opened his eyes.

“BRO!”

“WARGH!” Rain choked as the V-mon literally jumped into his face and wrapped his hands around his neck.

“Hey, where were you bro? I missed you!” He cheered in a high-pitched voice.

“Gack! Gargh! Steve?” The Raindramon managed. “Is that you?”

“Of course is it, big bro!” The V-mon Steve winked.

“Let…go! I…can't breathe!”

“Oops!” Steve released his hold and dropped back to the ground.

“Gargh…whew…” Rain desperately tried to catch his breath, and realized that Puppetmon had disappeared. “Damn…where'd he go? So, Magnamon and the others were right! Puppetmon is hiding out in here! I've got to find him!”

“Find who?” Steve looked up with curiosity.

“That Puppetmon creep! He's the one who just shrunk you two!”

“Us?” Steve gave him a confused look. “Weren't we always like this, big bro?”

“Don't you remember?” Rain asked. “And you're the older one, not me!”

Steve looked up at him for a few seconds before bursting out laughing.

“Hahaha! You're acting weird!”

“Erm…” Rain staggered.

Oh great! He doesn't remember a thing! And he thinks he's really a kid! Rain moaned silently. What am I supposed to do now?

“Owie…” The other V-mon moaned, rolling to her feet.

“You fall Zoe?” Steve hopped over to her.

“Did not!” Zoe immediately snapped. It did seem somewhat like her voice, though with a much younger and lighter tone.

“Big bro brought us to another one of his secret hiding spots again, heh.” Steve giggled.

“Huh?” Zoe glanced around in confusion. “Great! Mom's gonna get mad at me if she finds out!”

“Well she won't! Not when we have big bro here.” Steve tugged Rain's leg. “Right bro?”

“Arr…well…” Rain began.

“Aw, please?”

“Well, I don't…”

“Great! Knew I could count on you big bro!” Steve hugged Rain again, almost strangling him with his hyperactive burst. “Let's check this place out Zoe!”

“If you can catch me!” Zoe laughed, dashing up the stairs.

“You won't get away!” Steve lowered his body and ran after her.

“Arrrgg….” Rain could only stand there and stare for a while, barely taking in what had just transpired.

All right, Steve and Zoe just got shrunk into V-mon. Their memories are messed up, and they're left with the minds of 8 year olds. Rain told himself. Not only that, they're running freely around a haunted castle, filled with all sorts of who-knows-whats.

“Crap!” The Raindramon slapped himself. “This is bad…very bad! Steve! Zoe! Get back here!”

Rain started up the stairs and was relieved to find the V-mon duo waiting for him at the top. Steve however, seemed to be fiddling with something on the wall. And all of a sudden, the stairs collapsed, becoming a slide instead.

“Garrgghh!” Unable to find a grip, Rain tumbled head-over-heels until he landed with a splat at the bottom. “Ow! Ow! Ow!”

“Tag!” Steve and Zoe yelled together. “You're it! Hahahaahaha!”

Two sets of thumps sounded as their footsteps faded into the distance.

“Hey you two! Come back here!” Rain yelled. “It's not safe in here!”

However, the two were long gone before he was even on his feet.

“Man, I used to pull these kinds of gags on my older brother all the time.” The Raindramon muttered. “Hey! Did you two hear me? Steve! Zoe!”

 

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Death-Xmon tapped Sekata's body again…and again. It suddenly let off a huff and moved away, lumbering around the room and sniffing.

Sekata didn't know if his current wooden body showed any signs of breathing, but inwardly, he let off a sign of relief. Death-Xmon had been so close….and it had moved away without any explanation. The creature had seemed to be able to `sense' him in a way, but why had it just left so suddenly?

Unless…it can't sense me while I'm stuck like this. Sekata thought. That's one relief, but it doesn't exactly solve my problem right now…

He couldn't move his head, but Sekata could still hear and feel Death-Xmon stomping about the room. It was probably trying to pick up the trail that had disappeared so suddenly.

Looks like you've gotten your body fused with a mannequin. AncientGreymon's voice sounded in his mind. Now that's amusing indeed. Say, how many times have you been turned into inanimate objects?

As usual, you have to show up simply to mock me. Sekata growled.

More of to warn you really. AncientGreymon laughed.

And about what?

Whatever that fusion did seems to be rather unstable.

Unstable?

As in, it won't hold.

“What do you mean by that?” Sekata snapped up.

It took him a few seconds to realize that it was his actual voice, not his thoughts that had been spoken out loud. Glancing down over himself, Sekata found his draconic Dorugoramon body was back to normal. His body still felt sore, but at least he could move again.

A shadow then fell over him and Sekata looked up just in time to see one of Death-Xmon's long arms slamming into his face. With a roar, Sekata flew and smashed into computer terminal Fangmon had used earlier.

The machine exploded in a shower of flames and sparks, leaving Sekata to roar in pain.

What was interesting, however, was that Death-Xmon gritted its fangs and hissed as well.