Post by legendhiro on Sept 23, 2008 11:14:35 GMT -5
Contents: Chapters 9 - 11
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Chapter 9
Battle Okuwamon;
Dragonterramon’s Level Up
“So, do we have any idea where to go from here?” Jen asked. We had returned to the clear area where we had battled Manipulamon, figuring that it was as good a place to start as any
“No clue,” I answered, taking the Digicomp handheld out of my pocket.
“Then what are we supposed to do,” Sarah asked in an annoyed tone of voice, “wait here forever?”
“No,” I said, putting the handheld away and walking toward the forest at the opposite side of the clearing, “we go this way.”
“Are we there yet?” whined Amanda, riding on Chickomon’s back.
“Manda, sweetie,” I answered as calmly as I could, “I’m only gonna tell you one more time. We don’t even know where there is yet!”
She looked down at her hands, “Sorry.”
“Good.”
I looked down at the handheld in my hand, checking for any unusual signals. Suddenly the screen was filled with blinking blips. Dozens of Digimon signals just at the edge of the scanner’s range.
“Whoa,” said Snakemon, looking down from my shoulder.
“Yeah,” I said, “whoa.”
“What is it?” Jen asked
“A large group of Digimon almost dead ahead at the edge of the scanner’s range. Maybe twenty minutes away.”
“How many?” Amanda asked.
“I can’t tell. They overlap. A lot.”
“Is it a village?” Sarah asked.
“Yeah, or an army.”
After discussing the situation we decided that we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to gain so many allies, if the Digimon were friendly. If not, we would just have to run as fast as we could a hope for the best. It wasn’t long before we reached the sources of the signals. There was nothing on the ground, so the signals had to be in the trees overhead.
“Snakemon,” I asked, “are you up for a little recon?”
“Sure,” he answered. He coiled up and launched himself into the trees above. The leaves rustled, and Snakemon dropped suddenly from the branches only moments later. “Flymon!” he said. “It’s a Flymon nest!”
Out of the treetops descended three Flymon, firing their stingers. We scattered, avoiding the attack.
“Looks like we’ve got a fight on our hands,” I said. “Initiate Digivolution!”
“Snakemon, Digivolve to. Serpentmon!”
Serpentmon leapt onto a branch, launching himself upward, and fired a spread of fang-shaped needles, hitting one of the Flymon, reducing it to digital dust.
“Lets get out of here,” I said, “before we wake them all up.”
“Too late,” said Chickomon, “look.” As he spoke, more than half a dozen Flymon descended from the trees.
“Don’t pull any punches,” I said. “Digivolve!”
As one, Sarah, Jen, Amanda, and I said, “Initiate Digivolution!”
“Serpentmon, Digivolve to, Dragonterramon!”
“BlackColtmon, Digivolve to, BlackStaliamon!”
“Coltmon, Digivolve to, BattleStaliamon!”
“Ponymon, Digivolve to, Fillimon!”
“Chickomon, Digivolve to, BrauntoPhoenixmon!”
BrauntoPhoenixmon flew upward. He spun in a corkscrew, destroying several Flymon with a single hit. The Flymon seemed to hesitate. They abruptly rose above the treetops and let out a high pitched buzzing before running away.
“That was easy,” said Jen.
“Its not over yet,” said BlackStaliamon. “There are more on their way.”
We watched and waited, and sure enough a small group of bugs appeared, two Kuwagamon, two large green mantises, and a much larger Kuwagamon with a gray exoskeleton and massive claws. I scanned them with my handheld.
“The green ones are Snimon, able to launch energy waves from their sickle blades, and the gray one is Okuwamon, a Perfect level with an incredibly hard shell.”
“Split them up,” I commanded. “Draw Okuwamon away from the others.”
BrauntoPhoenixmon flew strait at Okuwamon and curved to the side, while the horses flew toward the lackeys. Okuwamon veered away, leaving his group alone.
BattleStaliamon and Fillimon began to circle the Snimon and the Kuwagamon, keeping opposite each other. A ring of energy formed, following their path. Both horses called out, “Celestial Ring!” and veered away. The ring tightened, vaporizing the giant bugs on contact.
BattleStaliamon and Fillimon landed nearby. “Wow,” said BattleStaliamon, “I didn’t think that would actually work.”
“Yeah,” said Fillimon, “good thing Insectoids are stupid.”
“You’ll pay for that!” Okuwamon cried from above.
“Apparently this one’s not,” said BrauntoPhoenixmon.
“And he’s a Perfect Level,” said Jen, “making him stronger than us.”
“We’ll see about that!” cried BlackStaliamon. He jumped up into the trees and used the branches like a springboard, his hooves glowing with energy. He slammed Okuwamon in the back, but Okuwamon’s thick armor rendered the attack ineffective.
“You’re first!” said Okuwamon. He turned and called, “Double Scissor Claw!” He struck with both of his massive claws, throwing BlackStaliamon back to the ground where he de-Digivolved.
“We can’t beat him one on one,” said Dragonterramon. “We have to attack him all at once and overwhelm him. Attack!”
BattleStaliamon, Fillimon, and BrauntoPhoenixmon shot off through the air. Dragonterramon was crouched down, preparing to leap, when I stopped him.
“Hold up pal,” I said. “I’m riding along.”
“No,” he protested. “Its too dangerous.”
“Yeah, its dangerous,” I said, “but while you’re fighting, I might be able to spot some kind of weakness in his exoskeleton.”
Dragonterramon growled, a thoughtful look on his face. Then reluctantly he said, “Fine, get on!”
I jumped onto his back, standing on his tail, holding onto one of the spikes lining his back. He jumped up, avoiding a tree sent flying by an attack. He bounced from one tree to another tree, and into the top branches of a third, springing himself into the air. “Terra Flame!” he called, launching a barrage of fireballs at the foe from a distance. Only two hit. Dragonterramon reached the apex of his jump and fell back to the ground below the trees.
“Get closer this time,” I told Dragonterramon.
“Got it,” He growled. He charged forward and launched himself from another treetop, bringing himself close to Okuwamon’s back. I looked him over quickly. Bingo! I thought. There was a small opening in the armor in Okuwamon’s back. If I could get that gap open, the Digimons’ attacks could get through, and they could finish Okuwamon off.
Dragonterramon launched his attack and began his controlled drop. Before he could drop below Okuwamon, I jumped, landing on the enemy’s back, hanging onto the armor at the edge of the gap.
“John, no!” Dragonterramon cried. I pulled myself up and began pulling on the armor plate. If I could only get the gap open a little wider.
“Get ready to attack this spot!” I yelled, but before I could get anywhere Okuwamon shook me off. I was falling, just above Dragonterramon, just out of his reach. I was sure it was finally over, when suddenly my Neo Crest of Courage began to glow. It slid free of the tag and changed shape, becoming a small disk.
Everything seemed to slow down as strength and knowledge flowed through me, even as I fell. I don’t know how, but I knew what to do.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my Digivice and my Digiplayer. I connected them together, the disk still hanging in the air. I swung the Digiplayer, catching the disk in the slot, and pressed the activate button, “Initiate Digiplayer Digivolution!”
Dragonterramon began to glow. He hung in the air, and I fell past him, “Dragonterramon, Digivolve to!” he grew roughly a foot taller and longer, and he roared as broad, orange, bat-like wings sprouted from his back in twin bursts of flame. His claws grew longer, and his talons became sharper and more curved, “WingedDragonterramon!”
WingedDragonterramon folded his wings close to his body and dropped down below me. He opened his wings, catching the air, caught me in his arms, and glided down to the ground. He set me down, and then launched himself back into the fray, just as BrauntoPhoenixmon, BattleStaliamon, and Fillimon were hit by a mighty attack. They fell to the ground and de-Digivolved, defeated.
“Double Scissor Claw!” Okuwamon called. He swung his massive blade-like claws, but WingedDragonterramon flapped once, rising mere inches above the range of the attack. He spilled air from his wings and flew forward, hitting the foe with a full bodied tackle.
Okuwamon fell backward, and before he could regain control, WingedDragonterramon rose up above him and called, “Wing Fireblaze!” His wings caught fire, and a fireball formed in front of each wing. He flapped hard, flinging the two fireballs, each nearly as large as his torso, strait at Okuwamon. The fireballs hit at high speed and exploded. The fire from the explosion filled the sky. When the flames cleared, we saw a singed and battered Okuwamon turn tail and run away in retreat.
WingedDragonterramon landed next to me and the others and changed back into Snakemon, his energy spent by the Digiplayer Digivolution. He teetered for a second and then passed out. I walked over to my friend. “Thanks man,” I said, picking him up and hanging him over my shoulders, “I owe you one.”
Chapter 10
Jeremy Returns;
Ultimate Explosive Battle!
It had been three days since our battle with Okuwamon and Dragonterramon’s Digivolution to the Perfect Level. We had given up on trying to catch up with Jeremy and had set up camp in a clearing along the foot of a twenty-foot cliff, walls of tall thick trees lining the remaining three sides. It was a very defensible spot. Other than that, what could we do? Jeremy and Manipulamon would attack us again when they were good and ready. Still, I felt bad, like I was doing something wrong by waiting instead of seeking them out.
It was mid afternoon. Jen and I were just returning from collecting apples and mushrooms (both of which I hated by then). We ate, and we were just packing away the extras when something happened.
“Do you hear that?” BlackColtmon asked, staring intently out at the forest’s edge.
“Hear what?” I asked.
“A scraping sound,” he said, relaxing, “but I think whatever it was is gone now.”
“Serpentmon,” I said, switching instantly into “cautious leader mode”, “get up in the trees and keep lookout, just in case.”
* * *
Serpenterramon
I heard some sounds to my left. I turned and slithered a short distance to the edge of the woods where I found myself looking out over a clearing. There I saw my query; the Digidestined. Master’s general, who was currently commanding my squad, would be very happy with my find.
I turned my head, preparing to leave the area, and my scales scraped a tree. One of the traitor Digimon, a dark-haired Coltmon, heard this. I stood still for a minute and then pulled back, slithering silently away. I would alert the general, and the Digidestined would finally be destroyed!
* * *
John
It was starting to get dark. It had been at least thirty minutes since BlackColtmon had heard his mysterious sound.
“John,” Serpentmon whined from within the treetops fifteen yards away, “I’m bored. Can I come down now?”
“Yeah,” I said. “If someone was gonna attack, they would have done it already.”
“I don’t think so,” BlackColtmon said. “If they know who we are and they still want to attack, they’ll gather numbers and form a plan before attacking. We should remain prepared.”
I was about to counter his remark when the ground began to shake. A chunk of stone tumbled down from the top of the cliff. Suddenly four Serpenterramon erupted from the ground, surrounding us.
“Terra Fang!” the Serpenterramon called. They snapped at us, but because they had not yet gotten their bearings, their attacks were easily avoided.
“Crap!” I said. I ran and sprung behind a rock. Jen joined me, and Sarah and Amanda ran for cover in the brush bordering the clearing.
The Serpenterramon struck again, forcing the Digimon into a tight group.
“Let’s get out of here,” said Serpentmon. He lead the other Child Digimon underneath the Serpenterramons’ attacks and formed a line of defense between us and the foes.
Then I heard it, a voice on the cliff. “So, what do you think of my new troupe?”
“Jeremy!”
“These four Serpenterramon are Manipulamon’s strongest Serpenterramon followers. I’ve spent the last seventy-two hours training them to fight you. You can’t win this time.”
“We’ll see,” I said. I was confidant, sure that my power was superior.
Jeremy smiled a wicked smile down on us, “Serpenterramon A Troupe, attack!”
“Digimon,” I commanded, “Digivolve!”
The four Serpenterramon drew back, preparing to strike. Jen, Sarah, Amanda, and I raised our Digivices, “Initiate Digivolution!”
“Serpentmon…”
“BlackColtmon…”
“Chickomon…”
“Coltmon…”
“Ponymon…”
“…Digivolve to…”
“Dragonterramon!”
“BlackStaliamon!”
“BrauntoPhoenixmon!”
“BattleStaliamon!”
“Fillimon!”
The Serpenterramon struck, and the Digimon avoided the attacks with varying degrees of difficulty.
I jumped onto Dragonterramon’s tail and gripped one of the spikes on his back. “Dragonterramon,” I commanded, “Jeremy’s ours!”
BlackStaliamon, Fillimon, BattleStaliamon, and BrauntoPhoenixmon remained behind to fend off the snakes. Dragonterramon dug his claws into the cliff side and dug his way up, leaping up directly in front of Mechamon. I jumped down from my Digimon’s back. “Terra Flame!” Dragonterramon called, spewing flames at the metal foe. Mechamon jumped up, using a boost from his jets for lift, flying clear over my dragon’s attack.
Mechamon fell back and landed twenty yards away, jumped strait up, and waved his arms, spreading them wide. Electricity slung from his hands, rolling toward Dragonterramon at lightning speed. He lunged, barely avoiding the blast.
Meanwhile, below us, the others engaged their individual foes. BlackStaliamon leapt up to stomp one of the Serpenterramon flat. Serpenterramon swung his head back, dodging, and struck, attempting to snatch BlackStaliamon out of mid air. BlackStaliamon shifted his weight, flipping backward out of his opponent’s reach, landing firmly on his feet.
Fillimon flapped her wings, rising into the air. Her Serpenterramon foe snapped once. She dodged. Twice. She dodged. Three times. She dodged, but only barely, landing hard and sliding backward several feet before coming to an eventual stop. Fillimon reared up onto her hind legs and fired twin beams from her front hooves. Serpenterramon jerked back, avoiding them, and snapped again. She jumped back, avoiding the attack just in time. The same was happening to BattleStaliamon. BrauntoPhoenixmon’s size gave him a greater advantage over his opponent, though he had yet to score any lethal hits.
Dragonterramon jumped to is feet and I jumped onto his back. He leapt at Mechamon, sailing past Jeremy. As he did I dropped down and landed on Jeremy. We rolled until he kicked me off of him. I tumbled an fell onto my back, cursing at the fact that I hadn’t managed to get hold of the tag that bound him. I rolled and leapt to my feet, just in time to roll out of the way of Jeremy’s fist. I kicked, catching him in the stomach. He stumbled backwards and fell to his knees.
Dragonterramon landed in front of Mechamon. He struck out with his claws. Mechamon jumped back, dodging the slash, so Dragonterramon followed through with a tail sweep. Mechamon jumped over it.
Mechamon kicked, catching Dragonterramon in the jaw. As Dragonterramon stumbled, Mechamon charged up and launched another electric attack. Dragonterramon recovered just in time to dive out of the way. As he did, mine and Jeremy’s fight brought us over to our Digimon. We veered apart and regrouped.
“Pretty good,” said Jeremy. “I had no idea that your Digimon would be such a close match for mine. But Mechamon has one more trick up his sleeve.” Jeremy passed his hand in front of his tag, and his Crest slid out of the tag and converted to a disk, hanging in the air. I was shocked and a little scared by this development, though I tried not to let it show. Digiplayer Digivolution was supposed to be my trump card, and now Jeremy could do it too.
I smiled. If nothing else, this was a challenge. I’ve always liked a challenge. “That won’t help,” I said, “because we can do that too.” I passed my hand over my tags, and the Neo Crest of Courage emerged, becoming a disk and hanging in the air. Jeremy pulled his Digivice and Digiplayer from his jacket pocket. I pulled mine from the pockets of my jeans. We connected our respective devices together, swung them, and caught the disks, calling “Initiate Digiplayer Digivolution!”
“Dragonterramon, Digivolve to! WingedDragonterramon!”
“Mechamon, Digivolve to!” His legs folded up and the treads on his legs unfolded, connecting into functional treads. His torso raised up and his chest panels opened, revealing several small missile launchers. His shoulder panels slid up, revealing laser cannons, and his armor flashed for a split second, evidencing that his armor was being strengthened by a thin energy field. The panels on his chest and shoulders closed again, “MegaMechamon!”
MegaMechamon opened his jets, and two more jets extended from his legs. The jets ignited and together the four jets lifted him off of the ground. WingedDragonterramon flapped his wings and rose to meet is foe. The two Digimon slammed into each other and were thrown apart by impact.
MegaMechamon opened his chest panels and called, “Assault Missiles!” A dozen missiles shot from the launchers under the chest panels and flew true toward WingedDragonterramon.
WingedDragonterramon, however, was fast for his size. He shot into the air, and the missiles sailed over the edge of the cliff. They threatened to hit BlackStaliamon and his opponent. I yelled down to them. The much more agile BlackStaliamon leapt out of the way, but Serpenterramon wasn’t so lucky. He was hit by five of the missiles and broke down, becoming data. Now it was four to three in favor of the Digimon, giving our side a huge advantage.
WingedDragonterramon rolled in the air, his wings ablaze, flying past MegaMechamon, tossing flames in all directions. The flames hit MegaMechamon, but he recovered quickly, raising his guns. His shoulder panels slid open and he called “Electro Lasers!” Twin beams lanced from his guns, and more intense beams burst from his shoulder cannons, all aimed strait at my partner. He folded his wings and dropped below the beams. They followed him. He spread his wings and sailed around his foe until the attack ended.
“Terra Flame!” flames shot from WingedDragonterramon’s mouth. They hit MegaMechamon in the chest, causing him to spark from under his armor, though he was far from finished. He was slow, but his armor was strong.
If I don’t think of something fast, MegaMechamon will outlast us. I thought, trying once again to take things into my own hands. I need a plan! But before I could screw anything up, something happened. MegaMechamon raised his guns to fire beams at my Digimon, and was surprised to see BlackStaliamon leaping over the cliff edge. “Hoof Stomp!” he called, slamming the machine Digimon in the face. MegaMechamon was knocked back, landing on the rocky ground near his human partner. Immediately he found himself surrounded by five Digimon.
“So, lackey,” I asked, “what will it be? Run away again, or stay and fight?”
Chapter 11
John’s Obsession;
The Team Splits up
Jeremy’s eyes swept over each of the Digimon. They were battered and covered in dirt, making their condition hard to determine. So, it seems, he decided to test us. “MegaMechamon!” he commanded, and his Digimon lunged, sliding past WingedDragonterramon, catching BattleStaliamon and Fillimon, and carrying them down the side of the cliff to the ground below, out of site. Fillimon was dazed, but BattleStaliamon was already back on his feet when I reached edge and could see them again. MegaMechamon opened fire, and BattleStaliamon jumped out of the way. One of MegaMechamon’s missiles went off course. It would have hit Jen and Amanda had BrauntoPhoenixmon not jumped down and shielded them with his wings.
WingedDragonterramon took flight. He swooped down and kicked MegaMechamon onto his side. “Hoof Stomp!” called BlackStaliamon. He leapt down from the top of the cliff, trying to smash his foe in the chest and incapacitate him, but MegaMechamon swatted him away and sprung upright -.
- Only to be sent sprawling by Fillimon’s beams!
WingedDragonterramon launched his Wing Fireblaze attack. The fireballs hit their mark and exploded, obscuring my view. Then, out of the explosion shot MegaMechamon, soaring over my head and landing at Jeremy’s side, his armor visibly damaged.
Jeremy smiled and said, “Even though I’d like to stay and play, Manipulamon still needs me. I can’t risk my life just yet. Goodbye Digidestined!”
He waved at us, and MegaMechamon de-Digivolved to Mechamon. With a burst from his jets Mechamon, carrying Jeremy, was gone.
“After him!” I screamed. I started to give chase, but Jen stopped me.
“John,” she said, “we need to talk.”
“What could you possibly want to talk about right now?” I demanded. “Jeremy’s getting away!”
“That’s what we need to talk about!” Jen said, her voice and expression stern. “You’ve become obsessed with freeing Jeremy. I understand to a point. He’s our friend, and we have to help him. But you’ve become obsessed to the point that you’re ignoring our well being!”
“I’m not. I -.”
“Yes you are, John, look!” she pointed at Amanda who was curled up by BrauntoPhoenixmon’s leg, crying. “She was scared to death when the Serpenterramon attacked, but you didn’t even notice, did you? John, Amanda wants to go home.”
“Yeah,” I said, “well she can’t. She’s stuck with us here.”
“That’s not true,” said Jen. “I know there’s a way home somewhere. There has to be. I’m taking Amanda to find it.”
By now, Amanda stood next to Jen, holding her hand. I was shocked! Jen and Amanda wanted to leave the group? I should have been concerned and sympathetic, but the only thing I seemed able to feel was anger. “Fine,” I yelled, “leave! Sarah and I can take handle this ourselves!”
It was a call to their bluff. They wouldn’t really leave, would they? But, only seconds later, with sad looks in their eyes, Jen and Amanda turned and disappeared into the woods, their now de-Digivolved Digimon close behind.
“Come on Sarah,” I said, turning my back to the retreating traitors, “Jeremy’s getting away.”
* * *
Jen
I hated to do it, but I knew it had to be done. John was going completely overboard, and Amanda was afraid. She was too young for the constant danger. If John wouldn’t listen, then the least I could do was try to get Amanda home.
“You okay, Manda?” I asked, looking down at her. Chickomon stepped up beside her and gazed up at her with concern.
“Yeah,” Amanda said, “I’m fine.” She climbed up onto Chickomon’s back, curled up, and went to sleep.
We walked along silently for a few more hours. I figured our best shot at finding a way home was to get back to the Desert Tower. Problem was, without the Digicomp, I had no way of knowing how to get there from where we were. I thought that the Gekomon might be able to help, so that’s where we were going; Amphibian Village.
There was just one problem. I was tired. I was beyond tired. Amanda was awake now, just lying curled up on Chickomon’s back, staring into space.
“Okay guys,” I said, “we’re gonna camp here tonight.” We stopped, and Amanda got down off of Chickomon’s back and stretched.
“Amanda,” I said, kneeling down to speak to her at her level, “since there’s only four of us now I’m gonna need you to do more to help out, okay?” She nodded. “Okay then,” I continued, “I’m going to let you and Chickomon set up camp and gather wood for a fire while Coltmon and I go and gather up some food and hopefully some water.”
Amanda agreed, and Coltmon and I set out, careful to keep our bearings in the deepening twilight. As soon as we were out of view of the campsite, Coltmon asked, “Do you really think that splitting up the team was a good idea?”
“Honestly no,” I replied, “but until John and Amanda both grow up a lot, I don’t see any other choice.”
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The end of Chapt. 11 marks the mid way point for New Dimension 1
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Chapter 9
Battle Okuwamon;
Dragonterramon’s Level Up
“So, do we have any idea where to go from here?” Jen asked. We had returned to the clear area where we had battled Manipulamon, figuring that it was as good a place to start as any
“No clue,” I answered, taking the Digicomp handheld out of my pocket.
“Then what are we supposed to do,” Sarah asked in an annoyed tone of voice, “wait here forever?”
“No,” I said, putting the handheld away and walking toward the forest at the opposite side of the clearing, “we go this way.”
“Are we there yet?” whined Amanda, riding on Chickomon’s back.
“Manda, sweetie,” I answered as calmly as I could, “I’m only gonna tell you one more time. We don’t even know where there is yet!”
She looked down at her hands, “Sorry.”
“Good.”
I looked down at the handheld in my hand, checking for any unusual signals. Suddenly the screen was filled with blinking blips. Dozens of Digimon signals just at the edge of the scanner’s range.
“Whoa,” said Snakemon, looking down from my shoulder.
“Yeah,” I said, “whoa.”
“What is it?” Jen asked
“A large group of Digimon almost dead ahead at the edge of the scanner’s range. Maybe twenty minutes away.”
“How many?” Amanda asked.
“I can’t tell. They overlap. A lot.”
“Is it a village?” Sarah asked.
“Yeah, or an army.”
After discussing the situation we decided that we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to gain so many allies, if the Digimon were friendly. If not, we would just have to run as fast as we could a hope for the best. It wasn’t long before we reached the sources of the signals. There was nothing on the ground, so the signals had to be in the trees overhead.
“Snakemon,” I asked, “are you up for a little recon?”
“Sure,” he answered. He coiled up and launched himself into the trees above. The leaves rustled, and Snakemon dropped suddenly from the branches only moments later. “Flymon!” he said. “It’s a Flymon nest!”
Out of the treetops descended three Flymon, firing their stingers. We scattered, avoiding the attack.
“Looks like we’ve got a fight on our hands,” I said. “Initiate Digivolution!”
“Snakemon, Digivolve to. Serpentmon!”
Serpentmon leapt onto a branch, launching himself upward, and fired a spread of fang-shaped needles, hitting one of the Flymon, reducing it to digital dust.
“Lets get out of here,” I said, “before we wake them all up.”
“Too late,” said Chickomon, “look.” As he spoke, more than half a dozen Flymon descended from the trees.
“Don’t pull any punches,” I said. “Digivolve!”
As one, Sarah, Jen, Amanda, and I said, “Initiate Digivolution!”
“Serpentmon, Digivolve to, Dragonterramon!”
“BlackColtmon, Digivolve to, BlackStaliamon!”
“Coltmon, Digivolve to, BattleStaliamon!”
“Ponymon, Digivolve to, Fillimon!”
“Chickomon, Digivolve to, BrauntoPhoenixmon!”
BrauntoPhoenixmon flew upward. He spun in a corkscrew, destroying several Flymon with a single hit. The Flymon seemed to hesitate. They abruptly rose above the treetops and let out a high pitched buzzing before running away.
“That was easy,” said Jen.
“Its not over yet,” said BlackStaliamon. “There are more on their way.”
We watched and waited, and sure enough a small group of bugs appeared, two Kuwagamon, two large green mantises, and a much larger Kuwagamon with a gray exoskeleton and massive claws. I scanned them with my handheld.
“The green ones are Snimon, able to launch energy waves from their sickle blades, and the gray one is Okuwamon, a Perfect level with an incredibly hard shell.”
“Split them up,” I commanded. “Draw Okuwamon away from the others.”
BrauntoPhoenixmon flew strait at Okuwamon and curved to the side, while the horses flew toward the lackeys. Okuwamon veered away, leaving his group alone.
BattleStaliamon and Fillimon began to circle the Snimon and the Kuwagamon, keeping opposite each other. A ring of energy formed, following their path. Both horses called out, “Celestial Ring!” and veered away. The ring tightened, vaporizing the giant bugs on contact.
BattleStaliamon and Fillimon landed nearby. “Wow,” said BattleStaliamon, “I didn’t think that would actually work.”
“Yeah,” said Fillimon, “good thing Insectoids are stupid.”
“You’ll pay for that!” Okuwamon cried from above.
“Apparently this one’s not,” said BrauntoPhoenixmon.
“And he’s a Perfect Level,” said Jen, “making him stronger than us.”
“We’ll see about that!” cried BlackStaliamon. He jumped up into the trees and used the branches like a springboard, his hooves glowing with energy. He slammed Okuwamon in the back, but Okuwamon’s thick armor rendered the attack ineffective.
“You’re first!” said Okuwamon. He turned and called, “Double Scissor Claw!” He struck with both of his massive claws, throwing BlackStaliamon back to the ground where he de-Digivolved.
“We can’t beat him one on one,” said Dragonterramon. “We have to attack him all at once and overwhelm him. Attack!”
BattleStaliamon, Fillimon, and BrauntoPhoenixmon shot off through the air. Dragonterramon was crouched down, preparing to leap, when I stopped him.
“Hold up pal,” I said. “I’m riding along.”
“No,” he protested. “Its too dangerous.”
“Yeah, its dangerous,” I said, “but while you’re fighting, I might be able to spot some kind of weakness in his exoskeleton.”
Dragonterramon growled, a thoughtful look on his face. Then reluctantly he said, “Fine, get on!”
I jumped onto his back, standing on his tail, holding onto one of the spikes lining his back. He jumped up, avoiding a tree sent flying by an attack. He bounced from one tree to another tree, and into the top branches of a third, springing himself into the air. “Terra Flame!” he called, launching a barrage of fireballs at the foe from a distance. Only two hit. Dragonterramon reached the apex of his jump and fell back to the ground below the trees.
“Get closer this time,” I told Dragonterramon.
“Got it,” He growled. He charged forward and launched himself from another treetop, bringing himself close to Okuwamon’s back. I looked him over quickly. Bingo! I thought. There was a small opening in the armor in Okuwamon’s back. If I could get that gap open, the Digimons’ attacks could get through, and they could finish Okuwamon off.
Dragonterramon launched his attack and began his controlled drop. Before he could drop below Okuwamon, I jumped, landing on the enemy’s back, hanging onto the armor at the edge of the gap.
“John, no!” Dragonterramon cried. I pulled myself up and began pulling on the armor plate. If I could only get the gap open a little wider.
“Get ready to attack this spot!” I yelled, but before I could get anywhere Okuwamon shook me off. I was falling, just above Dragonterramon, just out of his reach. I was sure it was finally over, when suddenly my Neo Crest of Courage began to glow. It slid free of the tag and changed shape, becoming a small disk.
Everything seemed to slow down as strength and knowledge flowed through me, even as I fell. I don’t know how, but I knew what to do.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my Digivice and my Digiplayer. I connected them together, the disk still hanging in the air. I swung the Digiplayer, catching the disk in the slot, and pressed the activate button, “Initiate Digiplayer Digivolution!”
Dragonterramon began to glow. He hung in the air, and I fell past him, “Dragonterramon, Digivolve to!” he grew roughly a foot taller and longer, and he roared as broad, orange, bat-like wings sprouted from his back in twin bursts of flame. His claws grew longer, and his talons became sharper and more curved, “WingedDragonterramon!”
WingedDragonterramon folded his wings close to his body and dropped down below me. He opened his wings, catching the air, caught me in his arms, and glided down to the ground. He set me down, and then launched himself back into the fray, just as BrauntoPhoenixmon, BattleStaliamon, and Fillimon were hit by a mighty attack. They fell to the ground and de-Digivolved, defeated.
“Double Scissor Claw!” Okuwamon called. He swung his massive blade-like claws, but WingedDragonterramon flapped once, rising mere inches above the range of the attack. He spilled air from his wings and flew forward, hitting the foe with a full bodied tackle.
Okuwamon fell backward, and before he could regain control, WingedDragonterramon rose up above him and called, “Wing Fireblaze!” His wings caught fire, and a fireball formed in front of each wing. He flapped hard, flinging the two fireballs, each nearly as large as his torso, strait at Okuwamon. The fireballs hit at high speed and exploded. The fire from the explosion filled the sky. When the flames cleared, we saw a singed and battered Okuwamon turn tail and run away in retreat.
WingedDragonterramon landed next to me and the others and changed back into Snakemon, his energy spent by the Digiplayer Digivolution. He teetered for a second and then passed out. I walked over to my friend. “Thanks man,” I said, picking him up and hanging him over my shoulders, “I owe you one.”
Chapter 10
Jeremy Returns;
Ultimate Explosive Battle!
It had been three days since our battle with Okuwamon and Dragonterramon’s Digivolution to the Perfect Level. We had given up on trying to catch up with Jeremy and had set up camp in a clearing along the foot of a twenty-foot cliff, walls of tall thick trees lining the remaining three sides. It was a very defensible spot. Other than that, what could we do? Jeremy and Manipulamon would attack us again when they were good and ready. Still, I felt bad, like I was doing something wrong by waiting instead of seeking them out.
It was mid afternoon. Jen and I were just returning from collecting apples and mushrooms (both of which I hated by then). We ate, and we were just packing away the extras when something happened.
“Do you hear that?” BlackColtmon asked, staring intently out at the forest’s edge.
“Hear what?” I asked.
“A scraping sound,” he said, relaxing, “but I think whatever it was is gone now.”
“Serpentmon,” I said, switching instantly into “cautious leader mode”, “get up in the trees and keep lookout, just in case.”
* * *
Serpenterramon
I heard some sounds to my left. I turned and slithered a short distance to the edge of the woods where I found myself looking out over a clearing. There I saw my query; the Digidestined. Master’s general, who was currently commanding my squad, would be very happy with my find.
I turned my head, preparing to leave the area, and my scales scraped a tree. One of the traitor Digimon, a dark-haired Coltmon, heard this. I stood still for a minute and then pulled back, slithering silently away. I would alert the general, and the Digidestined would finally be destroyed!
* * *
John
It was starting to get dark. It had been at least thirty minutes since BlackColtmon had heard his mysterious sound.
“John,” Serpentmon whined from within the treetops fifteen yards away, “I’m bored. Can I come down now?”
“Yeah,” I said. “If someone was gonna attack, they would have done it already.”
“I don’t think so,” BlackColtmon said. “If they know who we are and they still want to attack, they’ll gather numbers and form a plan before attacking. We should remain prepared.”
I was about to counter his remark when the ground began to shake. A chunk of stone tumbled down from the top of the cliff. Suddenly four Serpenterramon erupted from the ground, surrounding us.
“Terra Fang!” the Serpenterramon called. They snapped at us, but because they had not yet gotten their bearings, their attacks were easily avoided.
“Crap!” I said. I ran and sprung behind a rock. Jen joined me, and Sarah and Amanda ran for cover in the brush bordering the clearing.
The Serpenterramon struck again, forcing the Digimon into a tight group.
“Let’s get out of here,” said Serpentmon. He lead the other Child Digimon underneath the Serpenterramons’ attacks and formed a line of defense between us and the foes.
Then I heard it, a voice on the cliff. “So, what do you think of my new troupe?”
“Jeremy!”
“These four Serpenterramon are Manipulamon’s strongest Serpenterramon followers. I’ve spent the last seventy-two hours training them to fight you. You can’t win this time.”
“We’ll see,” I said. I was confidant, sure that my power was superior.
Jeremy smiled a wicked smile down on us, “Serpenterramon A Troupe, attack!”
“Digimon,” I commanded, “Digivolve!”
The four Serpenterramon drew back, preparing to strike. Jen, Sarah, Amanda, and I raised our Digivices, “Initiate Digivolution!”
“Serpentmon…”
“BlackColtmon…”
“Chickomon…”
“Coltmon…”
“Ponymon…”
“…Digivolve to…”
“Dragonterramon!”
“BlackStaliamon!”
“BrauntoPhoenixmon!”
“BattleStaliamon!”
“Fillimon!”
The Serpenterramon struck, and the Digimon avoided the attacks with varying degrees of difficulty.
I jumped onto Dragonterramon’s tail and gripped one of the spikes on his back. “Dragonterramon,” I commanded, “Jeremy’s ours!”
BlackStaliamon, Fillimon, BattleStaliamon, and BrauntoPhoenixmon remained behind to fend off the snakes. Dragonterramon dug his claws into the cliff side and dug his way up, leaping up directly in front of Mechamon. I jumped down from my Digimon’s back. “Terra Flame!” Dragonterramon called, spewing flames at the metal foe. Mechamon jumped up, using a boost from his jets for lift, flying clear over my dragon’s attack.
Mechamon fell back and landed twenty yards away, jumped strait up, and waved his arms, spreading them wide. Electricity slung from his hands, rolling toward Dragonterramon at lightning speed. He lunged, barely avoiding the blast.
Meanwhile, below us, the others engaged their individual foes. BlackStaliamon leapt up to stomp one of the Serpenterramon flat. Serpenterramon swung his head back, dodging, and struck, attempting to snatch BlackStaliamon out of mid air. BlackStaliamon shifted his weight, flipping backward out of his opponent’s reach, landing firmly on his feet.
Fillimon flapped her wings, rising into the air. Her Serpenterramon foe snapped once. She dodged. Twice. She dodged. Three times. She dodged, but only barely, landing hard and sliding backward several feet before coming to an eventual stop. Fillimon reared up onto her hind legs and fired twin beams from her front hooves. Serpenterramon jerked back, avoiding them, and snapped again. She jumped back, avoiding the attack just in time. The same was happening to BattleStaliamon. BrauntoPhoenixmon’s size gave him a greater advantage over his opponent, though he had yet to score any lethal hits.
Dragonterramon jumped to is feet and I jumped onto his back. He leapt at Mechamon, sailing past Jeremy. As he did I dropped down and landed on Jeremy. We rolled until he kicked me off of him. I tumbled an fell onto my back, cursing at the fact that I hadn’t managed to get hold of the tag that bound him. I rolled and leapt to my feet, just in time to roll out of the way of Jeremy’s fist. I kicked, catching him in the stomach. He stumbled backwards and fell to his knees.
Dragonterramon landed in front of Mechamon. He struck out with his claws. Mechamon jumped back, dodging the slash, so Dragonterramon followed through with a tail sweep. Mechamon jumped over it.
Mechamon kicked, catching Dragonterramon in the jaw. As Dragonterramon stumbled, Mechamon charged up and launched another electric attack. Dragonterramon recovered just in time to dive out of the way. As he did, mine and Jeremy’s fight brought us over to our Digimon. We veered apart and regrouped.
“Pretty good,” said Jeremy. “I had no idea that your Digimon would be such a close match for mine. But Mechamon has one more trick up his sleeve.” Jeremy passed his hand in front of his tag, and his Crest slid out of the tag and converted to a disk, hanging in the air. I was shocked and a little scared by this development, though I tried not to let it show. Digiplayer Digivolution was supposed to be my trump card, and now Jeremy could do it too.
I smiled. If nothing else, this was a challenge. I’ve always liked a challenge. “That won’t help,” I said, “because we can do that too.” I passed my hand over my tags, and the Neo Crest of Courage emerged, becoming a disk and hanging in the air. Jeremy pulled his Digivice and Digiplayer from his jacket pocket. I pulled mine from the pockets of my jeans. We connected our respective devices together, swung them, and caught the disks, calling “Initiate Digiplayer Digivolution!”
“Dragonterramon, Digivolve to! WingedDragonterramon!”
“Mechamon, Digivolve to!” His legs folded up and the treads on his legs unfolded, connecting into functional treads. His torso raised up and his chest panels opened, revealing several small missile launchers. His shoulder panels slid up, revealing laser cannons, and his armor flashed for a split second, evidencing that his armor was being strengthened by a thin energy field. The panels on his chest and shoulders closed again, “MegaMechamon!”
MegaMechamon opened his jets, and two more jets extended from his legs. The jets ignited and together the four jets lifted him off of the ground. WingedDragonterramon flapped his wings and rose to meet is foe. The two Digimon slammed into each other and were thrown apart by impact.
MegaMechamon opened his chest panels and called, “Assault Missiles!” A dozen missiles shot from the launchers under the chest panels and flew true toward WingedDragonterramon.
WingedDragonterramon, however, was fast for his size. He shot into the air, and the missiles sailed over the edge of the cliff. They threatened to hit BlackStaliamon and his opponent. I yelled down to them. The much more agile BlackStaliamon leapt out of the way, but Serpenterramon wasn’t so lucky. He was hit by five of the missiles and broke down, becoming data. Now it was four to three in favor of the Digimon, giving our side a huge advantage.
WingedDragonterramon rolled in the air, his wings ablaze, flying past MegaMechamon, tossing flames in all directions. The flames hit MegaMechamon, but he recovered quickly, raising his guns. His shoulder panels slid open and he called “Electro Lasers!” Twin beams lanced from his guns, and more intense beams burst from his shoulder cannons, all aimed strait at my partner. He folded his wings and dropped below the beams. They followed him. He spread his wings and sailed around his foe until the attack ended.
“Terra Flame!” flames shot from WingedDragonterramon’s mouth. They hit MegaMechamon in the chest, causing him to spark from under his armor, though he was far from finished. He was slow, but his armor was strong.
If I don’t think of something fast, MegaMechamon will outlast us. I thought, trying once again to take things into my own hands. I need a plan! But before I could screw anything up, something happened. MegaMechamon raised his guns to fire beams at my Digimon, and was surprised to see BlackStaliamon leaping over the cliff edge. “Hoof Stomp!” he called, slamming the machine Digimon in the face. MegaMechamon was knocked back, landing on the rocky ground near his human partner. Immediately he found himself surrounded by five Digimon.
“So, lackey,” I asked, “what will it be? Run away again, or stay and fight?”
Chapter 11
John’s Obsession;
The Team Splits up
Jeremy’s eyes swept over each of the Digimon. They were battered and covered in dirt, making their condition hard to determine. So, it seems, he decided to test us. “MegaMechamon!” he commanded, and his Digimon lunged, sliding past WingedDragonterramon, catching BattleStaliamon and Fillimon, and carrying them down the side of the cliff to the ground below, out of site. Fillimon was dazed, but BattleStaliamon was already back on his feet when I reached edge and could see them again. MegaMechamon opened fire, and BattleStaliamon jumped out of the way. One of MegaMechamon’s missiles went off course. It would have hit Jen and Amanda had BrauntoPhoenixmon not jumped down and shielded them with his wings.
WingedDragonterramon took flight. He swooped down and kicked MegaMechamon onto his side. “Hoof Stomp!” called BlackStaliamon. He leapt down from the top of the cliff, trying to smash his foe in the chest and incapacitate him, but MegaMechamon swatted him away and sprung upright -.
- Only to be sent sprawling by Fillimon’s beams!
WingedDragonterramon launched his Wing Fireblaze attack. The fireballs hit their mark and exploded, obscuring my view. Then, out of the explosion shot MegaMechamon, soaring over my head and landing at Jeremy’s side, his armor visibly damaged.
Jeremy smiled and said, “Even though I’d like to stay and play, Manipulamon still needs me. I can’t risk my life just yet. Goodbye Digidestined!”
He waved at us, and MegaMechamon de-Digivolved to Mechamon. With a burst from his jets Mechamon, carrying Jeremy, was gone.
“After him!” I screamed. I started to give chase, but Jen stopped me.
“John,” she said, “we need to talk.”
“What could you possibly want to talk about right now?” I demanded. “Jeremy’s getting away!”
“That’s what we need to talk about!” Jen said, her voice and expression stern. “You’ve become obsessed with freeing Jeremy. I understand to a point. He’s our friend, and we have to help him. But you’ve become obsessed to the point that you’re ignoring our well being!”
“I’m not. I -.”
“Yes you are, John, look!” she pointed at Amanda who was curled up by BrauntoPhoenixmon’s leg, crying. “She was scared to death when the Serpenterramon attacked, but you didn’t even notice, did you? John, Amanda wants to go home.”
“Yeah,” I said, “well she can’t. She’s stuck with us here.”
“That’s not true,” said Jen. “I know there’s a way home somewhere. There has to be. I’m taking Amanda to find it.”
By now, Amanda stood next to Jen, holding her hand. I was shocked! Jen and Amanda wanted to leave the group? I should have been concerned and sympathetic, but the only thing I seemed able to feel was anger. “Fine,” I yelled, “leave! Sarah and I can take handle this ourselves!”
It was a call to their bluff. They wouldn’t really leave, would they? But, only seconds later, with sad looks in their eyes, Jen and Amanda turned and disappeared into the woods, their now de-Digivolved Digimon close behind.
“Come on Sarah,” I said, turning my back to the retreating traitors, “Jeremy’s getting away.”
* * *
Jen
I hated to do it, but I knew it had to be done. John was going completely overboard, and Amanda was afraid. She was too young for the constant danger. If John wouldn’t listen, then the least I could do was try to get Amanda home.
“You okay, Manda?” I asked, looking down at her. Chickomon stepped up beside her and gazed up at her with concern.
“Yeah,” Amanda said, “I’m fine.” She climbed up onto Chickomon’s back, curled up, and went to sleep.
We walked along silently for a few more hours. I figured our best shot at finding a way home was to get back to the Desert Tower. Problem was, without the Digicomp, I had no way of knowing how to get there from where we were. I thought that the Gekomon might be able to help, so that’s where we were going; Amphibian Village.
There was just one problem. I was tired. I was beyond tired. Amanda was awake now, just lying curled up on Chickomon’s back, staring into space.
“Okay guys,” I said, “we’re gonna camp here tonight.” We stopped, and Amanda got down off of Chickomon’s back and stretched.
“Amanda,” I said, kneeling down to speak to her at her level, “since there’s only four of us now I’m gonna need you to do more to help out, okay?” She nodded. “Okay then,” I continued, “I’m going to let you and Chickomon set up camp and gather wood for a fire while Coltmon and I go and gather up some food and hopefully some water.”
Amanda agreed, and Coltmon and I set out, careful to keep our bearings in the deepening twilight. As soon as we were out of view of the campsite, Coltmon asked, “Do you really think that splitting up the team was a good idea?”
“Honestly no,” I replied, “but until John and Amanda both grow up a lot, I don’t see any other choice.”
______________________________________________________
The end of Chapt. 11 marks the mid way point for New Dimension 1