The Tuskmon disappeared in a flash of light, giving a shriek of pain as the sword swung through its neck. The creature whirled the weapon triumphantly over his head and faced the Mammothmon, whose charge had slowed apprehensively.
Wiping the saliva from his lips, he opened his wings and lunged forwards, the blade held out in front of him like a lethal arrowhead of light.
The digimon didn’t even have time to turn away. The wolf digimon crashed through its upper body and it vaporised the instant he burst through its back. A red light flashed in the corner of the huge arena and the doors at either side opened again.
“The test is over. Return him to the detention cell.” The voice hissed though the speakers.
He could see the things running towards him. People. Where they trying to attack him too?
He raised his blade again and swung it at the nearest human. He crumpled to the ground and the others immediately broke away.
Guns. They all produced large assault rifles form their backs and aimed them directly at him.
But he wasn’t afraid any more.
He could feel an energy building up inside him. The blade of his sword began to glow so brightly the humans could no longer see. It began shaking violently, streaks of white lightning burst from the tip, splitting the air around him.
“What’s happening?” the voice sounded afraid. “Stop him!”
The bullets crashed into his chest. He flinched, but the pain was nothing to him. He could feel his body starting to vibrate violently; all around him was a white light.
Spreading his wings, he took flight and thundered upwards, through the rock above him and into the sky, to freedom...
* * *
Aidan pointed the point of the arrow along the corridors ahead of them, straining his eyes to see into the darkness. If that creature could decimate a human regiment in seconds, he didn’t want to take any chances.
“Anything?” Gabumon called from behind him.
“No, nothing here. We’re safe.”
Matt dropped backwards onto the floor, quaking with fear as the creature loomed over him, its blades quivering in the darkness.
Slowly it leant over him, one blade positioned inches from his neck. He could feel the sweat running down his forehead as it turned a curious eye to his.
The blade withdrew, and she sniffed at his visor. A three-fingered hand pressed against his shoulder while the other rested on the top of his helmet. It was as if he was being investigated. Was it the digivice she could sense?
As slowly as he could manage and resisting the violent shivering running over his body, he reached into the pocket of his trousers and brought the digivice into the light. The creature’s eyes lit up with excitement as it saw the glowing object in front of her.
Just as she reached for it, something stopped her.
“Get away from him!” a husky voice yelled.
Gabumon flew at her, his claws outstretched and his teeth bared viciously.
Her body tensed; she rolled downwards and kicked him from behind, forcing him into Matt.
She stood upright to see a glowing arrow pointing directly between her eyes.
“Don’t move.” Aidan said quietly.
The creature froze, glaring intently at her opponent.
The blades on her hands slid out.
The arrow flew through the empty air and crashed into the wall opposite. Just as Aidan turned to see where she’d gone, the creature crashed into his flank. He fell sideways and cracked his head on the metal girder supporting the corridor. She stood over him triumphantly, her blades aimed directly at his neck.
She drew her arms back, ready to make the final hit.
A whirring noise pierced the air- she felt something collide with the armour on her back. Spinning round, she saw MetalArmadillomon. She gave him a swift kick with her bladed foot. He sent a crack running down the wall where he struck the concrete.
She turned back to Aidan.
Boom!
A searing pain exploded through the creature’s left shoulder. Shaking, she put a hand up to the wound. The pain was immense, almost overwhelming. Matt ran forwards, his hands tightly gripping the still-smoking rifle.
Aidan groaned and shook his head. The creature shied away when he moved himself into a kneeling position opposite her.
Her eyes watered slightly. She closed them tightly and held her shoulder tightly. She wanted it to stop hurting. He looked at the poor creature in front of him. Only a few seconds ago nothing could stop it. She looked on the verge of passing out.
He held out a hand to her. “Let me see that.”
The energy she sense in him was similar to that of the other creature’s, except...
She collapsed backwards. Everything around her was starting to float away.
Aidan moved closer and inspected the wound, grimacing.
“What should I do?” he asked.
Matt looked around to see if there was anything that could aid them.
“Your bandanna.” He said urgently. “Tie it around her wound.”
Aidan untied it from his neck obligingly and reached out to touch her arm again. Suddenly, a flash of white light burst from his fingertips and sparked onto the wound, which instantly sealed itself.
The creature’s eyes flicked back to alertness. She wiggled her shoulder tentatively. Seeing it was no longer hurting, she gave a look to Aidan that was close to a smile.
Aidan couldn’t help but smile back. “You alright now?” he asked.
She didn’t answer. She cocked her head, as if studying him. Her purple and green armour shone in the light of Aidan’s bowstring. Its wavy articulation rippled as she moved, glinting like waves on the sea at night.
Aidan stood up and held his hand out to her. She looked at it, puzzled, and then picked herself up.
Matt watched the two of them curiously. “Do you two know each other?”
Aidan gave him a wry look. “No. But she was created by Naraku in the same way I was.”
MetalArmadillomon clattered to the floor beside them, groggily trying to right himself.
Gabumon looked up at Matt, his face alight with relief. He was so glad to finally be back with him.
“We should try and find a way out now.” He said quietly.
Matt nodded in agreement. “Judging by what some of the soldiers were saying, the vehicle bay has a separate power system, so that should still be online. If we can steal a boat we could get out of here without any trouble.”
“Shall we go?” MetalArmadillomon asked, un-bending one of his spines.
Suddenly, the creature tensed. Thunderous footsteps shook the structure around them, sending more concrete splashing to the floor.
They didn’t wait any longer. Aidan grabbed the digimon’s arm and the five of them sprinted down the corridor. Behind them, they could hear the footsteps quicken, accompanied by the ominous thudding of boots on metal- more human troops.
Matt shone his shoulder lamp onto the walls as they ran, desperately looking for a sign directing them towards the vehicle bay.
The wall next to MetalArmadillomon exploded as bullets ploughed into it. The humans were gaining on them.
They rounded a corner, and almost collided with a heavy set of thick metal fire door. Through the blast-proof windows, they could see light. That had to be the section with the vehicle bay inside it.
“Open the door!” Aidan yelled, his Light Shield bursting into life.
“I would if I knew how!” Matt growled back, studying the controls on the wall next to him.
Bullets began to ricochet from the shield. The creature watched as Matt frantically jabbed buttons on the panel in vain. The power was out on this side- it would only open from the other way.
The bullet shots came in harder- masses of bullets were flying towards them, all with deadly intent. Aidan slipped back with the force of another gun being added to the fray.
“Hurry!”
Matt swore as the cover of the control panel broke off in his hands. The creature pushed him out of the way and pushed against the heavy bulk of metal.
With a ferocious roar, she plunged her blades into the metal and pulled her arms upwards. The door buckled, then completely ripped away from its hinges. Carrying it on her hands, she turned round and hurled it in the direction of the humans. It flew over Aidan’s head and careened into the troops. Screams of confusion filled the air as the group turned away, sprinting up the metal slope to the vehicles.
“Idiots!” Naraku screamed, moving the suit forwards. The huge feet of the leviathan cyborg crushed on any soldiers unfortunate enough to get in the way. He was no longer on a rescue mission. A red crosshair appeared in his eye and the barrels of the chainguns whirled in anticipation as he stomped through the tunnels…
MetalArmadillomon reached the vehicle bay first, and jumped at the sight of the hundreds of tanks standing before them. At the far end of the room, barely visible in the dim orange light, was the lift that transported them to the battleships. He pointed over to the ones at the far end.
“Come on!” he yelled, running on ahead. “The quicker we take one of these the quicker we can leave.”
The others followed behind him, but the female digimon stopped as they passed the third row of machines.
“What is it?” Aidan yelled.
A volley of bullets lacerated the tank to his left. The two of them leapt out of the way, seeing Naraku’s maniacal mechanical form glaring back at them.
“I could put up with your treachery for only so long, Solarismon. Give her back to me!”
Aidan drew his sword. “Matt, get the others into a tank and get out. I’ll hold Naraku off.” He bellowed. The creature watched as the two of them exchanged steely glares, neither one willing to back down.
Naraku fired the guns again. The bullets crashed into the floor where Aidan was standing- he rolled away just in time. He took to the air and flew straight towards the gigantic mechanoid, sword blazing.
Naraku’s bladed arm rose to meet Aidan’s sword- the two clashed with a deafening crash. Naraku’s machine swaggered backwards and Aidan was catapulted into a tank, leaving a hefty dent in its armour.
The digimon clenched her fists. What should she do?
Naraku regained his composure and shot a glare at the creature. “Come with me, Tempestmon. You know me, I don’t want to hurt you.” He said, his voice seething with desperation.
The creature held a hand to her chest at the mention of her name. Should she stay? He seemed oddly familiar.
Aidan pulled himself from the floor. “Don’t listen to him- He’ll only try and use you to kill! Run away!”
Tempestmon looked at him frantically and edged closer to Aidan. A volley of bullets shattered the floor between the two of them.
“Stay away from him!” Naraku screamed. “He’ll lead you to a ruined half-life where all you’ll do is rot in your own fetid nightmare.” He spat a moutful of saliva onto the floor. “They destroyed the world, Tempestmon. Together we can rebuild it.”
He held out his gigantic robotic hand to her, his cold eyes now showing a hint of desperation.
Tempestmon looked at the hand and stepped forwards slowly. As she edged closer, the hand reached out to her. Like a child returning to its father.
A whistling noise from the far side of the room distracted her. She turned round just in time to duck underneath the missile which detonated upon hitting Naraku’s chest.
“You two, get in here!” Matt yelled through the loudspeaker.
Aidan grabbed Tempestmon’s arm and the two of them sprinted to the tank. MetalArmadillomon kicked open the hatch and they clambered in as the engines roared into life. The tank rumbled into the lift and the doors slammed shut behind them.
From the floor, Naraku’s machine sparked wildly. His hands began to shake uncontrollably as rage swept over his entire body. He let out a painful scream as his second creation slipped through his fingertips.
* * *
The boat cut through the calm waves swiftly, the only object visible on an ocean coloured a bright orange by the sunset over in the West.
Matt looked at his digivice to try and get a reading on the others. He hoped they’d been able to get back to Tokyo safely. He jabbed a few buttons to adjust the screen setting, then clipped it into his ancient D-Terminal. On the screen came a large map of the now-reformed world. Much of the upper hemisphere was now joined together- what was America and Europe were now one huge supercontinent, the land divided by different terrain much like File Island was.
They were drifting off course. The last thing the needed now was to get caught up in Digimon waters. He set about steering the boat in the right direction, when the D-Terminal started bleeping.
Confused, Matt took hold of it and pressed the button. He had e-mail.
As he read it, his hands began to shake. He broke into a cold sweat, and his knees suddenly felt weak. The D-Terminal dropped to the floor.
“T.K...”
TO BE CONTINUED...
