Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Bad Kitty ❯ Preparation ( Chapter 3 )
AN: Say, during the last round of small fixes, I realized that it doesn't look the same here as it does on my computer. Is the type easy to read?
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"So you've never heard of a SaberNekomon?" Tai said.
"No," Tentomon answered. "And I know most of the Digimon who are that strong. I've made a point of it memorizing them since I learned we'd wind up in mortal combat with most of them."
The six veterans of the battle of the Inoue store had immediately rushed to the Izumi residence to get answers. Now, they were sitting in Izzy's bedroom, with the TV tuned to news broadcasts showing the same tape of the battle over and over. Gatomon winced as she watched the debacle again and again from several angles, becoming more and more humiliated as she watched SaberNekomon batter her and the others. She does not get away with that, she vowed, a little of the unwillingness to let a defeat go unpunished that Myotismon had instilled in her resurfacing.
Mrs. Izumi had insisted on making snacks for all of them, (double helpings for Tentomon, who was a black hole when it came to her cooking) and had fussed over Gatomon's wounds. Gatomon was annoyed with all the attention, but didn't try to stop Izzy's well-meaning mother. Now, she looked like she'd just come from the emergency ward, the bandages making her look much worse off than the wounds had. Then Mrs. Izumi had departed, not wanting to interfere with what she had termed "official Digidestined business."
"My Analyzer doesn't have a record of any Digimon like that," Izzy said. "It can scan new Digimon, but unfortunately, it'd have to be in person to get info on one that's not in Gennai's file."
"In other words, try to take a reading before you get skewered," Tai said. "Great plan."
Izzy shrugged. "Can't help it. But that's not the important thing. She can't be attacking just for the fun of it..."
"Not to hear her tell it," Matt said. "She acts like the whole thing's a game. She laughs when she kicks us around. A real laugh, not like Piedmon or somebody. She sounds like she's having fun."
"Except when she's fighting Gatomon," Gabumon said. "Then she goes mad."
"Sounds like a personal vendetta," Izzy said. "But she says she's after all of you?"
"She didn't attack Kari," Gatomon said. "When Kari got in her way, she teleported out just before it was too late."
"Hmm," Izzy said, frowning as he did whenever trying to decipher a puzzle. "Interesting. You don't think you knew her when she was at a different stage?" he asked Gatomon.
"Maybe. I've got no shortage of enemies after my time with Myotismon."
Izzy swiveled his chair around to face the others. "The main thing is, whenever someone's attacked us like this, there's always been more to it than met the eye. And they're always emotionally stable, even if not entirely sane. I would be willing to wager that someone has sent her. We need to know just who she is and who put her up to this, and how she managed to get through a Digital Gate."
"Who'd send someone to the real world after us, anyway?" Matt asked. "It's not like we're a threat from here, especially before we knew something was up."
"Perhaps whoever it is knows who we are, and knows the prophecy," Gabumon suggested. "They know that the only way to get whatever they're after is to go through us."
"If they do," Gatomon said, "then they know our full power as of the last time they saw us, and chose their warrior with that in mind."
"So that crazy chick might be able to take on two Megas and eight Ultimates?" Matt said.
"They'd be hard-pressed to find anyone that strong," Izzy said. "Most likely SaberNekomon has been instructed to fight us a few at a time, or has some sort of a strategy."
"Or maybe they figure she can get at least a few of us so there will be less opposition for the less-expendable warriors to deal with," Gatomon said.
"In other words, we're still clueless," Tai summed it up.
"We do know that we'll have to face whoever the mastermind is sooner or later, probably sooner," Izzy said. "We'd better get prepared for another trip to the digital world, possibly today. I'm looking for open gates right now."
"What have you got?" Gatomon said, hopping up onto Izzy's desk to get a closer look at his computer. Her head throbbed from the motion, but she tried not to let it show.
"Looking... got it. Not much right now. There's a bakery in Shinjuku, but that gate's already beginning to close, there's a weak spot in the barrier at a high school in Tamachi, but no gate yet. Next nearest thing is a library in Kawaguchi. If all else fails, there's just about always one in Kyoto."
"Right now, I say we call the others," Tai said.
"Here." Izzy tossed him his cellular phone. "But don't talk too long, I'm almost out of minutes..."
Tai rolled his eyes as he began to dial.
*****
SaberNekomon was having trouble deciding what to do next. How was she going to kill Gatomon now that Kari was protecting her? Also, she knew she'd have to deal with the entire group eventually. It was the way they seemed to work: if she singled out any one of them, all of them will protect that one. It made no sense, but it worked well enough to give her a few headaches. At least I get to toss them around some more, she thought. It was more fun that way anyway. She imagined herself picking up MetalGreymon and using him to bat some superpowerful Digdiestined Digimon around.
Then came what she was going to do about Tai and Kari. The close call with Kari had given her a rude awakening: Her benefactor had told her to destroy the Digidestined, but she had no intentions of killing Tai and Kari. Oh, well, I'll think of something sooner or later, she figured, putting that thought aside. Best not to think about that right now. She'd take Gatomon out of the picture and everything would be just as it was before. Then she'd worry about strange men and bats.
But all that could wait. Right now, there was something more pressing at hand. You look hungry, little guy, she thought, stroking the kitten's fur. She stood, and turned when she caught the scent of several cats behind her. In fact, you all look hungry. "Follow me," she said simply.
They did.
*****
"Gomamon's not around," Joe told Tai. "Once he gets back, I'll tell him everything."
"Not around?" Tai said. "He's a seal, it's not like he can get that far."
"Not as Gomamon. But as Bukamon, he flies, or sorta floats."
"I didn't think they could digivolve backwards unless..."
"...they use a lot of energy," Joe finished. "So whenever he gets ready to go out, he's got to use a lot of his power. And we all know what his power is. The pool's full of fish, the sinks are full of fish, the bathtub's full of fish... when I get my hands on that seal..."
"I get the picture."
"I'll call Mimi, then I'll see if Gomamon's back yet. We'll be sure to make contact."
"Guess I'll hear from you then. Bye."
"Later." Joe hung up. Just where is Gomamon, anyway?
*****
"The view's great here," Bukamon said. "It's like you can see half of Tokyo."
"Told you," Biyomon said. She and Bukamon were perched on the roof of the Highton View Terrace apartments, not far from where Garudamon had had her battle with Mammothmon. But for once, they weren't talking about any crisis. "It's great to sit up here and watch all the humans. Nothing like watching them run around to make you appreciate our lives. When no one's attacking, we get to take it easy. I'd hate to be on a schedule all the time like them." Biyomon sighed contentedly. "They'd be a lot better off if they'd take the time to just sit someplace like this and enjoy the sky, the animals, the sounds."
"I know," Bukamon said. "Or maybe take a nice swim through the ocean. It's like a completely different world down there. Of course, Joe's afraid of heights and the ocean, so it's not like he'dhave much fun..."
Biyomon giggled, playfully swatting him with a wing. "Be nice to poor Joe," she said.
"Who, me, nice? You know me better than that."
That got another giggle from Biyomon. Bukamon laughed too, and hoped he could make Biyomon laugh again many times in the future. Then, he sighed. Better get it over with. "Uh, Biyomon?"
"Yeah?"
"You see... I..." Bukamon began stumbling on his words, a rarity for him. Biyomon looked up at him, her large blue eyes looking directly into his own. He got the feeling that she knew already, and was making him suffer on purpose. "Biyomon, I..."
"Huh?" Biyomon gasped, looking forward once more.
"What?" Bukamon asked.
"You don't see... oh, yeah. Sometimes I forget everyone else isn't a bird. Anyway, it looked like an explosion of some kind, at that building over there." She pointed with a wing, and then lifted off. Bukamon didn't see what she was pointing at, so he simply followed.
Talk about bad timing. Whoever that is is so gonna get it, Bukamon thought.
Biyomon and Bukamon glided down to the source of the disturbance. A pet supply shop. Most of the windows were broken, and a great din could be heard inside, as if a wrecking crew was at work.
"Yaaaah!" A man came smashing through one of the few remaining intact windows, flying over Biyomon and Bukamons' heads, to land in the middle of the street. A laugh was heard from inside.
"Why us?" Bukamon muttered.
The two small Digimon ventured inside to see a curious sight: shelves were overturned and everything breakable was broken. Scurrying about it all were cats. Hundreds of meowing, hissing cats, tearing into bags of food. Even a few cans had been torn open.
"Cats really do prefer Fancy Feast," Bukamon observed. "How'd they get into those cans, anyway?"
"I'd worry more about how they even got here," Biyomon said. "Is this someone's idea of a joke?"
"Quite serious," a female voice said. "Rare as that is for me." In a flicker of yellow energy, a lovely teenage girl with the eyes, ears, and tail of a cat appeared atop one of the few shelves that was still standing. She had a contented expression, and was idly twirling her hair with her clawed fingers.
"What do you think you're doing?" Bukamon demanded.
"Feeding them," she said, gesturing to the cats. "Surely you wouldn't have me let them starve? You Digidestined are supposed to be the good guys."
"How'd you know who we are?" Biyomon asked.
SaberNekomon realized she didn't actually have an answer. She'd just known them on sight, and hadn't questioned how. Another surprise from Myotismon. She wish she had a way of determining just how much she knew now. She chuckled, just realizing she also knew her benefactor's name. But she also knew it was important to not reveal it. Instead, she shrugged. "Innate superiority, I guess. Now are you going to digivolve, or what? Wouldn't be any fun to fight you as you are now."
"Why do you want to fight us?" Biyomon asked. "We never did anything to you."
"Oh, it's just something to do," answered SaberNekomon. "Now hurry up and digivolve already."
"Um..." Bukamon started. How to refuse without letting her know we're evolution-challenged at the moment?"No. We're... not going to help amuse you."
"Too bad," SaberNekomon sighed, raising her claws. The cats closest to Biyomon and Bukamon moved away instantly. "Better get it over with, then. Tigris..."
"Wait!" Biyomon shouted. "We just... what if you, uh, wait until you guys finish eating first?"
"Hmm..." she said, looking down as if deep in thought. "Nah. Tigris Wave!" She lazily tossed an energy arc their way. They flew to avoid it and wound up crashing into each other, and struggled to disentangle themselves and get out of the way. The arc struck between them an instant after they separated, and the explosion catapulted them into the air, leaving them to crash into the stack of dog food cans that was the only thing the cats had left untouched. A mountain of cans collapsed onto the Rookie and In-Training. They could hear their foe giggling like a child.
Okay, this one's a few birds short of a flock, Biyomon thought. Here's hoping Sora and Joe sense we're in trouble.
She and Bukamon climbed out from under the can avalanche. "Spiral Twister!"
"Bubble Blow!"
"Oh, come on," SaberNekomon said as the attacks failed to do as much as wrinkle her clothes. "Even these guys can do better than that." She indicated the rampaging cats. Her eyes lit up as she got an idea. "In fact..." she gave a meow.
Instantly, more than a hundred of the cats stopped their vandalism and surged toward Bukamon and Biyomon, tearing at them with their teeth and claws, knowing to stay away from their mouths to avoid attacks.
Why us?Bukamon wondered again as he flailed to dislodge the snarling, biting alley cats.
*****
Sora Takenouchi kicked the soccer ball for all she was worth. It sailed across the front yard of the Takenouchi house, to be stopped by her father. "Not bad," Mr. Takenouchi said, with one foot on top of the ball. Sora charged forward. "Not bad at all." Mr. Takenouchi gave the ball a solid kick. It went straight through Sora's legs and past her faster than the eye could follow, and shot between the two rocks that they had set up as a goal.
"How did you..." Sora said.
"With practice." Mr. Takenouchi ruffled his daughter's hair.
Sora's father was constantly working, and rarely had time for simple things like a game of soccer in the front yard. Sora treasured every moment of times like this. "You just got lucky!" she shouted as she ran to get the ball and started to drive it back across the yard. She gave it a good, hard kick to send it over her father's head. She grinned as she watched him chase after it, and moved into position to take whatever he could throw at her.
From nowhere, she felt an icy fist around her heart, so suddenly that she stopped in her tracks and gasped. At the same time, her digivice began beeping. Focusing on the feeling that warned her when Biyomon was in danger, she closed her physical eyes and tried to see with her mind's eye, in hopes of finding her. Which way, I just need the direction...
"Look out!" her father shouted. An instant later, the soccer ball slammed into Sora's face, and she was so stunned she fell over. "Oh, man. Sora, you all right? You know I didn't mean to, you just zoned out and..."
"Biyomon! She needs me, she's in some kind of trouble, we've got to go, we've got to find her, we..."
"Whoa! Slow down. Where is she right now?"
"I don't know, the feeling, it doesn't tell me that..." she took out her Digivice. It was rather unhelpfully flashing digital symbols in red. She began pushing buttons at random. Come on, you stupid tamagotchi, I need something I can use... One random combination of buttons caused the world around her to be blotted out, and there was a flash of... somewhere else. A store of some kind, a store that had been ransacked. And then it was all gone. Remember, Sora! Remember! Where?! She'd seen a glimpse of writing on the walls, but just a glimpse.
"Uh, sweetie, you were... glowing. Is that normal?"
"Nakajima's!" Sora shouted. "It said Nakajima's. Do you know what that is?"
"I think that's a pet supply store not far from Highton View Terrace. Is that where Biyomon is?"
"It has to be. Look, if she's in danger, I need to..."
"I understand," Mr. Takenouchi said. After a pause, he added, "I'll give you a ride down there, if that's what you need."
"Thanks," Sora sighed with relief. She was never sure how her parents would take her needing to rush off on Digidestined business. They were always pretty good about it, but there was always a part of her that said Yeah, right. "A bird from another world's probably under attack from some giant city-wrecking creature. Would you mind driving me to ground zero?" Suuure, they'll buy that.
Soon, father and daughter were underway, speeding down the quickest route to Highton View Terrace. "Don't worry, Sora, we'll get there in time," Mr. Takenouchi said.
"Thanks for understanding."
"Hey, you kids and Digimon stopped Myotismon when the rest of the world was clueless. I'd much rather you be at home and not involved in any of this, but I know you know what you're doing, and that nobody else can do it, so the best thing to do is to be a help and not a hindrance."
Um, we usually don't know what we're doing. "Thanks, Daddy."
*****
What have you gotten yourself into this time, Gomamon? Joe Kido wondered as he stopped at Nakajima's Pet Supply Warehouse, leaving his motorcycle near the front. He came inside to see Biyomon and Bukamon trying to struggle their way free of a feline army. Oh, boy. "Bukamon, I'm here!" Joe shouted as his digivice came to life.
"Bukamon digivolve toÉ Gomamon!" Gomamon thrashed and tossed some of the cats away, but there were still enough clinging to him to do damage. "Marching Fishes!" Gomamon called. The colored fish appeared in the air and flew past Gomamon and Biyomon. The cats, whose hunger hadn't yet been sated, turned to chase after the fish.
"Spoilsport."
Joe spun around in time to get a glimpse of the cat girl that gave him a hard shove, sending him flying into one of the overturned shelves. She popped a green fish into her mouth and walked towards him.
"Hey!" Gomamon shouted.
SaberNekomon wondered if Gomamon meant the fish or walking towards his partner, but she realized she didn't care. "I suppose you're here to stop the evil Digimon from her senseless rampage and all that jazz? Let's see what you've got."
"I... uh..." Joe stammered, knowing who he was dealing with and how easily she could break him in two. Ironically, it was his anticipation of being snapped in two that saved him. His digivice lit up.
"Gomamon digivolve to... Ikkakumon!" One stamp on the ground convinced the cats to give him and Biyomon some room. "Harpoon Torpedo!"
SaberNekomon was, of course, unaffected by the blasts. But, knowing that the other cats weren't that strong, she decided to take the battle outside. But she just couldn't resist first tossing Ikkakumon into the base of the last standing shelf, knocking it over on top of him. After taking a second to enjoy the sight of Ikkakumon half-buried in dog dishes, she leapt through the window and landed in a crouch, letting Ikakkumon's two Harpoon Torpedoes sail over her. Not that she had to dodge, but it was more fun if she did. She leapt into the air and out of Ikkakumon's sight, and didn't come back down.
"When I get my hands on her..." Ikkakumon seethed. "Joe?"
"Right," Joe said. With a bit of concentration that was easier each time, he forced down the part of him that was worried about the psycho kitty that was probably waiting to pounce on him and tried to think about something reliability-related. C'mon, crest power. We gotta do this... world needs us, we've got to find her before she can do any more damage... ah, there we go.
"Ikkakumon digivolve to... Zudomon!" Zudomon cautiously walked out, at least as cautiously a giant animal can smash his way through a wall. He was careful to stick his head out first, looking up. Does she really think I'm dumb enough to just come running out of... his train of thought stopped when he realized that she was indeed not above him. He held his hammer above his head, ready to smash, and rose to his full impressive height, looking over the roof of the building. He did see news crews coming closer and police leading people away, but his foe was nowhere to be found. He groaned, and wondered briefly how well it would go over with the others if he collected Joe and Biyomon, waved goodbye to the nice kitties, and left them to their meal. If that psycho chick was anything like the cat she resembled, she'd leave eventually when she got bored, and her entourage would go with her.
Nah. But it was nice to think about.
*****
"Biyomon, are you okay?" Joe said, kneeling to the pink bird's eye level.
"More or less," Biyomon groaned. "I hate cats."
She flapped to land on his shoulder as he went to look for a phone to call the others. "What about Gatomon?" Joe said.
"She's a Digimon. Cat Digimon are okay. Those things..." Biyomon said, pointing at the feasting cats with one wing, "are pure evil. I'd rather go another round with Myotismon."
"Will I do?" a friendly voice inquired. Joe spun around to find razor-sharp claws at his throat and gasped. SaberNekomon giggled at the expression on Joe's face, but the claws remained where they were. "Really hate to do this now, just like that, with no drama, but you're messing with our mealtime. So, adios... aaargh!"
The sharp end of Zudomon's chrome digizoid hammer struck her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her and sending her flying. The cats hissed at Zudomon, but made no move to attack, and drew back once the hammer returned to him.
"What's the matter?" Zudomon challenged. "You'll attack defenseless humans, but not me?"
SaberNekomon clenched her teeth. She pressed her hand to her chest, and it came away bloody. She'd taken beatings before, but only now did she realize she could actually be hurt. Okay, so I take that hammer seriously. Better end this fast. "If I must," she said in answer to Zudomon's question. And, like lightning, she was up and flying footfirst into Zudomon's chest. Zudomon fell backwards through what was left of the wall. SaberNekomon spun, kicking the hammer away from Zudomon and out into the street, and bringing the ball of her other foot back down on his arm, pinning it against the floor. She tried to not to show that her foot was still smarting. Okay, we do not kick chrome digizoid. She was getting very frustrated with this encounter. Where was that stupid human, anyway? She knew that killing him would send Zudomon back to Gomamon, removing the threat he presented with the least risk to the cats. But Joe was nowhere to be found. How mean. Oh, well. If she was careful, she could still dispatch Zudomon without hurting the other cats. That'd be more fun anyway.
She turned back to Zudomon, and felt the pain from her wound. Her eyes narrowed. Yes, she was so going to enjoy this.
Zudomon threw a punch, but SaberNekomon deflected it and pulled, and Zudomon toppled, falling towards her. Rolling onto her back, she positioned her feet between herself and his body, and kicked. She was rewarded with the satisfying crunch of the breaking of the cans Zudomon finally landed on, the same ones he'd been half buried in before. This is more like it! She kicked his feet out from under him as he tried to stand again. It was quickly obvious that, while his hammer was made of chrome digizoid, he was no stronger than her other foes. She wished she didn't have to be so careful with the cats so close. What she wouldn't do to be able to give him a proper thrashing.
Zudomon rolled onto his back and spun, his horn sweeping SaberNekomon's legs out from under her. When she went careening into a pile of boxes of dog snacks, she giggled as if it was a carnival ride as she got back up and flipped into the air. Zudomon stood as quickly as he could, and reached for the cat girl in midair. SaberNekomon landed on top of his closed fist and jumped toward his head, landing a snap kick to the base of his skull. Zudomon saw stars.
SaberNekomon landed in a dramatic pose and patiently waited for him to get up again. The cats were moving closer to watch the battle, and SaberNekomon wished that she could cut loose and put on a real show. Oh, well. There were seven more where he came from.
"Arrivederci, walrus boy."
*****
Outside, Joe and Biyomon were having a battle of their own.
"Hey!" Joe shouted. A group of JSDF soldiers were wrapping steel cables to Zudomon's hammer in order to take it away by helicopter. "Cut that out! Zudomon needs it!" How'd they get here so fast? There weren't half that many on the way in!
"Get outta here, kid," one of them said.
"Hey, we're not letting you take..." Biyomon started.
The soldier responded by calmly raising his gun. "You're not letting anything. You two are standing back over there, out of our way." He motioned with the gun.
Biyomon watched Joe and the lead soldier argue while the others continued attaching the hammer. She watched things go nowhere for a few minutes, and finally announced, "Spiral Twister!" The corkscrewing flames disarmed the man, and a second shot broke one of the cables attached to the hammer. The helicopter, which had begun trying to lift it, jerked with the change in the weight.
"The hell's going on down there!" shouted the voice of the helicopter pilot, barely audiable over the chopping of the rotor blades. The soldiers' guns were pointed at Biyomon and Joe again.
A car stopped, and out stepped Sora and Mr. Takenouchi. "Hey, you can't stop here!" shouted one of the soldiers. Meanwhile, Biyomon took out a second cable holding up the giant hammer, causing it to crash to the ground with a thoom. Brilliant yellow sparks flew from beneath it and the ground shook.
"Sora!" Biyomon shouted. "There's some kind of cat Digimon in there that I've never seen before! She's a lot stronger than we are."
"She's called SaberNekomon," Joe said. "Tai called me about her before I headed for here. He says she's at least as powerful as three Ultimates. We... don't exactly have a plan as of yet."
"The usual blindly rushing into things," Biyomon added. "Feels just like old times."
Sora sighed. "Well, you know the drill, Biyomon." Sora took out her digivice. "Dad, you might want to get out the line of fire. We can take it from here."
"I'll never get used to this," Mr. Takenouchi sighed. "You be careful. I won't be too far off if you need me."
"Thanks, Dad. I love you." Sora gave her father a quick hug.
"Don't worry," Biyomon said. "I'll protect her." She looked back at the angry JSDF officers. "This is going to be fun."
In short order, Garudamon was towering over the JSDF officers. With one hand, she reached down and plucked the helicopter out of the sky by its tail, and pulled it to eye level, looking into it. Then, slowly, she shook her head and wagged her finger as if the man in the helicopter was being a very naughty little boy. Then she released the helicopter and watched it flutter like a moth until the pilot regained control. Then, with a gentle tug, she snapped the last cable attached to the hammer like a thread, easily lifted the hammer, and was back to the pet supply store with one small step. "Mr. Nakajima, I'm so sorry about this," she said to herself.
*****
Zudomon was swinging futilely to hit SaberNekomon, but it was like trying to hit a fly in midair. It was nearly impossible, and she had no problem shaking of the few clumsy hits that did connect. Every third swing he took, she moved in close and slashed him. After a few minutes of this, she gave him four free swings, leapt in and gave him a good kick to the chest, and flipped back to a wall, to cling there with her feet and one hand. She made a big show of yawning.
"Game over, walrus boy," she said once Zudomon was on his feet again. "Tigris Wave!"
With her claws energized, she plunged straight towards Zudomon's throat. Zudomon was trying to move out of the way, but she knew his neck wouldn't be out of her claws' path by the time she reached it. In the half-second that remained, she thought about what a funny word "trajectory" was. Hee hee.
But, in one fourth of a second, a great wind took the roof right off of Nakajima's and blew both her and Zudomon over several yards. Rubble fell towards the cats, who scattered to avoid it. SaberNekomon missed Zudomon's neck by a matter of millimeters and sped past him, her claws burying themselves in a pillar. The explosion of energy turned the pillar into dust and sent her flying backwards, her hands feeling worse than her chest had when Zudomon's hammer struck her. Her nerves sang with pain. When she looked into the sky to see Garudamon overhead, beating her wings to generate the wind, the pain was was quickly replaced by rage. With a lion's roar, she flung herself into the air, covering the distance between herself and Garudamon in a second. Garudamon dodged aside, but was too large to get herself completely out of harm's way. Her body was out of SaberNekomon's path, but one giant wing wasn't, and SaberNekomon tore completely through it with her claws to land on Garudamon's back. Garudamon howled in pain and flapped to dislodge the madwoman, but those damned claws held tight, digging in deep. Garudamon soared high into the air and performed a loop-the-loop and plunged straight down. Finally, she arrested her speed, letting the momentum tear SaberNekomon painfully off of her back, to fall back into Nakajima's. Garudamon watched her fall. Why can't she attack from a distance like everybody else? "Wing Blade!"
SaberNekomon heard her cry and saw the flaming bird flying towards her, talons outstretched, and realized with horror she was now in the middle of a group of cats. She flung herself upward again, to intercept the Wing Blade halfway to the ground, grinding her teeth as the flame roared over her. "Tigris Wave!" she shouted, flinging an X of energy from both claws. Garudamon, still flying downward, had enough momentum to zip out of its path by pulling out of her dive. SaberNekomon landed again, in front of Zudomon, who, she realized, had his hammer back now. Stupid bird must have dropped it off nearby before attacking. SaberNekomon dropped to the floor and rolled between Zudomon's legs. The hammer landed an inch behind her, shaking the ground.
I have to get the cats out of harm's way first, SaberNekomon thought. This can wait.
SaberNekomon meowed loudly, and the cats all began to retreat through a back door. "I'll be back, you haven't seen the last of me, I'll destroy you, and all that good stuff," SaberNekomon said disinterestedly and with a hint of disgust. When the cats were all through the door, she followed them.
"That was interesting," Zudomon said. "Ow." He held his aching head.
Garudamon touched down in what was left of Nakajima's. "Zudomon, you okay?"
"Your wing!" Zudomon said.
"It'll heal," Garudamon said. "What about you?"
"Just a headache," he said, trying not to show the pain from the slashes. "Man, I can't wait to get back to Joe's place. If anyone wants me, I'll be in the pool for the next few hours."
"I think we should try to set these shelves back up," Garudamon suggested. "We did trash most of Nakajima's store with that fight."
"Yeah, we should!" Zudomon agreed instantly. "Definitely, it'd be the noble thing to do, and... and we... uh..." Zudomon trailed off, and quickly turned to hide his blush.
Garudamon was, of course, completely oblivious. She had already begun setting shelves up, without a word. Zudomon stole a glance back at her, groaned in exasperation, and joined her in propping up overturned shelves.
*****
"Are you still so proud of your little experiment, Myotismon?" the figure on the throne said. "Instead of killing her foes, she takes care of her precious little kitties. Did you create a warrior or a babysitter?" he mocked.
"Provide an alternative plan of action and I shall implement it," Myotismon said as respectfully as possible. "For now, I'll straighten her out."
"Very well, Myotismon. "But..."
Not waiting for the Ancient One's parting threat, Myotismon bowed halfheartedly and clutched the artifact, and was back in the castle. He could only be polite for so long. His patience was wearing thin, and he'd never been the most patient Digimon in the world to begin with. The plan, remember the plan, he growled. He'll get his soon enough if you don't screw it up beforehand.
Walking back into the castle proper, he encountered his right-hand mon, Mikemon. Mikemon was a calico version of Gatomon, with a more mischeivous look in his eyes. His ego surpassed that of even Myotismon himself, and he never went too long without extolling his own virtues. And he had the annoying habit of always speaking in third person. Myotismon wasn't sure whether that was natural or affected. He suspected Mikemon did it just to annoy him.
"How go the preparations?" Myotismon asked.
"Mikemon's gotcha covered," Mikemon answered. "The army's ready to go. Mikemon got you some lean, mean fightin' machines called Cannondramon. They'll nuke any resistance or your money back. Not that you ever pay Mikemon, but..." Mikemon trailed off.
Neither Mikemon nor anyone else knew about the Ancient One. Myotismon wasn't having anyone learning that there was someone above him, someone they could go to in order to get at him. That would be begging for trouble. All his people knew was that were they to follow orders, they would be handsomely rewarded, and were they to disobey, they would be severely punished.
"Good work, Mikemon," Myotismon said. "You just may be worthy of me after all."
"That's high praise coming from you, Myo."
"How many times have I told you, don't call me Myo!"
Mikemon frowned in concentration. "Uh, that's two hundred and seventy-four, Myo." Mikemon disappeared down a corridor before Myotismon could throttle him.
"Why do I keep him around?" Myotismon wondered aloud. "Why?" There were plenty of warriors Mikemon's equal. He was strong, but Myotismon had Ultimates and Megas in his army. A Cerberumon worth his salt could easily wipe out five Mikemon on a bad day. Mikemon was a good planner and organizer, but even those weren't extremely rare. Not a day went by that he didn't think about using Mikemon for target practice and figuring out how to replace him later.
But every time he started to wring the stupid little cat's scrawny neck, a different image superimposed itself over Mikemon in his mind: A certain nearly-identical cat Digimon whose fur was pure white and whose eyes were blue. Someone he hated. Someone he loathed and despised like no other. And yet, that somehow made it impossible for Myotismon to go through with killing him. And ever since Mikemon realized that, he'd been getting away with murder. You'll pay for that, too, Gatomon.
Myotismon let his path take him to the gate room, and he looked over the cards that he would use to bring the Ancient One back into the Digital World. For the short time that he'd be there. Soon, he thought. Soon this little game of ours will end, Ancient One. I'll have my power back and then some and I won't have to depend on you to survive. And you'll go back to being nothing but a bad memory. No one is my master.
Once he had his powers back, all to himself instead of on loan from the high-and-mighty "Ancient One," he was going to begin work on his hit list. His Great Majestic Ancientness would be the first to fall. From there, the remaining Digidestined. Then he'd put the army that the Ancient One had ordered mobilized to good use. He vowed that before twenty-four hours passed, he would stand atop Escher Castle and look as far as the eye could see, and yet would see nothing that didn't belong to him.
Myotismon summoned his bats, and had them make a window. Soon, he was looking at a foggy image of SaberNekomon... and more cats than he'd ever seen in one place before.
"SaberNekomon?" Myotismon called. "I have a new assignment for you. I believe you'll find it... amusing."
"Really?" SaberNekomon said, her ears perking up as she spun to face the window. "What?"
"Think of it as a game of cat and mouse."
-----
Voice of Davis: That doesn't sound good. So, can the gang stop the return of the Ancient One? Will SaberNekomon ever get her issues sorted out? And will Mikemon ever learn to keep his mouth shut? All this and more on the next exciting Digimon: Digital Monsters.
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