Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Digimon Tamers: The Silver Lining ❯ "Raging Flames" ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: They (Toei Animation, Bandai, and Akiyoshi Hongo) own Digimon Tamers, not I. The original characters? Those are mine.

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Digimon Tamers

The Silver Lining

Chapter 05- "Raging Flames"

By Infinity Blade

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"…it happened so suddenly that those in the building had no possible way to prepare for it. This fog, exactly like what appeared just over a month ago engulfing the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, has been shorting out all sorts of electrical equipment within the hospital at random. There is a great worry for those on life support, and most activity has ceased within the building as they work to cover those that require the equipment to live. As for everyone else inside, police have arrived, blocking off all entrances and exits. They are allowing no one out, and are not considering evacuation as they wait for word from officials. Sad to say, the government has yet to make any sort of statement. Even today, of course, there is still no official explanation for last month's events…"

Lee Jaarin sat in the living room of her family's apartment, her eyes transfixed on the television screen. The teenaged girl with short, brown hair had been like this for the past few minutes since news reports had broke through on several channels. At the moment, the television was displaying a shot of the fog-covered hospital given from above in a helicopter. Her nails dug deeply into the fabric of the couch, and her entire body felt unusually tense at watching this unfold. This could easily be a huge disaster…

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me…"

Jaarin let out a squeak and found herself jumping in her seat. Her head then jerked around to discover her elder brother by two years, Rinchei, standing behind her. "Oniichan!" she scowled. "How long have you been standing there?!"

"Long enough to see you sitting there catching flies with your mouth hanging open," he grinned.

She frowned and turned back to watch the television. "Shut up."

"So, they've finally got one of these things on tape, eh?" Rinchei questioned.

These random patches of fog had been appearing for months all around Tokyo. However, due to their usually brief time of appearing and how they disrupted electrical equipment, no real evidence of them could be recorded. The largest one that had appeared a month before, in fact, had damaged electronics throughout the entire city. Oddly enough, though, this one, despite being just as big or bigger, was only disrupting things within it…

Jaarin gulped as the helicopter continued circling the hospital and filming. "All of those people in there…"

"Oh, they'll be fine," Rinchei said, "I mean, this can only last so long…"

"But the monsters…" she murmured, and she suddenly heard her brother snort. A quick glance at him let her see that he was trying to keep from laughing. "What's so funny?!"

"Monsters, huh?" Rinchei smirked. "Don't tell me you're buying into that…"

Jaarin glared at him. "And what do you call the things people have been seeing in those fog patches?"

"Mass hallucination. This is obviously some new type of weather phenomenon, and from all I've read and seen, it's been theorized that in additional to disrupting electronics, it has some type of affect on the human brain," he said, nodding sagely. "Sort of like a quick high you didn't ask for."

"Don't believe everything you read on the internet," she said, deadpan.

"And I'm supposed to believe we have Gamera crawling out of those things? No thanks."

He then spun around and went walking back towards his room.

"There's a difference between being a skeptic and being stupid!" she hollered after him.

"I'll remember that when the aliens come for you!" he cried back before shutting his door.

Jaarin sighed, glancing back at the television. "Mass hallucination my foot-"

No sooner did the word 'foot' leave her mouth did the entire place shake furiously. The girl screamed and fell out of her seat, barely catching herself on the coffee table. No sooner did it begin, though, the earthquake stopped. "What the," she mumbled, looking back up at the TV.

"Oh… my," the reporter gasped, and Jaarin's eyes widened. "Four more fog patches have appeared all around the original one!"

Her eyes then fell upon her backpack. As several thoughts registered through her mind, she nodded to herself. Soon, with the backpack slung over her shoulder, she was heading for the apartment's front door when Rinchei stuck his head out of his room.

"Hey, did you feel-" he began, but paused. "Where are you going?"

"Out," she said quickly, and then dashed out the door before he could respond.

***

Terriermon couldn't quite tell how it happened, but somehow Shuichon had regained her death grip around his neck. Under normal circumstances, he would try to silently beg for Jenrya to release him, but these weren't normal circumstances and they couldn't take the time to stop.

They were all presently dashing down a sidewalk, though the only digimon other than him that were visible were Culumon, now planted on Takato's head again, and Guilmon. Leomon was following them by rooftop, while Renamon was… wherever she went when she vanished.

There were many things that were cause for worry. Takato had stated that all of the remaining Devas were coming. How he knew this, they didn't know, but whether he was right or wrong, they had to get to the newly formed Digital Field.

Or Fields, to be precise. As they neared the area the digimon sensed something realizing, they also felt a quick earthquake. As this occurred, they then saw more Digital Fields appearing in the distance, and the digimon felt more things realizing.

This was not going to be a good day, Terriermon realized.

To make matters worse, as they neared the Digital Fields, they found a crowd of people blocking off the street and staring at the situation. "Oh, this is all we need," Hirokazu muttered.

Ruki shrugged. "Well, we need to know what we're facing, anyway. Renamon, how many-" Ruki paused as she appeared to receive a response silent to everyone else, and then nodded. "Right. There are five Digital Fields, the largest in the center of them is covering the hospital."

"How do you do that?" Kenta questioned.

"Trade secret."

"Well, we need to get through this mess without calling attention to our digimon," Jenrya said.

"Them noticing digimon is going to be the least of our worries if we don't hurry up," Takato stated.

As if in reply, there was a sudden, sharp sound that they couldn't identify the direction of. They didn't really have to, though, as they got to see where it came from quickly.

Dropping down from the top of a building, obviously having come from the direction of the nearest Digital Field came a tall, lanky creature. It was a humanoid rabbit with brown fur, armor, and a purple scarf around his neck. He had long, thick arms, and short legs. He landed softly on the ground, before all of the humans. He didn't make a movement after that, but he was soon noticed, and his mere presence was enough. Every human in the area, save for the Tamers and their friends, ran like mad away from him.

"It's the bunny!!" Shuichon exclaimed. Loudly. Into Terriermon's large, sensitive ears.

Jenrya guided the Tamers into the nearest alley. Soon their remaining companions joined them as Leomon dropped down into it and Renamon appeared beside Ruki.

"Remind me to never doubt you, Takato," Hirokazu sighed.

"So what do we do?" Juri asked.

"Well," Ruki replied, looking out into the street for a moment. "He hasn't even moved yet… But at least we don't have to worry about getting through crowds now…" She looked back at them. "Well, nice to see a Deva that we can recognize for once. That's definitely an Antiramon."

"The rest of you should get going," Jenrya stated. "Terriermon and I will take care of him."

"Are you sure…?" Takato asked.

Jenrya just nodded. "Yes. There are four other Digital Fields out there, and you should really concentrate on clearing the one around the hospital first. I'll keep Shuichon here with me, but the rest of you need to go."

"He is correct," Renamon agreed.

"Okay," Takato sighed, and then looked at the only two other humans lacking digimon partners. "Maybe they should-"

"No," Jenrya stated. "I'll have my hands full here as it is. Besides, you may need some help if you find someone that needs to be taken out of danger in the hospital."

"Can you really beat him on your own?" Juri asked, worry evident in her tone.

Jenrya smiled. "Yeah… I just have to concentrate hard enough."

Hirokazu grinned at that and Jenrya bent down next to his little sister. "Shuichon, I need you to let go of Terriermon for me."

Terriermon silently praised every deity he could think of.

"But I-"

"Shuichon," Jenrya interrupted softly, "I know it's scary, but we need Terriermon's help. If you want, you can stay here and I'll make sure you're safe, okay? But we need Terriermon."

"O-okay," Shuichon murmured, releasing her hold on the Child digimon.

Terriermon took several deep breaths. *Sweet, sweet oxygen…* He then turned to the young girl. "Moumantai Shuichon! We'll be done with this in no time flat."

Jenrya turned back to the others. "Leomon, Renamon, you'll need to get everyone up over a few buildings since Antiramon will be in the way otherwise. Got it?"

"Got it, fearless leader," Ruki said with a smirk.

Jenrya's cheeks reddened. "Just get going, will you?" His gaze locked onto Terriermon. "You too."

Terriermon gave him a mock-salute. "No problem, Jen!"

With that, he dashed out of the alley on his small, stubby legs and soon heard a shout from behind him. "Card Slash! Super Evolution Plug-In S!"

"EVOLUTION_"

He felt a rush of power, and his form started to change. "Terriermon, evolve! GALGOMON!"

Completing his evolution as he came into the Deva's view, Galgomon immediately trained his guns on him. "Alrighty, buddy, we can do this the easy way, or the-"

"I wish not to harm you," Antiramon said softly.

Galgomon's beady black eyes blinked. "…come again?"

"I did not appear here to inflict harm upon your person," Antiramon replied. "I am merely a guardian. It is my duty to prevent you humans from interfering with affairs that are none of your concern. So long as you do not try to pass, I will not harm you."

"None of our concern, my butt!" Galgomon shouted. "There are people in danger!"

Antiramon closed his eyes. "You do not comprehend the true severity of the situation. Your presence shall only complicate an already complex matter. In return for your compliance, we shall not seek the Digi-Entelechy from you at this hour."

Galgomon was at that point getting seriously confused. "You'll not seek the what?"

"I…" Antiramon began, but trailed off, his eyes snapping up, and his head jerking up to his left, "deeply apologize."

The rabbit Deva suddenly leapt up for the building to his left.

The building that the other Tamers were probably on at that point.

"No you don't!" Galgomon cried, running forward. His speed felt increased; Jenrya must have used a card. Galgomon's thick, strong legs sent him flying into the air, and his right gun-hand began to rotate. "DUM DUM UPPER!"

His fist, now spouting green flame from gunpowder igniting in the center of his gun-hand, crashed against Antiramon's skull and sent the Deva flying. Obviously not having expected Galgomon to strike with such immense force, he had no way to save his fall, and hit the street roughly, sliding along it until he slammed into a street light. It was bent and twisted by the force of his large body hitting it.

Galgomon's feet touched back down on the hard ground and aimed his black gun-hands back at the Perfect digimon. "Sorry buddy, but you're grounded!"

Antiramon lifted himself up so that he was crouching on one knee. He eyed Galgomon, his expression unreadable.

But he did not move to attack.

Galgomon grit his teeth. "Hey, what are you? Chicken?!"

"My duty is to prevent you from passing," Antiramon said, "I have failed in that task now that your friends have done so. Still, I must abide by my master's wishes. I will still prevent you from passing. But it is my choice how to do so…"

***

"What are you waiting for?!" Sano roared as he stomped up into Reika and Megumi's monitoring chamber. Reika nearly jumped in her seat and looked down at the man. She had been a little late into Hypnos that day, but no one had noticed much besides Megumi. She was thankful to her friend for not prying too deeply into her reasons for being tardy.

The look beneath Reika's visor was one of scorn at the moment. But thankfully for her, Sano couldn't see it. "We were awaiting your orders… sir." The last word had a sharp, venomous tone to it, but it went unnoticed by Sano. "It is not our fault you weren't here when this happened."

Sano scowled. "Do not tell me you cannot function on your own."

"We are not at liberty to take actions like that," Megumi said, her voice stiff and betraying her usual cheery attitude. "If something catastrophic happened, we would be held accountable. So we are only to use systems like Yuggoth when ordered by a superior. If you had left Sasaki here while you were gone, it would be a different matter, of course…"

Reika blinked. Sano's underling was strangely absent.

"Then do it," Sano said, his scowl still etched on his face.

"I actually wouldn't advise that…" Megumi said.

"What?" Sano growled. "I am your superior. I gave you an order. Just-"

"You also have admitted to not being familiar with technical stuff like this… sir," Megumi interjected. Reika could barely suppress a grin. She was suddenly becoming very impressed with her friend. "The energy signals are the same kind we've been getting for awhile… and Yuggoth has no chance of stopping these signals."

In the dim light that was cast on him, Reika could see that Sano was sweating… and there seemed to be an almost nervous look in his eyes. "Then just try it."

Megumi nodded. "We will. But it may be best to leave this to the Self Defense Force…"

"We'll see," Sano said, "and if that doesn't work, initialize the Shaggai System."

Reika opened her mouth to say something, but Sano quickly spun around and exited the chamber.

*That could certainly be more trouble than it's worth,* Reika thought. But there wasn't much she could do to argue; they had been given their orders. They didn't have choice but to go through with them now…

***

Leomon and Renamon ran along the rooftops as fast as they could while still carrying their cargo. In either of Leomon's large arms were Takato and Juri, with Culumon being cradled in the boy's arms, and Guilmon hanging onto his back. Renamon, meanwhile, was doing much of the same, carrying Ruki and Kenta, while Hirokazu hung onto her from behind for dear life.

Juri tore her brown eyes away from staring at the looming Digital Fields to the boy across from her. He had an incredibly worried expression he hadn't shook since they had left the park. Considering what was now happening, under normal circumstances she wouldn't be able to blame him, but…

She was really beginning to worry about him. He had usually been such a kind, quiet boy… not the kind of person she would think could harm a fly. Yet, when she saw his anger erupt at Muertemon, and then his display in the park…

"Takato-kun?" she spoke, drawing his attention. "I… I was wondering… Leomon and I got to the park before you, and we found Hirokazu-kun and Kenta-kun already there… Kenta-kun mentioned something about Muertemon speaking to you… that you collapsed when it happened…"

Takato's expression was unreadable for a moment, and he then turned his head to look at the Digital Fields himself. "Y-yeah… he did, Katou-san…"

He seemed nervous to speak to her. Juri was quite aware the boy had a crush on her, so this wouldn't be the first time he would be nervous around her. From her own perspective, while she thought of him as a great friend, that wasn't really what she wanted from him. There was something different about the way he was acting here, though…

"Was it anything like what happened in the park?" she asked, slowly and choosing how she phrased it carefully.

He remained silent as he appeared to be thinking about it rather hard. Finally, though, he nodded. "I… guess so. But at the same time… it wasn't. I… I can't explain it…"

"Then it is best not to try," Leomon said, "if you cannot understand what is going on at the moment, then it is best to wait and not dwell on things. Everything becomes clearer with time."

Juri nodded to her partner, smiling slightly. "Leomon's right… sorry, Takato."

He blushed and looked down. "N-no, it's okay…"

The moment his head tilted down, however, he noticed Culumon suddenly shaking in his arms.

"Culumon?" Juri questioned. "What's wrong?"

"Something… culu… something else is coming… culu…" he said, his voice trembling with fright.

"What?!" Guilmon shrieked from behind them. It was unusual for the reptile to make such an exclamation, but in this case, it was obviously a thought all of them shared…

***

The cap-wearing boy was not happy. Not at all.

He stood on a building across from the hospital, the same place he had been since these four extra Digital Fields had appeared. However, he had only detected movement from one, and Antiramon was doing his job to the best of his ability, at the very least. But the others…

*I didn't get the chance to grab the Digi-Entelechy from those brats,* he grumbled inwardly. *There were too many of them for me to make a clean swipe… if one of the others went to take it out from under my nose instead of doing their job, I swear…*

Just then, his eyes caught something. Dropping down off a building and immediately sprinting for the hospital…

The children and their digimon. Well, most of them anyway. And in the arms of one child…

"The Digi-Entelechy," he gasped. His eyes darted every which way, to see if any of the other Devas were nearby.

He was supposed to wait for them, but…

The boy adopted a cold smile on his face. This was his chance…

However, before he could move, that chance escaped him. His body suddenly became stiff. He felt cold. His eyes widened and he gulped. He felt something behind him…

*Another… fragment of the Sealed Demon…*

The boy's head turned slowly around to see something towering over him. It was a large, muscular, humanoid creature with pitch-black skin. His stern face was framed by four horns, with two of them curving upward from his forehead, while two others curving downward from his chin. His eyes and hair were both a bright crimson, and fangs could be seen in his sneering mouth. He wore deep blue armor, and there were two swords mounted in scabbards on his back.

"You will not interrupt the work of Asmodeusmon," the creature's gruff, deep voice boomed. He held out his hands, both of which immediately started to glow red. "So says Akumamon! MAXIMUM FIRE!"

The boy had no time to defend himself, and red-hot flames suddenly washed over his body. He screamed, and was flung off the rooftop. The flames didn't stop pouring over him until he smashed hard into the concrete, the sheer force of this act shattering it. The boy then just laid there, smoke and dust rising up from the small hole in the ground. He groaned, pain wracking his entire being, and he grasped around. His hand latched onto a piece of broken street and hauled himself up.

He first took in his own condition; his clothes were tattered, his body scorched, but he was still alive. That much was good, at least. He then took in the situation all around him. There were very few people around. In fact, in this area, the only ones he noticed were the children and their digimon…

Knowing his cover had been blown, and now just plain pissed off, the boy's body immediately was engulfed in a bright light. His form soon changed, becoming somewhat taller. He gained baggy pants, a vest, and a scarf. A tail sprouted from his backside, and his head… continued to remain quite large. He still sported a hat on his head, although it was much different now. His body was also covered in fur from his transformation, and it was quite clear what he was…

"Makuramon," he heard the redheaded girl say out loud, staring down at her little device. "Perfect level, Holy Beast digimon."

The monkey Deva ignored the children, and instead focused on Akumamon, who was dropping down off the building. He landed on a car, crushing much of it with his weight and strength. Makuramon noticed the children were startled by this, but tried to analyze Akumamon anyway.

They soon found they couldn't, and Makuramon grinned. "Foolish humans…"

Akumamon flexed his clawed fingers, which were still burning red. "You are the fool, Deva. You and your kind believe yourself to be above all others, and force your rule upon them…"

Makuramon scoffed, though his eyes caught something above and he had to resist smiling. "Yes, and I'm sure you don't think the same for yourself at all, do you?"

"Asmodeusmon is above all others!" spat the demon.

Akumamon didn't get to truly start the tirade he was surely about to go on. Instead, something large struck him from behind, sending him flying into another car. Flames then rained down on the demon, and something within the car ignited, causing a rather large explosion.

Makuramon focused on the source of the attack; a large, long, green dragon. Majiramon. He glanced around, expecting one of the children to try and analyze him. They were nowhere to be found, however, and he saw several people that were obviously from human law enforcement surround the area.

They didn't matter to him, though. He looked back to the car engulfed in flames and saw them get sucked into something; to be specific, Akumamon's hands.

Makuramon was most definitely irritated now. Fingering the small, silver ball now cupped in his hand, his only real means of attack, he knew his chance had escaped from him…

***

Galgomon couldn't believe this! Every time he tried to attack Antiramon, the rabbit Deva dodged. Easily. He was making very little effort to avoid his attacks, now that he was focusing just on the single Adult digimon, and the fact he was making little effort to do this annoyed Galgomon greatly.

"Why are you wasting our time like this?!" Galgomon shouted, breathing heavily. Antiramon wasn't panting at all. "We have to get to that hospital!"

"The matter must be dealt with first," Antiramon said calmly, "so just turn away, please. I am not attempting to be your foe… Just flee from the danger while you can."

Suddenly, a scream pierced the air, as did a shout. "Galgomon!"

Galgomon spun on his heel to discover Jenrya running out of the alley, pulling Shuichon along by her hand. Before he could question the cause of this, he saw it; following them slowly was a large, metal-clad dog with a scarf around his neck and three horns on his head.

"Chatsuramon," Antiramon gasped softly.

What was obviously the dog Deva locked his eyes onto his rabbit comrade. "Antiramon, your naivety is surpassed only by your foolishness."

As Jenrya and Shuichon found their way behind Galgomon, Antiramon bowed his head. "I… do not understand…"

Chatsuramon bared his fangs. "Your treatment of your enemies is most disconcerting."

"But… the Sealed Demon's fragments… I thought that you were-"

"That is being taken care of by the others," Chatsuramon spoke. His eyes now fell on Galgomon and the others. "Where is the Digi-Entelechy?"

"The what?!" both Jenrya and Galgomon chorused.

Chatsuramon sneered. "The one you call 'Culumon'…"

Jenrya stepped out in front of his partner. "We don't have him. Why?"

"None of your concern, filth," Chatsuramon snapped. "Antiramon, dispose of them. Now. I shall find the other humans."

"Over my dead body!" Jenrya shouted.

"That's the idea," the dog Deva rumbled. "Do you believe you can stop the both of us from doing just what we wish?"

Jenrya reached into his pocket, drawing out a single card. This seemed somewhat odd to Galgomon, as he seemed to pick it randomly. "As a matter of fact, I do," Jenrya proclaimed. "I'll protect my friends, family, and anyone else you might harm, no matter what!"

With those words, the card erupted into a brilliant, blue light. Galgomon couldn't help but chuckle. "What was that about concentration not working?"

Jenrya smirked. "Just shut up and go."

Galgomon wasn't about to argue. He took a quick leap over his Tamer's head and went dashing for the dog Deva.

"Card Slash! MATRIX EVOLUTION!"

"MATRIX EVOLUTION_"

Galgomon felt that rush of power again, only now it was much more intense. "Galgomon, EVOLVE!" He became much larger, though his body went from bulky to thin. He felt cybernetic parts infuse themselves within him as green armor snapped around various parts of his body. Rocket launchers formed over his hands, and as the helmet finished forming itself around his head, he cried out, "RAPIDMON!"

"Oh dear," Chatsuramon said with a big, toothy grin, "how intimidating…"

"Shut up!" Rapidmon barked, and then streaked towards the armored dog at an incredible velocity. Somehow, though, quicker than Rapidmon could reach him, Chatsuramon phased out of sight. Rapidmon brought himself to an immediate halt, his eyes darting all over the place. "What the…"

"Hmph."

Rapidmon spun around, discovering Chatsuramon to merely be on the other side of the street. "You tin-plated coward! Come over here and fight!"

"Oh, I do not have to stoop to the level where I would have to come in contact with your filth to accomplish that," Chatsuramon proclaimed. He then left his mouth hanging open and released a growl. Nothing appeared to happen at first… and then Rapidmon saw it. Everything before Chatsuramon became distorted, as if reality itself was being warped. The ripples tore apart the paved road, and upon seeing this, Rapidmon knew better than to stay where he was. He rose into the sky quickly, just in time for the ripples to punch a hole through the building behind him.

If nothing else, Chatsuramon's attitude was really beginning to irritate the cyborg digimon. To look down on him for no reason at all, to see him and Jenrya as little more than 'filth', and to have such an uncaring nature towards the human lives that were in danger… He had to shut him up, and he had to do it fast. Completely ignoring the rabbit Deva nearby, Rapidmon leveled the missile launchers attached to the front of his arms at the dog. "Eat this! RAPID FIRE!"

A missile burst forth from each barrel, spiraling down towards Rapidmon's armored opponent… but they never reached their destination.

Antiramon had leapt into their path.

They struck his chest, and the explosion was instant. The rabbit Deva released a horrifying scream as his body was violently tossed back into a building. As he struck it, the entire structure shuddered as he plowed through it, shattering concrete, glass, and anything else that may have been within. Rapidmon zipped over to Jenrya and Shuichon in an instant, standing in front of them to prevent injury as dust and rubble spewed out from the building.

Through the dust, Rapidmon could just barely make out the figure of Chatsuramon. Unexpectedly, he heard the dog laugh. The cyborg's large, blue eyes widened, and his anger towards the Deva began to rise even more.

"How can you laugh about something like that?!" Jenrya screamed from behind his digimon partner. "That was your comrade! He did that to protect you!"

"Stupid human," Chatsuramon snarled, "Antiramon did what he is required to do. He knows his place, as you will soon know yours! He carries out the will of Zhuqiaomon-sama, just as I do. There is no other course but that!"

The dust was still quite heavy. Rapidmon squinted and thought… no matter how fast he moved, Chatsuramon seemed to be able to predict when he would strike. However, with this cloud having fallen over them… he may have the opportunity to attack…

This train of thought, however, was brief, as he was quite literally shaken out of it seconds later. The entire earth began to tremble again, as an earthquake suddenly began to shake the surrounding area… Shuichon screamed behind him, and the building Antiramon had plowed through seemed about ready to collapse…

And then it stopped.

"What was that?!" Rapidmon shouted in surprise.

Unexpectedly, Chatsuramon laughed once more. "That, I am afraid, is merely the end to this whole perversion preparing itself…"

***

Getting into the hospital was an easy enough task. With the police suddenly distracted by the Devas and that demon, they had no problems sneaking past security. As the digimon sensed the threat high up in the building, Leomon and Renamon had scaled up the building carrying the others to the general area that they felt it to be around. Inside the building, however, they were soon met with the problem of not knowing where it was exactly. None of the digimon could really pinpoint where it was…

There were also three hallways around them. One was directly in front of them, and two were to either side. "Okay," Ruki said, her mind processing the situation rapidly. "Renamon and I will go forward. Takato and Guilmon, take Culumon and…" Ruki eyed the others, and something occurred to her. "Kenta. Go left."

Kenta shot her a sudden, pleading look, but could not really voice it without coming off as rude, which Ruki very well knew.

Hirokazu, being more perceptive than Ruki would have given him credit for, quickly seemed to grasp what she was getting at. He glanced at Juri and grinned. "Right for us then. C'mon Katou."

Juri smiled and nodded, also appearing to understand Ruki's intentions. Merely nodding, Ruki headed forward without looking back. She knew they'd do the same, so there was no need to check to make sure they were gone.

It was dark in the hallway… and quiet. Too quiet, in fact… So quiet that Ruki almost felt her mind begin to drift… But she knew she had to stay focused on her goal.

Renamon sniffed the air. "Hmm… something smells… burnt."

Ruki smelled the air as well. Though she knew her senses were nowhere near as good as her partner's, she could smell something. It was definitely a burnt smell… that only served to give the girl a somewhat queasy feeling in her stomach…

"But what-" Ruki began, but had no chance to continue, as the door to one room was suddenly blown off it's hinges by a burst of flame. From out of the room flew a humanoid, moth-like creature with red armor. Her eyes started to widen, though whether it was from surprise or some sense of mild fear, she couldn't figure out. However, instincts and adrenaline soon took over, and she whipped out her Digivice. "Shadramon," she read off the analyzer screen, "Armor level."

The digimon's eyes seemed to lock on Renamon, and before she could defend herself, he streaked towards her. Shadramon plowed into the fox and carried her back through the hallway before slamming her body into the ground.

"Renamon!" Ruki cried, and began to move, but stopped as soon as she started after what she saw next. A wall of black energy suddenly sprouted from the ground, cutting her off completely from her partner. "What the…" she murmured, turning around, only to find that another wall had appeared at the end of the hallway.

"Well, well, well… I must say that I am certain quite pleased for you to be the first of my prey here…"

Ruki froze, eyes wide. Black fog appeared from nowhere and formed into a dark figure…

"Muertemon," she gasped.

The demonic warrior's single red eye shined brightly in the darkness. "Yes, my dear… I think it is time that we finished what was started…"

-End Chapter 05

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Revision Notes: Uh… I changed basically everything. ^^; A majority of what is in this chapter wasn't in the original, aside from parts of the final scene. Akumamon's entrance is also similar, for the most part, to the original appearance of Asmodeusmon, as well.

Besides that, as usual, constructive criticism is accepted and encouraged, while flames will be used for marshmallows.

Next: Chapter 06- "Breaking Point"