Old Ones Return (VII)

Ts"We could just tell King Drasil that we are ready to go. He is going too, isn't he? So then all we need to do is find an infected Digimon, blow it up, & tell Hypnos to collect the data."

*Euryale, Gomamon, & Agumon stare at her. She crosses her arms, looking mad.*

Ts"What? I pay attention!"

Cameron:<Shit, I forgot about that. We destroyed all of the infected digimon around yesterday, right?>

Azuma: "Was it all of them or just the one's sent after us?"

Ts"Oh, I am sure there are more."

E"She's right, this was before we knew about this, but it's pretty much all Kurata has to attack us. And even if he did withhold them, that kinda solves the problem anyway."

Kylie:<We better go find one! We should split into groups, just to be safe...>

Taiyo: "Is that a good idea?"

Ts"No. No it is not. We should just stick with the old plan, which I literally just said."

Kylie:<But that's wh->

*Cameron pats her on the back*

Cameron:<She meant we'll find one when we get there.>

Kylie:<Oh...>

*As Hartard hasn't posted in like a week, I assume everyone has nothing else to say & just kind of stands around awkwardly. Huckmon runs up to them, the Sistermon at his heels. When he stops, he wags his tail & bounces on his hips, like a dog who wants to play. The Sistermon just clasp their hands in front of them & bow at the Tamers.*

Huck<Hey! Hey! King Drasil wanted me to tell you that he's opening a portal to invade the human world! Isn't this exciting?!>

White<Please mind your manners, Huckmon.>

Huck<Oh, sorry! I'm Huckmon, I'm training to become the next Royal Knight. This is Sistermon Black & Sistermon White. They take care of me. But King Drasil watches over us all, ever since our village was destroyed by the humans.>

Cameron:<Guess it's go time.>

*Everyone presumably heads over to King Drasil*

They're going off to see Drasil and not take the logical step which is kill it.

*They cluster around King Drasil & the Royal Knights, collected on a clearing on the bank of the river. The rest of the Digimon seem to be steering clear of the group. But as King Drasil wades into the water, Monitamon starts beeping, signaling a message.*

E"It could be important battle information...."

Drasil<Very well. Answer it.>

*Agumon presses the button & Yamaki's face pops up. In the background are the Psyches, & all look extremely worried.*

Yamaki<We've retrieved the data that we sent to your location, but Thiera wasn't inside of it. What happened on your end? Did she fail to make it into the data stream?>

Taiyo: "No."

Azuma: "Was it intercepted or redirected at some point?"

*Cameron and Kylie's faces turn white*

Cameron:<No...no...she got in it. We all saw her.>

Biyomon:<Could Kurata have captured her?>

Kurata<"Bingo," as the Americans say.>

*Static fills the Monitamon's screen & it clutches its head as the scene changes to Kurata inside of some white bunker room, leaning back on an office chair & peering over steepled fingers. Behind him, Vanessa has Thiera, her arms secured behind her back & not moving, speaking, or generally doing anything other than gazing grimly out of the corner of her eye at the gun against the side of her head.*

Kurata<Did you really think I wouldn't know you were plotting something? Are you actually that deluded? I know how this works. I know that my plans haven't all gone exactly as I had hoped. I know it's only a matter of time before you invade my compound & try to kill me. But what YOU don't seem to realize is that I will ALWAYS be stronger than you, no matter what you try. I've turned the rest of the world against you, & now I've captured one of your own. So this is where it ends. This is checkmate. Either you surrender me, unconditionally, or I simply--extract your plans from your young Aryan friend here. The choice is yours, you miserable--what is it these unruly beasts have been calling you--Digedestined? Hmph, more like Digifailures.>

*He lets out a nasally little cackle.*

Lyra:<And you won't torture her if we surrender? We aren't that deluded.>

No one says anything as it won't make the situation any better.

Kurata<Why would I need to, if you tell me what I need to know? But if that's what you think, we could always just skip the prelude.>

*He snaps his fingers, his glasses slipping so the glare makes his eyes appear a solid, glowing white.*

Kurata<It's showtime, Vanessa!>

*Vanessa wastes no time pistol-whipping Thiera, shoving her to the floor & taking the phrase "kick her while she's down" quite literally. Meanwhile, Kurata adjusts his glasses so they can see he looks almost bored behind his grin. Agumon flares his claws, growling at the scene, & Euryale takes a very similar posture, but with her fists balled. Gomamon & Tsune cover their eyes, shoulders jerking with the sound of each blow.*

Kurata<This is just the warm-up, you understand. We have more...sophisticated methods, of course.>

*Kylie, Lunamon, and Biyomon all grab Cameron's arms the instant before he tries to jump forward*

Lunamon:<Don't be an idiot! You can't get to her!>

*Lyra digs her nails into the palm of her hand, then looks up at King Drasil. She then turns back to the screen, face deadpan*

Lyra:<Is that everything you wanted to tell us?>

While Taiyo looks away, Renamon does not. Likewise Hitomi looks at the ground while Azuma stares straight ahead at the monitor.

Kurata<How Heartless. But it won't save you. The good news is that you won't have to explain to the Psyches why their daughter never came home. Aside from the fact that they were here to see it, it won't matter much once I've hunted down the rest of you vermin.>

*Euryale rushes forward.*

E"Wait, please stop! I'll tell you! We're going to find y--"

*She stops talking once she sees that Leopardmon has leaped forward, trying to shut off the Monitamon. When that fails, King Drasil teleports behind it, touching the back of the monitor & commanding it to reboot. Once that happens, the monitor flicks off, the Digimon falling over. It buzzes as the screen slowly begins to come back on. Leopardmon rounds on Euryale, growling. She shrinks back slightly, Agumon stepping forward & growling back.*

Leopardmon<What were you thinking?! Have you gone mad!?>

Lyra:<If you tell him our plans, both worlds are doomed! You can't seriously think Thiera would want us to surrender for her, do you?>

*In the commotion, Cameron gets free of Kylie and co, and rounds on Lyra*

Cameron:<It's your fault she just got beat up!>

Lyra:<I know, it wasn't my intention and I'll have to apologize to her later. But what matters most right now is not surrendering to Kurata!>

Taiyo holds Euryale's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze as that guy is a dink.

E"I was--"

*Interrupted by Lyra.*

E"Thiera's where I got the ide--"

*Interrupted by Cameron. Stamps her foot. Makes sure not to tighten her hands too much.*

E"UUUUURGH! Don't you get it!? Yelling & threatening Kurata has never gotten us ANYWHERE, he always stays ahead of us because he lets us do as we please & anticipates where we'll be & what we'll do!"

Leopardmon<What does that--?!>

Drasil<Stand down, Leopardmon.>

*The Digimon quickly turns & bows. Drasil narrows his eyes at Euryale.*

Drasil<...I see. You expected me to cut that broadcast short. Thinking you were going to cooperate, this Kurata will instead shift his attention to who I am and whether I am friend or foe to you. Your friend will be spared, & he will not anticipate an immediate invasion. That is all very clever...but I do not appreciate the presumption that you could simply use your King as a pawn in your own schemes.>

*Both Cameron and Lyra turn around to look at her*

Lyra:<...Oh. We...we shouldn't have doubted you.>

*Cameron just mumbles something under his breath and crosses his arms*