Over the next few hours, Yamacus' excavation camp was bustling with activity. Technicians, troopers, and workers were hastily running up and down the big main cave, where Belphemon was still floating inside his slightly cracked energy barrier.
Andromon was standing behind his console. "The shields won't hold any longer," he said in a panicking voice. "We have to act now, sir!"
Yamacus, who was standing nearby, together with Foreman Shin, stayed calm. "We'll have it ready in a minute. It was able to hold a fully grown Ultimate. And even if it was a Hybrid... it should be sufficient for Belphemon."
"B-but he's a Mega... AND a Demon Lord," Shin whined. "Don't you think there's a slight difference, sir?"
"We won't release all of his powers," Yamacus snarled. "Even asleep, his powers will still be formidable. I'm not foolish enough to wake him up. Now get going!" He looked over to where Roachmon and a few of his men were holding a big contraption in which the MCT was encased. "Commander, proceed!"
Roachmon saluted with two of his limbs. "Yes, sir! All right, men... heave ho!"
And together, the flying insect Digimon were rising the heavy piece of equipment, until they were flying in front of the spherical barrier.
"Now's the critical moment..." Yamacus grimaced. A little sweatdrop was running down his cheek.
A red light started flashing on the console, and Andromon shouted in alarm: "Breaking point reached! We can't maintain the force field anymore!"
"Deactivate!" Yamacus shouted. "Insect Digimon, prepare for installment!"
Andromon hit a big button, and with a fizzling sound, the barrier dissipated. Almost everyone held his breath, but Belphemon didn't move. He was still asleep. Quickly and carefully, Roachmon and his men buzzed over to the smaller body underneath Belphemon's enormous, spherical head and attached the MCT to its neck and shoulders.
As soon as all the clamps were fastened, they flew away as if they had touched a hot plate.
"Is the MCT active?" Yamacus asked.
Roachmon gave him the thumbs up. "All systems working, sir! Now we just have to wait and hope..."
Yamacus stepped towards the floating Demon Lord. Every muscle within his body was strained. His minions held their breath as they witnessed the courage of their leader.
Yamacus stepped onto a small pedestal his men had put up a few hours ago and spread his arms. "Belphemon! Lord of Sloth! Listen to me! I command you... speak!!"
For a while, nothing happened. But then, the bizarre-looking Mega Digimon opened its rodent-like muzzle and let out a yawn.
All of the humans and Digimon within the cave yelled as the deafening sound thundered above their heads, and they grabbed their ears with their hands, or whatever limbs they possessed.
A deep rumbling went through the cavern walls, and several pebbles fell down from the ceiling. Andromon winced as one piece of rock hit his metal head and bounced off.
"Come closer!" Yamacus commanded. He was the only one who didn't wince in pain under Belphemon's immense voice.
Slowly, the Demon Lord floated forwards, leaving the force field generator behind. All the while, he was still sleeping, bound by the MCT and his own chains.
Yamacus grinned. "Excellent!" he whispered. "The most powerful weapon of all time... under my control!" He pushed his fist into the air. "Now they have to surrender to me! All the time, they laughed at me and my ambitions... now I am the one who will have the last laugh!"
And the self-proclaimed Dark Lord of the Digimon laughed.
In one of the tunnels that were leading to the cave, an angelic face that was surrounded by shimmering, blonde hair peered past the corner.
"Yamacus... what are you doing?" she murmured to herself. "Is this really what makes you happy?"
'And what about me?' Tally thought. 'What will make me happy? Stay with Yamacus and help him make his dreams come true? Simply watch over my little sister? Save Riley from the darkness? Or just going back home to my parents?'
At the same time, Kouki was leaning next to another tunnel, the main entrance to the enormous cave. As he munched on his chips, two persons he knew stepped up next to him.
"Did anything happen while we were away?" the black-clothed Gaomon asked.
Kouki shrugged. "Not much! They just managed to keep control over an ancient, all-powerful Demon Lord."
He looked at Alice and Ivan, who was standing behind her. "Back in your Digimon form, I see?"
Alice shrugged. "After having spent so much time as a human, I felt like it. Kouki, we need to talk... but not in here."
He raised an eyebrow questioningly, and she gave him the hint of a nod.
But before they could go, Yamacus came towards them. "Alice! And Ivan! Good to see you again! You are just in time to witness my glorious hour of power!"
He smirked and gave them a cocky pose, before falling back into his usual, calm self. "So, did you find more about the professor's experiments?"
Ivan opened his mouth to speak. "Ye..."
Alice kicked him on his foot. He winced and shut his mouth.
The Gaomon looked up at Yamacus with a fake smile. "We have searched through the entire complex, but all we found were Numemon and an insane vampire."
"Oh, that's too bad," Yamacus shrugged. "Oh well, as long as you were able to bring me the MCT." He looked up at Belphemon with pride. "Your grandfather's invention is incredible, Alice... Without it, all my plans would have been for nothing."
"Yes, yes, very nice," Alice yawned. "Can we go now or do you have another job for us?"
"No, I don't think so," Yamacus replied, never separating his gaze from the floating, sleeping Demon Lord. "I don't think I will need your assistance much longer... Sorry, but from now on, Belphemon will do the work for me!"
"How nice of him," Kouki grumbled sarcastically. "Alice, can we go now? I'd really like to have a nice brawl to unwind."
Alice sighed. "All right, we'll go outside. There we can spar."
"Have fun," Yamacus said absent-mindedly as the threesome left. "And please try not to hit the mountain with your attacks... last week we had to free three workers from the rubble you caused."
When they walked out of the cave system, Kouki cracked his knuckles. "Okay, Alice, which form do you want to take this time? The Champion form or...?"
"We don't have time for that now!" she hissed. "Listen, we found some more documents within my grandpa's lab."
Kouki seemed disappointed. "No fighting? Aw, nuts! Oh well, what's so special about those papers?"
"Alice said she read that there was an artificial source of Digital Energy the professor used," Ivan said in his emotionless voice. "And I already wanted to tell you that, but then she stomped down on my foot. It still hurts, but I'm glad Alice came that close to me..."
Kouki sweatdropped. "Our big friend here needs a girlfriend..." he murmured. "A source of energy, you say? Maybe we can use this to reach our final level." His eyes glinted with excitement. "We can get even stronger!"
"Quite right you are," Alice smiled. "Yamacus won't hurt us, he knows we are valuable allies. But who knows what those guys Riley went to are planning? And I'm also worried about those kids... What if they still can use Dobermon's gift to reach the Mega Level?"
"I see now," Kouki smirked. "You wanna be prepared for all emergencies..."
"Exactly," Alice nodded. "When surrounded by powerful Mega Digimon who are intent to start a war, I don't wanna be one of those Digimon who have to hope to be spared... I don't want to let anyone kick me around anymore, so I need enough power to FIGHT BACK!!"
"Sounds good!" Kouki grinned. "So, where do we start searching?"
Kai was still sitting in front of Takato's computer. His upper body was slumped over the desk, and his eyes were half closed.
"I don't know what to do anymore..." he muttered.
He barely got any sleep that night. He had been twisting his mind, but found no solution for the current situation. He had tried various things: Creating a scene where Rika and the others were stumbling over Ai, so they could bring her back home. He also tried changing Yamacus' mind by creating a scene where he realized the errors of his ways.
But nothing ever worked. The program wouldn't accept those changes, and he didn't even know why.
"How am I supposed to be the Game Maker if I don't know what's going on in the characters' heads?" he mumbled.
And on top of that, he still felt guilty because he had yelled at Eiko that day.
His aunt opened the door and stuck her scaly snout into the room.
"Kai... I just talked to your mother on the phone. She says that she got a message from your school. It seems like your principal has gotten better... and your school is being re-opened."
"That's the last thing I needed!" Kai groaned to himself when Mie was downstairs again. "Although, I kinda feel relieved when I think about going back home... then all of this won't concern me anymore."
He sighed. "Still, I can't abandon Takato and the others like that. Rika will believe I'm going to run away from my duties. Oh man, what am I going to do? I am their only remaining Game Master, I can't just..."
He looked up from the desk and blinked. "Wait a minute..." he murmured. "I'm not the only Game Master anymore..."
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(Posted Fri, 29 Jun 2007 19:16)
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