"Bariomon digivolve to Giganotomon!"
The already huge, blue-scaled dinosaur warrior with the blue scales grew to even more ginormous proportions, thereby taking on a more primal stature. All kinds of clothing, armor or weaponry vanished from his body, as it got completely covered in emerald green scales. The huge, gaping maw was showing two rows of shining teeth, and the long, whip-like tail was thrashing around erratically.
Takato gasped inwardly when he realized just how huge he was. He was even bigger than WarGrowlmon and BioSpinomon! And the strength that was running through his veins... it was incredible!
"Canismon digivolve to Jackalmon!"
The canine digi-woman fell down to all fours, while she grew to the size of a grown bull, while her face, body, limbs and tail turned even more slender than before and got covered with jet-black fur. Ancient, glowing runes were covering her body, and the mighty she-jackal gave off a piercing howl as she jumped on top of a tall mountain.
Harmony felt in peace with herself and her surroundings. Her sharpened animal senses told her everything that was going on around her, and at the same time, she could feel the energies that were flowing through every single Digimon.
"Nalamon digivolve to Sphinxmon!"
Just as her team mate, Jeri fell down to all fours while she sprouted a pair of majestic, angel-like wings from her back. Her complete body looked very similar to Nefertimon, but it was covered with a deep brown fur, and her human face still had a feral look to it, with feline eyes and fangs inside her mouth. A golden headdress surrounded her face like a crown, and the claws on her lioness paws were gleaming in the sunlight.
Jeri flew through the air and looked down at her friends. Never before had she felt so fearless. She didn't feel unstoppable... she just knew that her natural speed and agility would allow her to dodge almost anything, as she wasn't bigger than a racing horse.
They were standing, or floating in Sphinxmon's case, next to their Digimon friends who had managed to reach the Mega Level... without their human partners!
Gallantmon brandished his holy lance, the Gram, and his sacred Aegis Shield, as he looked up at the humongous form of his saurian brother, friend and Tamer.
Mega Gargomon was nearly as tall as Giganotomon himself. His missile launchers were loaded and ready. He really had to squint his eye to see the canine image of loveliness his Tamer had become...
He blushed through his metallic face. Where had those thoughts come from?
Sakuyamon was dressed in her usual, golden armor and mask, carrying her Vajra Staff. She gave Sphinxmon, who was floating next to her, a short glance, then she looked down where she could see the two-tailed form of her younger sister, as she approached a certain, grounded vehicle where a man with sunglasses was crouching...
Giganotomon made a careful step. "Now this... is gonna take me some time to get used to."
Mega Gargomon rotated his guns once. "Don't bother and try not to destroy too much at once... no humans are around here for miles! Just try not to hit one of us, and you'll be fine!"
Jackalmon was going to say something, when suddenly, she caught a scent. She raised her nose, closed her eyes and sniffed.
"I smell someone standing on top of that mountain over there..." she murmured. "And he's giving off a powerful aura... at least as strong as Belphemon and the others! He has to be a Demon Lord as well!"
"We'll leave him to you and Sakuyamon," Gallantmon said. "As for the rest of us, let's split up! Bro, you and Mega Gargomon go and see if that giant dinosaur fella needs some help! Jeri, the two of us are going for Daemon!"
"And what about Riley?" Sphinxmon asked and looked up to where the three Mega-leveled sisters were fighting.
Sakuyamon looked up, then down again, to where Kitsumon had almost reached the place where Yamaki was still crouching.
"We'll let her sisters take care of her," she said. "I doubt it would do us good if we interfere in a family squabble..."
In reality, she just finally knew what it meant to have a sister... And that nothing was more important to have trust in those you love.
'Tally and Alice will bring her back to the right path,' she thought to herself. 'I'm sure of it!'
She looked back up to Lilithmon, Ophanimon and MirageGaogamon. "Girls, don't let me down... I know you can do it!"
Rika was hastening through the woods, until she finally reached the place where Yamaki's floating platform had landed. Yamaki was the only one who was still there, everyone else had already fled the area, except for Tally, who was still up there, fighting her sister...
Yamaki didn't seem to notice her. He didn't even flinch when she jumped up into the air and suddenly appeared next to him, out of nowhere.
"What are you doing?" she shouted. "It's dangerous, go out of here already!"
But Yamaki was nothing more than a picture of misery. He was slumped against the metal rail, crossed his arms across his chest and muttered: "Is it my fault? Is it really my fault that Riley became like this? I... I only wanted to... what is it that I wanted? I never planned that in my past... Am I going insane?"
As Kitsumon listened to the babbling, she suddenly understood what he was saying. Unlike everyone else who got a place in this new reality, Yamaki had never had any idea why he did the things he did... He just did them because he was convinced to do the right thing.
But where did this conviction come from?
"The RPG Maker..." she grumbled. "Everything falls back upon that cursed contraption..."
She walked up to Yamaki. Yamaki was wrong, it wasn't him who turned Riley into this... it has been the RPG Maker that did it.
"It will do her no good if you just sit here and pity yourself," she said. "Her sisters are doing a good job of holding her off... to stop her from making a grave mistake! I don't know what her connection to the other Demon Lords is, but in the end, she will have to make her own decision."
Yamaki turned his head and looked at Rika's furry face. "I... I love her..." he murmured. "I always knew that... but now... now that she was gone, I... I also felt love for her... her sister. I don't understand it, but... I love them both. I have always loved them both, ever since I met them the first time in my life. I just didn't notice... Is this... is this wrong?"
'Great...' Kitsumon thought. 'What am I, a marriage guidance counselor?'
But then she thought of her family. Of her mother, her grandmother, her sister... and also of her father...
And her grandfather.
There are two types of love: Love you feel for a very close friend, or a member of your family. And then there's the love you feel for a person you want to share your life with.
Both types of love have their differences... but also their similarities.
"You must know about your feelings," she then said. "Who else knows how you are feeling but you? And you must know how Tally and Riley are feeling... about you and about each other."
"But that's exactly the problem!" Yamaki insisted. "Riley and Tally, they... they have been close sisters. Always, even before they met me. But after some time, they got more and more hostile towards each other. And even though it was mostly Riley who was upset with her sister, Tally was feeling envious of Riley... because she was the one I chose. I just realize that now... But... Within the past few weeks, I started to feel more towards Tally than just friendship... it was the same love I was feeling towards her sister. And while Tally seemed to be able to deal with her envy, Riley was not! Whenever Tally came to close to me, her envy threw her into a fit of rage. Somehow, her desire towards me was turning into lust... and she couldn't stand the idea of being replaced by her sister. And even though they always had different personalities, that was the final straw that drove them apart."
Yamaki looked up where his two loves and their adopted sister were fighting. "Alice told me... what her adoptive mother told her about Tally and Riley when they were younger. Even when Tally had digivolved into a Gatomon... and Riley into a BlackGatomon... they were still best friends. And now they are fighting each other... I know they both want to be with me, and I know I want them both, but... what shall I do if they can't accept each other?"
Now Rika understood what the fight in the sky was all about.
"We could always let them figure this out by themselves..." she muttered. "But they'll only hurt themselves..."
Yamaki sighed. "If only... if only Riley would see that I would never replace her! If only her envy and lust wasn't stronger than her feelings towards both Tally and me..."
Envy... Lust...
The Mistress of Lust... the Lord of Envy...
"That's it!" Rika murmured. "She has become Lilithmon, the embodiment of Lust, because of her lust for revenge and her lust towards you. But what if... if her other feelings are somehow... unbalance her feelings... and repress her lust?"
"You don't... you don't plan to empower her envy instead of her lust, do you?" Yamaki wondered.
Rika groaned. "Of course not! Her Envy and Lust are entwined with each other. If one rises, the other will rise! But even though she feels both Envy and Lust, she is still the Mistress of Lust... and that comes from her affection towards you... and maybe towards her sister. And that means all is not lost! We just have to somehow turn her lust into compassion!"
Yamaki stared at her for a while. Then he stood up. "Young Miss Nonaka... I have done quite a few things I should never have done! But if you would forget the differences we had over the past few days... I would gladly accept any sort of punishment that awaits me for what I have done... if only you would help us!"
He sank down to his knees. "Please... you and your friends, you have to help us somehow..."
"All right already!" Kitsumon said. "I can't promise anything... but I'll try!"
"Th-thank you..." Yamaki muttered as he looked up at her. "You... you have changed since the last time we met as allies... but maybe change is needed for everyone to accept... what has become of this world."
'You don't know how true your words are,' Rika thought. 'And if Kai... or Kei, or whatever she wants to be called now, finds a solution for Riley as well, I think we might have found a way to stop the Demon Lords... and if we can do that, I might even accept this changed world...'
She then remembered something. 'But that will only work if... if my grandfather will come to the same realization as Yamaki.'
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(Posted Fri, 10 Aug 2007 17:04)
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