Eiko calmly clicked on the radio button, but startled, stared, and started to get a sick feeling in her stomach when a little message popped up on the screen.
'Unable to Undo. Please Create A New Game or Wait Until The New Addition Is Available For Purchase.'
"Uh-oh..." Eiko said, not feeling too good.
Kai put her leafy hands on her flowery head. "Oh no! I forgot about that stupid anti-'can't undo' thing hardwired into the stupid program!"
"My brother's legacy," HolyCalumon hissed lowly.
"Uh, Kei, I just did a bad thing, didn't I?" Eiko asked, sounding like a scared and dismayed little girl rather than the adult woman she appeared to be.
Kei was so tempted right then and there to write something in Eiko's profile that would lock her out of the RPG Reality. The Lillymon found herself thinking of everything Eiko had done that had resulted in his... her life being being just a bit more miserable or 'interesting.' The look on Kei's face make Eiko whimper.
"Now hold on! Now hold on!" HolyCalumon declared, getting both their attention. "I can't affect Eiko's changes directly, but I can write a couple of events retroactively and post occurrence to revert it."
"Eh?" Both adult digimon just stared at the screen.
Holy sighed. "Since it hasn't had any major effects besides annoying the Digimon Limbo out of Terriermon instead of Renamon and making Renamon's experience on the school volleyball team a little more cruel, I just need to put in an event where Yui developed a crush for Gargomon's adult form when they first ran into each other, after Ai, that is Lucemon, turned the world upside down, and write another event right after what happened in the Lava Dungeon where she decides she likes Renamon more... if that's what you want. I could just as easily write the event so Yui realizes that Renamon doesn't love her back, so she can start looking for someone who would."
Kei hesitated. She looked outside the window, she saw the brightly colored buildings, the kids happily and blissfully playing outside, many discarding their business suits and just running around in their shorts. Some coming close, but none of them quite reeking havoc as kids do, and should. Whether this was due to the shadow of fear from Lucemon's Disciplinary Squad or some sort of brainwashing on top of their memory rewrites, Kei didn't know.
Kei sighed. "I'm not turning into Lucemon, so put her heart back the way it was."
HolyCalumon bowed at the senior Game Master. "As you wish!"
'I suppose that makes both her and Turuiemon both the unrequited lovers for this RPG.'
Kei thought for a bit. "Holy... if we can manage to write an event where everything will be put back to normal after we beat who used to be Ai, just as it almost always happens when you beat the 'final boss' of an RPG... can we set it so it'll turn all the digimon in the real world, er, physical world into humans?"
"What?!" Eiko gasped unbelievingly. "Kei, I... I don't believe you... you're a... DIGIPHOBIC?"
Kei then made use of a statement her former cousin regularly used: "Say wha...!?"
"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean... Look, I'm very, very sorry for turning you into a Digimon when I.... when I wanted to keep you from going away. But I was born a Digimon. Isn't it unfair to zap me and all the other Digimon in this world just to get yourself back the way you were?"
Kei was speechless. Eiko was still utterly in the dark that the only reason she was a Digimon was due to a minor bit of lore Kai had written, just to explain how the protagonists in the game could be Digimon/human hybrids, like Eiko.
"Kei, if I may point out..." Holy said, speaking politely, calmly, and without a hint of aggressive or negative tones. "If we were to do so, it would also revert the partners of your various friends as well." Of course she meant, without actually saying so, that it would effect those who had been Digimon already who had been in the human world in the first place.
Kei wondered, should she tell Eiko? Was there a point? Did she deserve to know? First things first, though.
"Eiko, I'm sorry for what I suggested, I guess... I was just used to being human and... I didn't want to have to get used to being a girl and a Digimon all over again."
"But you are used to it, aren't you?"
Kei shivered slightly. "Yes, I guess I am."
"Then why?"
"Well..." Kei tried to think. "Some of the kids Ai turned into her servants started out as humans, so were a lot of her victims. So..."
"That sounds like an excuse."
"I just thought I could get me and my parents back to being human." Broad enough answer.
"Excuse me!" said Holy, providing the proper distraction. "Don't we have a boss battle to prepare?"
Both Game Masters looked at each other and nodded.
"By the way, Eiko," Kei asked. "You didn't happen to play match-maker with anyone else, did you?"
"Um..." Eiko thought really hard. "Sorry, I forgot."
Kei groaned.
They never stood a chance. Two Rookies, and two In-Training versus a Mega? Successes like that only happened in the movies, and the Game Masters did not know of this event, so they were not able to allow for 'the power of family' to win this battle. They fought bravely enough, determined enough, but they were beaten.
If it had been Mako or Ai, or Jeri, or Calumon, things could have been different. They would have been able to perhaps reach the emotional endearments that beast possibly still held for the most important people in his life. But Mako was in the digital world. Ai was now Lucemon. Jeri was in a pocket universe savanna with illusionary parents. And Calumon had not been seen since Lucemon turned the world upside down in all of Japan.
It had been a twisted relief when SHE had appeared, having tracked down Garmon's location into the little pocket universe, and had come personally to deal with things. The two hybrids' and the single Digimon's images were flickering out not unlike when Impmon had nearly been deleted by the Deva Indramon. And Takehiro, the little boy who was supposed to be the father of Guilmon and Takato, was sure he had cracked ribs, it was painful to draw in each breath.
Lucemon had simply clapped her hands and the beast had returned to her side. Mie and Takehiro shivered, but their faces never lost the look of absolute defiance they showed the dictator.
"I won't let you take them away twice, Ai!" Mie said.
"Sorry, but my name is Lucemon, little girl."
"No matter how adult you make your body, you're still just a pre-schooler with a too big a sense of importance thanks to the monster inside her."
"I AM the monster inside her, and she IS the monster inside me. You look for distinctions that no longer exist. Ai and the first Lucemon's sin data has become one, resulting in me."
"You lack all of Ai's traits if you ask me." Mie knew Mie was deleted at worst or simply re-brainwashed at best, so there was no reason to hold back. "None of her kindness or compassion."
"On the contrary, I am quite kind in that I realize my daughter lacks companions her own age in my tower. And I am quite compassionate in that I believe I shall recognize your self-determination and obviously strong desire to be alongside your sons again."
Takehiro almost looked hopeful. Mie knew better than to expect a welcomed outcome. BlueTinymon and RedTinymon were too disoriented from their one-sided 'fight' with Garmon to make any comment or reaction.
"Now, come along!"
"Not a chance! You need a spanking, you..." In the blink of an eye, Lucemon was behind the little boy and Rookie Digimon and rendered them unconscious with a lightning quick chop to the necks. She'd have done the same for the brothers if they actually had necks. She merely had Gramon loyally pick up the two In-Trainings gently in his jaws while Lucemon personally picked up the age-regressed parents in her arms.
"I would place the four of you back in this volcanic family, all as siblings, but I can't risk putting you back into this illusionary ideal world, least you break out of it again. But you have provided me with the information I need to program the illusion parents with more in-depth reactions and preparations in case the pocket universes are breached again. I think I'll program their in-depth reactions after you two. If you ever knew, you should feel honored. After all, your sons, and the others, were only fighting for what they believed in, even if they were totally and utterly incorrect in rejecting my ideas and realizations about how this world should be and will be, as soon as I spread my new influence once again. I'm merely providing a way that they can be happy and fulfilled, instead of foolishly damaging the utopia world I've created. You have managed to teach one thing, and for that, you should feel incredibly honored. I clearly need a bit more security in case of error of the purification of corrupt adult thoughts and ideas that might slip through the cracks. Yes, and I know precisely how to reward you." Lucemon's vampiric smile would have made her workhands laugh, and frozen the souls of anyone else.
A while later, Lucemon had informed Mie and Takehiro's parents, teacher and classmates that Lucemon had granted them special and honored positions on her staff, for which said parental units instantly were honored that their kids had been chosen for such a gift.
Like a pair of grinning gargoyles, a KidDevimon and SmallLadyDevimon peered down onto the human and three digimon, as they sat on a pair of flying buttresses in the central circular entry room for Lucemon's tower. The insignia of the demon high lord of hubris engraved in the center with the six other smaller crests of the lesser demon high lords spaced out evenly at the edge.
Lucemon looked at her two subordinates and decided this once not to retort them on their current forms. They were more than willing to assume their adult form when interacting with the children of Japan and when troublemakers needed to be debugged, and that was what counted.
"Wakie, wakie!" Lucemon said in demented glee. The rookie and human child stirred and looked up at their captor. "I merely felt you had earned to be awake for this." She looked up at the little devils. "Do it!"
"As you command, mistress!" The two said together and were quick to use their respective curses. Crimson beams shot from the KidDevimon's eye which bent at right angles and self-corrected their course, striking the two altered parents in the back. At the same time, the SmallLadyDevimon spoke in a chillingly sweet voice while black and blue notes floated from her and around the heads of the small parents.
Mie and Takehiro's eyes went dazed as they stood up at attention, not moving a muscle, their faces like blank slates.
'Can't forget my son, Takato... who's Takato? I wonder if he's cute...'
Like vertical slides in a film projector, the two changed. Anyone who'd have known would recognize Mie as looking rather like she had as a human child at this age. Both children took on a dull innocent smile on their faces.
Two moments later, the two resembled the little devils who had altered them, but were clearly Digimon all on their own (Takehiro was no longer human). The end results were interesting.
At first glance, they did look human, though their hair was messy, and both had a little fang sticking out of their mouths (who had once been Takehiro on the left, and who had once been Mie on the right). Both wore tattered togas, blue for the former Takehiro and red for the former Mie, mirroring the respective colors of their hair now. In contrast, the girl's eyes were blue while the boy's were red. Straight backwards pointing horns grew out of their hair while claws adorned their hands and feet. There was also a little flesh-colored tail growing from their rears. To complete this, skin-colored dragon wings grew from their backsides. To finish this off, a right ankle chain bracelet was on the boy, while a similar bracelet was on the left wrist of the girl.
The two dragon kids blinked and came to attention, saluting to the misguided villain with big smiles on their faces.
"LadDramon and LassDramon reporting for duty, Mama!" they said together.
Lucemon smiled at her 'adopted' children and nodded at her two minions still behind her, who nodded back and repeated the process on the two In-Training digimon behind the dragon kids. Takato and his brother were helpless when the little devils began to work their powers on them...
"I have a new imperial pet for you to act as a guardian for the lower half of our home, just as Fluffy is the guardian for the upper floors. As my official tower messengers, he'll be yours to look at after and yours to make sure he's always okay."
The dragon kids kicked their feet together and nodded. "Yes, Mama!"
The red beams and icy beautiful music enveloped the two In-Training Digimon, who were slowly, then quickly drawn towards each other, and then into each other. Their data mingled and merged, and their size grew, and grew, and grew, towering over the rookies and Lucemon to a frightening size.
Takato and Guilmon felt their separate egos melt and their thoughts scattered to the winds in a hurricane, yet, there was something comforting and terribly familiar about it all.
The beast roared and the two dragon kids looked behind them excitedly as they gasped in joy.
The stuff of nightmares glared down at them. Nothing behind its eyes but base instincts and raw emotions, devoid of any real higher thought. Its lower body was that of a titanic snake with a stinger. Its upper draconic body was armored for war and adorned with the universal 'Hazard' icon. A drop of saliva from it's monstrous jaws hit the floor and burned a hole through the polished marble.
The dragon kids flew up and petted the beast without fear and the creature did not retaliate and actually seemed mollified by their grooming. "He's cool!" LadDramon said.
"Let's name him Sweetie!" LassDramon suggested.
"No way! Let's call him Spike!"
And the legendary dragon of purgatory, the corrupt Mega form of Guilmon, Megidramon, let out a low passive growl.
Lucemon nodded in approval. 'This is good. After all, people don't want to be free. They want to be comfortable. They want to be able to enjoy themselves. As long as they are happy, what does it matter if they are really free? People want things done for them, not by them.'
A while later, there was a knock on ChibiD'Arcmon's bedroom door. The little girl blinked away her tears, got up from her big pink bed and hesitantly opened the door. Behind were two Rookie Digimon smiling at her.
"Hi, Chibi!" said the dragon boy. "Mama got us a new pet! You wanna see?"
ChibiD'Arcmon's face went blank for a few moments, her eyes momentary going dull like those of a doll, before snapping back to reality. She smiled and said: "Sure, little brother! But there's no way he's as cool as Fluffy!"
"I bet Spike could beat Fluffy!" LadDramon declared.
"You're on!" Chibi laughed and clapped. The loneness she had been feeling as far as she could remember, since her other brother had vanished, dissolved, and was utterly forgotten.
"I still think Sweetie is a cuter name..." their sister pouted.
And so, a short time later, the two Megas tore into each other, both feeling a strange sensation of nostalgia, but lacking the wits to fully comprehend it. And the three Rookies cheered their respective prize fighter on like the audience of the roman coliseum long ago, enjoying the violence. Lucemon looked upon this and knew this too was good, to nudge them along to willing embrace the Fallen Angel and Hell Dragon evolutionary lines as she wished her children to.
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(Posted Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:59)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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