"Mommy?"
"Yes, dear?"
"How come there are so many minions that Riley has to fight before reaching the top floor?"
Lucemon gave her daughter the same smile that every parent gave his or her children every time they asked something silly. "Why, that's how things are done, sweetie. It wouldn't be the right dark lord domicile without them. You'll have some loyal minions on your own when you're older, dear!"
LassDramon smiled. "Yay!"
Lucemon smiled as well, not even mentioning that in her little world, the children NEVER grew up.
"But Mommy," LadDramon spoke up. "Where did you get all the minions? And why aren't the KidDevimon and SmallLadyDevimon helping, too?"
"They are busy at the moment," Lucemon explained. "And do you remember those bad boys I hired to take care of the angel fleet, back when I was as small as you?"
LassDramon giggled. "Oh yes! That was FUN!" It didn't seem to bother Mie in the least that she had fought on the side of the angels back then.
"Yes, the same ones I hired to find my dear brother," Lucemon nodded. "Those baaad boys lost him while chasing him through the sewers... that was unforgivable. I couldn't give them the honor and allow them to be part of my utopia... instead, I sealed them in cells in the basement. And every time someone tries to do something naughty, I can turn them into loyal minions... expendable minions!"
"Smart move, Mom!" LadDramon said.
Lucemon smiled as she leaned back in her chair. "Yes. Yes, I know."
"Say, Mommy..." LassDramon then spoke up again.
"Yes, dear?"
"Should we be worried that Riley is destroying part of our interior decorations while fighting off your minions?"
"Ah, don't let that be a bother to you, dear! I can always put up new decorations... but this will be the last time Riley will have to fight like this in her remaining, short life, so let her have some fun!"
"Aren't you feeling bad that you have to kill her, Mommy?" LadDramon asked.
"A little," Lucemon admitted. "But sacrifices have to be made... always keep that in mind, my little ones!"
"We will, Mommy!" the dragon siblings spoke up as one.
"DARKNESS WAVE!" the LadyDevimon yelled as she guided a flock of darkness bats against her opponents, a horde of disposable Vilemon and Phantomon. One after another, her opponents dissolved into pure data, which the female devil Digimon absorbed into her body. All around her, the tower's structure had suffered visible damage when she and her enemies had shot around their attacks viciously. Cracks in the wall, broken chandeliers, scorched carpets and shattered statues were only some of the damages caused by the battle.
Over the past few hours, Riley had fought her way through all of Lucemon's tower, until she finally reached the tenth floor.
"I'm coming, Yamacus," she growled, her eyes flashing red. "And if that bitch has laid only one finger on you, I'm gonna KILL HER!"
With bared fangs, Riley blasted a new hole into the ceiling and flew up to the next floor.
In the meantime, Romi and her small troupe had managed to climb up the shaft SkullMeramon had dug up to directly below the tower's basement. A volley of attacks later, and they had created a new entrance for Lucemon's lair. One after the other, the replacement heroes climbed out of the shaft, into the dark and gloomy basement.
"Well, one thing's for certain," Yui said as she took a look around. "This place is very creepy."
"What's the matter, this looks like your average bad guy hideout final dungeon basement level to me," Gargomon shrugged.
Turuiemon sweatdropped. "You play too much computer games," she said.
It WAS dark and gloomy. And dusty. With many spider webs. Can't forget the spider webs. And torches hanging on the wall.
"If Kei's responsible for this layout, then I have to wonder if she's out of original ideas..." Henry muttered. "Can anyone of you detect any enemies? Or maybe cameras? Or other security devices?"
"Cameras?" Suzie raised an eyebrow. "This place looks like the dungeon of a ghost castle. I really can't imagine anything high-tech around here."
"Well, who knows, maybe Lucemon is a modern villain," Senshimon grimaced. "Can we get on with it? Trust me, if the enemy knows we're in here, they would have already sent some guards our way. That's what they always do. Trust me, I've raided a few hideouts of criminal Digimon in my life."
"Has any of those been a little girl in their previous lives?" Henry asked.
Romi ignored him. "We'll know when they know about our presence. Let's get a move on, and let's be quiet about it, you hear me?" He looked at Yui when making that last remark.
"Sheesh, I'm not as clumsy as my little sister..." Yui mumbled.
Romi didn't like it that Yui had come along. He knew that mentally, she still was a child. Then again, he also knew that Henry was a child as well. But at least he had some experience on the battlefield, same with Turuiemon and Gargomon. And Suzie had mentally matured. A lot.
At least she had managed to convince Bimon to stay back in the rebel base. And Alice had promised to take good care of him. In exchange, they had to promise to bring her sister back in one piece.
Romi didn't know if she'd be able to keep that promise.
Henry could tell what Romi was thinking, from the way she was glaring at the young Meramon. "Hey... she was a great help back in SkullMeramon's tunnels, wasn't she?" he whispered.
"Maybe... but only because we had no other fire-based Digimon that could have passed the flames in one piece. She's just a child, for Magnadramon's sake! And she wasn't affected mentally, like your sister was."
Henry crossed his stubby little arms. "Are you prejudiced against children or what?"
"Don't start that again," Suzie interfered. "Ai's the best example that children are not to be underestimated. And in this crazy new world, can you tell who's really a child or not? I am a child, turned into an adult. Just a few hours ago, you were in a little girl's body. Barbamon went from sinister to sweet, and Ai went from cutie to criminal."
"I'm still saying we should have left her behind..." Romi insisted.
"Hey, I can help!" Yui proclaimed. "You can't leave me behind! I wanna help save Renamon, too!"
"See? Mature as always..." Romi groaned.
"Are you finished citchatting or do you want to conquer the dungeon today?"
It took Romi (and the others, for that matter) some time to realize that it had been no member of their team that had spoken these words. When they looked up, they saw a small figure floating above the door that was the only exit from this room.
"Who are you?" Suzie asked.
"One of Ai's devil minions?" Turuiemon wondered.
"Please, call me Kobomon," the little Digimon said in a high voice. It had yellow skin, little clawed feet, a small snout and short horns just above its temples. It also had a pair of stubby, purple wings on its back, but it seemed to be able to hover in the air without actually using them. It also had a long, spindly tail with a pointy tip.
"It does look like a little devil," Henry remarked. "But it's something different."
"Please, I'm not an 'it', I'm a 'she'," Kobomon said. "I'm the helper of those who want to face the dangers within Lucemon's tower. Are you brave enough to face them?"
"If you're guarding Lucemon's tower, then you're on her side!" Senshimon claimed. "Why should we trust you?"
"Wait a minute, Romi!" Suzie spoke up. "Maybe this is just part of the game... maybe Kei created her as a guide. The last dungeon is the most difficult level of them all, after all."
"Out with it, whose side are you on?" Yui asked the floating imp. "What are your intentions?"
Kobomon smirked as she floated upside-down. "I'm here to guide those worthy enough to face the challenges of the tower," she said.
"So you're not one of Lucemon's goons?" Gargomon asked.
"Lucemon?" Kobomon grinned. "She doesn't even know I exist. I came into being as soon as this tower was created."
"You mean: Transformed!" Suzie corrected her. "This tower was Tokyo Tower before Lucemon transformed it."
Kobomon shrugged. "No big difference. So, do you want to hear what you must do if you plan on reaching the top floor of the tower?"
"We don't need your help!" Senshimon said in a brash voice. "We can face Lucemon by ourselves."
Kobomon chuckled. "Are you sure about that?"
"Senshimon, wait!" Henry told the impatient magical girl. "I think we might need her to solve the puzzles and riddles we're going to face."
"Riley obviously made it into the tower without the help of a guide, so why do we need one?" Romi asked.
"You are forgetting that we are, essentially, the heroes of the game. That is, until Takato, Rika and the others are back in action. Things are a bit different for us than for others."
"And if she turns out to be a baddie after all, we can still kick her behind!" Gargomon sneered cockily.
Kobomon just smiled.
"Um, why do you say 'behind'?" Turuiemon wondered. She was used to hear much obscene words from him, even back when they were Rookies.
"Ssshhh, this is a PG-13-rated game," Gargomon whispered.
Romi sighed in defeat. "All right... then, what is it we have to do?"
"You have chosen wisely," Kobomon said, eyeing each member of the little squad as she was circling them. "Now then, oh chosen heroes, listen carefully. At the topmost floor of this tower, Lucemon has erected a barrier of digital energy, a powerful barrier that hinders entrance to her innermost sanctuary. Only those loyal to her cause may enter, others will be repelled immediately."
"Figures..." Henry sighed.
"There is but one way to dispel the barrier," Kobomon explained. "Scattered throughout the many floors of the tower, you will find many small jewels that are stored within chests, kept within secret passages and guarded by fierce enemies. These are Force Gems, they carry the digital code that is needed to remove the obstacle on your way to Lucemon's throne. Gather as much of them as you can. If you have collected enough of these Force Gems, you will be able to overcome the barrier."
"Oh great, it's a looting quest," Gargomon groaned. "I used to hate them whenever I played WoW..."
"Yeah, and you always used my characters when you played," Henry frowned.
"That's it?" Romi asked with disbelief. "We just collect little gems and we can wander into Lucemon's room? Just like that?"
"It won't be easy, though," Kobomon said. "Be warned, many dangers await. The minions of Lucemon will be out to destroy you, and who knows what kind of traps she has put up to stop you..."
"As the tower's guardian, shouldn't you know about those?" Turuiemon asked.
Kobomon just smiled.
"Well, at least now we know that this is just a gameplay mechanic," Suzie said. "My guess is that Lucemon has created this barrier long before Kei knew it, and Kei came up with this guide and the Force Gems to make it possible for us to get past the barrier."
"I wonder which game he played gave him the idea," Yui murmured. "And did he have to create a new NPC to guide us? Couldn't she have, I dunno, created telepathy tablets on the walls that allow us to communicate with her?"
"Well, no need complaining about it now," Henry said. "I think we should just go on and do just what Kobomon told us: Find as many Force Gems as we can. Any other things we need to know?"
"The bigger the Force Gems are, the more digital energy is flowing through them," Kobomon said while juggling a small pebble. "But beware, the bigger ones are guided by nasty fiends or are hidden in spots that are difficult to find... or both." She grinned, dropped the pebble and waved. "We will meet again, oh chosen heroes..." And with these words, she floated backwards... and disappeared.
"Wait!" Suzie shouted. "How do we know what these Force Gems look like?"
"I think she already gave us the answer to that," Romi muttered as she walked up to the pebble the little imp had dropped and picked it up. It was colored green, had a triangle shape and was glowing in a mysterious light.
"Well, either this is a Force Gem... or a cheap little trinket you can buy in every souvenir shop," Gargomon remarked.
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(Posted Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:21)
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