Digimon: Reloaded

Chapter 8

At Izumi's scream, Kouichi felt his heart wrench painfully.

He whipped his head around to find out what was wrong, only to nearly be blinded. He put his hands over his eyes to shield them and when it was gone, Izumi was nowhere to be found. In her place was a small Digimon, a few inches shorter than Fairymon herself. Translucent golden wings sprouted from her back, and she wore a green top and shorts to match. In her hands was a red spear, it's edges deadly sharp

"Tinkermon," Kouji breathed from beside him.

There wasn't a moment's hesitation before Tinkermon had shot off, parrying Dagomon's hefty claw with her weapon.

"Run!" She ordered Miyako, who gathered Hawkmon into her arms and stumbled towards the rest of the group. Fear still swam in her eyes.

"We have to run," Said Junpei again, backing up. Kouji, Izumi, and the rest of the still standing Digimon were doing their best to hold Dagomon back, but it was a lost fight. At this point, they'd cause more damage then they'd end up fixing.

Takuya swallowed and Kouichi's gaze jumped to him. Normally, he would have been furious at the prospect of fleeing a battle. He was sure that the word 'run' wasn't even in Takuya's vocabulary. But he surprised Kouichi by nodding in silent agreement.

"Yeah," he said, sounding very small. "If Blitzmon said to run then-"

Dagomon let out a roar. The purple aura that surrounded him intensified. It was nearly impossible to miss, showering Kouichi in waves upon waves of dark energy that made his headache.

"That aura is making him stronger," said Ken, watching as Stingmon darted around Dagomon's enormous tentacles. "We have to find the source. If we find the source, we take him out." Kouichi's gaze scoured over Dagomon, looking for anything that could have come close to looking like where the darkness was coming from, but he found nothing.

He swore under his breath.

Kouji screamed in pain suddenly, as Dagomon's enormous tentacles whacked hard into his stomach. He sank into the rubble of the apartment building.

"Kouji!" Kouichi shouted, sprinting across the field towards his fallen brother. Takuya's eyes widened in surprise.

"Kouichi, wait! It's too-"

He was cut off as one of Dacomon's tentacles slammed into the ground inches from Kouichi. He skidded to a stop, looking up. Dagomon glared down at him, beady red eyes full of a murderous rage. He took one look at Kouichi, and a deep guttural growl left his throat.

"Loweemon..."

Kouichi froze, fear freezing him to the spot. How did Dagomon know the spirit that rested within his soul? He swallowed, this throat suddenly very dry, and Dagomon heaved his massive body upwards. He rose it's tentacle covered arm for a blow, ready to squash Kouichi flat.

"Kouichi!" He heard Izumi scream his name, but fear kept him rooted to the spot. "Speed Nightmare!" Her attack did little to stop the enormous trunk-like arm that swung down towards Kouichi. Kouichi squeezed his eyes shut, preparing himself for the agonizing pain he was sure would follow when he was suddenly knocked sideways, his cheek scuffing the hard concrete.

He let out a quiet cry of pain, stars bursting to life in front of his eyes. He looked up to see who had saved him and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Takeru...?" Kouichi breathed. Takeru stared back at him, looking surprised at himself for what he had just done. Then, without a word, he rolled off of Kouichi, turning his attention back to the fight. A moment later, his eyes widened.