Masters of Oblivion 

VI

Digivolution

Digidentity:

Bombermon: A hot headed Digimon with a mad attitude and an explosive Bang  Bomb attack.

Phoenixmon: This great bird is the evolve form of Aviemon and is much bigger. It uses the Flying Blaze attack and if it really wants to turn on the heat it will use its Phoenix’s Ash attack but although the attack is extremely powerful it will turn the Digimon into its original form of Aviemon.

If Luke had been bad after he had seen that man on the street die he was terrible now. They went back to Aka’s place and he simply sat in the corner with Aviemon staring at him worriedly perched on a chair’s backrest. He was looking down at the goggles that he slowly played with in his hands.

Of course he was not the only one disturbed by what Arianmon had done. Lee sat behind Aka who remained working on his computer and probably would still be doing so if the world were suddenly to end in a rain of brimstone and fire that lasted a few days. She sat on the ground with her knees pulled up to her chin and Felamon lying peacefully next to her. Already all knew that although Felamon was maybe a little more delicate than the other Digimon she could recover in an instant and now seemed totally uninjured.

Elfmon sat with one leg hanging out of the window, the other drown up before her and her back resting against the window frame. Abby stood there also peering out of the window with her arms crossed looking out at the smoke still rising from the buildings.

Pat sat on a chair looking at what Aka was doing but there could be no way he was interested in it considering he had hardly ever bothered to use a computer before in his life. Shieldmon stood just behind him and was unnaturally silent.

The boy Kai stood in the middle of the room with his Digimon, Shadowmon, standing next to him and they peered at the others. Finally Kai had enough and he walked towards the door the shadow following him without comment.

‘Where are you going?’ Luke said standing up suddenly.

‘Where I like.’ Kai said.

‘Do that and you’ll get picked off.’ Luke said and his voice wasn’t kind. ‘I don’t have any idea what’s happening here but it’s obvious enough we’re not in a carefree world anymore.’

Kai stopped and only turned his head slightly towards Luke his long black hair hanging in his face.

‘There’s no more playing in the streets anymore, those Digimon were bad enough and there’s no doubt more out there.’

At these words everyone glanced at Luke, the Digimon most intensely.

‘I don’t mean you guys,’ Luke said apologetically but keeping his angry tone, ‘it’s just we can’t play around anymore!’

‘Do you think I’ve ever played around!’ Kai shouted jumping in front of Luke and Shadowmon seemed to carry his rage and grew a larger dimming the room. ‘Don’t think you know anything about me boy! While you kids were going to school and playing I was already surviving!’ He banged on his own chest.

‘While I’m sorry!’ Luke said not sounding very sorry and not backing away either. ‘I’m sorry if you have a sad life story to cry yourself to sleep with, all of us do!’

Luke threw his hand at the others in a gesture, no one denied his statement.

‘It’s simple enough, stick together and we survive, separate and we all die alone.’ Said Luke.

Kai stepped a little closer until their faces were dangerously close.

‘I don’t even know you.’ He said. ‘What responsibility do I have to you? You think because you gave me a little trinket with my name on it I’m part of this misfit gang! I’m no misfit, I am myself and I don’t need anyone but Shadowmon to watch my back! We can watch out for each other.’

Kai walked away and slammed his Digivice onto the table before wrenching the door open.

‘Take it back then.’ He whispered before leaving.

‘Shadowmon, don’t leave!’ Aviemon shouted flying onto the table by the door, the door slammed in his face.

There was a long deep silence after they left in which they could hear the footsteps fall away downwards. Elfmon and Abby saw the boy with his Digimon emerge onto the street and disappear quickly again.

‘You handled that well.’ Abby said to Luke.

‘If he wants to leave it’s his choice.’ Luke said not turning to Abby. ‘He’s right, we have no responsibility to each other and I didn’t see you try to do anything to stop him.’

Abby looked away angrily and stared back at the smoke. Luke remained as he was with Aviemon looking at him once again.

‘I suppose I should be glad my computer hasn’t got injured yet.’ Aka said, everyone glanced at him but no one bothered to say anything. ‘Here, you’re upgrade is complete.’

Luke took his red Digivice from Aka surprised and unsure and looked at it, it looked no different.

‘That’s it?’ Luke asked.

‘That’s it, I might be able to do something more when I’m finished with the others.’

‘But nothing’s different.’ Luke said pressing a few buttons, he was frustrated.

‘The upgrade is designed to change that,’ he said pointing at Aviemon, ‘not that.’ He then pointed at the Digivice.

‘It’s actually quite amazing, with every word he says my dislike for him builds to who knows what point.’ Aviemon said.

‘Do you feel any different?’ Luke asked his Digimon partner.

Aviemon checked under his wings. ‘No.’

‘We’ve had a hard day,’ Elfmon said standing up from her seat, ‘maybe it would be best if we all went back to our homes and rest.’

Luke found that she was looking at him for some reason, and so was everyone else, all but Abby who snorted and looked away. He clenched the goggles in his hand tighter before turning away from her.

‘Yeah, that’s a good idea. Aka, you’ll finish the upgrades overnight then?’

‘Sure.’

‘Whatever they do.’

Still no dad, still the lockdown over the military base. Luke stared out of the windows with all the lights off so that he could see the outside better. A few choppers, a few more lights than usual around the base, no light coming from the base itself.

‘We do more in Trojan than you would expect Luke,’ his dad had told him once and the memory came back now, ‘there’s also more to it than you can just see.’

‘What do you mean, is it larger than it looks?’

‘Yeah, something like that.’

His dad had never told him anything much about what happened in the base, he had always just hinted that it was something unexpected, something great. He had probably told his only son too much already, the only other member of his family that he had left.

Luke now looked at Aviemon who perched on the chair beside him with strange eyes. Was this some product created by that base that was so mysterious and that Luke hated so for holding his father away from him so much? No, that’s impossible. Aviemon and all the Digimon came from the military base, no doubt, but they were not products. They were, with the lack of a better word, alive, even the evil ones.

‘What are you still doing with those goggles?’ Aviemon asked him.

‘Holding them, I don’t know why.’ Luke said, then with a faint smile he put them on. ‘How do I look.’

He looked quite comical, his eyes were enlarged and had blue rims around them. Aviemon took the goggles in his wings that so resembled hands and moved them up onto Luke’s forehead.

‘That looks better.’ He said with a smile.

‘Really?’ Luke asked also smiling.

‘I have a very acute sense of style, don’t question me.’ Aviemon said.

Both laughed, but the laughter died quickly away again.

A car passed below and there was a beep in the quiet of the night. At first neither Luke nor Aviemon knew where it came from and they looked around puzzled. Then Luke took the Digivice from his pocket and saw that the screen and buttons were alight.

‘What’s going on with the thing now?’ Aviemon asked half annoyed.

‘I don’t know, maybe it has something to do with the upgrade.’

‘Well, what does it say?’

‘It has a message for you. It says: “Aviemon, Danger”.’

Aviemon looked confused at the little computer and found the whole affair rather disturbing until his and Luke’s attentions were drawn to the street below. There was a person moving there as if drunk wobbling along the middle of the street with his hands stretched out and seemingly something held in them, he looked almost comical if he had only not been so dark.

‘That’s not another one is it?’ Luke asked quietly as the person made its way past their building.

‘I’d love to be a comfort to you Luke, but my eyes are much better than yours.’

They looked at each other for a moment before turning back towards the shape below. It suddenly stopped and a moment later turned struggling to hold its balance as it looked up at them with eyes much too large.

‘Hi!’ They heard him shout. ‘I see you up there! Yes I do! I got a present here, somewhere, oh yeah, in my hand. Catch!’

One of the things in his hands was thrown. Both behind the window above new immediately it was nothing good. They dived aside to separate ways. The round thing hit the glass.

Fire lurched from the building. The furniture and even the walls inside the apartment were picked up and ripped apart. A blaze ran along the walls, into the night sky, and into the apartment.

The flames licked and then wriggled away into nothingness. Small pieces of burnt material fell from the sky onto the street. There was smoke and dust in the air.

‘Luke!’ Aviemon cried struggling out of some rubble and coughing and he started to panic when there was no response.

He shouted his name again and flew to the place Luke had been. There Luke stood up behind an over frown table with bruises all around his face and arms.

There was a wicked loud giggle from below.

‘None of them want to play nice!’ Luke said angrily.

‘Shall we teach him a suitable lesson.’ Aviemon asked much in the same mood.

‘Let’s do that.’

‘Here’s another one!’ Shouted the Digimon from bellow.

Aviemon grabbed the comical but dangerous bomb with its fuse burning with his talons as he flew out and dropped it over the other Digimon.

‘Oh, that’s not good!’ The Digimon cried and ran or wobbled aside and the road exploded.

‘We’re going to make a scene again.’ Luke said as he saw people looking shocked out of their windows. He then looked at his own apartment and found it nothing more than a large hole in the wall.

In anger he grabbed hold of a still standing rain pipe and slid all the way to the ground. When he turned around he found the bombing Digimon standing under a light and fully visible now. Luke half wondered how these Digimon walked around the streets without being noticed. This one had armour on similar to Shieldmon’s but it was rounded making him look fat and looked less sturdy and complete. He also wore a belt on which he held many small round bombs. He had a helmet on his head with bars coming down as a visor hiding his face revealing only yellow glowing eyes.

‘Bombermon’s the name boy,’ he said robustly, ‘I felt you a long distance off, I thought I might drop in for a little visit and wanted to make an explosive first impression.’

‘Felt me?’ Luke asked.

He got no answer for at that moment Aviemon attacked from above He cried his attack and the twin blades came slashing down. Bombermon was knocked off his feet and fell flat on his back. One of the bombs in his hand rolled away.

‘Bugger!’ He said seeing this.

With a spin seeming impossible for his size and obscure form he spun on his back and kicked the bomb into the sky. Aviemon dodged away like a sparrow just in time and the air lit up red for a second.

Luke touched his goggles.

‘Razor Wing!’

‘Bang Bomb!’

The bomb and blades met in the air. Aviemon once again had to change direction suddenly as fire coiled up before him. He then swooped around and Bombermon threw another. This one Aviemon grabbed by the talons and he spun in the air. The bomb went up into the sky and there it exploded. But it exploded too soon and Aviemon was almost sent into the closest building by the force.

Luke remembered the scene with Venomon… and then the fight with Arianmon.

Aviemon pulled away in time and the turn put him on target. The aim was pure but Bombermon moved. A lamp light came crashing down from where it had been cut near the base cleanly.

At that moment Luke burst out and came running at Bombermon. The only reason he didn’t end up as a burning mass was because the Digimon was taken totally by surprise. Somewhere Luke had got a wooden plank. He hit Bombermon with it as hard as his muscles allowed, it splintered against the iron helmet.

It was as if the armour was part of the Digimon’s body, he stumbled back with a cry and then turned angrily.

‘Little pest!’

The bomb came at Luke and he had no time to move. It was an ominous black spot in the darkness.

Aviemon swooped in and grabbed it. But this time he let go far too late. He turned in the air and threw the bomb down the street, it exploded a moment later. Aviemon went tumbling into the ground rolling horribly.

Luke shouted.

‘Oh, the birdie got a little sun burnt! Let’s turn up the heat!’ Bombermon said smirking.

He drew more bombs from his belt to fill both hands.

Luke was not stunned by fear, he just had no idea of what he could possibly do. He glanced back at Aviemon lying on the road unmoving after his dreadful crash. He slowly turned back to the enemy, he wasn’t going to let this monster get to his friend without a fight, not again. He readied himself to attack.

‘Burn human.’ Bombermon said silently pulling both hands back.

‘Unacceptable!’ Aviemon said struggling to his feet and swaying there.

‘You are pathetic you little glorified burned chicken!’ Bombermon shouted.

Then he threw.

The explosion came much too early, and it was different than Luke expected. One moment he was suddenly blinded. When he looked down he found warmth and light radiating powerfully from his pocket. When he glanced around he saw where Aviemon had been there was now a glowing light.

It was only a second later when the light was gone. Then the bombs and Bombermon disappeared before Luke as something moved between. Great wings spanned from one building to the next. Fabulously coloured feathers shone of gold and red in the night like a star.

The bombs were suddenly swept back by an amazing wind that rushed from the flapping wings of the bird. Bombermon barely kept his feet and the bombs he had thrown exploded behind him.

‘Big chicken.’ Bombermon said when the wind had stopped and he looked up into a noble eagle face with a mane like a lion’s but of shining feathers. It was a massive bird of majesty that radiated a great heat that burnt its enemies and comforted its friends. There was too much detail on the body and wings to describe but they glinted as if they were made of jewels.

Every feather had its own design of every colour on it as if their were made of majestic metal. But the colours were all overpowered by the red glow coming from the bird and its burning eyes.

‘You have done enough damage Bombermon!’ The bird said in a loud voice. ‘Flying Blaze!’

Bombermon was picked up off his feet as the wings flapped again. But this time the wind was accompanied by tongues of licking fire that lit up the street and beyond like day. Bombermon was scorched and thrown and hit the ground hard again.

Luke looked at the back of the bird protecting him, Aviemon was gone, replaced.

Bombermon pushed himself up and stood wobbling much more than before and trying to find a bomb on his belt.

‘Run Bombermon!’ The bird commanded.

‘No way you… you… flying human pet!’ He found a bomb.

The blaze hit him again and he went flying even further rolling over a car and crushing it. This time he struggled much more to stand up and almost didn’t manage it. When he did he looked up at the bird that still stood with its wings open and proud. Then one of the straps on his belt broke and a bomb fell to the ground and rolled a small distance away. The fuse lit automatically.

‘Ah damn!’ He said looking skew at the bomb.

It exploded and once again Bombermon was thrown. Right through a wall he went and disappeared leaving another hole in the street.

The bird turned around its wings folding a little and stood over Luke looking down at him.

‘Aviemon?’ Luke asked hesitantly.

‘No, I’m called Phoenixmon now.’ The bird said gently but still noble.

Luke was hesitant and he said nothing more.

‘I’m still the same person,’ Phoenixmon said, ‘I’m still your friend. You might say I just reinvented myself for the time being.’

Luke was still not convinced, this new Digimon looked nothing like the friend he had made in the last two days, it didn’t even sound like him. Was this what the upgrade did? Was it still Aviemon just a new and improved one? Well Luke didn’t like it at all, he wanted his friend back.

‘Luke,’ the bird said bringing his head lower, ‘it’s me, I wouldn’t leave you.’

Luke peered back into deep blue eyes as the fires flowing from it slowly disappeared and for a moment he thought he was staring back into the much smaller eagle’s eyes he had started to know so well.

‘Well,’ Luke said then, ‘you’re bigger and prettier but what can you do?’

Phoenixmon smiled in that familiar why that was so uncharacteristic for any sort of bird.

There was a sound and they both looked in the directions the sirens and blue and red lights came, it also came from the other way down the road.

‘I’m sorry about your apartment,’ Phoenixmon said, ‘but I think it would be best if we left it for the time being.’

‘I was thinking the same thing.’ Luke said.

‘Then jump on.’ Phoenixmon said turning around and bending low.

‘What?’

‘Get on my back, I can carry you now, just try not to pull my feathers out.’

Luke climbed up awkwardly trying not to hurt his friend and then put his arms around the bird’s neck as it stood up straight. With a single mighty flap of its wings the bird rose into the air leaving the world suddenly behind below. Wind rushed through Luke’s hair and he saw the city lights rushing past below, it was amazing.

‘To Abby’s, it’s closest!’ Luke shouted.

Somehow Phoenixmon new the way, maybe because of the amazing eyes he had inherited with his transformation. He turned in the right direction and came swooping down again. Luke fancied that they had in fact been as high as the large passenger planes went and watched as they came back in for a landing.

‘I’m getting really tired.’ He heard Phoenixmon say.

‘What?’ Luke asked shocked.

‘Don’t worry.’ The bird Digimon gasped.

They came in towards the ground. Phoenixmon started to glow white under Luke as he looked with surprise and fear, it was the same glow when he had changed. Just in time the great bird set down on the brightly lit ground. Luke felt what he held onto shrink and he rolled off. When he turned back to the spot lying on his back he saw Aviemon lying on the grass.

‘Well,’ Aviemon said tired but uninjured as Luke picked him up, ‘that was to very pleasant.’

Abby came running out of the house and her foster mom peered out of the window.

Luke sat on the very same couch that Abby and Pat had been kissing on a few days before as she came walking out of the kitchen with two cups of tea in her hands. She set one on the table before him and came to sit next to him.

‘My mom and dad believe that the light was only the car dropping you off, although they found it strange.’ Abby said looking at him with hazelnut eyes. ‘They also found it rather rude that you came without calling first and without your shoes!’ She laughed.

‘Yeah,’ Luke said looking at his toes moving in his socks.

‘Was it bad?’ She asked becoming serious now gazing at him through the steam of her tea, he found he couldn’t look straight back at her and sipped some fragrant tea instead.

The room was dark with only a few candles burning on the table, in his experience Luke found Abby’s foster mom and dad pretty cultural and they were always trying to get a certain sort of old time effect in their house.

‘It wasn’t that bad, we won.’ Luke said smiling a little bit. ‘It wasn’t that bad…’

He felt Abby look away for a moment.

‘I’m glad Aviemon turned back into himself.’ Luke said then. ‘It was cool having a giant phoenix to ride on and everything, and we did beat that Bombermon, but… At first I thought he had completely been replaced and I almost panicked but then I realised it was still him, but it was almost as if I lost him.’ Luke stopped himself and looked at Abby quickly who was looking at him with her flegs drawn onto the couch. ‘I don’t know why I’m telling you all this.’ He said with a laugh.

‘No, it’s okay.’ She said.

Silently it reminded them both of the time they had been together, when they had dated, when they could have told each other anything. After that they had closed themselves off from each other and although they had stayed good friends they had both reluctantly gone their separate ways. Once again it was one of those complex stories that those involved found hard to describe to others. They knew why they had broken up, didn’t they?

‘I’d feel the same.’ Abby said thinking of Elfmon and if it were to happen to her, it seemed inevitable now and she looked forward to it in some way. ‘You have those goggles on your head.’

‘Oh,’ he said taking them off with a little laugh that died quickly, ‘they seemed comfortable there.’ He put them down on the table.

‘There’s something I want to tell you too.’ She said then and now he hardly dared to turn to her, or move, in case she would stop talking, he didn’t care what it was just as long as they continued talking. ‘After Arianmon… after what he had done, I saw you there in the middle of it all with those goggles, you made me cry.’

‘I’m sorry.’ Luke said.

‘No, I couldn’t help it. I wanted to put my arms around you and…’ She looked away from him quickly. ‘How’s your tea?’

‘It’s good, I’m finished.’ He said and it was true.

‘Oh.’ She found no other excuse now to get out of the awkward situation, she hated being in such situations, she didn’t know what to do.

‘Abby?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Why did we break up?’

Silence.

‘I broke up with you,’ she said finally, ‘because… because… I don’t know, you were wonderful.’ The words made his heart jump into his throat but he tried to not let it show. ‘You are so quiet and hard working from the outside, but if someone gets to know you its as if a whole world is opened up, and you’re so good at everything.’

He remained silent forcing himself not to move too much.

‘But I don’t think that’s the real you, you never let me in.’ She said.

Luke turned to her then and they looked into each others eyes both frowning. Neither dared to say what he or she was thinking but it was as if it was all being pulled out of them now.

‘You never let me in either.’ He said.

‘No,’ she admitted solemnly, ‘I didn’t, I don’t think you’d like it there.’

‘I would.’ He said.

Gravity was pulling them closer to each other slowly.

‘No, you wouldn’t.’ She said.

They kissed and they didn’t stop.

Aviemon had gone out into the night with Elfmon after they had landed and he had quickly hidden from Abby’s stepparents and after they had smuggled some food out for him to regain his strength.

Now they sat in a small park nearby and Elfmon was swinging slowly as Aviemon perched on the pole the swing hung from. The beautiful green haired and fair blue skinned Digimon seemed out of place on the swing and she was very thoughtful.

Aviemon didn’t try and encage her in conversation, he was looking around at the night and hearing the voice of the city.

‘There is one more.’ Elfmon said suddenly.

‘Excuse me?’ Aviemon asked.

‘There is one more Digimon,’ she said, ‘I have been searching my memory and it came to me just now.’

‘Now that you mention it…’ Aviemon said realising she was right. ‘There are only a few of us then.’

‘Yes, but I am worried,’ said the Elf, ‘maybe there are five of us that are good, and five that are evil, a balance. If this is so I shudder to imagine what he that we have not encountered yet may be like.’

‘I doubt he could be any worse than Arianmon,’ Aviemon said, ‘Bombermon was definitely not so evil or so disastrous. And after all balances are only found in nature not so? I have some suspicion that we are not natural, or at least not of this world’s nature.’

‘You are right.’ She admitted. ‘The other thing that bothers my mind is the publicity we have already drawn, already there have been two shows, one worse than the other. I know little about the human world and its cities but I think word will be passed on quickly and I do not think that most humans are ready to accept us yet.’

‘The children were.’ Aviemon said.

‘Yes, but they are exceptional, we were drawn to them as was Bombermon, as he admitted, and all the others, I think the Digivices were drawn too in some strange way. They are… Digidestined.’

‘I don’t think you should worry!’

The voice did not come from Aviemon, it came from somewhere else now walking out of the darkness towards them.

‘I think a bit of publicity will be good for our kind, personally I can’t wait to show my talent to the world!’

Elfmon stood up and Aviemon jumped off to stand next to her, they had not seen this Digimon before.

‘I hope you don’t mind, I couldn’t help but hear your little discussion and be intrigued, by you.’ The words were directed at Elfmon. ‘Such a fascinating voice you have, if you don’t mind my saying, like a bird in the tree, I’m sure you’ll appreciate that comparison. And how the voice fits your beautiful,’ he licked his lips, ‘visage.’

‘Friend or Foe?’ Elfmon asked.

‘Me?’ The Digimon said touching his own breast, he had been moving all this time smoothly as he spoke. ‘I am neither, I’m not bad nor am I very good, I am simply Coolmon.’

‘Coolmon, we’ve heard about you, you attacked our friends.’ Aviemon said aggressively.

‘A terrible misunderstanding, really!’ He said jumping onto a swing and swung on it standing. ‘It wasn’t a good day for me, only a few hours before I had had a run in with a very uncool guy, Bombermon, you mentioned him.’ He jumped off.

‘What do you want now?’ Aviemon asked.

‘Why so aggressive?’ Coolmon said jumping onto a play gym now with his fox agility. ‘All I want is to privilege some of my own kind with my friendship. Sure, I’m going to reveal my…’ he combed his hair back with his comb, ‘…coolness to the world but I think it unfair to not give some to my fellows too. Of course, I also came to meet bright eyes here.’ He jumped off, stepped a little closer and blinked one eye at Elfmon.

‘Your manor is disrespectful and frankly, I’d rather fall in love with a lifeless stone.’ She said honestly.

‘Or a bird.’ Coolmon said with a smirk. ‘Of course I knew you were that type, lucky for me I’m an animal too, a fox, isn’t it obvious?’ He displayed what he no doubt thought a very impressive pelt and body.

‘Coolmon,’ Elfmon said not impressed at all, ‘we are glad to meet another Digimon that does not wish us ill, but you are shallow and egotistical, yet we’d like to remain your friend.’

Coolmon laughed at her clashing words. ‘Nah, I can make much better friends than you.’ He made to walk past them. ‘But, I am more than willing to be another sort of partner.’

He slapped Elfmon hard on the butt and then jumped off over the swings showing off some aerobatics and as Elfmon jumped and spun around with surprise. She almost grabbed for her arrows and bow but restrained herself.

‘He’s not worth it.’ Aviemon said and then with a smile added. ‘But I’m glad he didn’t slap my butt.’

Elfmon remained silent, she was insulted but some other thoughts quickly took over. Coolmon was bad, yes, but he wasn’t that bad and she now doubted if he had ever meant to do more than just a little harm to Lee and Felamon. He was also shunned by the other Digimon it seemed, or maybe he had not bothered with them when they hadn’t danced by his exact music as he had wanted them to do jus now. What was the pattern then, what was the balance, or was it chaos? That would be disturbing indeed.