Digimon Adventure ND Book One: Manipulamon Reigns - Chapter Twenty

I could have made this chapter a huge, action-packed battle between good and evil with a clearly malicious villain and no gray areas, where the good guys beat the bad human and saved the day, having to make hard choices regarding how far they would go to stop him, and deciding that the right thing to do would be to let him live, even if it meant that they would have to face him again some day, but I don't. I take all of that and throw it out the window, and I go in a completely different direction, showing how far Manipulamon will go to gain an advantage, and showing that there is good in (mostly) everyone, no matter how bad they seem.

Including Pyro Tucker, an alternate to my Yu-Gi-Oh! DF character Paul Tucker, in this book, I intended to explore how the character could be different, and I think I did that pretty well. In this story, no version of John ever met and helped Tucker become a better person, so when he was put into a situation where he had the choice between good and evil, even though, at the time, he didn't realize the reality of the situation, he chose the evil side so that he could take his years of anger out on those weaker than him without consequences. However, once he realizes the truth of things...well, you'll see. Let's just say that deep down this Tucker is no more "evil" than the other one, and it took his time in the Digital World to show him that. 

Chapter Twenty

The Last Human Appears;

John Versus Pyro Tucker!

I took a step back, taking up a defensive stance. “Pyro Tucker,” I said, “I was wondering when you would show yourself. We've known that you were out there for a while now.”

“You know my name?” Pyro Tucker replied. He looked at Jeremy, “I guess the traitor told you all about me, huh? But he couldn't have told you anything too important. He's never seen me fight at my full power before.”

“I know,” Jeremy said fiercely, insulted by the suggestion that he could betray Manipulamon, as it also suggested that he had fought for Manipulamon willingly, “that Manipulamon sends you to wherever he needs extra power. I know he's sent you against Digimon of Perfect Level, putting the power of that wimpy little thing,” he pointed at the little fireball, “at Perfect Level. I also know that we all have Digimon who are at Perfect Level now. Not even you can beat all of us.”

“Eh,” said Pyro Tucker, shrugging as if it didn't really matter to him what happened, “maybe not, but the truth is Manipulamon hasn't sent me to fight a single enemy who was strong enough to be a challenge. I don't know what the point of this thing was if I don't have any fun.”

“Is that all that you care about?” Jen asked, utterly shocked by Pyro Tucker's casual attitude toward what he was doing.

“Yeah,” Pyro Tucker replied, “what else is there to care about?”

“You're sick,” Sarah told him.

“Really sick,” I agreed.

“Oh come on,” Pyro Tucker said, sounding almost annoyed with the conversation, “come off it. You're so high and mighty about something that is so ultimately pointless. Just admit it: you find all of this to be fun too. After all, why else would you be here?”

“To beat Manipulamon,” said Amanda.

“That's right,” I added, “unlike you, we care who wins this war, and we'll do anything to help.”

“How boring,” Pyro Tucker said, shaking his head disbelievingly, “choosing the side of the scattered, weak refugees over the ultra-cool, super-powerful conqueror!”

He made a fist and smiled excitedly, “I mean, yeah, you guys have actually done good. You actually made a difference in the fight. But on Manipulamon's side, you get to do whatever you want, not to mention the fact that you actually have a chance of winning.”

“We do have a chance,” I told him, “and we'll prove it.”

I've had enough of this guy already, I thought as I took my Digivice once again from my pocket, and BlackColtmon stepped up to my side, so I'm not pulling any punches. If this guy wants to side with Manipulamon, then he's no better than a Willing Digimon, and he doesn't deserve to be treated any better.

I hesitated, realizing that I'd just decided that I'd kill a human being if I had to. An evil human being, I thought, and I realized something else, something that scared me even more. I'd made the choice, and I didn't regret it at all.

Pyro Tucker saw my Digivice in my hand, “Oh, are we doing this?”

“Yes,” I said, “we are, you and me and our partners.”

I looked back at the others, “Hang back. Only join in if it looks like we really might lose. We're going to have to Digivolve a lot more before the battle for the Citadel is over. I want as many of us to be as well-rested as possible.”

“John-,” Jen began, meaning to argue.

“No,” I said, looking back over at Pyro Tucker, meeting his eyes, “this isn't a discussion.”

You guys can't join in on this one, I thought. If I have to kill this guy, I don't want you guys to have any part in it.

I passed my hand over my Crest Tags, and the Neo Crest of Friendship emerged and became a Digidisk. I inserted it into my Digiplayer, and activated my Digivice, “Initiate Digiplayer Digivolution!”

Pyro Tucker raised up his Digivice. He was wreathed in a fiery aura, which poured together into a fiery red orb that hovered just above his chest. He grabbed it in his hand and pressed it into his Digivice, pushing the activate key, “Initiate Burning Digivolution!”

“BlackColtmon, Direct Digivolve to,” my Digimon called, growing larger, armor forming around his body, his icy lance and horns growing from it, “JousterStaliamon!”

The small fireball flew forward to float just in front of its partner and swelled, becoming larger and growing arms and legs and a distinct and separate head. It formed a lean but muscular-looking masculine red, fiery body, maybe seven feet tall, with large almond-shaped orange eyes and a smiling mouth that glowed orange as well, with fingers which tapered to a point. His body seemed almost solid, but orange flames spread up his forearms, lower legs, across its chest, and from atop its head, like hair. This fire flickered wildly, but it gave off no smoke. Additional flames spread from the fire Digimon's back, forming four undulating orange wings. The flame Digimon floated across from my partner Digimon wordlessly, the heat rolling from his body scorching the ground beneath his feet.

“What Digimon is that?” Coltmon asked from behind me, sounding puzzled. I took out the Digicomp handheld and scanned the enemy. It didn't register as any one Digimon, but seemed to share data from several species of flame Digimon.

“Manipulamon,” I said, coming to a realization, “took a bunch of flame Digimon and merged than all together to make that thing. The orb that Pyro Tucker merged with his Digivice, and maybe the Digivice itself, were probably made the same way. It's why he has enough power to Digivolve to Perfect, and its probably why he doesn't talk. His brain is probably a jumbled mess, trying to sort itself out.”

“You done talking to each other?” Pyro Tucker asked from across the little clearing that we shared. “I'm starting to get annoyed. Take too much more time, and I'm gonna attack whether you're ready or not.”

That wouldn't be fun though, I thought, mocking the enemy silently. To JousterStaliamon I said, “Okay bud, go show him that there's meaning in choosing the good guys' side by showing him the power you've earned during our journey.”

“With pleasure,” JousterStaliamon replied, and he galloped forward. Ice crystals formed beneath his feet, and he stepped on them into the air, more ice crystals forming beneath each step, keeping him aloft. He moved to circle the enemy Digimon, but the enemy rose up and slid toward my Digimon through the air, slinging flames from his arms at him. They struck JousterStaliamon in the side. His ice melted, and he fell out of the air, landing hard on his side.

The enemy Digimon dropped down like a meteor, meaning to strike JousterStaliamon with the entirety of his superheated body, but JousterStaliamon rolled out of the way and rose again to his feet. He galloped away from the foe, the icy parts of his armor reforming.

JousterStaliamon turned on a dime, spinning in place on a single hoof, and called, “Icy Lance!”

His lance extended, but as it neared the enemy Digimon, it melted. It wasn't able to come anywhere close to reaching him. Pyro Tucker laughed, his hands on his hips, “Are you dumb using ice powers on Hinotamamon? He's immune to that kind of thing. He burns hot enough that he can even vaporize any water that is about to touch him, and he can burn through practically any armor, and turn into flames to get into places and stuff. He's the most versatile Digimon in the entire game world!”

“What?!” Jen exclaimed, stepping up beside me.

“You think this is a game world?” I asked Pyro Tucker.

“Yeah,” he said, as his Digimon pursued mine, “what else would it be? This place is a high tech game world that feels completely real, and we've all been asked by two of the devs to beta test the game before it's even announced. You were all approached by the weak, peace-loving dev, but I was the only player chosen by the cool conqueror dev, because he knew I'd be the only player he needed.”

“W-where do you think you are right now?” I asked my foe. My mind was racing, and my head was spinning.

“I'm in a forest near the north of the map,” he answered, looking at me like I'd stepped in something. “Well, I'm really at the gaming company place I went to after I got the email to join the beta test, hooked up to a VR machine just like you guys.”

I couldn't believe this. As JousterStaliamon shuffled his hooves, building up electricity, and kicked his fiery foe, finally doing some damage, but hurting himself at the same time, I looked pleadingly at our human opponent and said, “I don't know what you were told, but it was a lie. This place is real, and we're really here.”

“That's ridiculous,” Pyro Tucker said, laughing and waving me off. “You don't think that I'll fall for such an obvious trick, do you? I know that this place is just a really detailed game world. These monsters that we've been given to fight with, and the ones we fight against, are just advanced AI. They're NPC's. The feeling of tiredness, and the aches and pains, they're all simulated by the VR machine. It even messes with our sense of time, and makes it feel like we've been here for weeks instead of hours.”

He looked us all in the eyes, and his smile wavered, “You guys were told all of this during your introduction to the beta, like I was, right? You don't really think this place is real?”

He paused, and then his smile returned, “Oh, I get it, you're role playing. I don't really roll that way, but it explains why you guys have been playing the devoted heroes. But come on, this is a test of two players' strategies. At least acknowledge that.”

“Pyro, or whatever your name is,” I said, desperately, “this isn't a game. We were pulled into this world. Manipulamon brought you here to fight his battles so he wouldn't have to, because he wanted someone with powers like ours. I'm not sure how he managed to convince you that this was a test of a new game, but he did. It's a trick. Seriously, look at the computer games out right now. Are any of them even half as advanced as this one would have to be?”

“Well,” Pyro Tucker replied, “no, but that's why the project is so secret. The company wants to be the only one with this technology.”

There was an explosion. Hinotamamon had turned into a fireball and hit JousterStaliamon with his entire body. He'd blasted himself apart in the process, but he was already reforming, while JousterStaliamon lay there on the ground, the armor on his right side melted, struggling to rise.

“What company?” Jen asked, taking the reins of the conversation. “You had to have seen the name of it somewhere when they had you sign the End User Agreement.”

“The what?” Pyro Tucker replied, a confused look on his face. “They didn't give me one of those. And they never told me what the company was. I'll admit that that's a little weird. But it doesn't change the fact that this couldn't possibly be real.”

“It is,” I countered, fighting the urge to run over and shield my Digimon from Hinotamamon, an act which would have gotten me killed for sure, “this place is made of data, but its just as real as our world. The creatures here look different from us, but they are thinking, feeling beings like humans.”

“Ridiculous,” Pyro Tucker said dismissively, “these things don't feel anything. They're just computer data. Now you'd better hurry up and use the power from before to Digivolve your Digimon to Ultimate Level, or it's going to die.”

“JousterStaliamon doesn't have that power,” I told him. “Only Snakemon does,” I gestured at my second Digimon, who was still draped over my shoulder, asleep, “and he's too tired to use it again.”

“Bummer,” Pyro Tucker told me. “That's fine though. I'll just kill the one I've been fighting then and soak up some XP, and I'll come back for the rest of you guys later. Hinotamamon, stop messing around and finish him already!”

My Digimon was back on his feet. The flame Digimon had been pursuing him around the clearing, tossing fireballs, which my Digimon was barely managing to avoid, but at the command of his human partner, Hinotamamon stretched himself out into a stream of flames too wide for my Digimon to avoid and engulfed him. His ice melted away again, and he called out, writhing, as his armor began to burn away too.

“No!” I exclaimed. I ran toward Hinotamamon and JousterStaliamon, the consequences be damned, but in an instant, Pyro Tucker ran up to me and caught my arm, pulling me back and turning me to face him.

“Are you crazy?” he asked. “You've got another Digimon. There's no point in being knocked out of the game trying to save that one!”

“Shut up!” I roared, pulling free of his grasp and pushing him away. “That Digimon is my friend!”

I started running again, but Pyro Tucker tripped me. I cried out and jumped up, spun around, and punched Pyro Tucker in the face. He was surprised, enough that I was able to reach forward and grab him by the collar and pull him in close to me.

“Look at my Digimon,” I told him, “and tell me that he is just an unfeeling NPC in some stupid game.”

I threw Pyro Tucker onto his ass and ran for my Digimon again. He was writhing in pain, unable to escape the enemies flames. Tucker looked over at the exchange. He looked into my Digimon's eyes, and his expression turned from certainty, to confusion, and then to horror.

“H-Hinotamamon, stop!”

From behind me, Fillimon, BattleStaliamon, Mechamon, and BrauntoPhoenixmon passed me as I ran. They reached Hinotamamon, prepared to attack, just in time for Hinotamamon to stop attacking and resume his regular form. He looked back at his human partner, and he smiled. He'd done as his human friend had asked, and he wanted to know if Pyro Tucker was proud. For the first time, Pyro Tucker saw this. For the first time, he realized that his Digimon partner was alive.

JousterStaliamon collapsed and turned back into BlackColtmon, who fell immediately unconscious, his body undamaged, but still smoking. The other Digimon formed a defensive line between the small horse and the Digimon who had come so close to destroying him.

“I-I didn't, I,” Pyro Tucker stammered. He tried to stand, but he stumbled back and fell over again, landing on his hands and knees. I ignored him, and ran over to my Digimon's side, picking him up and carrying him back over to the others.

Pyro Tucker finally found his feet again. His legs were shaking, and his face was pale. He stumbled over to the nearby brush and threw up.

“I killed them,” he said, choking on the words. “I killed so many of them. And every single one of them was alive.”

Concerned for his partner, Hinotamamon shrunk back into the tiny little fireball and swooped over to him, fluttering around his head. Pyro Tucker looked up at the little creature, like he was seeing it or the first time. He looked over at me and my friends, and without another word, he turned, and he ran into the trees and disappeared, his Digimon following close behind.

“Should we go after him?” Jen asked. All eyes were on me, waiting for me to make the call. I looked down at BlackColtmon, resting in my arms. He'd come so close to dying. I wanted to chase after Pyro Tucker, hunt him down, and make him and his Digimon pay, but in the end I really believed that he hadn't known what he was doing, and none of us had been killed. My Digimon would recover. So I put my anger out of mind.

“No,” I told them, “let him go. We have more important things to deal with.”

I turned toward the gate into the Citadel, “Hey in there, open up! There are no more enemies at the gate.”

After a few moments, the huge metal doors slid open, and I led my friends inside. I was shaken, but not because of the fight. I was shaken because I'd decided to kill Pyro Tucker back at the start of the fight, before I'd realized that he'd been tricked, and even now, I realized that if I had to kill him to save my friends, even knowing what I knew, I'd still do it.

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