Chapter 89: Landslide

Seraphimon

Black Rose Mountains

12 Hours

 

“Apollomon! Apollomon, where are you, damn it?!” I landed clumsily on a peak’s edge. My ten golden wings were drooped with exhaustion from the latest wasted hour of searching for Apollomon. Several of my feathers were still badly singed from Hydramon’s attack. “Damn it…where…could he be?!” I looked toward the sky; the dark clouds were as thick as ever, and no amount of sunlight shone through…that is, if it were daytime. I’m pretty sure it is, though…Not that that matters. I need to find Apollomon! “Oh, Apollomon…where did you go?”

“Seraphimon, is that you?”

“…You’ve got to be kidding me…” I looked down and saw Apollomon walking with Dianamon and BlackGaomon alongside one of the many cliffs littered throughout the area. “Apollomon…WHERE ARE THE OTHERS?!” I flew down and landed in front of the Mega Digimon. “WHERE ARE THEY?!”

“Seraphimon…I felt it best that we separate into smaller groups for the time being,” Apollomon said. I stared in silence at my old friend.

“…You…actually thought that would be a good idea?! Do you not remember how strong these Digimon are, Apollomon?! Do you not care for the well-being of your comrades?!”

“…Of course I do, Seraphimon, but I just thought it would be better for us to be in smaller groups for mobility and to decrease our chances of detection.”

“You know damn well that won’t make the slightest difference! You know who we’re dealing with, Apollomon! You know your friends will be found, damn it! What will you do then? You can’t protect them if you’re far away from them like this! Or do you just care more for the Digimon members of your group than you do the Humans?”

“Seraphimon, for fuck’s sake, calm down,” Apollomon said. “I care about all of my comrades equally, even more so than I do myself.”

“…You’ve changed, Apollomon,” I sighed. “You…you used to be the best at figuring these kinds of things out…”

“I’m not the one who changed,” Apollomon said. “The one who changed…is you.”

“Wha—”

“Lilithmon’s death…Ophanimon’s betrayal…they changed you, Seraphimon, and not for the better. You are supposed to be an Angel Digimon, and yet you think of nothing more than bloodshed, or rather, how you can get yourself involved in it.” A small chill ran up my spine that made my ten wings twitch restlessly.

“Apollomon, I…how did you…know?”

“When you formed that group, the Celestial Vanguard…who was the only one who you knew beforehand? Who was your best friend all those years ago? Seraphimon…we’ve been friends long enough for me to know exactly how it is you’re feeling. You cannot…allow yourself to be consumed by your wrath. What happened with Ophanimon was not your fault, and there isn’t a single person who thinks that it was. There was nothing anybody could’ve done to help her. It’s all in the past now, and there’s nothing to be done about it. For now, we have to deal with what’s happening now in the present, and not what happened in the past, or even what will happen in the future.”

“Worrying about our futures…can come after making sure there is a future to worry about…right? Isn’t that what you always used to say?” Apollomon nodded. “But, Apollomon…what if…what if I’ve already been consumed by my rage?”

“…All of us will just have to press onwards. If it ever becomes too much for you to handle…you can quit, you know. With or without you…Lachesis will continue to fight against the darkness spread by Lilithmon.” I stared blankly at Apollomon for the longest time before sighing.

“If you are going to fight against Lilithmon…then I am going with you,” I said.

“…Glad to have you with us, old friend,” Apollomon said, holding out his hand. I held out mine as well when a high-pitched shriek pierced the air. The four of us looked up and saw a large Digimon flying around in circles in the dark, cloudy sky. “Damn it, they’ve found us so soon?!”

“Apollomon and Seraphimon! I have been given orders from Lilithmon!” Horusmon shouted. “I have been ordered to take the both of you directly to Lilithmon! If you do not resist, I will not harm your two friends down there!”

“N—no way…What should we do, Apollomon?” BlackGaomon asked.

“We fight, obviously,” Apollomon said. “Arrow of Apollo!” Apollomon unleashed flaming arrows from his hands at the flying Digimon, all of which missed.

“…I should’ve known you’d refuse,” Horusmon said. “Obviously, you don’t trust me…and you were correct in not doing so! I am impressed, Apollomon!”

“Horusmon, come down here and fight us!” I yelled.

“If you didn’t fall for my trick, what makes you think I’ll fall for yours?!” Horusmon shrieked. “Ebon Flames of Purgatory!” Horusmon struck the side of a cliff with his attack, creating a massive explosion that sent huge boulders raining down on us. It all seemed happen instantaneously; I looked up just in time to see the explosion before the boulders came crashing down on all of us and I blacked out.

Thomas Kasuto

Saias’s Villa

Living Room

 

“Apollomon, Dianamon, and BlackGaomon haven’t made it back yet?!” Statuedramon exclaimed.

“I am afraid dey have not,” Pheragas said, shaking his bald head. “Looking back, it vas probably not a good idea for all of us to split vays like dis…”

“C’mon, now; this is Apollomon and Dianamon you’re talking about,” Luna said. “The two of them are both Mega level Digimon; I’m sure they’ll be okay.”

“And there’s also Seraphimon too, mommy,” Chrysania chimed in. “He’s probably just as powerful as Mister Apollomon, so they’ll all be really okay!”

“Still, it worries me that they’ve been gone this long without returning,” I said, exchanging glances with Pheragas.

“…Thomas, listen to me for a moment,” Pheragas said. “Before we parted vays vith Apollomon, he told me something important about de Celestial Vanguard.”

“What did he say?” Zelda asked.

“One of dem…might still be alive.”

“Digimon have pretty long lifespans; isn’t it possible that all of them are alive?” Statuedramon asked.

“Perhaps…but Apollomon knows not dare locations…Oder dan dis one, dat is.”

“Who is it?” I asked.

“His name is Neptunemon,” Luna said. “There’ve been rumors of a Digimon matching Neptunemon’s description being sighted heading toward Nymphaea Province about fifty years ago.”

“Fifty years?! How does that help us?!” Statuedramon asked.

“According to Seraphimon and Apollomon, Neptunemon isn’t the sort of guy to travel around a lot; he just picks a spot and sticks with it for a few decades.”

“So…there’s a chance that he may still be there?” I asked.

“I tink it may be de only chance ve have,” Pheragas said.

“…All right. I’ll be going then,” I said, turning to leave.

“What, so soon?” Luna asked. “Don’t you want to…I don’t know…rest up a little bit? You just got back, after all…”

“I don’t have time to rest, what with everything that’s been going on,” I said. “Zelda, Statuedramon, you two can come with me if you’d like, but I’d rather you—”

“Of course I’m going with you!” Zelda said. “Tommy, you’re always looking out for me; please let me do the same for you!”

“And you’ll need my shield in case you run into any of those Digimon,” Statuedramon added. “Goddess knows you’re no good without me around!”

“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Statch,” I said.

Statuedramon laughed. “I’m ready to go whenever you are, Thomas,” he said.

I looked over at Zelda, who nodded in agreement with the Rookie. “All right,” I said. “Let’s go, then.”