Chapter 93: Elegy of Linoan

Thomas Kasuto

Nymphaea Province

 

“We…we actually got one of them,” Statuedramon said.

“Yes…And now…only eleven remain,” I said. “And with one gone, their power diminishes.”

“So you think,” said a celestial and feminine voice.

I turned around and saw a pair of glowing, golden eyes staring down at us from atop an icy slope.

“The fact that Belphemon has been killed…does not slow our plans down in the slightest,” Lupinemon said. “Nor does said fact weaken us.”

“Step back, beast!” Gallantmon said, pointing his lance at threateningly Lupinemon.

“You really want to know something interesting?” Lupinemon asked. “Belphemon…was actually the weakest of us. Next time you decide to engage us in combat…it will not be so easy, even with one of our number deceased.”

“Next time? You mean…you aren’t going to fight us?” Statuedramon asked.

“Here, in this song, is gathered the emotions stirred by Arcadia’s bloody history of greed and hatred,” Lupinemon sang, ignoring Statuedramon. “‘Twas the same history that claimed this girl’s life in the midst of the futile war. Now, listen to her sad elegy…the Elegy of Linoan…” Lupinemon sat down, wailing a mournful and eerie, yet entrancing wolf’s howl at the cloud-covered sky. Her singing voice was lovely, but this howling was absolutely mesmerizing. In a moment, Lupinemon was hidden from sight by a pure white gleam of light, and where she had stood was now Linoan.

“That was you in that village?!” Statuedramon exclaimed.

“It seems that this poor child lost her life in that war, year 157,” Linoan said, walking down the slope toward us. The voice of the Human and the Digimon were identical. “And now…she and I are one and the same. Her spirit eternally lies within me…and I am able to change my shape to match hers whenever I desire.”

“What do you want with us?” I asked.

“I heard from DeathPhantomon that you escaped SkullCaliphmon’s castle. How, may I ask?” Ignoring her, I drew my sword and pointed it at her chest. “…You surprise me, Human. You would really turn your weapon on me, even in this form? Would you really make this poor girl suffer another death she did not deserve?”

“Your outer form is unimportant. It is who you are on the inside that defines who you truly are, and not a misperception of malice.”

“…Inside?”

“If you’d hold still so I can cut you open, I’d be happy to show you exactly what I mean!” I swung my blade at the woman, but missed when she jumped out of the way in a deft manner that an ordinary Human could not have done. I had to remind myself that she was still a Digimon.

“You forget…even in this form, I still have the strength of a Mega level Digimon!” Linoan said. Beneath her bare feet, cracks began to form in the ice, which went unnoticed by her. I smiled.

“It seems that you have forgotten something as well,” I said. “Your Human form may look small and petite…but that is all that has changed. Your Human form of Linoan seems to weigh exactly the same amount as your Digimon form of Lupinemon.” Linoan looked down and noticed the rather large cracks she caused to form in the ice beneath her.

“What…do you mean?” Slowly, she stepped away from the cracked ice, but as soon as she set her foot down, more cracks began to appear. A look of horror and realization appeared on her usually emotionless face.

“I saw it when we were in Primrose Village; Zelda and Statuedramon did not produce footprints in that dirt road, but you did. Linoan, or Lupinemon, or whatever the hell you want to call yourself…you are incapable of compressing your weight when you change shape, and in a place like this, atop ice that could split open at any given moment…there isn’t a greater weakness to have for a shapeshifter to have than the inability to change even one trivial thing about themselves.” A surge of rage flashed in her eyes; she ran at me, but doing so caused the ice she stood on to crack wide open. Linoan fell into the icy crevasse, plunging deeper and deeper until she would eventually hit the saltwater of the ocean. I looked down the icy crevasse. The ocean surface couldn’t even be seen, and the ice looked thinner where Linoan had stood when compared to the ice we stood on.

“…Huh…so…her being fat saved our lives,” Statuedramon said.

“I just explained it, Statch; she wasn’t actually fat. She just weighed as much as her Digimon form.”

“But…she fell through the ice! And it wasn’t exactly thin, either…” Statuedramon looked down the crevasse. “Well, anyway, she got just what she deserved for making us fall down a pitfall into SkullCaliphmon’s castle like that!”

“Let’s go back to the villa, shall we?” Zelda asked, clutching Hanna’s spear close to her chest. “We need to tell Pheragas that we managed to defeat one of Lilithmon’s allies!”

“Two, if you include Lupinemon!” Statch added. 

“No, she wouldn’t have died so easily,” I said. “It’ll take more than falling into a near-freezing ocean to kill one of them.”

“Well, I bet that at least did some damage to her! Landing in water from that high up is like landing on bricks!”

“…About going back to the villa…there’s something I want to do first,” I said.

“Thomas, I wanna go home!” Statuedramon whined. “C’mon, let’s get out of this frozen hellhole!”

“Where do you want to go?” Zelda asked.

“There’s something I need to go do in Yew. I don’t know if I’ll find what I’m looking for, but I figure it’s better than sitting at home and waiting for Apollomon to come back.”

“Oh, all right, I’ll go with you,” Statch sighed.

Yew

3 Days

 

“…This is where you wanted to go?” Statuedramon sneered. People were walking around us, not even seeming to notice our presence. All the buildings in sight were intact, save for the one we stood before.

“There’s someone that’s been on my mind for a while now,” I replied. Ahead of us lay what was left of Braig’s old laboratory. “I figure now is the best chance to try and find him, and since Braig’s lab was frozen over by IceDevimon last month, it seems the only place he would be is in one of these neighboring abandoned buildings.”

“Who are you looking for?” Zelda asked.

“…His name was Andromon. They had attempted to turn him into a Bio Hybrid, but they failed, and he was stuck in the Digimon form for the rest of his life. I haven’t seen him since he and Flamedramon helped us escape from Adrian and Abigail, and I figured that since we’re all fighting for our lives, I would try to convince him to help us.”

“What if he isn’t here?” she asked.

“I don’t know where else he would be; I didn’t know him too well. If he isn’t here, we’ll go home.” In front of me was a building resembling a small warehouse, completely gray in color. I looked to my right, at Braig’s old laboratory, still encased in the ice that showed no signs of melting anytime soon. I sighed and opened the door to the warehouse. After ensuring there was nobody immediately in sight, I walked in first, followed by Statuedramon and Zelda. The entire building was dark, with only a few windows allowing sunlight to shine through. After hearing the sound of voices, I came to a stop.

“What is it?” Statch asked.

“…I heard someone,” I whispered. “…Two people…in a conversation…” I quietly walked over to where the two voices were speaking, hiding behind a door.

“…Why won’t you join us?” the first voice asked.

Sounds like…Myotismon! I motioned for Statch and Zelda to keep quiet.

“I…have grown weary of mindlessly serving others…” another voice replied.

“Now that’s a good trick, seeing as you do not experience true emotions,” Myotismon said. “You are a hollow shell of a Digimon, but an exceptionally powerful shell at that. Andromon, it would do us great service to have you join our ranks.”

“…And? I would be receiving something in return for my services, would I not?” Andromon asked.

“What do you mean?! You aren’t Human; you aren’t Digimon; what could you possibly need?! You have no emotions, nor have you a mind of your own with which to make decisions!” Myotismon’s voice was beginning to sound impatient. “Honestly, if we did give you something, what would you do with it?!” Andromon said nothing. “You see?! You only want something in return for helping others because you think it will make you real. But you are not real…you’re a sham, a worthless machine, unlike our ally, Machinedramon!”

“Machinedramon…is a mechanical Digimon?” Andromon asked.

…How can he not tell from the name?!

“Yes, but unlike you, he is real,” Myotismon said. “Machinedramon possess true emotions…unlike you!”

“…Why…do you keep saying that?” Andromon asked. “Repeat the same words over and over, you do, but why?”

“Why? Does it hurt your ‘feelings?’ Does that make you want to cry?” Myotismon asked. “More pain for you means more fun for me!”

“…You would…attack me?”

“What?! No! Whatever gave you that idea?!”

“…I thought so…You…do not believe yourself of being strong enough to defeat me,” Andromon said. “And so, strong enough to beat me, you are not—”

“Crimson Lightning!” A flash of red was all I saw, and the sound of metal hitting the floor was all I heard. “Do not misunderstand, Andromon; I will not kill you. You see…we may still have a use for you, after all. Do you…perhaps…need more convincing?”

Okay, I’m done hiding! Nobody threatens MY friends and gets away with it! I ran out of the shadows, quietly and unnoticed, and struck Myotismon in the back of his right shoulder with my blade. Myotismon turned his head around, glaring at me.

“You again…” Myotismon grabbed the tip of my sword that protruded from his chest and pushed it out his back. “I am not in the mood to fight you three again!”

“Well, I’m more than ready to fight you,” I said. “What better way to celebrate Belphemon’s death than by murdering one of his allies?”

“…Belphemon? He’s dead?” I said nothing, and smirked at the Ultimate Digimon. “Okay…have it your way.” Myotismon waved his hand in the air, and a thin wall of gold-colored flames leaped up from the floor between us. “If it were any other time, I’d be more than happy to fight, but now, I must take my leave of you!” A blast of red lightning struck the wall, and Myotismon flew out, leaving his wall of flames to extinguish upon his exit.

“Thomas…encountered you in a while, have I not,” Andromon said, walking up to me. “You’ve been well, I trust?”

“Andromon, what happened to you?” I asked. “The last time I saw you, you and Flamedramon were fighting off the Bio Hybrids, and I haven’t seen you since!”

“Major events…occur, did they not,” Andromon said. “Defeated the Bio Hybrids with ease, we did, and afterwards, Flamedramon departed for areas unknown to me. I remained here, for I have a place none better to go to after the laboratory was encased in ice.”

“…Well, I’m glad you’re okay,” I said. “Andromon, I’ve got a favor to ask of you—”

“Wish to request my aid, do you?” I nodded. “And my aid you shall have…most likely.”

“Most likely? What do you mean?”

“Not sure, I am…but say this, I will,” Andromon said. “Seek out Wisemon, you should. If you truly wish to defeat those Digimon, Wisemon will know of a way.”

“Wisemon…do you know where he lives?”

“…Right next door. How else would I know about him?”

“Right…well…I’ll go pay Wisemon a visit, then,” I said. “Is there…anything I should know about him before I go to see him?”

“…Very thorough in his explanations, he either is or is not,” Andromon said. “Depending on the question you ask…you may get more than what you needed…or not enough.”

“Okay…well, I’ll just…go visit him, then…” I turned to look behind me; Zelda and Statuedramon both nodded, though Zelda did so more happily and with a smile, as opposed to Statuedramon, who did so more reluctantly.