Will reply to the previous posts later. For now, a snippet.
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XxXXxX
Growmon was nearly blinded by pain. It was hard to even describe and he had nothing to compare it to.
He was sure how a human would have felt it. He was vaguely aware of the concepts of bones and nervous systems, but he had no such thing himself. He didnÆt know how a human would have felt the same wound, or how it would have felt to have flesh, muscle, and bone cut through.
Maybe it would have hurt even more than this.
Maybe it would have been nothing in comparison.
He didnÆt know.
All he knew was that he didnÆt need a nervous system to transmit information to his æbrainÆùor rather, as a completely digital life forms, every part of his body was capable of transmitting such information.
He felt the pain over every inch of the wound. For a few extraordinarily long moments, he even felt the other side of his arms, the side that had been severed, still transmitting data easily through the equally digital air that separated him from them.
It was almost a relief when they exploded into data, simply because it nearly halved the pain. He loaded the data almost unconsciously, distantly remembering the value of data, but it did nothing to heal the wound.
He couldnÆt focus, couldnÆt see, couldnÆt even thinkù
So he fell right into AndromonÆs trap.
If he had been in a more rational state of mind, he would have realized the truth. He would have figured out that while the loss of his arms was horrible and crippling, heÆd accomplished his intended goal and survived an attack that could have been lethal. HeÆd have realized that while the loss might have cost him the battle, it had not cost him the war.
HeÆd have realized that he needed to fall back and return later.
By losing his arms, his TamerÆs plan would have fallen apartùbut so what?
Plans did that sometimes.
Even he knew that.
Moreover, there would be other plans and other days. After heÆd healed, he could have returned to combat Andromon another day. He might be too late to prevent Andromon from telling the TamerÆs of his existence, but if he had thought about it rationally, heÆd have realized Andromon didnÆt know anything. Not even his name.
Any following attacks on the Perfect level would be more difficultùheÆd be ready, prepared, and likely have help.
But difficult was not the same as impossible.
He could wait days, weeks, even months if need be, biding his time in the secluded regions of the Digital World, preying on Digimon that wouldnÆt be missed, getting stronger all the while.
If he hadnÆt been blinded by his defeat, he would have realized that heÆd fought well today. This fight had been closeùif things had been different, it could have been Andromon who lost.
HeÆd fought equal to a Perfect today.
If he were to grow even further in strength, the next time they fought, victory would be his for the taking.
If he was calm, if he wasnÆt in so much pain, if his arms hadnÆt been lost, if defeat hadnÆt seemed so certainà
He might have realized all of that.
But here and now, he was engulfed in pain that seemed without end and a defeat which seemed unassailable.
When Andromon, almost as weakened and injured as Growmon himself, stepped forward, moving to end the fight quickly before his opponent could recover or realize the damage heÆd caused his opponent, Growmon didnÆt even see him, such was his pain.
But that had been the trap.
When Growmon first moved to defend himself, Andromon realized a lethal blow was impossible.
He hadnÆt even bothered aiming for one, after that acknowledgement.
The simple truth of battle was that half of it was fought in the mind.
The winner of a fight wasnÆt necessarily the stronger fighter. A more powerful opponent could be brought down by any number of things.
A moment of distraction or hesitance.
A flash of uncertainty or fear.
Or perhaps, just a great deal of pain.
If something hurts enough, then most people will stop. Even if itÆs not lethal, even if itÆs not even cripplingùif it hurts enough, it can make someone stop.
It was easy to say that one could fight on, even if they lost both their arms, or legs, or an eye.
Actually doing so, however, is another matter.
Even for those who could ignore the pain, their ability to act affectively would naturally plummet.
Andromon didnÆt need an attack that killed in a single blow.
If his opponent couldnÆt defend himself against the following attack, a death in two blows was fine, too.
And Growmon couldnÆt defend himself in his state.
He didnÆt even acknowledge the attack at all.
Butà
ôSpiral Sword!ö
That was okay.
It was okay that Growmon wasnÆt in his right mind.
It was okay that he was distracted and lost in his own pain.
It was okay that he couldnÆt respond to the attack on his own.
Because it didnÆt matter.
Because there was something that Andromon didnÆt know when he began to fight Growmon.
He was out numbered.
So it was okay that Growmon raised no defense.
He didnÆt need to.
XxXXxX
ôCard Slash! Meramon!ö
XxXXxX
_________________________________________________________________
XxXXxX
Growmon was nearly blinded by pain. It was hard to even describe and he had nothing to compare it to.
He was sure how a human would have felt it. He was vaguely aware of the concepts of bones and nervous systems, but he had no such thing himself. He didnÆt know how a human would have felt the same wound, or how it would have felt to have flesh, muscle, and bone cut through.
Maybe it would have hurt even more than this.
Maybe it would have been nothing in comparison.
He didnÆt know.
All he knew was that he didnÆt need a nervous system to transmit information to his æbrainÆùor rather, as a completely digital life forms, every part of his body was capable of transmitting such information.
He felt the pain over every inch of the wound. For a few extraordinarily long moments, he even felt the other side of his arms, the side that had been severed, still transmitting data easily through the equally digital air that separated him from them.
It was almost a relief when they exploded into data, simply because it nearly halved the pain. He loaded the data almost unconsciously, distantly remembering the value of data, but it did nothing to heal the wound.
He couldnÆt focus, couldnÆt see, couldnÆt even thinkù
So he fell right into AndromonÆs trap.
If he had been in a more rational state of mind, he would have realized the truth. He would have figured out that while the loss of his arms was horrible and crippling, heÆd accomplished his intended goal and survived an attack that could have been lethal. HeÆd have realized that while the loss might have cost him the battle, it had not cost him the war.
HeÆd have realized that he needed to fall back and return later.
By losing his arms, his TamerÆs plan would have fallen apartùbut so what?
Plans did that sometimes.
Even he knew that.
Moreover, there would be other plans and other days. After heÆd healed, he could have returned to combat Andromon another day. He might be too late to prevent Andromon from telling the TamerÆs of his existence, but if he had thought about it rationally, heÆd have realized Andromon didnÆt know anything. Not even his name.
Any following attacks on the Perfect level would be more difficultùheÆd be ready, prepared, and likely have help.
But difficult was not the same as impossible.
He could wait days, weeks, even months if need be, biding his time in the secluded regions of the Digital World, preying on Digimon that wouldnÆt be missed, getting stronger all the while.
If he hadnÆt been blinded by his defeat, he would have realized that heÆd fought well today. This fight had been closeùif things had been different, it could have been Andromon who lost.
HeÆd fought equal to a Perfect today.
If he were to grow even further in strength, the next time they fought, victory would be his for the taking.
If he was calm, if he wasnÆt in so much pain, if his arms hadnÆt been lost, if defeat hadnÆt seemed so certainà
He might have realized all of that.
But here and now, he was engulfed in pain that seemed without end and a defeat which seemed unassailable.
When Andromon, almost as weakened and injured as Growmon himself, stepped forward, moving to end the fight quickly before his opponent could recover or realize the damage heÆd caused his opponent, Growmon didnÆt even see him, such was his pain.
But that had been the trap.
When Growmon first moved to defend himself, Andromon realized a lethal blow was impossible.
He hadnÆt even bothered aiming for one, after that acknowledgement.
The simple truth of battle was that half of it was fought in the mind.
The winner of a fight wasnÆt necessarily the stronger fighter. A more powerful opponent could be brought down by any number of things.
A moment of distraction or hesitance.
A flash of uncertainty or fear.
Or perhaps, just a great deal of pain.
If something hurts enough, then most people will stop. Even if itÆs not lethal, even if itÆs not even cripplingùif it hurts enough, it can make someone stop.
It was easy to say that one could fight on, even if they lost both their arms, or legs, or an eye.
Actually doing so, however, is another matter.
Even for those who could ignore the pain, their ability to act affectively would naturally plummet.
Andromon didnÆt need an attack that killed in a single blow.
If his opponent couldnÆt defend himself against the following attack, a death in two blows was fine, too.
And Growmon couldnÆt defend himself in his state.
He didnÆt even acknowledge the attack at all.
Butà
ôSpiral Sword!ö
That was okay.
It was okay that Growmon wasnÆt in his right mind.
It was okay that he was distracted and lost in his own pain.
It was okay that he couldnÆt respond to the attack on his own.
Because it didnÆt matter.
Because there was something that Andromon didnÆt know when he began to fight Growmon.
He was out numbered.
So it was okay that Growmon raised no defense.
He didnÆt need to.
XxXXxX
ôCard Slash! Meramon!ö
XxXXxX
