“Now, now. Is that any way to greet an old friend?†The new Digimon said.
LadyDevimon paused, seeming to consider the question as if it held tremendous weight.
“Are you a friend?†She asked.
Astamon gave a ghost of a smile, seeming to approve of the inquiry.
“Hm…I wonder?†He asked himself. “The situation we’re in is rather complex, but…let us say I might be you friend?â€
“…Depending on…what, exactly?â€
“The next hour or so, I imagine.†Astamon sighed, sounding truly exhausted. “Come with me.â€
LadyDevimon stood her ground.
“Why?â€
“Because GrandDracumon wishes it.†Astamon said, turning and walking away, as if expecting them to follow.
Takato looked at his partner, who looked as though those four words had drained all the life out of her. Her already pale face had turned sickly and her body shook as if she were about to be ill. Her widened eyes gazed at Astamon’s slowly retreating back, fear, panic and despair warring for control within them.
Surprisingly, Takato felt himself calm at the sight. No, he forced himself to calm down, even though seeing his partner like this was making his heart race like a rabbit’s. LadyDevimon was terrified of whoever this GrandDracumon was and if he could use as Digimon as strong as he was beginning to suspect Astamon was as a delivery boy…well, it didn’t bode well for their continued safety.
Which is why, more than anything else, one of them had to stay calm and think this through.
At times like this, though…he really wished he hadn’t come to the Digital World alone.
“Before we follow you, can I talk to you for a moment?†He spoke, stopping Astamon in his tracks. The Digimon looked over his shoulder at him; a simple, wordless acknowledgement. “Would I be correct in stating that GrandDracumon is the cause of the weirdness in this town?â€
“Yes,†Astamon said bluntly, surprising Takato a bit with the honest answer.
“We brought several friends with us to this town—“
“Newcomers are taken quickly, generally speaking—before they can notice anything is wrong. The group with the Gottsumon has already been, let us say, adjusted to fit this town.†Astamon scowled.
“You don’t seem pleased with the prospect.†Takato noted, seeing a chance.
“As one who shares their fate, I empathize—but whether I am pleased by it or not no longer matters. Just as it will soon no longer matter to you.â€
“Why? If neither of us approves of this, maybe we can work together to—“
“That’s not possible, Takato,†LadyDevimon whispered. “Not for him. Not anymore. GrandDracumon didn’t leave him that much.â€
Takato put the pieces together. The weirdness in town, Astamon, newcomers being taken…
It seemed his guesses weren’t that far off after all.
“I…see.†He said, discarding most of the plans he actually considered good. “But you do have your own will, though, right? Could you sneak us in so we could attack him? Or turn the other way while we run?â€
Astamon laughed a bit bitterly.
“Were I so lucky. He lets me retain my will only as a way to humiliate me and make me sufferer. I’m bound to obey both the letter and spirit of his commands, or else I’d have betrayed him already. He’s learnt from his past mistakes.†The Demon smiled at LadyDevimon—a real smile, as if he were reminiscing about old times.
Takato looked down at the ground, all but feeling the options slipping through his fingers. The only choice he had left were…
“Then…what if we fought you?†He asked.
A moment later, he blinked.
If his life was a movie, someone must have just skipped a scene. Where before, Astamon had been far down the alleyway, now the Demon stood behind him, one inhumanly strong arm around his neck. He couldn’t see the other, but from the way his hair was brushing against something smooth and cold, he was pretty sure Astamon was holding his gun to his head.
He felt like his heart was in his throat and the only reason he wasn’t shaking was that he was scared to move.
Apparently he wasn’t the only one who’d missed what had happened, though—LadyDevimon, who had been staring at where Astamon had been, swung around, eyes widened in fear again; fear for him.
“Takato!†She said, almost taking an instinctive step forward before seeming to think better of it and restraining herself.
“To answer your question, it would not end well for you.†Astamon said, sounding like he honestly regretted that.
Takato waited for his heart to return to its proper position, swallowing in a way he hoped wasn’t audible and tried to find both his spine and voice box.
“What was that?†He asked. “Teleportation? An illusion? Speed? Time control?â€
All bad options, but in different ways and for different reasons. If he knew which one it was, maybe he could come up with something—
“The latter.â€
“Shit,†He swore. If it had been teleportation, Astamon would probably have been limited to places he knew about, so they might have been able to hide. Unless the entire town was an illusion, they could have relied on what they’d known. Even huge speed might have been possible to deal with, unless Astamon could fly that fast with those small wings.
But he was struggling to come up with a response to being beat down before he could react.
He swallowed.
“Then what if LadyDevimon flew off while you were busy holding me?†He asked.
He couldn’t see Astamon’s eyes, but he was pretty sure they’d just been rolled.
“I assure you, I didn’t get this far by being unable to read people. We both know that she’d no more leave you behind then you would abandon her.â€
Damn it. They did both know that. Worse, pretty much any plan he could think of would be useless so long as he was held hostage.
He tried to think of another option, but only one came to mind—and it really wasn’t a good one. In fact, it was literally suicidal.
Slowly, not wanting to set Astamon off—at least not yet—he lifted a hand to the barrel of the gun. When Astamon didn’t immediately shake him off—probably interested in seeing what he was doing—he ran his fingers down the length of the weapon, he found Astamon’s hand and, more importantly, the finger around the trigger. He placed two of his own fingers on it.
“Then what if I pull this trigger and kill myself. You’d have no hostage and LadyDevimon would have no reason to stay. If she flew away, could you catch her?â€
There was a beat of stunned silence—and then Astamon began to laugh. Loudly and joyously, he laughed as if this was the best joke he’d ever heard.
“Takato,†LadyDevimon hissed, a terror that dwarfed even that of when she’d been heard GrandDracumon’s name mixing with a rage he’d never seen in her before. “Are you insane? Don’t you even think about it? I can’t believe you’d even consider—“
“It could work,†Astamon interrupted, mirth in his voice. “It could work. In this form, Sloth is very, very limited and I might lose a second or two untangling you headless corpse from my gun. LadyDevimon can fly far, far faster than I can—if she ran the instant I fired, I might not be able to catch her, even if I tried. And if I did, without any easy way to restrain her, I might kill her in the battle. I have orders to take you, but also to protect myself, you see. I can’t say I’d enjoy killing either of you, but considering the circumstances, I rather think it’d be a mercy.â€
Takato licked his lips, scared—terrified, honestly—but considering it. He didn’t want to die; he wanted to find Guilmon, he wanted to go home to his friends and family, he wanted to have a future. But this wasn’t about what he wanted, it was what he didn’t want. He didn’t want LadyDevimon to be enslaved by some monster, left a puppet in some bastard’s hands.
But was there another way? There probably was, but he couldn’t see it—most of his ideas had been sealed the moment Astamon had put a gun to his head. They could both be enslaved here or he could die and LadyDevimon might escape. Wasn’t that worth it?
He looked at his partner, who’d waited hopelessly for so long.
Yes. It was worth it. She wasn’t alone—she still had that person she was trying to find. And she was strong; she wasn’t Plotmon anymore. She could take care of herself.
His breathing slowed as he silently counted down to his last breath. Three, two, one—
“Takato, no! Don’t you do this, not for me! I-I’ll—I’ll go with Astamon if you do!â€
He paused.
“…You stupid bitch,†Astamon sighed, sounding exhausted again. “Do you even realize what is being given to you? How many would have killed for the chance you’re throwing away? You’re being given a chance to escape from GrandDracumon and you aren’t even grateful!â€
“I don’t want to be saved if the cost would be this high. I’d rather die.†She said.
“Yes! Wonderful! Death is a good option, all things considered! That’s what we’re trying to give you—a chance at escape or, failing that, of death! Either way, a way out of here! I swear, she’s always been like this.†Astamon said, directing the last part at him. “Unbelievable, isn’t it?â€
“You said that no matter what happened, we’d deal with it together, Takato!†LadyDevimon snarled, ignoring Astamon entirely as her fear was swallowed up by anger.
Takato exhaled slowly and dropped his hand.
“I did,†He admitted. “She means it. She really will turn herself in. And that was the last card I had to play.â€
“Then I will take you to GrandDracumon and he will break you, tear away everything you are, and leave behind only a toy for his amusement.†Astamon stated flatly, making him wince.
“LadyDevimon, are you sure about this. I can get you out of here,†He promised.
“I don’t want to leave if it means doing without you.â€
“Then let’s go,†Astamon said bitterly. “I’ll take you to him, you insufferable, ungrateful bitch from hell.â€