The Golden Goddess

Chapter 7

Tales of Digimon

Rika groaned and immediately put her hand to her chest. The pain caused her body to convulse and siezed maker her let out a shriek, before curling up into a small whimper. Renamon instantly tried to give her more energy, but found that she could not without breaking them from Sakuyamon. Renamon didn't know what to do as Rika tossed and turned inside of her. She longed to help, but knew it was impossible. Rika stirred as the pain rose.

Gonnah watched Sakuyamon shutter as she ate slowly, wondering exactly what was going on. As far as Renamon had told him, Rika was still asleep and in massive amounts of pain. Sakuyamon's features had just recently changed, and it appeared as if the girl had awakened based on the moans.

Gonnah hands fidgeted slightly. Now that she was awake, the mayor and everybody else would want to meet with her. He really didn't like the idea, especially after yesterday. The fact that she infused her energy into Sanshha gave a lot of people a good amount of respect for her, while many of the leaders all of a sudden viewed her in new eyes. She was no longer a gold mine, her value had just increased to owning nuclear weapons. There was no doubt about it; if she could heal then the stories would have to be true.

Gonnah heard Rika groan from inside her sphere. "Ahhhhh! I'm going to kill that stupid clown!" she snapped. Gonnah chuckled slightly at her outburst.

"Would taking some painkillers help? I don't have many, but I do have a few," Gonnah offered.

He watched as Sakuyamon glanced over at him, "I don't think it would help," Renamon tried to say, but Gonnah could only read her lips with Rika letting out another yell of frustration and pain.

"Gonnah, your needed up here!" Senna called out to his husband. The Indian man took one last glance at Sakuyamon before walking up front, wishing he could do something more to help.

Rika breathed heavily as her wound burned, but the pain finally started to become manageable before a spike of pain shot through her chest. "I hate this stupid pain!" Rika yelped, trying to find some distraction from her calamity. Her heavy breathing resumed, but this time there was no spike of death afterwards. Her breathing became slower and slower, allowing her to manage the pain better, but did nothing for the amount of it.

Gonnah waited as the mayor finished speaking. He listened closely, but already knew the answer to the questions. "You see, there is great need for her to know who I am. If she does not, it will lead to disaster."

"I understand, but you'll just have to wait a little while," Gonnah spoke to him.

One of the Brahmin behind the mayor scoffed. "This is preposterous, surely she can spare a few minutes to talk so that we may get to understand and know her. Why is it that you hold her to yourself? Are you keeping her so that you can exploit her healing abilities?" he demanded of him, with the other men around him agreeing.

Senna was sitting down at the time, but after hearing her husband slandered, she stood slowly before walking over to their guests. Her voice held a cold anger and her stature held firm. "Do you forget who you are?" Her voice chilled the air so that her breath appeared as if it breathed mist. "You are servants of our God. Do not forget that, not now, not ever again." Her snarl showed her annoyance at them. "You know that this sort of thing does not happen by chance. Our God has brought her to us for some reason to help us."

"Exactly, which is all the more reason we need to meet with her."

"Silence, you incompetent pig!" The whole group was taken back by her comment. "As a digimon, she demands your respect. As a digimon, whose very purpose is to be a messenger from God, you have no right to command her in any respect! She will come to you if she feels that you are worthy. She is the goddess, a digimon. She is not some tool of yours." Senna voice cut any defiance right out of the air.

There was a silence held for a minute, before a small shuffling was heard and small 'thunk' as metal hit wood. Another small 'thunk,' and a third as Sakuyamon walked through the doorway. The mayor smiled, thinking he won against Gonna and his wife. "Ah, I'm glad to see you our well. I am the mayor of this fine town," he said pleasantly.

Sakuyamon did not say anything, nor did she stop or even indicate that she heard him; she simply continued to walk forward, her staff hitting the ground with a sunken thud after every step. Gonna's eyes glanced to her and back to the Brahmin and the mayor wondering exactly what was going on the girls' mind. The Brahmins also looked at her curiously, but with more of an awe and respect as it was the first time that most of them had seen her up close. As Sakuyamon came to the door, they simply stepped to the side as she walked through them.

In the shadow of the doorway, her body looked almost hidden, unnoticed to the glancing passerby. Here she paused for half a second, raising her nose into the air as if she was smelling something. Almost as quickly as she had paused, her dark, hidden body stepped out into the sunlight.

The transformation seemed almost instantaneous. Her frame no longer seemed hidden in the shadows, but held a glorious brilliance to it as the afternoon sun beat down on her. Her eight foot stature was raised to its full height, no longer having a ceiling to compare too. Her armor danced the light into patterns that attracted the gaze of all who noticed. Gonna could hardly believe his eyes, but somehow, there was such a strange difference in her between now and yesterday; some sort of strength that was held inside of her.

As Sakuyamon walked, Renamon spoke to her tamer. Rika, are you sure this is wise? Rika was silent as she continued to focus on her task. Rika, do you know what you're doing?

"Yeah, I'm doing what Gogglehead would do," she muttered.

Renamon was taken back, but Sakuyamon had stopped.

The group had followed Sakuyamon as she walked but a few hundred feet. She knelt on one knee and put the palm of her hand into the ground. While to the others it seemed as if she wasn't doing anything, Rika and Renamon were gaining a whole lot of information through her spirit foxes as they coursed through the ground.

Rika thought for a sec before speaking to Renamon "Renamon. The water table is a hundred eighty feet deep here. The place where they have there well is forty. It's no wonder they don't have a closer water source."

Rika, I'm not sure this is a good idea, you're still recovering.

"I'll live. Now let's see, the best spot to put the well would be…12 meters to our right and 3 up. That however would be right in the middle of a family's house. So the best spot would be...," Rika never finished her thought to Renamon as she simply walked over to it.

Sakuyamon paused, and waited. Everyone looked one with curiosity as to what she was doing. She simply stood there for two minutes before some sort of grinding was heard. Three minutes later, three ethereal foxes of different colors burst out of the ground. It startled everyone; Sakuyamon looked back at the Brahmin. "Trust me, I didn't do this for you."

Sakuyamon flew off the ground and into the air and the very surprised Indians ran over to the hole after watching her leave. "What is this?" the mayor demanded. "What kind of thing would just randomly put a whole in the ground?"

One of the Brahmin disagreed with the mayor. "You have no right to dishonor our goddess. She has brought us a great gift. Tell me, how far away was our well? Out with the fields where we use it for our crops. She has given us a one for use of the city. Somehow, she knew what we needed and gave it to us. Who would dare say that she isn't a goddess now?"

"What did she mean then that she didn't do this for us?" one of the other Brahmins asked.

A third answered, "It means that the doctor's wife was right. She did not think us, as Brahmins were worthy of her presence. We tried too hard and forgot who was really in charge. She did this for the people of our village, not for us."

Sakuyamon did not fly far; she had simply gone to a nearby mountain top to rest. The trip had been silent between tamer and partner as they neared the top. They set down in a small grove of trees, as Rika's chest was burning furiously.

The tamer rested and mad a few grunts of pain, but the events of coming back from the dead and her previous over exhortation of energy made this really rather easy to bare. The tamer and partner rested there for thirty minutes as one, gaining their energy back. Each rested in there own thoughts until Renamon finally spoke.

Rika, why did you do that?

"What do you mean why, they needed it. How many people did we not see because they were going to get water? What else was I supposed to do?" Rika said distantly.

Rika?

"Hmm?"

"What are you thinking?"

The wind gave a nice gentle breeze through the top of hills as she lay in a grove. Why did she do that? What was going on her through her mind? The forest merely replied with its normal jungle sounds, leaving Rika to have no answer.

"Why do people do anything?"

Hmmm?

"Why did I do that? Maybe because I was being stupid, but you saw them. What else was I supposed to do?"

Then why did you run? Renamon's voice held her usual questioning tone whenever she wondered about philosophical questions.

Rika paused, "I, I... I didn't want to…to cause any trouble. You saw them, they were all looking for a piece of my power. They thought I was a freaking goddess. I had to get out of there, I couldn't let Gonna and Senna get hurt because of me. They saved my life, I don't know what would have happened if it hadn't been for them. I couldn't let them deal with my problems anymore."

Then what do we do now?

"Now? We'll go back for dinner to Gonna and Senna, borrow a computer and let Takato, mother and everyone else know that I'm fine. Then were going to go and look for Guilmon," Rika told her partner calmly.

Renamon paused, noticing the mention of Takato for the third time that day. And what of the Wolf?

"Yamaki will dig something up, but finding Guilmon will be our priority for now."

The two were mostly silent for the next few hours, they made an occasional chit chat, but for the most part, Rika slept and Renamon watched for any potential threats. The evening wind had just started to come upon them when Rika was finally feeling decent. They flew down cautiously to the village, making sure to stay out of sight as they went. When Senna and Gonna saw her, they met her openly and gladly.

The three/four of them sat down to eat. "Tell me, what are you going to do now?" Gonna asked her with a curiosity Rika didn't see in many people. "The Brahmins are going nuts, devoting themselves to there religion even more then ever before and there are already extensive plans to make this new well you gave us a shrine. It's amazing! The entire village has been talking abuzz with you; first the poison and then the well. There's no fear at all though, everyone is claiming that you touched them or that you gave them something. We were invited over to at least eight different families houses in order to tell them all about you, and Senna was going to accept one of there offers, but I insisted on eating here incase you came back for anything. I mean, we didn't think you did, but you left in such a hurry, and see, here you are."

Senna blushed at his comments. "Dear, you are overdoing it. You're embarrassing us."

Rika smiled at the couple, "Momenti..." She muttered quietly.

"Hmm?" Gonna asked, all ears to her.

"It's nothing... I just wanted to thank you for all of this. You've been so helpful to me," Rika told them.

"Think nothing of it," Senna told her. "We have enjoyed your stay and Gonna has learned many wondrous things from Renamon. Now, do tell us, what will become of you now? Do you feel rested enough to travel all the way back to Japan?"

Sakuyamon shook her head as she spook in both voices. "No, I do not. There is a friend in the vicinity that I need to find. The faster I find him, the better."

"Is it the Red Dragon?" Gonnah asked with his same energy. "I saw him fly overhead; flying just a little bit south of due east. Fast, but an amazing thing though. I take it he's a digimon. Well of course he's a digimon, what else could he possibly be?"

"Dear!" Senna scolded her husband, "stop being rude, she is our prized guest."

The three paused as they heard a truck drive up outside. "Over here, see, this is the well she dug. And over there, that's, the house of the doctor who took care of her."

There was a rough grunt of a thank you. Senna and Gonnah looked at her. "Go. Now!"

Gonnah quickly moved to the door, and gasped. The truck was an army transport truck, and there were some twenty soldiers. He got a hold of himself. "Hello, officer, may I help you?" he asked.

"Yes, I'd like to know some things about that digimon you held here. I know this will be a problem, but that creature…"

"Sakuyamon," Gonna corrected him.

The officer blew him off. "That creature may have had some sort of disease with it. They are known for it and we'll have to take you to the capitol to get you tested." He glanced over at the men as they started to yell something.

"There it is, don't lose it!" came the cry as the men fired their tranquilizer bullets. They merely bounced off of Sakuyamon's armor as she leapt into the air. Gonnah gave one look in her direction.

"Good luck," he muttered under his breath, before giving the officer a very coy and satisfied smile.

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Riley typed in the numbers at the computer at Hypnos with Yamaki looking over shoulder. His lighter clicked time and time again. "That should do it," she told him.

Yamaki glanced through it and nodded,."Well done. Almost as good as if I had programmed it."

"Oh, and what's that supposed to mean?" Riley demanded putting her hands on her hips.

"That you're pretty when you're angry?" Yamaki asked questioningly. There was a thud as Tally tripped over a painted line at hearing him say that.

"Appeasement doesn't fit you well," Riley told him. Yamaki smiled, before picking up the phone as the light went off.

"Alright," he said into it, before hanging up looked at Riley. "Finished it in the nick of time," he told her.

Riley cocked her head curiously, before hearing a large door open. Several men wearing ties and suits barged in. "Yamaki Mitsuo…" The man started out.

"You are under arrest for treason of the highest degree, having dealt with terrorists and allowed an enemy country to get a hold of a biological weapon of mass destruction. Am I right?" Yamaki said, mocking the man.

"Not bad, Mitsuo, but exactly how did you know?" the man asked.

Yamaki clicked his lighter, "Simple, you're not the only one with ears. China has just declared war against India, and they hardly have any of their troops mobilized. It doesn't take a genius to figure out exactly what they are banking on to win them the war. Now, somebody has to take the fall and it's just convenient enough that I was the one who made the deal with the Yakuza to have Takato kidnapped, leading to the capture of Lopmon, Yamashowzu, I would suggest you not be so surprised over the easy stuff."

"Don't worry, I know every trick of yours in the book, Yamaki. You don't have something that I don't know."

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Rapidmon flew his metallic tail off to get away from the city as humanly possible while still carrying Henry and Suzie. He faulted for a second, glancing around and dropping to the ground. "Rapidmon?" Henry asked.

Suzie looked at the green dog before nodding her cute little head. "We haven't run into any opposition, Henry. Why?"

Henry looked at his sister. "Us leaving should have tipped them off, so that doesn't make sense. You're right, Rapidmon."

"Don't worry about me, Henry," he told his friend, hitting him on the back playfully. "I'll take care of anything that comes after us."

"Try not to kill anybody," Henry said with venom in his voice.

The comment stripped Rapidmon of all playfulness as he eyed his tamer seriously. There was a definite exchanging of emotions between there eyes before Rapidmon flew into the air.

"Henry," Suzie said firmly.

"Not now, Suzie," Henry said looking for a place with cover.

"No, Henry. You can't keep this up," Suzie scolded him. "Ever since that mistake during the rescue you haven't been able to let him live it down. Why don't you momenti and move on. Don't you think that he's suffered enough pain and guilt from that without you snapping down his throat every other minute?"

"You don't understand, Suzie," Henry told her with a small bit of anger in his voice.

"No, it's you who doesn't understand. What happens when Terriermon gets himself killed because he's trying not to?" Suzie told her brother firmly, before glancing down at the ground. "You don't understand what it's like to have your partner stripped from you."

Henry spied an overhanging of brush and paused for a second before moving towards it. Suzie sighed before following him.

Rapidmon hung in the air watching everything that was around him, when Hideto's voice over the ham radio again, this time with a little bit of static. "Two F22's are coming after you. They'll be within range of your missiles within two minutes, you already in range of there's."

"Wait, aren't F22's those really fast planes?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Aw, cra,." Rapidmon muttered, before firing to counter missiles as the four streaking towards him. They hit the in air and erupted into flames.