The air in the narrow alley felt thick enough to chew. Gyuukimon hadn't moved an inch, its red eyes burning with this smug, predatory malice. It was a wall of horn and chitin, and it was guarding the carousel like a living gate. Jessica was still frozen up there on that stupid horse, a statue in white and blue, and just looking at her made my frustration spike.
A direct assault was a joke. In this tight space, with my usual team, I'd just bounce off that armor or get trampled. And Impmon was still hunched over, one hand pressed to his ribs. I needed something with more punch, something that could actually move the needle.
"Alright, change of plans," I muttered, pulling out my Digivice. The screen glowed. "Gatomon! BlackGatomon! I need you back in the fight."
In twin flashes of light, they appeared beside me, their postures tense and ready.
"Finally," BlackGatomon said, cracking her knuckles. "Was getting boring watching you fail."
"Focus," Gatomon cut in, her eyes never leaving Gyuukimon. "What's the play, Ethan?"
"The play is I stop holding back. Spirit Evolution!"
I focused on the Human Spirit of Thunder, feeling the familiar surge of data and energy. My body erupted in light, expanding, reshaping. The blue and yellow armor of Beetlemon encased me, and a crackle of electricity ran over my new form. Power thrummed through me, a tangible hum in the air.
And then I immediately realized the problem. I was huge. My shoulders nearly scraped the crumbling brick walls on either side of the alley. Every shift of my armored bulk felt clumsy, constrained. This form was built for open spaces and wrestling throws, not for a claustrophobic choke-point. Perfect.
"Great," I grumbled, my voice deeper and distorted. "Traded one problem for a slightly more electrified one."
That's when Killgrave's voice cut through the oppressive silence again, smooth and utterly chilling.
"Now, my dear. Why don't you join the dance? Show our guests what a proper hero can do when she's truly… inspired."
The command hung in the air. On the carousel, Jessica's head tilted slightly, as if listening to a distant song. Then, with an eerie, fluid grace that was completely wrong, she dismounted. She landed without a sound on the cracked pavement.
Her vacant eyes swept over us. Then she moved, a blur of white and blue, positioning herself beside the hulking form of Gyuukimon. She settled into a fighter's stance, her expression a blank, porcelain mask. A living weapon, standing guard.
My stomach dropped straight through the Beetlemon armor. The plan, the frustration, the tactical assessment—all of it evaporated in that second. That was Jessica. My classmate. The girl who got flustered when I teased her, who was trying so hard to be a hero. And now she was just… another piece on Killgrave's board, aimed right at us.
I raised an electrified fist, the energy sizzling around my oversized hand. Gyuukimon was the target. Just hit the monster. But my arm locked up. I couldn't do it. Jessica was standing right there, within the blast radius, a silent, unmoving shield.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Impmon tense, small flames gathering in his palms. His usual mischievous grin was gone, replaced by a look of pure, bewildered conflict. He was staring at Jessica, his attack fizzling out before he even threw it. He couldn't do it either.
We were both frozen. Paralyzed by the one thing we were supposed to be saving.
Think. I had to think. The objective wasn't just "beat the monster" anymore. It was "beat the monster without letting Jessica get hurt, and also somehow free her from a psychic command she can't disobey." Easy. Totally doable. My eyes darted past Gyuukimon's hulking form, scanning the decaying park. The Ferris wheel loomed in the background, its structure groaning softly under the constant, weird psychic pressure filling the air. Maybe…
"Impmon!" I barked, the Beetlemon voice sharp. "Distract it! Lure it toward the Ferris wheel! Gatomon, BGM, support him—go for the legs, make it move!"
Impmon shook himself, his expression hardening into something determined. "You got it! Hey, ugly! Over here!"
He unleashed a barrage of "Night of Fire" blasts, not at Gyuukimon's body, but at the ground near its massive spider-legs. He zipped and weaved, a purple and red nuisance. Gatomon and BlackGatomon shot forward in a coordinated blur, their "Lightning Paw" strikes snapping at the beast's joints, not to damage, but to harass, to force a step.
It was working. Gyuukimon's head swung toward Impmon, a low growl rumbling in its chest. It shifted its weight, one leg lifting to stomp the annoying imp.
Then Jessica moved.
It wasn't a dramatic charge. It was a simple, efficient step. She intercepted one of Impmon's fire blasts meant to graze Gyuukimon's flank. She didn't dodge it. She just flicked her wrist, and the ball of purple flame shattered against her palm, dispersing harmlessly.
Her blank eyes found Gatomon next. Before I could even shout a warning, she was a streak of motion. A super-powered punch, a blur of white, aimed with terrifying precision. Not at Gyuukimon. At my partner.
Gatomon's eyes went wide. She threw herself backward, the punch missing her by inches. The force of it didn't just hit the air—it cracked the asphalt where she'd been standing, spider-webbing the pavement.
The message was crystal clear, and it felt like a punch to my own gut.
My Digivice screamed on my belt, a shrill, panicked chirp of red proximity alerts. Jessica was already moving again, closing the distance with Gatomon with that same terrifying, silent speed.
"Gatomon, back off!" I roared, lunging forward. I couldn't punch Jessica. I couldn't. I pushed a surge of electrical energy from my Beetlemon form into the ground between them, hoping to jolt her back, to create a barrier.
It was too slow. Jessica's vacant eyes locked onto mine for a split second—empty, horrifying windows—and then she was already pivoting, her body coiling for another devastating punch aimed right at Gatomon's head.
I braced myself, throwing myself into the path. I had to intercept. I had to stop her without hurting her. The impossibility of that task settled over me like a physical weight, crushing and absolute, as her fist blurred toward us.
***
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