I Need A Hero(77C)(DONE)
Aug 14, 2020 4:40:55 GMT
Post by ricochet6-Mandrake on Aug 14, 2020 4:40:55 GMT
MPC Name: Meanwhile, at the Hall of...
MPC Number: 77C
Reward Requested: Bits
Lothar was heading back to the hotel that he and Mandrake were staying at the past few days they had been in Whitewater. By the time he had finished restocking on healing supplies for their first aid kit, the sun had gone down but Lothar wasn't worried. Though, in hindsight, if he knew what was going to happen soon he would have been more than worried. As he was passing by an alley on the way to the hotel he heard a cry coming from the alley "Stop thief!" Stopping at the cry he turned and peered into the alley. Though dark he was able to still make out a Piximon fluttering past the alley. Deciding to help the Piximon he turned and headed into the alley itself.
As Lothar made it into the alley he no longer saw or heard the Piximon but before he had time to ponder it further a voice yelled "Hellfire!" Before Lothar could even react the sound of gunfire was heard shortly before the attack struck Lothar in the middle of his back. The pain he felt was an intense burning sensation traveling up his back. He may have cried out but all his mind seemed to be able to do was process the pain itself. Fortunately it was blissfully brief but to him it felt like an eternity before he collapsed in a heap and blacking out.
Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Mandrake had just finished practicing his Astral Projection ability while waiting for Lothar to return. Seeing it was after dark, Mandrake reached out telepathically in an effort to communicate with his friend but couldn't reach him. 'I don't like this. If Lothar is still in Whitewater, the only reason I shouldn't be able to reach him is if he is unconscious.' Mandrake thought as he headed out of the two bed room he was sharing with Lothar and exited the hotel. After looking around for quite some time he started to pass the alley Lothar was attacked in a short time ago. Something seemed to stick out from the corner of Mandrake's eye and he gazed into the alley and his eyes widened. Laying in the middle of the alley itself was Lothar's bag, which contained most of their belongings, and his sword. Alarmed Mandrake ran into the alley and kneeled down picking up Lothar's sword. Even though Lothar rarely used his sword, he almost always had it with him. That only meant one thing, someone had not only attacked him but kidnapped him as well. Resting his staff next to Lothar's bag, the hand holding Lothar's sword tightened its grip as he, to seemingly no one, asked "Lothar, where are you?"
Meanwhile in a warehouse across town from the alley, Lothar slowly came to with a pained groan. Opening his brown eyes, he blinked a few times till the fuzziness cleared from his vision. As he looked around he noticed his arms were bound tightly behind his back with chains that wouldn't break no matter how hard he tried. Yet somehow he managed to push himself into a seated position and stared at some metal door in front of him obviously sealing him in the small storage room he appeared to be imprisoned in. He rose to his feet and moved to the door kicking it with all his might many times but the door didn't even have a dent after his efforts. Frustrated he walked the short distance to the back of the room and stood waiting for the right moment to make a break for it.
It seemed Lothar's chance was coming faster than he thought as the sound of footsteps were heard heading for his storage room prison. The door unlocked and slowly opened. Taking his chance Lothar dashed forward but as he barely got out the room before a strong hand closed on his shoulder and hurled him back into the room. Lothar's shoulders hit the wall causing him to slide down it until he landed on his posterior. Next thing he knew he had a gun pointed in his face by an Astamon. "Where do you think you're going? I wouldn't be happy if the boss had me track you down again." Astamon said with a cruel smirk on his face. Lothar only responded with a glare. The reason for his attempted escape was obvious but he would not bother discussing such with Astamon. Astamon's gaze caught sight of someone when turned slightly behind him and a short time later his boss came into Lothar's line of sight too. Then Astamon stepped slightly aside while still keeping his gun trained on Lothar. Lothar watched as the digimon came closer to him. Who knew what Astamon's boss had in store for him?
Meanwhile, back in the alley with Mandrake, the Wizardmon was gazing around the alley for clues while opening his mind hoping that Lothar had regained consciousness. Yes, he had but it seemed his friend wasn't responding to his attempts at reaching him. His location was enough though. Placing Lothar's sword in the Ifini-Store in Lothar's bag he then slung it over his shoulders before grabbing his staff and rising to his feet. He followed Lothar's mental signature and it soon led him to some warehouses on the other side of town. As he followed Lothar's mental signature something seemed to have happened causing him to sense something was not right. He increased his pace by breaking into a run. Soon he approached the warehouse he sensed Lothar was in and caught sight of something stepping onto the roof. "Wizardmon digivolve to Mistymon." Mandrake said as he tucked himself out of sight to digivolve. Seeing a fire escape he climbed silently up it and onto the roof. Soon he saw an Astamon standing on the roof with his back to him. Mandrake sensed one other in the warehouse other than Lothar so he moved swiftly catching the gun wielding demon by surprise and knocking him out. 'One down and one to go.' Mandrake thought as he made his way into the warehouse from the door Astamon had used to get on the roof.
Mandrake's rested his hand on the hilt of his sheathed sword keeping alert for anything. Creeping through the warehouse silently, he halted when the lights came on. "Well. Well what is this? Looks like Astamon was wrong when he mentioned only one warrior digimon entering Whitewater that would be worth my time." A voice from a still dark part of the room said.
"Who are you? What are you talking about?" Mandrake said as he stared in the direction of the voice since that is where his telepathy said it was.
"Of course how rude of me." The voice said as a Piximon came into view. "I am Piximon and I have Astamon keep an eye for warrior digimon to replenish the ranks of my gang. Though the only recent warrior he mentioned was a Leomon traveling with a Wizardmon."
"That Wizardmon is me and that Leomon is my friend, Lothar. He would never join the ranks of one who kidnapped him. Where is he?" Mandrake said as he drew his sword before pointing it at Piximon. "Release him at once."
"Don't worry. You're friend is in perfect health." Piximon said as he turned in the direction of the shadows he came from. "Come and meet our new guest my new minion." From the shadows a form that was both familiar and different at the same time came into view.
There was no mistaking it. Despite his appearance, the mental signature of this Leomon was Lothar. Mandrake's eyes widened with shock before he turned a glare at Piximon. "What have you done to him?"
"Why I did nothing more than use my dark magic to transform him into the perfectly obedient servant. He is now no longer your friend but one of my dark warriors." Piximon said with a cruel smirk that was chilling even with the digimon's deceivingly cuddly appearance.
"Return him to normal this instant you beast!" Mandrake exclaimed as the sword still pointed at Piximon became alive with flames.
Piximon smirked before he said "Like I am scared of you, Mistymon. I could do the same to you as well even though I would have to weaken you to make things easier." Piximon then fluttered back and said "Pixie Portal!" Various portals appeared around the room that only Piximon could fly through. Piximon then flew through one of the portals with Mandrake right behind.
"Blast Fire!" Mandrake said as he swung his flaming sword into the portal that Piximon flew into. Then to his shock the portal yanked his sword out of his hand. Much to Mandrake's shock his hand became trapped in the portal as it closed on him. No matter how much Mandrake pulled his hand wouldn't come free.
"Look what I found in one of my portals?" Piximon chuckled as he somehow was holding Mandrake's sword only to lazily drop it. "Game over, Mistymon." A curious small bomb with wings and a menacing toothy smiley face was created. "Bit Bomb!" he said as he flung the bomb at Mandrake. For an attack by a small digimon the explosive force was surprisingly large and painful causing Mandrake to cry out in pain. The force of the attack caused Mandrake to return to being Wizardmon and fall to the floor in an unsconscious heap. "Looks like I overdid it. I can't use my spell on an unconscious digimon. Curse this limitation!" Looking at Lothar, who had not made a move during the brief battle, he said "Lock him in the store room. I'll deal with him when he regains consciousness."
"Yes, master." Lothar said in an eerily emotionless voice and walked over roughly lifting Mandrake up by his arms pausing briefly to look at the battered Mandrake as if something about him seemed familiar. Shaking his head, Lothar carried Mandrake to the storage room he had been imprisoned in earlier that night and dropped Mandrake in the center of the room before exiting the room and locking it behind him.
About ten minutes later Mandrake groaned in pain and slowly opened his sapphire blue eyes blinking several times until the dark spots cleared from his vision. He didn't seem to be restrained in any way and the only thing blocking his escape from the room was a locked metal door. All he had to do was get out and find Lothar for he wasn't going to abandon his friend. Focusing his telekinesis on the lock to the door he shortly heard the telltale noise of the lock coming undone. Pushing himself up on wobbly legs seeing that his and Lothar's belongings had been confiscated, likely done after he lost consciousness, he walked out of the storage room while reaching out with his telepathy to locate Lothar. However it seemed he would find Lothar sooner than he expected or rather it was Lothar that found him. Feeling Lothar's powerful grip close around his arm he was yanked back causing him to yelp in pain from Lothar's pull on him. "Where do you think you're going?" Lothar growled as he squeezed Mandrake's arm with bruising force.
Mandrake looked up into Lothar's formally brown now completely white eyes after wincing in pain in Lothar's grip before he said "I was merely looking for you, Lothar, so I can try to free you from Piximon's mind manipulation. You are my friend and I only want to help you."
There seemed to only be a faint hint of recognition from Lothar before he said "The boss said he wanted to deal with you when you regained consciousness."
Mandrake noticed the look of recognition despite how faint it was but wasn't able to comment on it as Lothar started to pull him along and none to gently at that. 'It seems Piximon's corruption isn't as absolute as he thinks it is seeing as Lothar is fighting against the influence. Unfortunately I still can't reach him myself.' Mandrake thought as he was forced to jog to keep up with Lothar's longer stride. At that pace it didn't take long before they reached the room he fought Piximon in. Astamon was in there too but standing in the opposite side of the room as Piximon glaring at Mandrake as Lothar threw Mandrake forward causing the magician to land on his knees in front of the Piximon. It seemed Piximon had really yelled at Astamon judging by the demon man's reaction. Apparently he wasn't happy at the concept of having Mandrake as a potential member of the gang after being snuck up on from behind and knocked out before he knew what happened.
"Good work. I see recruiting you was a smart decision." Piximon said. As Lothar went to the other side of the room with Astamon, Mandrake glared at the pink monster in disgust. Despite knowing Lothar's name he seemed to be choosing not to use it. It was as if he considered Lothar to be beneath him.
"He has a name you know." Mandrake said nastily his glare intensifying before he continued "It's Lothar."
Obviously Piximon didn't like Mandrake speaking nastily to him and reacted by lifting his hand not holding his spear and backhanding Mandrake with surprising force considering his small size. Lothar seemed to stiffen as he saw Mandrake's head jerk sideways from the impact of Piximon's blow his eyes briefly returning to their normal brown color before fading back to white again. Yes, Lothar was indeed fighting Piximon's spell but the process seemed slow.
Fortunately Piximon hadn't noticed what was going on with Lothar but his composure had now returned as he said "Don't worry. By the time my spell has taken effect on you, you'll no longer care what I'll call you or your friend."
"Lucky me." Mandrake snapped sarcastically.
It seemed Piximon didn't notice or didn't care about Mandrake's comment as his hand began glowing with a terrifying dark magic before his hand began moving towards Mandrake's bruised and battered face. Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Lothar's eyes had returned to their normal shade of brown and he muttered "No.." His hands then went to his head with him tightly clutching it. It was if a fierce inner battle was being raged within him. The battle was going unnoticed by Piximon as his glowing hand was now only mere millimeters from grabbing onto Mandrake's face. "No!" Lothar's mutter was now a yell and that wasn't the only difference which Piximon noticed the second he glanced up from Mandrake and in Lothar's direction. Mandrake turned around and saw that Lothar was now back to his normal appearance and was even glowing with the light of digivolution. "Leomon digivolve to GrapLeomon!"
Before anyone else could move Lothar whirled on Astamon and struck him with his Gravity Punch without so much as a word. Not only was Astamon unconscious from the surprising attack but caught in the gravity of it. Mandrake almost felt sorry for that guy seeing as he had been knocked out with two surprise attacks in one night. Just as Piximon snapped out of his stupor something no one was expecting happened next. Various members of law enforcement at the ultimate level burst into the warehouse.
Before Mandrake could move though Lothar grabbed him and pulled him to a nearby window shattering it with a single kick before leaping out with Mandrake under one arm. Before Mandrake could say anything they were away from the warehouse and Lothar was back to being Leomon again. "I'm glad you're back to your old self, Lothar, but was leaping out the window and running necessary? We could of just said we were kidnapped and explained that Piximon put you under mind control using dark magic."
"Sorry but after being there for as long as I was, can you blame me for taking the first chance I could get to get out of there?"
"I see your point. Maybe I would have done the same in your place." Mandrake said releasing a tired sigh and almost falling over. His battle with Piximon was more draining than he thought but Mandrake didn't have to fall far before Lothar caught him causing Mandrake to wince in pain.
Though Lothar's grip was gentle, he noticed he was supporting Mandrake by the arm he badly bruised while under mind control. Yes, he remembered everything that happened and how frightening it was to feel powerless to stop his actions. "Sorry I hurt you, Mandrake."
"It's alright, old friend, you weren't in control of your actions. What matters most is you were able to break free." Mandrake said causing Lothar to smile. Then another thought came to Mandrake's mind as he said "Our belongings are still inside the warehouse, with all that was going on I've momentarily forgotten."
Helping Mandrake sit on the ground Lothar said "Don't worry I can find our things and get back here since the police are likely having their hands full dealing with Piximon." With that Lothar sprinted off in the direction of the warehouse.
Later in the hotel they were staying at, Mandrake was laying in his bed in a deep sleep obviously being dead tired from the nights events. For Lothar sleep hadn't come as easy. If he didn't break free of Piximon's spell Mandrake would have been enslaved in the same manner as him. Turning fitfully in his sleep he heard Mandrake say "I see you aren't sleeping that well. In fact I can't seem to sleep that well even though I'm exhausted."
"It's about what happened tonight isn't it, Mandrake? If I had been stronger I wouldn't have tried to send you to almost certain enslavement by that Piximon."
Mandrake knew it wasn't physical strength that Lothar was talking about and hearing his friend sound so defeated felt wrong. "Don't say such things, Lothar. If anything you may have greater mental strength than me. Many times while searching for you I was worried it was a futile journey and feared I wouldn't have what it took to persevere. Then when Piximon had cast that spell on you, I saw you fighting him proving he didn't have what it took to completely control you."
"Do you doubt if you would have had the ability to break free of Piximon's control, Mandrake?"
"I'd be lying if I said no. Especially when he was about to cast the spell on me. All I could feel was a cold gripping terror and I guess that is what is really keeping me up. It's like I feel as if I fall asleep I will lose my free will." Mandrake said sitting up slowly and turning his tired gaze at Lothar.
"Don't worry, Mandrake, if Piximon got away we likely won't see him again for sometime and if we do, next time we'll be ready for him."
Somehow the two friends had eventually drifted off to sleep and the next day heard rumors of two heroes that helped the police bring down two reputed kidnappers. Though the kidnappers identities were likely obvious both Mandrake and Lothar didn't want to know how these rumors spread as they headed to the Trailmon Station. Maybe next time they visited Whitewater things wouldn't be so troublesome.
Word Count: 3,228
MPC Number: 77C
Reward Requested: Bits
Lothar was heading back to the hotel that he and Mandrake were staying at the past few days they had been in Whitewater. By the time he had finished restocking on healing supplies for their first aid kit, the sun had gone down but Lothar wasn't worried. Though, in hindsight, if he knew what was going to happen soon he would have been more than worried. As he was passing by an alley on the way to the hotel he heard a cry coming from the alley "Stop thief!" Stopping at the cry he turned and peered into the alley. Though dark he was able to still make out a Piximon fluttering past the alley. Deciding to help the Piximon he turned and headed into the alley itself.
As Lothar made it into the alley he no longer saw or heard the Piximon but before he had time to ponder it further a voice yelled "Hellfire!" Before Lothar could even react the sound of gunfire was heard shortly before the attack struck Lothar in the middle of his back. The pain he felt was an intense burning sensation traveling up his back. He may have cried out but all his mind seemed to be able to do was process the pain itself. Fortunately it was blissfully brief but to him it felt like an eternity before he collapsed in a heap and blacking out.
Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Mandrake had just finished practicing his Astral Projection ability while waiting for Lothar to return. Seeing it was after dark, Mandrake reached out telepathically in an effort to communicate with his friend but couldn't reach him. 'I don't like this. If Lothar is still in Whitewater, the only reason I shouldn't be able to reach him is if he is unconscious.' Mandrake thought as he headed out of the two bed room he was sharing with Lothar and exited the hotel. After looking around for quite some time he started to pass the alley Lothar was attacked in a short time ago. Something seemed to stick out from the corner of Mandrake's eye and he gazed into the alley and his eyes widened. Laying in the middle of the alley itself was Lothar's bag, which contained most of their belongings, and his sword. Alarmed Mandrake ran into the alley and kneeled down picking up Lothar's sword. Even though Lothar rarely used his sword, he almost always had it with him. That only meant one thing, someone had not only attacked him but kidnapped him as well. Resting his staff next to Lothar's bag, the hand holding Lothar's sword tightened its grip as he, to seemingly no one, asked "Lothar, where are you?"
Meanwhile in a warehouse across town from the alley, Lothar slowly came to with a pained groan. Opening his brown eyes, he blinked a few times till the fuzziness cleared from his vision. As he looked around he noticed his arms were bound tightly behind his back with chains that wouldn't break no matter how hard he tried. Yet somehow he managed to push himself into a seated position and stared at some metal door in front of him obviously sealing him in the small storage room he appeared to be imprisoned in. He rose to his feet and moved to the door kicking it with all his might many times but the door didn't even have a dent after his efforts. Frustrated he walked the short distance to the back of the room and stood waiting for the right moment to make a break for it.
It seemed Lothar's chance was coming faster than he thought as the sound of footsteps were heard heading for his storage room prison. The door unlocked and slowly opened. Taking his chance Lothar dashed forward but as he barely got out the room before a strong hand closed on his shoulder and hurled him back into the room. Lothar's shoulders hit the wall causing him to slide down it until he landed on his posterior. Next thing he knew he had a gun pointed in his face by an Astamon. "Where do you think you're going? I wouldn't be happy if the boss had me track you down again." Astamon said with a cruel smirk on his face. Lothar only responded with a glare. The reason for his attempted escape was obvious but he would not bother discussing such with Astamon. Astamon's gaze caught sight of someone when turned slightly behind him and a short time later his boss came into Lothar's line of sight too. Then Astamon stepped slightly aside while still keeping his gun trained on Lothar. Lothar watched as the digimon came closer to him. Who knew what Astamon's boss had in store for him?
Meanwhile, back in the alley with Mandrake, the Wizardmon was gazing around the alley for clues while opening his mind hoping that Lothar had regained consciousness. Yes, he had but it seemed his friend wasn't responding to his attempts at reaching him. His location was enough though. Placing Lothar's sword in the Ifini-Store in Lothar's bag he then slung it over his shoulders before grabbing his staff and rising to his feet. He followed Lothar's mental signature and it soon led him to some warehouses on the other side of town. As he followed Lothar's mental signature something seemed to have happened causing him to sense something was not right. He increased his pace by breaking into a run. Soon he approached the warehouse he sensed Lothar was in and caught sight of something stepping onto the roof. "Wizardmon digivolve to Mistymon." Mandrake said as he tucked himself out of sight to digivolve. Seeing a fire escape he climbed silently up it and onto the roof. Soon he saw an Astamon standing on the roof with his back to him. Mandrake sensed one other in the warehouse other than Lothar so he moved swiftly catching the gun wielding demon by surprise and knocking him out. 'One down and one to go.' Mandrake thought as he made his way into the warehouse from the door Astamon had used to get on the roof.
Mandrake's rested his hand on the hilt of his sheathed sword keeping alert for anything. Creeping through the warehouse silently, he halted when the lights came on. "Well. Well what is this? Looks like Astamon was wrong when he mentioned only one warrior digimon entering Whitewater that would be worth my time." A voice from a still dark part of the room said.
"Who are you? What are you talking about?" Mandrake said as he stared in the direction of the voice since that is where his telepathy said it was.
"Of course how rude of me." The voice said as a Piximon came into view. "I am Piximon and I have Astamon keep an eye for warrior digimon to replenish the ranks of my gang. Though the only recent warrior he mentioned was a Leomon traveling with a Wizardmon."
"That Wizardmon is me and that Leomon is my friend, Lothar. He would never join the ranks of one who kidnapped him. Where is he?" Mandrake said as he drew his sword before pointing it at Piximon. "Release him at once."
"Don't worry. You're friend is in perfect health." Piximon said as he turned in the direction of the shadows he came from. "Come and meet our new guest my new minion." From the shadows a form that was both familiar and different at the same time came into view.
There was no mistaking it. Despite his appearance, the mental signature of this Leomon was Lothar. Mandrake's eyes widened with shock before he turned a glare at Piximon. "What have you done to him?"
"Why I did nothing more than use my dark magic to transform him into the perfectly obedient servant. He is now no longer your friend but one of my dark warriors." Piximon said with a cruel smirk that was chilling even with the digimon's deceivingly cuddly appearance.
"Return him to normal this instant you beast!" Mandrake exclaimed as the sword still pointed at Piximon became alive with flames.
Piximon smirked before he said "Like I am scared of you, Mistymon. I could do the same to you as well even though I would have to weaken you to make things easier." Piximon then fluttered back and said "Pixie Portal!" Various portals appeared around the room that only Piximon could fly through. Piximon then flew through one of the portals with Mandrake right behind.
"Blast Fire!" Mandrake said as he swung his flaming sword into the portal that Piximon flew into. Then to his shock the portal yanked his sword out of his hand. Much to Mandrake's shock his hand became trapped in the portal as it closed on him. No matter how much Mandrake pulled his hand wouldn't come free.
"Look what I found in one of my portals?" Piximon chuckled as he somehow was holding Mandrake's sword only to lazily drop it. "Game over, Mistymon." A curious small bomb with wings and a menacing toothy smiley face was created. "Bit Bomb!" he said as he flung the bomb at Mandrake. For an attack by a small digimon the explosive force was surprisingly large and painful causing Mandrake to cry out in pain. The force of the attack caused Mandrake to return to being Wizardmon and fall to the floor in an unsconscious heap. "Looks like I overdid it. I can't use my spell on an unconscious digimon. Curse this limitation!" Looking at Lothar, who had not made a move during the brief battle, he said "Lock him in the store room. I'll deal with him when he regains consciousness."
"Yes, master." Lothar said in an eerily emotionless voice and walked over roughly lifting Mandrake up by his arms pausing briefly to look at the battered Mandrake as if something about him seemed familiar. Shaking his head, Lothar carried Mandrake to the storage room he had been imprisoned in earlier that night and dropped Mandrake in the center of the room before exiting the room and locking it behind him.
About ten minutes later Mandrake groaned in pain and slowly opened his sapphire blue eyes blinking several times until the dark spots cleared from his vision. He didn't seem to be restrained in any way and the only thing blocking his escape from the room was a locked metal door. All he had to do was get out and find Lothar for he wasn't going to abandon his friend. Focusing his telekinesis on the lock to the door he shortly heard the telltale noise of the lock coming undone. Pushing himself up on wobbly legs seeing that his and Lothar's belongings had been confiscated, likely done after he lost consciousness, he walked out of the storage room while reaching out with his telepathy to locate Lothar. However it seemed he would find Lothar sooner than he expected or rather it was Lothar that found him. Feeling Lothar's powerful grip close around his arm he was yanked back causing him to yelp in pain from Lothar's pull on him. "Where do you think you're going?" Lothar growled as he squeezed Mandrake's arm with bruising force.
Mandrake looked up into Lothar's formally brown now completely white eyes after wincing in pain in Lothar's grip before he said "I was merely looking for you, Lothar, so I can try to free you from Piximon's mind manipulation. You are my friend and I only want to help you."
There seemed to only be a faint hint of recognition from Lothar before he said "The boss said he wanted to deal with you when you regained consciousness."
Mandrake noticed the look of recognition despite how faint it was but wasn't able to comment on it as Lothar started to pull him along and none to gently at that. 'It seems Piximon's corruption isn't as absolute as he thinks it is seeing as Lothar is fighting against the influence. Unfortunately I still can't reach him myself.' Mandrake thought as he was forced to jog to keep up with Lothar's longer stride. At that pace it didn't take long before they reached the room he fought Piximon in. Astamon was in there too but standing in the opposite side of the room as Piximon glaring at Mandrake as Lothar threw Mandrake forward causing the magician to land on his knees in front of the Piximon. It seemed Piximon had really yelled at Astamon judging by the demon man's reaction. Apparently he wasn't happy at the concept of having Mandrake as a potential member of the gang after being snuck up on from behind and knocked out before he knew what happened.
"Good work. I see recruiting you was a smart decision." Piximon said. As Lothar went to the other side of the room with Astamon, Mandrake glared at the pink monster in disgust. Despite knowing Lothar's name he seemed to be choosing not to use it. It was as if he considered Lothar to be beneath him.
"He has a name you know." Mandrake said nastily his glare intensifying before he continued "It's Lothar."
Obviously Piximon didn't like Mandrake speaking nastily to him and reacted by lifting his hand not holding his spear and backhanding Mandrake with surprising force considering his small size. Lothar seemed to stiffen as he saw Mandrake's head jerk sideways from the impact of Piximon's blow his eyes briefly returning to their normal brown color before fading back to white again. Yes, Lothar was indeed fighting Piximon's spell but the process seemed slow.
Fortunately Piximon hadn't noticed what was going on with Lothar but his composure had now returned as he said "Don't worry. By the time my spell has taken effect on you, you'll no longer care what I'll call you or your friend."
"Lucky me." Mandrake snapped sarcastically.
It seemed Piximon didn't notice or didn't care about Mandrake's comment as his hand began glowing with a terrifying dark magic before his hand began moving towards Mandrake's bruised and battered face. Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Lothar's eyes had returned to their normal shade of brown and he muttered "No.." His hands then went to his head with him tightly clutching it. It was if a fierce inner battle was being raged within him. The battle was going unnoticed by Piximon as his glowing hand was now only mere millimeters from grabbing onto Mandrake's face. "No!" Lothar's mutter was now a yell and that wasn't the only difference which Piximon noticed the second he glanced up from Mandrake and in Lothar's direction. Mandrake turned around and saw that Lothar was now back to his normal appearance and was even glowing with the light of digivolution. "Leomon digivolve to GrapLeomon!"
Before anyone else could move Lothar whirled on Astamon and struck him with his Gravity Punch without so much as a word. Not only was Astamon unconscious from the surprising attack but caught in the gravity of it. Mandrake almost felt sorry for that guy seeing as he had been knocked out with two surprise attacks in one night. Just as Piximon snapped out of his stupor something no one was expecting happened next. Various members of law enforcement at the ultimate level burst into the warehouse.
Before Mandrake could move though Lothar grabbed him and pulled him to a nearby window shattering it with a single kick before leaping out with Mandrake under one arm. Before Mandrake could say anything they were away from the warehouse and Lothar was back to being Leomon again. "I'm glad you're back to your old self, Lothar, but was leaping out the window and running necessary? We could of just said we were kidnapped and explained that Piximon put you under mind control using dark magic."
"Sorry but after being there for as long as I was, can you blame me for taking the first chance I could get to get out of there?"
"I see your point. Maybe I would have done the same in your place." Mandrake said releasing a tired sigh and almost falling over. His battle with Piximon was more draining than he thought but Mandrake didn't have to fall far before Lothar caught him causing Mandrake to wince in pain.
Though Lothar's grip was gentle, he noticed he was supporting Mandrake by the arm he badly bruised while under mind control. Yes, he remembered everything that happened and how frightening it was to feel powerless to stop his actions. "Sorry I hurt you, Mandrake."
"It's alright, old friend, you weren't in control of your actions. What matters most is you were able to break free." Mandrake said causing Lothar to smile. Then another thought came to Mandrake's mind as he said "Our belongings are still inside the warehouse, with all that was going on I've momentarily forgotten."
Helping Mandrake sit on the ground Lothar said "Don't worry I can find our things and get back here since the police are likely having their hands full dealing with Piximon." With that Lothar sprinted off in the direction of the warehouse.
Later in the hotel they were staying at, Mandrake was laying in his bed in a deep sleep obviously being dead tired from the nights events. For Lothar sleep hadn't come as easy. If he didn't break free of Piximon's spell Mandrake would have been enslaved in the same manner as him. Turning fitfully in his sleep he heard Mandrake say "I see you aren't sleeping that well. In fact I can't seem to sleep that well even though I'm exhausted."
"It's about what happened tonight isn't it, Mandrake? If I had been stronger I wouldn't have tried to send you to almost certain enslavement by that Piximon."
Mandrake knew it wasn't physical strength that Lothar was talking about and hearing his friend sound so defeated felt wrong. "Don't say such things, Lothar. If anything you may have greater mental strength than me. Many times while searching for you I was worried it was a futile journey and feared I wouldn't have what it took to persevere. Then when Piximon had cast that spell on you, I saw you fighting him proving he didn't have what it took to completely control you."
"Do you doubt if you would have had the ability to break free of Piximon's control, Mandrake?"
"I'd be lying if I said no. Especially when he was about to cast the spell on me. All I could feel was a cold gripping terror and I guess that is what is really keeping me up. It's like I feel as if I fall asleep I will lose my free will." Mandrake said sitting up slowly and turning his tired gaze at Lothar.
"Don't worry, Mandrake, if Piximon got away we likely won't see him again for sometime and if we do, next time we'll be ready for him."
Somehow the two friends had eventually drifted off to sleep and the next day heard rumors of two heroes that helped the police bring down two reputed kidnappers. Though the kidnappers identities were likely obvious both Mandrake and Lothar didn't want to know how these rumors spread as they headed to the Trailmon Station. Maybe next time they visited Whitewater things wouldn't be so troublesome.
Word Count: 3,228