TLoZK: Can I be honest with all of you real quick? The fourth season of Digimon was always my favorite. They way they transformed into Digimon instead of having partners, the story that was dark without seeming campy or out of place, and even the surprisingly realistic depiction of preteen romantic tension between Takuya and Zoe. Heck, all the characters were extremely well developed, compared to previous seasons where there was always at least one character who really pushed my buttons *cough* Matt, Davis, and Ryo *cough*. So today, I present my take on a follow-up to the fourth season of Digimon.
DISCLAIMER: The following is a non-profit, fan-based parody. Digimon is owned by Bandai Namco. Please support the official release.
Digimon Frontier 02: Revenge of the Demon Lords
Chapter 1
Noon in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo, Japan. Fifteen-year-old Takuya Kanbara stood at the entrance to Shibuya station, waiting. He had received a message on his cellphone a few minutes ago, telling him to go to the station. It was similar to the one he had received four years ago, only this time he knew who sent it and had a vague idea of why.
Knowing what had happened last time he had received the message, he knew it was only a matter of time until a few old friends of his showed up.
Takuya's thoughts turned to one such friend. Despite the time they had spent apart, he could still clearly imagine her face, framed by long blond hair and a fuchsia hat. His lips silently formed her name.
'Zoe.'
Truth be told, Takuya felt very strongly for Zoe. They had initially gotten off on the wrong foot and had their share of disagreements. Eventually, they managed to sort things out and quickly formed a tight friendship.
Takuya's thoughts turned to the final battle against the corrupt Cherubimon. More specifically, his thoughts were focused on what Zoe had promised him if they won.
'If you win, I'll go on a date with you!'
At one point in the battle, Takuya became lost in his imagination, and found himself imagining that he and Zoe were on the promised date. He was laying with his head in her lap, apparently having just woken up from a nap. Thinking about it now, Takuya realized something: He really wished they had gone on that date for real.
Takuya was jarred from his thoughts at the sound of footsteps approaching. Turning his head, he smiled when he saw the rest of the group arriving.
"Hey, guys! Good to see you all again! Though I kinda wish it were under different circumstances, to be honest." Takuya greeted.
"I hear you. Why can't we ever meet up for something that doesn't involve the digital world?" Koji agreed.
"Well, at least we know that we won't be gone too long." Koichi quipped.
"Yeah, in Earth time." JP clarified.
"It's funny. Last time, I was forced onto a Trailmon, but this time I'm actually kind of excited to go!" said Tommy.
"I just wish there was another girl in the group to talk to." Zoe sighed.
"You got me, what more do you need?" JP asked, trying to sound smooth.
"...Uh-huh." Zoe muttered dismissively.
"Well then, I guess we're ready to go!" Takuya exclaimed.
Everyone nodded in reply, and they entered the station.
It was the same route as before, the same staircase, the same elevator, the same button that only they could see or press. Best of all, it was the same Trailmon, good ol' Worm, who was there to take them to the Digital World.
"Ah! The digidestined! It's wonderful to see you all again! Hop in, and I'll take you straight to Ophanimon's castle!" Worm ordered.
The moment the group of six took their seats, Worm's whistle rang out and he took off.
"What do you guys think is going on this time?" Takuya asked.
"Whatever it is, if all six of us have to be there, it probably isn't good." Tommy reasoned.
"True enough. We'll have to be careful." Koichi agreed.
Things were silent for awhile. Minutes passed without a word. Suddenly, Worm came to a screeching halt, jolting everyone from their seats.
"What's the big idea?!" Zoe exclaimed.
"Uh, Zoe?" Tommy started.
"What?" Zoe asked.
Tommy pointed downward. Zoe followed his finger and realized she had fallen on top of Takuya, and their eyes met for a few moments before Zoe jumped backwards to a standing position.
"Sorry!" she exclaimed, turning to hide her now-crimson cheeks.
"I-it's alright." Takuya mumbled, his own cheeks turning rosy.
"What happened? We can't be there already." wondered Koji.
The six of them exited Worm's cabin looked around. They were in a small canyon with high yet narrow walls.
"Worm, what happened?" Takuya asked the Trailmon.
"Something is keeping me from moving! I think my wheels are stuck!" Worm explained.
Tommy checked the wheels, and sure enough the wheels on Worm's front car were caught in some kind of webbing.
"Are those spider webs?" Koichi asked.
"I wonder what made them." Tommy pondered.
"I think I have the answer to that question!" JP shouted, pointing into the distance.
Everyone looked where he was pointing and saw a large spider-like digimon called Arachnamon walking towards them.
"What is that thing?!" Zoe shrieked.
"Whatever it is, it's coming right for us!" Takuya shouted.
"What do we do? We don't have our D-Tectors!" Tommy reminded.
"Ensnaring Web!" Arachnamon shouted.
A web shot from the digimon's mouth, aimed at the group of six.
"Everyone out of the way!" Takuya ordered.
The six of them dove to either side, narrowly avoiding the attack. Unfortunately, the high walls meant that there was nowhere to run. Arachnamon closed in on them, his eyes wide with glee. The digidestined braced themselves for what was next.
"Seismic Sledge!" shouted a new voice.
Grumblemon had jumped down from the wall behind the digidestined and smashed his Grotte Hammer into Arachnamon's head, sending the spider digimon sailing across the canyon.
"Agh! Whoever you are, you picked the wrong time to interrupt my meal!" Arachnamon threatened.
"Meal, shcmeal! You're not coming anywhere near them!" Grumblemon announced.
At this, Ranamon, Arbormon, and Mercurymon jumped down into the canyon, landing next to Grumblemon. They stood as a barrier in between Arachnamon and the digidestined.
"Fine, if you won't get out of my way, then I'll just destroy you all! Crushing Mandibles!" Arachnamon shouted, leaping towards Grumblemon.
"Blockade Seed!" Arbormon bellowed, firing a seed-shaped bomb from his mouth, hitting Arachnamon in mid-air and enveloping him in an explosion.
With a cry of pain, Arachnamon collapsed to the ground, his fractal code appearing around him.
To the digidestineds' surprise, the four digimon materialized D-Tectors in their hands. Mercurymon stepped forward.
"Fractal code digitize!" Mercurymon called out, swiping his D-Tector at Arachnamon's fractal code and collecting the corrupt coding.
"Are the six of you alright?" Ranamon asked, turning to the group.
"We should be fine, but-" Takuya began.
"Wait a minute. What happened to your southern accent?" Koji cut in.
The four digimon were surrounded by fractal codes as they rescinded their spirit evolutions. Once the fractal codes disappeared, in their place were Teppei, Teruo, Chiaki, and Katsuharu.
"...Okay then. Question retracted." Koji stated.
"Thanks, you guys. You got us out of a real jam there." said JP.
"I thought Ophanimon had decided not to entrust you with the spirits of the other four legendary warriors." said Koichi.
"Looks like she reconsidered." Tommy quipped.
Chiaki giggled at that remark, causing Tommy to grin bashfully and rub the back of his head.
"That's right. Ophanimon called us ahead of time so she could, and these are her words, 'decide whether or not we can be deemed worthy to carry the spirits of the legendary warriors'." Katsuharu explained.
"It would've been a lot easier for her to just say 'I'm testing you to see if you're ready.' but I guess that didn't sound mystical enough." Teruo added
That cracked a few smirks from the rest of the group.
"Sorry to interrupt, but my wheels have been freed from the webs! We can proceed to the castle as soon as you all are ready!" Worm announced.
The group of ten boarded Worm again, he blew his whistle, and they were off.
"So, did you four get to see Angemon again?" Takuya asked.
"Yep! He actually told us to let all of you know that whatever happens, he's behind us one hundred percent!" Chiaki answered.
"What a swell guy." Koji said with mock sarcasm.
The rest of the trip was silent, with all ten digidestined lost in thought, wondering what Ophanimon needed them for.
Eventually they came to a stop, normally this time.
"We have arrived at Ophanimon's castle! Thank you for choosing Worm railways!" Worm exclaimed.
The group disembarked and walked up to the front gate of the castle, guarded by Black Knightchessmon and White Knightchessmon. The two Knightchessmon saluted and opened the gate, and the group pressed onward.
As they progressed towards the throne room, Zoe glanced to the side at the entrance to the castle's library. She remembered the time she and Takuya had been searching it for a clue to defeat Lucemon, and how she had been so close to telling him how she felt before he had fallen asleep out of boredom.
Zoe smiled at the memory, wondering if she'd ever get another chance to tell Takuya of her feelings for him. The closing throne room doors jarred her from her thoughts.
"Welcome, digidestined. It has been far too long since I have seen the six of you. I only wish the circumstances were less dire." Ophanimon greeted.
"It is most unfortunate that out reasons for bringing you here cannot be more lighthearted." Seraphimon agreed.
"Still, it is fortunate that you are here. It seems that evil is never satisfied." added Cherubimon.
"Ain't that the truth?" JP sighed.
"What exactly is going on?" Koichi asked.
"As you all know, Lucemon was one of the Digital World's Demon Lords. There are seven in all. While Lucemon was certainly the most powerful of the Demon Lords, the other six are by no means weak in comparison." Seraphimon began.
"Together, their power is more fearsome than you could possibly imagine. Even the weakest of them can drown the Digital World in everlasting darkness if their power goes unchecked." Cherubimon continued.
"The Demon Lords have united in order to exact revenge for the fallen Lucemon. Without the power of the Legendary Warriors, both worlds are in danger. We would not ask you to undertake such a task if we weren't in desperate need for aid. Can we entrust you with the duty of stopping the Demon Lords?" Ophanimon asked.
"You can count on us!" Takuya affirmed.
"Those Demon Lords won't know what hit them!" Koji agreed.
"Thank you, digidestined. You have given us a glimmer of hope in this dark hour." Cherubimon intoned.
"Before you go, you'll be needing these." Seraphimon stated.
Takuya, Koji, Zoe, Tommy, Koichi, and JP's cellphones rose into the air, spinning around in a ring formation. They glowed brightly, changing shape. As the glow subsided, the transformed phones floated down in front of the digidestined.
"Our D-Tectors!" Koichi exclaimed.
"Alright! Time kick some butt!" JP yelled happily
"Wait, mine looks different." Zoe realized.
Indeed, instead of her original purple D-Tector with rose pink highlights, it was now a bright pink with black highlights, and the silver hexagon border around the screen was now circular and golden.
"Mine too!" Tommy informed.
His had changed from ice blue with forest green highlights to emerald green with black highlights
"Hey, so is mine!" said JP.
JP's D-Tector had gone from blue with yellow highlights to yellow with black highlights.
"And mine!" said Koichi.
Koichi's D-Tector was, instead of black with grey highlights, a dark grey with black highlights.
"I took the liberty of upgrading those four D-Tectors. The four of you should now be able to access your Fusion spirits, though not right away. The separation from you has weakened the spirits' power. It will take time for them to regain it fully. Until then, you will only have access to your Human and Beast spirits." Seraphimon explained.
"As for Chiaki, Terui, Teppei, and Katsuharu, I'm very pleased that you have learned to use your spirits so quickly. However, you four have no Fusion spirits, a flaw which I intend to fix. I can't say when they will be ready, but rest assured I'll be making every effort to find a way to make them." Ophanimon informed.
"One more thing before you leave. A couple of old friends wish to join you on your quest." said Cherubimon.
The doors to the throne room opened behind the group, who turned in time to see a yellow rabbit digimon wearing red pants and a white digimon holding a book.
"Neemon! Bokomon!" Tommy exclaimed.
"You guys are back! Woo hoo!" Neemon shouted as he and Bokomon bounded forward towards the group and were caught in a group hug.
"Oh, it is so wonderful to see you all again! Even with the Demon Lords threatening to destroy everything, I can't help but feel ecstatic right now!" Bokomon joyfully exclaimed.
"It's great to see you, too, Bokomon. Are you two sure you're up for another journey?" Takuya asked.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Bokomon confirmed.
"Mm-hmm!" Neemon agreed.
"Your first task is to go to Veggiemon Village. We have an agent there that can help you. We are counting on you." Ophanimon ordered.
"We won't let you down, Ophanimon!" Katsuharu exclaimed.
"Well then, guys, let's get going!" Takuya finished.
The group, now consisting of twelve individuals, exited the castle and headed back to Worm.
"To Veggiemon Village, Worm!" JP announced.
"You got it! All aboard!" Worm shouted, blowing his whistle. Once everyone was inside, a second whistle sounded as Worm began zooming across the tracks once more.
'And so, with the task set before them and their team finally complete, the digidestined are off on a quest to save the Digital World. Here we go again! See where their path takes them on the next chapter of Digimon Frontier 02: Revenge of the Demon Lords!'
TLoZK: I fixed a big screw up on my part. Turns out Teruo, Teppei, Katsuharu, and Chiaki appeared after Koichi joined the group instead of before. Who knew? Apparently not me. Regardless, the plot hole has been averted.