Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon
Chapter Two
Sanctions
Hawong looked at the report. He frowned in distaste.
"The Chinese have imposed heavy trade sanctions on us, cutting our fuel intake as they aren't exporting as much gas. Also, they have sent two warships into one of our oil fields as a blockade! Oil is piling up on those oilrigs, but we don't know if they will fire if we attempt to move it, and this is all your fault!" he raged.
Tai, Davis and Rana narrowed their eyes.
"How were we to know the Chinese would retaliate? No one was hurt!" Davis growled.
"But you launched what could be seen as a full fledged attack on one of their military vessels! What you did could be construed as an act of war! And our relations with the Chinese haven't been that cordial of late anyway, and you haven't helped!"
Tai clenched his fist, resisting the urge to thump the Prime Minister.
"Look, why not just give the Chinese something in compensation?" Tai asked.
Hawong rolled his eyes.
"They don't want compensation. Honestly, you need more political acumen than you possess. They want to make an example, and show that they are the strongest country in this area of the world, and prove that they wont be messed with." Hawong said, sitting down grumpily.
"Well what are you going to do?" Rana demanded, bored and wanting to get back to studying.
He shot her a dirty look.
"Fend off the Diet for one thing! Most of them are demanding your removal from the position you are in." he said.
Davis smirked.
"Good. Suits us."
Hawong smiled condescendingly, showing his teeth.
"Need I remind you that if you don't work for me you go to prison?" he asked, smiling.
Davis' lip curled.
"You think I am bad with my stance on you brats, you should see the Diet. Most of them think I should have just have thrown you into prison and been done with it. No, I prefer keeping you where I can see you. And as to the Chinese, I am trying to calm them down with a new trade deal that should make them happy. And as to their occupation of the oil field, I have sent three frigates to patrol the area in case they get too big for their britches."
Tai looked at him nervously.
"Wont sending warships into an area that they've already sent warships into only aggravate them?" he asked.
Hawong looked thoughtful.
"Yes, most likely. Which is what we want. We want them aggravated so they will be more inclined to listen to reason. They want to punish us but not at the expense of an armed conflict." he said.
Rana looked at the other two worriedly. This seemed like a very risky move that could inflame and go out of control very quickly.
"Right, go, you are dismissed." he said, pointing them to the door.
Tai swept from the room, the other two in his wake. They waited until they were outside and joined by their Digimon before they said anything.
"Sending ships in to that oil field is only going to goad the Chinese. They'll be furious and think we want a fight." Tai said angrily.
"Which we don't. But I suppose it'll only be temporary. The Chinese will calm down." Davis said.
"You think? Remember after we hiked up the prices of petrol and nuclear fuel a few months ago, it hit China hard. They weren't happy with us for that." Veemon said, having spent a lot of time reading the papers since they'd started working for Hawong.
"Did you see the headlines today? 'Digidestined cause international tension'." Agumon said darkly.
"What?" Rana demanded angrily.
"And that's not all. We're getting a lot of stick for how we handled that operation. People are furious with us." Tsukimon said, as he attracted a glare from a passing woman.
Davis moaned.
"This is my fault."
Tai shook his head adamantly, and Rana squeezed his shoulder.
"It's not. It's Hawong's for sending you on that flaming mission in the first place." he growled.
Rana looked up into the air, sighing in weariness. She then looked up at it more closely, frowning.
"Is there something going on with the sky or is it just me?" she asked worriedly.
They all looked up and Tai cursed. A black dot was growing into a tornado in midair.
"That looks like it could be to do with us. Here we go again." he sighed.
"But you've got exams! Cant they sod off until you do them?" Agumon asked indignantly.
"Obviously not. Call the others. Whatever that is it cant be good."
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Sam cursed as she tried valiantly to work out a trigonometric equation.
"Cheer up, its your second exam." Izzy said consolingly.
"Oh joy. So I may pass English, but I'll fail Maths! I hate this subject." she moaned bitterly.
Izzy smiled, then frowned as his D-terminal went off.
"Now what?" he asked, stretching over his Geography stuff to answer it.
"Oh crap. Guys, we have a problem!" he called.
"Digital?" Sam asked resignedly.
"Yep."
"Good. I know how to pass that. Cant they give us an exam on Digimon? We'd all pass with full marks." she said musingly.
Izzy grinned as Tentomon and Candlemon stomped through.
"You're right, we have a problem. We've burnt our teacakes." Tentomon harrumphed.
Candlemon nodded angrily.
"That oven is too hot!" he moaned.
Izzy rolled his eyes. As they'd been doing a lot of revision, their Digimon had been feeding them with endless baked products, due to both Izzy and Sam's mum going rather berserk when they had seen the cheap kilo bags of flour at the cash and carry. Hence, two whole cupboards in each house wee full of flour, so the Digimon were allowed to bake provided they cleaned up. Ad baking for the church had earned Candlemon extra points with Sam's overbearing father, who still thought of him as an abomination, albeit one that he now knew was linked to his daughter.
"What have we got?" Tentomon asked.
"Digital problems. Let's go." Izzy said and they dashed out of the house.
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"Lunch time come and get it!" Gatomon cried as he put an omelette, about all she could make without the supervision of Kari's mother, onto each of the four plates.
TK and Kari left Kari's room, looking tired.
"I trust you have been revising hard for English." Patamon said, enjoying the fact that they were so stressed over the exams.
"Yes. And not revising Human Biology again." Gatomon said, having walked in on them when they had been kissing rather than revising.
Kari stuck her tongue out irritably.
"Why do we have to sit exams?" TK asked, tucking in ravenously.
"Because we have to learn facts, not learn for understanding." Kari said, quoting a teacher who believed the education system was all wrong.
Gatomon quickly finished hers, as did Patamon and TK. Kari was halfway through when the D-terminal went off.
"Bugger." she said, leaning back to get it.
The others groaned as her face fell.
"Considering you aren't swearing about politicians, I assume it's a digital problem and not a political one?" Patamon asked.
"Yep. Here we go again." she said, and they dashed off.
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The Digidestined assembled in the centre of town, right underneath the large black tornado, which already had people hiding from it.
"Who do we have?" Matt asked as he arrived with Sora.
"Some new bad guy trying to make our lives miserable no doubt." Joe said cynically, helping Mimi off his scooter.
"Well try and keep damage to a minimum. If this gets out of hand Hawong will string us up." Ken grumbled.
"And so will the public. They're already pissed with us. Did you see the news?" Yolei demanded furiously.
"That tornado thingy has just got a light in the centre. Here they come." Palmon said, readying herself.
There was then a sinister laughing from the centre of the tornado. They all looked up at it in concern, and they could see people peering up from inside shops, office buildings and apartments. There was a screech as Wizardmon pulled up in the van he sued to transport his magic show things, and Arukenimon and Mummymon, both on holiday, leapt out of the back. The three of them were also under Hawong's control but he seemed more content to let them get on with it as they were tax payers and the kids weren't.
"I know that laugh." Ken said, sounding scared.
"What?"
There was a flash and a figure clad in red, with a hood over his face, large purple wings and two horns descended from above.
"It's Daemon!" Wormmon cried in dismay.
"Well we knew he was around somewhere. It was only a matter of time." Tai said, glaring up at him.
"Digidestined. I see you have organised a welcome committee for me. It has been some time. Perhaps you recognise my companions?" he asked, a laugh in his voice.
There was a squawk, and a massive green bird flew out from the tornado.
"It's Parrotmon! But how is that possible?" Rana demanded, having watched Megadramon obliterate him a few months before.
Izzy sighed.
"With us anything is possible." he said in a depressed voice.
There was a high simpering laugh as LadyDevimon, a black clad woman who looked like a witch appeared.
"It's her!" Gatomon spat.
There was a hiss and WaruSeadramon, a long red snake with a black helmet, slithered out and crashed to the ground.
"Not him too!" Joe cried.
Daemon laughed evilly.
"Have you missed the Triad Digidestined? They've missed you, and they will destroy you. As will this lot!"
A small army of Digimon fell from the tornado and fell to the ground.
"Here we go again." Agumon said, as the Digimon leapt forward.
"Agumon warp digivolve to…WarGreymon!"
"Gabumon warp digivolve to…MetalGarurumon!"
"Biyomon warp digivolve to…Phoenixmon!"
"Tentomon warp digivolve to…HerculesKabuterimon!"
"Palmon warp digivolve to…Rosemon!"
"Gomamon warp digivolve to…Plesiomon!"
"Patamon warp digivolve to…Seraphimon!"
"Gatomon warp digivolve to…Magnadramon!"
"Veemon warp digivolve to…DinoVeemon!"
"Wormmon warp digivolve to…Mantismon!"
"Hawkmon warp digivolve to…Valkyrimon!"
"Armadillomon warp digivolve to…Vikemon!"
"Tsukimon warp digivolve to…Gigadramon!"
"Candlemon warp digivolve to…Lavamon!"
The fourteen Digidestined and their partners stood facing Daemon's army. Daemon looked at the group, and began to laugh along with the Triad.
"You fools! You don't stand a chance against us! Now, I shall leave you to play with this lot. I have members of the Eighteen to find." Daemon said, and flew upwards.
LadyDevimon grinned.
"Get them." she ordered, and the army surged forward.
As the others readied to fight the army, Gigadramon flew at Puppetmon, Magnadramon flew at LadyDevimon and Seraphimon went for WaruSeadramon, while WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon went upwards to stop Daemon.
"You should not have come back WaruSeadramon." Seraphimon said, his voice booming.
WaruSeadramon hissed in amusement.
"Really? But I couldn't show you my new trick."
"New trick?" Seraphimon demanded suspiciously.
"WaruSeadramon digivolve to…Pukumon!"
"Whoa boy!" Seraphimon said in shock.
Pukumon was a small round fish like Digimon, with two large hands and a helmet which was covered in spikes.
Pukumon: A small fish like Mega Digimon, this Digimon is not one you want to crush with your foot. His Needle Squall will send an enemy to the floor.
"Are they meant to do that?" Sam asked angrily.
"Yeah, they've gotten good at doing that recently." Sora said as Phoenixmon dive bombed a group of Bakemon.
Pukumon giggled hysterically, then crashed a fist into Seraphimon's stomach, sending him sprawling.
"Oh crap." TK moaned.
LadyDevimon laughed as Magnadramon approached.
"LadyDevimon digivolve to…BlackMagnadramon!"
This version of Magnadramon was black, thinner, leaner and more evil looking. Her eyes glowed a deep red and she had a sinister growl.
"Gotcha." she hissed and crashed her tail into Magnadramon.
BlackMagnadramon: A corrupted version of Magnadramon, what should be a Holy Dragon is an Unholy Monster. Her Fire Torrent will send her prey running for cover.
"This time you'll get put down for sure!" she crowed, and dived after her nemesis.
Gigadramon crashed his metal clad fist into Parrotmon, knocking the bird backwards.
"Not this time." the bird promised.
"What?"
"Parrotmon digivolve to…Eaglemon!"
Eaglemon was a large golden armoured Digimon, with massive wings, four legs and a black helmet.
"You aint meant to do that!" Gigadramon protested.
"This time I am." Eaglemon simpered, then slammed into Gigadramon.
Eaglemon: A Mega level Digimon, he makes up the other third of the trinity of Mega Flying Digimon, with Phoenixmon and Gryphonmon. His Kaiser Phoenix unleashes his splendour in one vicious attack.
Rosemon looked up as she swung her sword as Musyamon, who kept avoiding it.
"Great. The Triad's back and working with Daemon, who has an army to top it off! Oh we're going to be really popular!" she hissed as she destroyed a few Vilemon.
"Terra force!" WarGreymon roared.
"Metal Wolf claw!" MetalGarurumon snarled.
Daemon sighed in boredom as the attacks came flying at him. He raised a hand and they stopped in their tracks. He then sent them flying off to the ground, where it crashed into the car park of the government building, blowing up Hawong's car among others.
"Oh nuts. Hawong is going to be most displeased with us." WarGreymon moaned.
"Well let's get this guy before he blows anything else up. Metal Wolf Claw!"
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Hawong walked out of the office, heading to his car. Fancying a bun from the bakers, he would go in the car and bring back some food for the rest of the office, so he would get more popular with them. Everything was to do with politics. He took his keys out of his pocket and headed towards it, when a fireball slammed into the car, blasting it to bits. Hawong roared furiously, and looked skywards to see WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon fighting another Digimon.
"Blasted kids! Blow up my car will you!? Right, I've had enough of this! Time to fix you permanently!" he spat, hailing a cab.
"Prime Minister!?" the driver asked in amazement.
"Take me to the Digidestined!" he roared.
"Where are they?" the man asked, driving off all the same,
"Over there, wrecking the city! Now go!" Hawong roared.
This time they wouldn't worm their way out of trouble.
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Daemon laughed and sent the missiles into WarGreymon who yelped in pain and fell several feet.
"Ah well. I didn't want to destroy you now. But I suppose it saves me the trouble later on. Evil Inferno!"
The fireball crashed into the two Digimon and they thudded to the ground like asteroids. Daemon gave a sinister laugh and joined the battle.
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Michael Washington, a Digidestined from America, looked at his girlfriend. Mara was a medium girl, with long flowing red hair and deep brown eyes. Lithe and supple, he had dated her since he had finished with Mimi years before.
"Are you sure you want to meet them?" he asked as they walked down a street, wondering what the strange noises from up ahead were.
"Yeah. They're famous on the Diginet." she said.
While she was a Diginet fanatic, Michael wasnt. She used the website to keep in touch with people from all over while he let her get on with it, preferring to use email
"Aw come on, we can see our friends." Betamon encouraged from his backpack.
Michael sighed.
"Alright. Just remember my ex is one of them." he warned.
"Michael…" Betamon said, nodding at the sky.
Daemon, who he had seen years before, was hurtling down after two falling Digimon who looked like WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon.
"Your friends I take it?" Mara asked as her own Digimon a chocolate coloured rabbit like fellow appeared.
"Yeah. Come on. Let's go introduce you." he said.
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WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon slammed to the ground, groaning as Daemon descended after them. Magnadramon, Seraphimon and Gigadramon were also recovering from their foe's unexpected digivolution. Meanwhile, the others were fighting off the army.
"How is it when we hit Megas as our Champion forms we get trounced, but they don't? Sorrow Blue!" Plesiomon cursed.
"Roses Rapier! I don't know, but I'm getting fed up of it." Rosemon growled.
Phoenixmon cursed as she saw WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon hit the earth. Hawong would love this.
"Will you two watch what you're doing?" she squawked.
"Easy for you to say." WarGreymon growled as he got to his feet.
Daemon landed in front of them.
"Evil Inferno!"
The two were slammed into an office building, making Tai and Sora groan. They would not be popular after this.
"What is going on?" Michael asked as he and Mara arrived from the next street.
"Michael!? What are you doing here?" Davis demanded as a Digimon knocked DinoVeemon from the air.
"I'll tell you later. Want some help?" he asked as the girl smiled at her partner.
"Sure if you're offering." Ken said as Mantismon went to the aid of his friend.
"Betamon digivolve to…Seadramon!"
The large green serpent then bit upwards, taking out a couple of Bakemon.
"Hi, I'm Mara." Mara said, smiling at Davis and Ken.
"Hey. Are you a Digidestined too?" Ken asked as he watched Valkyrimon fall down after Deltamon tripped him up.
"Yep. There's my partner." she said, pointing.
She was pointing at the small brown bunny that was attacking a Vilemon.
Lopmon: This shy little Digimon is brave and loyal to a fault. If her friends are in danger, she wont hesitate to let loose a Blazing Ice attack.
The little bunny span out of the way of the oncoming Vilemon, and on a nod from Mara, grinned.
"Lopmon digivolve to…Turuiemon!"
In her place was a large purple warrior rabbit, with two large metal gauntlets on her hand and clad in an armour suit.
Turuiemon: A warrior Digimon, she wont back down from any fight. Her Gauntlet Claw can cut through steel.
"Gauntlet Claw!" she yelled, slicing up three more Vilemon.
Daemon stalked silently towards the two defeated Digimon, raising his hand to end them.
"Evil Inferno!" he hissed.
"Ice Breath!"
"Gauntlet Claw!"
The two attacks hit him from behind, making him stumble. He turned and fired the attack at them, and they darted out of the way to allow the blast to hit the building behind them, to the kid's moans of dismay.
And it was then that Daemon spotted Michael.
"A member of the Eighteen!" he roared furiously.
"What?" HerculesKabuterimon demanded anxiously.
"Typical. We cant go looking for them for months and we find them just as the new bad guy shows up!" Cody complained.
Vikemon leapt in front of Michael, stopping the attack.
"What the devil is the Eighteen?" Michael demanded as Vikemon fell to his knees.
"Much later." Davis said as Daemon flew up to obliterate Michael.
"I shall end your threat boy." Daemon promised.
Seadramon and Turuiemon then took position in front of Michael. Daemon laughed, ignoring the fact that Phoenixmon, Rosemon, Seraphimon and Magnadramon were on their way to attack him.
"Evil Inferno!" he yelled, confident of victory.
A white portal then shimmered to life in front of Daemon, who pulled his hand back apprehensively. Then Baihumon leapt through, roaring wildly.
"Iron Claws!"
The attack hit Daemon sprawling from the air.
"Everyone, focus on Daemon!" Magnadramon said.
WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon nodded at each other.
"WarGreymon, MetalGarurumon, DNA digivolve to…Omnimon!"
"Supreme Cannon!"
"Starlight Explosion!"
"Mega Electro Shocker!"
"Forbidden Temptation!"
"Sorrow Blue!"
"Seven Heavens!"
"Fire Tornado!"
"Extinction Attack!"
"Yellow Fever Flame!"
"Laser Javelin!"
"Artic Blizzard!"
"Giga Heat!"
"Volcano Force!"
"Ice Breath!"
"Gauntlet Claw!"
"Iron Claws!"
"Snake Bandage!"
"Spider Thread!"
"Thunder Spell!"
The attack sent Daemon crashing into a building, slamming into BlackMagnadramon, Pukumon and Eaglemon in the process, crushing part of a multi storey car park and another building. The kids moaned as Daemon got up yelping.
"Ouch! Mind those pins will you!" he yelled at Pukumon.
"It's not my fault!" Pukumon shouted back.
""He was needling him to retreat." Seraphimon said suggestively, to a moan from Magnadramon, while the others shook their heads.
The enemy Digimon sent him a dirty look, and Daemon nodded. They all shimmered away, much to their surprise.
"Enjoy your peace while it lasts Digidestined." Daemon said before disappearing.
They stood in the ruined area, Tai groaning.
"Hawong is going to decapitate us." he moaned.
"If we're lucky." Kari said cynically.
The Digimon all returned to normal.
"Hello. Who's this?" Candlemon asked as he surveyed the two new Digimon.
"I'm Lopmon. Pleased to make your acquaintance." she said, shaking hands with them all.
"And you already know me." Betamon said, grinning at them all.
The kid all gathered around Michael.
"Michael, hi." Tai said, shaking his hand.
"Hey Tai. Will someone explain what's going on?" he asked, to Mara's fervent nods of agreement.
"Michael!" Mimi exclaimed as she came over.
"Your ex?" Mara asked, her eyebrow raised as she appraised Mimi.
"Yeah. Hey Mimi, how've you been?" he asked casually.
Joe then walked over and his eyes went wide and realisation came onto his face.
"Oh bollocks." Mimi cursed.
"He was your old boyfriend!?" Joe demanded anxiously.
"She was your old girl friend?" Mara asked, sounding worried.
"Oh joy. Yet another flipping cock up." Yolei cursed, earning her a dirty look from Ken, which she glared in response to.
"Don't worry, I'm with you now." Mimi said, putting her hand on Joe's arm, trying to clam his fears.
"We're just friends now." Michael soothed.
Both Joe and Mara still looked unconvinced. Tai glossed over this quickly.
"What are you doing in Japan?" he asked as Baihumon started to trot over.
"Our dads are filming a new film series, so we're going to be here at least five years, so we moved here."
Baihumon then arrived.
"Hello you lot." he said cheerily.
"What are you doing here?" Tai asked as the others all nodded in greeting.
Baihumon looked slightly affronted.
"Is it bad for a head of state to come to visit you?" he asked.
Tai's lip curled in distaste.
"It is here." he growled.
Kari, Agumon and Gatomon went pale, and started shaking their heads urgently, seeing a rant was coming and trying to avoid it.
"Oh?" Baihumon asked curiously.
"Well our Head of State is a control freak, who doesn't give a damn about our welfare, who is an obnoxious prick and is dictating to us and blaming us for everything that goes wrong!" he ranted.
The three of them were shaking their heads to no avail.
"You know, I bet he's up in his office right now, plotting how to drop us in it again, the backstabbing bastard!"
Agumon held his head in despair.
"Or maybe…" a voice said sinisterly from behind Tai, who went pale, "he's right behind you plotting how to stick you in prison for causing yet more damage and blowing up his car!"
Tai turned, mortified, to face his red faced boss.
"Oh dear." Tai whispered.
Baihumon then walked forwards.
"Hello. I am Baihumon." he said, extending a paw.
Hawong looked at him in shock, and bent to Palmon.
"Is it me or is there a giant talking dog coming towards me?" he asked.
"Don't worry, he's one of our Heads of State, like you. And you get used to it. You should see Azulongmon." she said cheerily.
Hawong shrugged and shook Baihumon's extended paw.
"Henry Hawong, Prime Minister of Japan."
They shook, and Baihumon looked around.
"Er…nice place you have here." he said, looking at the damage.
Hawong threw a dirty look at the Digidestined.
"It would be a lot nicer if this lot didn't keep blowing it up!" he raged.
Baihumon opened his mouth to respond, when he stopped.
"You have a point actually. They do make a lot of mess when they're saving the world don't they?" he said musingly.
The Digidestined turned, enraged, as one to face Baihumon. Hawong laughed.
"Ha! See!" he said triumphantly.
Tai glowered at the two Heads of State.
Hawong then saw Michael and Mara, and he narrowed his eyes in distaste.
"And you are?" he asked.
"Michael Washington, this is my girlfriend Mara Walker." he said, shaking his hand
Hawong shook reluctantly, eyeing the two in dislike.
"More Digidestined? More of your vaunted Eighteen?" he asked snidely.
"According to Daemon." Matt said, barely keeping civility in his voice.
"And as our enemies seem to be more ahead of us than we are of them, I reckon he's right." Baihumon admitted.
Hawong rolled his eyes.
"So you're the ones feeding them this crackpot story about a war?" he asked disdainfully.
"Yes. There is a war coming." Baihumon said earnestly.
Hawong nodded curtly, and Baihumon failed to realise that he was humouring him.
"And you live in Japan?" Hawong asked, going in for the kill.
Ken and Davis started shaking their heads urgently, but Michael never noticed.
"Yes. We've moved here for five years." he said, sounding suspicious.
The Digidestined groaned as Hawong smiled triumphantly.
"Excellent. So you will now work for me." he sneered happily.
"What? We aren't even nationalised citizens yet!" Mara protested angrily.
Hawong raised an eyebrow.
"Indeed? Well I shall accelerate the process for you as a gesture of good faith. You will work to me, and I believe your new group is led by Rana?" he asked, turning to Tai.
Rana stepped forward, nodding coldly.
"Yes, I lead the new group. Not that it's any concern of yours." she hissed.
Rana was one of the most vocal detractors of Hawong's command over them, and they all felt sure that, if she could get away with it, she would happily kill him.
"Mind your tone girl. Unless you'd like to spend a night in the cells? I'd be more than justified." he said silkily.
Rana growled slightly and retreated, leaving Hawong to smile smugly.
"Report to me as soon as you become nationalised citizens. All Digidestined in Japan are under the sole command of the Prime Minister in order to enforce the security of the state you see. Until later."
He nodded to Baihumon, who nodded politely.
"Right, I must go and inform the press that yet another one of your vile enemies are running amok around the city. And then I am going to find a new car, and debate whether or not to stick you in prison!" Hawong said, glowering at them as he got back into the cab he had arrived in.
"Hmm. He seems a nice chap." Baihumon said.
He then took an involuntary step back from the Digidestined as anger flowed from them.
"You realise he is going to go and alienate us to the press yet again when we're already being blamed for the argument with China?" Izzy demanded, his eyes narrowed.
"Which is his fault anyway." Sam spat.
"And he's going to blame Daemon's arrival on us, along with the accompanying mess." Joe said bitterly.
Mara stepped forward.
"Excuse me, is it me or did we just get enslaved?" she demanded angrily.
"Yeah. You get used to it." Palmon said.
"He cant do that surely? He's a foreign ruler!" Lopmon protested.
"Not anymore. You live here, you report to him. your ambassador wont be able to do anything." Wormmon admitted sadly.
"This is illegal surely?" Michael demanded.
"Maybe. But no one will stop him." Tai growled.
"Are you sure?" Betamon asked.
"Yes we're sure!" Matt snapped.
Michael and Mara shot him a dirty look.
"Sorry. We're all just a bit tense right now." he said.
"Can you blame us?" Sora asked.
Michael tilted his head.
"I suppose not no." he admitted.
A bit away, Arukenimon, Wizardmon and Mummymon were debating something with Baihumon. Tai picked up a piece of rubble.
"Tai, no! You've already annoyed one Head of State! Didn't you see us shaking our heads!?" Agumon demanded.
Tai growled.
"Side with Hawong will he? I'll get him." he cursed.
"Tai, no!" Davis said, taking the piece of rubble from him.
Mimi was looking thoughtful.
"What's up Mimi?" Palmon asked.
"Is anyone noticing a pattern here?" she asked.
"A pattern you say? With what?" Baihumon asked, trotting over.
"The members of the Eighteen. Look. Matt's a member. Then Sora becomes one. Izzy's one, then Sam becomes one. Same with Joe and I, and TK and Kari." she theorised.
"What are you saying? That whoever you lot wind up doing are also pre-destined members of the Eighteen?" Armadillomon asked sceptically.
"Yeah, I think I'm onto something." Mimi said, sounding thoughtful.
"You reckon? Sounds fishy to me." Arukenimon said.
"It might be true." Izzy said.
They all stood in silence for a second, until Tai turned to Baihumon.
"Right you filthy traitor, what are you doing here?" he asked.
Baihumon chuckled.
"I am here with news. We believe we have found a way for you lot to digivolve beyond Mega." he said gravely.
"We can digivolve beyond Mega?" Biyomon asked excitedly.
"We think so. Tai, this is for you." he said.
He took out a cross with a loop on top. Inside the loop was the Crest of Courage. It was as big as the Crest, but Tai could feel that it had more power as he hung it around his neck.
"Cool. What is it?"
"It is a Relic. A set of ruins recently became revealed on Mount Infinity. We had a neb and found that. We believe these Relics will allow you all to digivolve past the Mega level." Baihumon said.
Agumon looked at it excitedly.
"That will be brilliant. So next time a bad guy surprises us by digivolving to Super we can go 'haha, get it up yaes!'" he said triumphantly.
Everyone looked at him in surprise.
"What? I saw it on television." he said sheepishly.
Tai looked at Baihumon.
"So, we need to find these things. Any idea where they are?" he asked.
Baihumon shrugged.
"That was in an old set of ruins uncovered by you blowing up half of Mount Infinity. We finally finished clearing up the mess." he said.
They all glared at him, and he seemed to think his presence was no longer required.
"Oh well, best get back. I've got two eggs on boil. Cheerio!" he said, then leapt through the portal.
"Swine." Ken grumbled.
Tai sighed.
"We need to find these Relics." he said.
They all nodded, but Michael stepped forward.
"Will someone tell me what the devil the Eighteen is!?"! he raged.
Izzy turned to face him sheepishly.
"Sorry. The Eighteen is a group of Digidestined who are meant to lead the fight against the so-called Ultimate Evil. We're all members apparently. Daemon seems to think you're a member too, so that means you're also meant to lead this war against evil." he said.
Michael rolled his eyes.
"I should have stayed in America." he complained.
"And if Mimi is right, Mara is too." Kari added.
Mara shot Michael a dirty look.
"If you've roped me into this I swear…" she promised.
Michael shuddered.
Matt winked at Michael, while TK patted his shoulder understandingly.
"Right, so we're decided. We need to find these Relics. And if Michael is a member of the Eighteen, we'll need his crest. And if Mimi is to be believed, Mara needs one too." Veemon summarised.
Rana looked around.
"Right, what do we do?" she asked.
Tai was about to respond when he saw Daemon fly skywards from afar. Daemon was laughing as he flew out of sight.
"Why is he leaving Japan?" Joe demanded.
Gabumon's eyes widened.
"We've been fools!"
"How?" Mummymon asked.
"We've only focused on trying to find the Eighteen from Japan! What if they are foreign, like Michael!?"
Stunned silence met these words.
"Bollocks." Gomamon summed up.
"Which means he's away looking for the other members of the Eighteen. Which means we need to go after him." Candlemon said grumpily.
"Agreed. As such, if he's going all over the world, we'll need to be able to keep up. Which means we need Imperialdramon." Matt said, turning to receive nods from Davis and Ken.
"If Mimi's right, there's sixteen of us. We'll need one group to go after Daemon, one to stay here and keep an eye on his goons and Hawong, one to get the new crests and one to go for these Relics." Gatomon said.
Tai nodded.
"Yolei, Cody, go with Davis and Ken." he ordered.
Yolei groaned, as did Ken.
"Must I?" she demanded angrily.
"Yes. Sort this, whatever it is. Now!" Tai barked, making Yolei back down, but sent him a dirty look all the same.
"Right. Sam hasn't had any experience with the Digital world. I'll take her, Michael and Mara to try and find their crests. There shouldn't be much hassle with that." Izzy said.
Tai nodded.
"Matt, Sora, Rana, you three come with me and look for Relics. And that'll get me out of Hawong's way…" he finished sheepishly.
"Yeah. After bad mouthing him when he was right behind you dolt." Matt teased.
Tai shot him a bored glance and the others grinned.
"We'll stay here and help the remaining four to keep order." Arukenimon said.
"Yes. Something is happening around here. We'd best be cautious. Especially with the Triad being back." Mummymon said.
"Yeah. How did that happen?" Rana asked.
"God knows. And to make things worse, they're working with Daemon. Right, be careful. We'll go now. Don't tell Hawong until we've left. Kari, you're in charge." Tai said to his sister, hugging her.
"Thanks for that. Be careful, and be quick. Remember, we have exams." she warned.
Tai grinned at her half heartedly, as Izzy readied his laptop for them.
"Yeah. We'll be back soon. Be careful, all of you. Wouldn't want Hawong to have to write a commemoration for us would we?" he asked as his group raised their Digivices.
There was a flash and they were gone.
"Can I get you to drop my laptop at home?" Izzy asked Mimi.
"Yeah, sure." she said.
He raised his Digivice and his group, made up of the two reluctant new members, also vanished.
"How did it all go so wrong?" Kari muttered, leading TK to kiss her cheek.
Davis nodded to their two Digimon.
"Veemon digivolve to…ExVeemon!"
"Wormmon digivolve to…Stingmon!"
"ExVeemon, Stingmon, DNA digivolve to…Paildramon!"
"Paildramon mega digivolve to…Imperialdramon!"
That team gave a wave as they vanished into Imperialdramon, who then shot skywards after Daemon.
TK hugged Kari to him, as they all looked at the points where the other teams had vanished.
"It's serious now isn't it?" Mimi asked quietly.
"Oh yeah. Very." Joe admitted.
Kari sighed.
"Come on. Let's go tell Hawong the good news." she said as the others went to drop off Izzy's laptop.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"They went off without asking me!?" Hawong raged.
"Yes. In their defence, Davis' group is trying to prevent more negative reactions from other countries as they will claim we failed to stop Daemon, and Izzy's group is making sure they can serve you to their fullest potential." Kari soothed.
"You mean his and Tai's group are finding ways to cause yet more damage." he cursed.
Kari sighed tiredly.
"Look, there's nothing you can do. You'll just have to make do with me, TK, Mimi and Joe alright?" she said, bored.
Hawong sighed.
"I suppose it will have to do. And it will keep your clever brother out of my way for a few days. Good. Very well. Let us hope you aren't as unpredictable as he is." he said.
Kari nodded stiffly, and left, TK following in her wake.
Hawong sat back. So, there were only four Digidestined left in the city. His ally would love that.
"Interesting." his ally said, making Hawong leap in fright as he materialised from the shadows.
"Must you do that?" Hawong demanded weakly.
"Yes. Highlight of my day doing that." he said cheerily.
Hawong rolled his eyes.
"Well? What are you going to do with that information?" Hawong asked.
His ally smiled.
"Don't worry. The master will have someone sent to deal with the insolent brats. They will not escape this time." he vowed.
Hawong snorted.
"You said that about Diaboromon." he scoffed.
His ally sent him a dirty look, to which Hawong responded with a rude hand gesture.
"Everything is prepared at your end?" his ally asked.
"Of course. All is ready, provided Daemon's gang does their job correctly." he said.
"Oh we will." LadyDevimon said as she also appeared out of the shadows.
"Very good." Hawong said, sitting back, thinking eagerly about what would soon happen.
"Oh hat reminds me. I am not going to be popping in and out as much for a while." his ally said.
"Oh yes? Hawong asked.
"Yes. I am to assist Daemon. We have a plan in the works, and he requires my help. As such, you are to coordinate with LadyDevimon as if she were me." his ally said.
Hawong nodded.
"Fine. It'll be nice not to have to worry about you leaping out from the shadows every day." Hawong grumbled.
LadyDevimon smiled.
"Oh I like to do that too." she said brightly.
"Typical." Hawong moaned.
"Oh, and I want the files you have on all the Digidestined under your control." she said.
"You'll get them first thing." Hawong responded.
"Wonderful. Daemon has left, so I'm away to oversee the settling in process of the army." she said, and vanished.
Hawong turned to look at his ally as he moved out from the shadows. He was tall and thin, with long black arms and wicked looking fingers. He had massive wings which were punched with holes, a red crest on his chest and two large horns. His eyes were red and evil was like a stench around him.
"Our time is approaching my friend. It is upon us. Nothing can stop our ascension now." he promised evilly.
Hawong smiled. He was right. It was far too late.
"You are right my friend. Nothing can stop us now."
Looking across at the Prime Minister, appreciating the truth and irony in his ally's words, Devimon smiled.
It's Devimon! Did anyone guess that it was Devimon who was working with Hawong, and has been spying on the Digidestined to boot? But it should be said that Devimon is not the Ultimate Evil.
Thanks to Baihumon, we can now start to digivolve beyond Mega level. Bit of a swine that the bad guys can Digivolve now too isnt it?
I enjoyed having Tai rant with Hawong behind him. One of those 'oh shit' moments.
We also have two possible members of the Eighteen. Is Mimi's theory correct? Time will tell!
Will things with the Chinese get better, or worse? Will the team find more Relics? (Which look like the Relics from Crash Bandicoot by the way). Events are now on the move!
What has happened with Ken and Yolei? That will be revealed soon!
And I liked havibng Baihumon and Hawong get on, I thought it was fun.
Now that we know who our enemies are, what will happen next? What do Daemon and Devimon have planned? All will be revealed one day!
Next chapter, things heat up, and a new Digivolution awakens! Also, things heat up in the real world! Like Hawong and Devimon said, nothing can stop it now. Things start to amount next chapter!
Hope you enjoyed the reveal, please review on your thoughts on this chapter, please read and review and I will hopefully update soon! Enjoy!