Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon
Chapter Four
Downhill
Tai, Sora, Matt and Rana emerged through the pc into the Dino Region of File Island, to see several Digimon milling about, several of them pulling away large chunks of rock or ordering other Digimon about.
"Wow, where are we?" Rana asked as a couple of Saberdramon flew overhead.
"The Ancient Dino Region." Gabumon supplied.
"The last time we were here I won my greatest victory and destroyed Gryphonmon." Biyomon said proudly, looking at the burnt hollow where she had done the deed.
Rana looked suitably impressed while Tsukimon looked around in awe at his surroundings.
"Noob." Agumon said in amusement as they headed forward.
There was then a large bray of delight, and they saw the large form of Cannondramon coming towards them.
"Cannondramon!" Tai called in delight, and the old dinosaur smiled down at them
"Oh it is good to see you, it's been far too long since we last saw each other." She said in delight, nudging them with her nose.
"Cannondramon is an old friend of ours. She helped us fight the Covenant when they were messing about." Matt explained.
"Ah, and you must be one of the new ones. I am pleased to meet you. I am Cannondramon." She said, smiling kindly down at Rana.
"Hi. I'm Rana, and this is my Digimon, Tsukimon." Rana greeted her, and Tsukimon waved at the old Digimon in hello.
"As you can see we're busy uncovering the ruins we found. According to Azulongmon they precede the Sovereigns, so they could very well have been put here by the founders." Cannondramon explained as they walked with her.
"The founders?" Rana asked curiously.
"The ones who directed the Digiworld before the Sovereigns took over, back when the strong ruled the weak and there was little you could do about it until you digivolved. Something makes me think they may have set aside these temples, which have of course now collapsed into ruins, as a bolt hole from which they could defend from. The stone is very durable."
"So how come they fell apart?" Matt asked, figuring that if they were now ruins they couldn't have been that strong.
"Two reasons. One is the fact that only the stone is strong, not the stuff binding the stone together. Secondly, very little can survive you lot crashing through it." She said with a slight grin, and Tai scowled up at her.
"Don't you start, we have Hawong getting on at us about that, then Baihumon joined in...if you don't like the mess so much maybe we should stop trying to save your bloody world." Tai said grumpily.
Though Matt sent him a quelling look, he did have to admit his friend had a point. They risked their necks day in and day out and they all got worked up over a little bit of mess.
Cannondramon laughed.
"Oh stop being so grumpy. I'm not having a go at you, and besides it was mainly Gryphonmon who wrecked the joint here. And for what it's worth I reckon you're right. They should stop moaning about the mess and just be thankful that you save their butts time and again." She said sniffily.
"Thanks Cannondramon." Biyomon said with a smile.
"And as for Baihumon..." Cannondramon said irritably, heading towards the ruins, with the kids following close behind.
XX
The Digimon was summoned before them and he bowed low. He was made almost like of smoke, and was a skeletal figure, with long bony arms and a skull for a head, through which shone two piercing, glowing red eyes. A dark hat covered his skull and a black poncho hid the rest of his skeleton from observation.
"We have summoned you before us for a reason our servant." The first of them said, the one with the blue skin and faded, white, atrophied eyes.
"We wish you to attack the Digidestined that are currently in the Ancient Dino Region on File Island." The green skinned one said, the one with the bright, vibrant and blue eyes.
"This is in our best interests and will set us in good stead for the coming partnership." The final one said, the purple skinned one with the glowing red eyes finished.
"As you wish it my ladies, so shall it be." He said, bowing low.
"We have already summoned Gaiomon to aid you in this." Purple skin said again.
"Excellent. Which ones am I facing?" he asked, knowing full well his mistresses knew everything effectively.
"Courage...Friendship...Love...and Integrity." Green skin spat.
"Then the Ancient Dino Region shall be their doom my ladies." He said, bowing once more, and flashing off to join Gaiomon before he went to destroy the Digidestined and break the power of the Eighteen.
XX
"These are the ruins we uncovered." Cannondramon said, nodding with her large head to a sort of broken down shack that was cut into the hillside.
"Doesn't look like much does it?" Sora asked in distaste.
"We think they were once temples but they continued to decay when the mountain grew over them. They may very well have been grand once." Cannondramon mused.
"You've only found one?" Agumon asked curiously, eager to get exploring.
Cannondramon nodded.
"In here yes. There was also one on Mount Infinity. I suspect there could be one somewhere in Great Canyon, and possibly one in Freezeland and Misty Trees as well. However that of course still leaves various other locations where such things can be. Gennai informs me he will upload a map to allow you to get to locations where we know there are other ruins like this one where Relics may be, but it will take time. Now I have brought you here I will go to the suspected site at Great Canyon and investigate it for any sign of old ruins. Baihumon is also looking for these ruins. For some reason they seem to be the key to find the Relics. You can imagine our surprise when we found your Relic at Mount Infinity Tai. If we are right, and we have every reason to believe we are, then these ruins are where we will find you your Relics." She concluded.
"Meaning, as Agumon says, we can go 'get it up yaes' next time a bad guy digivolves beyond Mega." Gabumon said cheerfully, earning him a questioning look from Cannondramon.
Sora and Rana exchanged concerned looks. Yes, it was all very well for the Digimon to go beyond the Mega level, but Sora, probably better than Rana did, knew the problems of accumulating the things needed to get their Digimon to the next level. Getting them was a struggle as evil Digimon would be determined to stop them, and Sora very much doubted Daemon would just let them stroll in and collect all these Relics. And what was more, Tai had inadvertently shown on their first trip to the Digital World the dangers of relying too much on these items.
"Good luck then Cannondramon, and be careful. We don't want Daemon to get you." Tai said, patting her snout as she nuzzled them.
"It was good to see you lot again. Be good, all of you. And it was nice to meet you Rana, I look forward to meeting the rest of your group." She said affectionately, and she plodded off.
"Right, come on, let's try and find one of these Relics. Not that I don't trust Daemon, but I don't relish the idea of him and his goons running around amok when our siblings have only got Mimi and Joe with them and when Hawong's making everyone's life difficult." Matt said, and the four clambered up the rocky hillside to the collapsed ruins.
"Come on slow spokes!" Tsukimon cried from the entrance to the ruins, who, due to the fact that he could fly, had made the journey in seconds, as had Biyomon.
"Little flying show off. Maybe I'll ask TK to tell me how to tie his ears together and then we'll see how cocky he is when he has to walk like the rest of us." Rana scowled.
"Yeah well TK has enough problems, we all do. Do you reckon Hawong is taking delight in the fact that he has us enslaved when we really need to be focusing on our exams, considering we need them to get into uni?" Sora asked, ashen faced as she they climbed, though as she was climbing behind Matt she had to admit her view wasn't that bad.
"Probably. And now we have the mess with China to worry about." Tai groaned.
"And the fact that Daemon and the Triad are running around left right and centre." Agumon supplied helpfully.
"Yeah...that isn't helping." Matt said breathlessly as they finally reached the top.
"It doesn't look very safe." Rana commented worriedly, looking into the dark interior of the collapsed ruins.
"This is nothing, we had to fight through Etemon and his army to get Sora's crest. This will be a cinch." Tai said confidently, and stepped into the ruins.
"TAI!" Matt yelled and tackled his friend to the ground as a large slab of rock swung down and crashed into the wall where Tai's head had been a second before.
"Whoa, what the heck?" Tai demanded, looking around in panic while Matt shot him a look of irritation.
"Oh yeah, Tsukimon and I found a sign saying 'beware of traps'! Biyomon said brightly.
Tai turned around to glare at the pink bird while Sora had to stuff a hand in her mouth to stop herself laughing.
"And why the hell didn't you mention it before I nearly got decapitated?" he demanded angrily.
"You didn't ask." Tsukimon said cheerfully from Rana's head, and even Matt laughed at that one as he helped his friend to his feet.
They edged forward slowly, avoiding a pit trap and one where the ceiling collapsed, but that might have just been coincidence rather than a trap. Tai led the way, checking the others were following. With a twinge of jealousy he saw that Matt was holding Sora's hand. Not that he wanted to be holding Sora's hand, no, he had gotten over that when the Covenant had been running about. What bothered Tai was what recently, more specifically ever since he had been forced into working for Hawong with the others, he'd found it increasingly difficult to even so much as get a date. Fair enough, he had always expected Matt to get a girl quickly, and TK and Kari belonged with each other. But both Izzy and Joe had girls now, and he, Tai, the leader of the group, was struggling. And he had to admit, that did bother him a little bit.
They reached the interior of the temple, and stopped short, as it was so dark they couldn't even see clearly.
"Where's Kari when you need her?" Rana asked, making a rude hand gesture at her cousin purely because he couldn't see her do it.
"Agumon? Can you give us some light here buddy? And Rana, just because its pitch black, that doesn't mean I don't know you're making rude hand gestures at me." Tai said with a grin, and she desisted, scowling while Tsukimon laughed.
"Pepper Breath!" Agumon said, and the ball of light illuminated several torches in the room, bathing them all in a warm glow.
"Well, I reckon we've found my Relic." Matt said simply.
On the back wall was a massive engraving of the Crest of Friendship. Before it, in a glass box, was Matt's relic. At his touch, the glass vanished, and Matt picked up the Relic and put it around his neck.
"Hmm..." Biyomon said musingly.
"You worried this was too easy as well?" Tsukimon asked.
Biyomon shook her head.
"Oh no, its not that, or at least it wasn't until you mentioned it...but I wonder if the Crest of Courage was emblazoned on the other ruin the Sovereigns found?"
"What are you getting at?" Tai asked curiously.
"Well Sora told me about how the Ancient Greeks built temples to commemorate their gods. What if each of your crests was a mark of one of the Gods? What if there's Eighteen because there were eighteen of these gods in whatever pantheon they worshipped?" Biyomon asked.
"What? You think each of us is a God reincarnate or something?" Tai demanded.
"Great work Biyomon. As if his hair wasn't big enough, now you're trying to inflate his head too." Matt said with a grin, and Tai shot him a dirty look.
"Well at least my hair hasn't gone back to the bird's nest it used to be." He said petulantly.
"Leave him alone, I like his hair like that." Sora said with a small smile.
"Really?" Matt asked with a grin.
"Yeah."
"Thank you." He said sweetly, kissing her on the cheek.
"Oh brother." Tsukimon said, rolling his eyes.
"You get used to it." Gabumon lamented, to Biyomon's nodded agreement.
Ignoring Matt and Sora, Tai looked back at Biyomon.
"So what are you getting at? Our crests all embody one of these ancient gods?"
Biyomon nodded.
"I think its possible. And I'm sure if we found out, there could very well be nine males and nine females in said pantheon, and if you ask me, Friendship and Love and Hope and Light will probably be together." Biyomon theorised.
"And if they were gods dedicated to each of the crests, I bet you Light would be the leader of the pantheon." Tsukimon added.
"Which of course would tie into the fact that apparently Kari is the strongest of all of us, especially when she's with TK...so you reckon that's how? Because we all embody a trait of some God?" Tai asked.
Biyomon looked uncertain.
"I don't think you embody a god per se, but I think each of the crests might very well been part of the pantheon. So, no you're not gods but there is a good chance you represent part of it. But to confirm that we need to get to other ruins." She said.
"She's right. So Tai, calm down, you're not a god." Rana said with amusement, looking at her cousins far off expression.
"I was just entertaining visions of smiting Hawong..." he said defensively.
Matt grinned.
"Look, we're not even in the real world at the moment. He can't annoy us so we may as well make the most of it." He said, and Tai did have to admit he felt a lot calmer knowing he didn't have Hawong floating around and making a nuisance of himself.
They slowly made their way out of the ruins, and just as they stepped into the outside world, Rana pulled Tai back just as a blast of fire smashed into where he had been a second before.
"What the hell?" Tai demanded angrily, figuring that this had been too easy.
A black clad version of WarGreymon thudded down in front of them. His armour was different, ridged, as if he was a samurai, and this image was set off by the two long lethal looking swords in his hands.
"Oh no!" Gabumon cried as he saw the Digimon.
Gaiomon: A Mega level Digimon of the same genus as WarGreymon, this guy is even nastier. His Fire Cutter Blade can shatter anyone who touches their streaks of light, and his Gaio Reactor puts Terra Force to shame
Tai glared down at the Digimon, who bowed their head and flourished his swords in greeting.
"Be careful Agumon." Biyomon said worriedly.
"Digidestined. I have waited many years to test my skills against you. Now my employers wish your heads and I shall give them to them." He promised, and brandished his swords.
"Oh really? Agumon, let's do it!" Tai yelled.
"Agumon warp digivolve to...WarGreymon!"
WarGreymon leapt at Gaiomon, who let out a throaty laugh and sprang into the air and flipped over as WarGreymon hurtles towards him. He then landed on his opponents back and stuck his two swords into WarGreymon, making him cry out in pain and crash into a large tree.
"WarGreymon!" Tai yelled rushing down the hillside to help him.
Rana and Tsukimon looked at each other and nodded grimly.
"I think it's time I joined the battle don't you?" he asked, and she grinned.
"Tsukimon warp digivolve to...Gigadramon!"
As the large serpentine dragon flew down towards a struggling WarGreymon and a scarily calm Gaiomon, a dark shadow shot up from the ground and both Gabumon and Biyomon screamed in terror.
"Who is that?" Matt asked, his arm rising to cover Sora.
"I thought he was a myth!" Biyomon protested.
Spectremon: An evil Mega level phantom Digimon, this Digimon collects souls to take to the Digital Graveyard. His Dark Shade attack traps a Digimon in endless torment, and his Shadowed Whisper pours burning black fire into the heart
"We're in trouble..." Matt said.
"Gabumon warp digivolve to...MetalGarurumon!"
"Biyomon warp digivolve to...Phoenixmon!"
As the two Digimon launched themselves at Spectremon, he gave a terrible, grating laugh.
"Young fools. You cannot escape your fate..." he said, then span into the air like a tornado.
"Metal Wolf Claw!"
"Starlight Explosion!"
Spectremon flew right into the attack, and MetalGarurumon looked at Phoenixmon in shock as his missiles passed right through him.
"How?" he demanded.
"Dark Shade!"
A black cloud of power crashed into the wolf and he gave a piteous howl as he toppled to the ground.
"Crimson Flame!" Phoenixmon cried, and Spectremon calmly raised his hand and diffused the attack, before giving an evil laugh and jetting forward and grabbing Phoenixmon by the beak, swinging her around in a circle before letting her go and allowing her to crash into the mountain.
"He's flattening us! What the hell is he?" Sora demanded as she saw her weakened friend struggle to straighten out her wings.
"I don't know...come on pal, we need you..." Matt said to MetalGarurumon, who seemed to have a shadow on him and was unable to move because of it.
Gaiomon kicked WarGreymon backwards.
"Fire Cutter Blade!"
He whipped around with his two blades, making lines of ice appear on WarGreymon's body as he fell back to the earth, crying out in pain as he did so.
"Guilty Claw!"
Fire and missiles streamed from Gigadramon's metallic arm, but all Gaiomon did was raise his blades and whip them around them in a cyclone, cutting the attack to shreds.
"Terra Force!"
With Gaiomon distracted, WarGreymon hurtled the fireball at his opposite and the other Digimon grunted as he was blown across the landscape and smashed into the hillside.
"Bullseye!" Tai exclaimed in delight.
"Gaio Reactor!"
WarGreymon's eyes widened in surprise as the firestream exploded outwards, sending him and Gigadramon flying.
"How are they so powerful?" Rana demanded in terror as she watched Gigadramon slam into the dirt.
"Life Force!" Phoenixmon cried, and the shadow lifted from MetalGarurumon who snarled and shot back into the air.
"Starlight Explosion!"
Gaiomon turned, but not quickly enough to avoid Phoenixmon's attack.
"Garuru Tomahawk!"
The missile shot from, his chest and caught Spectremon right in the mouth, bowling the evil shade Digimon over.
"You fools do not get it do you? All you are doing is delaying the inevitable. Together, Gaiomon?" Spectremon asked, and the samurai nodded.
"Shadowed Whisper!"
"Gaio Reactor!"
"Terra Force!"
"Metal Wolf Claw!"
"Starlight Explosion!"
"Guilty Claw!"
The attacks collided in midair, and Matt tackled Sora to the ground, while Tai covered Rana as the attacks exploded with the force of a nuclear bomb. Bright light flashed through their closed eyes as fire streamed all around, setting the hillsides on fire.
"Are you alright?" Matt asked Sora hoarsely.
"Yeah, I'll...Biyomon!" Sora cried in horror as she saw her little pink friend smoking and lying unconscious.
"Gabumon." Matt moaned, picking up his friend.
Gabumon didn't respond but instead just lay still in Matt's arms, his fur smoking.
"Agumon..." Tai said desperately, trying to get his friend to wake up.
"Tsukimon...talk to me little guy..." Rana pleaded.
There was then a sinister laughing as Spectremon and Gaiomon advanced on them menacingly. Tai looked at his cousin in concern. Out of all of them she was the one who could run easily with her partner. What he couldn't get was how the hell this two were so powerful. Their Digimon were experienced Megas, but they should have been able to take this two on without any hassle. Fair enough Spectremon was an unknown and he seemed scarily powerful, but for goodness sake they had taken out the Covenant, they should be able to take on these bozos.
"Rana, when I say, run. Get out of here." Tai ordered as Gaiomon came towards the two of them, his swords at the ready.
"No way, I'm not leaving you guys. You think I want to go home and tell TK and Kari their brothers aren't coming home?" she demanded.
Sora looked at Matt. How couldn't they beat these two?
"I love you." He mouthed as Spectremon approached.
"I love you too." She said and started edging back towards him.
"It seems almost anticlimactic after all this time. So end the Eighteen." Gaiomon sniffed, enjoying rubbing it in, though he knew a large part of their victory was because of their masters.
Tai glared up at him as Agumon stirred feebly.
"You won't win you know. Even if you kill us, someone else will become another Eighteen member. You'll never be able to get us." Tai said, making it up as he went along.
"You reckon that's true?" Sora asked out of the corner of her mouth.
"I don't know, but for TK's sake I really hope it is." Matt said, holding Sora's hand.
"You fool. Do you not see? If that were to happen our masters would be aware of it. Their vision is limitless." Spectremon sneered, and Matt had a horrid feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"I don't like the sound of your masters visions very much." Rana said boldly, and Gaiomon snarled and aimed his sword at her to shut her up.
Tai glared and laid a stirring Agumon down and got to his feet.
"What, not like what she has to say? Leave her alone and pick on someone else for once." Tai snarled.
"Um, Tai..." Matt said warningly.
Gaiomon and Spectremon both turned and looked at him in contempt, and it suddenly dawned on Tai that in his rush to defend his cousin, he had just made himself the target.
"You dare challenge me? Insolent little brat!" Gaiomon roared and swung his two swords in order to cleave Tai into thirds.
And just then an orange beam shot from his crest and into Agumon, and his partner leapt back to his feet, and to Tai's great amazement, the Relic suddenly blazed into life.
"Now that's cool." He said feeling the power of the crest and the Relic as they poured into Agumon.
"Agumon super digivolve to...WarlordGreymon!"
Tai looked at the new form of his partner in amazement. Rather than the orange armour he had possessed before, it was now blood red. A white cape extended from his shoulders, which was emblazoned with the crest of courage. His hair was now yellow and his eyes shone a bright green, and his helmet was now black. In his left hand was a large round shield marked with the crest of courage and in his other hand was a long, golden sword.
WarlordGreymon: A Super level Digimon, WarlordGreymon combines the ammunition of WarGreymon with the defence of MetalGreymon. While his Warlord Sword should be looked out for, his true attack to concern with is his Conquering Fire attack.
"That's impressive." Sora said, as Gaiomon took a few steps back.
"That is not possible! Our masters did not foresee this!" Gaiomon protested, and Rana grinned as Tsukimon opened an eye and looked up in awe at WarlordGreymon.
"Guess you don't like your master's visions much now either huh?" she asked cattily, and Tai grinned.
WarlordGreymon laughed and readied his sword, while Gaiomon flurried his own blades. Spectremon hissed in annoyance, and seeing as how everyone was focusing on the newly arrived Super level Digimon, no one was focusing on him. He raised his hand.
"TAI!" Matt yelled.
Tai turned, as did WarlordGreymon, but it was too late.
"Dark Shade!"
The attack surrounded Tai, and his skin went all shadowed and his body dropped to the floor.
Sora screamed and a jet of love blasted from her crest and sent Spectremon hurtling to the ground while Matt ran to his friend. Gabumon got slowly to his feet, swaying as Matt lifted Tai's head, and when he saw his friends' eyes open but not seeing he shuddered.
"Come on Tai..." he said, panic growing in him as he tried to rouse his friend, hoping the shadow would vanish.
His crest then glowed and the shadow disappeared, and Tai looked up at Matt with a worried expression.
"What's wrong?" he asked in confusion and then yelped as both Matt's crest and his Relic glowed.
"Oh no..." Spectremon whined.
"Gabumon super digivolve to...SaberGarurumon!"
Matt looked in awe at SaberGarurumon, totally ignoring Tai as he struggled to reach for Matt's hand which he had moved out of reach. SaberGarurumon looked ferocious. Twice the size of MetalGarurumon, he now had glowing blue eyes. His wings had two large laser cannons on them, and on his back was a large cannon, and on his back legs were two engines.
"Whoa..." Matt said in shock, seeing the fighting machine his friend had become.
SaberGarurumon: A tank like Digimon, he is capable of taking on an armed fortress without getting scratched. With his Frozen Shots attack icicles fire from his wing cannons, and his Ice Age Cannon is an incredibly powerful attack that will decimate anything in its way.
"Ready partner?" WarlordGreymon asked.
"Ready when you are WarlordGreymon." SaberGarurumon responded, and the two Digimon that had caused this looked at each other in terror, then turned tail and began to flee.
"Frozen Shots!"
Beams of pure ice shot from the lasers on his wings, creating a large wall that got in the way of their escape.
"Warlord Sword!" WarlordGreymon yelled and gave a massive leap that cleared the area.
Gaiomon threw his swords up in defence, but the Super level's attack cut right through the first one of them.
"Gaio Reactor!"
"Baltic Defence!"
Ice poured from the lasers and the cannons on SaberGarurumon and quickly formed an impenetrable wall of ice to protect the two. The fire from Gaiomon's attack licked at the shield, but it was to no avail. The ice then shattered as the two Supers sprang at their foes.
"Dark Shade!"
"Blaze Barrier!"
WarlordGreymon swung his sword and a wall of fire absorbed Spectremon's attack and their two foes knew their time was up.
WarlordGreymon leapt into the air and his sword burst into flames. He then placed it into a slot on the back of his shield, and the crest of courage on it shone with fire. There was then a flash and a massive, fiery crest of courage travelled outwards getting stronger and larger as it travelled. Gaiomon whimpered and tried to run, but against SaberGarurumon's ice barrier he had no chance. The blazing crest of courage hit him as he tried to escape, and with a scream he was gone.
"Ice Age Cannon!"
Three massive balls of ice, snow and hail formed from each of the three weapons on SaberGarurumon, and then the two coming from the lasers joined with the central cannon forming one massive frozen ball of doom. With a vicious roar, SaberGarurumon fired the attack, and Spectremon gave a cry as the blazing ball of ice hit his small skeleton and his entire body, even his smoky garments, froze totally over, and then with a brittle sound, Spectremon's frozen form cracked in many places and then shattered into tiny little bits that vanished into thin air.
"Wow, that was impressive." Rana said with a grin as the two Supers turned and bowed to them theatrically.
"Thank you thank you, no autographs please!" WarlordGreymon said, and Tai cried in triumph and wrapped his arms around his partner's leg.
"Wow...and I thought MetalGarurumon was tough."
"Aww thanks Matt." His partner responded and nuzzled his hand.
Biyomon, wide awake, fluttered over and looked at them both in shock.
"You digivolved to super! Well I'll be. Very impressive. You look quite scary SaberGarurumon." She complimented, and he nodded thankfully at her.
"That was too close. How the devil were they so powerful?" Sora demanded as she came up and hugged Matt.
"I don't know, but we still kicked ass. Is it bad that I'm getting used to this last minute digivolution thing?" Rana asked with a grin.
Matt was looking at the pace where Spectremon had disappeared with a worried expression.
"Lighten up dude, we got them. It was close yeah but we did get them." Tai said soothingly, taking a photo of the two supers to send to Izzy.
"What's wrong honey? You think they have something to do with Phelesmon?" Sora asked worriedly.
Phelesmon was a Digimon they had encountered when they were originally battling the Triad. However he had made clear that he actually worked for someone other than them, and ever since then Matt had had a slight worry as to who could be controlling such a powerful Digimon. Recently, he had had dreams of the same Digimon coming back and threatening Sora and TK.
"No, and that's the problem. These guys didn't work for Daemon, and they didn't work for whoever Phelesmon worked for. Which begs the question, who the hell were their masters and why were they so convinced that we were going to die?" Matt asked grimly, as the two supers glowed and began to shrink.
Sora frowned at her boyfriend, pondering on what he had said. It did definitely point to another threat greater than even Daemon, and if Matt was right about Phelesmon's master, a threat beyond even the masters of Spectremon. And that was worrying in the extreme.
"Hey!" Tai protested, and she came out of her reverie to see Botamon and Punimon staring up at her.
"How come they went back to baby forms?" Tai asked as Botamon jumped happily into his hands.
"Well simple laws of common sense. They need a lot of power to digivolve to Ultimate, and to Mega, and even then they should be augmented by the power of the crest. To digivolve to super, they had the crest and the Relic glowing, along with the usual power output. Seems to me that they would need to use a lot more power to reach super, so they use up the reserves that normally took them back to In-Training so they go to baby form instead." Rana reasoned, placing Tsukimon on top of her ponytailed head.
"Maybe. So you reckon there's some other big bad guy out there before we get to the Ultimate Evil?" Tai asked worriedly.
Matt looked uncertain, and Tai shuddered.
"That's what I'd afraid you'd say."
XX
Azulongmon frowned as the scrying orb he was using shut down.
"I thought Spectremon was a myth. So, as such, how the hell did he just attack the Digidestined?" BlackWarGreymon demanded.
"More to the point, how was he and Gaiomon so powerful that they nearly destroyed them?" Ebonwumon asked.
"There's only one conclusion...the Ultimate Evil is getting stronger. We always knew that as Evil's power grew our own would wane." Gennai said grimly, stroking his moustache.
"But that doesn't answer the question of who Spectremon was working for! If we hadn't found that Relic for Tai and Cannondramon hadn't located those ruins, they would have died he was so powerful. Someone that powerful has to work for someone else even more powerful, and we need to know who it is." Fanglongmon said determinedly.
"We are fortunate that they super digivolved. Rather impressive if I do say so myself." Zhuqiamon commented.
"It doesn't matter if their digivolutions included a full dance routine Zhuqiamon. We are running out of time. Daemon is running around amok in their world, they still don't have all members of the Eighteen, the team is split up and their irritation and anger with their situation is affecting their bond. The Ultimate Evil is getting stronger and stronger and we can do nothing about it. If they don't hurry we shall lose everything." Azulongmon grumbled.
The large fiery bird turned to his dragon confederate.
"Well if we had told them earlier like Baihumon and I had suggested we might not be in this situation. And besides, we have Cannondramon and Baihumon searching for other Relics, Tai's group is doing the same. Izzy's group is looking for crests and will then most likely join with the others." Zhuqiamon said soothingly.
Gennai sighed, then jumped up to look out of the window. File Island seemed so bright and cheery. But he knew, very far away, beyond the Wall of Fire, the Ultimate Evil was stirring. The darkness hadn't spread beyond the Wall of Fire yet, but once it did the recently liberated Dark Ocean would return to its previous state. And then the darkness would spread, eventually overtaking the entire Digital World.
The Ultimate Evil was on the move. The time wasn't yet, and was still a little bit away...but it would come. And then the true battle would begin.
XX
The outcry against the kids as they made their way to Hawong's office was hard to bear. The glares were bad enough, as were the insults and declarations of 'traitor' and 'treason' that followed them as they made their way into his office.
"I'm still not sure about this." Joe said worriedly.
"Neither am I, but we need to do something or Hawong will make things even worse for us." Kari said with a sigh.
"It wasn't our fault, we weren't to know that Eaglemon would attack the airport and kill that poor man. And now Hawong wants us to protect him while he goes to China. I can't see that ending well can you?" TK asked worriedly.
"What I want to know is why the hell they want to make thing between us and China worse." Mimi said worriedly.
Joe looked at her. There was a lot riding on this. If they messed this up, or if Daemon's goons got wind of it and messed it up for them, then they would all be in very severe trouble.
"Good, you're here. We have a very tight schedule to keep." Hawong said impatiently as they entered.
Hawong had to suppress a smile. The Digidestined had received a lot of negative press that morning. His little invention, on the spur of the moment no less, had certainly turned a lot of people against them and many were believing his tale. Which suited his ends. He searched all of their faces for any sign that they were going to say anything, but aside from more hateful glares than usual they said nothing.
"Right. I shall be taking my helicopter to China, flanked by two of our military ones. Mimi, you will be on board with me. TK, Kari, your Digimon will fly cover, and Joe, yours will go in the water and keep an eye on things down there. Understood?" he asked.
Kari looked at him, and to her credit she didn't pull back from the glare he gave her.
"Don't you think it's a bit risky to flank yourself with both Digimon and military helicopters? I thought you were going for a negotiation." She said.
Hawong glared at her.
"No, I am going to calm tensions that you caused when you failed to stop one of those damned beasts killing the Chinese delegate. With us going to them, I intend to make amends for that catastrophe. And for your information, the planes are going to keep you in line as much to provide ceremony. One wrong move and they'll shoot you out of the sky." He said silkily.
Kari and TK looked at each other in alarm. Did he actually believe the lie he had created yesterday?
"Excuse me, are you accusing us of treason?" Joe demanded angrily, throwing off Mimi's hand.
Hawong smiled, showing teeth.
"No, I simply question your devotion to protecting the human world." He said with a malicious grin.
TK then gave him a very cold smile, the sort Matt gave an evil Digimon when they had tried to hurt him, and it made Kari shiver. She expected that from Matt, not her TK.
"Don't worry Joe. He's got the copters coming because he's afraid we might remember what he said yesterday and take offence to it. He knows he crossed the line, and now he's worried he'll go the same way as the Chinese delegate." He said icily, then turned around, the others following in his wake.
"You insolent little..." Hawong spat in rage as the Digidestined left.
"You have to admire their balls." LadyDevimon commented as she materialised out of thin air.
He shot her a filthy look.
"I am not into that thank you. He dares..." Hawong growled.
LadyDevimon smiled.
"What annoys you the most is the fact that on some level he is right. You do fear their retribution. However, we have it within ourselves to make him pay for his insolence my friend. The plan is in place. All is in readiness." She reported, and Hawong smiled.
"Good. You will perform the deed?" he asked with a smile.
"Of course. All will go as planned. The Chinese will get angrier and then nothing will stop us. Your power is fluctuating my friend. Soon now you shall have more than you could possibly imagine." She purred, and Hawong smiled.
And after he had that power, everything else would be his too.
XX
"Are you trying to get us shot?" Kari demanded angrily.
"You heard him, he was accusing us of trying to kill him and trying to help Daemon. So, he adds extra security to his entourage to make it seem as if he doesn't trust us and further erode the public's trust in us. Of course I got mad!" TK protested.
Joe shook his head.
"Yeah but TK, aggravating Hawong will just make things worse. He has us where he wants us, and now he's trying to get the public where he wants them: against us. He either wants to control us totally or destroy us, and either way he's getting far too close for my liking. So be careful before he sticks us all in prison. Let's get him to China...then we can worry about Daemon and saving ourselves from him...and from Hawong."
XX
An hour later, an irate Hawong was sitting across from Mimi in the helicopter as they headed towards Beijing. His pointed glares at Mimi and Palmon indicated that he hadn't forgotten what TK had said to him in his office. He knew that if he went to the press with that he would get a whole round of sympathy from the people. However, it would also weaken his own hold on power and perhaps the Diet would challenge him because he had promised to control them when he had assumed office, so his power would be undermined. But Mimi still had a bad feeling in her stomach and she had a horrible feeling that if the slightest thing went wrong, if Hawong so much as broke a nail while under their care, he would milk TK's comment for all it was worth.
Over the trip, Palmon had tried valiantly to make conversation with Hawong, and though he had answered her, he had done so stiffly and coldly and she had eventually desisted. Mimi couldn't blame her for trying. Ever since he had forced them to work for him they had all been acting rather unwisely and recklessly, and TK's comment was a prime example. If Palmon had managed to win him over it might make their lives so much easier. However it was not to be, and now she was worried about what form of retaliation he would unleash against them when it suited him best.
Outside it was very misty, and Mimi didn't like it one bit. It meant that evil Digimon could easily hide, as they had learnt the hard way all those years ago that they were quite good at exploiting mist and fog for their own ends. Though Seraphimon and Magnadramon were flanking them, Mimi was slightly worried that an attack could kill her and Hawong in seconds if an evil Digimon used the fog to their advantage.
"Shouldn't you be more powerful than Palmon?" Hawong asked, and Mimi was pleased to see he looked slightly nervous.
"I can't digivolve in here, the helicopter would crash." She said calmly.
"But what about your Ultimate form, Lillymon? She's small enough to fit in here." Hawong countered.
"Yeah, but I would still need to go through Togemon to get to Ultimate, or to get to Mega. So, put it this way: if I need to digivolve, we're screwed!" she said brightly.
Mimi rolled her eyes. While the Digimon did seem to get the point of the mess the kids were in, sometimes they didn't quite put it all together, and as such, admitting things such as what Palmon just had wasn't going to ingratiate them with Hawong.
Hawong looked at the little plant Digimon and was about to respond when he heard a buzzing sound.
"There's a fly in here." He said in annoyance.
Mimi then raised her hand, and not liking the look on her face, Hawong desisted in his attempts to find it.
"It's not in here...its outside." She said in dread, and quickly called Kari.
"I know, we hear it too. Brace yourselves, this could get ugly." Kari said before Mimi had even said a word.
And then a massive grey shape sped out of the fog and went straight for the helicopter.
"Oh no it's Okuwamon!" Palmon cried.
Okuwamon: An Ultimate level and the next form of Kuwagamon, his Double Scissor Claw makes him twice as deadly as his predecessor.
"Fire Tornado!" Magnadramon yelled and a jet of fire spiralled in at the massive bug, which went evasive.
"What the hell is that thing doing attacking us?" Hawong demanded, just in time to see Seraphimon get slammed by a massive, skeletal flying dog with glowing red eyes.
SkullBaluchimon: An Undead Digimon of great power and skill, this evil Digimon has a Deadly Fear attack that will make you wish you had never been born.
"Joe, get up here, now!" Mimi barked down the phone and Plesiomon went skyward, Joe on his back, just in time to see a third Digimon arrive.
It was a massive purple armoured dragon, with yellow wings and very sharp teeth.
"He's new...Palmon who is that?" Mimi squeaked.
ExoGrimmon: This Mega level Digimon is a very powerful weapon in anyone's hands, as his Air and Death God attacks make him a nearly unstoppable force.
He then casually slammed a hand into Plesiomon and sent the large white sea monster spiralling away from him.
"Are we in trouble?" Hawong asked in concern.
"Nah...well not just yet anyway." Mimi said half-heartedly.
XX
"Fire Tornado!" Magnadramon cried, with Kari on her back and holding on for dear life as the large bug evaded attack after attack.
"Double Scissor Claw!"
The large bug went straight for Hawong's copter, but the timely intervention of Seraphimon stopped him.
"We don't have time to bandy about like this. If we lose Hawong we'll all be shot." Kari said grumpily.
"Pity. Fire Tornado!" Magnadramon yelled, but Okuwamon was far too fast for her.
Seraphimon then crashed into them, and only TK catching Kari prevented her from falling to her doom.
"Well, he laid down the bare bones of the matter for me." He groaned and Magnadramon rolled her eyes at yet another poor joke.
"Right, we have three bad guys. One for each of us?" Plesiomon asked as he arrived with them and they saw the three enemies they were facing hurtle towards them through the mist.
"Fire Torrent!"
Magnadramon blanched as the attack smashed into all three of them, and BlackMagnadramon and Eaglemon showed up, cackling insanely. Pukumon then cannonballed up from the ocean and slammed into Plesiomon's stomach, nearly dislodging Joe.
"Right, we're in trouble. We don't have any time to waste, we need to DNA digivolve." Seraphimon said as the original three headed for the chopper and the Triad zeroed in on them.
"Seraphimon, Magnadramon, DNA digivolve to...ArchAngemon!"
As ArchAngemon appeared, some of the mist vanished, and the Triad went on the defensive, getting out of the way of the DNA forms' attack range.
"Leaving us the others. Mimi, we need help!" Joe screamed into the phone.
XX
"Mayday! Mayday! We are under attack by evil Digimon!" the pilot reported to China's ground control.
"Yeah, like that'll help." Palmon said, knowing she had to time this just right.
"Shut the door behind us!" Mimi ordered Hawong as she grabbed a hold of her friend.
"Wait, what are you going to do? You're abandoning me here?" Hawong demanded.
"No, believe it or not we're actually about to save you...we hope. Now!" Mimi ordered and Palmon kicked the door open, allowing air to flush from the chopper.
"Poison Ivy!" she cried, and her tendrils tightened around Okuwamon's leg and pulled the two of them upward, while Hawong struggled to close the door.
Landing on the foot of the giant bug, Palmon nodded to Mimi.
"Palmon warp digivolve to...Rosemon!"
Okuwamon gave a roar of fury as he realised his passenger. Up ahead, the Triad scattered and headed into the clouds, allowing ArchAngemon to focus on ExoGrimmon.
"Deadly Fear!" SkullBaluchimon roared.
Plesiomon slithered out of the way of the attack as Hawong's chopper continued on its course.
"Kaiser Phoenix!" Eaglemon cried, his attack heading for the copter.
"Water Tail Blaster!" Plesiomon responded, the water defusing Eaglemon's attack, but unfortunately allowed him to get hit by SkullBaluchimon's attack.
"Plesiomon, no!" Joe cried as the two of them plummeted for the water.
"Get off me!" Okuwamon said and finally succeeded in throwing Rosemon off.
"Thorn Whip!"
The whip wrapped around his leg once more, and pulling on it, Rosemon pulled herself and Mimi up above the overgrown bug.
"Give it to him Rosemon!" Mimi yelled encouragingly.
"Roses Rapier!" she cried and stabbed downwards as they fell back towards Okuwamon.
The Ultimate Digimon never stood a chance as the sword punctured through his skull, making him scream in pain before bursting into data.
"Good work!" Kari cried encouragingly, just as BlackMagnadramon appeared, breathing fire.
"Thorn Whip!" Rosemon cried, and then heaved herself at the Triad member.
SkullBaluchimon saw Rosemon and her partner heads to attack one of the Triad and swooped down on them, but the next thing he knew he was slammed into from below.
"Water has many wonderful properties for Digimon like me. Take this!" Plesiomon cried and blasted a jet of water into the dog's mouth.
"You will pay for that. No one defies the will of Lord Daemon!" he crowed and swooped down at them.
"Deadly Fear!"
"Shaking Pulse!"
SkullBaluchimon slowed, and Joe blasted the evil dog with the light of his crest.
"Sorrow Blue!" Plesiomon roared and a massive wave of water came up and smashed into the flank of the dog, spiralling him downwards.
"Water Tail Blaster!"
A massive, powerful jet of water rushed down at the Ultimate level, who immediately took flight, trying to outfly the attack aimed at him. However, Plesiomon was more than his equal and the water blast pursued him closely, artfully dodging Hawong's evading chopper. Pukumon caught a mouthful of water as he chose to appear at the wrong time, and was forced backwards. Plesiomon then darted towards SkullBaluchimon and slammed into him.
"Bullseye! Finish him Plesiomon!" Joe yelled, and his partner fired the powerful jet of water at the falling evil dog and it crashed into him with such force that his skeleton crumpled and he vanished away into dust.
Hawong's chopper started to turn in midair just as Eaglemon descended on it from above.
"Plesiomon, much thought it pains me, we need to stop Eaglemon!"
Plesiomon growled and the large sea dragon careened upwards and smashed into Eaglemon's chest just as the Triad member descended upon the chopper, sending the evil bird wildly off course.
Rosemon was clinging on for dear life on the back of BlackMagnadramon and while Plesiomon tackled Eaglemon, it left ArchAngemon to deal with ExoGrimmon. The massive purple dragon was ferocious, and his claws and tail smashed into ArchAngemon.
"Air God!" he roared, and the massive stream of white air smashed into ArchAngemon and sent him hurtling down towards the choppy waters of the ocean, TK and Kari holding on for dear life and screaming.
"Heh...knows how to take the wind out of you don't he?" the Seraphimon part asked, resulting in a groan from the Magnadramon bit as ArchAngemon's wings expanded and stopped their fall.
Up above, Plesiomon was fending off Eaglemon but it wasn't going to last much longer. Rosemon was fighting from the back of him and was holding off BlackMagnadramon, but things were definitely not going there way.
"Am I the only one who's had enough of this?" Kari asked as ExoGrimmon swooped towards Hawong's chopper.
"No. Ready ArchAngemon?" TK asked.
"At your service." He said, and with a kick he jetted up into the air, bringing his sword in front on his visor.
"Heaven's Desire!"
The beam shot from his eyes into his sword, and with that glowing bright golden with a silver edge, he pointed it upwards at ExoGrimmon. The large dragon Digimon saw the attack and span out of the way, and the fight was on. BlackMagnadramon gave a roar as she ignored Rosemon and dove for ArchAngemon's jugular.
"Aspiration Blade!"
The sword swept her from the sky, making her de-digivolve and crash as LadyDevimon into the ocean. As she spluttered in the ocean, Pukumon and Eaglemon swooped at ArchAngemon.
"Destiny's Will!"
The pink beam flashed from the visor and into Pukumon who gave a scream as he reverted to WaruSeadramon and plunged towards the surface of the ocean. Eaglemon and ExoGrimmon were the only ones left fighting.
"Heaven's Desire!"
The attack burst right through ExoGrimmon, destroying him with a final scream. The remainder of the attack slammed into Eaglemon who reverted back to Parrotmon.
"Let's get out of here!" he wailed.
"I don't think so. Sorrow Blue!" Plesiomon growled, and Parrotmon was blown back towards Japan with a powerful torrent of water.
LadyDevimon flew along the surface of the water, with Rosemon close on her tail.
"Thorn Whip!" she cried, and the whip wrapped around LadyDevimon's leg.
The evil witch gave a scream as Rosemon flung her around in circles and then the whip let go, making LadyDevimon blast through the air.
"Destiny's Will!"
The pink beam crashed into LadyDevimon and she too was blown backward, heading for Japan.
"WaruSeadramon!" Mimi cried in panic as the large scarlet sea serpent leapt out of the seas.
"Sorrow Blue!"
"Forbidden Temptation!"
"Destiny's Will!"
WaruSeadramon snarled as the attacks headed towards him, then gave a sinister laugh. Two Chinese planes were heading towards him, and while the attacks would hit him, he could also hit the planes.
"Stop him!" Joe barked.
"Poison Wave!"
His green water attack spread from his mouth and slammed into the two planes, utterly obliterating them.
"NO!" TK yelled.
The attacks then hit WaruSeadramon and his long snakelike body twirled away at odd angles. "TK...what does this mean?" Kari asked quietly, holding his arm tightly.
"I don't know Kari. I don't know." He said sadly.
XX
"You failed!" Hawong spat once they were on the ground.
"With all due respect Prime Minister, we did the best we could! We didn't want those poor Chinese people to die! The Digimon seem determined to kill people this time around. This is new for us, they've never overtly tried to kill anyone other than us. And we did manage to destroy the ones attacking your chopper, even if we didn't get the Triad. The Triad is very powerful and we were caught by surprise, and we still don't know the full capabilities of their new digivolutions." Joe said with barely disguised contempt in his voice.
"You still failed and made an already fragile situation much worse! This is very serious. It will take all my efforts not to have them shoot at us." He said, just as a delegation came into sight.
TK grabbed Joe's arm to prevent his friend from pummelling Hawong. Their relationship with him was getting worse if anything, not better. And TK had a horrible suspicion that this was going to be used to great effect by Hawong when they got home.
XX
The Chinese delegation was on their way to the airport, when the lead diplomat, one Kwoung Xil, looked up at the clock on the partition behind the driver. And on the partition, flanking the clock, he saw two glowing red eyes a dark, smoky shadow came from the eyes and went into him. His eyes flashed black momentarily, and then he smiled.
Or rather, Devimon made him smile.
XX
The lead diplomat strolled up to them.
"Ambassador Xil, please accept my most sincere regrets and apologies for what happened. If my bodyguards were mildly competent..." Hawong said waspishly, and TK kept a hand on Joe in case he went for Hawong.
"Do not blame your bodyguards for your failures Minister Hawong. After all, they are only children. I must question your true reason for travelling here." Xil said with a growl.
"At least he's on our side." Mimi whispered.
"Kari honey, what's wrong?" TK asked in concern, seeing the searching look she was giving Xil.
"I don't know, I just think there's something off about him..." she said softly, and she was sure Xil looked at her in alarm, before he turned back to Hawong.
"And what do you mean to imply by that?" Hawong demanded coldly.
"Consider...you launch an unauthorised attack on a Chinese war frigate in order to extract prisoners, you allow one of our diplomats to get killed while travelling on your soil, and now your excessive reliance on those poor children over there has gotten more of my people killed. They should not be controlled by you Hawong, all you are doing is making matters worse." Xil sneered.
"You dare tell me how to run my own country?" Hawong demanded, and TK and Joe exchanged concerned looks. This wasn't going well, even worse than they thought it would go.
"No, I am telling you to get out of mine. You will pay for these continued attacks against us. You think these poor children you have press ganged into your service are a clever cover, but they aren't. We know you are using them, and whatever collateral damage their opponents create to further your own ends. Your reliance and then betrayal of these children offends me, and your use of them as agents of your own will sickens me. One more incident such as that of the murdered boy...and there will be consequences." Xil promised.
"Is that a threat?" Hawong asked stiffly.
"A vow." Xil said silkily.
While some of the Chinese delegation were looking at Xil in horror, many more were looking at him with pride and agreement.
"Um...did he just threaten what I think he threatened?" Mimi asked Joe in a panicky voice.
"I regret that we cannot reach a compromise. However if that is the course you wish to follow then so be it." Hawong ground out and he turned and headed for the helicopter, beckoning the kids in the process.
The four kids clambered in, looking concerned. Something had gone very badly wrong, much more than WaruSeadramon's attack on the Chinese planes. What had just happened?
XX
As Xil got back into the car, Devimon vacated his body.
Excellent. Hawong wouldn't like how he had done it, but he would like the fact that it had been done. His agents had been spreading the seeds of dissent with China for months. It wouldn't take much now. A few more shoves, and things would devolve into their desired ends. All was going according to plan...aside from the fact that Daemon was now hundreds of miles away and he was behind schedule. But soon, things wouldn't matter. They had accumulated six already, and Devimon was sure they would find more.
With Daemon's scheme on the move, the overall plan and the attacks of the Triad on Japan, the Digidestined were spread thin, weak, bitter, tired and miserable. Now was the time to strike them.
However...Kari's suspicion of him when he had been possessing Xil was slightly worrying. Once again, Light would bear watching. But as the world grew dark around her...her own power would wane. And when it did so enough, she too could finally be killed.
And after such a time, evil would be unstoppable.
XX
"What just happened back there?" Kari demanded as the chopper took them back to Japan.
"We were politely and gently threatened. In other words, if anything else Digimon related happens within China's borders, they will retaliate against us. Most likely with force." Hawong bit out.
TK's eyes widened.
"Wait, he was threatening to declare war against us? Just for losing two planes? It was an accident! We couldn't stop WaruSeadramon in time, and he killed them. We didn't mean for it to happen!" he protested.
"Well the Chinese do not see it that way I'm afraid. They see our recent actions as a means to provoke their ire, and they refuse to see it as anything other than that...even when all it is, is basically a case of gross incompetence." He said waspishly.
"They want a war over two destroyed planes? Yes, the deaths of the pilots were terrible, but it's hardly a reason to go to war over." Kari pointed out.
"It is when combined with other recent actions. Xil also sees you lot as agents for what I want, so he thinks I am using you to provoke their aggression."
"Well he got that right then didn't he?" Gomamon said boldly, and Hawong snorted.
"Think what you want animal. However, if you ask me...you are the cause of this aggression." He said firmly.
"What? How do you figure that out?" Joe demanded.
"Because it is your Digimon friends who originally killed that boy, and I'm wondering who you truly are loyal to. Make no mistake, if Daemon attacks China again, it will be on your heads. And I doubt the Chinese will listen to reason, so if things get bad...you will fight for me." He growled.
TK glared at him. In other words, if there was a war, the Digidestined would have to do what he told them.
"No." Kari said firmly, and Salamon looked at her proudly.
"No? Need I remind you that your actions leave little doubt over the possibility of you having committed treason? Very well. I shall alert my staff and have you arrested when we land..." Hawong said with an evil grin.
"We haven't committed treason!" Mimi yelled.
"Indeed? Well until I see proof that you are not the ones who are bringing the evil Digimon through and that your failures so far have been down to poor skill rather than a wish to help Digimon filth, you will remain under suspicion. And do not get me wrong, you will serve me. Whether as a regular soldier or as a Digidestined, you will fight." Hawong said darkly.
Kari glowered at him. He had them and he knew it. As he could easily dress their actions up to look like treason, and do so with significant ease, they had no choice. So, glaring at him with as much hatred as she could muster, she reluctantly nodded.
Things were beginning to get out of hand. And far too quickly.
XX
"It is getting to the stage where I must question the ability, and the desire of the Digidestined to defeat these evil Digimon. As a result of their actions today, things look very grave with China. While we are trying to pursue a diplomatic solution to this crisis, it does not look good, and as such I have ordered a partial mobilisation of our military forces to ensure our security. The failure of the Digidestined to stop WaruSeadramon has led us to this state of affairs. Sad though this is, we must continue to be vigilant. We will not allow the Digidestined to get away with this negligence, and I shall continue to ensure their compliance! We will stand firm against this threat, both Chinese...and digital!"
TK shut off the TV and threw the remote down.
"This is awful. Do you really think there will be a war Mimi?" Palmon asked.
"I don't know Palmon. Hawong seems awfully anxious to assume the worst, and he seems determined to blame us for it as well." Mimi said remorsefully.
"Which unfortunately is a lie an awful lot of people are believing. If things do get worse, we'll be blamed for all this. If a war starts, the people will blame us and it will get us killed." Joe said worriedly.
"As if we don't have enough problems worrying about the Ultimate Evil we now need to worry about a war beginning on our door step." TK moaned.
"Will it become a war?" Kari asked in a scared voice, as she wrote an email to send to Tai, Izzy and Davis to inform them of the dire straits they were in.
TK and Joe looked at each other worriedly.
"Look, we're maybe being a bit premature. Sure, Hawong has ordered a mobilisation, but only a partial one, and that's only because if things do escalate the Chinese are in a much better position to attack us than we are to defend ourselves. But provided Davis and the others keep Daemon away from China, and we keep the Triad and the rest of Daemon's goons away from there, we can let Hawong defuse all this and we can all go back to normal." Joe said confidently.
But they had known Joe too long to know he believed what he had just said. He too was scared that war could be looming. A war that Hawong would make sure they would be involved in. Which meant...there was a good chance they would have to become killers too.
And that didn't sit well at all.
"If...if a war is declared, Hawong will use that as an excuse to arrest for treason. He'll say we precipitated it and he'll execute us for that." Kari said worriedly.
Mimi sat down beside her friend and wrapped her in a one arm shrug.
"No he won't. He was using that to get us to do what he wants. If you ask me, if we go to war, he'll need us. Our Digimon could be very powerful detriments to any attacking force. That's probably why he wants us to serve him." She explained.
Joe nodded.
"Yeah. But am I the only one who thinks all of this is going a little bit too much the way Hawong wants it?" he asked.
TK looked grim.
"No. But...I'm more worried about the Digimon. That's twice now they've killed humans. And both times its made matters for us worse. So, what do they stand to gain by precipitating a war?" he asked.
"That's not what concerns me. Well it does, but not as much as something else." Joe said.
Gomamon looked at his partner, frowning.
"You know I don't like it when you use that tone of voice. It normally means you're about to really depress everyone present." He said in concern.
"Yeah I am. If Japan goes to war with China...both countries have loads of allies. And let's face it, there's loads of other countries that could do with taking a pot shot at each other. And if the Digimon are influencing all this for their own reasons..."
Gomamon closed his eyes.
"Then it could very well lead to World War Three if it kicks off." He concluded.
Silence met this horrible prophecy.
XX
"He did well, but did he have to show them as victims?" Hawong asked irritably.
"Peace Hawong. It worked. Devimon was perfect as the Chinese delegate. Now, he has been killed for opening his mouth...but because you mobilised some of your forces while under the impression of a war being the Chinese government's official stance, they too have mobilised. The plan proceeds well." LadyDevimon said confidently, wincing a little as she moved.
"Good. Where is Daemon?" Hawong asked.
"Do not worry, you won't have to wait long for the next move. He is attending to some business in Poland at the moment, then he will come back from Europe ready for his next move. Devimon is even now catching up on those that Lord Daemon has highlighted, and that will serve us in the end. Everything is going according to plan Hawong." She promised.
Hawong nodded. But, a small bit of his heart was ill at ease. When Devimon had first appeared to him, his offer had seemed wonderful, and it certainly did promise to curtail the power of the Digidestined, which was in everyone's favour. But now, after the kids had tried so hard to protect him, even though he made their life so difficult...he wasn't quite as sure anymore. And the look on Kari's face when he had told them they would fight for him...it made him shudder. Maybe there was another way to curtail the Digidestined. However the thought of more power was more than enough to quell any doubts.
"Good. So everything is going on schedule?" he asked.
LadyDevimon smiled and nodded her head.
"Excellent. Soon now...the war will begin."
Hello to all of you! It has been a while since this was updated.
Things are getting dark indeed. A war is brewing in the real world, and this does not bode well for the Digidestined. Are Joe's concerns justified?
On the plus side, we now have two Relics, and we have seen the first of the Super Digivolutions. Gaiomon can be found on the website by the way. However...who did Spectremon report to? Because as Matt says, it isnt the same person as Phelesmon did... Let's just say there are worse things than Daemon out there... ;)
Sorry for the length of time it took to update, but I hope to start doing this one more often so keep your eyes peeled.
Next chapter, we get three more super levels! Who will they be? Also, a mystery will be resolved...
And Daemon is back!
So until then, please read and review!