CHAPTER SIX
Dozens of Vilemon surrounded them on all sides. Elecmon and Ben were out in front, as if protecting the group, while Piximon was defending their aft. Attack after attack rained down upon the hoards of enemy Digimon; some were simply dazed for a few seconds, others were quickly knocked unconscious by the onslaught. Elecmon changed tac, aiming for the Vilemon who had perched atop the bungalow. Piximon continued to swipe at his opponents with his staff, seeming to severely injure some of the imp-like creatures.
Suddenly, Ben's Digivice - still in the old quadrilateral style, Ashley noted - began to glow with a low-level white light. After a second or so, Elecmon's red and blue fur - his entire body, in fact - began to glow, too.
He's doing it, thought Ashley. After so long, he can still Digivolve.
As he began to levitate a few inches from the ground, Elecmon's body seemed to stretch. The red and blue dulled down to a brown colour, and the fan of tails amalgamated into one long, almost prehensile, tail. The wide snout elongated, and carnivorous teeth could be seen beneath dark lips. The forelegs lengthened, and the clawed paws somehow grew into clawed fists. The hind legs lengthened, becoming more muscular, also - the paws became feet this time, however. A sword grew out of the small of his back, and black trousers covered his legs.
"Elecmon Digivolve to... Leomon!"
A humanoid lion, his golden brown mane of fur wafting gently in the breeze, now stood before the enemy, his fists raised defensively in front of his muscular body. Neither of them went toward his blade.
"Nightmare Shocker!"
The attack hit Leomon from multiple directions. Everyone was forced to cover their eyes as dirt and grass were flung into the air by the mini explosion. "No!" shouted Ben, clearly struggling to see through the temporary haze. Alicia began to run toward him, but Gennai pulled her back by her forearm, forcing her to watch alongside the others. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she gasped in a breath of air.
A pair of yellow eyes glowed in the weakening haze.
"Fist of the Beast King!"
What could only be described as an orange fireball shaped like a lion's head flew from the haze and into the group of Vilemon. The vast majority were destroyed by the shear ferocity of the attack, their data being strewn up into the atmosphere, while the surviving Digimon managed to evade the worst of the damage by taking to the air. A growl pierced the clearing haze, and a great metal blade scythed through the air and cut more of the Vilemon in two, immediately destroying them also. Leomon leapt into the fray, retrieving his sword and proceeding to tear his way through the remaining Vilemon.
Where is Patamon?
"Boom Bubble!"
Almost on cue, a powerful bubble of air struck a few of Vilemon at the edge of the group, and an orange and white blur sped into them at high speed, slamming them into the ground and sending dirt up into the air once more. As the dust settled, Patamon - sat an his hind legs, his bat-like orange wings folded behind him - asked, "Did I miss all the fun?"
Ashley nodded as he smiled. "Almost."
The defence against the attacking Vilemon continued. Venetia watched from the bungalow as the orange cannonball hit the edge of the group of Digimon head-on, as a walking and talking lion mauled his way through the creatures, as Alicia was continually held back by both Gennai and Darrell. The baby Digimon - Yuramon included - were huddled in their cradles. Without thinking, she picked up her Digivice. The silver and green device glowed ever-so-slightly at her touch, bathing her face in a cool white light.
Inside the cradle, Yuramon did the same - she actually glowed, light emanating from her entire body, almost suffusing the interior of the bungalow. Her purple antennae seemed to move up to the centre of Yuramon's head, as her white fur took on a green tinge. Four cream-coloured paws grew from the bottom of her body, and her black eyes took on reddish hue. The antennae merged and, taking on the green colouration, split into what appeared to be a pair of large leaves. A small mouth appeared in the middle of her now-cream face, which was surrounded by the green of the rest of her body. The light faded.
"Yuramon...?"
She looked up at Venetia and, hopping out of the cradle, said, "It's Tanemon, now."
Venetia was confused, if not a little speechless. "But - how...?"
"Your life energy," said Yuramon. "That Digivice transfers some of it into me - and it did that when you touched it. Don't worry," she said, seeing the look of apprehension on Venetia's face. "It's nothing dangerous." She looked at the others, expectantly.
Rosie's eyes widened. "You mean... us next?" Tanemon nodded (or rather, her whole body lowered and rose), rustling the twin leaves in the top of her head.
Hesitating, her hand shaking almost visibly now, Rosie took her own Digivice and brought it up to her chest. Just like Venetia's, it too began to glow with a cool white light - as did Nyokimon in her cradle. Almost immediately, Nyokimon's black body began to lighten with a pinkish hue; the pair to green leaves on the top of her head grew out and split into five, turning blue as five yellow tubules erupted from the centre of them. Pink root-like tentacle appeared where one would expect to find leg and feet. A beak-like mouth sprouted where there'd be a mouth, and her small yellow eyes expanded to become a pair of green orbs.
"Your name's changed, too, right?" asked Rosie as she took in the sight of her newly-Digivolved partner.
"Yep," she replied. "I'm Yokomon. Pleased to meet you properly, Rosie." Yokomon's voice was slightly higher than it had been before the transmogrification, Rosie noted. "Time for everyone else, now!" The rest of the group looked around at each other, before finally reaching toward their Digivices with trepidation.
A Vilemon slammed into the ground, its wing braking with a sickening snap, before the Digimon disintegrated into its constituent digital particles. Another was sent hurtling through a tree; both tree and Digimon disintegrated, too. Without thinking, Ashley punched out to his left, his fist connecting with the face of the Vilemon that was in the midst of a sneak attack. Patamon succeeded in hurling another Boom Bubble; the attack hit one Vilemon, sending it back and hitting several that were in formation behind. Leomon and Ben were fighting in sequence, their backs to each other; often, Leomon would take hold of Ben's arm as Ben threw himself up into the air and kick out at an oncoming Vilemon. An attack would connect with Leomon once in a while, though the beast king would easily shrug off the blows as if he were made of rock.
Suddenly, seven multi-coloured beings shot out of the bungalow toward the Vilemon hoard, followed hesitantly by Sy, Venetia, Darrell, and Alicia. As Ashley watched, the little In-Training Digimon did their utmost to defend their Human partners, as well as each other. Koromon - a pink furless ball, with twin flaps of skin that sprouted from the top of its head, and a mouth that filled half of its body; Tsunomon - a white and orange furball with a light-grey horn atop its body; Motimon - a pink, blob-like being with small arms and tiny protuberances beneath its body; Bukamon - a floating Digimon with brown fur and an orange mane on the top of its head; Nyaromon - a Digimon with dark-yellow fur, tiny ears, and a tail with bands of purple fur; as well as Yokomon and Tanemon - they continuously grouped together, attacked, and regrouped once again.
One Vilemon attempted to puncture their defence; it managed to hit Tanemon with a wing attack, though Tsunomon drove it off by attacking with its horn. Dodging another attack, Tsunomon dived, bounced back up from the ground, and struck a Vilemon dead in its midsection as Koromon and Motimon also struck it with their bubble attacks. The Vilemon hit the ground with a heavy thud that drove dust into the air.
A couple more Vilemon flew toward Darrell; he punched out with his right arm, and managed to send one into the ground, dazed. Patamon struck the other enemy Digimon with a well-timed Boom Bubble attack, knocking it high into the sky.
Vilemon were, literally, everywhere now. We're surrounded, Ashley thought bitterly. The Humans and their partner Digimon were being herded ever-closer together, surrounded on all sides by the Vilemon, until they suddenly - almost inextricably - stopped attacking them.
"Surrender." The speaker was a floating Digimon; a curious black chain and ball was held in its left hand, a vicious golden scythe in its right - all wrapped in a grey robe and red cloak. "You cannot possibly hope to survive this assault, Humans." It held out the scythe toward them, threateningly. "Gennai. Give him up, or pay the price."
Ashley stepped forward. "What do you intend to do with him, Phantomon? What has he done to you that's so bad to bring you and your cronies to the Primary Village?"
This elicited a growl from deep within Phantomon's cowl. "That is none of your concern, Human. Hand Gennai over, and I'll allow you to return to your world."
Ashley gazed around at the others, at their partner Digimon, and finally, at Gennai. The Digimon were staring resolutely toward Phantomon; the teens were staring anxiously at Ashley. Somehow, he'd become the ad hoc leader of this new group of DigiDestined, and this was becoming a trial by fire of his leadership skills.
Ashley turned back to Phantomon, and gave the Ghost Digimon his answer.
