Wormmon studied the other Digimon warily. His forelegs clicked against one another nervously as his eyes wandered up and down the body of the black reptile before him.
"Why did you come back?" he asked at last.
"What's it to you, worm?" said BlackAgumon.
"If you are going to insist on staying here, I have a right to know your intentions."
"You didn't care about my intentions when I first arrived here."
"That first time, you were a prisoner under the control of one of Ken's devices."
BlackAgumon smirked. "You're a cheeky one, aren't you? Calling the Kaiser by that name…"
Wormmon bristled indignantly. "It's his name. Why shouldn't I use it? I'm his partner."
"Not anymore you aren't," said BlackAgumon with a laugh. "I'm here because you're going to be phased out of that role."
Wormmon's nervous wringing of his forelegs intensified. "Only if Ken decides that, and that doesn't answer my question. What are your own intentions? No one has ever come back after being freed from a Ring."
"For your information, it wasn't a Ring that was placed on me, it was a Spiral. And if it'll finally get you to shut up, I'll answer your question." BlackAgumon stepped closer, bringing his snout right up to Wormmon's face. A fierce, almost feral, light was burning in BlackAgumon's eyes. "The Kaiser is strong, the strongest I've ever seen. And what's more, he's generous with his strength. He made me strong, stronger than anyone I've ever seen, stronger than all those who mocked and tormented me."
Wormmon cowered under BlackAgumon's harsh gaze and took a step back. "There's more to life than strength…"
"Of course you would say that," snapped BlackAgumon "Little weaklings always say that, trying to claim meaningless 'moral' victories every time you crawl up out of the filth your opponent left you rotting in, claiming that just because you survived you somehow won. But that isn't living. You haven't truly lived even a day."
Hearing this, Wormmon tensed and took a step forward again, staring the other Digimon down. "You don't know me."
"I know your kind," said BlackAgumon with a sneer. "Hell, I was like you once… But no more! No more bowing and begging for survival. No more hiding and cowering while watching everyone else evolve and become stronger. I finally have the light of evolution for myself, and I will never let it go!"
Wormmon turned away. "But you don't really have evolution…"
"What did you say?"
"You're still dependent on Ken, and Ken doesn't care about you. For him, you're just a tool."
"A tool?" BlackAgumon laughed. "So what? Only the power matters. Soon he will send me out again, and give me the power to crush everything."
"Really?" whispered Wormmon.
"Really!" said BlackAgumon.
"Then why hasn't he put a new Dark Spiral on you to bind you to his Digivice again?"
BlackAgumon paused and frowned, but said no other word.
Wormmon sighed and shook his head, then walked away. BlackAgumon did not follow him.
Aside from the occasional passing Mekanorimon guard patrol, the Kaiser's headquarters seemed eerily quiet that night. Wormmon left his usual room, which he was now forced to share with BlackAgumon just because the larger and stronger Digimon had barged in and demanded it. Though the Kaiser had been amused by the willing collaborator at first, there were other collaborators too and the novelty was limited. Upon arriving back at his base the Kaiser had disregarded and ignored the new arrival, and so BlackAgumon went off on his own to bully Wormmon.
Wormmon knew that the Kaiser was still in his main command room, and took the elevator up to that level. The entire hallway was dark and difficult to navigate, but Wormmon could see his destination up ahead in the faint glow coming from the command room. Like the hallway, the room was unlit, except for the many monitors mounted in the half-dome all around the Kaiser's central chair.
"What is it?" asked the Kaiser.
Wormmon paused. He had not expected the Kaiser to have heard to his approach. "I was just checking if…"
"You've checked. Leave."
"I also wanted to talk about BlackAgumon."
"Who?" The Kaiser turned in his chair. "Oh right, the one I used for SkullGreymon. What about that thing?"
"What do you intend to do with him?"
"What concern is it to you, worm?"
Wormmon bowed his head and changed his strategy. He knew he would have to appeal to the Kaiser's ego to get a proper answer. "I was merely hoping that you could enlighten me with your genius…"
The Kaiser half-grunted half-laughed and turned his seat back to face the monitors and resume his typing. "As if you could understand my plans… I intend to continue using that lizard as a continued test subject. He was a good start, but I've started to realize the limitations. SkullGreymon was fairly strong, but he was still defeated because of one crucial weakness, the very same weakness that has prevented me from completing my victory: the Dark Ring, or in the lizard's case, the Spiral."
"But how can you get around using a Ring or Spiral?"
"I can't, nor do I actually need to for the bulk of my army. But for a proper partner that can utilize my own inherent power as a Chosen, something like a Ring or Spiral is unacceptable. As shown in SkullGreymon's defeat, the loss of the Spiral cuts me off from my would-be partner and I lose the invested power."
Wormmon felt his heart rise within him. Dare he hope?
"I needed the Spiral to bind BlackAgumon to my Digivice and use him as a partner," continued the Kaiser. "But imagine if I created a new Digimon from the very beginning to be my partner. That would eliminate the need to use the Spiral. It would remove the weak point that my enemies can always exploit."
Wormmon's heart sank back down. "What are you saying…?"
The Kaiser laughed and looked back at Wormmon. "What, were you hoping that I meant to use you? Ha! What could you possibly evolve into but a bigger and even more useless worm? No, my dreams are far grander." The Kaiser smiled and turned back to his screen, typing away with even greater fervor. "SkullGreymon was a Perfect level, but my next partner will be even greater. My next partner I will shape myself… at the Ultimate level…"
Maximum v7.0
Purity of Intentions: Shurimon vs Igamon
"We don't have any method of payment," said Takeru.
Digitamamon, a large Perfect level completely hidden inside an egg shell except for the pair of green reptilian legs extending through the cracks at the bottom of the shell and the two red eyes peering out through the dark open crack on the face, only laughed at the comment. "Don't worry about payment! It's not everyday that one gets the chance to meet someone from before the great Reboot of Apocalymon, let alone five!"
Terriermon crossed his arms and tilted his head to one side. "Four. I was born after the Reboot."
"Hey, you're still one of the Digimon honored as a partner of the Chosen, aren't you?" continued Digitamamon. "You can eat free too!"
Takeru frowned and crossed his arms. The diner behind Digitamamon was obviously not the same one where he had watched Jou and Yamato fight years ago, but it was still built in the same style. Patamon had similar bad memories and sighed from his perch on Takeru's hat.
"Enough," said Hikari from behind Takeru. "Let's just go inside and see if the food is to our liking."
Takeru turned to Hikari, eyebrow raised.
"I'm still as cautious as ever," said Hikari. "Hence I had Tailmon scout the inside while its manager was busy out here."
Digitamamon blinked. "You what?"
The door behind him opened, and Tailmon casually stepped out. "There's nothing dangerous inside."
"I already told you, I've changed my ways," said Digitamamon. "No more taking bribes from small devil-bats for me. From now on, it's all legitimate business."
Takeru frowned and glanced back at Digitamamon. "I didn't realize legitimate business meant exploiting free Digimon by profiteering on low food supplies."
"The war with the Kaiser's hurting everyone, me included! With food prices the way they are just keeping this place open is being charitable to the Resistance cause! I'm no soldier after all." Digitamamon looked up at the others impatiently. "Besides, I'm letting you guys eat free, aren't I?"
Takeru and Hikari exchanged glances. They did need some time to rest and plan their next move. "Alright, we'll stay for lunch," said Hikari.
After they sat down, Terriermon wasted no time in placing food orders. Tailmon watched with a look of disdain, but it was clear that she was excited too from the waving of her tail. It had been a long time since they had eaten a proper meal. Patamon, however, remained with Takeru and Hikari, who had gone straight into business.
Takeru pulled out his gold D2 Digivice and used it to project a holographic map onto the table between them. "It's been a few days since Daisuke and Raidramon managed to stop SkullGreymon, and in that time the Kaiser has no longer been seen leading any new offensives. The only activity we've seen are the usual border attacks led by autonomous divisions of his army."
"None of my contacts have reported seeing him in person," said Patamon. "Perhaps he's licking his wounds from the last battle?"
"Possibly, but if he is, you know it won't be the only thing he's doing," said Takeru. He frowned and studied the map. "He's planning something. His experiment of creating an artificial partnership using his Dark Spiral was a success, even if he was defeated in battle. Logically, he should be trying something like mass producing Dark Spirals and using his Digivice to power up more Perfect levels to fight us. Since he's not doing that, he must have some bigger idea..." Takeru trailed off and shook his head. "But there's no point worrying about what he might be plotting. Whatever it is, we need to go on the offensive. Hit hard. Hit fast. If we can do enough damage, then he won't even have a chance to pull off whatever he's planning. What do you think Hikari?" He looked up to find her staring out the window wistfully. "Hikari?"
"You met this Digitamamon before during your first Adventure," she said. "That was before I joined."
Takeru coughed and looked back down at the map. "Yes. Do you know the story?"
"My brother told me."
Both of them fell silent, and the only sound in the diner became the playful half-arguments as Terriermon tried to provoke the usually stoic Tailmon to have some sort of reaction and the sound of Digitamamon cooking in the kitchens. Neither Takeru nor Hikari said another word until Digitamomon brought the food, pushing up a cart stacked with plates of egg-fried rice, American-style omelets, and pickled eggs. Tailmon sniffed all the plates first. Digitamamon seemed offended, but Takeru countered that it was a more general caution that made no direct accusation at Digitamamon. Other Digimon merchants must have handled the ingredients before selling them to Digitamamon's diner.
"Well, can't be too careful I guess," agreed Digitamamon grudgingly. He was about to leave, when his eyes fell on the holographic map. "Oh, are you heading to the ocean?"
Takeru instinctively turned off the projection and hid away his Digivice. "It is one of the directions we might go."
"If you do, be sure to drop by the Gekomon village in the mountains," said Digitamamon. "Most of my supplies pass through there on the Egg Road. Last I heard the nearby Star Mining town at the border between the mountains and desert was conquered and its inhabitants absorbed into the Kaiser's army. There's a lot of pressure on the trade routes along Egg Road now."
"I'll certainly keep it in mind," said Takeru, turning back to his food.
"Well, I'll leave you to enjoy your meal." Digitamamon bowed and left their table.
At the end of the table, Terriermon tried challenging Patamon to an eating contest, but so far Patamon resisted all of his younger brother's prodding and continued eating in small restrained bites while Terriermon showed off his stuffed cheeks as a taunt. Tailmon sighed and shook her head, embarrassed just by watching the whole ordeal.
"About the Gekomon village," began Takeru, trying to restart his conversation with Hikari. "Perhaps I could ask Daisuke and the others to check it out, since we're in a hurry. I promised them that I'd have something for them to help with soon."
"Do whatever you want," said Hikari dismissively, pushing a ball of fried rice back and forth with her spoon. There was no hostility in her voice. Takeru knew that she no longer felt anger toward the others after they had all but saved their lives from SkullGreymon. All that was left... well, he wasn't sure what was left, actually.
Hikari set down her own spoon and looked at the window. There was a lake just outside, its water sparkling in the midday sun. Though she couldn't explain why, something about the water seriously bothered her.
Miyako had forgotten how long she had been staring at the blank computer screen in front of her, though it couldn't have been much more than ten minutes or so. Daisuke and Chibimon were late, of course, but so were Iori and Upamon. Only Miyako and her partner were in the Computer Lab at the moment. She crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat, sighing.
She glanced at the red D2 Digivice by the keyboard. "Hey, Hawkmon."
The screen of the Digivice flashed as its occupant made his reply. "Yes? What can I do for you?"
"Does it ever feel cramped in there?"
"You don't need to worry about me. I'm fine anywhere in your service."
Miyako frowned and drummed her fingers on the desk in front of her. "What was your life like before you met me?"
"Hm? Why do you ask?"
Miyako leaned back forward and rested her arms on the desk and her chin on her arms. "Well, we're supposed to be partners and all, so I thought it'd be proper…" She glanced at the door. Daisuke and the rest still weren't there. "Hawkmon, are you happy having me as a partner?"
"What? What kind of question is that?"
"I mean, I get that you're all about duty and stuff, but are you happy being stuck with me?" Miyako sighed again. "Compared to Daisuke or Iori, what am I? So far they've been doing basically everything. I just sort of tag along…"
"What kind of talk is that?" stammered Hawkmon. "Yes, I am very concerned with duty and obligation, but I serve you wholeheartedly! This is not a grudging obligation, this is a happy one! I am very glad to be at your side!"
"Iori actually cares about the Digital World and works really hard because of it. And Daisuke can be kind of dumb sometimes but he's really passionate about it too. You hadn't met us back then, but I wasn't even really sure that I wanted to get involved in the Digital World. It was Iori that convinced me. And it was Daisuke who convinced Takeru to fight on our side when I was suggesting that we should just leave him. Daisuke's the one who has two Digimentals, and great ones at that." Miyako let out a soft sarcastic laugh. "Knowledge? What does that even mean? That I'm more bookish than Daisuke and Iori?"
The Digivice flashed as its occupant let himself out, now in his form as Poromon. "Miyako, where is all this coming from?"
"I don't know," said Miyako, straightening and rubbing her eyes. "And that's the worst part. It's like I'm jealous of them, but I shouldn't be. The way I'm talking it sounds like I only want to get involved in order to be more important than them, and that's just horrible. I should be trying to help for the sake of helping itself."
"It's alright," said Poromon as he hopped into Miyako's lap. "Everyone feels discouraged sometimes. I know I said that I joined you to protect you, but I meant more than just protecting you physically. Anytime you feel troubled, just let me know, and I will help you."
Miyako gave a warm pat on Poromon's head. "Yeah, I guess I'm just in a weird mood right now. You haven't known me that long, but sometimes I get like this. Thanks for listening to me though."
"The pleasure is all mine," said Poromon. "And to answer your previous question, yes I am happy to have you as a partner. Someone like Daisuke or Iori would never be so honest about his or her feelings."
Miyako laughed and patted Poromon again. "It's weird, but I feel really at ease when you're around. I can trust telling you stuff."
Poromon laughed as well. "That trust sort of naturally happens when someone has fought beside you."
"If I try to be serious with Daisuke he just laughs at me," continued Miyako. "And Iori would get even more serious than me and be all worried."
"What about your parents?"
Miyako straightened. "You know about parents? Chibimon said that Digimon didn't have parents."
"Well, Digimon don't, but I understand the basic concepts. We Digimon know a lot about humans, due to the information that passes from this world to the Digital World."
"Yeah, Terriermon once said something about knowing a bunch of different languages." Miyako suddenly laughed. "Actually, I should have you help me with my English class."
"It would be an honor," said Poromon in perfect English, with an American east coast accent.
Miyako smiled to herself as she petted Poromon again. She was suddenly aware of how long it had been since she had actually really opened up to someone else. Daisuke and Iori were her friends, sure, but there were still some things that she felt like she couldn't tell them.
The door slid open as Daisuke barged into the Computer lab, Chibimon brazenly nestling on his shoulder. Iori entered with somewhat greater discretion, Armadimon tucked away inside his yellow Digivice.
"Alright, we're all here," said Daisuke with a smile. "Let's go!"
Miyako stared at him with one eyebrow raised. "What? Not even a hello?"
Daisuke only laughed and gave Miyako a casual slap on the back as he settled behind her. "Come on, Takeru said that he had a pretty cool place for us to check out."
"We're not going there to have fun," said Miyako with obvious disapproval.
Daisuke looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Oh, you're in one of your moods…"
Miyako bristled. "What moods?"
Behind them, Iori sighed and shook his head. Once again it was up to him to make the necessary preparations, since his friends were too busy fighting for dominance again. He drew his D2 Digivice and directed it at the computer, opening the Gate to the other world. This reminder of their destination cooled off the confrontation, and Daisuke and Miyako turned their attentions back to the task at hand, saving any future discussion for after they crossed over.
On the other side, they found themselves surrounded by mountains on a long and winding road. Further down the road, they could see the very top of one of the obelisk-shaped Dark Towers, standing beside the top of various other buildings.
Iori squinted as he looked out into the distance. "Those roofs are curved," he commented. "They look like classical Asian buildings."
"Is that where we're supposed to be going?" wondered Daisuke aloud. "It's probably a city we're supposed to save or something." He smiled at Vmon, who was just beside him. "Well, then let's go!"
Vmon nodded enthusiastically and the two began to walk ahead. They were stopped by Miyako grabbing Daisuke by his collar and Vmon by the scruff of his neck."
"Hey, don't rush off!" she said. "Remember what happened the last time we went to a city?"
"Yeah, but that time it was a trap," said Daisuke. "Takeru asked us to take care of this ourselves, which means things probably won't be too bad or anything."
"If it is a city, there will be many Digimon there," said Iori. "We should hurry and check out the area. The Kaiser might have converted that area to another prison camp, in which case the sooner we help the Digimon there the better."
Miyako sighed and relaxed her grip. Once free of Miyako's hands, Daisuke and Vmon ran off together almost as if they were racing each other. Iori shook his head but still smiled, amused a bit by Daisuke's enthusiasm. He nodded to Armadimon and the two tried to keep up.
"They're just wasting energy," grumbled Miyako, crossing her arms.
"Still, it would be best not to get separated," said Hawkmon.
Luckily for them, Daisuke and Vmon suddenly stumbled and fell further ahead on the road. Miyako shook her head in disapproval as she rejoined them. From where she was standing, she could see that they had tripped and crashed into a large round rock.
However, as she drew closer, she saw it was not a rock, but a large egg, with two reptilian legs poking out from holes in the bottom. A large wooden cart was nearby, laden with large white bags.
"A Digimon!" said Hawkmon. He instinctively jumped ahead of Miyako to shield her from a possible attack, his sharp throwing feathers drawn in one wing. Miyako checked her Digivice as it projected a holographic image of the information of the Digimon.
Digitamamon: Perfect level. Data Attribute. Egg Type. Nightmare Soldiers. Special Attack: Nightmare Syndrome. Melee Attack: Swing Egg.
"A Perfect level?" Miyako frowned and looked at the egg again. "This little thing? This is a far cry from SkullGreymon…"
Daisuke had gotten back on his feet, laughing and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry, sorry," he said. "We were in a rush and didn't see you among the rocks."
Digitamamon grunted as he got back up on his feet, his glowing eyes angled in clear displeasure at having been so rudely knocked aside. "Hey, watch where you're going you f…" He trailed off as he saw who he was with. "Oh, humans!"
"Yeah, we're humans," said Daisuke, guessing from Digitamamon's tone that that fact was in his advantage.
"Ah, you must be the ones that one-eye and ice queen were talking about," said Digitamamon. "They mentioned that you were going to be on the way to the Gekomon village."
Daisuke blinked in confusion upon hearing Digitamamon's odd nicknames. "Do you mean Takeru and the others?"
"Yeah, the shabby dirty one," said Digitamamon, nodding. "I figured that since you were probably on the way to Gekomon village to fight off the Kaiser's army, the roads would be a bit safer. I was just on my way too…" He stopped and suddenly noticed something. "Oh! My cart!"
"Do you mean this cart?" asked Armadimon, pushing up the wooden cart back into Digitamamon's view.
"Ah! Yes!" Digitamamon happily ran back to his cart, pushing it so that it was straight on the road. "I figured that if the roads were safer I'd go and pick up some more supplies for my restaurant."
Daisuke seemed to jump at the mention of food. "You own a restaurant?"
"Yep. I have a nice little one down the road, beyond the Gekomon village and the Star Mining Town." Digitamamon shook his head sadly. "With both of them under the Kaiser's control it's hard to get fresh ingredients. Customers get pretty desperate for food." Digitamamon paused for a moment with a glint in his eye. "Prices go up…"
Miyako frowned and studied the egg Digimon suspiciously. She noted Digitamamon's bare legs, but also the fact that the egg shell hid away the rest of the body.
As they followed Digitamamon and his food cart to the Gekomon village, Miyako pulled Daisuke aside to whisper in his ear. "Are you sure we can trust this egg?"
Daisuke gave Miyako an odd look. "What? He hasn't done anything suspicious. There's no Ring on him or anything, so he's not under the Kaiser's control."
"How do you know he doesn't have one under the shell or something?"
Daisuke shrugged. "He hasn't mindlessly attacked us or anything. All the Digimon we've come across with Rings don't talk to us, they just charge at us."
"But didn't you hear what he was saying? He's a war profiteer!"
"A what?"
Miyako rolled her eyes. "He's someone who's taking advantage of supply shortages caused by the war to raise prices and take advantage of others."
"That does sound kind of fishy," said Daisuke, crossing his arms and thinking for a moment. Miyako, however, knew better than to expect any decisive action. She was sure her friend was only thinking about if that meant it would be more expensive for them if they wanted to stop by at Digitamamon's restaurant on the way back.
"Well, we'll just wait and see what he does," continued Daisuke. "Maybe we could check out the prices ourselves once we're done in the village."
Miyako sighed and backed off to rejoin Hawkmon. Iori and Armadimon were also near the end of their group. Daisuke and Vmon meanwhile went up ahead to casually chat with Digitamamon and talk about food.
"You know what's really said?" said Miyako to Hawkmon. "I want to say that Daisuke and Vmon are doing this for all the wrong reasons, but I can't." She growled. "There's just incredibly irritating innocence about them that won't let you call them selfish. And the very fact that I want to be able to say bad stuff about them makes me the worse person."
"Don't worry about it too much," replied Hawkmon with a shrug.
They continued on the road for a while longer, and the Gekomon village soon drew into view. The Dark Tower was near the border, standing amidst a broken wooden city wall. Smoke was visible, presumably the effects of war. They were definitely drawing close to a battleground.
Digitamamon hesitated as they drew closer. "I wasn't expecting there to be an outright battle right now. I'm no soldier. I'm not going in there if there's fighting."
"Are you kidding?" snapped Miyako. "You're just going to sit here and do nothing but wait for us to clean things up for you or something?"
Iori stepped forward to put his hand on Miyako's arm. "Miyako, we can't force him to help us if he can't. It wouldn't be right."
"He's a Perfect level like SkullGreymon! What's he got to be afraid of?"
"Hey, not all Perfect levels are the same," said Digitamamon, eyes narrowed in irritation. "And there is a level even above Perfect, even if they are incredibly rare."
Hawkmon suddenly jumped in their midst, wings raised. "Hold on. Something's approaching!"
Armadimon looked up, his large ears twitching. "Really? I don't hear anything."
There was a sudden whistling sound, and Hawkmon pulled a feather blade from his headband and threw it above Armadimon's head. The ring of metal against metal sounded in the air as the feather and a throwing star both landed in the dirt. Before anyone else could react, Hawkmon drew four more feather blades and threw them, intercepting four more stars that were aimed at Vmon, Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori.
Their attacker appeared before them in a puff of smoke. It was a strange mutant Digimon with a round body-head hybrid and four humanoid limbs. A curved Japanese style sword was across its back, and it wore a dark red hood over its face. The Kaiser's Spiral was wrapped around one arm.
Igamon: Adult level. Data Attribute. Mutant type. Nature Spirits. Ranged Attack: Blade Throw. Melee Attack: Fire Waltz Sword.
"You are talented at throwing blades," commented the newcomer, staring Hawkmon down. "When Starmon told me to scout ahead, I was afraid that I had been handed a boring throwaway mission, but things just got interesting."
Miyako nudged Daisuke with her arm. "You were saying something about Kaiser-controlled Digimon never talking to us and just attacking?"
"Hey, to be fair he did attack us before talking," said Daisuke.
"I've heard of you," said Hawkmon to Igamon, drawing more of his feathers. "You're a practitioner of the Iga-style Assassin Arts. The followers of the Iga-style are supposed to be fiercely independent. And now look at you, just a pawn for the Kaiser."
Igamon laughed and pointed at the Spiral on his arm. "Make no mistake. I'm no pawn. These Spirals are more advanced than the Rings used for lowly grunts. They're for autonomous field officers like me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have enough of my own will to be able to postpone our fight to have a nice chat."
"You're a collaborator like BlackAgumon?" said Miyako indignantly. "You let that Spiral be put on you?"
"Did you think I could be so weak as to let myself be caught by surprise by a few metal trinkets like these?" asked Igamon. He turned to Hawkmon. "You. Bird. You have some talent, but I will soon prove to you that I am the most skilled blade thrower in all the Digital World since the Dark Clown!"
Digitamamon peeked out from behind his cart, which he had used as an impromptu shelter as soon as the first clash of throwing blades. "Hey, I don't think this is a good idea," he called to the others. "We should get out of here."
Miyako either did not hear or did not care about what Digitamamon had said. "Hawkmon, take this guy down!"
Hawkmon threw his feather blades, but Igamon threw a smoke bomb and vanished in its wake. The feathers passed through and embedded in the tree beyond the cloud. The next moment, Igamon was on top of Digitamamon's cart, throwing two stars directly at Miyako.
Miyako cried out in surprise and shock, and Hawkmon desperately dove ahead of her, catching the throwing stars in his torso and collapsing into Miyako's arms.
Igamon smiled and drew his sword, ready to move in for the kill.
The next moment, he was flying through the air, eyes wide in surprise and pain. A dark blast shaped like a demonic ghost had emerged from the crack in Digitamamon's egg and smashed into Igamon's back. Digitamamon's Nightmare Syndrome attack sent Igamon off into the distance, and the ninja crashed far off, out of view.
"Hawkmon!"
The wounded Digimon stared down at the two throwing stars embedded in his chest. A cold feeling was spreading from the blades through his chest, so he pulled the two stars out of his chest. The cold feeling didn't disappear, but instead spread even more. "Paralysis poison…?"
Daisuke and Vmon were at Miyako's side right away. "Is Hawkmon alright?"
"There's some kind of poison on these blades," whispered Hawkmon. He began shivering.
Digitamamon stepped up beside them. "Let's hurry to the Gekomon village. We can get help there."
Miyako said nothing. She remained still, holding Hawkmon and staring down at the two holes in his chest, which seemed to be turning a dark green color against his red feathers.
Daisuke shook Miyako by the shoulder. "Didn't you hear? Let's go."
Miyako only nodded dumbly and followed after Daisuke and the others as they continued down the road as fast as they could.
They reached the wooden gate of the village at the end of the road within minutes, but to Miyako the journey felt like it had taken several long agonizing hours. Ahead, the gate was built in a distinctive East Asian style, complete with a tall wood banner above the doors, only the words were written in strange symbols native to the Digital World instead of Chinese characters one would have expected from a similar human construction. The gates, however, were closed shut and watched by two frog-like Digimon with thin wiry bodies and large brass horns extending from their shoulders. Seeing that these Digimon were free of the Kaiser's control, Daisuke ran up to greet them, and his Digivice detected the Digimon and projected their information to him.
Gekomon: Adult level. Amphibian Type. Virus Attribute. Nature Spirits. Special Attack: Crash Symphony. Melee Attack: Tongue Strike.
"Open the gates!" called Daisuke. "We need help!"
The two Gekomon regarded them suspiciously. "Our village is under attack right now," said one. "For security purposes all gates are to remain closed until our leader ShogunGekomon successfully defeats the invaders."
"But we really need help right now!" Daisuke turned around and pulled up Miyako and Hawkmon. He pointed to the poisoned Digimon shivering in Miyako's arms. "He's been poisoned or something. We need help right away!"
The two Gekomon hesitated and exchanged looks.
"And we're not enemies; we're your allies," called Vmon. "We can help you all fight. Certainly you must have heard of us! We've been fighting the Kaiser's forces for a while now."
"What about that one?" said one of the Gekomon, suddenly pointing to Digitamamon. The large egg had been trying to be as discreet as possible by standing behind his cart and the others.
"He's that profiteer that shows up every now and then," commented the other. "He buys up our sake and vegetables at dirt cheap prices because we're desperate to sell with so few traders around."
"What of it?" said Digitamamon with a harsh and indignant voice. "I brave the dangerous roads, so I have to make more money. You should be happy someone is willing to buy at all."
The Gekomon frowned and looked at each other again.
Iori stepped forward as well. "Despite what you may think of Digitamamon, we are offering to help you if you can help us. Please. Our friend is in desperate need right now, and we would be eternally grateful if you would just open the gates."
Iori's calm voice seemed to smooth tensions over, and the Gekomon nodded. "Fine, you can all enter, but not the trader. We don't have time to sell with the current state of things, and we don't want him looting our abandoned shops."
Digitamamon grumbled something under his breath, but said nothing and remained still as the Gekomon opened the gates. Daisuke and Vmon pushed on through ahead, pulling Miyako and Hawkmon along after them. The gates shut after Iori and Armadillomon entered, separating them from Digitamamon.
The sight that greeted them was not a pleasant one. Though they were far off from the very front of the battle, the effects were still visible. All the buildings had been abandoned, their shutters nailed closed. Every now and then various Gekomon would run past, bearing stretchers of their wounded comrades. Some cast a glance at the children, but they were generally in too much of a hurry to pay them any serious mind. Other Gekomon ran by pushing wheelbarrows loaded with broken Rings, perhaps intended to be salvaged as scrap metal. Every now and then, bright lights appeared in the sky near the Dark Tower and then rained down upon the village, causing large explosions.
"That was Starmon's Meteor Squall attack," whispered one of the Gekomon guards as he left the gate and joined them. He turned to address them. "Follow me. I will take you to the castle of Lord ShogunGekomon, our leader. You can find medical help there, as well as ask our Lord for permission to fight alongside him."
Daisuke gave the Gekomon a quizzical look. "We have to ask for permission?"
"Those are our laws."
Despite the outward appearance of feudal-era Asia, the castle of ShogunGekomon had a distinctly modern style on the inside. The lobby they entered had marble floors like that of an office building or an expensive, complete with a Gekomon with a red hat operating elevators. At the very least the center of the lobby had a small green field containing a pond and a cherry blossom tree.
Their Gekomon guide led them to the elevator and brought them up to a higher level. The doors opened to a large room like an executive office, though the space was occupied by many improvised cots where Gekomon laid clutching burns, cuts, and bruises. Beyond this makeshift triage center was a balcony, where a massive red Digimon with two large brass horns mounted on its shoulders stood looking out at the Dark Tower on the other side of the village. More lights appeared in the sky in the distance and began to rain down on the village, but the large red frog Digimon fired a blast of sound from its two horns, causing the lights to explode in mid-air.
ShogunGekomon: Perfect level. Amphibian Type. Virus Attribute. Nature Spirits. Special Attack: Musical Tone. Melee Attack: Frog Kick.
As the Gekomon bid Hawkmon lay down on a cot, Miyako settled next to her wounded partner. Iori frowned as he looked over the wounded Gekomon. Even Daisuke seemed visibly stunned, and hesitantly approached the Gekomon lying nearest to Hawkmon. "What… what happened here?"
The Gekomon on the cot stifled a sob and turned away, but their guide returned bearing a number of bottles and vials filled with various colors and answered Daisuke's question as he set his load down. "While the Kaiser's usual strategy is to just flood an area with Rings to capture as many as possible, our sound-based attacks are especially effective at taking down Rings from a distance. That's why, for us, he's making sure to 'soften' us up before he sending in too many Rings. The leader of the attacking army, Starmon, can summon meteor storms to rain destruction upon us. Our leader ShogunGekomon does his best to blast the meteors away with sound waves, but a few still manage to get through."
"That's horrible," whispered Iori as he looked over the burns on the Gekomon on the cot. "Is there anything we can do?"
"Take down the Tower and end the attack," said the guide. He pointed out to the balcony. "They will have to retreat if the Tower goes down as it will cut off the power supply of their Rings. Our Lord ShogunGekomon is right there talking with several other guests to prepare for the assault on the Tower."
Daisuke and Vmon exchanged a glance and nodded. They were about to head right to the balcony, when they noticed Miyako again.
Miyako looked up at them as she realized they were looking at her. "Go on," she said quietly. "I'll stay here with Hawkmon."
"Are you sure?" asked Daisuke.
Miyako nodded. "Go. I won't be much help right now, but you call can." She looked at Iori, who was visibly hesitating. "You too, Iori."
Iori bit his lip but nodded and followed after Daisuke and Vmon. Armadimon even paused and looked back before hurrying up after his partner. After they were gone, the Gekomon guide studied the wounds in Hawkmon's chest before looking through the bottles and vials that he had brought. He pulled out a bottle containing a red liquid which he poured over the cuts, and a vial containing a clear one which he poured down Hawkmon's throat.
Next to the cot, Miyako kneeled and sank her face into her hands. It was all her fault. Hawkmon had ended up in such a state protecting her because she was too dumb to listen to Digitamamon. If she had instead retreated things might have turned out differently. Even before then, if she hadn't been so suspicious of Digitamamon and held everything up they might not have even come across Igamon at all.
The absolute worst thing, for her at least, was that part of her mind that felt an incessant need to try to justify herself. Part of her wanted to still argue that her criticism of Digitamamon's profiteering was right. Another part of her still wanted to argue her anger over Igamon and BlackAgumon's collaboration with the Kaiser was right. Did being right matter at all if it put her partner in such a state?
"That's the wrong vial."
Miyako looked up at the new voice and saw a newcomer pull a vial of blue liquid out of the Gekomon's hands. "Isn't it obvious that you're dealing with the poisons of the Iga school?" continued the newcomer disdainfully, casually tossing the vial aside. She pointed to a different bottle. "That one's the one you want to use. It'll get him up and running again in a matter of minutes." The Gekomon frowned at the intrusion, but still followed the directions given to him.
Miyako only managed to swallow, as the rest of her body frozen in surprise and anxiety. She didn't know what to say to the beautiful girl that had appeared and was slowly turning to her.
"What are you gaping at?" said Yagami Hikari.
"You…! You're…!"
Hikari frowned. Beside her, Tailmon casually stepped forward, eyeing Miyako and Hawkmon and shaking her head.
"You again," Miyako managed to force out at last. She suddenly rose to her feet. "You're not here to start another fight are you?"
"My name is Yagami Hikari, for your information, and no, I'm not here to fight you. This is no place to start one. I was merely passing through when we happened to get caught up in this. We were supposed to push on further, but Takeru insisted we change our plans when he saw that Starmon and Revolmon of the Star Mining Town had been enslaved and made the leaders of the attack on this village." She cast a sideways glance to the balcony, and Miyako followed her gaze.
There was Takeru, wrapped in his black cloak with Patamon on his shoulder and Galgomon next to him, standing with a stunned expression on his face while Daisuke gripped his hands and talked excitedly. Above them, the towering form of ShogunGekomon seemed bewildered by the exchange going on, but did nothing else.
"I see your leader is as obnoxious as ever," said Hikari.
"Leader?" Miyako blinked and looked back at the other girl. "What? Daisuke? Leader? You're joking right?"
Hikari made no reply, but instead looked down at Hawkmon. The Gekomon had begun treating the poisoned Digimon with the medicine that Hikari had pointed out. "I was wondering why you weren't with the others at first, but now I see it was because you lost to an Igamon."
Miyako bit her lip and glared at the other girl. "What of it?" she snapped. "Hawkmon and I and everyone else are just trying to help, but you have to do everything to try and antagonize all of us."
The other girl seemed a bit surprised by Miyako's outburst, but remained cool in her demeanor. She shrugged. "You seem unusually upset."
And with that casual dismissal of her outburst, Miyako deflated and felt embarrassed, realizing that if anything she had just been acting more antagonistic.
"You are a very interesting person," said Hikari, taking a seat beside Miyako. "You're right actually. I do want to antagonize you, or at least did. I don't like how you all are getting involved like this is all just some after-school activity for all of you. You don't really have a single tie to this world." She laughed and glanced back at Miyako. "And you keep coming back. It makes me wonder why."
Miyako could think of no reply that would be satisfactory, because it felt like Hikari's eyes could somehow strip her bare and look deep into those selfish intentions that Miyako was so terrified would be there. Her heart sank as she remembered her jealousy of Daisuke and Iori, her selfish interest in studying the D2 Digivice and learning more about the Digital world, and how in the end even Hawkmon, who she had called a friend, had ended up being just a shield for her.
"Because she has good intentions..."
Miyako and Hikari both looked down at Hawkmon, who was slowly rising. The Gekomon had finished applying the medicines, and the newly awakened bird was answering Hikari's question. "Miyako isn't hard to understand at all. Miyako can't answer because she's afraid you're right… but that's because she's self-aware. She considers her own intentions and meditates on them deeply, and deep down tries her hardest to make sure that they're pure ones. The high standards she hold for others are the same high standards that she constantly judges herself by. Her own self-doubt about her own goodness is itself proof that she is a good person. She is the type of person I will serve no matter what."
Hikari seemed amused by the reply. She opened her mouth to make a reply, but Tailmon suddenly glanced up at her partner and tugged at Hikari's hand. When Hikari looked down in response, Tailmon put a paw up to her mouth and whispered something.
Hikari's eyes widened, and Immediately both she and Tailmon jumped up and began running to the balcony. Miyako watched them in confusion and looked back outside. Her eyes widened as she saw it.
A long rope had suddenly appeared above ShogunGekomon, where Igamon was sliding down, a Spiral in hand. ShogunGekomon only had a brief moment to look up before Igamon slapped the mind-controlling device onto the stalk atop his head.
The effect was immediate. ShogunGekomon turned toward the room and unleashed a massive shockwave from the twin brass horns on his shoulders.
Tailmon stopped mid-run and braced herself against the impact as the massive wave passed through the floor, ripping apart the walls and ceilings and sending Gekomon tumbling out of their cots. Glass bottles and vials shook violently before shattering under the massive pressure of the passing sound wave.
Miyako and Hawkmon had pressed their hands against their ears as the wave passed. They now looked up, and found that Hikari had run back to them at the last moment and helped shield them from the sound wave.
"Help the Gekomon out of here," said Hikari, clutching her own ears as she looked back to Miyako. "Tailmon and I will handle ShogunGekomon."
Miyako nodded dumbly and helped Hawkmon out of the cot. The Gekomon that had attended to Hawkmon asked their help, and they quickly followed after him, helping all the Gekomon that had trouble walking to get to the elevator. As Miyako glanced backward, she saw Iori and Armadimon running to rejoin them and help them evacuate. Daisuke was on Raidramon's back as the dragon-beast jumped off the balcony and began running on the rooftops, trying to get ShogunGekomon's attention away from the floor. Similarly, Takeru was on Pegasmon's back as Coatlmon flew alongside.
As the elevator door slid shut with Miyako and everyone else inside, the last thing Miyako saw was Igamon throwing another rope down the balcony to flee before Tailmon and Hikari could engage him.
The elevator went down agonizingly slowly. Miyako looked from the door to her partner. Hawkmon was stretching his wings and back.
"Hey… Hawkmon?"
The bird Digimon looked up at her. "Yes?"
Miyako smiled. "Thank you."
"I live to serve."
There was a ring as the elevator reached the bottom and the doors slid open to greet an unlikely Digimon waiting for them.
"Yo," said Digitamamon.
Miyako blinked in surprise. "You! You...?"
Digitamamon motioned toward his cart, which they now saw was empty of the boxes and packages they had seen before. "Things got ugly at the gate, and the guard decided to let me in anyways," explained Digitamamon. "And I figured, hey, I might not be a soldier, but I might be able to help using my cart or something."
Miyako looked back at all the Gekomon, most of them exhausted and clearly having difficulty walking. She turned back to Digitamamon. "Thanks."
Digitamamon chuckled. "I mean, I understand what you were saying about me. I always tried to justify what I was doing with my prices by saying I was helping get food through and that was what's important. But you were different, and called me out, so I started thinking, maybe I can afford to make a little less. Everyone has to make sacrifices in these times."
Miyako was stunned by the Digimon's words. She could not think of a response. Instead, Iori bowed to Digitamamon in appreciation before helping the Gekomon rest on the cart to continue the evacuation. Outside, rubble was falling like rain as ShogunGekomon continued his sudden rampage.
"Digitamamon," said Miyako at last as the most hurt Gekomon were placed on the cart. "I don't... I mean, I..." She paused, then just smiled. "Thanks for your words."
Iori suddenly tugged on her arm. She looked down as the younger boy held up his vibrating yellow D2, showing a sudden signal detected on its screen that resembled a green teardrop. "It's coming right from the pool," said Iori. "I think it's a Digimental. Let's check it before we go."
Miyako looked up to the pool, and as she did, a light suddenly began to glow from something near the middle. She looked to Digitamamon. "Go on ahead everyone. We'll catch up after we check this out."
Digitamamon nodded and began pushing the cart out of the castle, followed and helped by the most able Gekomon remaining. Miyako turned and waded into the pool, where she reached down and felt something round, like an egg. Her fingers wrapped around it and she pulled, finding it impossibly light as it sprung up from the water. The Digimental was dark green and seemed to have a four-pointed metal star as a base.
The very moment that she did, Hawkmon suddenly tensed and drew one of his feather blades. He quickly threw it, and it struck a throwing star in mid-air causing both to fall into the pool.
In a sudden flash and puff of smoke, Igamon appeared at the lobby door. He tensed as he saw the object in Miyako's hands.
Miyako glanced to her partner. "Shall we?"
"Of course!"
"Digimental Up!"
Hawkmon grew larger in a flash of light, his limbs growing into long and flexible corded bundles of vines that wrapped around three-pronged bladed stars. The Digimental seemed to unfurl in Miyako's hands, becoming a white cloth that spread and covered Hawkmon's growing body. Two large green leaves covered his shoulders while the star base of the Digimental became a massive throwing star on his back. In his new form he was a fierce ninja that towered above Igamon.
Bursting Purity, Shurimon.
Shurimon: Armor level. Data Attribute. Mutant Type. Jungle Troopers. Ranged Attack: Autumn Wind. Special Attack: Leaf Concealment.
The two ninja stared each other down as the castle shook violently around them and continued to collapse.
Shurimon and Igamon charged at each other, the latter throwing a barrage of stars as he ran. The coiled arms of Shurimon spun, and the spinning blades at the end of his arms deflected all the incoming blades. As they drew near to each other, Igamon drew his sword to catch the spinning star blades.
"Don't think that just because you're wearing some fancy cloth armor that you have any more chance of stopping me," taunted Igamon as their blades locked together.
Both jumped back as the ceiling above them cracked and a piece dislodged and landed where they had been standing mere moments before.
Iori tugged Miyako's arm. "It's still dangerous in here. We should get out."
Miyako nodded and called to her partner.
"Go on ahead," Shurimon shouted back. "Leave Igamon to me."
The others nodded. Armadimon donned his armor to become Pteramon before gripping Miyako and Iori in his talons and carried them out through the lobby doors.
"Come on, come on!" said Igamon, his face twisting into a gleeful smile. "You've got the garb of a ninja, but can you actually use those shuriken or not?"
Shurimon made no reply, instead jumping back to unleash all extend all four of his coiled limbs like springs. Igamon only managed to deflect one of the blades, while the three slashed across his legs and his one arm. He had specifically blocked the attack aimed at his Spiral.
Just as they were about to clash again, the cracks on the ceiling expanded until the entire ceiling above them crashing down. They began running out of the castle, dodging rubble and exchanging attacks the whole way through. As they jumped through the crumbling door, they both glanced back and saw the massive form of ShogunGekomon come crashing down through the ruined ceiling.
Both ninja jumped onto the rooftops, still exchanging throwing stars as they continued to move away from the castle. Behind them, ShogunGekomon seemed to be following after them as he continued his rampage through the streets, blasting his brass horns indiscriminately to destroy all the buildings around him he could see.
Shurimon and Igamon clashed again in close quarters, sword locking against blade stars. As they were locked down, Raidramon suddenly bounded up to them, Daisuke on his back. Daisuke's D2 identified Shurimon's new form for him.
"Need some help there Shurimon?" called Raidramon.
"Focus on ShogunGekomon," answered Shurimon. "He's the bigger threat right now." He pressed on his attack, and the two ninja continued their duel further down the rooftops.
Raidramon looked up at the rampaging ShogunGekomon, currently being circled by Coatlmon and Pegasmon. "Maybe I should switch Armor forms to Flamedramon," said Raidramon to Daisuke. "I'm more mobile as Raidramon, sure, but ShogunGekomon is a pretty slow moving target."
"No, stay as Raidramon," called a voice from below.
Both Raidramon and Daisuke looked down. Hikari was there, Tailmon at her side. "You two should continue helping with any necessary evacuation, and will need your greater speed in that form. Tailmon and I will join Takeru and his brothers to handle ShogunGekomon."
Daisuke frowned and studied the girl suspiciously. "Why should we listen to you?"
Hikari gave a dismissive laugh. "Why do I need to give you a reason? You're going to obey anyways."
She continued down the road to join the fight against ShogunGekomon, Tailmon following after. Behind her, Daisuke growled in frustration and looked down at Raidramon. Both of them shook their heads in annoyance as they grudgingly set out in search of Miyako and Iori to continue the evacuation. Hikari had been right. They obeyed, having no ideas as to what else they could do to help.
Meanwhile, Coatlmon and Pegasmon set out their Sanctuary Bind combination attack, wrapping around ShogunGekomon's arms and legs to hold him in place. This had the desired effect, and the Perfect level turned his attention to the flying pests, following after them as they flew toward the outskirt of the village. They abruptly stopped near the border, and ShogunGekomon poblemply blasted both his horns at them. Takeru gripped Pegasmon tightly as they and Coatlmon braced to take the attack.
The sound and air waves rippled through them, severely wounding them. But it also continued on after past them, striking the Dark Tower behind them. They had specifically positioned themselves between ShogunGekomon and the Tower after getting the Digimon's attention.
ShogunGekomon paused and blinked in confusion as the Tower began to crumble and fall, perhaps realizing that he had done something he was not supposed to. This hesitance gave Tailmon all the opening she needed to jump up and slash off the stalk bearing the Spiral, severing the Kaiser's control.
Though one problem had been solved, the duel between Shurimon and Igamon dragged on with no conclusion. Raidramon ran alongside them as they fought, catching sight of Pteramon, who had rejoined with Digitamamon and the other evacuees. The dragon-beast jumped down to rejoin them.
"Daisuke, Raidramon," called out Miyako. "Have you seen Shurimon?"
Daisuke pointed his thumb behind him just as the two dueling ninja leaped over the nearest rooftop and sailed above them, exchanging more throwing stars the whole time as they fell. As they landed, Igamon glanced at the Gekomon.
"Well, I'll admit you're stronger than I thought, but now it's time for me to finish this," said Igamon. He formed his hands together in a strange seal. "I'll wipe all of you away with the secret art of the Iga School, the Shadow Clone Technique!"
In a puff of smoke, copies of Igamon suddenly appeared all around them, all of them drawing poisoned throwing stars. Shurimon's eyes widened as he watched them take aim at the Gekomon, realizing his plan. He jumped forward, drawing the large four-pointed blade Kusanagi on his back, raising it high to throw in a line through all the Igamon clones before they could attack.
Shurimon was too slow on the draw. The wave of poisoned stars flew out the same instance as the Kusanagi flew through the line of clones, wiping them out in puffs of smoke and severely wounding the original. Part of the Spiral was cut away, and the severed end sparked with electricity.
Igamon gripped his wounded arm and damaged spire, cursing. "I'll concede that you've won this round." He drew a smoke bomb and threw it at his feet, vanishing with the dark cloud of gas.
Shurimon looked back to the Gekomon in fear, but to his surprise not a single one had been hit. He looked to Miyako, and saw that she was looking at something with a stunned expression on her face. He followed her line of sight to Digitamamon.
The Perfect level had shielded the Gekomon with his body, and though many stars had been deflected by his shell, many others were embedded in his exposed legs. One star had even gone through the open crack on the front, lodging in his left eye.
Miyako took a cautious step forward toward Digitamamon.
"Heh, I told you that I wasn't a soldier…" Digitamon sank to his knees before falling forward, and did not move again.
