Chapter 7
"They're attacking the city in two different areas!" Izzy informed the other chosen children in the living room. They all shared worried glances before Tai began to take charge.
"Let's split into two groups we can't let them get a foothold in our world," Tai instructed. "I'll take Matt, Izzy, Joe, TK, Davis, Takuya, JP, and Tommy. The rest of you head to this position and stop them." He pointed to the farther dot on the screen. "Make sure to keep in touch if anything happens. Good luck."
They all immediately jumped into action, racing out the door. As soon as the digimon made it outside they evolved to their champion levels and picked up their partners and the Legendary Warriors and raced off to combat the invading digimon.
Tai's Group
When they reached the invasion point, most of the area had already sustained massive amounts of damage. Buildings were crumbling and civilians were quickly fleeing the area. The chosen quickly dismounted their partners and the fighting began.
The streets were filled with Monocromon, Pteramon, Dokugumon, Reppamon, and Kuwagamon. The flying digimon were bombarding the buildings and anything that moved on the ground, while the others smashed whatever they came in contact with. The partner digimon that could fly immediately took to the skies and the others rushed into the fray. Greymon and Kabuterimon hung back sticking close to their partners.
Tai ran over to Izzy and JP to give them a crash course on how the new evolution works. "You sure it's that easy?" JP didn't sound very convinced as he listened to Tai's explanation.
"Just give it a shot we don't have time!" Tai yelled as he grasped his crest and it began to glow. Next to him, Takuya burst into flames and took on his shadow form. Greymon quickly followed digivolving into MetalGreymon. The two nodded at each other and with a great flap of wings lifted off into the skies.
The two of them flew circles around the Kuwagamon. The bug digimon tried to catch them between their massive pincers, but to no avail. Takuya and MetalGreymon weaved between them and blasted them when they got the chance. The burning Kuwagamon plummeted to the ground and burst into data.
Tai cheered before giving an encouraging nod to Izzy. "Here goes nothing." Izzy closed his eyes. He tried to feel the power within him and of those around him. What was he supposed to do once he found it? What if it didn't work?
'You think too much, child of knowledge.' Izzy recognized Beetlemon's deep voice. 'Just go with your instincts. JP and I will take care of the rest.' His voice slowly faded away. He listened to Beetlemon's instructions and stopped with his endless questions and just focused on feeling.
It was hard for him; he was always thinking, always calculating. But his friends needed his help and so did the whole world. He shut out the questions that were bouncing around his mind and focused on the power that was begging to be released.
JP could feel the power resonating from Izzy. That power slowly began to seep out of him and he quickly absorbed it. Using Izzy's additional power he began his evolution. It felt like a regular spirit evolution, the strength of his spirit filling him up. But now it was more than just Beetlemon, he could feel Izzy and Kabuterimon as if they were a part of him. The electronics in the buildings were already beeping and whistling from all the digimon activity, but now with the warrior of thunder evolving close by, they were going haywire. Screens were flashing and machines were emitting loud screeching beeps.
JP was consumed by a bright yellow orb. The orb slowly began expanding and taking shape. When the evolution was complete there was a creature that resembled a rhinoceros beetle the size of a bus standing in JP's place. His form was a golden yellow a few sparks flying off and crackling on the ground. A bright light from the sky told them that Kabuterimon had just digivolved. The children cheered as the newly evolved MegaKabuterimon knocked two Pteramon out of the sky with ease.
"That's two ultimate digimon for us and two shadows, this should go by quickly." Matt was feeling cocky; there was no way they could lose this now.
"Don't be hasty; I'm still new to this." Izzy was nervous; he could feel the power of his partner and the Legendary Warrior of thunder flowing through his body. It was a strange feeling; it was like having another presence inside of him. Was this what the Legendary Warriors felt all the time being bound to their spirits?
"Don't worry. Remember what Beetlemon said? Don't think too much, just go with your gut feeling," JP's voice was muffled; it sounded like he was talking through a broken microphone. He turned away from the group and charged forward crushing an unsuspecting Monocormon into the nearby building. With one of their comrades down, the other Monocromon turned toward JP and began charging.
JP stood his ground locking horns with one of the Monocromon. With a sharp twist of his head he easily lifted the dinosaur digimon and tossed him into the other Monocromon. Realizing they couldn't compete with the warrior of thunder, in terms of strength, they lined up and began to fire massive fire balls at him. The protective shell on JP's shadow form lifted up revealing insect wings. JP quickly lifted off the ground to escape the barrage of 'Volcanic Strike' attacks.
JP was assessing the situation from the air when MegaKabuterimon approached him. "Need some help?"
"Sure, let's take out these guys first." JP focused his gaze on the Monocromon. A ball of electricity began forming in the space between JP's beating wings. Once the ball reached its maximum size it condensed and entered his horn which began to glow. He then dropped his head down pointing his horn toward the digimon on the ground. JP and MegaKabuterimon simultaneously released their attacks on the dinosaurs inhalation them. All that remained were scorch marks on the concrete.
Matt was correct, the opposing digimon army was dropping like flies. Their partners worked together flawlessly easily reducing the enemy numbers.
A group of three Dokugumon snuck around the fighting and attempted to launch a surprise attack and surrounded the children. One of them lunged forward trying to catch one of the children in its jaws. The spider digimon was immediately stopped when Angemonswooped down and struck him in the head with his staff. The other two Dokugumon surged forward using their allies' dilemma as a distraction. The other partner digimon were too distracted with fighting or too far away to help.
The children screamed in terror as the spiders closed in. Before any of them were caught the Dogkugumon smashed into a wall of ice mere feet away from the group. Tommy was standing toward the back of the group with both hands pressed to the ground, a small area around his hands were frozen solid.
"Nice save Tommy!" Davis laughed as the Dokugumon crumpled to the ground. It didn't stop them forever though. They shook their heads and slowly stood back up; they simultaneously bashed the wall shattering the ice barrier. The children covered their faces to protect themselves from the ice shards that were raining down on them.
"I take it back that was terrible!" Davis wiped bits of ice from his clothes and winced from the small scratch on his face.
"Shut up," Tommy growled, that didn't go as well as he hoped. Hoping to redeem himself, he stepped protectively in front of his friends.
"Are you crazy? Get out of there!" TK yelled, as Tommy remained firmly rooted as the spiders continued their charge. The others shouted words of warning, but Tommy ignored all of them and braced himself for the assault.
He was ready as the first Dokugumon swiped at him with a spindly leg. He quickly rolled underneath the spider, lying on his back, he thrust his palms upward. A pillar of ice erupted from the ground and impaled the digimon. It gave a gut-wrenching screech before it burst into bits of data. The ice pillar slowly receded and Tommy stood up with a triumphant smile on his face.
"Look out!" He had forgotten about the second Dokugumon!
Tommy didn't have time to react before he was struck. He screamed in pain as it sunk it's fangs into his arm and tossed him to the side. He flew across the street and crashed into the sidewalk before skidding to a stop. He rolled into a ball cradling his bleeding arm against his chest. The pain was tremendous, his eyes were clamped shut and he could feel them beginning to water, but he refused to cry. He hated being known as the crybaby, he was older now, stronger.
He could hear frantic footsteps approaching him. At first he tensed expecting the Dokugumon, instead he felt a comforting hand on his should and the other children's voice surrounding him. He forced himself to open his eyes and looked past the legs and crouching figures surrounding him to see that ExVeemon and Garurumon had finished with their previous fight with a group of Reppamon and was finishing of the last Dokugumon.
The pain was worth it, he bought enough time for the partner digimon to get there and save his friends.
"Let me see it your arm," Joe kneeled down next to him already opening the first aid kit he carried around. Tommy gently released his arm; the blood had seeped through his fingers beginning to stain his clothes and the ground around him. The other children grimaced at the gruesome scene; his arm had multiple deep puncture wounds that were still seeping blood.
Joe immediately began trying to stop the bleeding. Tommy winced as the cotton was placed on his arm. "Sorry, but pressure needs to be applied in order to slow the bleeding," Joe said, using both hands to press on the wound. Tommy nodded, and he couldn't stop the hiss of pain that escaped his lips.
"Is he going to be okay?" TK asked.
Joe nodded, "The bones not broken or anything, he'll be fine." He removed the blood soaked gauze from Tommy's arm and replaced it with a clean one and began to wrap it. "This will have to do for now until we can take you to see a doctor."
"Thanks Joe." Tommy smiled at him. They didn't have time to rest; the enemy's reinforcements have begun to arrive. About ten to fifteen more digimon of the same species as the ones before arrived on the scene accompanied by a much larger digimon behind them. The enormous digimon had blue smooth skin, red leathery wings, and limbs made of multiple tentacles that were bound together. The monster roared throwing back it's octopus like head revealing rows of sharp teeth.
All the digimon stopped their fighting to look at the new comers. The enemy digimon smirked while the partners look a few nervous steps backward. "It's Dragomon," Angemon murmured.
"That's the one Kari and I saw in the Dark Ocean." TK began trembling. Shaking off their fear the partner digimon took up defensive positions around the children. They were tired out but they could still fight. Takuya and JP where in the front lines, Takuya was still in the air while JP landed and too his position on the ground. Tai and Izzy were panting heavily, sweat streaming down their face.
"We need to finish this fast. I don't think I can last much longer." Tai panted wiping the sweat from his brow. Takuya and JP were also showing signs of fatigue. Their moves were much sloppier and their forms began wavering.
Tommy slowly got to his feet and took a few steps toward the battle field. Joe knew exactly what Tommy was planning and quickly stood in front of him blocking his path.
"No you need to rest your arm is in pretty bad shape," Joe said sternly.
Tommy was not about to give up. "Our friends are out there, I can't just stand by and do nothing!" Their partners made quick work of the remaining enemy digimon until only Dragomon was left. Unfortunately the ultimate digimon was easily beating back the team. He easily knocked away the champion digimon with his massive tentacles and he successfully blocked any long range attack they tried. Exhausted after fighting off the army they were barley scratching the master of the Dark Ocean.
Dragomon evaded a flaming claw from Takuya and smashed him into the nearby building. He plummeted toward the ground. A small crater in the pavement formed where he landed. He slowly pushed himself to his knees and struggled to get up. All the children quickly turned to Tai when he let out cry of pain and collapsed to his knees. Small scratches and burses began forming on his body.
"What's going on?!" Matt assessed his friend's battered body. He crouched next to Tai, unsure of how to help his friend. He looked like he was in a lot of pain and he didn't want to touch him.
Izzy's eyes widened when he reached a dark conclusion. "We're connected to them! We must be taking on some of the damage that they take." The other children gave startled gasps and shared nervous glances.
"We don't have time to worry about this now," Tai panted, he slowly made his way back to his feet with the help of Matt.
"Get out of my way Joe!" Tommy tried to shove the older boy out of his way with his good arm. Joe did his best to restrain him without jostling his injury.
"No you can't fight in your condition!"
"I can't just let my friends get hurt while I just sit here and watch!"
"They're my friends too but running out there and getting hurt isn't going to help them!" The rest of the children were ignoring of the two fighting boys. Their eyes were fixed Dragomon as he decimated their partners. Dragomon summoned a deadly looking trident and was parrying any attack sent his way. He waited patiently for them to make a mistake or falter in their attacks, and when they did he struck back hard. Exveemon, Garurumon, and Angemon had already de-digivolved and lay in crumpled heaps. With worried cries Matt, Davis, and TK ran to collect their injured partners.
Hearing his friends worried shouts Joe looked up and took in the destruction the army had caused. "Please Joe," Tommy's voice came out barley a whisper. Joe looked down at the warrior of ice whose eyes were locked on the others holding their injured partners.
They were startled by a roar of pain as Ikkakumon crashed into the ground next to them. Joe immediately let go of Tommy and ran to his partner. He had a deep gash running along his body from where Dragomon caught him with his trident. "I'm fine Joe, don't worry about me," Ikkakumon said as he struggled to stand.
"No you'll be destroyed," Joe was conflicted. He knew they needed to save the world but he feared for the life of his partner and for his friends. "All this fighting is horrible." He buried his face into this partner's dirtied fur, seeking comfort.
"And we're the only ones who can stop this, it's our responsibility to protect the worlds," Tommy came up behind him, gently stroking Ikkakumon's fur.
"I know that I can't stop you from fighting, but promise me that you will be careful." Joe knew he couldn't stop him but he could still worry.
'Only if you help us,' a childlike voice echoed through the minds of Joe and Ikkakumon.
"What?" Joe gave a confused gasp as his partner and crest began to glow.
'Don't be afraid it's only me,' Joe had no idea who was talking to them but they didn't sound threatening.
"Who's me?" He asked still looking aground.
"That would be Kumamon."
'You have a very good heart Joe, you are always thinking about others. But war is difficult; we are forced to hurt others to protect who and what we love. But you're not in this alone let us help you.'
Shortly after the crest came to life, Tommy started to emit a light green aura. The two of them recognized what was happening and simply nodded at each other before. Tommy turned around and ran toward the fight Ikkakumon hot on his heels.
Both of them were wrapped in a light green light. The digimon ceased their fighting and looked at the incoming light. Dragomon blinded from the bright light gave a roar of pain and stumbled backwards raising his arms to shield his eyes. When it faded Dragomon was tacked to the ground by a large bear that looked like it was made of compact snow. The impact caused him to drop his trident which skid across the ground out of his reach. Tommy caught one of Dragomon's arms in his jaws and bit down as hard as he could. Dragomon desperately swiped at Tommy with his tentacles. To avoid any more injuries, the bear leaped away. With the giant bear gone Dragomon clambered to his feet only to be stuck with a 'Voltage Hammer' from Zudomon.
When Tommy landed, he stumbled and almost collapsed. The adrenalin numbed most of the pain, but the landing had jarred his arm causing occasional spikes of pain to shoot up his arm.
Back with the other chosen Joe could feel a tingling sensation in his arm. He lifted it to examine what was causing the strange feeling. He and the others gasped when he watched red blemishes began to cover his arm. Looking over at Tai and Izzy, he could see they both were covered in small scratches and bruises. They needed to end this fight before his friends got seriously hurt.
They were down three champions and the rest of the team was exhausted or injured. Dragomon may have sustained some damage from their last exchange but he was nowhere near defeated. Things were looking dim. They could only hope that their friends were successful in securing the other part of town. TK took out his D-terminal and sent out a frantic message to the others,
'Dragomon is here. Can't hold out much longer.'
A/N: Shorter than normal but I wanted to split the fight scene into two different chapters. Enjoy :)
