Chapter 9: …Means Go

"He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; he does not shy away from the sword.

The quiver rattles against his side, along with the flashing spear and lance.

In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds."

-Job 39:19-24


"Well at least the food is good." Janyu places his chopsticks down as he finishes his meal.

It had been several hours since arriving at the new location. The blue haired man looked around the room he'd sat in for that amount of time. It resembled a college classroom. There was a board at the front, a podium for the speaker, long tables and chairs at those tables.

"I used to spend a lot of time in lecture halls like this." He sighs in finality, "Looks like this was just a big waste of time."

He rises from his seat ready to leave.


The tamers were conferring in Guilmon's hideout with their partners, Kenta, Kazu, and Jeri were also there.

"Any luck?" Takato looks over everyone, hoping someone would have an answer.

No one does. They'd been looking for Impmon, who'd been injured going up against the Deva, Indramon.

"Oh man…" Before anything else could be said or done, all the digimon tense. The tamers are up and outside the hideout to peer in the direction of whatever has their attention.

"Looks bad!" Terriormon points toward the large clustering of skyscrapers, where they could see a large gathering of grey mist.

"Oh, great. A digital field." Rikka says with a look of contempt and worry across her face.


Janyu plucks his now empty tea cup in boredom as he looks around the empty corridors.

"Guess they forgot about me. This place is disserted." Just then, an alarm goes off, high pitched and urgent. Up ahead, he could see several men in lab coats running across the hall, panic written in their faces.

"Hurry!" One of them yells out.

"Huh?" Janyu frowns and follows them.


"It's a giant wild one!" shouted out one Ohtori Riley, one of the two Chief Operators of Hypnos.

She is a pretty woman with long auburn hair and dark grey eyes. Her partner was Chief Onodera Tally, another woman with short blonde hair and brown eyes. Both were sitting within an operating seat with a visor over their eyes, calculating numbers and tracking the emergence of the 'Wild Ones'.

"It's the same pattern…as the one from yesterday!" Riley reports.

Janyu steps through a set of steel double doors and a woman's voice echoes throughout the large chamber.

"Bio-emerging commencing now."

Janyu gasps aloud. The entire atrium was a collection of high tech equipment and computers. He was one part stunned and one part awed.

"What is…this place?"

"There's nothing to fear." Janyu flinches at the blond man's sudden presence next to him. "This project is completely sanctioned by the government."

Janyu looks at the man standing next to him who did not so much as glance to Janyu's way, suit, blonde hair and dark glasses. Janyu had never seen this specific man before but he's seen those like him before and is immediately put off by him.

"What are you doing here? What is all this?"

"We're monitoring what we call "Wild Ones", those simple artificial life forms that you worked so hard to create evolved, multiplied and festered throughout the net." Janyu follows the man as he walks off to a nearby elevator.

"These mistakes of science have now found their way into the real world."

Elsewhere, the digital field settled over a large overpass. Purple fog obscured drivers' visions and forced traffic to slow to a halt. GPS' failed, littering only static and a strange deformed black image.

"As they try to breach the barrier and bio-emerge, a cloud of fog-like particles appears, a field of energy resulting from earth's natural electrical rays responding to the digital information emitted by the beasts."

The thick fog condenses as a massive form takes shape. It stands on two horse-like legs with hoofs for feet. The head was formed like a horse's, with two arms that expanded into massive hooves. There was a belt around its waist and gold armor along its upper body.

"Inside the fog, molecules begin to change and rearrange themselves into false proteins taking on physical form in our world."

The form is all purple, with magenta markings, a magenta horn on its head, and gold armor adorned hooves. It also had white hair for its mane and tail. The large adornment on its back is shaped like a sea shell. When the fog, finally clears, its large mass weights heavily on the vehicles beneath its feet and the people inside have mere moments to escape before they are crushed completely. The large highway groans under the digimon's considerable mass.

The elevator doors open to reveal another large atrium, technicians and other scientist move about, large machines litter the entire area.

"All of this exists only to clean up after you."

"I-I didn't know." Janyu looks around in bewilderment before looking to the blond in anguish, "What have we done?"


People ran screaming from their cars. Mass panic and sirens blared everywhere. The tamers found their way to the highway to see what had emerged.

"It's Indramon!" Takato yelled to the others. The Deva in question stopped his rampage to turn to look at them with a growl.

The digimon called to their tamers, their desire unspoken but heard. All four tamers pulled out their D-Arcs and a card. They moved in sync with each other and called out…

"DIGI-MODIFY! Digivolution Activate!"

DIGIVOLUTION…

RENAMON DIGIVOLVE TO...

The fox rookie's body is encompassed in a blue glow. Her body grew twice its size and her tail split into nine new tails. Her head had a yin and yang symbol on her forehead. The white tuff of fur around her neck also grew out and was accompanied by a red and white bell ornament. She went from walking on two legs, to four. Fire erupted from her paws and tails.

KYUUBIMON!

DIGIVOLUTION...

TERRIORMON DIGIVOLVE TO...

A glowing green light encompasses the rabbit rookie. He grows three times his size. His ears also grow and the horn on his head becomes more pronounced. His arms and legs form with thick muscle. The top half of his head is colored green while the ends of his ears and the rest of his body remain cream. Red tribal markings appear on his face. Jeans form over his figure and a pair of spinning machine guns attach to his hands. He throws a belt of ammo over his shoulder and it loops back around to lock in place.

GARGOMON!

DIGIVOLUTION...

GUILMON DIGIVOLVE TO...

A red glow swallows Guilmon. He grows two stories tall. Two horns grow on his head. Tribal markings and data markings appear all over his body. White hair grows out from the top of his head. A growl rumbled from his chest as red, hot, fire flares from his nose.

GROWLMON!

DIGIVOLUTION…

DORUMON DIGIVOLVE TO…

The rookie's body began to glow a bright purple. His body grew five times in size until the new digimon stood three stories tall. The fur changed to a darker purple with light purple highlights. The black claws turned red and a white tuff of fur grew around his neck. Large purple wings grew from his back with a white underside and the ruby on its head changed to a dark blood red. A growl rumbled from the champion and then the beast let out a massive roar, wings spread.

DORUGAMON!

The four champions didn't waste any time and charged ahead toward the Deva. Kenta and Kazu cheered them on, elated and in awe.

"Alright!"

"Awesome!"

Jeri stood behind them, an exhausted Calumon in her arms. Several military choppers moved toward the area. Meanwhile, a certain purple imp peeked out from his hiding place in an abandoned cart, bruises littering his small frame before his injuries cause him to fall back. Gargomon is the first to attack.

"Gargo Laser! Kyuubimon you're up!" She flares her tails, jumps and starts to spin as fire engulfs her body.

"Dragon Wheel!" She releases the fire as it forms a dragon and hits the Deva center mass. Growlmon and Dorugamon follow her.

"Pyro Blaster!"

"Power Metal!"

There is not so much as a scratch.

"Your efforts are futile." Indramon snaps at them. The Deva moves in for an attack and Henry reacts.

"DIGI-MODIFY! Power activate!" Gargomon jumps into the air and levels his guns at the Deva's face.

"Gargo Laser!" Still the attack does not so much as slow the ultimate down.

"You fools!" the digimon yells as he lifts one arm and smashes it to the ground where the champion had landed. The highway cracks and bends beneath his attack, support beams snapping and barely holding together. Large chucks of debris falls to the streets below it. Gargomon lay among the destruction, cringing, bruises and cuts covering every inch of his body.

"You should show some respect." The ribbons tying the shell to his back disappear and the large instrument floats into the air. Gargomon raises a gun to the ultimate and tries to fire but nothing happens. Every spin gives an empty 'click'. The other digimon rush forward again.

"Gargomon!" Dorugamon takes to the air and launches an attack.

"Power Metal!" the shell does not as much as twitch.

"This is definitely not good." Gargomon mutters to himself, still spinning his gun. Kenta, Kazu and Jeri watch in trepidation.

"You better do something." Kazu says with a serious expression on his face.

"Yeah," Kenta doesn't bother to hide his worry, "and hurry up!"

Henry takes a deep breath to steady his rapidly beating heart and uses another card.

"DIGI-MODIFY! Recharge activate!" Gargomon's guns stop clicking and start spinning, green lasers speeding away. The champion launches himself into the air again for another attack.

"Bunny Pummel!" The other tamers follow and use cards of their own.

"DIGI-MODIFY! Strength activate!"

"Pyro Blaster!"

DIGI-MODIFY! Hyper speed activate!"

"Dragon Wheel!"

"DIGI-MODIFY! Power activate!"

"Power Metal!"

"Hmp." The Deva does not blink in the face of the champions combined attack and the shell lights up, the light grows and then launches itself from the empty space toward the four digimon. The attack blinds them…


The blond introduces himself as Yamaki and leads Janyu to an enclosed area and through another set of doors. The first thing he notices is a man with short auburn hair in jeans and a green jacket typing away. The man was familiar. The man turns around to show grey eyes, glasses, and a face Janyu knew.

"Hey Tao." The man calls out.

"D-Dolphin?"

"Yup!" Dolphin, or Rob McCoy is a professor at Palo Alto University where he studies dolphins, hence his nickname.

"I don't believe it. You've changed. I barely even recognize you!" A laugh grabs his attention as two more people pop up from behind machinery and desk tables.

"Hmp. You haven't changed at all Tao." A woman says.

"Well except for the grey hair." A dark bald man pipes up with a chuckle.

"I don't know I kinda like it." Another woman, blond, says. "It makes you look distinguished."

"Curly!" A woman of Indian heritage, with tan skin, brown hair, glasses and a traditional bindi in the center of her forehead, was Aishwarya Rai or "Curly" to her friends. She is also an accomplished professor of quantum theory at the Miscatonic University.

"Babel!" was a man of Afican American descent with a gotee, round shades, and a bald head. He specialized in theoretical physics.

"Daisy!" A blond woman with a short pixie cut and blue eyes. She specialized in robotics and software. They greeted their friend "Tao" in turn before Daisy spoke out.

"Okay. Now that all the pleasantries are out of the way, you mind telling us what this is all about? I mean a reunion of the Monster Makers is cool in all but…"

"Yeah," Dolphin picked up, "what's the plan? You haven't told us anything."

"Where's Shibumi?" Janyu asks Yamaki.

"He's living somewhere out in the country. We haven't been able to locate him yet. I'll answer all of your questions now. Thank you for your patience."

"The game…" Janyu looks away, eyes troubled and a heavy frown pulling at his lips, "he was right. Shibumi always said that it was more than a game. He predicted that digimon would appear in the real world and that humans would change them."

The Monster Makers gather around a table listening to Janyu/Tao speak. Yamaki moves to stand before them with a monitor behind him but makes no other move to interrupt.

"I thought he was crazy. I mean how could we have ever imagined that digimon could ever become a physical threat to humanity?"

"As powerful as your imaginations are," Yamaki starts, "I don't think you created the situation. It seems that there was another force at work that none of us understood until now."

"And what force is that?"

"Apparently, the digimon have an omnipotent master. It have them their life and their power."


The champions stood among the ruined the highway surrounded by trashed cars, exposed rebar, and torn concrete. Dorugamon having suffered the least due to his ability to fly, stood before his friends prepared to take the brunt of another attack from the Deva not unlike his tamer.

"You're persistent, an admirable quality."

"Well," Gargomon panted, struggling to catch his breath, "we're just getting started! Am I right guys?" Growlmon gave a sound of confusion before Indramon's shell floated into the air once more.

"We can continue fighting if you wish but you are no match for me. Behold the power of the Horn of Desolation!"

Dorugamon braces himself and doesn't dodge as his instincts demand. The attack sends the four champions tumbling back. The force of the attack creates a tunnel a wind that threatens to throw the human tamers back.

"Keep fighting!" Kazu yells out, hoping with some vague notion that his own will would aid the tamers and their partners.

"Don't give up!" Kenta hollers right after, "You guys are tamers, right!?"

"I know I could help," Jeri says to herself, "if I could be a tamer."


"An omnipotent master?"

"Yes. They call it Sovereign."

"But the digimon were simply computer applications, intelligent yes, but an artificial intelligence. What kind of power does this 'Sovereign' possess that could turn them into living breathing creatures?"

"That, Mr. Wong, is a question only you and your colleagues can answer."


"The time of reckoning is nigh!" Indramon thundered as he started to stomp down the highway toward the digimon and their tamers.

"Growlmon!"

Just then, a military chopper started to engage the Deva, firing a number of missiles at the digimon. The ultimate abruptly stops, giving the digimon a chance to get to their feet. Another gets close and starts firing its machine gun. The attacks doing nothing more than annoy the purple Deva.

"Now's out chance!" Takato urges.

"We can't" Rikka cuts him off, "It's not working!"

"Maybe Rikka's right," Henry looks up at the choppers, "maybe the military should handle this one."

Another wave of missiles barrage the ultimate, who decides he's had enough.

"Insects." The shell turns toward the choppers, ready to destroy them.

"No!" Takato screams and Conner growls.

"Pyro Blaster!"

"Power Metal!"

The combined attack serves to grab Indramon's attention and drive the military choppers back. Unaware that a number of highway cameras were watching and relaying the events back to Hypnos.


Yamaki used those same cameras to show the Monster Makers just what was happening outside. Their expressions were a mix of horror and grim understanding.

"You are not responsible for this." He tells them. "There's no way you could have known this would happen."

"Then why have you brought us here?" Janyu glances at the blonde from over his shoulder.

"I believe the only way to save our world is by completely destroying the digimon. But they're strong and out of control. If we can earn their trust they will undoubtedly lower their defenses."

"Huh?"

"That my friends, is why you're here. Who better to win their confidence than their original creators?"

"Hey! Those kids are in the line of fire." Babel points out, bringing Janyu's attention back to the screen, to where a pair of familiar kids was shown.

"Kazu and Kenta!"


Conner bared his teeth and snarled like something less than human, his rage and fear getting the better of him. They were losing. They were losing against the Deva, against Indramon. The purple bipedal giant did not break his stride toward the tamers. The four champions were throwing themselves at the ultimate, pushing their limits. Their bodies were littered with cuts, bruises, and sweat. They were panting, torn between catching their breath and attacking. When they weren't giving the fight their all, Indramon tore through them, at the city, at the defenseless people of the city and they were the only ones standing in his way.

But at the rate they were going, Indramon would turn them all to dust.

"Try this one!"

"It's not working!"

"Come on, guys. You can beat him!"

"Here, try these. I've got plenty of cards."

Conner stood in front of the others, blocking debris and taking the brunt from the backlash of attacks from the clashing digimon. They could not keep this up. They were running out of booster and support cards and the tamers weren't even alone. Kazu, Kenta, Jeri, and Calumon stood behind the four tamers, offering their own cards to the fight. They were unsure and uncertain but not afraid. For all their helplessness, for all their vulnerability, they did not run away. Their faith and belief in the tamers, in the bonds with digimon, keeps them grounded. It makes them brave in a way that Conner has never seen in the heroes of the League.

For the heroes it was always in defense of someone or something. It was always in the belief that those they protected could not protect themselves. But here, right now, were a couple of kids refusing to back down and be intimidated. Right here, was a bunch of children- because they were children even Conner counted himself among them- trusting the tamers and their digimon but refusing to cower in some dark corner. They stood before cruelty and doom with Courage. They stared Defiant in the face of danger. It left Conner somewhat breathless.

For all the tamers suffer, their bonds with their partners deepening to the point of painful, they did not shy away. Henry's hands were trembling, Rika fought back tears as she clenched her fist and Takato growled, eyes dark. But, still, they did not run away, they did not give into fear.

Conner knows Aqualad would have called for a retreat until reinforcements arrived or to hold position until someone from the League showed up to take over. Takato didn't make that call. He stared straight at the advancing ultimate.

"We can't quit now." He steps forward again, D-Arc and card in hand. Conner doesn't hear what it is, doesn't bother to listen. The digimon get back to their feet and charge the Deva again. Even though they're hurting, even though they're absolutely exhausted, they get back up.

"This bunny aint backin' down for nobody!"

"I believe that my purpose in this world is to destroy evil apparitions like you!"

"I'll never let you or your Sovereign or anyone else mess up my friendship with Takato!"

"You don't get to tell us how to live!" the purple champion roared, battered wings flaring. "Or who to give our lives to!"

"You're wrong, weak ones." The Deva doesn't move as the champions charge him. The ultimate's horn sparks for a moment before a bright light engulfs the area and throw the four back, ripped and smash concrete following in their wake. Takato stumbles back but Kazu catches him.

"Are you okay?" Jeri asks

"I'm fine." He answers and marches back to the others.

"Where are they?" Henry whispers.

"What if…they're gone?" Rikka asks. Indramon lifts one of its large arms and swings it back.

"And now, the final lesson!" The champions are thrown from where they laid in the rubble and the tamers all cringe and flinch in pain, even Conner has to grit his teeth so as not to fall to his knees.

"We're gonna stop him right here guys." Takato's voice is firm even though his entire body is wracked with pain. "We've got to. No matter what it takes. We're gonna beat this guy. Cuz' losing isn't an option."

There is no dissent. Although they worried incessantly for their digimon, they knew everything would be infinitely worse if they didn't stop Indramon on this highway. So, they had to give it everything they had and more. They had to surpass their own limits.

"Perish!" Indramon thundered, a golden armored hoof rose to attack again, and then Jeri started to cry.

"Be careful! Please!" Jeri cries out, tears falling down her cheeks. Calumon tucked carefully within her arms.

It's her tears that finally break Conner. His surrounding disappears. All that is and all that exist is the threat to his pack, his territory, Indramon. His mind does not fully register that the card in his hand glows a bright brilliant blue until Conner's challenging roar is echoed by another. Just as abruptly as his tunnel vision came, his vision cleared and the teen swiped his card.

"DIGI-MODIFY! Matrix Digivolution activate!"

MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION…

DORUGAMON DIGIVOLVE TO…

The champion's form shifts, changing to a build that is similar to dragons shown in myths with a long neck, a thick, powerful tail, and a sloping body. The purple coat gives way to a burning red and black marking coat his fur in a similar pattern to that of a tiger. Two pairs of massive black wings cover its back like a shield and several small blades form to jut out of its long neck. Small golden spikes grow to partially encompass these wings, as well as a longer, sturdier spike at the tip of the tail. A large, oddly shaped, horn emerges on to its snout. The massive dragon narrows his crimson eyes and growls.

DORUGREYMON!

The dragon ultimate is taller than the Deva by roughly two heads and wide enough that the highway was a rather tight fit. Dorugreymon's growl echoed for blocks and even shifted some of the rubble. When the highway started to groan in protest, the dragon spread its wings and lifted itself into the air.

"Finish it!" Conner growls lowly, not needing to raise his voice, confident that his partner could hear him. "Metal Meteor!"

The massive red, black, and white dragon throws his head back and roars. Then, the ultimate opens his jaws, illuminating red and orange and red energy begins to gather there before quickly forming and taking shape. A giant black sphere flashes into existence, bigger than any of the digimon's previous attacks and nearly as large as the ultimate himself, and then the dragon tilts his head back and then releases his attack.

Like a true meteor that falls from the heavens, the sphere decimates all in its path, cars, rubble, and Deva. Indramon thought to weather the assault, only to find that the attack does not burn or explodes. It shears away, erasing everything in its path. The Deva gave one last devastated scream before crumbling to bits of data and then nothing.

Dorugreymon throws his head back and gives another roar, this one of victory. Conner feels every part of him tremble before letting his knees collapse. The other tamers follow, falling to the ground, exhausted but triumphed.


Robin, also known as Tim Grayson and adopted ward of billionaire Bruce Wayne, frowned at the suit clad agent standing in the team's way. They had been on their way to go into the thick mist, the same mist that Megan had sworn to have felt Conner disappear into. She had been tracking him ever since she had seen him across the street and had been unable to do more. While the Gotham hero was worried about why Megan was able to "feel" Conner but not actually reach him telepathically, he was also glad that they even managed to pick up a trail in the first place. Japan was a big place and the restrictions for heroes were really testing the team's thinly stretched patience. But they were managing and they knew the League was finally taking the clone's disappearance seriously.

There was also something big going on. Something that Conner was in the middle of given the location but the team was unable to investigate further. Robin was contemplating their options when Megan abruptly went stiff, her eyes going wide.

"He's gone." She whispers.

"What?" Robins frowns, "How?"

"I-I don't…there's no way…" her breathing starts to become erratic, "He's just gone!"

Artemis and Wally hurry to calm her down. Robin and Kaldur notice the agent turning in their direction with a frown on his face and a hand to his ear, no doubt listening to someone over his own com link.

"Time to go." The boy wonder tells the team leader.

Kaldur nods in agreement before ushering the others away from the scene. Robin takes position at the rear and as the team gets further away, the younger hero cannot help but glance back.

"You better be okay, Conner."


HOly MoLEy! You see what I do for you guys? Another chapter the day after!

I deserve reviews for my hard work...(hint, hint) ^_^