(DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the Digimon franchise, the digimon featured in this story, or the lyrics of the songs I use so you can go on YouTube and listen to them. All I own are the humans characters, and the concept of "Chronotic Energy.")

Well, now is the time, ladies and gentlemen... The main cast is finally going into the digital world!

I honestly am amazed that this is already the tenth chapter, and at the amount of support I got from you guys. Thank you very much for taking the time and reading some dude's fanfiction on the internet. It really means a lot to me that people are taking the time to read my story, and enjoying it, too.

Oh, and I got some news: I am currently looking for a beta reader! If you're interested in beta reading (meaning you'll be able to read new chapters early) then send me a message. To guarantee that someone does message, no chapters until a beta reader is found!

Am I bluffing? Well, let's find out, on DIGIMON: CHRONO!

...

EPISODE 10: Corruption

"Welcome," Shoutmon told us all, "to the digital world."

"Oh my god..." was all I could manage to respond. Shoutmon had told us things were bad here, but I just assumed we was overexaggerating. He was not.

This place really was more akin to an apocalyptic wasteland. The trees that were once present were either left as stumps, or have died long ago. The grass was as dead as the trees, with pastures of yellowish bron instead of green. Buildings had been destroyed and toppled over, and the roads and pathways as well. The air was dirty, and the sky was covered in dark purple clouds.

This place was absolutely destroyed.

"You weren't kidding..." Seina said, eyes bulging out of her skull. "Everything is dead. All the plants, and the grass... they are all dead."

"If this was all Zsalm's doing," Connor said, "than he is not a cool dude."

"Yes, and believe it or not, this was our home... once," Shoutmon said.

"I thought I would never come back here," Hawkmon said in a hoarse voice. "I thought that once we escaped, we'd be free of this place forever. Oh, how wrong I was."

The digimon seemed to be having the biggest reaction to this place. All Shoutmon could do was look at the very dead grass he was standing on, and I saw tears drip from his face. Hawkmon just looked onwards up the road we landed next to, not moving a single muscle.

Dorumon, however, had the biggest reaction yet. Dorumon, to me, always seemed like a very young, very impressionable digimon. He had always seemed to look up to his partner, and he was always very kind. That all changed as soon as he saw the attrocity that was his home five years ago. He just looked frantically at all the dead plants, the dark sky, and the gloomy atmosphere. Finally, he dropped to his knees, and tears ran down his face like waterfalls.

"N-n-no..." Dorumon said in between sniffles, his voice shaking. "T-t-this c-can't be my-y-y h-hom-me. P-p-pleas-se te-ell m-me it isn't!"

"Oh, Dorumon..." Seina said gently as she kneeled down to him. She put a hand on his back. "I'm sorry, but it is. I know it's hard to take in, but-" Seina didn't get to finish. Dorumon punched her in the face before she could. The punch sent her flying backwards a few inches, and we all watched in horror at what Dorumon just did. She looked up with a bruise in between her eyes and saw Dorumon standing in front of her, breathing heavily.

"Don't..." he started to say. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME!"

"Dorumon..." Connor said, "everything's all right buddy. Let's just take a deep breath."

"You look around you," Dorumon coldly told his partner. "Does this entire situation look 'just fine' to you? DOES IT?"

"Dorumon, take it from me," Shoutmon said, "freaking out like this will only lead to more problems. I know you're upset; everyone was. Now, do what your partner said, and take a deep breath."

"B-b-but my home!" Dorumon screamed. "My family! My friends! What happened to them? They could be dead! I think freaking out is the PERFECT reaction to this!"

"Dorumon, freaking out is not the answer," I tried to tell him, "please, just don't do anything that will hurt yourself, or others, in any way."

For a while, Dorumon just stared at us all, tears continuting to run down his face. He finally got up, and started running into the woods.

"Dorumon!" Connor yelled, holding out his hand towards his partner. "Wait!" He then ran after Dorumon into the forest.

"Connor, wait!" Seina tried to say, but it was too late; he and Dorumon had both disappeared into the dead tree filled forest. She was about to run after them, but Hawkmon stopped her.

"I wouldn't go after them," Hawkmon advised her. "Dorumon is already in pain and shock over this situation. Maybe it would be best that only his partner would make him feel better."

"But, what if something bad happens to them?" Seina asked, sounding worried. "What if they get attacked? Or corrupted?"

"Those two are members of Chrono-League now," Shoutmon reassured her. "They can take care of themselves."

"Yeah, I guess..." Seina said, defeated.

"Besides, we still have to save Jessie," I reminded Seina. I turned to Shoutmon and asked, "Do you know where Zsalm keeps his prisoners?"

"In fact, I do," Shoutmon nodded. "Get out your map from your Chrono Watch."

"Uhhh..." I said, staring at my watch and sounding like a moron. How did this thing work, exactly?

"Oh... I never did explain how to use it... hehe..." Shoutmon blushed and rubbed the back of his head. He walked up to me and grabbed my left arm. After a few seconds, the watch projected a red holographic map of the area.

"The main city of Zsalm's empire is right here," Shoutmon said, as he pointed to a point on the map. "Omniopolis."

"Actually, it's Zsalmopolis now," Hawkmon corrected.

"I refuse to call it that," Shoutmon growled. Seina and I just started laughing like crazy.

"Is Zsalm that egotistical?" Seina asked while she was laughing.

"Yes, yes he is," Shoutmon said with no emotion at all. "Now, in his city, the prison is inside the main castle he built for himself. What we need to do is disguise ourselves as Corruptmon and we can sneak inside."

"No can do," I told him.

"What do you mean?" Shoutmon asked, sounding very confused.

"Zsalm admitted that he's been watching us. He knows what we look like; disguises are not going to work."

"Well, shit," Shoutmon said. "Now how are we going to get in?"

"Is there a way we can use Chrono to become invisible to everybody?"

"Well... yes..." Shoutmon admitted, "but it's a bit risky."

"How is it risky?" Seina asked Shoutmon.

"Chronotic Invisibility only lasts five minutes at a time, and it takes one minute to recharge. We'd have to both hit it and find spots in the castle to hide in. If even one Corruptmon spots us, we're dead."

"Do you know the layout of the castle?" I asked him curiously.

"Unfortunately, I do," Shoutmon sighed. "I'm not going to go into it, right now. I'll explain more on the way there." He pointed up the road. "We just follow this road until we get to the city. It's the closest city from where we are."

"But wait," Seina grabbed Shoutmon's shoulder. "What about Connor and Dorumon? How will they know where to go?"

"Does the digital world have phone reception?" I asked, holding up my smartphone. I looked at the top right corner of its screen. No bars.

"Well, that answers that," I said with a very noticable amount of disappointment in my voice.

"I'll go and see where they are," Shoutmon volunteered. "When you get to the city, hide in one of the many bushes surrounding it. Do not engage any digimon, whether they be Corruptmon or not." After he finished talking, he said goodbye and ran into the forest.

"Shall we?" Hawkmon asked us. Seina and I nodded yes, and we started to walk down the road to Omniopolis. Or Zsalmopolis.

Or whatever the fucking name of the place is.

...

Connor had been running through the forest for what felt like an hour. How could Dorumon just run off like that? He's never seen him this upset before.

It was like seeing this place changed something inside of him. Like when Connor's father died.

Connor kept running, searching through the forest, hoping for at least a glimpse of Dorumon. He couldn't have run off too far, right? He ran through dead tree after dead tree, after dead tree, to find his partner. Finally, Connor spotted him, lying on his knees.

Connor slowly walked towards him. "Hey there, Dorumon," Connor said very quietly, but still loud enough for Dorumon to hear. "Are you all right?"

"Connor?" Dorumon turned around to face his partner. The fur around his eyes were wet with tears. "Connor, I... I shouldn't have run... you must think I'm such a baby."

"No, no, that's not true at all," Connor reassured Dorumon as he patted his back. "I am really, really sorry. About this whole situation."

"I think it would've been better if I hadn't come at all," Dorumon cried. "This place was my home, and now I don't even recognize it!"

"Don't worry. Zsalm is going to be stopped. We can fix this."

"Look around you, Connor. Does any of this look like it can be fixed? And if Zsalm can do this, can we really stop him?"

Connor was at a loss for words. What Dorumon said really put doubt in his mind about their war. Was Dorumon right? Is Zsalm truly unstoppable?"

"CAN WE?!"

"Dorumon, I know you're upset," Connor said, trying to console his partner, "but you need to calm down."

"I shouldn't have ever left this world..." Dorumon said. "I should've stayed; I could've done something to help protect it. But NO! I just HAD to go see what the real world was like! I was a nuisance to your family from the start."

"Dorumon, you know damn well that is not true," Connor began to raise his voice. "The moment we bonded, you were a permanent member of the Sicamore family. You made each day extraordinary for us."

Dorumon looked away from him in shame. Connor then turned Dorumon's head towards himself.

"You helped us when my pops passed away. Do you remember?"

"Yeah..." Dorumon muttered. "Yeah, I do..."

"Now, how about we go back and join the others, huh?"

"Okay... okay, yeah. I'll come..."

"Don't worry. Zsalm is not going to get away with ruining your home. And we can help rebuild it." Connor held out his hand for Dorumon to take. Before he could take Connor's hand, there was a sudden screech.

"What was that?!" Connor asked, summoning his whip weapon on instinct. Dorumon got up immediately and went back-to-back with Connor.

"Stay close, you got that?" Connor asked his partner. Dorumon nodded a "yes." A few seconds of waiting later, a bunch of trees suddenly fell over on top of one another. Out of this rubble, a giant blue dinosaur appeared in front of them.

"A Corruptmon!" Dorumon yelled. Connor immediately raised his watch to get an identification of this digimon.

"It's an Allomon," he muttered. "And by the looks of it, not a very friendly one. Ready, Dorumon?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess," Dorumon replied. Before they could Chronovolve, though, Allomon came running and hit Connor through the trees.

"CONNOR!" Dorumon yelled, but Allomon grabbed Dorumon with its tail.

"Lord Zsalm has plans for you," was all the Allomon said. Suddenly, Dorumon felt a tingling sensation in his feet and arms, which spread through the rest of his body. This was then followed by extreme pain.

"No, no!" Dorumon pleaded as he tried to break free. "What are you doing to me?! No! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

...

As I was running through the forest looking for where Connor and Dorumon went, I heard a loud screech.

"What was that?" I asked myself before running in the direction where I had heard it. A minute later, though, I saw something fly right at me. I had attempted to dodge, but I wasn't quick enough and it hit me, sending me flying with it. When we landed on the ground, I was underneath something, but I wasn't sure what. All I knew was that it was crushing my internal organs.

"Get... off... me..." I tried to say, but with my lungs being an important part of speech, and with them being crushed, I could barely let out a whisper.

"Sh... Shouts?" I heard a voice say. Connor! He got up after realizing it was me, finally allowing me to breathe.

"Connor, what happened?" I asked after getting up and regaining my breath. "Why were you flying towards me."

"A Corruptmon attacked and..." I saw Connor's eyes bulge with fear. "Dorumon! DORUMON!" He yelled as he ran back from where he came from.

"Connor, wait up!" I called as I chased after him. I was chasing him for a bit when he suddenly stops, leaving me to stop as well.

"Connor?" I asked nervously. "Is... is something wrong?"

"It... it can't be..." Connor muttered.

"What can't be? What are you talking about?" I asked him. I got up closer and saw what Connor was seeing.

It was Dorumon. Or, should I say, it used to be Dorumon.

"Dorumon?" Connor asked. "It's me, Connor... don't you remember?"

"Connor, we have to go," I told him. "Dorumon is-"

"He can be saved..." Connor insisted. "Yeah, we saved digimon before... he can... he can be cured."

"Oh, hello there, former teammate," the corrupted Dorumon said in a menacing voice. "I have finally learned the truth. Lord Zsalm is our savior."

"You were just upset about how he destroyed everything, Dorumon," Connor yelled. "About how he destroyed your home! About how you wanted to stop him!"

"That was before I saw the light," Dorumon told him. "I now see that all of this is minor collateral damage for the pure good that Lord Zsalm plans to bring upon us."

"We will find a way to help him, Connor," I said, grabbing his arm, "but right now, we have to go."

"Before you leave," Dorumon stopped us, "I have to do my job, as given to me by my Lord; I must make you see the light." I saw a ball of corruption form on his right paw. I knew what that meant.

"No, thanks," I said as Connor and I ran for the others, out of the woods.

"What the hell was that for?!" Connor yelled at me as we were running. "We could've saved him! We-"

"First, we have to defeat him," I told Connor, "and since I can't Chronovolve without Adrian, I doubt we would've emerged victorious... or as ourselves, for that matter."

"MY PARTNER IS A CORRUPTMON," Connor yelled as he broke his arm free of my grasp, "AND YOU WON'T HELP HIM? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

"I know it hurts, Connor, but what can just the two of us do about it? Now come on," I said to him as I grabbed his arm again and started running. "We can tell the others the situation, and they'll understand."

"I can't believe that Dorumon was corrupted," I heard Connor say.

"That was the reason I didn't want us to come here, Connor. I didn't want you guys to become corrupted like everyone else..." And under my breath, I said, "...like me."

"Whoa, what did you say?" Connor asked.

"N-nothing! Nothing at all."

...

Man, this place is so depressing... I thought with my hands behind my head as we walked down the cracked path to Zsalm-Omnio-I DON'T CARE.

"Hey, Adrian?" Seina said to my right.

"What's up, Seina?" I replied.

"Do you think the others will be alright?"

"I'm positive of it. Connor and Dorumon can definitely hold their own, plus they have Shoutmon."

"All this corruption stuff has gotten me orsore; afraid."

"The corruption business is pretty scary-sounding," I admitted, "but it can't be that easy to corrupt others."

"Actually, it is," Hawkmon corrected me. He got a face full of foot for that. "Okay, I deserve that," he mumbled as he ran up to us.

"Look, this mission is going to be simple: we go in, save my friend, get out. No one is going to turn into a Corruptmon today."

"Guys! GUYS!" I suddenly heard a voice yell. We turned around and saw Shoutmon and Connor running towards us.

"Shoutmon, what happened?" I asked after they had caught up.

"And where's Dorumon?" Seina asked. Connor gave her a look of pure sorrow. Her eyes widened, and she put a hand over her mouth. "No..."

"It's true," Connor admitted.

"Look, you and Seina have to digivolve me and Hawkmon," Shoutmon explained to me. "It's the only way to save Dorumon."

"But what if you guys are corrupted, as well?" I asked him. "What do we do then?"

"If we somehow end up getting corrupted," Shoutmon told me, "do not stop. Get to Omniopolis ("Zsalmolpolis!" Hawkmon interrupted, leaving Shoutmon to look very annoyed,) and save your friend. Don't worry about us."

"That is not going to happen," Seina yelled. "We're going to stand by you the whole time, no matter what."

"I am not letting you humans get corrupted," Shoutmon yelled.

"Oh, and we should let all of you turn?" Connor asked back. "Is that it?"

"I believe Shoutmon is just trying to keep you all safe," Hawkmon said, clearly taking Shoutmon's side.

"We may be human, but we can take care of ourselves..." I told the two digimon, summoning my sword.

"We are going to fight with you..." Seina said, summoning her bow staff.

"And save my partner from corruption," Connor finished, summoning his whip. Shoutmon looked at all three of us, and sighed in defeat.

"Very well..." Shoutmon said. We looked down the road, and saw a corrupted Dorugamon fly towards us.

"You will see the light," it said. "Lord Zsalm is our savior!"

"It's like he's trying to convince us that we're the bad guys," Seina commented.

"More like he's part of a religion and is trying to conform the world," I added. We each raised a hand and blasted our partners with Chrono energy.

"CHRONOTIC TRANSFER!"

"Shoutmon, Chronovolve to... SilvShoutmon!"

"Hawkmon, Chronovolve to... Aquilamon!"

The corrupted Dorugamon roared and charged toward us. But we were ready.

"Hold on, Dorumon," I heard Connor mutter. "We're going to save you..."