Back again. Thank you all for 3,000 hits. You guys are great.
Disclaimer: I think you have it down pat now. I don't own Digimon.
A week had passed since the incident between Tk and Kari. Everything had just about gone back to normal. Tai and Sora had finished all their wedding plans, as well as Tk and Kari. They were going to get married on the same day, one wedding service after the other. The big day was but a month away. Mimi had adjusted to life in Japan again, too. Coming back from America was far from an easy transition. Thanks to Mimi's friends, it made things a little easier. The public had even managed to some what accept the digimon living in the Real World. They could finally walk down the street without causing a disturbance. Yolei had fully recovered from the sight of the poor digimon being tortured in Zhuqiaomon's dungeon. She had gone back to her old self once again. Even after her experience, Yolei still got into arguments with Davis constantly. All was going well with the Digidestined. The only problem that remained was Zhuqiaomon. They had yet to put an end to his regime. While all the digimon he had been torturing were free, there was still the chance that he could start it up all over again. That was a chance the Digidestined were not going to take. With Lobomon's help, they would stop Zhuqiaomon's reign of terror once and for all.
"Man, I'm so tired of waiting to go fight that fool, Zhuqiaomon again!" Davis muttered to himself. He sat in his living room watching T.V. He had just gotten home from work. "And, my noodle cart business hasn't taken off yet! I don't get it. Why am I not selling more than I am?" Davis got up and started pacing. "I mean, really! This is Japan we're talking about here. Noodles are a way of life. My business should have taken off by now." Davis' rant to himself was cut short, as his cell phone started ringing. He picked it up and answered it. "Hello?"
'Davis, it's Tai. Izzy's house. Now. All the Digidestined are free right now, and we're going to the Digital World to go stop Zhuqiaomon once and for all.'
Davis donned an ear to ear smile. "Just the thing I wanted to hear. I'll be there in a flash." Davis hung up. "Veemon! Come on! We're going to go fight Zhuqiaomon!"
Veemon came running out. "Oh boy! At last, some action!"
"You know it, baby!"
The Digidestined arrived at Izzy's house, eager to go to the Digital World. "Talk about short notice." Yolei said.
"Everybody was available, so we need to go while we have this chance," Tai replied.
"So, this is going to be it for the Zhuqiaomon saga..." Ken said. "I will be more than happy to bring about the end of this adventure."
"You and me both, pal," Cody said.
"What are you two complaining about?" Tk asked. "You guys weren't even there the first time we fought this guy."
"All of you need to quit bellyaching," Tai said. "We really haven't been working on this one all that long. Ogremon and the Dark Masters took a whole lot longer."
"How about we stop talking, and get to work?" Tentomon said.
"Well, sorry!" Mimi said.
"Tentomon's right," Joe said. "Standing around and talking isn't going to accomplish anything. Lets this this show on the road."
Cody walked up to Izzy's computer and opened the the Digiport. "Zhuqiaomon, here we come!" Matt said. All the Digidestined held their Digivices up the the computer screen and were transported to the Digital World.
The Digidestined ended up in Gennai's house. "Greetings, lads."
"Hey there, Gennai," Tai said. "Do we get Azulongmon today?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. He is already on his way to Zhuqiaomon's hideout."
"Azulongmon?" Davis asked. "We kicked Zhuqiaomon's ass last time, what do we need Azulongmon for?"
"There's strength in numbers, Davis," Ken replied. "Besides, we will have to take on all of Zhuqiaomon's servants. We need all the help we can get on this one."
"He's right," Tai told Davis. "I know you want to take him alone, but it's safer if we take Azulongmon with us."
Davis crossed his arms. "We're just going to waste his time."
"You just want to hog all the action," Kari said. "You're so afraid that Azulongmon is going to keep you and Veemon from seeing all the explosions."
"So, what all has Lobomon reported to you, Gennai?" Izzy asked.
"He has sent me several details about the security of the location Zhuqiaomon and his minions have taken," Gennai answered. He walked over to his computer and typed for a moment. A projector displayed images on one of the walls. "This is where they are now."
"That looks like a digimon village," Tk said.
"Very good, Tk. In fact, it is a digimon village."
"What are they doing there?" Patamon asked.
"Zhuqiaomon and his minions attacked the village and ran all the locals."
"That... that... monster!" Kari said.
"That's sinking pretty low," Joe said.
"Indeed," Gennai said. "All the more reason to stop this menace. If he escapes again, more villages are likely to fall to the same fate as this one."
"So, how do we get inside to Zhuqiaomon?" Izzy asked.
Gennai picked up a laser pointer off his desk. "As you can see, there is a wall surrounding the village. Part of the wall extends underground, so you can't just dig underneath it. There are guard posts every 20 yards along the wall, and they have patrols walking around it at all times. There is a gap in the wall to allow entry, but it is also guarded at all times." Gennai pointed the laser at the building in the center of the village. It was the largest of all the buildings in the village. "Zhuqiaomon has taken this building as his personal living quarters. He almost never leaves. You should be able to find him inside.
"Well, looks like we won't be able to use Palmon's vines again this time," Ken said. "Even if we tried it in the middle of the night, they would spot us."
"Indeed," Gennai said.
"So, we can't go under it. We can't go over it. How do we get in?" Tai asked.
"Simple," Gennai answered. "As I said a moment ago, Azulongmon is already on his way to the village. He can start a sneak attack. While all the guards are distracted with him, you can sneak inside the perimeter and go find Zhuqiaomon. Obviously, he has no intention of stopping his activities, so you will have to destroy him."
All of the Digidestined and their digimon jerked their heads to look at Gennai. "Wha...? D-d-did you j-j-just..." Tai stuttered.
"Yes, I did. You have to kill Zhuqiaomon. We have no other choice."
"Can't Azulongmon just lock him up or something?" Davis asked.
"It's not that simple. Even if Zhuqiaomon is imprisoned, he will manage to escape. If he escapes, then he will start his evil empire over again, and all our work will have been for nothing."
Tai couldn't believe his ears. "This is insane! Zhuqiaomon is one of the four guardians of the Digital World. Won't it cause problems if we destroy him?"
"Zhuqiaomon has been neglecting his responsibility as guardian of the Digital World ever since he started this empire of his. Things are already bad. Killing him isn't going to make much of a difference. Besides, once you kill him, he will be purified. He'll be reborn in the Primary Village, and can take over his sector of the Digital World again."
Tai let out a big sigh. "Okay." Tai turned to the rest of the Digidestined. "Do any of you object to this? If you do, it's okay. You can stay behind while we go after Zhuqiaomon." None of the Digidestined said anything. "All right then. I guess we're ready then."
"Maybe we should go over the plan again..." Davis said.
"Did you pay attention to a single word Gennai said?" Yolei asked Davis.
"Yeah! I heard him say that we have to kill Zhuqiaomon."
Yolei put her hands on her hips. "What else?"
"Well... uh..."
Kari laughed. "Vintage Davis." Davis pouted at Kari laughing at him.
"Okay, listen up," Izzy told the team. "This is the last time we're going over this. We're going to transport to the village Zhuqiaomon has taken over. Azulongmon is going to run a distraction so the guards will leave their posts. While they are occupied with Azulongmon, we're going to sneak into the village and go find Zhuqiaomon."
"Then what?" Davis asked.
All the Digidestined, even Veemon, slapped their foreheads. "We take Zhuqiaomon out, what else?"
"Oh... I knew that..."
"Riiiiight..." Tai said. "Gennai, would you set the Digiport to take us to Zhuqiaomon's hideout?"
Gennai typed on his computer. "Okay. You're good to go." The Digidestined held their Digivices up the monitor and were transported.
The Digidestined emerged from the Digiport. Amazingly, none of them landed in a pile on the ground. "There it is..." Tai said. He was observing the village from a distance using his mini telescope so the team wouldn't get spotted.
"I can't believe you still have that thing," Sora said. "You've had that since our fist adventure years ago."
"Yeah, it's been a big help over the years."
"Well, what do you see?" Gabumon asked.
"Lobomon's reports were on the money. There are guards walking all around that wall. I see the guard posts, too."
"Where's the entrance?" Izzy asked.
"I don't know. It may be on the other side."
"You mean we have to run all the way to the other side of that to get in there?" Mimi asked.
"Not necessarily," Izzy replied. "We could blast a hole in the wall."
"Won't that give us away?" Joe asked.
"Not if Azulongmon is drawing their attention," Ken replied.
"What are we waiting on?" Davis whined.
"We need Azulongmon to get here before we do anything," Tai answered.
"How far is he?"
"I don't know. Why don't you go ask him?"
"Gee, what's eating you?"
"You. Quit rushing. If we rush, then we might make mistakes."
"So, we're supposed to take this slow?"
"No. We need to be timely, but that doesn't mean rushing." Tai looked over and Davis and saw he was tapping his foot. "Davis, slow down!"
"Why does everybody tell me to slow down?"
"You're always in a hurry," Ken replied.
"So?"
Tai and Ken shook their heads. They would never understand why Davis wanted to rush through everything.
Suddenly, Azulongmon showed up. "Ah, the Digidestined."
"Azulongmon! Long time no see!" Davis said.
"Yes. Such a shame it has to be under circumstances like these."
"Did Gennai tell you the plan?" Tai asked Azulongmon.
"He did. I will run a distraction while you get inside and stop Zhuqiaomon."
"Okay then. What are we waiting for?" Davis asked.
Most of the Digidestined slapped their foreheads after hearing Davis. "I will start the attack," Azulongmon said. "Do us proud." With that, the Digital guardian went ahead of the Digidestined to begin the assault.
"Okay, team. Wait for the fireworks to start. Then, we CHARGE!" Tai told the Digidestined. They all pumped their fists. "Lets have the digimon Digivolve now. We need to be at full strength when we go inside that place."
The digimon all Digivolve to their highest forms. They got ready to move on the village.
Azulongmon flew towards the village at top speed. He approached one of the guard towers on the perimeter wall and started attacking. "Lightning Whip!" Azulongmon generated a lightning bolt and swung it around like a whip. He swung it down on top of the guard tower. The tower was destroyed. The digimon that had been inside of it went flying.
"We're under attack!" one of the digimon exclaimed. Suddenly, more digimon came running to try and defend the village from Azulongmon.
"Wow... that's a lot of digimon..." Kari trailed off. "I hope Azulongmon can handle them all."
"Are you kidding?" Cody said. "He backed BlackWarGreymon down. Those digimon over there are nothing."
"I hope so."
"All right. They're good and distracted. Lets go!" Tai ordered.
"Oh yeah. Here we go!" Davis cheered.
The Digidestined quickly ran up to the perimeter wall of the village, careful not to alert the guards to their presence. "Blow the wall," Tai ordered.
"Flower Cannon!" Lillymon fired her attack at the wall and made a hole just big enough for the humans and all their digimon to fit through.
"All right, through the hole!" Tai ordered. "Move it! Move it! Move!"
The Digidestined and their digimon did as they were ordered and ran through the hole. They looked around expecting to meet some kind of resistance. "Where is everybody?" ImperialDramon asked. There was no indication that digimon had ever been inside the village.
"They all must be fighting Azulongmon," Omnimon replied.
"Lobomon said there were over 200 digimon that were still working for Zhuqiaomon," Izzy said. "There's no way that little group outside makes up 200+ digimon."
"It doesn't matter," Tai said. "All that we need to worry about is stopping Zhuqiaomon. Lets go find him."
The Digidestined made their way to the large building in the center of the village. "Something's isn't right here," Cody said as they ran. "We haven't seen a sole since we got in the village."
"Where's all the bad guys?" Davis asked.
"What if we're walking into a trap?" Kari asked.
"Impossible!" Ken said. "They had no way to know we were coming. This was a complete surprise to them."
Finally, the Digidestined reached the building. All the doors were locked shut. "Omnimon..." Tai said.
"Right. Supreme Cannon!" Omnimon blasted the door, opening the way inside.
"Lets get moving," Tai ordered. "This place is pretty big. It might take some time to find Zhuqiaomon. We need to make this fast."
The Digidestined and their digimon all ran inside the building. They ran around inside the interior looking for Zhuqiaomon. The whole time they looked, there was no sign that any other digimon had been there. "Where is this guy? We've searched every inch of this place and still haven't found him." Matt asked.
"He's in here some place," Tai said.
The Digidestined walked through a large doorway. The room was the largest they had encountered so far. "Did he know we were coming and run away?" Sora asked.
Suddenly, the doors behind them slammed shut. Zhuqiaomon and several of his guards dropped down from the ceiling. "Impudent fools!"
"It's a trap!" Omnimon exclaimed.
"You bastard!" Tai cursed.
"You're little friend has failed you," Zhuqiaomon laughed. He threw something across the room.
The Digidestined looked to see what it was. "Is that... Lobomon?" Tk said.
"They caught him!" Ken said.
"He thought he could spy without being detected. What a fool his was." Zhuqiaomon said ever so nonchalantly. "I barely even tortured him and he told me everything."
Lobomon struggled and looked up at the Digidestined. "I'm... sorry that... I failed..." Lobomon fell to the ground and lied very still. He slowly turned into data particles.
"One less problem in the world," Zhuqiaomon said.
"Shut up, you monster!" Mimi shouted.
"Silence! I am royalty! You will not address me in that manner!"
"Royalty my ass!" Matt shouted.
"ENOUGH!" Zhuqiaomon attacked. Omnimon jumped in front of the attack to protect the rest of the team.
"Omnimon!" Tai exclaimed.
"Stop him..." Omnimon silently said.
Zhuqiaomon's guards launched a volley of attacks at the Digidestined. Their digimon ran in front of them to shield them from the barrage. Some of the digimon de-evolved after being hit. Only ImperialDramon, MegaKabuterimon, and Zudomon manage to maintain their forms.
"You are defeated," Zhuqiaomon said triumphantly. "Give up, and I will make your deaths quick and painless."
The Digidestined started to lose hope. Suddenly, one of the walls exploded. Azulongmon flew into the room. He blasted where Zhuqiaomon was standing. Zhuqiaomon moved just in time to avoid the attack. All the servants that had been standing next to Zhuqiaomon were destroyed. "Zhuqiaomon! Stop this nonsense!"
Zhuqiaomon turned to face Azulongmon, surprised. "This does not concern you. Leave, now!"
"It's not a request, Zhuqiaomon! I am ORDERING you! Surrender, and I might spare you if you get lucky."
"Traitor!"
"You are the only traitor!"
Suddenly, ImperialDramon charged Zhuqiaomon. He punched Zhuqiaomon in the face. ImperialDramon held Zhuqiaomon's face in one hand. "Eat it!" ImperialDramon fired the cannon on his arm right in Zhuqiaomon's face. ImperialDramon let of Zhuqiaomon.
"This... isn't... happening!" Zhuqiaomon shouted. He fell down onto the ground.
"That... was for Lobomon," ImperialDramon said.
"Aurora Blast!" Azulongmon fired an energy blast from his eyes and hit Zhuqiaomon. Zhuqiaomon shrieked in pain and was destroyed.
The Digidestined watched as Zhuqiaomon dissolved into data particles. "We did it..." Tai trailed off. He wasn't sure how he felt right now. He was glad they had accomplished their mission and stopped Zhuqiaomon, but he couldn't help but wonder if this could have been avoided. He was torn, uncertain. They had just killed a guardian of the Digital World. Serious repercussions could result from this. Tai only hoped that nothing bad would come from this.
"All right! Score another one for us!" Davis cheered.
"We didn't win this one, Davis. Azulongmon did," Ken said.
"What are you saying? Didn't you see what ImperialDramon did to that guy?"
"Yes, but it was Azulongmon who finished him off."
"But if it wasn't for ImperialDramon, he wouldn't have been able to do that!"
"Davis, Ken, cool it," Tk said. "It doesn't matter who finished him off. All that matters is that he was stopped."
"Thanks for your help, Azulongmon," Tai said.
"While what transpired here pains me, it had to be done," Azulongmon replied. "It was a pleasure to do battle with you."
"Poor Lobomon..." Sora said.
"May he rest in peace," Joe said.
"At least his death wasn't meaningless," Yolei said.
"Yeah. We avenged him," Matt said.
"Take care, Digidestined," Azulongmon said. "I must return to my sector of the Digital World." With that, Azulongmon left the building.
"Come on, guys," Tai said. "Lets go home."
The Digidestined left the village and returned to the T.V. they had entered the area through and returned to the Real World.
Tai, Agumon, Sora and Biyomon all walked inside their apartment. Agumon and Biyomon were both still recovering from the fight in the Digital World. Tai and Sora were both very tired after the adventure. Tai sat down on the couch and turned on the T.V. "Tai, is... something bothering you?" Sora asked.
Tai ignored Sora and kept watching T.V. "Tai, Sora is talking to you," Agumon said.
"Huh?"
"You act like something is wrong," Sora said. "I've never seen you act so... down after a big victory like this before."
Tai sighed. "That wasn't a victory."
"What? Just because Azulongmon finished off Zhuqiaomon-"
"It's not that."
"Then what is it?"
Tai leaned over and held his head in his hands. "Was all this really necessary?"
Sora tilted her head to the side in confusion. "What? I don't understand."
"Did we really have to kill Zhuqiaomon?"
"What are you talking about?" Biyomon asked Tai.
"It's just... Zhuqiaomon was a big, important figure in the Digital World. Sure, he was doing bad things. But did he really have to die?"
"He's not dead, Tai," Agumon said. "He'll be reborn in the Primary Village."
"I know. But what happens to the Digital World while he is gone? See what I mean?"
"I think I see what you're getting at," Sora said. "You're worried about the Digital World falling out of balance because Zhuqiaomon isn't there to do his part."
"Yeah. That's exactly it."
"Tai, Zhuqiaomon already wasn't doing what he was supposed to," Agumon said. "If the Digital World was going to fall out of balance anyway. By destroying him, he's been purified. Now, he will come back some day and be the digimon that he was supposed to be."
"Agumon is right, Tai," Sora said. "Things will work out all right."
"But what if there was some chance we could have straightened him out?" Tai asked.
"This isn't the movies, Tai," Sora said. "Zhuqiaomon wasn't going to change his ways over night. He would have been rehabilitated for a long time. During that time, he wouldn't have been able to run his sector of the Digital World. By doing what we did, he will be reborn. That will be faster than trying to break him of what he had been doing."
Tai sighed again. "Yeah... I guess you're right. I just... I feel like... I don't know. I feel like... it wasn't our place to stop him. Like, we weren't authorities or something like that."
Sora sat down next to Tai. "Tai, we're the Digidestined. If there's an authority, it's us."
"I know. It's just... I don't know. I just wish there had been another way."
"Wow. That's saying a lot coming from you."
Tai chuckled a little bit. It was the best he had felt all day. "I sure am lucky to have you. I don't know that I could keep going without you." Tai leaned in and gave Sora a kiss.
"Yuck!" Agumon said. "Come on, Biyomon. All this lovey dovey stuff is too much for me."
Sora and Tai laughed as Biyomon and Agumon walked out of the room. "Now, with Zhuqiaomon out of the way, we can finally focus solely on getting married," Sora said.
Tai smiled. "Yeah. It's going to be nice to get back to normal life again."