(Author's Note: Just a reminder, there are guest OC's in this arc. The Tamer Prue belongs to kitsunelover300 and Tamers Artur, Lucas/Luke, and Ana belong to BEST OC Maker. His OC's Marcio, Gary, Lucas, and Daniel will be featured next chapter. All of these OC's respective Digimon and personalities are their own, although my somewhat OC Donnie borrows one of Artur's Dracomon to make Artur more grounded with the other characters. Donnie is my OC, but inspired by my best friend's idea and is basically him anyways, so I guess it's his OC? I don't know. Please check the bottom of the page for an update on what's going on with this series. Stay classy!)
When we last saw Dev and his new friends, he was nearly struck by Parrotmon's attack. In Dev's dream-like state, he thought he saw his father, but eventually saw nothing but darkness.
…
About an hour earlier, before and during Noah's group's battle against Devimon's forces, Dev and company were on board a subway train awaiting their arrival in Times Square. Traffic had been notably awful in the streets, and Ana, the new girl, had suggested they take the subway.
"So, Ana, how long have you had Veemon?" started Dev as the group awkwardly sat aboard the train together, much to the attention of their fellow passengers. BlackAgumon was in shadow form much to the amazement of Dobermon and Veemon, while Armadillomon calmly sat in Timmy's lap. Timmy was quiet for much of the ride, annoyed to be dragged around like baggage. Dillion, on the other hand, was more than excited to join the battle while his bloodthirsty Kodokugumon munched on a vacant pole.
"Actually, Veemon is Lucas' partner," replied the new girl named Ana. If it wasn't for Sam, Dev would have fallen in love all over again. This new Tamer, to Dev, was very good looking. Her gold hair sparkled despite the dimly lit train, while her green eyes gave away her sharp inner intellect. She was of average height, slightly shorter than Dev but taller than Dillion (although just about everyone was taller than him, save for young Timmy). For such a pretty girl, she was modest in her attire that night. Wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, she matched Dev's usual attire, although he felt she wore it best. Their original encounter outside Dillion's card shop had been awkward, but the smart and friendly girl had convinced them otherwise.
"Anyways, it has been awesome getting to know you and Lucky so far on this trip. I don't know how Tim and I would have been much support for Team Awesome, but with you guys, we may make an awesome team!" declared Dev as he gripped the poor girl's hand.
"Sorry to interrupt, Mister Romeo, but my name isn't Lucky, it's Lucas," replied the new guy as he picked up Veemon and placed him beside him on the seat. Dev was too smitten with Ana to notice, but Luke also wore a white shirt and had blue cargo pants, matching his Blue D-Power that he played with during the long ride. He also had brown hair and brown eyes, making him resemble his older brother somewhat.
"Anyone who is a friend of Noah's is a friend of mine!" declared Dev, ignoring Luke's protests as he hugged his two new friends.
"Sorry, but we actually haven't met this Noah guy," replied Ana as she tried vainly to escape his power hug, "but our friends Artur and Donnie met him and your friends earlier today. Artur is Luke's older brother."
"Right. This Artur guy, what Digimon does he have?" asked Dillion with heightened curiosity.
"Hungry!" hissed Bitsy, Dillion's adopted Kodokugumon as she continued munching on the pole.
"My bro shares a pair of Dracomon with our buddy Donnie," answered Luke as he pushed himself out of Dev's hug.
"Cool! I've never heard of that before! Can they digivolve?" asked Dillion.
"Yup. I'm pretty sure both can reach Mega at this point, although we don't usually fight any Digimon strong enough for Artur and Donnie to get that far," answered Ana, still caught in Dev's overfriendly hug. Her Dobermon wasn't allowed to speak in public, but a quick growl from him brought Dev to his senses, letting Ana go free.
"Uh, right. Anyways, Ana, you seem to know a lot about Artur and Donnie. How did you meet such a cool team anyways? I mean, I get Luke's situation on account of them being brothers and all. What's the deal?" asked Dev as he tried to keep the conversation going without getting Dobermon's wrath.
"Oh, don't worry about Dobermon here," said Ana with a giggle as she patted her Digimon on the head. "He looks scary, but he's really a puppy on the inside." Upon saying this, Dobermon turned his head bashfully.
Ana continued her story in a murmur, acknowledging how public they were. "Well, since it's not so crowded in the train, I think I can share my testimony for the moment. Okay, so Artur and I had been really good friends since kindergarten, right? He used to come over and we'd play together and build sandcastles and stuff."
"Aww," interrupted Lucas with a chuckle.
"Whatever," replied Ana, "anyways, Donnie was also a friend of mine but much later."
"Yeah, and I remember Donnie was sort of the cool kid in middle school who smoked cigarettes under the bleachers. I'm not sure why, but Artur was fascinated by the guy," added Lucas.
"I could tell you why. Smoking is cool!" replied Dev, much to the annoyance of virtually everyone on the train.
"NO IT IS NOT!" yelled Lucas, Ana, Dillion, young Timmy, and every Digimon and passenger on the train in attempted unison.
"Geez, I get it. Please finish your story, Ana," said Dev as he tried to get the attention off of him.
"Okay, well I noticed a few months ago that something was up with Artur. He went from showing up late for class, to not showing up at all. We had stopped hanging out as much ever since Donnie and Artur became friends. They used to ride bikes together. I was really worried about him, and I thought it was just Donnie's influence on Artur, because…you know," continued Ana.
"Donnie's kind of a punk," interrupted Luke, much to the annoyance of Ana.
"Hey! Don't talk about him like that! He's actually pretty sweet—in his own way," defended Ana as she went on, "Looking back, I think I should have known that Donnie was innocent. He even came to me asking if I had seen Artur and it turns out, Artur hadn't been hanging out with him either. It was his Digimon that was keeping him so busy."
"You mean he had been raising a pair of Dracomon on his own and tried to keep it a secret?" asked Dev as Ana nodded. "I can kind of relate. I used to hide Black in a barn, back when we lived in North Carolina."
"I guess we all have our secrets when it comes to Digimon," replied Ana as she went on with her story, "Well, Donnie did some investigating on his own and found out about Artur's Dracomon. I didn't know yet, but the two of them decided to share a pair of Digivices given to Artur for the Digimon. The cool thing is that since the two Dracomon were twins coming from the same Digi-egg, the original digi-vice split in two when Donnie and Artur met at his hiding place. The four of them were inseparable ever since, and I found out soon after that."
"That's kind of a mean thing to do, for someone's best friend to keep secrets like that," said Dillion as he tried to glare at Dev's direction.
"Me? I'm not the one who owns a card shop. That information would have been helpful about three or four battles ago," defended Dev against Dillion's accusation.
"I did tell you!" cried Dillion as he pulled the hyperactive Kodokugumon towards him and held her close like a teddy bear. "I told you many times!"
"Hungry! Kill!" hissed Bitsy as she struggled to crawl out of his hug. Alarmingly, no one seemed to pay any notice to the bloodthirsty baby Digimon.
"Oh yeah? Name one time you told me that you owned a card shop!" cried Dev.
"Well…" said Dillion as he pondered the past few days.
…
On Dev's first day of school, after Dev had finished his introduction in Mr. Neeson's class, he and his new friend Dillion sat beside each other in beautiful Miss Gordon's class.
Dev was too busy falling in love with the young teacher to notice that his friend was speaking to him.
"…yeah and my grandpa owns an awesome card shop in Knickerbocker. You should come visit if you like card games," said Dillion as Dev nodded his head.
"Uh huh," said Dev as Miss Gordon continued her lecture. He still doesn't know what class she teaches.
…
Back in the present, Dev was surrounded by stares from his friends as Dillion finished his flashback.
"Yeah, but that was one time," said Dev.
"Oh, I have more," answered Dillion.
…
A few days ago—the day before Devon and the rest of Team Awesome would have their fateful battle against Minotarumon and Gesomon at Liz's pizza parlor-Dillion was once again chatting with his daydreaming friend at lunch in the school cafeteria.
"…and I was at this card shop that my Ojisan owns. He's my granddad. Did I mention that I'm Japanese? Anyways, I would love to be a tree one day…" said Dillion as Dev fell asleep into a bowl of his mom's spaghetti.
…
Back in the present, Dillion had continued to tell multiple stories that Dev could not remember even though he was in them. Needless to say, Dev was getting irritated at Dillion's surprising recollection of events.
"Okay, I get it. I'm not the best listener in the world, but I gotta ask. Why do you want to be a tree?" asked Dev to Dillion as the others also puzzled themselves over the kid's weirdness.
"Yeah. Why are you so weird?" asked Luke to Dillion as he and his Digimon exchanged glances.
"Yeah, and why did you fall asleep on spaghetti?" asked Ana to Dev.
"Mom's Spaghetti!" cheered Veemon, much to Lucas' chagrin.
"Uh, I don't really know—" replied Dev sheepishly before getting interrupted by Dillion's Digimon.
"—Me hungry more!" hissed Bitsy as she bit into Dillion's arm. "Ouch!" he cried before nearly dropping her.
"I told you this was a bad idea, Ana," whispered Dobermon to Ana. "We cannot to allow this wild creature to hurt anyone."
"Don't worry, boy. Devon said that he's taking care of Kodokugumon. Right?" said Ana as she turned her attention to Dev.
"Yeah, Bitsy wouldn't hurt a fly!" answered Dev.
"Me destroy flies!" yelled the Kodokugumon as she squirmed some more.
"I didn't hear anything, did y'all? So, Ana. How did you meet this Dobermon anyways?" asked Dev, once again changing the subject nervously.
"Well, after I found out Artur's secret, I started following him to understand what was going on. He loved battling wild Digimon that arrived through bio-emergence," said Ana.
"Bio-emergence?" asked Dev in confusion.
"It's when it gets foggy out and a Digimon pops out into the real world, genius!" answered Lucas.
"Yeah! Even I knew that!" mocked Dillion.
"…Me too," muttered Timmy.
"Guys, leave him alone!" defended Ana as she patted her Dobermon on the back.
"Just trying to have some fun," said Lucas with a pout. "When is this train supposed to take us to Times Square? I'm dying to show Artur what me and Veemon can do."
"We'll get there soon enough," whispered Dobermon as he turned to his partner, "Please continue your story, Ana."
"Thanks, buddy. Well, after a few battles Artur fought, I was hooked," said Ana. "He didn't like having me around, but I was convinced that two Dracomon were enough to protect me. Plus, I didn't think I needed protecting. He never fought anything too dangerous, until one day when Donnie had taken one of the Dracomon for one of his own battles. On this particular day, it was me, Artur and one of his Dracomon. It was in this battle that two Digimon had appeared from the Digital World instead of one. It all happened so fast while Dracomon digivolved. One of the Digimon, a Fangmon, tried to kill me."
"And then what happened?" asked Dev as he and Dillion leaned in closer to hear her story.
"Then the other Digimon saved me," answered Ana.
"It was I," added Dobermon in case Dev didn't understand her.
"Well that was anti-climactic," said Dev as he crossed his arms in disappointment.
"Worst. Story. Ever," declared Dillion as he received another nibble by Bitsy. "Ouch!"
"It wasn't that bad, was it?" asked Ana. "It was really scary at the time."
"Well, I thought it was wonderful, Ana," answered Dobermon.
"Man! You guys gotta hear my story how I met Veemon here," said Lucas. "It's way better."
"I dunno. We're almost there and the digital incarnation of the devil is going to try and kill us. Maybe we should plan ahead on a strategy," replied Ana.
"She's right," said Dev, "There's no time to hear Luke's story. Although, my story is pretty cool and I think we have time to hear it."
"No we don't," said Black's shadow from behind Dev, much to his shock.
"Really? You're not still mad at me, are you?" asked Dev as BlackAgumon's shadow wavered and faded away.
"Hey! What about the time Timmy met his Digimon! I bet it's awesome!" cried Dillion as everyone turned to the silent little kid.
"…I bought him at a pet store…" muttered Timmy before turning his back from them.
"Okay. That was anti-climactic," declared Dev.
"Let me tell my story now! About me and Bitsy!" whined Dillion as he shook his bloodthirsty arachnid Digimon on his lap, receiving another bite. "Ouch!"
"No one cares, dude," said Lucas as he continued to ignore the odd kid.
"That's not nice, Luke," replied Ana before turning to Dillion, "But we might have time for one more story."
"That's okay," answered Dillion as he hugged his Digimon like a stuffed toy. "Mine can wait, I guess."
"Cool, then let me tell you my awesome story: how Veemon and I met," said Lucas as he waited for the group's attention.
"This story better not be as boring as the other one, no offense to Ana," warned Dev.
"It's cool. I'm not used to sharing it anyways," replied Ana.
"Hey, isn't Veemon from season 2 of Adventure?" asked Dillion, remembering his favorite show.
"Yes, but obviously this Veemon is not the Veemon from the television show," answered Lucas with annoyance. "This one's actually real."
"Do you ever think that we're in a television show, or worse: a fan-fic?" asked Dillion to no one in particular as he pondered his own existence.
"Okay, now you're just being weird again," replied Dev as he shushed him. A quick bite from Kodokugumon also helped distract Dillion for a while.
"Anyway, as I was saying, Artur is three years older than me and we never got along," said Lucas. "We always compete and he always acts like he's the boss of me. Like Ana, I was also upset when I found out Artur was keeping a secret from me. Before Ana started following him around, I was doing it first. A few months ago, I followed Artur and Blue—that's what he calls his blue-colored Dracomon—to a digital field."
"Blue? How creative," mocked Dev, already unimpressed by this supposedly awesome Tamer.
"Like you're one to talk!" replied Lucas back at Dev and Black before Ana motioned for them not to argue. "So, when I entered the field, I saw Veemon trying to beat up a really powerful dark Digimon and—"
"—Wait, what's a digital field?" interrupted Dev, much to the agreement of Dillion and Timmy.
"It's too difficult to explain and it's not important right now," answered Veemon.
"That's right, buddy. The gist is that once Blue entered the scene, it became a sort of fair fight. Veemon and Blue worked together and the Digimon was sent packing. I got my own Digivice and Veemon and I became better Tamers than Artur," declared Lucas, finishing his story.
"I don't think Artur or Donnie would agree," added Ana.
"Whatever," muttered Veemon, "I'm the boss."
"Why do you call them Digivices? Isn't that what the show called them?" asked Dillion to Lucas.
"Well, what else are they? They're Digital Devices so the name is practical, right?" answered Veemon.
"We call them D-Powers," said Dev. "Which reminds me, what do you guys call yourselves?"
"What? Like a team? I dunno," replied Ana as she pondered for a bit. "Donnie and Artur can't really make up their minds and they're the leaders of the group".
"Whoa. Let's stop talkin' crazy for a sec," responded Lucas, waving his hands. "No one ever made them kings. Besides, I thought I was the leader."
"You and the other Lucas both say that, but Artur's had a Digimon the longest," defended Ana.
"Really? I think you let him be leader for another reason. Are you and Artur…" pondered Lucas before the blushing girl quickly changed the subject.
"—So! What do you think our team should be?" asked Ana.
"I was thinking Brave Heart, like the theme song for the Adventure Sub!" suggested Dillion excitedly.
"No one asked you," mocked Lucas as he brushed off his idea. "Besides, I'm the unofficial leader of our group, so I say the Defenders of Worlds!"
"That's the dumbest name I ever heard, and I watched Digimon Fusion," joked Dev. "Besides, I'm the official leader of my group, so I'll be the official leader of this group for now. I call it, Team Awesome!"
"That…is not bad actually," replied Lucas. "I still think we should call ourselves Defenders of Worlds though since most of your Team Awesome are already out there."
"Fair enough," answered Dev as he heard the train stop, three stops from their final destination. "So about that plan of ours…"
"Darn! We're already almost there! What do we do now?" asked Dillion nervously.
"Shut up, kid. We got this," answered Lucas, scratching his temple as he strategized. "Hmm. Ana and I already talked with Donnie on the phone before they had left for Times Square. They were probably going to just make a run for the hostages, right?"
"I'm sure it was a trap," added Dobermon.
"Right, so we are definitely the necessary backup to help this Team Awesome fight the bad guys," answered Ana.
"That is no plan!" complained Dev. "I say we just run out there and fight! It's what Noah would do!"
"Which is exactly why we should do something else," replied Lucas. "I wasn't finished saying my plan. Since we all have people to look out for, I say we split up if we can into groups of who we know best. Like, me and Ana are a team and you guys can make a trio or something."
"If you don't mind, Luke, I must point out that it'll probably be chaotic out there. If we can't split up on account of the chaos, one of us should cover for the other until the coast is clear," added Ana.
"Good idea," replied Dev before a thought struck him. "I should have mentioned this earlier, but I can't Digivolve Black here and Tim's just a kid who thought his Armadillomon was a dog."
"I could tell you were a noob," mocked Lucas to Dev before turning his attention to Dillion. "What about this guy? I know he doesn't have a Digivice—D-Power, D'ARC, whatever—but why is he here? Is he gonna throw a giant spider at the bad guys?"
"Hey! I have cards too!" defended Dillion nervously.
"Leave him alone, Luke," said Ana as she patted Dillion on the back. "Dillion can be the card guy and give us ammo for the fight."
"A smart decision, but who will protect him?" asked Dobermon.
"I have Bitsy!" said Dillion before getting chomped on again by his spider Digimon. "Ouch!"
"Blood! Feed me!" hissed Bitsy as she licked his recent wound.
"…As I was saying, who will protect him?" asked Dobermon again in light of their spectacle.
"Young Timmy can protect him with Armadillomon. Dillion's supposed to look after him anyways," answered Dev, recognizing the irony of the kid looking after his babysitter.
"Okay. A modified Armadillomon might make a good shield, but what about you, Dev? What if you're defenseless out there?" asked Ana towards Dev.
"Me? Defenseless?! HA!" laughed Dev as he brushed it off.
Sighing, Ana and the rest of the temporary alliance discussed the details of their simple plan for several minutes before they reached their stop.
"Hey, Luke?" asked Dev as he pulled on the Tamer's arm.
"Dude, what?" asked Luke as they got off the train, both secretly nervous for the battle ahead.
"There's something that's been in the back of my mind since you told us your story. In case I don't make it, please tell me: what exactly was the dark Digimon that you and Artur met the day you found Veemon?" asked Dev.
"Oh, I forgot I didn't mention the name of it. It was a BlackGreymon," answered Lucas before he started walking again. "I don't see why that's important now."
"You're right. Just wondering," said Dev as he walked with the group towards the subway exit.
"By the way, you never did tell us how you found your shadow back there," replied Lucas as they found themselves at the back of a large crowd.
"That's the thing. I don't really know. He found me," answered Dev to himself.
…
Elsewhere, on the rooftop of a massive hotel facing Times Square in the middle of Devimon's hostage crisis, a lone Dark Digimon was plotting his attack. Unlike Devimon, however, this one was allied with a mysterious Dark-Eyed Tamer.
The BlackAgumon crouched atop the corner of the rooftop like a gargoyle, waiting for the perfect chance to hit Devimon himself, an insane task for any partner Digimon. Swarms of Vilemon and other bat-like Digimon engulfed the surrounding rooftops as Parrotmon took over the higher parts of the skyline. With all the chaos ensuing below with the other Tamers, BlackAgumon would have been spotted already.
He as well as his Tamer had waited patiently for the moment to strike. It was no challenge for BlackAgumon and his master to watch a team of Tamers get demolished by Devimon's elite bird Digimon trio, but climbing such a tall building in time for an attack was another matter. His master had stayed hidden in the shadows below as their plan was soon to be set in motion.
His master had been correct. The hostage crisis was a trap for Devimon's enemies to meet their doom. It's a good thing BlackAgumon wasn't down there with them, or else he might join them in their suffering. A Kokatorimon had finished turning a human and a green Coredramon into stone as all hope seemed lost.
BlackAgumon wondered for a moment if Devimon could sense his presence, but realized that the Devil Digimon would have acted by now, since a supposed BlackAgumon was the so-called thorn on his side. BlackAgumon wanted to help the Tamers from getting annihilated by Parrotmon, but his master had refused.
"Remember, Rex. Target Practice. They're on their own," said the Dark-Eyed Tamer minutes before the BlackAgumon started to climb up the building. Few enemies had lived to tell of his light feet or superior firepower, but when they did, they usually mentioned the cold-blooded behavior of his Tamer as well. They were the best.
"SONIC DESTROYER!" boomed a monster down below.
About to fire, Rex closed his mouth suddenly as a bright light struck from the Parrotmon's attack, wiping out the rest of the Tamers on the street. What was once a petrified Coredramon had somehow escaped his affliction by de-Digivolving back into an unconscious Dracomon. The frozen Tamer wasn't so lucky, and the rest of the humans lay motionless nearby as well. The BlackAgumon couldn't see the Seadramon or Turuiemon either, as well as the Wizardmon if his memory served him correctly. Instead, a Betamon, Lopmon, and Candlemon had taken each of their Champion's places.
The Dark Digimon sighed. It was over. After all the climbing it took to get up here, he lost his one shot. Perhaps his fun was over before it had begun. Then, a thought struck him. There had to be more Tamers foolish enough to accept Devimon's challenge. If there were any left, there would be another chance to practice his aim.
"It's not over yet," growled the BlackAgumon as he waited patiently for an opening.
…
Back underground, Dev's group was stuck in the middle of a growing crowd as they realized the exit out of the tunnel was guarded by police until the hostage situation ended.
"This sucks! How are we supposed to go out there now?" complained Dev, merely forty feet from the stairs in the densely packed tunnel. "We're packed like sardines in here!"
"I have an idea!" cried Dillion as he finally released his Kodokugumon onto the floor. "WHOA! A Giant Spider! LOOKOUT!" he shouted.
"Holy $ #%!" shouted many civilians collectively as panic overtook the tunnel. The gates and guards kept people from heading towards the exit, but a clear path was formed as Kodokugumon scurried towards the exit with the rest of the team in pursuit.
"You're crazy, but I can't argue with results," said Lucas jokingly as he patted Dillion on the back.
"Make sure you pick it up before you leave," warned Dobermon as he examined the chaos caused by the scurrying creature.
"What?! You can talk?!" cried Dillion in astonishment, much to the embarrassment of Ana and Lucas. Dev was used to it at this point.
"Where's Timmy?" yelled Dev as he struggled to keep his group together amongst the moving crowds.
"Here…" muttered a familiar voice from in front of him.
"Oh, there you are!" replied Dev as he held onto Tim and Armadillomon. "You had me worried for a second."
"Any advice for the card guy?" asked Dillion as he picked up Bitsy and ran next to Ana.
"Please try not to die," she answered with a deadpan tone.
"Haha! That's a good one," laughed Dillion until Lucas grabbed him.
"She's serious. You're definitely gonna die out there unless you use your head and stay out of sight," warned Lucas as he let go of him. "And if I see that spider of yours unattended, I'll delete it myself."
Dillion gulped before nodding slowly.
Meanwhile, Dev found himself far behind the rest of the group as he struggled to keep up. An arm suddenly grabbed his shoulder, causing him to jerk back.
"Where do ya think ya goin', huh?" asked a grizzled officer as he dragged Dev away.
"Wait! You don't understand!" yelled Dev as he turned and saw his group slip away.
"Course I do. You punks are tryna interfere with police business. My Business. I'm placing you under arrest."
With that, Black jumped out of Dev's shadow, resuming his corporeal form.
"Leave him alone!" cried out Black, much to the surprise of everyone.
"What the-!" swore the officer as he jumped backwards, releasing Dev.
"Let's get outta here!" shouted Dev as he grabbed his Digimon's claw and made for the exit. "Thanks for saving me back there. Are you still made at me?"
"I'll put it on hold, since we might die," answered Black, seeming less upset as he jumped back into Dev's shadow.
"Thanks," said Dev, still trying to figure out what he did wrong. He hoped Black could handle whatever it is they were about to face. If not, then his mom would live alone, with no one to call family besides her dying mother-in-law.
I have to do this, he thought. He was the chosen one, after all. If he was such a threat to this Devimon, then maybe he had nothing to worry about.
After a few moments, Dev reached the opening and barely caught up with the rest of the team.
"We made it!" yelled Dev, already exhausted from their ordeal leading up to this meeting.
"Thanks again for the sub-fare, Lucas," said Dillion as he shook Lucas' hand. Earlier in their first meeting, it had been brought to Dillion's attention that he had no money for the train. It was Ana's insistence that Lucas bring him along.
"It's Luke, and don't mention it," said Lucas. "If our friends do come here, the other Lucas will be trying to call the shots."
The less confusion, the better, thought Dev, glad to be around a group of cooperative teammates at the moment.
"I hope we aren't too late," said Ana as the group surveyed the foggy atmosphere around them.
"I think we are!" cried Luke before pointing up ahead. "Look!"
About a hundred yards away, was a scene that looked like lightning had struck mere moments ago.
"Oh my God," muttered Dev as he saw his friends. Among a pile of fried rodents lay Sam, Liz, Noah, Prue, and a statue of what had probably been an ally. He also saw some dark-haired Tamer lying nearby between a pair of fallen Dracomon.
"Is that Artur?" asked Dev.
"It is. He needs our help!" answered Ana. BlackAgumon left Dev's shadow as he, Dobermon, Veemon, and Armadillomon braced for attack. Bitsy was still latched onto Dillion, fortunately for the rest of them.
Dev also saw Beebee standing defiantly as she held her ground in front of the unconscious Tamers. The trio of giant bird Digimon approached them, trying to finish off Lopmon, Candlemon, and Betamon, injured from Parrotmon's attack.
"Oh look! The gang's all here!" mocked an ominous voice nearby. Dev looked up at the sky and saw Devimon. The Devimon. The one that would try to destroy them all. Chuckling as he hovered closer to the ground between Dev's group and Noah's fallen group, Devimon was evidently sizing up his next victims.
"I see you brought BlackAgumon, but I recognize none of you as his Tamer. Where is he hiding?" asked Devimon, smiling as if he was in control, a fact that worried Dev.
Dev gulped hard. After all this time, he is finally facing the big bad Digimon that's been trying to kill his friends since before he moved to New York.
"You're looking at him," replied Dev, nervously but as bravely as he could muster. "Give us back our friends and the hostages!"
Upon saying this, Dev lost all signs of courage as Devimon smiled before laughing back with a voice that echoed down dozens of streets.
"HAHA! Wait, you were being serious? I see you don't know. The only hostages I have are your friends, and I'm not giving anything up until I have my revenge," said Devimon. "Now where is BlackAgumon's Tamer?!"
Without warning, Devimon shook in surprise as a fireball struck him from behind.
"Pepperflame!" echoed a voice from far away, the line of fire coming from the rooftops down the long road to Times Square.
"…How interesting to see that two Tamers with BlackAgumon answered my call," muttered Devimon with amusement as he turned his attention to the roof of the building where the fireball had came from.
Ignoring the new Tamers, Devimon flapped his wings and strode towards the source of his earlier attack.
"Can we kill them, master?" asked the large Kokatorimon to Devimon as he passed.
"Knock yourselves out," he answered, much to the enjoyment of his henchmen.
The Akatorimon and Parrotmon rushed across the street towards their next victims as Kokatorimon led the way.
"Run!" yelled Dillion as he grabbed Tim and Armadillomon to safety. Ana and Luke held their ground.
"We have to get to Artur!" yelled Luke, nodding with Ana before looking to the petrified Dev. "What about you?" he asked.
"I…don't know. All this time…I wasn't the one?" Dev muttered to himself, devastated. How can he not be the chosen one that Devimon is scared of? He is the leader! He has a BlackAgumon.
A BlackAgumon, he thought. He realized that what he thought made him special was wrong, that he could have stayed home and not risked his life today. Even the hostages were safe and all the Tamers here risked their lives for nothing, including him.
"SONIC DESTROYER!" screamed Parrotmon as he pointed his metal skull towards the trio, charging for an attack.
"Black!" yelled Dev as he tried to push his Digimon out of the direct line of fire.
"Look out!" yelled Ana as Parrotmon struck them in a beam of electricity.
In the bright light, Dev thought he could see his dad's face. In an instant, he saw nothing but black.
…
"I say, I say, get him!" roared Akatorimon as the big bird Digimon stomped on the sidewalk with his massive talons.
Luke rolled as best as he could, trying to get to his brother in one piece. It had only been a few minutes since that Parrotmon cried out his attack before striking. He and Ana were smart enough to get out of the way ahead of time, but their new allies were not so lucky.
It had barely taken Dobermon a split second to push Dillion, Tim and their Digimon out of the way, but Dev somehow hesitated long enough to get knocked down by Dobermon's black hide in the collision.
"Veemon?" Luke cried out. His Digimon was right behind him in the chase, but then again, so was a giant Chicken.
"Stay still—I say—so I can squash ya'!" screeched Akatorimon as he continued to kick the ground by Luke's feet.
"I got this. Vee-Headbutt!" cried Veemon as he leaped into the air…and barely hit Akatorimon's knees with his face. The attack did little to harm the giant Bird Digimon, but it did make it laugh.
"Harharhar! I say-I mean, I say! That all ya' got?!" screeched Akatorimon before he raised his foot again.
"Not even close," cried out Luke as he swiped a card through his D-Power. "Now let's try this again. Digimodify: Power Activate!"
"Right. Vee-Punch!" barked Veemon as his powered fist slammed into Akatorimon's planted foot, causing the giant Digimon to fall backwards onto a parked car, smashing it into a heap.
"Good job, Veemon! Now to get to Artie before more show up!" said Luke as he and his Digimon ran for his fallen brother.
He just has to be okay, he thought. Ana and Dobermon were doing a good job of fighting off the Kokatorimon, but they were about to be outnumbered any minute once Devimon ends whatever distracted him.
Finally, Luke and Veemon had managed to get past the crater where Parrotmon had struck Dev's friends earlier.
"Artie? Artur, wake up! It's me, your brother Lucas!" shouted Luke as he shook his brother awake. Artur groaned and rubbed the dirt off his eyes as tears began to take its place.
"Luke? You shouldn't be here…Devimon, he…Donnie!" cried Artur as he scrambled on his hands and knees to the site where a petrified human had been dropped.
"That's…Donnie?" muttered Luke as he watched his brother overcome with emotion. Lying still on the sidewalk was a statue that resembled their mutual best friend, its expression showing horror beyond belief.
"I can't hear his pulse! He's been carbonized completely!" cried Artur as he tried to move the heavy statue. "They…They Killed Him!"
"Enjoying your reunion?!" shrieked a loud voice from behind them. Luke had forgotten where Parrotmon had gone. Apparently the Ultimate Digimon had let him get to his brother so that it could kill them both with a single attack. Charging energy with its metal skull cap, Parrotmon bent low to the ground as it prepared the final blow. "Sonic Destroy—arggh!"
"I don't think so!" Dobermon appeared, fast as lightning, slicing Parrotmon's face with the blades extended from his legs in order to sway its aim. A single stream of electricity burst from Parrotmon and missed entirely the building Luke and Artur were near.
"Are you guys okay?" asked Ana as she rushed to Artur and Luke's aid. Parrotmon and Dobermon took their fight into the sky as she silently Digimodified her Digimon to have Angemon wings.
"It's Donnie! He's been turned to stone!" cried out Luke as he and Ana stood there, watching Artur mourn for their friend.
"Donnie…he didn't stand a chance! This was all a big mistake! There were no hostages for us to save! I shouldn't have let him come here!" lamented Artur as he held Donnie's body in his arms.
"Artur, I know Donnie's gone, but we have to get out of here now before Parrotmon and Devimon come back. We need your help! Please!" said Ana, placing her hand on Artur's shoulder.
"She's right, bro. We're sitting ducks out here," said Luke as he also placed his hand on Artur's shoulder. "We need you to focus!"
"This is all my fault!" cried Artur, ignoring them both as tears ran down his face. "I was so stupid! Bragging about being the best and putting us both in danger! I could have went Ultimate or even Mega without him! What will I tell his parents?!"
"Artur, please!" begged Ana as she hugged him close. "You got to stop this now!"
"Guys? We got a problem," muttered Luke as he pointed upwards. Parrotmon was more than a match for Ana's winged Dobermon, rendered wingless by the Ultimate Digimon's attacks. Dobermon collapsed onto the pavement below, twitching in pain as Parrotmon swooped down to finish off its prey.
"Take Veemon and help him!" ordered Ana as she pointed from her Dobermon to Dev's injured friends. "And see if they're okay! I'll take care of Artur. Go!"
"Right. Hang in there, brother," said Luke, nodding to Ana and his brother before running off with Veemon. Taking out his D-Power, he rummaged through a pack of cards that weird kid had given him on the train.
'Use the Blue one for Digivolution,' Dillion had instructed earlier.
'Shut up, kid. I know what it is,' he had said in return. Maybe if the kid survives, he would apologize to him.
Nevermind, he thought. The kid was a goner. Even that boy with the Armadillomon had a better chance than him.
"Ready, Vee?" asked Luke to his Digimon as the two got close to Parrotmon and Dobermon.
"You know it!" replied Veemon as he braced himself.
"Digimodify…," cried Luke as he swiped his given card into his blue Digivice. "…Digivolution, activate!"
DIGIVOLUTION_
"Veemon, digivolve to…" shouted Veemon as his skin was yanked from his grid-like protoform, revealing his data. He grew in size, nearly the size as Parrotmon as he changed into a digital, dinosaur-like monster. "…VEEDRAMON!"
"HAHA! Your friend can't save you!" screeched Parrotmon as his claw slammed Dobermon's weakened form onto the ground. "I'm your executioner!"
"Veedramon…get Ana to safety…" groaned Dobermon weakly as he struggled in Parrotmon's grip.
"You first!" replied Veedramon as he rushed the Ultimate Digimon, slamming him into the side of a building, releasing Dobermon in the process.
"You are nothing against an Ultimate Elite in my Master's army!" taunted Parrotmon as he pushed the smaller, Mythical Dragon Digimon off of him.
"I think I'll manage!" replied Veedramon as he punched Parrotmon on the beak. "Magnum Punch!"
"HAHAHA! That all ya' got?!" snorted Parrotmon, unfazed by the hit. With a flap of his wings, Parrotmon sent Luke, Dobermon, and Veedramon flying in its torrential wind.
"Luke! I could use some help here!" roared Veedramon, rolling sideways towards his Tamer.
"Me too," muttered Luke.
…
Tim and Dillion watched over Dev behind a parked tour bus as Ana and Luke continued to evade the three Bird Digimon.
"Dad?" asked Dev weakly as he stirred himself awake. Taking in his surroundings, he could see that he had somehow survived Parrotmon's Sonic Destroyer attack. "Where am I?" he asked, looking at Tim nearby.
"…Not so loud," muttered Tim as he looked cautiously around the bus. Akatorimon and Kokatorimon were nearby, looking for them.
"I thought I had died. What's going on?" asked Dev, nearly jumping as he noticed a pile of dead rats beside him.
"After Parrotmon attacked, Ana's Dobermon got us to safety and we waited nearby while Ana and Luke went for our buddies," replied Dillion, sitting of the ground beside Dev as he looked through a stack of cards. "You barely got out of the blast in time, dude. It's a miracle that you survived."
"I have to do something!" shouted Dev as he tried to stand up. "Where is Black?"
"…Not so loud," muttered Tim again, still being ignored.
"I'm here," answered BlackAgumon, resuming his corporeal form next to Dev. If Black was still mad at him, Dev couldn't tell. It was a good thing too, because they needed each other now. "Dobermon accidentally knocked you down in the crossfire, so I pulled you out. My shadow form protected you, but I think the light knocked you out when you were a shadow too."
"You can do that? Since when?" asked Dev, shocked at his Digimon's sudden clarity in speech and knowledge.
"I'm not sure. I guess I always had the ability to merge shadows together," answered Black.
"Well, we'll talk about this later. Right now, we have to do something about Devimon's fighters before they finish off Noah and Sam. And Liz," suggested Dev, not too excited about helping his mean friend.
"…Not so loud," muttered Tim again.
"Did you say something?" asked Dev, turning to Tim.
"Yeah. I said keep your voice down. Those birds are getting closer," he muttered again, motioning at the two titanic bird Digimon stomping their way over in search of a victim.
"Dillion, dude, I could use your help. Any chance that you have a Blue card on you?" asked Dev as quietly as possible.
"Sorry, but I gave my card to Lucas. I do have some Digimodification cards you can try," he replied.
"Thanks. I could use all the help I can get," said Dev before realizing something was missing. "Where is your Kodokugumon, Bitsy?"
"Oh. She's taking care of the rat problem," answered Dillion as he pointed at the pile of dead rats.
"Mggmg. Still hungry, but not as much!" grumbled Bitsy as the spider Digimon burst out from under the pile with a mouthful of dinner. Dev could have fainted at the sight if he hadn't already passed out earlier.
"Ew. We have to talk about your Digimon's nasty appetite when this is over, dude," said Dev to Dillion as he looked around. "Why are there so many rats in Times Square, anyways?"
"…Devimon scared them here from the sewers," muttered Tim, still looking around the bus.
"Um, okay, but why would he scare the rats over here?" asked Dev.
"Probably to scare the people for his debut!" answered Dillion while stacking cards. "It sort of makes sense, coming from a Devimon. He might also have something up his sleeves in the sewers chasing them here."
"Well, whatever it is, Devimon must be confident to be keeping most of his forces in the Digital World," said Dev, looking around the bus as well. He remembered when he was at Dillion's shop watching the news. "We saw he had a Goblinmon army heading this way. Shouldn't they be here by now?"
"Maybe we aren't alone," answered Black.
"For now, we are," said Dev before turning to Dillion. "You've been a big help with the cards and for looking after me. Thanks. I could use some back-up and all I have is you and Young Timmy. Wanna help?"
"Would I?!" shouted Dillion, surprised at his friend's willingness to have him join the battle.
"…You guys. What did I say about being quiet?" muttered Tim although no one heard him.
"What do you say, Bitsy? Care to fight bad guys?" asked Dillion as he picked up the very full Kodokugumon.
"Food?" hissed Bitsy in reply.
"Sure, buddy. Bad guys are food. Go get 'em!" shouted Dillion as he jumped into the air to high-five his friend unsuccessfully.
"…Nobody listens to me," muttered Tim as he grabbed his Armadillomon and jumped backwards.
Without warning, the large foot of Kokatorimon smashed into the bus, nearly crushing Dev and Dillion before they jumped out of the way.
"AH KNEW AH HEARD SOMETHING!" Roared Kokatorimon as he looked down at his victims.
"What-I say, I smelled 'em first! Just-I say, let me eat 'em, I say!" whined Akatorimon.
"You'll be eatin' stones after ah'm done with 'em!" said Kokatorimon as he turned his glaring eyes to them.
"Pepperbreath! Patoowey!" cried Black as he fired a fireball in its face.
"Yaargh!" yelped Kokatorimon as he fell backwards into his brother. With both Bird Digimon distracted, Dev and Tim ran around the crushed bus with cards in hand.
"We gotta' move now! Here we go!" shouted Dev as he and Tim rushed to attack. "You know what to do?" he asked, referring to the cards in Tim's hand.
"Dillion taught me. I think I'll be okay," replied Tim with surprising confidence.
"Alright then. Digimodify! Power activate!" yelled Dev.
"…Digimodify! The card says Rock Armor, so Activate!" muttered Tim as he and Dev swiped cards against their D-Powers.
BlackAgumon's mouth was suddenly lit with flames, visibly hotter than they were before. Armadillomon, on the other hand, silently rolled into a ball that was braced with higher defense power.
With a push from Black, Armadillomon rolled right into the sole of Kokatorimon's foot, causing the Bird Digimon to screech louder than ever.
"Ah'll teach ya' some manners!" roared Kokatorimon as he stood up, menacingly glaring at the group for a petrifying attack once more.
"I don't think so! Pepperbreath! Patoowey!" cried Black, firing a fireball up into the giant's face.
"MAH EYES!" screeched Kokatorimon as he crashed back onto the fallen Akatorimon, landing in a loud crash.
"I say…I mean I say! Get off of me, I say!" complained Akatorimon as the beast struggled to get its brother off of him.
Now that the coast was clear, Dev and his friends made a beeline up the street, where Noah's team had been taken out in Parrotmon's earlier attack.
…
Devimon was having the time of his life. What an invigorating way to destroy all of his enemies at once! Those hostages out of the way, he was free to let his elites take out the Tamers below while he exacted his revenge on the BlackAgumon. The real cause of his great day was the fact that there were two Tamers claiming to have a BlackAgumon as their pitiful partner.
Double the kill, double the thrill, mused Devimon to himself as he soared upwards towards the skyscraper where the sniper had hit him from earlier.
With a wave of his hand, Devimon watched as his fleet of Vilemon swarmed around the building, descending in spiral clouds to the bottom as his target made an explosive retreat off the roof.
"Pepperflame!" roared the prey as it dropped hundreds of feet below, firing a volley of shots at the cloud of pursuing Vilemon above, sending many into oblivion.
"He has nowhere to go but the ground," reflected Devimon, hoping that the fall would not completely destroy his prey.
From the sky above his prey, Devimon was surprised see a faint pair of Angemon wings appear on BlackAgumon's back before the Digimon swooped into a soft landing in an adjunct alleyway, much to both Digimon's surprise.
"Wings?" asked Devimon. "But how?"
The Devil Digimon could only watch as his henchmen Vilemon gleefully swarmed into the alley after BlackAgumon. Without warning, the entrance lit up in flames as dozens of screaming Vilemon burst out of the alley in flames before digitizing into nothingness.
Curious, Devimon chose to witness BlackAgumon's skill firsthand. Unafraid for his own safety, Devimon descended into the alleyway silently with an escort of more Vilemon, all eager to get to the bottom of their problem.
"Stay back, or else!" barked a raucous voice from the alley shadows, stunning the Vilemon, and amusing Devimon. Unlike BlackAgumon, this voice sounded too human. To Devimon, it had just the amount of fear he was hoping for.
"What's this?" asked Devimon mockingly, "Both BlackAgumon and his Tamer are cornered? I think you'll find that I don't let my enemies get away so easily."
With that, Devimon stood back as his Vilemon escorts rushed deeper into the dark alley in search of the voice's origin.
"Me neither…" replied the voice in front of the Vilemon as a lone match was struck. A chain reaction burst into flames on the pavement below the Vilemon, surprising them in an inferno.
"What?!" gasped Devimon. In a split second, the entire alley from the Vilemon to Devimon was set on fire in a trap set by the Tamer. It would seem that the Tamer had planned to be bottlenecked by Devimon's forces, covering the selected area in a thick layer of alcohol right before setting it aflame as soon as a substantial number of enemies had struck.
Amidst the writhing Vilemon, a lone human just stood beyond the flames. The human's dark eyes glowed as it reflected the burning bodies of what had been Devimon's bodyguards.
"Finish them," muttered the Tamer as BlackAgumon suddenly revealed himself, his wings propelling him from a fire-escape above Devimon's head.
"Pepperflame!" roared BlackAgumon as fireballs annihilated the Vilemon and struck Devimon in the chest.
"That tickled," replied Devimon with a grin as he effortlessly reached out and grabbed BlackAgumon by the wings.
"I must say that I am impressed by how hard you tried, but this game is over," said Devimon as he slowly and painfully ripped both wings off of the rookie Digimon with his long fingers. The Tamer, however, stood back against the wall as he emotionlessly studied his opponent.
"I have some questions for you, human, and you are going to answer them whether or not I destroy the 'thorn on my side'. This Digimon's life is in your hands at the moment. It would be a pity to waste such skill when my army is in need of some new…blood," said Devimon as he waited for the Tamer's answer.
"I'm listening…" replied the Dark-Eyed Tamer, still carefully watching Devimon with unblinking eyes.
"First of all, I want to congratulate you on your little Digimon's target practice earlier. It caught me by surprise, and I believed nothing could surprise me anymore," said Devimon as he set BlackAgumon on the ground beside the Tamer.
"Thanks. I try," replied BlackAgumon smugly despite his recent takedown.
"Rex! Quiet!" barked the Tamer, surprising his Digimon and impressing Devimon.
"…Yes…master…" muttered the BlackAgumon as he went quiet.
"Master?" said Devimon with a smile as he crossed his arms in amusement. "I misjudged you, human. Although my former lord loathed human ownership of Digimon, I think you will find me rather appreciative of those of all species that can take the reins of leadership. I'll make you a deal. If you answer all of my questions, I will set you free."
Alarmed and unconvinced, Rex turned to his Tamer, who didn't make eye contact.
"Deal," said the Tamer, crossing his arms in response as the questions began.
"Great. As you know, I'm in command of an army from another world. In the last few months, you and many Tamers like you have made a habit of fighting my reconnaissance agents. This nearly ruined my plans, but it did help me gain enough followers to usurp the throne and push this little invasion of mine. What you do or do not know about my agenda does not concern me. The real thorn in my side is the fact that you personally destroyed more of my agents than any other human in this world. Why is that?" asked Devimon quizzically. The Tamer was silent at first, but eventually, he gave in to Devimon's stares.
"You say that I destroyed recon agents. I don't mean to criticize your plans, but I thought reconnaissance was supposed to be stealthy. I fought a giant, fire-breathing lizard once. It wasn't too stealthy at all."
"Be that as it may, you still managed to destroy some of my prized elites, some of whom would have been promoted to my fighting force currently destroying your friends".
"Those people aren't my friends."
"Oh? Then why are you here, exactly? To save the hostages and meet my demands? I think you will find that the only hostages I have now are those Tamers," answered Devimon in a mocking tone.
"Do you have any more questions?" asked the Tamer roughly.
"Fine. I'll just get to the point. You were the first Tamer to cause problems for me these past few months. Before my Wizardmon spy had betrayed me, he reported his team's failure in an earlier attack three weeks ago, against some neighborhood riffraff. My best agents, Yatagaramon and Cho-Hakkaimon, disappeared after their fight against the humans. I believe you remember them well."
"What, Pig-Girl and Big Bird? Yeah. I do," replied the Tamer. "I don't take prisoners."
"Their mysterious disappearance has haunted me until now," said Devimon, no longer smiling, as he went on. "If you managed to somehow defeat two Ultimate-level Digimon, then perhaps you are more powerful than I realized. Why did you continue to strike down my forces?"
"Simple: target practice," answered the Tamer, seemingly unaware of two large, multi-legged creatures making their way down the side of the building from above.
"I am grateful for your honesty, and wish that I could grant you and your pet freedom, but I don't actually have any mercy to give. Your target practice has made you the target this time. Allow me to introduce you to my pets," said Devimon grimly as a pair of large Dokugumon leaped down and spat web around the Tamer and BlackAgumon.
Before the Tamer and BlackAgumon could say a word, both of them were cocooned in webbing.
"I don't take prisoners either, human scum," mocked Devimon as he watched the Tamer struggle with his bindings.
Elsewhere, an explosion rang out, causing Devimon to sigh in mild annoyance.
Turning to his Dokugumon pets, he added, "Take your time finishing him off. I have business elsewhere, it would seem."
As Devimon flew away, Rex and his Tamer struggled to move as the pair of drooling Dokugumon clicked their mandibles hungrily.
"I'm sorry, master," whimpered Rex weakly as he turned to the Tamer for help.
"It's alright," replied the tamer as he fumbled inside his pockets for something, "it's not over yet."
...
Meanwhile, Dev ran silently alongside his Digimon and friends.
"It's just getting started," muttered Dev to his shadow as he made a run for the square.
Nearby, Veedramon and Dobermon were fighting their hardest against Parrotmon and a flock of Vilemon, suddenly creating a massive explosion from the crossfire after an overturned fuel truck was caught in one of Veedramon's attacks.
"...We need backup or we're dead," muttered Tim as he ran alongside Dev.
"Whoa! Where did you come from?" asked Dev.
"I was here the whole time," replied Tim, "Haven't you been paying-"
"-Oh look! There they are!" shouted Dev as they reached their fallen comrades.
Sam, Liz, Noah, and Prue were all laying on the ground either unconscious or in agony. Beside them lay Betamon, Biyomon, Lopmon and Candlemon, all beaten from their earlier battle.
"Sam! Noah! Wake up," cried Dev as he shook his friends into consciousness.
"Huh?! Bro, what are you doing here?" asked Noah sheepishly as he suddenly remembered where he was. Noah along with the rest of his comrades were covered in a layer of white dust after a nearby building had crumbled from Parrotmon's attack.
"I figured you guys could use backup, and some of your friend Artur's group is here with me. Also, don't get mad or anything, but I kind of brought Timmy along," said Dev as he braced himself for Noah's wrath. After all, somebody was supposed to babysit the poor kid.
"Nice…" was all Noah could say before coughing up mouthfuls of dust.
"Dev?" whimpered Sam as she struggled to breathe. The rest of them were starting to rise up.
"It's okay. I got you," said Dev as he carefully pulled a wheezing Sam up. "You don't have anything broken do you?"
"I…don't think so. Oh…my god!" cried Sam as emotions came over her.
"I'm okay too, losers," muttered Liz as she and Biyomon picked each other up weakly.
"What about Prue? You good?" asked Noah as they all turned to their recently added ally.
"Back from the dead! Yeah!" cheered Prue, despite her cuts and bruises. Candlemon was silent, sulking from de-digivolving from his Champion level.
"Sam, please don't cry," said Lopmon as she came over and wiped her Tamer's tears away with her large ears. "Everything will be okay".
"What happens now?" asked Timmy, drawing everyone's attention to the Kokatorimon and Akatorimon heading their way. Parrotmon was busy with Dobermon and Veedramon, but not for long.
"I saw on T.V. earlier that a group of Goblinmon led by a Gorillamon was heading this way," noted Dev.
"There were portals everywhere, so there could be more already on the way," suggested Prue.
"What are we supposed to do now?" asked Sam with tears in her eyes. "This turned out to be a setup. We're surrounded. We cannot escape."
"Don't you guys see? We have them right where we want them," said Dev, trying his best to smile in spite of his friends' anguish. "They don't know what we're capable of and now that we're all here, we can show them!"
"He's right," said Noah, "It's time we showed them how awesome Team Awesome really is."
With this, Dev smiled.
"Finally," he replied before looking at his shadow, "Ready, buddy?"
"You betcha," growled BlackAgumon.
"Now that that's out of the way, what—," asked Prue before Timmy's Digimon interrupted them.
"Howdy ya'll! How ya'll doin'?" interrupted Armadillomon.
"Uh, fine I guess," replied Prue, confused. "Oh wait. I remember you now."
"Guys?!" shouted Lopmon as the group turned. Devimon had arrived.
TO BE CONTINUED...
(Oct. 13 UPDATE from Blahmon: Hey guys, Blah here! I recognize that this chapter took over four months to submit and I apologize for the long wait. I had an eventful summer in New York, so it was fun figuring out the setting for this story. However, I had no Wi-Fi in my apartment, so it had its ups and downs. I'm always writing notes and planning new stories, but actually writing an entire chapter has never been easy for me. I'm back in school now, so it will be difficult for me to update frequently, but I guess that means nothing will change as far as my speed is concerned. This story is almost over, and I am working on the next chapter in my free time. Not making the same mistake twice, I can't promise a date for my next submission, but I will surprise you guys with something big. I consider Shadow Force to be season one. This season will wrap up in about two or three chapters by the end of the year. I really want this so-called four-part arc to end with a part five so I can finish my Pokemon series. That being said, next chapter is a team effort for Team Awesome, so they will need all the help they can get. To make up for the long wait, I've revoked my banning of new OC's. Only for the next chapter, I will accept guest OC's to join the fight against Devimon's army. So far, I've only had two readers send me OC's. Anyone who has NOT sent me a backstory for a Tamer and Partner Digimon yet may do so until I update this page again. With such a big team already, their roles will be limited and they may be scattered throughout the city. I promise each OC their own special moment in the fight, like that one scene in The Avengers where everyone was awesome. I won't refuse a character, but please keep your backstories simple. These Tamers are supposed to be typical young teenagers or children. None of them should have ever been in the Digital World or in space. I have enough Dobermon Tamers already, and please avoid Digimon already featured in the story like BlackAgumon, Betamon, Biyomon, Lopmon, Candlemon, Armadillomon, Veemon, Dracomon and especially Guilmon. Guilmon is one of a kind in this universe. I'm calling next chapter, "From Black to Grey". As always, stay classy!)