Disclaimer:
The Digimon anime is a great series owned by Bandai and animated by Toei. The author also uses fan made characters. Please ask before using.
Guard Tamer: The Ripper of Time
By: RB3
The Fury of Chronomon 3: Demon Lords
Akira's group found themselves just outside a beautiful town from times long past. The buildings were quite old-fashioned, even quaint for the times. They were made of stone held together by solid mortar. Without the usage of modern techniques, the Digimon homes appeared crude. The walls, especially the out wall of the town, were covered in verdant thorny vines. Roses bloomed on each of these vines in the warm spring sun.
Masaru looked over the sign, which said "Welcome to Flowersville." This was the version of Flowersville in his Digital World. It was leagues apart from the DATS-run dictatorship in the warped reflection of a world he was trapped in with Ayame and Rika. "We're back here again..." he remarked.
"Back here?" asked Yoshino.
"Yep, me and the Boss went here when Chronomon split us up. It feels so strange to be here and not see Digimon running around scared," said Agumon.
"Yeah, other than that, everything is like the other place. Theres the gate, all these flowers growing everywhere" said Masaru. "Honestly, they don't really do it for me."
"I love flowers," said Yoshino.
"Yeah, me too. I guess it's because I'm a flower too," said Lalamon.
"Anyways, let's ask around town about the Demon Lords," said Tohma.
The group split up and started to question the Digimon about anything they knew about the Demon Lords. The Digimon went about their lives, seemingly oblivious to the threat in the Digital World. "Yeah," said one Togemon to Tohma. "Some Digimon have seen demons wandering the Infinity Ice Ridge. They must be living in Mercuriusmon's old temple."
"I don't like those guys being there," said a Floramon to Chiaki. "They've caused a lot of destruction in the mountains in the east. Who knows what they'll do next? If you can take care of them, you would be doing us a great favour."
Rika travelled down a street with some grocery stores and banks. From her alley, she caught a brief glimpse of a demonic Digimon walking down the neighbouring street. This demonic Digimon wore a black leather jacket with pants and spiked boots to match. He looked much like a biker from the United States. He was far more dangerous than any ordinary biker and was armed with a pair of small shotguns holstered on his legs.
"Beelzemon?" asked Rika. "Renamon, go check it out."
"Got it," replied Renamon, having spotted Beelzemon too. She leapt onto the roof of a grocery store and landed on the sidewalk on the other side. Beelzemon's back was turned to him, unaware of her presence. "So it's you..."
Rika came through the alley just beside the grocery store and moved next to Renamon. "It IS him!" she said, certain that what she saw was very real. "Beelzemon!"
Beelzemon heard her calling and turned around. "Rika!" he exclaimed. "So you and Renamon are in this dump too?"
"Yeah, how did you get here?" asked Renamon.
"Some egomaniac named Chronomon pulled me and some other demon Digimon here to meet him," replied Beelzemon. "I didn't want any part of it so I left. I never expected to find you guys. Everyone is worried sick, don't cha know?"
"Yeah, but we can't go back yet, not with Chronomon's around," replied Rika. "As long as he's around, this will never end. We have to stop him for good."
"Hey, you'll get no argument from me," said Beelzemon. "I'm joining the team."
With their new information and a valuable new ally, the DATS team made their way up to the icy northern reaches of the Digital World. Here, in the Infinity Ridge, was the headquarters of the Demon Lords. After Mercuriusmon's death, he had left a power vacuum in the area. When Chronomon sought vengeance against Akira and DATS, the Demon Lords he had summoned made their base here. It was a perfect, isolated area where they could plot and conspire without interference from others.
The team trudged through the thick snow which remained after the frequent blizzards in the region. Eventually, they came upon the familiar ridge of mountains which hid Mercuriusmon's palace. Other than the cold snow falling upon them, the trip to this location was rather uneventful. The hole into the cavernous temple was open before them, as though beckoning them to enter, which they did.
The group wandered through the long stone path which ran over a ravine. The bottom was so dark that it was impossible to fathom how deep the ravine went, but it was certainly deep enough to kill those unlucky enough to fall in. The DATS team found very little resistance to their entry. It seemed that the Demon Lords either didn't know they were here or had little time to set up any defences. They continued on until they entered Mercuriusmon's throne room.
In this room were the remaining five Demon Lords, all gathered together in a circle around the room. "Looks like they've saved us the trouble of finding them," remarked Barbamon.
"Yeah," agreed Belphemon. "I am going to enjoy this. It's about time I got payback!"
"Now, now, Belphemon, don't hog all the fun for yourself," said Lucemon. "Save some for us."
"Yeah, don't get too carried away," said Leviamon. "I at least want enough bones to pick my teeth."
"Aren't you underestimating us just a little?" asked Akira.
"We're not exactly harmless," said Masaru. "We took you guys out before and we can do it again!"
"Yeah, we're going to send you back to the hole you crawled out of!" said Chiaki.
Gaomon, Lalamon, and Renamon all Digivolved into Ultimate form to prepare for battle. Following them were Darkfryer and Lillith, who became Chimeramon and Lady Devimon respectively. Chiaki invoked her spirits, transforming herself into Maridmon, the Unified Hybrid of Water. Beelzemon pulled out a pair of shotguns in preparation to fight. The Demon Lords prepared for their foes' approach.
Belphemon began the fight by extending a green-glowing chain at the group. The group scattered and upon hitting the ground, it burst into flames resembling flowers. Masaru snuck in during the first exchange of fire and delivered a solid pair of punches to Belphemon's shin. The disrupting power of Digisoul caused him to stagger backwards. In retaliation, Belphemon threw a hammer fist, but missed as Masaru retreated to use his Digisoul. In an instant Agumon went all the way to Ultimate, becoming Rise Greymon.
The giant dinosaur unloaded ammunition out of his gun barrel, knocking Belphemon down to one knee. "What's the matter?" taunted Masaru. "You seem weaker than before. Feeling down now that Kurata isn't around to help you?"
"Grrr..." growled Belphemon. "I don't need a puny human to destroy the likes of you!"
Belphemon unleashed a powerful blast of darkness from his open mouth. It clipped Rise Greymon in the chest, hurling him into the wall of the cavernous throne room. The impact shook ice loose from the roof. They fell randomly over the battlefield, hitting Leviamon on the back. "Hey! Watch what you're doing, moron!" he cried from the midst of a battle with Mach Gaogamon.
In his momentary distraction, Mach Gaogamon nailed him with an air blast. Though it knocked him down, Leviamon got up in short time, very pissed off about that sneak attack. Leviamon's tail lashed out, missing and tearing a chunk off of the wall. He tried again and caught his target in the ribs, sending him crashing into the ground. He went for another overhead tail swipe, but Mach Gaogamon rolled away and got up.
Taking advantage of this situation, Lilamon pelted Leviamon with a Lilamon shower. They were like little needles impaling the Demon Lord, but hurt enough for him to take offence to it. He whipped his tail at her, but missed and struck the cavern side. More ice fell from the roof, but none of it hit anyone. After he pulled back his tail, Leviamon spewed a toxic gas cloud. It engulfed her and caused her to gag. She fled to find cleaner air. Tohma channelled the winds and blew the poisonous fog back upon its master.
"As if that will hurt me," quipped Leviamon.
"Better you than her," remarked Tohma.
Elsewhere, Barbamon and Taomon engaged in battle. "He he he!" laughed Barbamon, as he fired a Pandemonium Lost from his staff, Death Lure.
The blue fireball missed and smashed Mercuriusmon's throne, reducing it into rubble. "Such a bad shot," remarked Taomon, mocking the Demon Lord.
She fired a Thousand Spells in retaliation. The paper talismans exploded all over Barbamon's body, causing increased damage from his demonic nature. "Bah, I've seen Baby Digimon who could hit harder than that. Watch how a pro does it!"
Barbamon waved Death Lure through the air. A bubble of darkness surrounded Taomon and began to draw her energy into it. She raised a barrier to keep the black magic from bleeding her dry. Even as she chanted a spell that would dispel it, her barrier began to spring leaks. The leaks caused pain, but not enough to break her concentration. Taomon eventually dispelled the bubble and removed her barrier.
In the meantime, Daemon jetted flames from his hands. The Evil Inferno produced some of the most intense, hellish flames that Darkfryer ever had to experience. Despite a natural resistance to fire, they were hot even for him. They wore him down and put him down to one knee. "Digivolve, he's too powerful for an Ultimate!" called Akira.
Darkfryer spit a Heat Viper at Daemon, forcing him to cover his face. He immediately ascended levels in golden light, transforming into his Mega form, Millenniummon. The dark chimera unloaded a Time Destroyer in retaliation, catching the enemy in chest. It propelled Daemon into the cavern wall and cracked it. Daemon peeled off and fell onto the ground. Just as he was getting up, Darkfryer was charging in. Darkfryer rammed Daemon into the wall again, putting an indentation at the point of contact.
Lucemon hurled a volley of Paradise Lost punches at his enemy, Maridmon. They hit so fast that they were like blurs. They were impossible to avoid. As the finishing move, he kicked her to the ground. Beelzemon shot him in the back. Lucemon lurched forward as the bullets dug in. He recovered and fired a positive beam which Beelzemon sidestepped.
Lucemon prepared spheres of light and darkness to mix for his Ultimate Sacrifice attack. Suddenly, Lillith as Lilithmon appeared before him. She released a Phantom Pain ghost on him. The ghost clawed at the Demon Lord of Pride, ripping precious energy from him. Lucemon dropped the spheres and began swatting at the ghosts. "I've got this one!" called Beelzemon.
He created a massive cannon, the Corona Blaster, and fired it into Lucemon's chest. The attack propelled him backwards towards the opposite wall. Before he hit it, Maridmon hurled her weapon after him. The trident impaled him to the wall. Lucemon crumbled into Fractal Code which Maridmon Digitized with her Digivice.
"One down, four more to go," remarked Beelzemon.
Maridmon watched the state of the other battles. "It looks like the others are getting it under control. Well, it couldn't hurt to help them," she suggested.
The fight between Belphemon, Masaru, and Rise Greymon continued. Rise Greymon spun his gun barrel before unloading ammo into the Demon Lord of Sloth. The shots pushed him back, but seemed to cause only minimal damage. Sneaking in, Masaru landed on Belphemon's head and dropped a barrage of punches. The hits stung enough for Belphemon to swat at Masaru. As Belphemon's hand came in, Masaru bailed out, causing the Demon Lord to slap his own forehead. When Masaru landed, he blasted Belphemon's face with a Digisoul beam.
He immediately used his new Digisoul charge on his Digivice. Rise Greymon immediately went up another level, becoming his Mega form of Shine Greymon. In preparation for the final blow, Masaru called the Geo Grey Sword onto the field. Belphemon hurled several retaliatory Lampranthus attacks which his target narrowly dodged. Shine Greymon got into place and unleashed a Glorious Burst. Stunned by the blow and momentarily blinded by the light, Shine Greymon fetched the sword and ran through the Demon Lord. It chopped Belphemon cleanly in half at the waist. His body separated and he crumbled into a Digiegg.
"Yeah! Score one for us!" cheered Masaru.
The battle against Daemon raged on, but was about to come to swift conclusion. Daemon had Darkfryer engulfed in a massive, hellish flame. It burned away at his flesh painfully, but Darkfryer held out. Through sheer force of will, he unleashed a darkness from his body, snuffing all of the fires. Akira linked Daemon and Darkfryer with a beam of violet light. It proceeded to drain Daemon and funnel it back to Darkfryer, healing him.
"I'm not done yet!" said Daemon.
"Wrong!" said an unknown voice. Just as Daemon recovered, Lillith appeared and clawed him in the back. Daemon fell to the ground and crumbled into data. "This is the end for you."
"Good work, Lillith," said Akira.
Having merged together, Rika and Renamon became Sakuyamon. The shamanistic Digimon unleashed foxes of four differing elements. Barbamon blocked them with a shield of fiery blue magical energy. In retaliation, Barbamon hurled blue fireballs. Sakuyamon raised a shield with enough time to spare. Beelzemon, sneaking in through the fighting, fired at Barbamon. The shots pushed him back, but didn't cause any serious harm.
Barbamon was irate. "So, is this why you walked out on the deal; to join them?"
Beelzemon chuckled. "That's right, buddy! I'm don't fight my friends."
"You're a fool! You should have joined us when you had the chance," said Barbamon.
"What, and be on the losing team? No way!" said Beelzemon.
"You'll regret that decision," remarked Barbamon, blasting Beelzemon into the ground with a blue fireball.
However, Barbamon's momentary lapse of attention gave Sakuyamon the opportunity she need. She hurled her foxes again, catching the Demon Lord of Greed off guard. They pierced through fatally and caused him to crumble to data. Sakuyamon went to check up on Beelzemon and lifted his torso off of the ground. "Ouch! That smarts, but at least I'll live," remarked Beelzemon.
Sakuyamon glanced over at a neighbouring battle, where Tohma and Yoshino were fighting the Demon Lord of Envy. Mirage Gaogamon punted the crocodile's head, dazing him. Rosemon flew in and speared through with a foil-like vine. The Demon Lord crumbled into data and vanished. "Good, all of the Demon Lords are gone," said Sakuyamon.
Beelzemon got up and rolled his head to work out the stiffness. "Yeah, we won this one," said the Demon Lord.
Sakuyamon separated into Rika and Renamon as Masaru and the others started to gather. "We're done with these guys, but I want to know where the big guy is so we can kick his butt too," stated Masaru.
"Yeah, I doubt Chronomon brought them out just for fun," said Tohma. "He must have another trick up his sleeve."
At that moment, an explosion resounded outside. The cavern walls shuddered from sheer violence of the blast. Some icy rubble tumbled from the roof, nearly hitting the group in the head. The group scattered to avoid being crushed. "We have to get outside!" cried Rika.
The group made a mad dash for the exit of Mercuriusmon's temple. The explosions seemed to increase in frequency and intensity as time went on. "Is someone trying to bury us alive?" asked Akira as he ran alongside the others.
"I have a good idea who might want to," answered Tohma.
The DATS team burst out of the cavern, somehow having escaped alive. They were now in the icy wastes of the Infinity Ice Ridge, along with the one who was attempting to cave in the temple. When they realized who was attacking the mountain, they immediately stopped. "Chronomon!" said Masaru.
"It's about time you rats came out. I was wondering if you had been buried alive, but it seems I flushed you out instead," said Chronomon.
"Can't you give it a rest?" asked Lillith.
"No, I will never forgive you! My Pearlfeather would never betray me like that. You turned her against me and I'll make you pay!" stated Chronomon.
"Whatever," remarked Masaru. "We're not going to lay down and die. It ends here!"
Chronomon opened the fight by breathing fire upon DATS. They scattered in several different directions to avoid being burnt to a crisp. They immediately Digivolved all of their Digimon to the highest level possible. With the field teeming with Megas or equivalents, DATS began their counter attack. Shine Greymon opened his team's offence by fanning open his wings and firing a Shining Blast.
Chronomon covered his face as the beams hit his body. Mirage Gaogamon, Darkfryer, and Lillith combined attacks and blasted Chronomon in the chest. The united attack put him on the ground. When he hit the ground, he sank into a pit of darkness and vanished. He reappeared and fired a beam of darkness into Beelzemon's back, planting the Demon Lord face first into the ground. Rosemon attempted to sneak in, but Chronomon beat her to the punch, backhanding her in the face.
"Beelzemon!" cried Sakuyamon. Chronomon suddenly turned to her and spewed fire. Even after having raised a protective barrier, the raging fires were taxing her reserves. "Ugggh..." she groaned as she collapsed onto one knee.
Before Chronomon could follow through with a finishing attack, Darkfryer blasted the Ripper of Time with Dimension Destroyer. Lillith followed up by summoning Phantom Pain ghosts onto Chronomon's downed body. Chronomon swatted several away before jetting flame to wipe out the rest. He got up and fired beams of concentrated darkness at both Darkfryer and Lillith. The attacks downed both of them, and the explosions sent Akira into the snow.
Maridmon rushed into assist, but was greeted by a blast of darkness. With the others down, only the DATS trio were still standing. "Are you guys okay?" asked Yoshino.
"We'll live, but our Digimon will need time to recover," said Akira as he took Yoshino's hand to get up. "He is extremely pissed off. He'll be hard to beat like this and we had no time to rest since the Demon Lords."
"It was a trap all along," said Tohma, understanding the situation perfectly.
"Indeed," agreed Akira. "Chronomon had it all planned out."
"Whatever," remarked Masaru. "We'll beat him even if he did get us in a trap."
Shine Greymon sent a Shining Blast directly for Chronomon's chest. It collided with a powerful explosion which dazed the Ripper of Time. After a momentary lapse of attention, Chronomon recovered. He expelled blasts of darkness from his palms, catching Shine Greymon in the side of the head. Chronomon rushed in during his stupor and tackled his victim into the snow.
Taking this opportunity, Mirage Gaogamon appeared behind and kicked Chronomon in the back of the head. It sent him crashing face-first into the snow, but the Ripper of Time recovered quickly. He breathed fire, but his victim zipped away before being singed. Chronomon noticed Mach Gaogamon appearing slightly above. When his opponent went for a kick, Chronomon grabbed his leg and swung him into the ground. Engulfing Mirage Gaogamon with fire, he forced his foe to revert into Gaomon.
"He's too strong, he's ignoring everything we throw at him," said Tohma.
"All of our Digimon are hurt, we can't keep this up," said Yoshino.
Akira looked around at all of the wounded Digimon. His own, Darkfryer and Lillith, still held their forms, but still haven't recovered enough to get up after their exchanges with Chronomon. They and Sakuyamon could barely stand. Chiaki and Impmon were unmoving, unconscious on the ground. Mach Gaogamon had reverted back to Gaomon and Shine Greymon and Rosemon still needed time to clear their heads.
"Looks like I have no choice," said Akira. "It's now or never."
Akira glowed with blue light, he released tendrils of blue light, the remaining energy of his True GAIA powers. The tendrils flowed into the Digivices and Digimon of Masaru, Tohma, and Yoshino. It energized both Digimon and partner, restoring the Digimon to top fighting condition. The human partners felt a new power surge throughout the very fibre of their beings. Chronomon paused in fear of what was going on.
"Whoa, what was that?" asked Masaru. "What power! It was amazing!"
"Oh yeah boss, I feel like I could take on a hundred Chronomon," remarked Shine Greymon. "Yes, I think I can go even higher than Mega!"
Akira collapsed face-first on the ground. "Akira!" cried Lillith.
"Akira!" said Yoshino and Sakuyamon.
"Forget me," he said. "I gave you the last of my True GAIA power reserves. I've unlocked a new Digivolution, a Burst Mode, for your Digimon. Use it to stop him!"
"We'll take care of Akira," said Darkfryer, propping up his master with his giant hand. "We'll leave Chronomon in your hands. Finish him off!"
"With pleasure!" said Masaru.
"Charge, Digisoul Burst!" called Masaru, Tohma, and Yoshino in unison.
Their Digivices unleashed great amounts of power as sparks of golden light. Their Digimon absorbed the power to transcend their limits. "Shine Greymon, Burst Digivolve to... Shine Greymon Burst Mode!"
"Gaomon, Burst Digivolve to... Mirage Gaogamon Burst Mode!"
"Rosemon, Burst Digivolve to... Rosemon Burst Mode!"
"Thank you, Akira! Now we have everything we need to take him down," said Shine Greymon.
"You're welcome," said Akira. "Now, finish him off, for the Real Worlds, the Digital Worlds, and Pearlfeather."
Unfazed by the new Digivolutions, Chronomon opened the attack. He hurled wispy blasts of darkness from his claws. The three Burst Modes scattered. Mirage Gaogamon hurled the spiked ball of his yellowy ball and chain weapon. Chronomon was forced to block, which hit his crossed arms with the force of a meteor crashing on Earth. The sheer power nearly bowled him over, but he stopped the ball and hurled it into Mirage Gaogamon. The wolf fell into the snow, but got up, shaking his head to clear it.
Rosemon sicced the Tifaret jewels on Chronomon. The pink spheres, once hovering around her, attempted to ram into him, only to be met by blasts of fire. The scorching flames repelled the jewels and forced them to return to their mistress. Chronomon pushed the flames forward, forcing her to bank away. Once safe, she immediately tried Aguichant Lvres, blowing kisses as pink hearts to the Ripper of Time. Chronomon smirked mockingly at this attack, until the hearts suddenly turned into beams which flew at him!
"What the..." he cursed as he barely raised his arms to shield himself.
The beams exploded all over Chronomon's body and the area around. "Don't underestimate me because I'm a girl," remarked Rosemon.
Rosemon's assault put Chronomon onto one knee, in trouble from his poor judgement. Beams of orange energy streamed out from Shine Greymon's palms. They pierced through Chronomon, puncturing a hole through the gut. As more beams hit, the hole enlarged devastating proportions. Chronomon collapsed to the ground, his form crumbling into data. After returning to their regular forms, DATS regrouped and tended to their fallen comrades.
A few minutes after, a great golden light shone upon the area, as though responding to the passing of Chronomon, the Ripper of Time. The ghostly spirit of Pearlfeather appeared and behind her was the spirit of Chronomon. "Thank you, Tamers, you have my deepest gratitude. With the passing of my love, most of the damage he had wrought will fade away, but some scars will still remain. When you return, you will be assimilated into new timelines. You will forget everything that had brought you to this point."
"So we won't remember each other and what we went through?" asked Lalamon.
"I'm afraid not," admitted Chronomon. "My experiments had permanently altered the timelines. Once you return, there will be some differences from your original timeline. You won't notice at all, since you will not remember anything that has happened here."
Tohma became concerned. "Is it possible that some of us won't even exist in the new timelines?"
"I'm pretty sure that all of you will still exist. Most of the differences will be in the details," said Chronomon.
"Yes, you can not remain in this timeline anymore. Now that my love is deceased, it will fade away. He will send you to a new timeline where you can continue your lives. We will not meet again, but thank you for all that you've done," said Pearlfeather. When she was finished her words, a soft white light engulfed everyone.
Akira was suddenly jarred awake by a bump in the road. "Whoa, almost fell asleep at the wheel!" he remarked.
Akira was driving his Digibeetle down the vast, vacant deserts of the Digital Core. His vehicle had hit a rock which caused it to shudder, waking him up from the sleepy monotonous environment. He remembered that he was out on patrol for the Guard Tamers. He gazed over the vast deserts with a newfound alertness. Somehow, he kept thinking that he was going to find something unusual, but never saw anything out of the ordinary throughout his patrol.
After debriefing at his base, he returned to the Real World, where he met one of his friends, Takato. "What's up, Akira?"
"Oh, hi Takato. I was just going out shopping. Say, have you been getting the idea that you're forgetting something?" asked Akira.
"Uh no, can't say that I have," replied Takato. He looked at his watch. "Oh great. Look at the time. I have to be home in 15 minutes and I still haven't seen Rika yet."
"Rika?" asked Akira. "Why do you need to see her?"
"I borrowed one of her cards yesterday. I was going to give it back after school but I got stuck in detention," replied Takato.
Akira sighed. "Takato, Takato..."
"I'll bet he was daydreaming about his girlfriend in class!" blurted Lillith impishly.
"No I wasn't!" objected Takato while turning beet red.
"Oh, you don't like her anymore?" asked Lillith. "I always think of the one I love..." Lillith began to hug Akira's leg tightly.
"Well, I never knew you had such a cat fetish, eh Akira?" asked Darkfryer. "Heh heh heh!" Akira promptly elbowed his partner in the head which ended his chuckling. "Ow!"
"Anyways, why don't you let me take that card to Rika for you?" Akira offered.
Hope filled Takato's eyes. "Really? Would you do that for me? You're a life saver! Thank you!"
Akira took the card and walked down the street until he came upon a large Japanese home. It was like a mansion from its size and was quite old fashioned due to its more Feudal Era style when compared to the modern buildings in Tokyo. The house was made mostly of wood that had been coated by a water resistant finish. A wall of cement ran around the grounds of Rika's home which marked the extent of the Nonaka family's ownership. In the centre of the home was a trimmed lawn with a stone walkway and a small pond surrounded by stones. A tomboy greeted Akira by the door.
"Hi Akira, do you need something?" asked Rika.
"Nah, I just came to return something to you," replied Akira, who handed Takato's card to Rika.
"Oh, this is my card. Thanks a lot. Did Takato tell you to bring it here?"
"Yeah, he just gave it to me a few minutes ago. He got held back in detention so I offered to take it back to you."
Rika groaned. "Oh that Gogglehead..."
"Rika, dinner's almost ready..." said a feminine voice, which belonged to Rika's grandmother, Seiko Hata. "Oh, we have company! It's nice to see you Akira. Why don't you stay for dinner?"
"Sure, I'd love to," said Akira.
END OF STORY
Dimensionally Shifted:
Everyone: Digital Asgard -> Home?