Digimon Travelers

by tiakall

An original season with all-new characters and an all-new crisis unfolds! When zones of the Digital World begin appearing in the real world, children from around the world team up with a band of freedom fighter Digimon in order to save both worlds. But there's a problem-the cause is a war that's tearing the Digimon apart...

25. Chapter 25

Previously on Digimon Travelers...

The world's Digizones realize all at once, causing a global crisis of an unprecedented level. The DigiTravelers, a handful of children and their Digimon allies, spearhead the effort with their supporters all over the world to keep the two worlds from breaking out into war. New partnerships are formed and new allies join the fight. Thanks to their combined efforts, a tenuous peace is held. GrapLeomon shows up then to guide them to the Digital World and their final battle. But what place will they venture to next?

Their feet all landed lightly on the pathway of light which stretched before and behind. "Ashurimon's castle," GrapLeomon stated, pointing forward.

"We've been there before," Raptomon said. "Though this time, there won't be any turning back."

They all nodded in agreement, an unspoken promise. "Hey, look," Rusalkamon said, pointing. "I can see the other zones."

"They look like they're covered in an aurora or something," Andre said. "Is that the effect of them being in the human world?"

Milomon chewed on a finger. "Something like this can't be good for either world."

"I agree," GrapLeomon said, turning toward the castle. "Therefore, let us make haste."

Five humans and five Digimon followed, each quiet and solemn. Mirai, watching her partner, noticed her brooding expression. "GrapLeomon," she said at last, "if you thought the Digizones were harmful in the first place, why did you allow me to use them?"

"Have I ever stopped you from doing anything?" He continued walking without turning around. "You put your faith in the power of humans. Perhaps I, too, wished to see this mysterious power."

"Why didn't you try pairing up with the humans, yourself?" Milomon asked. "If you were curious about them."

GrapLeomon glanced back with a slight smile. "In another time and place, perhaps, that might have been appropriate."

The castle loomed closer as they approached, silent and dark. "I don't see any movement," Hestria said. "You'd think at the least they'd have some form of security."

"What's the point? You defeated Ishtarimon. There isn't any security that can stand up to you any longer, save possibly Nabimon and Ashurimon." With that, GrapLeomon walked up to the front gate, placing a paw on the thick wood.

"Even so, are you sure we should just be waltzing in like we own the place?" Felix asked.

It was Peledramon that responded. "More that there isn't a point to sneaking in. Nabimon will be aware. He'll confront us on his terms, no matter what we do."

Milomon let out a sigh as he walked through the gate. "How many times have I passed through these gates, I wonder. Before I got into trouble, anyway. I wonder what Mardukkimon saw in me that he brought me here. Not that I can ask him any longer."

"You couldn't tell?" GrapLeomon looked over at him. "It's because Asarluhimon is one of the Celestial Generals. Or has the potential to be, anyway."

"Surely you're joking. Why would I have the potential to be a Celestial General?"

"Because of who Asarluhimon was prior to the Sea of Chaos swallowing the world. Surely you sensed it yourself, when you were in that form. The five Celestial Generals, yourself, Ashurimon, and one other. You are all the same kind."

Milomon paused, regarding GrapLeomon askance. "What exactly do you know of me, before the Sea of Chaos?"

GrapLeomon looked at him, then continued into the castle's interior. "Only Ashurimon truly knows the details." Walking forward again, he then paused, his back to the group. "Youseimon. There is something I should tell you in regards to the detail of your birth."

"What do you mean?"

"I think you should start at the beginning," Felix said. "What's this Sea of Chaos swallowing the world thing? No one's really done a good job of explaining this."

"Some time in the past, the Digital World fell into crisis," GrapLeomon began. "Because of an overwhelming dark power, which brought the Sea of Chaos to this world to swallow everything. Ashurimon, who was the sole survivor of that catastrophe, had to start recreating the world by himself."

"But what does that have to do with me, GrapLeomon?" Youseimon asked.

He didn't answer right away. "When he began pulling the corroded data from the sea and forming it into the zones, so Ashurimon told me, he found something. A DigiEgg, untouched by the sea's toxic effects, for a reason he didn't know. That DigiEgg... turned out to be you."

"You mean she came from the sea?" Felix frowned. "She's not a mermaid."

"Who knows? That is what Ashurimon told me, and I believe him to be honest in this instance. It would explain why he hates and fears you, but also why he wanted to keep you alive. He wanted your secrets."

Youseimon pressed her lips together. "I have no secrets. I remember nothing from the time before I was born or any lives I might have lived prior. I know that my body isn't affected by the Sea of Chaos for some reason, but I don't know why myself."

"I figured that might be the case, even with you having progressed so much in such a short time. Still, I wish you could have told us what happened in those days."

"So you're saying that you don't trust what Ashurimon told you that happened?" Andre asked. "That maybe something else caused the Sea of Chaos?"

"No, that isn't it. On the contrary, I think he is truthful in that he was the opposing force to the Sea of Chaos's encroachment, and the only one who lived to tell the tale," GrapLeomon said. "The bigger problem is that we don't know what our world was like before the Sea of Chaos came. Even our 'ancient texts' were recreated from his knowledge and power. There's most assuredly bias in there. And there's also things that he may not know. I believe that Youseimon was a part of that prior world."

"It may very well be," Nabimon's voice spoke, seeming to come from all around. "She may be of that prior world. But that world no longer exists. In our world, she is nothing more than a glitch. She is a misplaced creation who does not obey our rules. She has only caused chaos and destruction."

"Shut your trap, asshole," Hestria snapped. "Get out here so we can properly pound your face into the dirt. We're busy people, so don't waste our time."

"Oh? How very confident you are, human girl. But you can't bluster your way around facts."

"You can't turn your opinions into fact just because you want it to be that way," Mirai said. "Youseimon is not a glitch."

"Then pray tell, how do you explain her existence? Her immunity to the plague upon our world, which no other resident in the entire Digital World has?"

"I can't disagree with him," Youseimon said, causing Mirai to look at her. "It's true that there's something fundamentally different about my code that allows me to survive the sea of chaos. It's true that I've caused problems for this world. But if you think I'm going to roll over and be deleted just because you tell me to-"

"Of course I wouldn't expect that. Glitches are notoriously hard to get rid of," Nabimon said. "To the point where they'd prioritize their own existence over anyone else. Even over the entire Digital World."

"Oh, shut up!" Andre shouted. "Who's prioritizing their existence over others? We have a very small group of humans and Digimon who are trying to keep these worlds from falling apart! What are you doing to help keep these two worlds from being permanently messed up, Mr. High and Mighty? Didn't you cause this problem by realizing all the zones at once?"

Milomon nodded agreement, looking to Youseimon. "There's a lot of Digimon out there putting their trust in you right now, to save their worlds. They believe in you, so don't get cold feet now, oh mighty leader."

"I had no intention to."

Nabimon sighed, and at last appeared before them, seemingly nothing more than a small, fragile old man. "As I thought, it's impossible to reason with someone who is incapable of such comprehension. It's time to clear the Digital World of you glitches."

Youseimon took a step forward, but GrapLeomon put out a paw. "Will you... let me handle this?" he said, his eyes on Nabimon. "I'll create an opening for you. You make your way to Ashurimon."

"You offend me, GrapLeomon. Lord Ashurimon thought highly of you," Nabimon said, raising a hand. "You were more trustworthy than any others. We even placed you in charge of the reeducation. To think that even you would glitch to this degree."

"My loyalty has always been to justice," he replied. "My only interest is seeing whose justice is true. Ashurimon's. Youseimon's. I have been watching them both. One of them will win this conflict, and the other will fade into history. I want to see which is which."

"You imagine Lord Ashurimon can lose?" Nabimon gave him a look down his long nose. "Where would you get such a stupid idea?"

"Why," GrapLeomon shifted into an offensive pose, "don't you ask Mardukkimon?"

Nabimon's eyes narrowed, and he didn't answer right away. "Go," he said to Youseimon. "I'll follow when I am able."

"GrapLeomon," Mirai began, but Youseimon took her hand, leading her away.

With only a slight pause, the others followed, slipping into a narrow hallway and closing the door behind them. "I know the layout of the castle," Peledramon said. "Ashurimon spends most of his time on the upper levels. I'll lead the way from here on."

They walked in quiet, partly from fear of being detected, either by Nabimon or some other party, and partly from being unsure of what could possibly be said. "Are you sure he'll be all right?" Milomon asked at last. "That's Nabimon he's dealing with."

Youseimon followed right behind Peledramon, keeping her back to the rest of the group. "No. I expect that he'll sacrifice himself to slow Nabimon down."

"Then shouldn't we go back?" Rusalkamon asked. "We can kikan shinka and work together to take him down, GrapLeomon doesn't have to die-"

Felix put a hand on her head. "We need to save our energy for the real fight," he told her. "This isn't going to be easy. Or pretty."

"Are you saying we should just leave him to die?" Milomon argued.

"We will not turn back," Youseimon said. "We can no longer turn back. We have a task in front of us. Going back would only waste his efforts in trying. It would be the highest disrespect we could pay to his spirit. And he is one that I must not disrespect."

Silence fell on the group again. Mirai, after the weeks turning into months that she had spent with her partner, could tell everything that she wasn't saying by the angle of her shoulders, the eyes which focused straight ahead. "He must be important to you," she murmured so that no one but Youseimon could hear as she put a hand on her partner's head.

"What are these rooms?" Felix asked as they moved up a corridor.

Peledramon turned back to look at him. "I'm not sure. Kuroko and myself didn't venture out more than we needed to."

Mirai cast a look over at the other Japanese girl. Kuroko's face didn't clue her in to anything - not the false arrogance, pain, indecision, conflict or extreme shyness she had shown before. Her eyes, too, were looking forward.

"Do you think we should take a look around?" Andre asked. "I mean, know your enemies, right?"

"Most of these rooms would be under Nabimon's domain," Peledramon said. "Ashurimon doesn't use most of the castle, but Nabimon runs all his projects."

"Why didn't you say that before?" Felix said. "We can use that, if we can figure it out in time. The secrets to his forced Digizone realization might be around here. Or possibly even his own weakness."

"I doubt he'll have a weakness that easy," Youseimon said, "but the point about the forced Digizones is very good. If we can find the power source that's running this program, it would make it easier for Harley and his team to disassemble it."

"Then let's take a look," Andre opened the nearest door, peering inside. "What sort of thing would we be looking for?"

"I don't know what Nabimon uses," Youseimon said. "We have a bunch of equipment, but Kokuwamon is the power source for our operations. It won't be that easy for-"

Mirai had opened another door, and turned to face Youseimon. "You said Kokuwamon, right?"

"Yes... But Kokuwamon is back at our central camp with Impmon, he's not here to help."

Mirai looked at her, then silently pushed the door open. Inside, computer equipment of some unknown origin, but that Mirai had seen before, lined the far wall. And working that equipment was Kokuwamon, electricity crackling between his pincers as he fed the program power. "Isn't that your ally?" Milomon asked. "What's he doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Hestria entered the room, Raptomon on her shoulder.

Kokuwamon looked up as she entered, then let out a squeak, attempting to hide under the control panels. "Oh! Strangers! Why are there strangers here?"

"What do you mean, strangers? We've met before!" Milomon stormed over to Kokuwamon. "You turncoat, why are you helping Ashurimon now?"

"Hold up, Milomon," Youseimon said. "That's a Kokuwamon, all right. But it isn't our Kokuwamon."

Milomon looked at her, then backed away from Kokuwamon, who was attempting to become as small as possible. "Hey, don't be afraid," Rusalkamon said, crouching next to the machine Digimon. "We won't hurt you."

It looked up at her, red eyes glowing. "Are you... Nabimon-san's friends?"

"Sure, we'll go with that," Felix said, taking a look at the monitors before pulling out his phone.

"When is Nabimon-san coming back?"

"He isn't coming back," Youseimon said. "What's the purpose of this program?"

"Oh." The red eyes dimmed briefly. "When is GrapLeomon-san coming back?"

Youseimon paused, then looked away. "He isn't coming back, either. What's the purpose of this program?"

"I think," Felix said, "though I'm no expert like Harley, that this is the same kind of code we took from Nabimon when we rescued Peledramon. It might be our culprit. I'm trying to connect with Harley now."

"Hello?" It was Saffron who answered. "Felix, is something the matter? We're a little busy." Behind her, Duftmon could be seen flying overhead.

"Nice to see you, too. Is Harley still working on the program?"

"Yes. But it's painfully slow. We're actually having more luck with the San Francisco police, which is saying something."

"We found something that might speed it up," Felix told her. "We found code that I think might be the active part of this on their end. I'm going to see if I can use my D-Tai to scan it somehow."

"Hold on, I'm passing you over to Harley."

The image on the screen spun around, and then was replaced with Harley's sleep-deprived face. "Okay, we should be able to do this. There's a data transfer function built in to the D-Tai. Do you know where it is?"

"I've familiarized myself with all of them, although I might not have used them all yet. Your girlfriend looks much better than you do, by the way."

"She always does."

Kokuwamon uncurled from the floor, looking on with interest as Felix pulled his phone out, setting it on the flattest part of the panel. "Hey, Kokuwamon," he said, "does this panel have a phone jack?"

It looked at him, then typed on the closest panel. A portion of the wall slid open, offering a cord to plug in. "Okay, Harley, you have incoming," Felix said.

"Oh!" Kokuwamon looked at the phone as it began transmitting. "Is that the D-Tai?"

"You know of it?" Milomon asked.

Kokuwamon reached for Felix's phone. "If it's just the D-Tai you're interested in, take a look at mine instead," Andre offered, holding it out.

A bit of electricity arced between the pincers as it took the phone lovingly, touching one hand to the screen. "This code has gotten so magnificient," it sighed happily. "Even beyond my expectations."

"What do you know of the D-Tai?" Hestria asked it.

"Oh. I'm the one that programmed it."

"Wait," Felix rounded on the Kokuwamon, "you made this? For what purpose? What all did you program into this?"

"I don't really remember," Kokuwamon said, its eyes dimming. "It's become so much more than it was. Like Digimon themselves, the D-Tai is a program that evolves. It's made in part from Digimon code."

Felix put a hand to his chin, digesting that. "You should leave here," Mirai told the Kokuwamon. "It's dangerous here. If you leave, you can be free."

"Free?" It tilted its head. "I am not allowed to leave this room."

"That Nabimon," Milomon growled. "Well, you can leave now. Nabimon isn't giving orders any more."

"But what about GrapLeomon-san? He is the one who told me I must remain here."

Milomon paused, glancing over at Youseimon. "You should leave this place," Youseimon told the Kokuwamon. "Not because anyone ordered you to. Not because anyone ordered you not to. Think for yourself in the future."

"She's right," Milomon said. "You must have family or someone to return to, right?"

"I don't know family," Kokuwamon said. "I don't know what's out there. Isn't it scary?"

"It is scary," Youseimon agreed. "And it's painful. But it's also joyous and wonderful. The freedom to choose your own path, and the things you will experience on that path, are both things that you can only experience for yourself. No amount of description from us will tell you enough."

Kokuwamon looked at her, and the rest of the group. "What do you want to do?" Rusalkamon said. "Is there something you want?"

The eyes went so dim, Mirai thought they'd gone out altogether. "The D-Tai... Its code is out there. I wouldn't mind seeing all the ways it's evolved."

"Then go." Youseimon stepped back, and the rest of the group did as well, clearing a path to the door.

Kokuwamon looked around, and then stood up on its stubby legs, walking out the door. "You should have invited him to join your group," Andre said.

"I don't have that right," Youseimon replied. "It was because of me that GrapLeomon had the D-Tai program made, after all."

"I'm not saying that I like his methodology," Milomon said, "but you saw that Kokuwamon's face, right? He was proud of what he'd made. So I don't think it was all bad."

The corners of Youseimon's mouth twitched. "He wasn't proud of anything, since that Kokuwamon was female."

"... How can you tell?"

"I've finished scanning the code," Felix announced, disconnecting his phone from the jack. "So we should probably get a move on and let Harley's team handle the rest of that."

"This way, then." Peledramon slithered onto Kuroko's shoulders, pointing toward the hallway.

Mirai paused as the others filtered out of the room, looking to her partner. "Youseimon?" She couldn't see her expression as Youseimon's back was turned, but she knew the slump of those shoulders.

"Well," she said, more to herself than to Mirai, "I never expected that he was perfect."

"You've all had to do difficult things." Mirai briefly touched her shoulder. "Let's go. We'll make it so those difficult things aren't as numerous in the future."

Youseimon turned to look at her, and smiled. "Yes, you're right."

Peledramon's direction led them upstairs, and then out into a massive open room, lined with columns and set in marble. "Fancy," Felix observed. "This the throne room or something?"

"It's an audience hall, yes," Kuroko spoke up. "The King sometimes sees visitors here." Then realizing she'd addressed his question, she ducked away behind Mirai.

Felix raised his eyebrows. "We're not going to eat you, you know." Then looking over at Hestria, he added, "Well, she might."

"Laugh it up, Canada boy."

Andre put his fingers to a temple. "Just ignore them, Kuroko. You're here with us. That's enough of a show of trust in you that you should feel free to speak."

"He's right, Kuroko-san," Mirai said. "You're part of the team."

She gripped Mirai's sleeve, not looking up, but her expression seemed pleased. On her shoulders, Peledramon snapped to attention, leaning forward. "I smell data."

"Data?" Felix held up his phone. "Something else related to their programs?"

"Not that kind of data," Youseimon told him. All of the Digimon were now tense, on alert, focusing on the doorway at the front of the hall. "The human equivalent, I suppose, would be the smell of blood."

Mirai felt herself growing just as tense as the Digimon looked. From the hallway, they heard footsteps that approached, and then the door opened. She held her breath, a breath that caught in her throat as Nabimon stepped inside, looking just as he had before. "That's enough," he said to the group, his voice a deadly calm. "This is as far as you go."

"Where's GrapLeomon?" Milomon demanded of Nabimon.

"He is in the same place I am about to send all of you." He unfurled the scrolls from his sleeves. "Oblivion."

"So be it, Nabimon." Youseimon's shoulders trembled, her hands clenching into fists, but her voice was just as calm, and just as filled with murderous intent. "If you want a fight, I will make you regret that for the rest of your short life."

"Let's kikan, everyone," Mirai said. She pulled out her phone, and the others followed.

After a pause, Kuroko held hers out as well, her arm trembling a bit. Andre took her free hand, holding onto it. "Don't be afraid. It'll work out."

"That's not what I'm afraid of."

"Then don't be afraid," he told her, "because you belong here."

With a wave of his arm, Nabimon sent the scrolls flying at the Digimon, but the light from the D-Tais poured fourth all at once. Red, blue, green, purple, and yellow all came together, bouncing off each other and growing more intense, deflecting the scrolls as if they were merely the paper they appeared to be. Titanimon, Asarluhimon, Enchantemon, and Hoatzimon emerged from the light, and then the one that had been Peledramon came forth as well, seeming to shatter the air around herself.

Larger than Hoatzimon or Asarluhimon, she made the massive audience hall look small. Her appearance reminded Mirai of a Chinese dragon, similar to her other forms, but this time a deep, darker blue than Peledramon or Betedramon, with fur that sparkled in the light. Clouds hung from her claws like tufts of fur. "Peledramon, kikan shinka to... Asteridramon."

"Do as you like," Nabimon said. "It won't help you. Destiny Record!"

"Midsummer's Calm!" Titanimon brought her spear up, and the scrolls fell to the ground, as if they were snakes that had been tamed.

"Going to need more than that, old man!" Enchantemon told him. "Riding Hood's Wolf!" Her shadow elongated, taking on the form of a wolf, teeth and claws outstretched as it dove for Nabimon.

"Unwritten Calling," he said, circling one of the scrolls around the attack, squeezing it into nothingness. "Two can play at that game."

"Let's see how you handle more, then. Bird of Paradise!" Hoatzimon shot at him from the right.

"Thuban's Sorrow!" Asteridramon drew her clouds together, sending a funnel of black toward Nabimon from the left.

"Kelmh Aleseth!" Asarluhimon took to the sky, hovering overhead and directing the many metal swords of his wings at Nabimon from above.

"Unwritten Calling." Nabimon's scrolls took all three at once, and though the force of the wind from Asteridramon's attack pushed him back, he remained unharmed.

The five humans watched as the Digimon clashed, the level of their power throwing the air around in violent winds. Andre lifted his gun, sighting it, then lowered it. "No good. I can't get a clear shot."

"It probably wouldn't do much good," Hestria told him. "This is beyond the level of humans. There isn't anything we can do right now but watch."

"And it's turning into an endurance match," Mirai said as she watched Titanimon nullify another attack of Nabimon's. "Who's going to wear out first?"

"No, that's not true," Felix said, his eyes taking in every detail of the rapidly-moving fight. "There's still something we can do in this battle."

"What did you have in mind?"

He gave her a smile, tapping a finger against his temple. "We use the thing between our ears. I think I'm getting an idea, but I need some help. Who thinks they can get over to the two sides of the hall, where the windows are, without getting killed?"

"I can handle that," Hestria said.

"I'll go too," Kuroko spoke up. When Felix looked over at her, she didn't shy away, but pressed her lips together. "I want to help, too."

Felix glanced to Mirai, who nodded agreement. "All right. Everyone hold onto your phones; we're going to use the D-Tai to communicate."

They all watched the screen as Felix typed his instructions, then gave them a nod and a grin. Kuroko and Hestria looked at each other before moving off without a word, Kuroko to the left and Hestria to the right. Felix sat down cross-legged, his phone resting on his knee as he kept one eye on it and one eye on the battle. "I don't know what you're planning," Mirai said, "but I know well enough to trust your plans."

"Why, thank you, oh mighty leader. Let's just hope your partner feels the same."

"She will."

His phone beeped, and from her position halfway down the hall, Kuroko gave him a V-sign. "Okay, let's see if we can pull this off."

Felix sent his instructions, and then each of the team typed in their messages to their partners, instructing them of the battle plan. Although they didn't respond in words, they all looked to Titanimon briefly, who looked over at Mirai, giving her a brief nod. Mirai gave her a thumbs up in return.

Titanimon landed opposite Nabimon, positioning him between herself and Kuroko's side of the wall. He sent his scrolls at her again, but instead of breaking his attack, she charged in full-on, using her spear to slice through some but not all of the wrapping, clinging scrolls. Even as she did so, Asarluhimon launched his attack, barely missing them both as it impacted against the far wall.

"Quetzalcoatl Heart!" Hoatzimon drew her wings back, filling the room with a powerful wind force.

"Thuban's Sorrow!" Peledramon added her attack, pushing it to even higher forces.

"Swan's Wild!" Enchantemon pulled a white feather from inside her hat, flinging it out and letting it multiply into a vortex that connected with the other one.

The three attacks converged on Titanimon and Nabimon, pushing even harder, flinging them both through the hole in the wall. Once outside, Titanimon used the tornado to push them down, into the Sea of Chaos below. The pair disappeared with a splash, the waves settling almost as soon as they vanished under its surface.

"I hope this works," Asteridramon said, landing near the hole and looking out.

"There's probably only two Digimon in the entire world that can survive the Sea of Chaos," Asarluhimon said. "Nabimon isn't one of them."

The rest of the group came to stand by the hole, watching and waiting. "What do we do if she doesn't come up?" Hoatzimon asked.

"What can we do?" Enchantemon shook her head. "We can't survive the sea ourselves, even at our level."

"Don't worry." Mirai had her phone in her hand, pointing it out at the sea. "I'll know if something happens."

At last, the water's surface broke, and Titanimon shot into the sky, coming to land on the edge of the floor, collapsing into a sitting position. Injuries were apparent on her back and wings. "Titanimon!" Enchantemon said in alarm, kneeling next to her. "Did the sea hurt you after all?"

She shot them a look. "What do you mean, did the sea hurt me? This was all of you," she said, flicking her wings for emphasis.

Enchantemon let out a little laugh as she pulled the other humanoid Digimon to her feet, supporting her weight. "I'm fine," Titanimon complained, "I just need a moment to rest."

A splash from the sea caused them all to turn, and Nabimon latched onto the edge of the hole, pulling himself up hand by hand. Unlike Titanimon, his exposure to the sea was evident; data leaked off his form like steam rising from a pot. "You truly are a glitch," he ground out. "I cannot die... not without protecting Lord Ashurimon...!"

"Get away!" Asarluhimon swatted his partner back with a paw, shielding him with his wings. The others reacted similarly, Asteridramon taking the time to swat Nabimon away. It was just in time; even as he fell away from the wall, Nabimon's body turned white, then exploded outward with a massive quantity of energy. Shockwaves rippled through the hall and the castle, breaking the walls and columns apart.

Hoatzimon spread her wings, trying to shield her partner and Titanimon and Mirai at the same time. Through the dust and the debris, she heard Asteridramon squeal, her head and shoulders pelted with heavy rocks. Moments later, Kuroko let out a cry as well. "Kuroko!" Mirai called, then coughed as dust went in her nose and mouth.

"Over here!" Felix's voice sounded muffled, and as the dust cleared, she could see him and Enchantemon, trying to deal with the rocks that had fallen on the pair. "Hestria, come give me a hand," Felix grunted as he attempted to pull on the rock trapping Kuroko. "You're the muscle here, right?"

She shot him a look, but took in the shape of the rock before putting her shoulder to it. "Someone come give me a hand with this. Felix, you make yourself useful and pull her out once we get this up."

Andre joined Hestria, Mirai on her other side. Together, the three of them pushed against the rock, levering it up. "It's a good thing I'm not some out of shape fat kid," Felix huffed as he held Kuroko under her arms, pulling her back. "Otherwise this might be kind of awkward."

Slowly, the three set the rock back down. Mirai looked over at Asteridramon, but the other Digimon had already cleared the larger rocks off of her. "Where's it hurt?" Andre asked as he looked her over.

"Just my leg..." she winced as Andre put a hand to it, looking it over.

"It's not obviously broken," he said after a moment, "but it's clearly going to be badly bruised at the best. Could be cracked or chipped. It'd be best if we could keep you from putting weight on it. Anything around here we could use as a crutch?"

"Broken building materials," Felix said, "but I wouldn't be shoving any of that in my armpit."

"I'll carry her," Hestria said after looking Kuroko over. "She's pretty tiny."

Felix laughed, patting her arm. "Hestria to the rescue."

"Don't make me hurt you, Canada boy. There isn't anyone to carry your ass around."

The Digimon joined their partners, all reverting to their Child forms. All looked exhausted, but pleased. Felix, however, didn't. "I knew we shouldn't have fought that guy, though. You guys are already tired, and we haven't even seen Ashurimon yet."

"Just think positive," Rusalkamon told him, taking his hand in hers. "If you stay strong, we will too."

Youseimon nodded agreement. "Our data reacts to your emotions. If you keep your spirits up, we'll recover faster."

"Yeah. But will it be fast enough?"

Andre spoke, his voice chilled. "No. I don't think it will be."

Mirai turned to follow his gaze, and then she saw what had made him gone still. Two hooves that clacked softly against the bottom of the stone stairs, a man's figure taller than Titanimon or Enchantemon, with a lionlike face and paws. A disc of light hovered behind him like a halo, and two bull-like horns rose from his head. But more than that was the aura that entered the room with him, the sense of presence that threatened to flatten all before it without even trying. The presence of a king.

"Ashurimon."