Chapter 24: The Rematch

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon

This time when the children left the transportation field their surroundings were quite familiar. They were back in the Forest Area, surrounded by tall trees on all sides. Now that they had come down from the mountains the children found it easier to breathe. Coredramon was slightly annoyed at the lack of room he was experiencing.

"It was easier to get around here when I was smaller," he complained.

"There are a lot of things worse than a bit of cramping," retorted Daichi. "If you were still small, the rest of us might have had a hard time getting around."

The other children laughed at their bickering, while Wizardmon and Sorcerymon looked about the area.

"I was never very familiar with the Forest Area," noted Sorcerymon. "It all looks the same to me."

"Then you should be grateful then, that I was sent here before instead of you, brother."

"The trees here look different from the ones near Seraphimon's palace," stated Seiichi. "We must be in another part of the forest."

"This is the southernmost part of the Forest Area. I know this because the vegetation here is unique to the warmer southern areas."

"Have you ever been here before?"

"No, but I learned much about the Forest Area from Shakkoumon. I had a knack for things like these. I was fortunate to learn the location of the temple here as well."

"I mostly served as Shakkoumon's scribe. My knack was more for organization and remembering details."

"So if you know the temple's location, what's keeping us?"

"Just a moment, I need to figure out our exact location. If I am correct, we shouldn't be that far away." Wizardmon then rose into the air and hovered above the treetops briefly. He looked around and then came back down. "Luck is indeed on our side today. The temple is a short distance south of here."

Wizardmon then began walking south, leading the others towards the temple. The distance between where they were and the temple was indeed short. It only took them a few minutes to reach it. There was a small clearing around the entrance. This temple was exactly the same as the others, save that the stone was yellow this time. When the clearing came into view, it was Hanae's Digivice that burst with light, bright yellow in colour.

"Hey, it looks like it's my turn to get one of those weapons," she said gleefully while hugging Dobermon.

Dobermon nuzzled her. "Good for you. With this I should be able to protect you from anything."

"Yup, that means it's good for you too."

"Do you want one of us to come with you?" asked Evan.

"No, I think it'll be okay. I don't see anyone around aside from us."

"Are you sure," persisted Ayame. "We would hate to see anything bad happen to you."

"I may be little, but I can't always rely on you guys to help me. I need to be able to do some things by myself."

Daichi smiled at Hanae and mussed her hair. "Atta girl, I'm sure you'll become really strong on your own."

With that Hanae walked into the clearing, followed by Dobermon. Just as they reached the temple doors, a voice called out 'Shock Net!' Streaks of lightning shot up out of the ground in between the trunks of the trees around the clearing. The lightning bolts traced up the trees and crossed over each other, turning the clearing into an electrified cage. The other children ran up to the clearing, but were stopped by the electricity. Daichi attempted to charge the cage, but ended up receiving a nasty shock.

"Are you alright Hanae?" called Ayame.

"Yeah I'm fine. I didn't touch the net," she responded.

Dobermon raised his hackles and growled; "There's something here."

At his words there was a slight rumble in the ground. Then, suddenly, a large axe burst forth from the ground, grasped by a green coloured hand. This hand had several metal bolts in it, one on each knuckle. The axe was laid on the ground as the arm pushed itself up with it. A small mound formed and then burst as the rest of the creature pulled itself out of the ground. Once it was out of the ground, the Digimon towered over Hanae and glared down at her. The rest of his body had bolts and other bits of metal stuck to it as well.

"Greetings Dobermon, we meet again," said the Digimon.

Hanae pulled out her Digivice and scanned this Digimon. The Digivice registered him as 'Boltmon', 'Mega', 'Data', and 'Thunder Tomahawk'. She then looked back at Boltmon, and began wondering how he knew Dobermon.

Dobermon snarled at Boltmon; "How do you know who I am?"

Boltmon chuckled, "I guess my new form isn't one you're familiar with. That being the case, perhaps this will jog your memory." Boltmon then moved his other arm to the side, revealing his chest. On his abdomen were three barely healed scars from what were obviously severe gashes. "You gave me these. Perhaps you'll remember now."

"You were the one in the forest on our second day here," blurted out Hanae. "You were the one who was hurting Wizardmon."

"You are quite correct little girl. After our little skirmish I returned to the Dark Area and told my master about you. He was impressed with my return, as I was the only Digimon who had fought against you children and lived. He then rewarded me with the power to evolve to this level and granted me the task of guarding this temple. I am very pleased, now that we get to have a little rematch."

"If you intend to hinder us then I shall have to destroy you." Dobermon then let out a howl and evolved into Cerberumon.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Boltmon took a step backwards and readied his axe.

"Go inside the temple and get the weapon. I'll hold him here."

Hanae nodded and ran over to the temple door. Boltmon made no move to stop her, focusing all of his attention on Cerberumon.

"It seems you've gotten a little stronger as well. That's good; I wouldn't have wanted this to be a complete slaughter."

Cerberumon hesitated briefly and then lunged at Boltmon. He held out his front claws and kicked his back legs for extra distance. Boltmon did not move from his current location. Instead he held his axe out, raising it in front of Cerberumon. His claws grazed the edge of the axe's blade, leaving small nicks in it. Unfortunately, Cerberumon's claws cracked from the collision with the axe. With a flick of his arms; Boltmon flung Cerberumon away from himself, breaking off the tips of his claws.

Boltmon lowered his axe and pointed the tip at Cerberumon, calling out 'Thunder Tomahawk'. A bolt of electricity shot out from the axe, shaped like a blade. Cerberumon responded by howling 'Emerald Blade', launching three balls of green fire at Boltmon. The two attacks collided in midair, exploding with a huge flash. When the flash faded, Boltmon charged at Cerberumon, swinging his axe forcibly.

Inside the temple, Hanae remarked at how it was exactly the same as the one from the city. Aside from the roof being intact, this temple was identical to the one in the city down to the smallest detail. She walked towards the altar at the back, where the weapon was housed. This weapon was a gauntlet with three long, sharp claws mounted on it. The claws were similar in design to the ones Cerberumon had on his feet. A bright yellow aura surrounded the claws.

Hanae observed the altar and read the inscription below the weapon: It read 'Amemit'. Her Digivice gave off a stream of light and dispelled the aura around the weapon. After that she stood on her tiptoes and reached for the claws. Just as she grabbed hold of the gauntlet, the doors to the temple were thrown open and Cerberumon leapt inside. All four of his claws were shattered and his body was riddled with deep cuts. He slowly backed towards Hanae.

"I'm sorry, I can't hold him any longer," he said before collapsing. After he fell, he turned back into Dobermon.

Boltmon kicked the door out of his way and sauntered into the temple. He hoisted his axe over his shoulder and held it there. His left arm hung limp with three sets of bite marks in his shoulder. He sneered at Dobermon and cracked his neck.

"That was pretty impressive for an Ultimate. Unfortunately, it's not quite good enough."

Hanae ran towards Dobermon and stood between him and Boltmon. She dropped the claw next to him and held her arms out as though to shield him. "Don't you touch him," she said in a demanding tone.

Boltmon smirked; "I won the duel and now I get the pleasure of finishing off my fallen opponent."

"I'm not going to let you hurt him. He's protected me many times, so now it's my turn."

Boltmon chuckled darkly; "What exactly do you plan to do against me?"

Dobermon twitched and raised his head towards Hanae. "Please Hanae, don't. He'll kill you."

Boltmon walked over to Hanae, dwarfing her by several feet. He swung his limp arm and knocked her to the side. Hanae was thrown against the temple wall and fell limply to the floor. Dobermon howled fiercely and kicked at the ground in anger. One of his front paws snagged the gauntlet of Amemit, causing a burst of bright light. Boltmon, blinded by the light, backed away from Dobermon.

'DOBERMON LEAP EVOLUTION!' He roared, 'ANUBISMON!' Anubismon, unlike his previous forms, stood on his hind legs. His head was that of a jackal, with a long black ponytail and a pair of tassels hanging past his shoulders. His body was adorned with several ornaments including a pair of cuffs on his upper arms, a sash around his waist and a brace on his neck. He had a pair of large, golden feathered wings on his back and his hands each bore three, clawed fingers. His right wrist bore Amemit while his left had a yellow jewel embedded in it.

Boltmon scowled at Anubismon and charged at him with his axe. Anubismon glared back but did not budge. When Boltmon was almost on top of him, bringing his axe forward, Anubismon slashed upwards with Amemit. The swing cleaved Boltmon's axe apart and threw him back outside through the temple.

Anubismon walked over to Hanae and picked her up in his left arm. The jewel in his wrist glowed softly and Hanae opened her eyes.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I think so," she said, "just a bit of a headache."

"I am glad to hear it. Thank you for trying to protect me, you were very brave."

"I didn't really do much though."

Anubismon simply smiled at her and then walked out of the temple. Outside, Boltmon was just getting to his feet, propping himself up on what remained of his axe. Anubismon set Hanae down and walked towards Boltmon.

"It looks like we get to finish our fight now. You're trapped in here until one of us is dead."

"We shall see who is trapped. Pyramid Prison!"

Anubismon held out the jewel in his left arm and a square of ground beneath Boltmon glowed brightly. From each side of this square a triangle rose up and folded inwards. The four triangles joined at the edges, trapping Boltmon inside a translucent pyramid made of yellow light.

Boltmon bashed his fists against the walls, attempting to break them. When his efforts proved futile, he smashed the broken handle of his axe against the pyramid in anger. Anubismon emitted a narrow, concentrated beam of light from the jewel which flew at the pyramid. When the beam connected with it, the pyramid flashed briefly and then shattered, along with its occupant. The shattered pieces then dispersed into streams of data.

As the net of electricity around the clearing dispersed, Anubismon reverted to Dobermon. Amemit, in the form of a small yellow sphere, entered Hanae's Digivice. As soon as the net was gone, the other children charged into the clearing. Hanae was checked over at least a dozen times by children and Digimon alike. Once the others were sure she was alright, they began to congratulate her.

"We saw you in action as Anubismon, you were great," exclaimed Betamon.

"Your Mega form is very impressive," added Coredramon.

"Thank you for your praise," replied Dobermon. "Hanae here deserves the credit though. She risked herself to protect me and, thanks to that, I was able to evolve and defeat Boltmon."

Daichi mussed Hanae's hair again. "See, told you that you would get strong."

"So, shall we get going?" proposed Coronamon.

In response, Hanae let out a long yawn and stretched.

"I believe it would be best if took some time to rest," said Dobermon. "Hanae took a rather nasty blow while we were in the temple. Even though she's fine now, I would still prefer some time for her to recover."

"It's getting kinda late anyways and we already picked up three weapons today. I say we call it a day."

The other children and Digimon nodded their agreement. Even Wizardmon and Sorcerymon agreed out of concern for Hanae's wellbeing. The group then proceeded into the temple to rest for the night.

Authors Notes: Tada; one more weapon, one more Mega. Only two left to go. You may have noticed that I made some slight changes to the attacks and designs of Anubismon. I again consider this to be a part of differentiating my version of the Digital World from the preexisting canon ones. I don't think they were all that drastic and I hope you won't hold them against me. As always, thanks for reading.

Revision Notes: This chapter once again showed me how much I seem to dislike using commas. Oh well, it's been fixed now.