The path to the Harmonious Ones was nothing short of impressive. It was a blinding white pathway with a white door at the end. Plain as it was, it gave off an ambiance of brilliance and goodness that filled the soul and mind. Maia walked forward and stopped in front of the doors. It was her own personal pathway to the Digital Worlds guardian's gods, but she felt hesitation. She took a breath and opened the door.
From the white pathway, the doors opened up into a rocky hill. The sky above was a dark shade of blue, like night just casting off the last rays of the dawn. "Step forward!" A commanding voice said. Maia did as she was told and stopped at the cliff edge. In the distance, four shapes appeared. The shadowed shapes grew larger as the digimon approached. Standing and floating before her was a dragon, a turtle, a tiger, and a phoenix.
Each of them had a grand appearance. The dragon was a shade of blue, a cloudy celestial substance with chains surrounded its long, snake-like body. A long wispy beard hung down and a helmeted horned crest like a lighting bolt adorned his face. He was Azulongmon of the east.
The turtle looked just about the same as a normal turtle, shell, tail, and all, but instead of one head, two craned out of the shell that strangely had a large tree sprouting out of it. Each head looked around the area showing off a wise gleam. He was Ebonwumon of the north.
The Tiger was a strong, sturdy creature. He was well built, with fierce claws poking out of its front and back legs. His fur was the color of steel with the usual stripes belonging to creatures of the order felidae. He was Baihumon of the west.
Lastly, the phoenix had feathers the color of flame. He had six wings which were neatly folded to his side. The spark in his eyes showed a bit of impatience and a will to act. He was Zhuqiaomon of the south.
Different as they were, all of them shared two features. Instead of two, they each had four eyes. In Ebonwumon's case, he had two for each head. Several glowing balls hung from or around their bodies. They were no ordinary balls, however for they were the nuclease of power known as digicores. Maia held her face in a permanent state of seriousness. Impressive as these beings in all their glory were, she was used to dealing with deities of this level.
Zhuqiaomon turned his gaze to Maia. "We are here to discuss your recent crime."
"Crime?" Maia repeated. "Yes, you helped the digidestined and disrupted the balance of this world." Zhuqiaomon continued. Maia was aghast. "Disrupted!? I was simply ensuring this world survives!" Maia yelled defensively.
"But as you know, as guardians of this world we merely must defend the balance, not interfere directly with the actions of the inhabitants below." Baihumon added.
Maia straightened herself, keeping her composure as best she could. "Well aren't you the guardians of this world?"
Ebonwumon craned one of his heads in the direction of the girl. "Yes that's true, but if we interfered, the inhabitants would be coming to us for every little problem." One of Ebonwumon's heads stated. "Yep, then they would turn into a bunch of helpless mon, they would." The other head quipped.
"Regardless, those children are the only hope the Digital World has. Furthermore, one of their own has become tainted. It was a dire circumstance!" Maia argued.
Zhuqiaomon ruffled his feathers, making him look even angrier then his demeanor already did. "More to the point, humans are dangerous and destructive! I don't understand why the homeostasis resigned this world's protection to human children, particularly one of Dagomon's blood."
"The boy was swayed by the powers of darkness. He was too weak to resist." Maia replied defensively.
Azulongmon had remained silent throughout the entire meeting. He cleared his throat to gather everyone's attention, and they all looked at him. "My brothers, the data child known as Maia has committed an offense on our part. The higher powers of the Digital World may not directly interfere with the fates of the Digital World's inhabitants, human or not."
Maia looked up, while Zhuqiaomon resigned himself, looking eager to exact a proper punishment. "But like her, we too are responsible for maintaining the balance of the Digital World. Darkness and light are always at odds with each other. If the Digidestined had not been rescued, than darkness would overrun it. So in essence, Maia has done just that. Lest we not remember our creator stepped in to seal the evil one away." All four gods looked to the center space as if something belonged there.
"You do make a point there Azulongmon." Ebonwumon's left head said. "Yep makes a point he does." The other head quipped.
Baihumon looked to the two Harmonious Ones. He looked unsure of what to say, like an indecisive child almost. "Perhaps you are correct. I say we rescind the action of punishment." Baihumon agreed.
Zhuqiaomon flapped his wings, ruffling he feather again. "Inconceivable!" He screeched. "Fine, but when the world comes crumbling down, you'll have wished that this human sympathizer received what she deserved!" With that, the phoenix flew off.
Maia bowed to the remaining digimon with respect. "I thank you." She turned around and left the room just as the other Harmonious Ones vanished to calm down their (most likely) infuriated brother.
Maia was glad that went well, for the most part. She expected that reaction from Zhuqiaomon. The easily angered bird didn't think so highly of humans, finding them a filthy, evil race. Azulongmon being on her side was something she did expect. The azure dragon was more or less the leader of the quartet. Baihumon and Ebonwumon both young and old in order of hatching seemed undecided in Zhuqiaomon's decree, but their belief in maintaining this world's order pulled them to Azulongmon's words. Narrowly escaping possible deletion, she just hoped the children had been just as lucky.
---
Kazuya groaned as he awoke. He hadn't counted how many times this had happened, but he knew it was a lot...too many for his taste. It was redundant being teleported away and dropped in some unknown location. Like all the other times, he got up. Adjusting himself, he looked to see that everyone else was just waking up.
"Hey guys!" He called. Everyone rose faster, hearing their leader. "I'm getting really sick of this." Jun commented. She swayed a bit as she arose. "Dang, those bats really drained me. What did he call that attack?" Penguinmon waddled up to her, swaying as much as his partner. " "Grisly Wing" I think he called it."
Jun rubbed her arm, remembering the pain she and Penguinmon shared from the attack. "Grisly? More like a "Night Raid." " Jun remarked.
Sho was the next to rise, but not before giving a small whine of pain. He rubbed his chest. Labramon remembered how Myotismon had painfully kicked her. "Sho-chan, are you okay?" She asked. Sho rubbed his sore spot and smiled. "I'll live." The boy moved his hand and felt something. He looked to see he was touching a large grey object...a body. Recoiling in surprise, he rose (painfully) and saw it was someone familiar.
"NeoGenkimon!" Kazuya had forgotten about him. The digimon was still colored grey from the paralyzing attack performed on him. Kazuya rushed to his digimon, and tried to shake him awake. "Come on, man. Speak to me!"
Kazuya's shakes and shouting didn't even cause a stir. To Kazuya, it was extremely unsettling to see his partner in this color-drained state. He turned around, hoping to find that his friends had any suggestions. His eyes immediately met the glassed face of Sakura. Kazuya realized that he had completely forgotten about her. He was being rather forgetful today, but that was to be expected after being warped from one place to the next without warning.
Kazuya immediately noticed Sakura's look. Like his digimon, it was like the very life had been drained from her. Except it was only her face, and not her whole body. Fairydramon immediately flew by and landed on NeoGenkimon's chest. "His heart's still beating." She said. Concern and worry was evident in her voice. "Essentially, he's alive, but unless something is done, he'll probably stay like this."
All eyes immediately turned to Labramon. "What?" She asked. "Labramon, use your "Cure Beer" or whatever it was called." Said Kazuya. "It was Cure Liquor, actually." Labramon corrected. "Oh yeah, so come on, please. You're probably the only one who can help him." Kazuya pleaded.
Labramon shifted her paws uncomfortably. She didn't want to use this particular technique for reason only she knew, but she couldn't leave a friend in a condition like this. What else could they do, carry him? Sighing, she walked over to NeoGenkimon. Closing her eyes and puffing out her chest with her head held high, she said, "Cure Liquor." The rainbow colored particles flowed from her glowing body and onto NeoGenkimon. Slowly, the gray washed away into color. Then, instantly his body glowed, shrinking back into Gazimon.
Kazuya and Sho each ran to their partners. Kazuya, because he was happy his partner was okay and Sho because his had just collapsed. Sho shook her, wincing at his own pain, but unconcerned with it. Labramon raised her head and smiled, giving Sho a lick across the cheek. She was fine.
Gazimon immediately bolted up. "Where is he?!" He asked frantically. "Relax, we're safe." Kazuya reassured. Gazimon looked around and saw that Kazuya was correct. Then, he looked at himself, noticing he was Gazimon. "How come I didn't turn into Pagumon?" He asked. Labramon and Penguinmon had the same question. The last time they turned into Ultimates, they regressed into their In-Training forms.
"Maybe your bodies are used to the transformations now." Sho theorized. That sounded reasonable enough, so they accepted it. Silence encompassed the moment, as no one knew what to say. The last series of events had come at them like a train. No one felt this more than Sakura.
"Okay, if no one is going to speak, then I'll say it. That sucked." Said Jun. "I Just didn't think Chiisi would turn into a traitor."
"Chiisi is not a traitor!" Sakura shouted, speaking up for the first time. "Then what do you call that?!" Jun tersely asked. "He gets a growth spurt and then orders his digimon to kill us!" Sakura lost her words for the moment, not sure of what to say. She didn't like thinking about that moment. But it happened and it was on everyone's mind.
"Why did Myotismon call him "my prince"? Sho asked. "I don't think it was a term of endearment."
"So what, the kid is royalty?" Jun asked, albeit jokingly. No one had a response to that. There was a lot of questions and doubt, but Kazuya at last spoke his opinions. "Look, Chiisi is not a traitor." He simply stated. "I've known him long enough."
"Easy for you to say. Sanbara and I only met the kid at summer camp." Jun replied. Kazuya looked to the girl, ready to deliver his own smarmy comment. But he changed, seeing as the moment did not need that kind of response. "Chiisi is one of us, a digidestined. And I'm not going to leave a teammate behind." Kazuya said affirmatively.
Gazimon stood by his partner with the same look. "I'm with ya, even though he nearly killed me. Myotismon's still DemiDevimon." The humans blinked while the digimon shared their thoughts. "Gazimon and Kazuya are right! They're our buddies, we can't just forget about them!" Labramon yipped.
"Well, I guess." Penguinmon agreed.
Fairydramon looked at Sakura. Her expression still looked melancholy and depressed. "I agree with Kazuya." She simply stated. "No matter what has happened to our teammates, it's our duty to bring them back to their senses."
Kazuya smiled his typical smile of accomplishment. "All right then, let's move out! The only other option is to find out where we are." Despite a few lingering doubts, everyone followed the goggle-headed teenager. Kazuya himself felt truly like a leader. The situation seemed bleak, but Kazuya was the kind of person that never gave up hope. Sakura formed a slight smile. She was feeling a little better, but not much. As they walked, Sho knelt down, clutching his chest in pain.
"Sho-Chan!" Labramon ran to her partner. "We'll catch up!" She called to the others. Sho rubbed the sore spot, wincing and groaning at the same time. "Lift up your shirt." Labramon said. Sho lifted his shirt. There was a large bruise on his chest which was blue with purple just around the edges.
"Eww it looks bad, but I can fix that." Labramon put her nose to it softly so as not to cause harm to Sho. "Cure Liquor." The rainbow particles spread and the bruise was gone. When the technique was finished, Labramon panted a bit like she was out of breath.
"Labramon." Sho grabbed his digimon, afraid she was going to collapse again. He felt no pain in his chest, but his worry was more on his digimon. Labramon looked into her partner's concerned eyes and giggled in her typical manner. "I'm fine Sho-chan."
"Hey guys, hurry up!" Kazuya shouted to the pair. "Coming!" Sho shouted back. Sho and Labramon sped up their pace to catch up to their compatriots. "Say Labramon, how come you were so nervous to use your "Cure Liquor?" Sho suddenly asked. Labramon held her head down. "Well you see, using that puts a bit of my data into healing the wound, that's why I get exhausted. The bigger the wound, the more tired I get."
"So you're afraid of getting tired? Well you seem to recover just fine, besides you're a great healer." Sho stated. Labramon smiled at that praise. "Thanks, but if I heal a really big wound, there's a chance I could die." Sho stopped walking. He looked at Labramon feeling a bit guilty about letting her heal his bruise. Now he would have rather waited until it healed naturally.
"It doesn't matter though, healing you is no problem for me." Labramon looked up at Sho with an affirmative shine in her eyes that said love. "I would gladly die for you." Sho blinked at her statement. Die for him? This took him aback, but she was his digimon partner, sworn to protect him at any cost. Although he hoped Labramon's loyalty would not come to that, he smiled and nodded.
---
The grey skies never changed, setting the dreary mood over the dark land. This didn't bother its prince however. No, he took in the salty air as he gazed over the Dark Ocean, his father's kingdom and by extension his. Chiisi...no, that was the person he once was, lost himself in his thoughts. His mind replayed back the fight before. Why, he didn't know, but his thoughts always paused on her face. The sorrowful expression with her eyes brimming with tears. He frowned. "Why can't I forget?" He asked no one.
"Still thinking about that?" He looked up. Myotismon, his partner, stood by overlooking the sea along with him. His cape folded slightly, flapping in the breeze. "You must be too if you brought it up." Chiisi muttered turning away. Myotismon chuckled softly then groaned wearily as he fell to his knees.
"Myotismon!" Chiisi knelt down next to his partner. "Are you alright?" The vampire nodded. "I don't know why, I just felt tired all of a sudden." Chiisi put a hand to the digimon's chest. His face showed concentration then switched to understanding.
"I used the power of darkness to push you past your limits." Chiisi looked at him. "Limits?" He replied, almost as if his human or rather, half-human had told a joke. "Yes. You may be a powerful Ultimate, but even you have power limits."
"My son, it is time." Chiisi felt the mental prick in his brain. "What?" Myotismon inquired. Chiisi rose, gazing back to the sea. "Father is calling." He replied. Myotismon rose to follow, but knelt down again, holding his chest as if he had lost his breath. "No. You stay here and rest. I'll excuse your absence." Chiisi said with reassurance.
Myotismon held up a hand. "No need. I'm not your father's servant. My loyalty has always been and will always be, to you my prince." Myotismon spoke that with pride and resolve. No more words passed between them and a few seconds later, the prince walked down and into the ocean, heeding his father's call.
---
"Hey, check this out!" Kazuya called back to the group. They had walked forward and like before, didn't know where to go. For them, walking until something appeared had become the norm. So far it had worked. An assortment of buildings appeared ahead.
"You think it's a town?" Sho asked. Labramon sniffed. "Well, I smell digimon, so probably." The closer they walked, the clearer their destination became. First, the feeling beneath their feet had changed. Strangely, it felt bouncy. They looked down and found they were standing on what appeared to be padding, like a mat. Curious, Kazuya tried jumping a bit.
"Whoa, this is kind of fun!" He called out, as he jumped a few feet in the air. Gazimon quickly joined him, finding the action fun as well, as he shared a laugh with Kazuya. Jun remarked something about maturity when she looked at the buildings around them.
"These are building blocks?" She said in a confused tone. Indeed, stacked high on top of each other were building blocks. Pictures of ducks, teddy bears, and other images that would normally be found in a nursery adorned them. Kazuya and Gazimon fell back to the ground, their backs to the sky against the soft floor. "You guys should really try this." Said Kazuya. "Yeah, it's real bouncy." Gazimon added.
Labramon sniffed the air again, looking for the scent of digimon she picked up before. "The digimon are this way." Everyone followed the dog digimon into a wide-open plain. In the field was a harvest, not of fruits and vegetables, but eggs.
"Eggs?" Kazuya said. Labramon sniffed again. "Digitamas!" She yipped happily. "Wait, aren't those where digimon come from?" Sho asked. "Yes, it appears we are in Primary Village." Fairydramon said."
"Primary Village?" All the humans said, simultaneously. Fairydramon nodded. "Yes, it's the birthplace of all digimon."
"The ones that weren't made by data swapping that is." Gazimon said, cocking his eyes in a flirtatious manner. Fairydramon ignored that. "Also, it serves as a place of rebirth. Whenever a digimon dies, their data is reconfigured and returns here." Fairydramon further explained.
Death, now that was a concept that crossed everyone's minds. They had deleted many digimon in the past. In all fairness, it had been in self-defense and several were evil already, but they all had wondered if killing was really the answer. Hearing about this reconfiguration eased their minds somewhat.
"Wait a minute. If digimon are just reborn when they die, does that include Boogeymon and SkullMeramon too?" Asked Sho. Boogeymon possibly returning didn't frighten them too much, but the possibility of SkullMeramon making a comeback was not a favorable scenario.
"What about the ones that die naturally? You know, like old age." Jun asked. Both she and Sho looked at Fairydramon. The fairy dragon rubbed the back of her head. "I am not sure." She replied, seemingly embarrassed that she didn't know all the answers despite her knowledgeable statement. Kazuya however didn't want to sit around hearing about the specific requirements for reconfiguration.
"Hey, if the bad guys come back, we'll beat them again, I just want to check this place out." Kazuya ran off towards the egg field with Gazimon following. Seeing that this was another part of their digital adventure, the others followed. Besides, it was better than standing around waiting.
The digitamas were a variety of shades. Some had stripes, while others were decorated in spots. Each of them was about the size of a football. "It's so light." Kazuya said, picking one digitama up gently. The boy inspected it before setting it down. "Jun, please be careful!" The voice of Penguinmon alerted the others as Jun held an egg, lightly shaking it. The girl was holding her ear to it as if she was not certain anything was inside. "You really should be gentle with that!" The little rookie cautioned his partner. The girl continued even to the point of knocking on the egg.
"Are you crazy!?" Kazuya shouted, running over to Jun. "Geez, I'm just checking, besides I think this thing is a dud. It's not even moving." Jun does that have to do with anything? It's probably not ready to hatch yet." Kazuya retorted. Then, the digitama started to move. First, a little, then rapidly, until a bright light made Jun drop it. The light dispersed and in place of the digitama, was a brown basket. Inside, nestled snuggly was a small red creature. It looked like a blob only with two stubs for ears and another behind it, a tail probably. The little creature looked around at the four humans and four-rookie digimon surrounding it, with its clear, innocent eyes.
"Pabu?" It cooed. Everyone except Jun looked at the baby digimon and exclaimed "CUTE!" The small digimon (Pabumon) cooed happily again. Bright lights came from several digitamas in the field. The digidestined scattered, each one going to an egg. Only Jun did not leave. She was too busy looking at the newly hatched Pabumon.
"Isn't he so cute, Jun?" Penguinmon asked, staring at the new arrival. Jun looked at the baby, unimpressed. She put her face right up next to it, trying to see what was so cute about a red blob. "Kerchoo!" The Pabumon sneezed a stream of bubbles into Jun's face. Penguinmon recoiled, fearing that Jun might explode in anger. However, to his surprise, she calmly wiped the bubbles from her face. "Okay, you're a little cute." She reluctantly admitted. Penguinmon breathed a sigh of relief.
Sho and Labramon had stopped at a basket containing a small blue digimon covered in white hair. This particular baby was called a Yuramon. Sho stayed back, not sure of how to approach it. Labramon was more straightforward. Thrusting her face into the basket, the Yuramon hopped on her nose and then onto the rookie's head. Labramon shook her head up and down, bouncing the infant who giggled happily.
"Labramon be gentle, that's a baby." Sho cautioned. "Oh relax Sho-chan, besides the little cutie is having fun." Labramon replied. The Yuramon giggled, showing Labramon was indeed correct. "You want to hold it?" Labramon asked, pushing her head to her partner. "Uh, no thanks." Sho said, putting up his hands. "Oh come on, you just have to pick the baby up. It's real easy." Labramon reasoned.
Sho felt a little nervous, he had never handled a baby, let alone a baby digimon. Without warning, the little Yuramon hopped off Labramon's head and into Sho's lap. The baby giggled and cooed. "Aww, I think he likes you." Said Labramon. Sho looked at the baby and with a sudden feeling of calmness he scooped up the baby in his hands. "Hey, he's really soft." Said Sho. "See? I told you it was easy. You're a natural, Sho-chan!" Labramon complemented.
Sho chuckled. "Just so long as he doesn't think I'm his dad."
"Well to be honest, I think you'd make a wonderful papa, Sho-chan." Labramon knelt close to Sho, rubbing her head against him. "And every good papa needs a good mama." She added. Sho suddenly felt nervous again. At another basket, Sakura and Fairydramon were busy looking over another baby digimon. "Peek-a-boo!" Fairydramon cried as she and the baby digimon played a little game of...well what Fairydramon cried.
The infant responded by burping up some Bubble Blows. Fairydramon chuckled and picked up the infant, who began to bite playfully on one of her claws. "Oh ho! So, you're a fierce little one, are you?" Fairydramon asked, amused.
Sakura had never seen this side of Fairydramon before. Her digimon had always looked cute, but that appearance hid a wise and strong warrior. Now, she appeared maternal. "You seem to really take to this." Sakura chuckled. Fairydramon noticed what she was doing and tried to put on a serious face (albeit blushing.) "Well it's natural; this is my baby form after all." Fairydramon excused, although she continued to play with the child. The baby digimon in question was round and blobby like most of the baby levels. Its body was the same emerald green color as Fairydramon with two tiny nubs on the head, which represented her antennae. On the back were two transparent wings too small to fly very far.
Sakura held up her digimon analyzer, scanning the digimon over.
Digimon: Spritemon
Level: Baby
Attribute: Data
Type: Micro
Attack: Bubble Blow
Seeing this digimon made her think of Chiisi when he was small. Her spirits had returned somewhat, but she still felt a little sad. Looking over, she saw a tree that amazingly had toys hanging from its branches. She plucked a teddy bear off one branch and presented it to the Spritemon. The green blob hopped, snuggling into it.
"I suppose this place brings back memories when you were this age, huh?" Sakura asked her digimon. "What?" Fairydramon asked. "You know...you must have been born here. Or were you a data swapped digimon?" Sakura asked.
Fairydramon thought for a moment. "I don't know. The only thing I remember is waking up in that digitama and meeting you." Fairydramon remembered Labramon's talk of not remembering her past. She herself had admitted then that she did not remember her past, but instead wanted to focus on the present. However, now she did wonder where she had come from. Was she born in this village as most digimon or did she have a mother and father? She put that out of her mind for the moment and returned to fawning over the Spritemon.
Unbeknownst to her, someone was fawning over her from afar. Of course, it was no surprise to anyone that it was Gazimon. "She's so perfect." He sighed dreamily. "Your opinion of Fairydramon has already been established." Kazuya said as he observed a newly hatched Botamon. He could already feel a bout of Fairydramon praising come from his partner.
"Whatever she does radiates perfection...it's a fact." Said Gazimon. The rabbit mon sighed again. "Someday she'll bear my digitama." Kazuya immediately blurted out in laughter. "What's so funny?" Gazimon asked. "I'm sorry. it's just so hard picturing you a father." Kazuya managed to say in-between part of his laughter. "Hey, I think I would be a perfect father!" Gazimon replied defensively. Furthering his point, Gazimon picked up the Botamon.
"How you doing, little guy!?" Gazimon cheerfully asked. The Botamon looked at the strange Gazimon before it. Tears began to well up in its eyes and before anyone could react... "WHAAAAAAA!" The Botamon burst into tears, causing Gazimon to drop it. "Nice going "dad"!" Kazuya said, amidst the crying. "Not my fault!" Gazimon shot back defensively. The both of them tried their best to clam down the infant, but it just continued to cry, growing louder with each attempt at soothing.
"Super Thunder Strike!" A long stream of electricity struck the ground between Kazuya and Gazimon, knocking them down. At the far end of the village, near a forest entrance, a red object was fast approaching. The Closer it came, the more it appeared to be a digimon. This one looked almost like a rodent with red fur and blue stripes. Sticking straight up behind it were nine knifelike tails. The strange digimon ran up to the boys, glaring angrily.
"What are you doing to my babies!?" It said in a male voice. The cries of the Botamon changed his demeanor. He turned to it and put it back in its basket. "There, there, it's alright now." He comforted it. Kazuya pulled out his analyzer.
Digimon: Elecmon
Level: Rookie
Attribute: Data
Type: Mammal
Attacks: Super Thunder Strike, Nine Tails
Kazuya put the analyzer immediately away when Elecmon turned around and demanded angrily, "Okay, who are you and what do you want!?" Kazuya and Gazimon immediately backed away, intimidated by the mammal digimon. The others, hearing the commotion, ran over. Seeing that made Elecmon none too pleased as he retreated into a defensive stance.
"Please, we're not here to cause any trouble!" Sakura pleaded. Elecmon wasn't convinced. He stepped back, keeping all eyes on the humans. A small cooing made Elecmon's face calm. Just below Fairydramon, was the same Spritemon that she and Sakura were playing with.
"So, you followed us, huh?" Fairydramon smiled warmly as the Spritemon began to play with the older mon's tail. Elecmon knew the babies wouldn't act so friendly towards anyone who wanted to harm them. His defensive stance vanished and replaced itself with a complacent one.
"I'm sorry about that, but with what's been going on with this island you can never be too careful. I'm Elecmon, caretaker of Primary Village." He greeted. The others greeted themselves in turn. Now that they were on a first name basis Elecmon had one thing to ask. "So, what are you doing here?" He asked. "Trust us, it's a little too long to explain." Said Jun. "Actually, we're here to fix whatever problems this island is having." Kazuya admitted. It was true, in a way. Elecmon seemed a little perplexed by the response.
"Recognize this?" Kazuya asked, holding up his digivice. The others did the same with theirs. It took Elecmon a moment to register, but he finally figured it out. "Wait a minute! You're the Digidestined!?" Everyone nodded. "Well I suppose that figures, what with you being human and all." Elecmon said sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. A chorus of wailing rang out from the digitama field. Elecmon looked at the field, then at the kids. "You know, I could use a little help around here. You wouldn't mind, would you?" Elecmon asked.
All the humans and the digimon turned to the sound of the crying babies. "Oh perfect." Said Jun.
---
The Ice Sanctuary was at peace...on the outside at least. The storms that had been brewing on the outside had dissipated. Many now assumed that IceDevimon had been vanquished as the storms appeared the moment he did. No one had been seriously hurt and that was more important than a destroyed chapel. Many the Sanctuary sheltered were hidden below, but now word of an attack from above had spread. The masses gathered into the hall, looking above to the symbol of light.
If Piddomon were here to see this, he would be delighted. However, he had other matters to attend to before his sermon. In his room, he had just prepared for the ceremony. Everything was in place. The last piece was just about to be added. He was lucky to have stumbled across it whilst venturing outside. Hidden in the snow and ice, he had found an orb of sorts. It was pink in color and something radiated from it. Piddomon could only sense it as light...pure, unadulterated light.
"Beauty......pure beauty." He said, as he stared at it in awe. He could feel the power filling his very soul. His mind drifted back to the girl, Sakura. Whatever power was coming from this orb, he had felt the very same from Sakura earlier. It could not be coincidental.
He placed both hands on the orb and concentrated. "Oh holy spirits of light, please help me find the one I need to banish darkness from this world." He chanted. The orb hummed and glowed a brighter pink. In his head, Piddomon could see all of File Island. The island spun slowly in a rotation. Then it stopped and zoomed in on one place.
"So, Primary Village." Piddomon realized. Grasping the orb, he focused his energies, adding them to the orb. Apparently, it accepted as the pink glow lit up the room. "Now, my holy messenger, go and bring her to me!" Piddomon commanded. The glowing ceased, returning the orb to its normal hue. The angel faltered a tad. His energy had been spent, but not fatally. It would only take a moment to recover. Once, he was at full strength, he would go attend to the awaiting masses. He had sensed the stench of darkness peneetrate this place and now more than ever they needed guidance. This was meant to be, all signs pointed to it. He knew this from the moment he saw a symbol burning within the orb. It was the symbol of his church......the symbol of light.
---
Therefore, it came to pass that the digidestined, the protectors of the Digital World who had been prophecized to come when said world was in danger, had now been resigned to babysitting. The tasks had been split up amongst the group. The boys and their digimon would go with Elecmon to gather fish for the hungry newborns, and the girls and their digimon would stay behind and make sure things were kept safe and to keep an eye on the newly hatched.
Elecmon led the boys to a stream. He had come here often, as fish were the prime source of food for the village. Normally, he did not need any help carrying the large net back. But, he gladly took advantage of the extra hands available.
It was no problem for Kazuya, as he had gone fishing in the past. Sho, on the other hand... "Wait, you've never been fishing?" Kazuya asked. "Nope, never." Sho replied. "Aww man, you were really sheltered, weren't you?" Kazuya laughed.
Sho put his hands in his pocket. He knew Kazuya meant nothing by it. After all, he was well to do, for lack of a better term. "Yeah, you're right. I've never even handled a baby before. Well actually, I did hold my little sister once, but my older brother and parents did most of the work." Sho admitted. A look of realization crossed Kazuya's face. "Oh, so you're a middle child, huh?" Sho smiled. "Yup, not the oldest, not the youngest." Both boys laughed.
Ahead Elecmon had heard the conversation and from what was spoken, he was glad he had put these two on fishing duties. He did wonder if placing the girls in charge of watching the village was right. He wasn't sure if those girls knew anything about babies, to be honest. But it was too late to change plans now, as they had reached the stream.
"Okay, here we are." Elecmon announced. The stream looked like a plain, ordinary stream. Nothing set it apart from any other stream. "Alright, I need the Gazimon for a moment." Elecmon asked. Gazimon walked up to him, anticipating how they were going to fish. He had never been fishing before, but obviously, Kazuya had. The boy wondered, how could they fish when they didn't have rods? His eyes went to the net, but it didn't look at all like the fishing variety.
Elecmon's gaze turned to the stream. Gazimon followed when he noticed Elecmon's eyes briefly dart to him. "When I say, ready, you and I attack the stream at the same time." Gazimon knew which attack to do. "Okay...ready." Both digimon took their stances, each one crying out their attack.
"Super Thunder Strike!"
"Electric Stun Blast!"
The twin streams of electricity conducted with the water, making it light up brightly. Kazuya and Sho stole a glance. That water wouldn't be safe to swim in for a while, they each thought. A smell suddenly hit their noses. The smell of grilled fish. Several fish, no...a stream of fish, jumped out of the water and into the waiting arms of Elecmon, who scooped them into his net. Neither of the boys were sure if the fish were even alive. The smell would indicate they were cooked, but they way they jumped signified life. They put it out of their minds, as trying to reason logic in the Digital World would be next to nigh impossible.
Labramon certainly didn't care, as the smell of good cooking was all she needed. Her mouth watered eagerly, and she plodded up to snatch a few fish."Hey you, Labramon, I'm going to need some extra paws here." Elecmon asked. Labramon silently voiced her disappointment at not eating any. Pushing it down, she used her paws to help Elecmon with scooping in the fish. Soon, the bag was full to the brim. "Perfect! This should keep those little mouths full for a while." Elecmon turned to Kazuya and Sho. "Okay, you two can carry the net."
Both boys frowned at the task given to them. Kazuya was disappointed that he didn't get a chance to catch anything and Sho didn't want to find out how heavy that net was. Nevertheless, both boys hoisted it up and carried it back in the direction of the village. Elecmon smiled. It was gratifying enough to be the caretaker of this village, but sometimes even he wished for a break. Gazimon was just happy to show off his skills, his pride swelling up even more.
As the five headed back in the direction of the village, Labramon noticed a small fish that had gone unnoticed. Looking around just to make sure no one was looking, she snapped up the fish and swallowed it.
"Yum yum." She said, before following the boys.
---
Jun was feeling her job was a little gender stereotyped. She seemed to be the only one who had no idea what she was doing. So far, the job had been pretty simple. Make sure the kids played nice and didn't wreck anything. So far, she had done nothing, not out of laziness, but uncertainty.
"They're staring at me again." Jun announced. Several baby digimon focused their eyes on her. "Well, do something, you know...play with them." Penguinmon called back cheerfully, then went back to whatever baby he was attending to.
Play? That was hardly on Jun's list of things to do. She held her hands up and moved them around, hoping that it would be enough and the children would leave. Unfortunately, Jun got no reaction. They continued to stare up at her with their mostly black orbs, which looked almost like a doll's eyes. It was simply creepy. Giving up, Jun tried to leave, but noticed movement from the gaggle. "Okay." Jun muttered.
Sakura and Fairydramon were having a much easier time. As Sakura had noticed before, taking care of baby digimon seemed to come naturally to her. She smiled as several clung to and circled her digimon. Watching this made her forget about her own depression if only for a moment.
"Having fun?" She called to her digimon.
Fairydramon turned back, smiling, as a familiar Spritemon was hanging on to her tail. "Oh, for the most part." She called back, before returning to her little "fans."
"Kodiro!" Sakura turned to find Jun. "They won't stop following me." Jun exclaimed. "Who?" Sakura asked. Jun pointed behind her to show she had her own group of "fans." Sakura smiled, having to hold back a chuckle, but not doing so well. "It's not funny! They keep following me wherever I go!" Jun exclaimed. To demonstrate, Jun moved left, then right and certainly, wherever she went the babies mimicked her movements. "This is plain creepy!" Jun pointed her finger at the gaggle annunciating each word. Sakura adjusted her glasses, looking at the assembly behind her friend. "Actually, I think it's kind of sweet."
Jun frowned. "You are just so eternally happy aren't you? I mean, one moment you're depressed about your cousin turning on us, then the next, your all rays and sunshine." The bereted girl flashed a phony smile to illustrate her point.
The bespectacled girl's demeanor changed in that instant. "There's nothing wrong with being happy! Do you have to bring everything down!?" Everyone was surprised by Sakura's sudden outburst. Jun knew she had reached a sore point.
"Sorry." Jun apologized. "It's just, I…well…happiness isn't really my thing, too sappy." Jun admitted. Sakura's smile returned. "You should try to cheer up more. Look at Fairydramon, she's being cheerful." Jun looked at the dragon digimon and despite having a bunch of blobs congregate around her, she seemed to be in good spirits. Even Penguinmon had been in the same mood. Her eyes scanned for her partner, but she couldn't find him.
"I guess hanging around Miyamoto gave you that." Said Jun. Sakura nodded. Kazuya was always the hopeful one, so optimistic even in the darkest of situations. Hanging around him all these years had finally rubbed off on her. She hoped she could do the very same for Jun.
---
Sweet relief Penguinmon thought. He was enjoying playing and taking care of the various baby digimon that had recently hatched, when a sudden personal call of nature trumpeted. He searched through the village, looking for any source and right when hope disappeared, he found it. On the village outskirts, just border-lining the forest, was a toilet. Immediately, Peguinmon hopped on and did what he needed to do. Soon, he felt relaxed and was ready to return. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash. Before he could question it, the flash brightened. Penguinmon backed away in fear, as the large creature growled at him. "JUN!" He screamed, before waddling away.
The creature ignored the rookie. Its master had given a command. It must obey.
---
Jun turned at the sound of her digimon's voice. Penguinmon was yelling about something. Jun could only make out her name being called, but the rapid flapping of his beak indicated he had more to say. He waddled with a great speed, then collapsed.
"What is it?" Jun asked, almost expecting whatever fear Penguinmon had contracted. Gathering his breath, the bird stood up. "Big…toilet...thing…scary!" Penguinmon stammered. Jun rolled her eyes, "A toilet? Okay, do you need me to toilet train you?" Jun asked with exasperation.
A loud roar rocked the area, sending the groups of baby digimon running behind Jun and Fairydramon. From the direction Penguinmon had came from, a large digimon stepped into view. The babies hid behind their appointed protectors hoping that they would make the scary creature go away. The digimon was draconic in appearance. Despite that, it bore a similarity to another digimon they knew.
"Angemon?" Sakura questioned. The digimon did look like Angemon, what with the white feathery suit that covered its body and the shoulder pad on its left arm. Unlike the angel champion, it had only two wings, large and feathery ones. The helmet was there, but more positioned for the creature's head. The tail was adorned with three holy rings, golden in color and adorned with digicode around them.
Digimon: Angedramon
Level: Champion
Attribute: Vaccine
Type: Holy Beast
Attacks: Angel Claw, Helmet Shine
Angedramon turned its head to the smaller creatures beyond it. Sakura could almost swear it was looking at her. Roaring yet again, the holy champion charged forward. Fairydramon didn't need to say anything and Sakura didn't need a signal to hold up her digivice.
"Fairydramon evolve! Tiamon!" Tiamon charged towards her fellow dragon. She would make sure no harm would come to these little ones. The dragons clashed the moment they came close. Biting and clawing each other, reaching for every vital part of the body. Tiamon reared her head back to breathe her Tiamat Flame. Just when the flames licked her teeth, Angedramon's helmet began to glow a white shade. A beam of energy exploded onto Tiamon. She fell back, the remains of her attack now merely smoke pouring out of her maw.
Angedramon reared its head in Sakura's direction. She could almost swear that from under there it was looking right at her. Jun looked at Penguinmon. He looked back, knowing what he had to do.
"Penguinmon evolve! Saberdramon!" The black firebird flew and sent out several Black Sabers. Angedramon roared in pain as the fireballs struck him. He let out another roar when Tiamon's Ember Claw struck him right in the jaw.
The baby digimon gave out little cheers. Seeing these two Champion digimon made them anxious to grow up.
"I think they love us." Saberdramon mentioned, his eyes gleaming with felt pride as well. "Yes, but we have to be careful. We don't want to destroy the village." She cautioned. The holy beast growled again. He was growing very annoyed with the two who impeded his mission. He turned to the girl. The Tiamon was blocking his view, but he could sense the human. Pure rage escaped his throat. He slashed his angel claws, not caring if they struck, but hoping they would distract his opponents. He flapped upwards into the sky and the minute he saw her, he descended.
Tiamon and Saberdramon looked back. They almost launched their flame attacks, but reminded themselves of the babies, realizing they could possibly hit them. "Genki Laser!" The beam struck Angedramon, who had not expected it. As such, he flew into some block towers, causing them to crash down upon him.
"Hey guys!" Just entering the village was Kazuya and Sho. Behind them were both their digimon, now in their Champion forms and Elecmon. "What's going on here? I left you two here to make sure nothing happened!" Elecmon irritably asked. "Hey, Mr. Guardian, this thing just took us by surprise!" Jun snapped.
The babies suddenly began to babble. Some of it was nonsense while bits and pieces were just the first parts of their names. Their babbles were indicating to the collapsed block towers that had now begun to rise.
"Elecmon, get the babies out of here right now! We'll handle this!" Sakura announced. Truthfully, he wanted to give the digimon that dared to attack his village a piece of his mind, but his duty and care for his charges was far greater.
"Just don't break anything!" Elecmon called as he shepherded the babies out of harms way. Sakura kept her eye on the blocks, everyone else did too. They had stopped moving. Sakura's brain told her to run, but her legs would not move. She was certain that digimon was looking at her. Maybe, something otherworldly told her that. She could see Kazuya motioning for her to move. She looked to him, then at the blocks. She took a single step and Angedramon lunged. Everything happened so fast that no one had time to do anything.
Grasped in one claw, Angedramon held his prize. The digimon stood poised to attack, but they were in a very uncompromising condition. This was all the advantage one needed. Taking it, Angedramon flew upwards. Sakura gave a yell as the holy beast flew away.
"Follow him!" Tiamon called. She took the lead and the others followed. She had let Sakura be captured once before, but she wouldn't let it happen again. The chase ended when they reached a certain porcelain object. "Hey, that's the toilet I was using earlier." Saberdramon announced. "Did we really need to know that?" Jun dryly asked.
Close to the toilet was a glowing pathway. A portal, much like the one that had drawn them into the World of Darkness after they had defeated IceDevimon. Where as the other was a portal of darkness, this one could be considered a portal of light. Angedramon calmly walked forward towards it.
"Stop!" Kazuya cried, seeing his best friend being taken away. Tiamon was the first to charge, crashing into the beast. Both of them exploded into a flash of light and they were gone. With its summoner gone, the portal began to shrink."Shouldn't that thing just disappear?" Sho questioned the convenient display.
"Don't question it, just go!" Kazuya called, as he and Genkimon were the next to follow. Jun, Sho, and their digimon were next. Like before, at the Freezland, the portal closed and they were gone.
---
Angemon kept the grip on his staff tight. The danger had passed, but he always maintained a keen front if it so ever returned. He could feel the calmness of the air outside, yet he knew something was amiss.
"You seem tense." D'arcmon noticed. Her blades were sheathed at her sides. Unlike her companion, she only prepped when danger appeared in front of her."I'm just prepared, that's all." Angemon said. D'arcmon walked to him. "You should relax, we need to concentrate on the repairs." She responded.
Angemon's demeanor did not change. His grip became tighter as he gazed around the area, then focusing on the center door that led below. "You told me one of Piddomon's sermons begun at this time."
"Yes I did." Said D'arcmon. The angel walked over to the direction of the doorway. "I would very much like to see one. You mentioned he was going too far." Before he reached for the handle, he felt the grip of D'arcmon's hand against his own. "Do you plan on fighting?" She asked.
Angemon looked to her, his eyes meeting hers beneath his helmet. "Only if need be." He answered. "Then I'll go with you." She replied two of them stepped through the door, closing it behind them, to see how far gone their companion had become.
---
The world beyond the portal of light was nothing the digidestined had ever seen. A wide tunnel of light surrounded them, circling around on both sides. A solid pathway kept them suspended above an iridescent void. However, the pathway was big enough to support all the digimon.
"Tiidaiya!" The golden arrows shined from Shiisamon's mane, imbedding themselves in Angedramon's left hind leg. The creature ignored the pain and kept going on its path. Ahead in front of it was another portal, most likely leading to where the creature had wanted to go, if not for the interference from Tiamon.
Tiamon herself had tried to wrestle her partner away from him, but he simply shrugged off her bites and claws. She would have unleashed a Tiamat Flame, but there was a chance she could incinerate Sakura. So, she simply had to settle for Ember Claws or just plain old fashioned brawling. All of the digimon had to resort to using their less than devastating attacks.
"You know, this would be simpler if we just evolved them straight to Ultimate." Jun suggested. "They already evolved to Ultimate once. Then we just evolved them back to Champions." Kazuya reminded. "We could spend all their energy."
Sho seated upon Shiisamon looked uncertainly at Angedramon. "I don't know Kazuya, Jun may be right. I don't think this guy is an ordinary Champion."
"You know, Ultimate would be really great right about now!" Sakura managed to call back, surprised that she actually heard the conversation. Kazuya held onto his digivice. Perhaps Ultimate level would be the best option, he thought. Genkimon knew what Kazuya was thinking. "No way! I want to show I'm still just as good a Champion as I am Ultimate!" Genkimon said, before charging up another Genki Rush. He continuously struck, joining his beloved Tiamon in the assault. Angedramon roared again. Behind the anger, there was a lethargic tone.
"What can I say? The guy knows what he wants." Kazuya smirked, running to join his partner to cheer him on. "Ha! How about this? You like that!?" Genkimon said between punches and kicks. Beneath his helmet, anger crossed his eyes. His helmet glowed brighter than it had ever been. Angedramon turned towards Genkimon.
"Hey…how…about…some…more?" Genkimon gulped. The full force of the Helmet Shine unleashed itself upon the digimon, sending him far off the path and into the void. "Genkimon!" Kazuya and Tiamon yelled in unison. Kazuya looked toward the void, then to Angedramon. "You creep!" He yelled.
No one was sure if Angedramon was capable of carrying on a conversation, but perhaps the term creep was understood. Because his response was swatting Kazuya aside with his tail, sending him along with his digimon. "Kazuyaaaaa!" Sakura screamed, not having enough time to fully react to Kazuya's apparent demise as Angedramon continued his course. He was almost at the portal, but suddenly he faltered. Clenching his tail with her teeth was Tiamon. The dragoness remained determined to pull him back from his destination, but Angedramon kept going, putting all of his energy into moving. He reached out a free claw and felt the sensation of the portal pulling him inside. He knew the unattended guest would throw him off course, but he didn't care.
"He's going through again!" Saberdramon cried with alarm. Neither Jun nor Sho had time to mourn their lost leader they had to do something before they lost Sakura or worse, became trapped in this realm. Grabbing tightly to Saberdramon's right leg, Jun pointed to the disappearing dragon.
"Follow him!" She commanded. Saberdramon didn't say a word and obediently flew to the now closing portal. Shiisamon looked to Sho atop her back. "Sho-chan?" She asked. Sho looked to the gate and with a sigh, he said. "Here we go again."
Both human and digimon pairs collided with Angedramon and soon the, void was as empty as it had been before.
---
He traversed the waves, heading deeper and deeper into the sea. Most creatures would have been killed from the sheer pressure, but his mixed heritage prevented that from happening to him. Chiisi could hear his father call to him in the deep recesses of his mind. He knew exactly where to go.
In the distance he saw four shapes, his eyes seeing past the dark blanket of the undersea surface. Growing closer, he saw they were towers of sorts, dark towers to be precise. The material was obviously stone, maybe obsidian due to the color. Situated between them was Dagomon. His eyes were closed, but at Chiisi's entrance, they opened.
"Father." Said Chiisi. "Ah, you have come, my son. Now, we can begin." Chiisi looked to the towers. "Father, what are these?" He asked. The undersea god turned his gaze to the towers, his eyes shifting from each, as he explained. "These are images created from the darkness of our world. They are darkness in a pure form, if you will, but they can have a purpose." Dagomon said, raising one of his tentacles as one would raise a finger. A look of pure astonishment shone in Chiisi's eyes. Dagomon saw that and gave a pleased chuckle. "You are the key to that purpose."
"Me?" Chiisi asked. "Yes. If given the right push, these towers can serve as barrier disrupters." Dagomon explained. "Normally, the Digital World's defenses disrupt me from entering fully, even with these towers, but your human half can bypass that." Chiisi looked at his hands. What his father had explained had made sense. After all, he was chosen by the Digital World itself. "I understand father."
"Good. Now lend your darkness to the tower." Dagomon commanded. With no hesitation, Chiisi focused. The feeling was much like trying to rack your brain for an answer to a hard question. The darkness inside him began to grow. When it reached its peak, energy formed in his hands, then spread to his entire body. He let the darkness overtake him and then he released it. The darkness spread like flame, coursing into the towers. From the depths, Dagomon's laughter rang out and the Digital Deep Ones rejoiced, for soon their time would come.
---
"What the?" Kazuya tried to take in his new surroundings. He could not comprehend it, even if he tried, but thankfully falling into the void had not killed him. He just hoped the others realized that as well. Random described the world he had fallen into. It was a blank skyline, but filled with random shapes lacking no sort of pattern or reason to them. It was almost like stepping into some bizarre dream world. At Kazuya's side, the newly devolved Gazimon had just one thing to say...
"At least we didn't fall asleep."
To be continued…
I apologize for the long wait in the chapter. As of now I am technically working. It is a part time/volunteer job meaning I can go in there if I feel like it. In addition, I had an awesome interview and lately I have been in a good mood. Now on the chapter. Sorry for those who don't like fluff but I felt it was appropriate to add since well baby digimon are cute. As for Angedramon, I know he was rather unoriginal but I have always wondered why there was not an angel counterpart for Devidramon. I mean Angemon had Devimon. Angewomon had LadyDevimon. Even MarineAngemon had MarineDevimon despite being different levels. Then again MagnaAngemon didn't have a devil counterpart but I suppose NeoDevimon could fit that. Anyway, hope you enjoyed and kudos to anyone who figures out the world Kazuya and Gazimon are stranded in is.
