Bonus Short 4: Blooms in Adversity
Dear Daisy and Salamon,
It's good to hear from you again. I made it to AncientBeetlemon's refugee camp where there are a lot of lightning storms. It's kind of scary but at the same time, it's probably safer here than it is outside. I hope you guys are keeping safe too. As for me? Well…
Floramon paused in writing her letter and looked outside the window of her shabby hut. The camp she was staying was always in perpetual darkness because of the gray thunder clouds that hovered overhead. It wasn't the best kind of place for a flower like her. She needed sunlight.
"Floramon," someone called from outside her door. "You in there?"
"Uh, yes, come in," Floramon said, turning to the door.
A Kongoumon, an overseer at the camp, was designated to make sure that everyone was happy and healthy, opened the door with one of his four arms. "It's that time of day again." He paused and looked at the white piece of paper on the desk she was seated at. "Were you writing a letter to someone?"
"Yes," Floramon nodded. "Is there something wrong with that?"
"How do you know the person won't send back a Dark Chain in return?" Kongoumon sneered.
"Because I'm writing to a Chosen Child."
My overseer is kind of strict and a little paranoid too. I think it's because he's from Cyber City and after that place was taken over, he got really scared.
Don't worry about lack of sunlight or anything. All the plant Digimon are given one hour outside where we can take in the sunbeams and the fresh air so that we don't start wilting. We just need to go on this special plate that floats above the dark clouds using electromagnetism. Well, that's what Kongoumon says how it works.
"Ah, I know it's only been a day but it feels like it was a lifetime ago since I've seen the sun," Aruraumon sighed.
"I know what you mean," Floramon giggled. "I can't wait for the war to be over so that we can go back to a normal lives."
The Palmon look-alike's arms fell back down to her side as her expression grew somber. Floramon recognized it because many other Digimon at the camp wore the same face. It was one that had given up hope for a better tomorrow. They probably think that this place will be taken over just like Floramon's old home which had been AncientTroiamon's designated refugee camp.
Many villages from Floramon's home had come with her there but they were all resigned to the idea that Apocalymon would win in the end. After all, so many homes had already been destroyed. This had to mean that the Chosen Children had forsaken them.
But Floramon knew different. "I've met them, you know. One of the legendary humans. She's got a very strong spirit and I just know that she'll keep fighting for our sake. So we should've give up either, we should stay positive."
"What's the point?" A Vegiemon sighed heavily.
"Eh?"
"This world is as good as gone," Aruraumon agreed.
"Those humans were supposed to protect us," Mushroomon continued. "But if they can't save one measly little town on the giant map of the Digital World, how can we expect them to actually save the whole world? It's better not to have our hopes so high."
"Those legends were a lie."
"Apocalymon's going to win."
"There's no hope for any of us."
But even though those are the kind of things they said, I still believe in you guys! I know you guys will save us!
Kongoumon suddenly called the attention of the plant Digimon. "With more and more Digimon coming in everyday, we're starting to get very packed. Digimon have started complaining about the lack provisions and some riots have even occurred due to civilian disatisfaction. Well, we apologize that you runts are so disappointed with our service."
I've seen you guys fight! You will definitely beat Apocalymon!
"So at the last overseer meeting, we decided that we were going to have to stop admitting some refugees. Especially those with, ahem, special needs." With that, the Armor Digimon hopped off the floating plate and landed on a Kabuterimon waiting below. "Sayonara, pansies."
"Wait!" Aruraumon screamed.
"Does AncientBeetlemon know about this?!" Vegiemon screeched.
"How can you just abandon us?!" Mushroomon cried out.
Floramon stood still, rooted to the spot as she listened to the distant screeches of an Airdramon flock flying towards them. The plate was slowly moving westwards, towards that group of dragon Digimon which were likely to be possessed. And as the plate moved, Floramon noticed the perpetual rainstorms hanging over the refugee camp get farther away.
Before the world turned black, the last thing Floramon heard was a yell. "Airdramon!" And then an explosion.
You'll save us…
...right?
-X-
Ravaged Trail – 9:13 AM
It's been about three days since they departed from Bulb Manor and none of them felt up to talking. It's not that they still felt tired after the trials they were put through; it was just hard to get their spirits up after everything they've heard between the day of the games to now.
First, it was Ryudamon retelling them the story of what had happened to their captors. A few of them still held resentment towards the big headed duo for what they had done but at the same time, none of them felt like they deserved their fates. They had done what they did because they were frightened out of their minds. Every Digimon they've encountered on their travels were the same, they doubted and feared Apocalymon.
Second, after a full night's rest, Bulbmon recounted the travesty that had occurred at the mines with his construction Digimon. This one hit Shibumi hard as he heard about how his own partner, Breakdramon, rammed through there, trampling half the workforce and enslaving the rest. That's why the road they were currently on was in such disarray. The mechanical dragon had passed through here.
Third, and this one was extra painful for Daisy, a paper crane had flown down into Janyu's hands. It was from his friend, Gabumon, who had found shelter at AncientBeetlemon's refugee camp. Apparently, the friend he had made there, the Floramon that Daisy knew, had vanished a few days ago. Not just her, but all the plant Digimon seeking refuge there had gone missing. The only thing they had of them was a letter that had been sitting on Floramon's desk.
"How many areas have we already lost to Apocalymon?" Daisy muttered.
Shibumi was in the back, feeling his sins crawling up and down his spine like a spider. "I'm sorry," he choked out, causing everyone else to pause. "This is my fault… This beautiful world and all of its diverse citizens… If I hadn't…"
"Hey, don't talk like that," FanBeemon buzzed.
"It's not over until it's over," Janyu added.
Candlemon nodded in agreement. "As long as we're willing to take him on, there is always hope for a better day."
They were unsuccessful in cheering up Shibumi and it didn't look like Daisy was feeling much better either. Robert and Babel even tried teasing the blonde to get a rise out of her but she made no comebacks whatsoever. The disappearance of Floramon was enough to keep her silver tongue inside her mouth. She must've been a good friend.
Rai couldn't help examining the trail and noticing uprooted flowers and snapped tree trunks. Earlier, they had seen a wooden sign, telling them that they had reached Blooming Trail. It certainly didn't look that way at the moment.
"I want to stay positive too," the youngest in the group said. "But it's… not easy."
If the person who is usually brimming with positivity isn't in a good mood, then they knew that things were on a downward spiral. Robert, Janyu, and Babel were the only humans that didn't seem down in the dumps and they kept trying to think of methods of lifting everyone's spirits. But nothing seemed to be effective.
Ryudamon glanced over to Daisy's partner. "Salamon, you've been fidgeting for a while, are you okay?"
Everyone had been so preoccupied with the thoughts of Apocalymon taking over that they hadn't even noticed the holy Digimon bouncing her feet as she walked, glancing around in every direction, and an uneasy expression etched onto her face. She was either paranoid or distress, it was most likely some combination of both.
"Heaven is at the end of this trail," Salamon confessed.
"Heaven?" Robert frowned.
Candlemon explained for her. "The base for the League of Angels is known as Heaven. I didn't know it was here."
"You're not supposed to," said Salamon. "The base moves to a different area every three days and any Digimon admitted into the League has an extra line of data in their code that tells them where. Heaven hasn't moved in a long while and the last time it did, it came here…"
They all knew what she was implying. If the governors of this side of the Digital World had come to the end of this trail but hasn't moved since, there was a high possibility that they had been destroyed. Subconsciously, they all started picking up the pace, wanting to see the end, to see if their theory was right.
What had they expected to see? A field of flowers? An angel greeting them from above?
But instead, they saw a white cathedral and castle lying on the ground sideways, as if they had fallen from the sky in such a fashion. Shattered windows, broken stone columns, and feathers littered the ground everywhere they looked. And something broke inside of Salamon.
"The damage looks recent," Babel remarked. "Almost like it happened this morning."
This mean that it probably wasn't Breakdramon who had done this, which was of little relief to Shibumi since he knew how important this place was to Salamon. The Rookie didn't have a home until the leader of the League had taken her in. Now, she had lost it.
"There might be survivors then," said Shibumi. "We should search the area, just in case."
Salamon didn't want to get her hopes up, she could only think that if there were survivors, it was likely for them to have already left to fine a refugee camp or something. But with the others, she started looking around the area.
Maybe twenty minutes had passed before Robert heard muffled groaning coming from underneath some rubble. With the help of his partner, they were able to unearth an angel Digimon with ten golden wings and four-pointed star on his helmet. His armor was burns and cracked and every sound he made was weak and forced.
"Ryudamon, call the others over here," Robert instructed his partner before giving his undivided attention to this injured Digimon. "Hey, stay with me." He pulled out his canteen from his bag but he wasn't sure where this guy's mouth was. "Do you need water?"
The Digimon turned his head to look at the boy. "A… human? It must be… some unfortunate fate… to finally meet the Chosen Children of legend before I die."
There was something ironic in that. For humans, there are those who claim that when they die, they'll meet an angel and the side of their deathbed, holding out their hand to lead them to heaven. Here Robert was a human, at the side of a dying angel, in the ruins of Heaven.
"You're not going to die," said the samurai. "You'll be alright."
The angel shook his head. "I don't have much time left. Tell me, do you know… Salamon?"
Robert nodded. "Yes, she'll be here soon. At least hang on until she gets here." From the description that Salamon had given him and the appearance of this Digimon, he was able to figure out who this was. "She owes so much to you, Seraphimon. At least give her a chance to say goodbye."
"I… I don't know…"
Suddenly, a shift in the rubble could be heard from behind the boy as a little creature bounded up to them, throwing herself at Seraphimon's side. "No! Don't die! You'll be fine!" said Salamon, tears streaming down her eyes. "We have a healer with us!"
As if on cue, Rai was there giving medical attention to the Mega Digimon but after a few seconds of waving her glowing staff, she stopped. "The damage is too deep, there's not much I can really do. I'm sorry, Salamon…"
"No!"
Seraphimon slowly raised his hand and affectionately rubbed Salamon's head. "You were always so sweet to me and everyone in the League. I'm glad we got to meet, Salamon."
"Tell me who did this," Salamon pleaded. Everyone else had finally arrived and they now stood a few meters away, watching this heartbreaking scene unfold before them. The Digimon that Salamon had spoken so highly about, that she owed so much to; was going to die. Daisy wondered if she would go through the same thing with her grandfather one day. "Who did this to you?"
The angel's response was a little above a whisper. "Mur… Murmukusmon…"
"…What?" Salamon said in a tone no louder than his. "But that's impossible… Murmukusmon… Why would he… do this?"
Seraphimon didn't seem to know the answer either as he turned from her to the human boy who had found him. "I know this may seem… like a silly request coming from… a dying Digimon. But can you… tell me… your name?"
"I'm… I'm Robert McCoy," Robert answered, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"I see… Take care of Salamon… Robert…"
With those last words, the Digimon disintegrated with his data slowly floating up towards the clear blue sky. The Chosen Children and their partners had to look away when he disappeared because they were each reminded of the friends they had already lost because of this war that Apocalymon started. Just how many more lives were going to be sacrificed?
"We have to stop him," said Robert, standing up with his fists clenched to his sides. "Acting depressed over the fact that some of our friends are gone and crying over the possibilities of avoiding this doesn't help anything. What we need to do is focus on our goal, making it to Apocalymon and waking everybody from this nightmare."
Rai nodded in agreement though tears were slowly falling from her eyes as well. "You're right. Mourning and grieving won't do anything but fighting will."
"I will never forgive him, Apocalymon," Salamon growled, biting her lower lip. "The pain he's caused in the hearts of everyone who's been forced to do his bidding, of everyone who's lost someone close to them, and of everyone who's lost their home. I'll be sure to pay him back that amount."
"Is that what you'll do?"
Everyone froze up when that familiar voice reached their ears. They all spun around on their heels before jumping backwards, away from beams of dark energy that caused the ground in front of them to explode. Once they had found their footing again, they looked up to find NeoDevimon seated at the top of the rubble.
"You!" Shibumi scowled.
"Now that's not a pretty face," NeoDevimon chuckled.
Salamon hopped forward, an even deeper scowl etched onto her face. "Even if it was Murmukusmon who had attacked Seraphimon, I know for a fact that he doesn't possess the power to destroy Heaven all by himself. You and the rest of Apocalymon's goons had something to do with this, didn't you?!"
The fallen angel laughed again, as if the mere sight of them was amusing to him. "Well, I'm innocent in this matter."
"But we are not."
It was a mechanical droning that had spoken these words and the Chosen Children knew immediately who it was. When they glanced behind them, they saw two gear-shaped Digimon rising out of the rubble though there was something different about them compared to their previous encounters. Somehow, they were more expressionless than usual, as if they had been stripped of everything that made them emote.
"We were trying out our upgrades when we went a little overboard," droned Solarmon.
"It looks like we've committed the second Genocide of Angels," said Hagurumon.
"However, I must say, they weren't much of a challenge at all."
"No, they were all weaklings. Not much practice."
"Unforgivable," Salamon growled. "Completely unforgivable! Daisy!"
The humans already had their keys in their hands as they turned them into their D-Syncs. NeoDevimon attempted to halt their digivolution sequence but Shibumi got in the way of the extended claw with his scythe. "D-Locks 1 and 2 Disengaged! Initiate Warp Digivolution!"
"Ryudamon Warp Digivolve to… Hisyaryumon!" "FanBeemon Warp Digivolve to… CannonBeemon!"
"Salamon Warp Digivolve to… Hippogriffomon!" "Betamon Warp Digivolve to… WaruSeadramon!" "Candlemon Warp Digivolve to… Mistymon!"
During their evolutions, Hagurumon and Solarmon surrounded themselves in data cocoons and the DigiDestined expected to see Clockmon and Mekanorimon again. But Shibumi knew better. After all, he was the one who had wanted to upgrade them in the first place several weeks ago. The fact that they had come here to test them out meant that Apocalymon finally completed them. They were now ultimate weapons of destruction.
"Hagurumon Warp Digivolve to… Gigadramon!" "Solarmon Warp Digivolve to… Megadramon!"
From the cocoons hatched two flying lizards with rotating metal claws. They were as large as Hisyaryumon and WaruSeadreamon with the addition of massive wings. And from their devoid expressions were replaced with those of absolute ferocity.
To add to their shock, Shibumi was suddenly flicked away by a shadowy whip and the demon changed his target from the human to the floating insect. "I still have to pay you and your partner back for the humiliation you gave me back at Banner Forest."
"This guy can hold a grudge," Janyu grimaced as he followed his partner who was being dragged away.
The other humans would've split themselves up to take on the Ultimate Digimon as well if Voidlings hadn't started creeping out of the woodwork. There were probably hundreds of them so they ended up getting occupied, leaving their partners to handle the enemy Digimon.
Hisyaryumon and Hippogriffomon knew that their partners would be fine in combat so they focused on taking on Gigadramon. The mechanical dragon started things off by firing energy shells at the pair that created massive explosions on the ground when they missed their targets. If the partnered Digimon weren't careful, they could potentially have one of those bombs land on the humans. So in some cases, they had to blow them up in midair.
"He's flying higher while dropping atomic bombs on us!" Hisyaryumon grunted as he blew up one of the shells in his sword form. "He's playing with us! Hippogriffomon, circle around him, I keep him and his annoying bombs busy!"
"Are you sure?" the mythical Digimon asked.
"You wanted to pay them back for what they did to your home, right?"
The winged quadruped was grateful that her comrade understood how she felt about losing Heaven so she quickly changed direction, flying around the energy shells. Gigadramon could always point one claw at the dragon and the other at the hippogriff but the latter was using his plan against him. She had flown right over Megadramon's head so if any bombs were dropped, it would land on him.
"This is for Seraphimon!" Hippogriffomon squawked. "Heat Wave!"
Gigadramon finally stopped firing and instead spun around on his axis so that he could use his metallic wing to block the blazing wind. "Gigabyte Wing!" Once he had done that, he flew straight downwards and looped around Hisyaryumon who had returned to his normal form. "Guilty Claw!"
"Nice try, buster!" Hisyaryumon wasn't about to fall victim to the attack though as he pointed his orbs at the airborne snake. "Every Direction Wheel!"
Gigadramon was blasted from all sides as he started falling to the ground. Hippogriffomon joined up with her friend as they both got ready to turn the table and started raining hellfire down on him but they were mistaken if one attack was enough to render their foe unconscious.
Gigadramon smiled up at them with so much malice that it sent chills down their spines as he pointed his claws up at them. "Genocide Gear!"
"He's shooting in the opposite direction?!" Hisyaryumon roared as he started evading.
"There's too many to avoid at once!" Hippogriffomon grunted.
Not only did one of the bombs hit the female Digimon's wings but the rest of them started falling back to the ground. Gigadramon flew off to escape his own attack by Hisyaryumon was distracted by the bombs in front of him and the fact that if he didn't block them, they would blow up the humans down below. So he and Hippogriffomon ended up in a massive midair explosion.
"That's what you get when you mess with Lord Apocalymon!" Gigadramon laughed as they started falling from the sky.
As for Megadramon, he was occupied by the flying swordsman and the black sea snake. The same tactic that Gigadramon had used against his own foes wouldn't work on these two as proven by the amount of organic missiles he fired but were sent into another dimension with one of Mistymon's slashes. The mage had the ability to rip open the fabric of space, after all.
"You're not going to get away!" WaruSeadramon snarled. "We'll make you pay for what you did to Salamon's home! Thunder Javelin!"
Megadramon had a thin body so he was able to dodge the lightning bolt with ease but if he hadn't swooped upwards, he might've gotten the end point of Mistymon's blade. He tried to firing some more missiles at them but this time, WaruSeadramon blocked the attacks by creating a whirlpool to gather the organic weapons and Mistymon used magic to appear behind Megadramon.
"I don't plan on pulling any punches!" Mistymon shouted before splaying out his palm in front of him. "Blast Fire!"
A wide smirk appeared on Megadramon's face as he suddenly degenerated into Clockmon, speeding up his time so that he would fall faster. The machine paused his time after he had passed WaruSeadramon and then evolve to escaped the flames which enveloped the sea snake instead of hm.
"WaruSeadramon!" Mistymon gasped as his friend started freefalling. "That was a foul trick!"
Megadramon had suddenly flown right in front of Mistymon's face and opened up a claw. "Then you're going to love this one! Ultimate Slicer!"
The claw rotated at an unbelievable speed, cutting right through Mistymon's side, shredding his clothes and sending a large chunk of his data to go flying. Rai had to detach herself from a Voidling to stare, wide-eyed and arms quivering as her hands covered her open mouth. Her partner dropped like a fly.
"Guys!" Robert gasped.
"They were defeated that easily?" Daisy gaped.
Even after all the training and the challenges they had gone through, they were still falling behind? No, their partners had just been caught off guard. They had been anticipating a fight against Clockmon and Mekanorimon, not these two Ultimate Digimon. So they weren't quite sure what to expect when these new forms came to greet them instead of the ones they were already familiar with.
"I've got enough fuel for one more," Ryudamon grunted.
Candlemon was holding onto his side as Rai helped him upright. "Rai, digivolve me one more time!"
"Don't think you've beaten us yet!" Betamon agreed.
There was one little problem though. According to Ryudamon, these two machines were only at their Champion level when they took out Datamon and Vademon, both of whom were at the Ultimate. And even if they were only lackeys, the kids remembered how difficult it had been to take on Ultimate level Digimon before finding their silver keys. And in this case, there was no Dark Chain to destroy but only the Digimon themselves.
As for CannonBeemon he was trying to resist the shadowy tentacles that were attempting to drag him far away from the others on the battlefield. Janyu pursued them as he knocked out Voidlings that got in his way but he wondered just how far NeoDevimon was going to go.
This could either be really bad for CannonBeemon or help him get out of his bind. The massive insect pointed his laser cannon at the demon and fired away, blasting away at the shadows which released him while simultaneously battering the demon's torso with lasers. But NeoDevimon blocked them all with his claws before throwing his hands up which caused CannonBeemon's own shadow underneath him to erupt like a black geyser.
"CannonBeemon!" Janyu called out.
"Stun Claw!"
CannonBeemon was still entangled in shadows so it was difficult for him to move but he saw the claws extending towards him so he opened up his honeycombs to reveal his massive artillery. "My partner and I defeated you when I was a Champion!" Once again, he rained hellfire down on his opponent.
NeoDevimon stopped stretching his arms as he opened up his claws, created a black disc that shielded him from the bullets and beams. "You only won because you had allies hiding around the forest. It was quite the dirty trick."
"What about an ally right in front of you?"
One of NeoDevimon's arms retracted so fast that it gave Janyu whiplash to look at. But the human couldn't afford to be distracted as he was coming in for a flying kick straight for the fallen angel's abdomen. Unfortunately, the free claw blocked the blow and then scratched up the boy's right thigh.
"Agh!" Janyu yelped when he landed on his injured leg. He fell down to one knee but he quickly rolled out of the way when a claw came crashing down with the intent of crushing him. "CannonBeemon, he's all yours now!"
The masked demon turned his head to find that his digital opponent had not only freed himself from the shadows but he had flown to the space directly above his head. "Sky Rocket Infinity!" NeoDevimon created a dome made from the shadows to shield his body from the ongoing attacks but it wouldn't be enough as it soon shattered and covered him in smoke and explosive shells.
"Did it work?" Janyu wondered aloud.
A voice mimicking the sound of his own answered though it was a little distorted. "What do you think?" Janyu pivoted on his heel to find that his shadow had come alive and was now strangling him with his hands around his throat. "You can't win, boy."
"Janyu!" CannonBeemon called. He hovered down as fast as he could but he had to freeze when NeoDevimon made himself known and placed a sharp claw at the side of his partner's head. One wrong move and the boy's big brain would become skewered meat. "Tch… Now who's resorting to dirty tricks?"
"L… Let go of me!" Janyu choked out.
"Only when I get what I want," NeoDevimon answered.
CannonBeemon swallowed nervously, wondering what the sadistic devil desired exactly. "And that is…?"
There was no verbal response from the Digimon, but the shadows did force Janyu to change position so that he was facing his partner. Out of nowhere, dozens of dark tentacles shot out from the ground and surrounded CannonBeemon from all sides before coming down and cracking on his metallic surface like whipes, creating dents in his armor and causing the bug to scream out in agony. Janyu tried to look away, only to be forced to look back by the shadows.
"I had said that I wanted to pay you back the humiliation you gave me," NeoDevimon laughed, tracing a sharp claw down Janyu's spine, slowly tearing open his green gi. "I will not only torture your partner to the very brink of death, but I will also make sure that you watch every second of his pain."
To Janyu, that was possibly the only thing worse than death. But his partner freed from the torture soon enough when Shibumi came flying in, cutting down the shadows with his sickle and even slicing through Janyu's evil shadow. NeoDevimon jumped backwards to evade the blade but before he could do anything to the Japanese boy, he held out a small device with a red button on it.
"Don't move," Shibumi warned as FanBeemon dropped into his partner's waiting arms.
If they could see under his mask, they would be able to see NeoDevimon frowning. But when the demon looked over to the other battlefield, he noticed that Megadramon and Gigadramon had stopped their assault as well. "And what, exactly, is that thing supposed to do?"
"Before I left to hunt for my golden key, I installed a self-destruct program into those two," Shibumi replied, gesturing towards the hovering machines. "Just a press of this button and everything within a twenty meter radius is blown to smithereens."
It was a likely story considering Shibumi was never on good terms with anyone, besides Dracomon, when he was on Apocalymon's side. Doing something like this was a pretty effective, if low, way of getting the gears to do what he says.
"You're bluffing," NeoDevimon scoffed.
Shibumi narrowed his eyes on his former ally. "Do you want to test that theory out?"
"You'll destroy yourselves," NeoDevimon continued. "And even if you did install such a program, Apocalymon surely would've found it removed it."
The demon's got him there. And once those words were out in the air, Megadramon and Gigadramon felt that they no longer needed to be afraid of exploding so they opened up their claws, ready to commit another bombing. So Shibumi shrugged, pushed the button, and tossed the device into the air.
"Duck and cover!" he shouted as the object exploded in a bright light, possibly covering a twenty-meter radius.
"Gah! A flash bang?!" NeoDevimon grunted.
When the bright light was gone and everyone could see again, they found that the humans and their digital partners had made a tactical retreat as they were nowhere in sight. It was frustrating to know how close they were to defeating the Chosen Children only to have them escape. Next time, they were going to have to be more careful.
"They won't get away," Megadramon snarled. "I want to pay back Shibumi for that day at Ogremon Village."
"And those kids for what they did at Toy Carnival," Gigadramon added. "We'll find them before the sun sets."
NeoDevimon knew that they were capable of this, of course, since they were machines, they could be given an innumerable amount of upgrades. Some of those upgrades included sensors that could detect heartbeat, heat signature, voice recognition, and even breathing patterns specifically designed to seek out the Chosen Children.
"Oh, I don't doubt it," NeoDevimon chuckled.
Blossom Cave – 9:28 AM
Rai was able to use her staff to teleport herself and the injured Digimon a safe distance away where they found a cave to lay low and wait for the others. It wasn't long for the team to regroup as they still had their compasses from their silver key hunt, pointing them in the direction of their youngest comrade. Now that they were all together, they needed to catch their breath and fix their wounds.
"Thanks for saving us, Shibumi," Janyu told the older boy.
"Well… You guys did the same for me," Shibumi replied. There were a couple of more words hanging on the tip of his tongue but he didn't dare vocalize them, knowing that the humans would all pounce. So instead, he said, "I have some medical experience; let me take a look at FanBeemon."
Robert slammed his fist against the cavern wall. "I can't believe we were beaten like that!"
"It's frustrating, I know," Daisy agreed. "But we'll beat them next time."
"Hopefully we won't have to retreat again," Babel mumbled. "I've run out of flash bangs and smoke bombs. If we bump into them again before we find a place for me to make more, it'll be a lot harder to make an escape."
Suddenly, Betamon hopped out of Rai's care and all the other Digimon seemed to become upright as well. None of them seem very happy with the thought of running away again. And it was no surprise. As of late, they hadn't been protecting the humans very well. The fight they had been in before encountering NeoDevimon, was two giant board games for the humans while they were held hostage.
"We won't lose next time!" Ryudamon snarled.
"Our training hasn't been for nothing!" Salamon agreed.
FanBeemon's wings drooped a bit. "Or… have you guys lost faith in us?"
The humans were shocked that their partners could even think this. But it was evident from their expressions that it wasn't just the insect that felt this way. Clenched fists, bared fangs, infuriated shaking, and bristling fur were all signs of their discontent with their recent reversal of roles. Even though they had agreed that protection was a two-way street for them.
"We didn't mean to make you guys feel that way," said Rai, affectionately brushing her hand over Betamon's mane.
"Yeah, you guys are our best friends and we just worry sometimes because you're in the bigger and more dangerous fight," Robert added. "It's not like any of us would stand a ghost of a chance if we were fighting Apocalymon's goons on our own."
Janyu nodded. "Rob's right. We depend on you guys, but that doesn't mean you should be recklessly throwing yourselves in the line of fire to prove it."
Daisy wrapped her arms around her partner and embraced her gently to keep from exacerbating her wounds. "And you guys did a great job at protecting us. But remember what Leomon's free running training was for? Next time those missiles come falling towards us, ignore them. We'll get out of the way."
"Are you sure?" Candlemon asked.
"Definitely," the humans replied.
The smiles faded away when a little squeak was heard deeper in the cave, prompting Daisy to draw her sword and creep closer into the darkness. The others seemed to read to give whoever it was a beat down as well until they saw that it was just a MetalKoromon.
"P-Please, don't hurt me," the metallic mouse Digimon whimpered.
Daisy sheathed her weapon as she knelt down towards the tiny creature. "Sorry, we didn't mean to scare you." Glancing upwards, she noticed more Digimon hiding in the cave, clustered together in a group and shaking uncontrollably. "Guys," she called back to her friends. "They're refugees."
A variety of flower, insect, beast, and even two angel Digimon were cowering there. Salamon gasped when she saw Piddomon and Nefertimon, bounding towards them because they were badly injured and because they were survivors of Heaven. They had been caught in one of Megadramon's explosions and could only fly so far. As for the rest of the refugees, it seems they all used to live on Blooming Trail before it was ravaged by Breakdramon.
When Shibumi heard that it had been his partner that caused these civilians to lose their home, he had to walk back to the cave's entrance to dry heave. Janyu went to check up on him while the others listened to the stories of these refugees.
"Because so many areas have been conquered around here, Trailmon and Locomon are no longer running," MetalKoromon explained. "And we're too scared to flee. We don't even know where the closest camp is."
Daisy bit her lower lip to keep from crying as she thought about how Musyamon had blamed her for the loss of her village after getting possessed by a Dark Chain. "I'm sorry. It's our job as DigiDestined to protect you guys from harm and yet…"
"No, we're not blaming you guys," a Tentomon buzzed.
"He's right," said Nefertimon. "You're all doing the best you can."
Before they could say anything, a huge explosion shook the entire cave as the dirt fell from the ceiling and ashes blew in from the entrance. FanBeemon immediately became concerned for the safety of his partner who was out there and flew out, with the others following right behind him. Salamon did order all the refugees to stay inside where it was safe before running out.
"There was a time when she was the one who needed protecting," Piddomon chuckled humorlessly.
Nefertimon nodded, a fond smile gracing her face. "Yes, she's grown a lot since then."
The Chosen Children and their partners made it outside at the same time and organic missile was coming towards them. They all lunged forward, tucking their knees to their chests, as they rolled out of the way from an explosion. It nearly caused a cave in which could've trapped the refugees inside.
"Gigadramon and Megadramon are hiding in the skies using some cloaking mechanism!" Shibumi called out from the trees. "We need to lead them away from the cave!"
The group dived into the woods and started running away from the cave as bombs were being dropped on their trail. Trees went up in flames and soil was being overturned but all they could think about were the refugees. It wasn't just Salamon who lost her home; it was the survivors and everyone who found a place at a refugee camp. They were suffering because they lost friends, family members, a place to return to, all because of the monster that was Apocalymon.
"Why were we so focused on protecting each other?" Robert wondered to himself.
"When we have a whole world to protect?" his partner added.
The humans didn't stop running until they made it back on Blooming Trail, where they caught sight of NeoDevimon waiting for them with legions of Voidlings. But even then, they all leapt forward with keys and weapons drawn, not hesitating to crash land into the chaos.
"We're going to protect this world!"
NeoDevimon had to cover his eyes from the burst of light and the sounds of pained roars from the skies showed that Megadramon and Gigadramon had to do the same. But as soon as the lights faded away, NeoDevimon felt a fist connect with his chest as he was blown back a meter thanks to Janyu, and to make things worse for him, CannonBeemon was firing waves of bullets, lasers, and cannons at the fallen angel.
"I don't have the time to shield myself!" NeoDevimon grunted as he attempted to block the attacks with just his claws.
"That's the plan," Janyu smirked.
The masked devil noticed how the other humans were nowhere to be seen and yet, Voidlings were being cut down left and right. But when he glanced skywards, he could see the partnered Digimon flying upwards and using their other senses to find the cloaked foes.
"The humans… are in the air?!" NeoDevimon gasped.
Robert and Daisy flew off their partner, using their blades to slice through Gigadramon which caused him to let out another roar. This was the signal for Hisyaryumon to launch an Every Direction Wheel and for Hippogriffomon to fire a Sonic Voice attack, both attacks landing on the winged serpent and making him visible again. As if that wasn't enough, as the two humans were falling, one threw his spear like a javelin while the other fired an arrow; both were equipped with bombs which exploded upon impact.
As for Megadramon, Rai released a powder which usually didn't affect machine Digimon since they had no way of absorbing it. But the powder she released created an electromagnetic interference in all of his capabilities, a little trick that Rai learned when studying machine Digimon in Bulbmon's library. It was the equivalent of being paralyzed so this allowed the hard hitters to ready, aim, and fire. Babel pitched one of his bombs and fired a flurry of bullets, WaruSeadramon used a Thunder Javelin, Rai fired a Thunder Ball from her weapon, and Mistymon released a Blast Fire from his blade.
"You were supposed to catch us by surprise, right?" a disembodied voice stated,
NeoDevimon, for the first time in his life, felt fear. The humans had bested them by giving them no chance to counterattack. Blow after blow, they were being pushed further back into a corner. And for a fraction of a second, CannonBeemon stopped his onslaught of attacks only for the grim reaper to finish the job.
Shibumi appeared in front of the fallen angel with his scythe gleaming in the sunlight, and in one fell swoop, NeoDevimon felt his stomach cut open. These humans and their partners were not normal combatants, that was for sure.
Both sides regrouped as they stared each other down. Despite the ambush that the Chosen Children had prepared, they were still in pretty bad shape from their earlier fight. Or at least, the Digimon were. But that just meant they were on even ground now.
"You're all breathing rather heavily," NeoDevimon scoffed, holding one of his giant hands over his wound.
"We could say the same about you guys," CannonBeemon huffed.
Before, they had been so focused on thoughts of taking vengeance for their friend or from the grief of losing some of their friends. They concentrated on the fact that their partner was in danger and they needed to be saved. They had forgotten that they could protect themselves and what was truly important wasn't revenge, but taking back what rightfully belonged to the citizens of the Digital World. Their petty feelings had to be pushed to the side.
Megadramon narrowed his eyes on them. "Who do you kids think you are to stand up against Lord Apocalymon?"
Robert swung out his bisento, spinning it around his hand before stabbing the blade into the ground. "You're up against the Chosen Children. And I happen to be the Samurai of Willpower, so you better believe that I won't quit until we succeed at saving this world!"
Janyu cracked his knuckles and threw several punches into the air in under three seconds. "But we're not in any rush, of course," the bespectacled boy continued. "We'll liberate this world without having to break our necks doing so. That's what makes me the Warrior of Patience!"
Daisy drew her blade and made an arc that propelled the air forward, forcing the front line of Voidlings to take a step back before she sheathed the weapon again. "The pain of the Digimon who have lost the people and the places they care most about it. I can hear them crying out to us. And I will be sure to make you and your master pay by feeling their pain as well! I have arrived, the Knight of Empathy!"
Babel tipped his cap before spinning his pistol around on his index finger. "We're under no obligation to save this world but you guys have committed too many sins for us to ignore. It is time for you to take responsibility just like we are responsible for rescuing this world," he smirked, pointing the gun at NeoDevimon's hidden face. "Be sure to remember my face when I make you walk the plank, I'm the Pirate of Responsibility!"
Rai bowed respectfully towards their foes, gently caressing the moon on her staff. "After all the time we've spent here, we've come to love this world and the people in it," she softly told them. "That's why my magic will be used to protect everything that I love. I hope to enchant you, I am the Mage of Compassion!"
"I was once determined to change this world into my ideal," Shibumi took over, swinging his scythe around before making a stop. Reflected on the blade were the faces of NeoDevimon, Megadramon, and Gigadramon. "But I now see that what I've done has endangered many innocent lives and I will now do everything in my power to atone for my sins! You won't stop me, the Reaper of Dedication!"
These six humans stood firm with five Ultimate Digimon standing behind them. This group, short of a complete dozen, was nothing compared to the army that Apocalymon has accumulated using his Dark Chains. And yet, somehow, the ones reflected on the reaper's weapon shook in fear.
"We shall fight again, another day," NeoDevimon snarled.
"You haven't won," Megadramon growled.
"Just you wait," Gigadramon sneered.
With that, Apocalymon's minions were gone and all that was left were the Voidlings. But they could be easily taken care of.
"We won't stop until this world is back to the way it was," Hisyaryumon stated. "So we'll do everything we can to save it!" With that last war cry, the human became enveloped in their DigiSouls which traveled up their partners as they charged into the fray.
-X-
Refugees, whether at a camp or not, all have to suffer because of Apocalymon. The Chosen Children and their partners have always known this but this is where they have truly taken it to heart. They are ready to fight Apocalymon with everything they've got so keep cheering them on, everyone! All the way into the next Digimon: Children of the Past!
This was difficult to write. My juices for creating fight scenes are slowly diminishing. But I think I squeezed out enough to make decent ones. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed and do not forget to leave a review down below. Sayonara!