Chapter 26: From the Ashes
"Right. Careful now," an accented voice said.
Streams of water trickled down the trunk of the World Tree and rain poured over its branches.
At the base of the titanic tree was the Royal Knight team that had come to intercept DarkKnightmon. Along with them were several other Digimon as well.
Several members of the Warrior Ten stood nearby. AncientMermaidmon used her water manipulation abilities to create a rain cloud, which she used to pour water on the burning branches, as well as create a steady hose of water which she used to pour over the more intense parts of the fire. AncientGreymon manipulated the fire itself, drawing the flames away from the tree and letting them fizzle out in the rain. Shurimon, the Warrior of Wood, stood by, waiting for the rest of the fire to be put out before going to try to repair the badly damaged parts of the tree. Meanwhile, he tried to revitalize the destroyed and damaged flowers. PileVolcamon stood nearby, using his own powers to shift the upturned soil over the ruts and craters caused by attacks, getting the earth ready for Shurimon.
The rain continued to pour solely over the World Tree from the clouds above. It proved to be a fitting image, considering how mangled much of the lower part of the tree looked. All along one side, the bark and wood was burnt and many of the branches were black, broken and skeletal. Fortunately, the Warrior Ten had arrived before the inferno could climb too high up the tree or spread to too much of the other side, but the damage was still painfully obvious. Despite this, the World Tree still stood strong. Something of such great height, thickness and importance was bound to be resilient, though the scars of the attack were clear on its mighty stature.
"I think that's about the last of it," AncientGreymon remarked, lifting his foreleg up to adjust the goggles on his helmet. The last of the embers were gone and the smoke dispersed in the wind.
The giant dragon flew towards the ground and became engulfed in light, taking on his KaiserGreymon form.
"Thank… you…" Valdurmon said weakly, still lying on the ground in pain.
AncientMermaidmon made her way over to him, using the legs of her more humanoid form for land motion. "You're next, big guy," AncientMermaidmon told him with a wink before shifting into her small, pink MarineAngemon form. "I'll get those injuries fixed in no time. Ocean Love~"
Alphamon, Dukemon, Magnamon, Dynasmon, and RhodoKnightmon stood nearby. They did what they could to help, but, with the exception of Dynasmon, who could utilize AncientMermaidmon's water abilities with his Dragon's Roar attack, they didn't have the right skill set to combat the fire. Alphamon had sent Grani to retrieve the Warrior Ten, but fortunately, a group of the Ten had already been on the way when they heard that the World Tree was under attack.
KaiserGreymon walked over to the Royal Knights and stopped in front of them, folding his arms.
Alphamon stood next to Dukemon, whose hands were on his shoulder to help him stand. Using the Alpha inForce was physically exhausting due to the sheer amount of skill and power it took to use. "Thanks, Kaiser," Alphamon told him, holding his hand out towards the dragon knight.
KaiserGreymon took Alphamon's hand and shook it firmly. "Don't worry about it, mate. How are you feeling?"
"Humbled," Alphamon said plainly.
"Come on now. You routed the guys who did this, didn't you?" KaiserGreymon encouraged him, placing his hands on his hips.
"And we nearly allowed the World Tree – the embodiment of Yggdrasil - to be burnt to a crisp," Alphamon countered. "I believe that's called winning the battle but losing the objective."
"We can't start blaming ourselves for this," Dukemon said to Alphamon from the knight's side. "That's what DarkKnightmon wants. That was why DarkKnightmon attacked the tree in the first place."
"I know…" Alphamon said with a sigh. "You're right. But still, I can't help but feel at least a bit responsible."
"Don't dwell on it. Learn from it. I know it's a cliché, but it's sound advice," KaiserGreymon advised him. He folded his arms and took on a stern, serious expression. "So… DarkKnightmon…"
"He's the one who attacked us before, is he not?" PileVolcamon asked, walking over to them.
"Yeah…" Magnamon replied sheepishly, remembering hearing that DarkKnightmon had attacked PileVolcamon and AncientKazemon when he escaped from the Dark Area. "Sorry about that."
"You don't have to apologise. He may be your former teammate, but you're not responsible for the things that he does," the Warrior of Flames proclaimed.
"Is that why you metal brains didn't ask for our help at all?" MarineAngemon said, sticking her tongue out at them as she used her Ocean Love ability to heal them.
"Yeah, you should have kept us in the loop more," KaiserGreymon said to them. "We've been allies since the Heavenly War. We're not your allies for nothing, I hope you know."
"We know… I guess we viewed it as a private matter," Alphamon admitted. He looked up at the World Tree regretfully. "It's a very private matter now…"
"I'm a strong believer in teamwork," KaiserGreymon exclaimed, hinting that he wanted to be involved in this matter.
"Except when it's you who wants to do something on your own," the Warrior of Water playfully teased him.
"Yeah, if this was you and your arch enemy Gaiomon, you wouldn't have called us, I'm betting," Dynasmon pointed out, folding his arms and looking at KaiserGreymon accusingly.
KaiserGreymon folded his arms and gave him an annoyed look. "Hey, Mer, can you cure Dynasmon's big mouth while you're fixing everybody?"
"Doubt it; I could never fix yours," she chimed in response, finishing with Valdurmon and beginning to heal the cuts and bruises that the Royal Knights sustained. "Although, Dynasmon, you might have to remove your armour while I patch you up." MarineAngemon looked over and stuck his tongue out at him playfully.
Dynasmon managed a grin, despite his mood the last few days. "That can be arranged…"
"I wouldn't mind seeing that either," RhodoKnightmon exclaimed, perking up. "What say you, Alphamon?" he added, hinting at the Lord of the Empty Seat now that he knew his sexual preferences.
Alphamon sheepishly looked away. At the same time, Dynasmon's face darkened a bit and he looked in the direction opposite from Alphamon, reminded of why he was angry at him.
KaiserGreymon and the Warrior of Water exchanged confused glances. They were even more curious now.
PileVolcamon cleared his throat, looking over as Shurimon began to quietly restore parts of the tree. "Anyways… DarkKnightmon attacked the World Tree, correct?" he asked the Royal Knights. "Does he aim to destroy it completely?"
"In other words, is he coming back?" KaiserGreymon added.
"We're not sure," Alphamon replied. "They did seem to only get a few shots off at the tree before we routed them. Either way, I sent Grani to the headquarters to return with OuRyuumon and a large branch of the Strike Forces and some of the Shield Guards."
Magnamon folded his arms and observed the World Tree. "Still. What a disaster… This isn't going to be a good reflection on us."
"Nobody needs to know once Shurimon works his magic," KaiserGreymon suggested, nodding over to the Warrior of Wood.
"No," Alphamon said. "Secrecy in the Order would be more damning than the fact that we let this happen to the World Tree."
"Now, he says…" Dynasmon scoffed.
KaiserGreymon frowned and looked between Alphamon and Dynasmon, picking up on the increasingly obvious tension between them. "…Are you two having a row?"
Alphamon and Dynasmon replied with 'no' and 'yes' respectively.
Unsatisfied, the Warrior of Flames folded his arms. "What about?"
"I'm guessing Kaiser doesn't know, does he, Alphamon?" Dynasmon said, glancing over at the black knight with a sharp, challenging gaze. "Why don't you tell him?"
"Dynasmon…" Magnamon chastised.
Alphamon sighed. "No, it's okay…" he replied in a resigned voice. Despite his words, there was still a hint of trepidation in his tone. "I'm bisexual."
KaiserGreymon blinked. "Oh…" he spoke with shock. He took to silence for several seconds, taking his words in. "…Hey! Great!" he suddenly followed up.
At this surprising amount of cheer, both Alphamon and Dynasmon raised an eyebrow.
"Oooh! Really?!" MarineAngemon asked with a little too much excitement, zooming over from Dukemon to look at Alphamon. There was a mischievous glint in her large, excited eyes. "Sooo, how many guys have you slept with?"
"I, too, would like to know!" RhodoKnightmon implored.
With a bead of sweat rolling down from his head, Alphamon pretended not to hear them. Instead, he continued with KaiserGreymon. "You don't mind?" he asked.
"Hey, I'm nothing if not open-minded, thank you very much," he protested defensively.
Dynasmon frowned at KaiserGreymon's words. "And the fact that he kept it a secret? I know how much you hate it whenever AncientGarurumon keeps secrets from you. That's one of the main things that you bitch about, Kaiser. What's different now?"
"Yeah, sure, it annoys me a little," the dragon Digimon admitted. "But I suppose I can understand Alphamon not wanting to say anything. I get not wanting to be labelled one thing or another. This is coming from a master of fires, by the way; I have the potential to burn down a town in a flash, so every time I'm recognized in a new place, I definitely attract a lot of worried and dirty looks."
"That and the fact that you often end up causing property damage while trying to save people," MarineAngemon reminded him before shifting back into her AncientMermaidmon form.
"That's beside the point," KaiserGreymon huffed.
"I see…" Dynasmon muttered. He glanced over at Alphamon. "And what about the very idea that your friend might label you at all?"
"Really, it wasn't like that, Dynasmon…" Alphamon assured him, his gaze softening at the white and violet dragon knight. "But I couldn't pick and choose who could know and who couldn't; that wouldn't have been fair and it was likely that somebody would have inadvertently let it slip. It either had to be everybody or nobody… and I wasn't ready for everybody to know yet."
Dynasmon sighed out his nostrils and closed his eyes. "Yeah, whatever…" he said, meandering away from the group.
Dukemon noticed Alphamon watching as Dynasmon receded. "Give him time. You know how stubborn he can get," Dukemon said to him with a pat on his shoulder.
"Want me to go and talk to him?" KaiserGreymon offered, stepping forwards. "I know my way around him."
"Better to let him cool off," Dukemon replied. He gestured to the visibly damaged World Tree. "Besides, we have more important things to worry about right now."
"Like how to defend the World Tree?" RhodoKnightmon asked.
"If that's even his next move," Magnamon replied. "Maybe he made his point already and won't take this attack any further."
"But can we take that risk?" Alphamon responded to the gold knight. He gave KaiserGreymon a decisive look. "And don't say, 'who dares, wins'."
Before KaiserGreymon could retort, Dynasmon hurried back over to them, running through a vestigial wisp of smoke. "Somebody's coming," he told them quickly.
When the group looked at him, Dynasmon pointed down the clearing. The Royal Knights and Legendary Warriors readied themselves as they turned to follow his gaze.
A single figure, cloaked with what looked like a yellow aura stormed out of the forest and tore towards them with ardour in its stride.
Dynasmon narrowed his eyes at the unknown Digimon and he stepped ahead of the group, summoning Wyvern from his form.
As he did this, the yellow aura from around the incoming figure suddenly expanded, and to the group's surprise, a yellow dragon that looked a lot like Wyvern suddenly burst from his back and hovered in the air above him.
The Digimon extended his arm out sharply, sweeping the hem of the white jacket around his shoulders aside, and pointed accusingly at the Royal Knights. "What the hell is going on here?!" he demanded, marching up to them, unperturbed by their weapons.
Alphamon narrowed his eyes at the humanoid Digimon, momentarily glancing up at the yellow dragon above his body. "Who are you?" he asked, quietly sizing up this Digimon and wondering what business he had here.
KaiserGreymon blinked and stepped forwards. "Gankoomon?" he asked, recognizing the Digimon. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask all of you the same question," Gankoomon responded harshly, a definite scowl on his face as he looked at each and every one of them before eyeing the burnt and damaged World Tree.
"You know this guy, Kaiser?" Dynasmon asked him. As he looked between KaiserGreymon and Gankoomon, Wyvern peered at Hinukamui as he flew above Dynasmon's head. Hinukamui had his eyes locked on Wyvern's three ones. They both stared at each other with a mixture of curiosity and caution.
KaiserGreymon nodded and folded his arms. "I've known Gankoomon for awhile. He's a fellow knight-errant. A real hothead, at that."
"Look who's talking," Gankoomon responded, giving KaiserGreymon a short look through his visor.
"Kaiser, why didn't you tell us you had a hot friend?" AncientMermaidmon asked, giving him a sharp elbow.
"Ow!" the dragon knight exclaimed, shooting a glare at AncientMermaidmon. "Because PileVolcamon and I are rather more attractive than he is, so I didn't think he would be all that impressive."
Gankoomon looked back at the group as a whole. "I'm still waiting for an answer," he said, tapping his foot.
Valdurmon was about to speak up, but Alphamon took a step forwards and spoke instead. "I'm sorry if this comes across as rude, but why are you assuming that we are answerable to you?" Alphamon asked him, rather annoyed at the stance of entitlement that Gankoomon was taking towards them.
Gankoomon glared at Alphamon and stepped up to him, pressing his finger against Alphamon's chest. "Oh, that's right… You're Alphamon. The leader of the Royal Knights, right?" he asked. "I know you guys think you're Yggdrasil's chosen defenders of the Digital World, but don't you usually say something about working with the 'common Digimon'? Or is that just a load of shit like I thought?"
Alphamon stared at him quietly, not backing down in the face of his aggressive manner. "Not at all," he responded calmly. "We care deeply about the Digimon that we're sworn to protect. But I don't like the accusatory tone in which you're speaking to us."
"Can't handle a little constructive criticism?" Gankoomon asked standoffishly. "Want me to kiss your boots instead?"
Dynasmon stepped forwards and glared at him defensively, folding his arms as he stepped up beside Alphamon. "Hey. Do you have some sort of problem with us?" he asked Gankoomon a rivalrous stare.
"I have a problem with people who ignore my questions," Gankoomon retorted, giving Dynasmon a look. "What happened to the World Tree?"
"It was attacked by this guy called DarkKnightmon and his cronies," KaiserGreymon replied. "The Royal Knights stepped in to intervene."
Gankoomon looked the World Tree up and down, inspecting the damage. "And they did a great job, it looks like," he sarcastically stated.
"And where the hell were you during all this?" Dynasmon challenged, pushing Alphamon aside to get into Gankoomon's face.
"Nearly getting fried by one of your stray beams," Gankoomon returned the glare and stepped forwards, pressing his chest against Dynasmon's. As they glared in close proximity, the two dragons above them also growled and leered at one another, protective of their respective partners.
"Seriously. What's your problem with the Royal Knights, Gankoomon?" Dynasmon asked him angrily.
Gankoomon glared at him, annoyed that he casually called him by his name when he didn't even know Dynasmon's. "What's your name, bull-face?"
"Dynasmon."
"Okay, Dynasmon. You wanna know?" Gankoomon asked him. "My problem with you Royal Knights is that you all act so damn high and mighty. You made yourselves the defenders of the continent, but you're all so full of yourselves. You're all lofty, out of touch, and holier-than-thou, sealed up in that giant castle of yours. You don't actually know what it's like, living with regular Digimon. You don't know what they go through. You just see them as things that are lower than you – things that need protecting, things that should be gracious whenever you step in to help for – what reason? – to make yourselves feel good? Or is it noblesse oblige?"
Magnamon frowned at this. "Please don't assume you know what we think," he told them, annoyed at being generalized. "You don't know us at all."
"Yeah, you're one to talk!" Dynasmon countered. "You say that we're arrogant, but what about you?! You act like you know everything about us, and you think you're better than us because you live among regular Digimon or something? None of us were born Royal Knights. I used to be a mercenary too, I'll have you know! I've had to take humiliating jobs just to make ends meet. Just ask KaiserGreymon! But it's not like that makes me better than anybody else here. Show a bit of respect before you open your big mouth and make a bunch of damn assumptions."
"Respect is earned, lizard," Gankoomon replied. "If you were as down to earth as you claim you are, you wouldn't demand respect."
"Oh, just kiss already," RhodoKnightmon muttered, rolling his eyes.
"Yes, let's all calm down here," PileVolcamon told them, raising his hands and placing them on their shoulders.
The two pulled away from each other and folded their arms. "Tch," Gankoomon scoffed. The Digimon then went quiet and thought to himself. "…DarkKnightmon, huh…?" he said, more to himself than to any of them.
"Do you know him?" Alphamon asked, raising an eyebrow.
Gankoomon sneered and looked away with a faint grimace. "They passed by me on the way here," he admitted. "I… gave them directions."
"You what?!" Dynasmon exclaimed. "You have the chrome digizoid balls to stand there blaming us when you were the one that lead them here in this first place?!"
"Hey, I didn't know he wanted to attack the place!" the humanoid Digimon responded fierily. "At least I'm admitting I made a mistake."
"So are we," Alphamon assured him, stepping between Dynasmon and Gankoomon. "We weren't able to fully defend the tree, and it's our fault that he came here in the first place."
"And why's that?" the jacket–clad warrior questioned.
"DarkKnightmon was a Royal Knight a long time ago," Magnamon spoke up. "He tried to start a coup d'etat, so we banished him to the Dark Area."
"Only, he recently escaped," Dukemon added. "And now he wants to destroy our Order."
"So, basically, the Royal Knights' problem is now becoming everybody else's problem," Gankoomon reasoned. "D'you know how many Digimon could have been hurt? It looks like a bunch of Digimon have been hurt." He gestured to the wounded defenders of the World Tree, who were being healed by AncientMermaidmon, who took to her MarineAngemon form again when she got bored of them arguing.
"We deeply regret that this happened," Alphamon told him diplomatically.
"That's all fine and great, but what are you gonna do about it?" Gankoomon asked, placing his hands on his hips.
"We're going to stop him. For good, this time," the Lord of the Empty Seat said firmly.
"Are you sure the Royal Knights are up to it? You seem like you've been struggling so far," Gankoomon pointed out. "I mean, look at you guys." He gestured over to RhodoKnightmon. "Pink armour? I ought to give you all a lesson in manhood."
"A lesson in manhood? I wouldn't mind that at all," RhodoKnightmon said suggestively, easily brushing off the insult and smirking at Gankoomon.
Gankoomon's eye twitched and he turned away, scratching the back of his head with embarrassed irritation. Hinukamui couldn't help but grin.
"We're up to it," Alphamon told Gankoomon. "We've taken over DarkKnightmon's base of operations so now he's on the run. He isn't far and we have reinforcements incoming. We'll have the Strike Forces seal him in the Neutral Zone and finish this here."
"A lot of Digimon live in the Neutral Zone," Gankoomon said with a doubtful frown.
"I doubt he'll still be in the zone by the time reinforcements arrive," Dukemon pointed out. "It's already been hours. Wounded or not, he's probably gone, Alphamon."
"Unless he's planning to attack the World Tree again. Either way, he won't have gone far. We'll cast our net of scouts and spies in and around this area," Alphamon explained. "He may have damaged the Tree, but we have the initiative this time."
"That is of little consolation," a voice boomed.
The sky seemed to grow dark as thick, grey clouds gathered overhead. The dim flash of lightning flickered within these dark clouds, and the rumble of thunder echoed through the forest clearing.
KaiserGreymon, PileVolcamon, and Shurimon all glanced over at MarineAngemon to see if she was responsible for the sudden change in weather. "Hey, it's not me," the Warrior of Water said, shrugging.
The Royal Knights, Legendary Warriors, Gankoomon and Valdurmon all looked around the surrounding area and sky, looking past the World Tree's massive trunk and canopies.
The tumultuous, clouds suddenly began to swirl in a counter clockwise orbit. At the very center of this axis, the dark grey clouds lit up luminously and the electrical discharge of lightning began to shoot outwards into the surrounding clouds. From the epicenter of this awesome sight, emerged a giant head. The head was covered by a giant, azure helmet, decorated with jagged, yellow strands, a large, lightning bolt shaped horn, and sharp, pointed frills. Underneath the helmet was a long, flowing, white beard, and four, red eyes that leered down at the group beside the World Tree. The head further extended from the clouds, and a long, incorporeal, serpentine body followed. The snake-like body was like an aura of divine energy, similar in consistency to Wyvern and Hinukamui, but more exalted. Giant chains were wrapped precisely around the dragon's long form, and four clawed legs, as well as eight small wings, extended from the exalted creature's body at various places along the lengthy coils. Hovering around each of his four legs were, what seemed to be, three, pale purple digicores, making a total of twelve.
The Royal Knights watched as the massive dragon emerged from the storm clouds. Alphamon's eyes widened with shock. "It's Qinglongmon…"
"What in Fanglongmon's name happened here?!" a second voice spoke, tearing through the sky.
Pillars and tendrils of orange light pierced through the storm clouds, shining down resplendently. As the light fought its way through, the giant form of a glorious phoenix burst through the clouds. While not nearly as large as Qinglongmon, the phoenix Digimon was still quite big – much bigger than any of the Digimon on the ground. His eight wings flapped powerfully as he flew down as well, his body wreathed in flames that lit up the entire sky. He looked around quickly with his beaked, avian head, which was covered by a long, red, pointed helmet. Over his body, he wore a red, metal cuirass, which had a sort of turbine sticking out from the back. He flicked his almost reptilian tail irritably, the flame-like designs of which making it almost seem like an active fire. His ash-coloured mane fluttered in the breeze, resting just below a ring of six, red, floating digicores, which matched the other six around the end of his tail. His four, red eyes narrowed at the group of Digimon below. The phoenix dove down in a streak of flames, making sure that they died out before getting close to the World Tree.
"Zhuqiaomon," Qinglongmon acknowledged formally, glancing over at the comparatively smaller bird.
"Do you two always have to make such dramatic entrances?" a deep, booming voice rumbled.
"It loses its wonder after the first several times," a second, deep voice added.
The Digimon all turned to the forest behind them. There, they saw one giant tree standing above all but the World Tree. Its canopy shook and shuddered, as the tree appeared to be moving towards them. After a few moments, a large shape could be seen at the tree line. Two, giant, serpentine heads emerged from the forest, out into the light of the clearing. The two heads were connected to long, gold-scaled necks that lead to a single shell. The giant, tortoise-like Digimon nudged his way through the trees and stepped out into the clearing with tremor-inducing steps. Atop his thick shell was a massive tree with a thick trunk, verdant foliage, and sturdy vines. Hovering around the tree's trunk were twelve, yellow digicores. The two serpent heads calmly turned their attention from the two Digimon up in the sky, down to group of Digimon across the clearing.
"You just can't appreciate it, Xuanwumon," Zhuqiaomon argued.
From the western part of the clearing, a fourth and final figure lunged out of the forest. A large white-furred tiger covered in blue stripes landed in the clearing gracefully. The huge feline Digimon narrowed his four, red eyes, covered by a blue helmet, and stalked towards the group. His sharp, black claws nimbly stepped around the clearing's flowers the best that he could. His fore legs had metal shin guards over them, while his hind legs had black, metal cuffs, similar to the spiked one near the end of his tail. Like the others, he also had twelve external digicores – these ones were yellow and they orbited his torso.
"The World Tree…" the fourth Digimon spoke in a low growl.
"Baihumon," Xuanwumon said, looking over with his left head. His right head then spoke. "It looks like we're all here now."
"So, it's time to find out what the hell is going on," Zhuqiaomon said sharply.
"The Four Holy Beasts…" Alphamon said, looking around them.
"Ooh boy. You guys are in for it now," AncientMermaidmon teased, looking over at the Royal Knights.
The Four Holy Beasts grew closer to the group, nearly surrounding them with their massive bodies, dauntingly but not aggressively.
"Step away from the tree!" Zhuqiaomon snapped at Shurimon, who was still doing his best to revitalize the damaged parts of it.
Shurimon let out a cry of surprise and fear, blushing and quickly stepping away. "S-s-s-s-s-sorry! I was just tr-tr-tr-trying t-t-to—"
"I don't care!" the phoenix told him. "Who did this?!"
"Hey!" KaiserGreymon spoke up, marching towards Zhuqiaomon and glaring up at him, not intimidated by his size or his anger. "Don't speak to him like that!"
"Don't you talk to me like that, Warrior of Embers," Zhuqiaomon warned him.
Before KaiserGreymon could fire back, Xuanwumon spoke up. "Settle down, Suzaku," Xuanwumon told the holy phoenix Digimon.
"Don't call me that in front of these Digimon, Genbu," Zhuqiaomon heatedly replied to the two-headed tortoise, to which Xuanwumon merely chuckled.
Qinglongmon loomed down towards the Royal Knights, looking at Alphamon in particular. "As long as we're using our informal names now…" he mumbled. The celestial dragon gazed at Alphamon. "What happened here, Alphamon? Why is the World Tree damaged so?"
"It wasn't our fault, if that's what you lot are implying," KaiserGreymon interjected, folding his arms defensively.
"The World Tree was attacked," Alphamon responded. "We did our best to defend it, but…"
"You failed," Baihumon said bluntly, walking over and inspecting the burn marks on the tree.
"Byakko…" Xuanwumon said to him dissuadingly.
Qinglongmon sighed. "This Tree is a treasured site, marking the place where Fanglongmon rests - right beneath these roots. It's his presence that makes this tree grow so high and so vibrantly, although I know the Royal Knights believe that it is Yggdrasil's essence that does so. Although we differ in that regard, this place is still a precious place to us all. How could this have happened? Who would want to do this? An antitheist? An anarchist? Simply a Digimon of chaos with no deeper goal?"
"It was DarkKnightmon, Seiryu," Alphamon calmly said to Qinglongmon. "A former-Royal Knight."
"Him…?" Qinglongmon asked, thinking to himself. "Imperialdramon mentioned him…"
"Imperialdramon?" Magnamon questioned curiously.
"I'll hunt this DarkKnightmon down and burn him to a crisp," Zhuqiaomon seethed, his four eagle eyes squinting hard with rage.
"Don't be hasty, Suzaku," Baihumon said to him.
"We don't know the full story yet," Xuanwumon added.
"What does this DarkKnightmon want?" Qinglongmon asked.
"To bring the Royal Knights down," Dukemon replied. "The World Tree was just collateral damage to him."
"It was an indirect attack on us," Alphamon said with a nod. "We're sorry that the World Tree was involved, but we didn't want this any more than you four did."
"Unacceptable," Baihumon rumbled. "This is your problem, so deal with it. Fast."
"Wrong. This becomes our problem when the World Tree starts becoming a target," Zhuqiaomon replied.
"This is for the Royal Knights to sort out," Qinglongmon said, turning his large head and looking at the phoenix.
"It looks like they're having trouble sorting it out," Zhuqiaomon countered. "I'll get involved if I need to, even if you three are too idle."
"That won't be necessary, Zhuqiaomon," Alphamon insisted. "The Royal Knights will handle it."
"Can you be sure of that?" the vermillion bird asked with narrow eyes. "Look at the World Tree!"
"On my oath, we will finish this once and for all," the Lord of the Empty Seat responded with a resolute stare.
"That's good enough for me," Xuanwumon assured them. His right head turned to gaze at the other three Holy Beasts. "And you three?"
"As long as it's dealt with," Baihumon responded. "Soon."
"We will be watching closely," Qinglongmon said with a nod.
"Tch," Zhuqiaomon scoffed, turning his head away. The two eyes on the near side of his face looked at the Royal Knights hostilely. "Me especially."
He flapped his wings vigorously and began to turn away. "I'm going to speak with my Devas. Seiryu, Genbu, Byakko? We'll meet again." He looked behind him at the Royal Knights a final time. "If you guys don't stop this DarkKnightmon fellow, I will."
With that, Zhuqiaomon burst upwards into the sky, streaking through the clouds with a blaze of orange.
The ensuing silence was broken by Xuanwumon's chuckle, which caused the ground to rumble. "Excuse him. He's always been impetuous and hotheaded," his left head spoke.
"And full of hot air," the right head added.
"I can understand his frustration," Alphamon replied tactfully.
"We're just as angry about this," Dukemon agreed, frowning noticeably.
Xuanwumon grinned and looked at the two Royal Knights. "Will you turn those emotions into action?" one head asked.
"And would it be wise to do so?" the other head mused. "What would be a more effective course? To rush into action, filled with – and perhaps blinded by – emotion? Or to sit back and do nothing with a clear head and a sound heart?"
"Another one of your riddles, Genbu?" Baihumon asked Xuanwumon.
"Merely something to meditate on," Xuanwumon replied with a wink. He backed up and began to turn around, slowly making to head back into the forest. "Best of luck to you, Royal Knights. We will leave the action to you for now."
"Try to settle this problem, please," Baihumon added, going and walking alongside Xuanwumon. "We have things that we need to do. I don't want to see the World Tree in danger."
"Which reminds me," Qinglongmon said, closing his eyes. "Can you continue with the tree, Shurimon?"
Shurimon suddenly stood at attention, flushing. "Um. Y-Yes. Of course!" he replied, swiftly jumping over to the World Tree and beginning to rejuvenate it again.
"And also… I believe your friends have arrived," the dragon observed.
The Royal Knights turned around and Xuanwumon and Baihumon stopped and glanced over. UlforceVeedramon, Duftmon, Craniamon, Sleipmon, and Examon emerged from the forest quickly.
"So, there's the rest of them," Gankoomon mumbled, watching them approach with folded arms.
The other half of the Royal Knights immediately noticed three of the Four Holy Beasts in the clearing. They reacted with varying levels of shock and surprise.
"Qinglongmon! Baihumon! Xuanwumon!" UlforceVeedramon exclaimed, zooming through the sky and stopping in front of them to bow.
"The Four Holy Beasts…" Craniamon mumbled, looking around at them.
Duftmon rolled his eyes. "Ridiculous. What fool would bow to these—Mmm!?"
Sleipmon placed his hand over Duftmon's mouth. "Don't insult the super-powerful, giant Digimon, Duftmon…" he advised him.
Examon flew over and bowed as well. "Qinglongmon…"
"Examon," Qinglongmon replied. "Majiramon did tell me that you joined the Royal Knights."
Examon replied with a nod.
Craniamon stopped in his tracks, his attention no longer on the Holy Beasts. "The World Tree…" he spoke, noticing the damage done to the World Tree
Duftmon slipped out of Sleipmon's grasp. "What happened to it?!" he demanded, rushing over to the Royal Knights. "How could you let it get in this state?!"
"We will be leaving now," Qinglongmon said, curving through the air and flying towards the sky. "I would rather not get involved, but if the World Tree becomes endangered beyond your control…"
"Leave it with us," Alphamon told him.
Qinglongmon nodded and flew upwards, disappearing into the electrified clouds. It wasn't long until Baihumon and Xuanwumon were gone as well.
"Those four are even worse than these guys," Gankoomon said to himself.
"What did they want?" Craniamon asked.
"Well it wasn't to pat us on the back for a job well done," Dukemon replied sarcastically.
"Can't exactly blame them," Magnamon countered. "This is a really important place to the Four Holy Beasts."
"Anyways. We'll be off too," KaiserGreymon announced. He stepped away from the World Tree and evolved to his AncientGreymon form. The dragon landed on the ground with a thud. "You will contact us if you need our help, won't you?"
Alphamon nodded. "If we need your help," he assured him.
"Don't be too proud to ask," AncientGreymon replied as PileVolcamon and AncientMermaidmon climbed on his back. He turned and looked to Shurimon, who still used his plant powers to nurture the tree. It was taking a long time due to the sheer size of the tree. "Will you catch up with us, Shuri?"
Shurimon nodded. "I w-won't be too long," he answered.
AncientGreymon nodded and then looked at the Royal Knights. "Good luck, then. Stay safe and kick ass."
As the dragon of flames flew off, the newly arrived knights walked over to meet with the others.
"This was DarkKnightmon's doing?" Craniamon asked, walking over to the group with a frown.
"Yeah," Dynasmon answered bitterly.
"And you didn't stop him?!" Duftmon replied accusingly, turning his glare from the World Tree to Alphamon. "This is… a humiliation to the Order! We are sworn to uphold Yggdrasil's majesty but you couldn't even protect the World Tree!"
"We did what we were able to," Alphamon responded calmly.
"Yeah," Dukemon said, stepping forwards. "Besides, it was your idea to split us into two groups, Duftmon. If we had all been here, then we would have been able to protect the World Tree and defeat them."
Duftmon blinked. "That…" He sneered with anger. "And what if it had been a feint?!" he countered defensively. "Then he could have overrun the castle! My decision was strategically sound!"
"You still sent us here with less numbers than we needed, so get off our asses about it," Dynasmon said sharply.
"Perhaps if you all had been more effective in combat-" he began to argue.
"Enough!" Alphamon exclaimed firmly. "What's done is done. There's no point in going over what happened repeatedly, nor is there any use in arguing in public."
"Don't mind me," Gankoomon spoke up with a grin. "I think it's kind of funny."
Duftmon frowned and stepped up to Gankoomon, looking at him with a scrutinizing glare. "And who might you be?"
"The name's Gankoomon. And you are…?" he asked, folding his arms.
"Duftmon of the Royal Knights. What are you doing here? This doesn't concern you," he told him.
"It does now," Gankoomon replied.
"Pardon me?" Duftmon incredulously inquired.
"What?" Dynasmon asked as well.
"I'm going to make sure that you knights really do take that DarkKnightmon guy down," Gankoomon insisted.
"What?! The gall! Do you honestly think that you have the capabilities to fight alongside us?!" Duftmon heatedly asked.
Gankoomon smirked confidently. "I'll just have to prove it to you, I guess. Oh, and I'm not going to take no for an answer, so you'll just have to lump it. Somebody has to make sure you don't cock it up again."
Alphamon closed his eyes. "…Very well," he replied. "But I expect you to adhere to whatever tactics that we develop. I can't just have an unknown quantity going around and bringing chaos to the flow of battle. It's too dangerous."
"Fine," Gankoomon conceded with a wave of the hand. "But only if they're good tactics."
Duftmon glared at him in response to the challenge to his planning abilities.
"First, you're complaining about us, now you want to fight with us," Dynasmon muttered, his voice dripping with irony.
"Hey, you told me not to judge you guys until I got to know you, so this will be my chance to get to know you," Gankoomon retorted with a grin. "You'd be surprised how much you can learn about somebody when you fight with them."
"I suspect that we will learn that you're boorish, unrefined, and haughty," Duftmon muttered.
"I look forward to seeing what you can do," Dukemon assured the red-haired fighter. "Just don't underestimate our opponents."
"I don't plan to," Gankoomon responded. He began to stride away, through the flower-filled clearing.
"Where are you going?" Sleipmon asked, watching him as he walked.
"There are some things I need to take care of," he answered with a casual shrug. "Don't worry; I'll be back."
"Don't feel obligated…" Duftmon mumbled.
They watched as Gankoomon walked across the clearing. The knight-errant glanced over his shoulder at them before disappearing back into the forest.
"He seems nice enough," Sleipmon remarked.
"You weren't here earlier," Dynasmon said with a half grin.
"He's… an interesting one," Alphamon remarked, glancing in the direction that Gankoomon left. "Outspoken, but he has a good heart."
"D'you think?" Dukemon asked him.
Alphamon nodded. "He may be brash in every sense of the word, but he was always concerned about other Digimon. I noticed that."
"So, another Dukemon," Craniamon suggested.
"Wonderful. One is already more than enough," Duftmon added.
Dukemon scratched his cheek awkwardly. "I'm right here, you know."
"I think he wants to help us, in a proud, indirect kind of way," Magnamon pointed out with a frown. "Speaking of help, Shurimon's done a great job on the World Tree."
The Royal Knights turned and looked over at the tree. The bark and the outer layers of wood on the World Tree had been restored, as had many of the branches that hadn't been burned beyond reason. However, there was still a moderately deep crater in the near side of the tree that had taken the brunt of the attacks. While Shurimon did what he could to fix that gaping wound, restoring it entirely was just too technically difficult and required too much energy for Shurimon to fix it. The best he could do was restore some of the indentation and tidy up the rest.
"It doesn't matter. The damage to the tree is already done. Word is likely to get out," Duftmon spoke.
"Then we need to make up for it," Dukemon announced. "By stopping DarkKnightmon. It will take more than this to defeat us."
Alphamon and the other Royal Knights nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, Shurimon walked over uncertainly, wiping the sweat from his brow. Instead of addressing the entire group, he walked over to Dynasmon. "Um…"
Dynasmon turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, Shuri?" he asked him.
"I've done what I could. I'm sorry that I c-c-can't do any more, but I'm running out of energy and that impact crater on the south west face of the trunk…" Shurimon trailed off. "I think that will have to repair naturally. It's beyond my powers as the Warrior of Wood."
"You did great," Dynasmon told him. "Thanks a lot for the help."
"Yes," Valdurmon added, looking the tree over. "It looks much better now."
"D-D-Don't mention it. I should go now," he responded with a blush and a nod. Shurimon turned around and lunged into the air with the use of his spring-like legs. He landed amongst the flowers and, in the next bound, already made it to the tree line. In the next second, he disappeared amongst the forest's canopies.
"…Okay, bye," UlforceVeedramon called out with an ironic wave at the ninja's quick exit.
The Royal Knights turned to each other, moving onto the next order of business.
"What's the plan now?" Sleipmon asked.
"We should secure the perimeter of the World Tree," Alphamon said. "Once Grani and OuRyuumon arrive with the Strike Forces, we'll fan out in formation and cover the Neutral Zone."
"You called for the Strike Forces?" Duftmon asked, arching his eyebrow sceptically. "Is that not a bit premature? There haven't been traces of his army, has there?"
"I know DarkKnightmon," Alphamon assured the tactician. "He likes to keep the pressure on and escalate it so that his opponents don't have time to recover. He's attacked the World Tree; he's in the end stages of his plan. If we don't end this soon, he will. We can't allow him to take the initiative anymore; it's too dangerous. We need to find him."
"Do you think he'll destroy the World Tree?" Magnamon asked. "He's shrewd; he'll know we'll be here."
"He's practical, but he can also be daring when it suits him. He'll have a ploy of some kind. And it would have to be effective. That's what worries me," Alphamon responded. "That's why we have to search him out before he can bring the battle to us."
"That won't be easy, though," Examon pointed out.
Duftmon nodded. "He's using guerilla tactics. He's stealthy, and he's been remarkably effective in evading our scouts and spies."
"He's been fairly lucky so far," Dukemon spoke up. "But we have the best recon around. He can't avoid us for long."
"He only needs to avoid us for long enough to do what he's going to do," Craniamon replied.
"Craniamon's right," Alphamon said. "Speed will determine the outcome. Fortunately, we managed to inflict some heavy damage on him during the last skirmish, so that might have bought us some time." The knight then winced at his words. "That sounds awful, doesn't it?"
"He's the enemy," Duftmon said. "We cannot be soft on him, whatever sentimentality some of you might have."
"I'm well aware," Alphamon answered, closing his eyes. "From now on, we can't fight them half-heartedly. They will only take advantage of our kindness and use it against us." The black knight turned and gestured to the World Tree. "As you all can see, the stakes are too high."
Dukemon turned and looked at Examon. The crimson dragon glanced up and caught Dukemon's gaze. Examon eyed him before turning his head and looking away uncomfortably.
Dukemon knew why. Examon was thinking about Dorbickmon, and whether or not he got through to him. It would be hard for them to speak again in the middle of a battlefield, and Dukemon doubted very much that Examon wanted to fight him. On top of that, as Alphamon had said, the stakes were high. Simply talking might prove to be fatal now.
"Anyways," Duftmon spoke. "Those mercenaries might be easier to hunt for than DarkKnightmon. Intelligence suggests that, generally-speaking, they're either small mercenary groups or tearaway factions from larger mercenary teams, but they should still be easier to spot. If he is mounting a final strike like you suggest, Alphamon, then they should be relatively close by."
Alphamon nodded. "We'll begin our search once reinforcements arrive. For now, we'll secure the perimeter from both ground and air."
"Didn't you guys just fight with them a few hours ago?" UlforceVeedramon asked.
"AncientMermaidmon healed us," Dynasmon responded. "We weren't that badly off in the first place."
"Maybe it's a sign that the tide is turning in our favour?" Sleipmon suggested, trying to be optimistic.
"If we are going to talk about the baseless theories known as 'signs', then the burning of the World Tree certainly wouldn't be a favourable one," Duftmon countered.
UlforceVeedramon rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Duftmon. You certainly know how to inspire confidence," he sarcastically said. "Should we get to work now?"
The rest of the Royal Knights nodded and the group promptly went to work on their preparations. Magnamon and Dukemon walked over to Alphamon as the Royal Knights split off to encircle the area. The three walked away from the other Royal Knights.
"Hey, Alphamon," Dukemon said to him.
"Yes?" the Aloof Hermit asked, looking at the two of them.
"Do you think we should tell Imperialdramon Paladin Mode about all this?" Magnamon asked, striding beside their leader. "About DarkKnightmon, I mean."
"He was the one who sealed him away before," Dukemon agreed.
"We should, but it isn't that simple," Alphamon responded. "He's off doing… whatever it is that he does. To this day, I'm not entirely sure what that is, and whenever I ask him, he's always infuriatingly coy and evasive about it."
"Ah, yeah. I can imagine his grin now," the crimson knight muttered with a dry expression.
"Yes. And the last we have seen of him was several months ago, back before Examon was inducted as a Knight," Alphamon added. "I wouldn't know where to start looking, and I can't ask Grani to search for him when his skills are needed now."
"I'm sure that he'll hear that the World Tree was attacked, somehow," Magnamon reasoned. "Perhaps he'll search us out."
"Maybe… I won't deny that I want to talk to him about all of this," Alphamon said with a bit of weight in his words. "I'm so used to bouncing ideas off of Omegamon. I'm at a bit of a loss now that…" He trailed off.
"We're here if you need us," Magnamon assured him.
Dukemon nodded. "And we'll need you to talk Omegamon back around. It looked like something you said got through to him today. There's still hope, you know."
Alphamon smiled a bit. "I'd like to think so."
"There always is," Magnamon spoke. "We've gotten through worse than this." With those words, he nodded at them and took to the air, flying up and veering northwards.
Dukemon gave Alphamon's shoulder a pat and broke off in another direction as well, heading towards the forest.
Alphamon watched as the two departed. When they were gone, he turned and walked up to the World Tree, placing his hand on a portion of the freshly restored bark. He closed his eyes and thought quietly to himself.
"Has it really come to this, DarkKnightmon? …Have we really drifted so far in opposite directions?"
He opened his eyes and allowed his palm to slide from the rough exterior of the tree. Alphamon turned around and began to walk away from the massive tree.
"I will stop you… for Omegamon's sake. And for everyone else's as well."
A warm breeze blew through the mouth of a cave with an eerie whistle. The cave was shallow and embedded in the side of a tall cliff. Following the wind into the cave were four figures, staggering along.
Dorbickmon walked in first, growling to himself. There were flames on his breath, which lit up the cave as they entered.
Behind him were MirageGaogamon and DarkKnightmon. MirageGaogamon helped DarkKnightmon walk into the cave, holding the knight's arm around his shoulders. DarkKnightmon's armour was fractured and mangled in places. A few of the wide, gaping cracks in the metal dripped out blood, most of which had dried on the armour.
Following behind them was Omegamon Zwart, who had been even more quiet than usual during their swift escape.
"Damnit," Dorbickmon grunted with narrow eyes. "I didn't think they'd show up that quickly. They repelled us."
"It's… fine," DarkKnightmon responded between grunts of pain from the vicious attack that Alphamon had delivered on him. "I can work – ngh – with this turn of events…"
"You should sit down, Sir. You're badly hurt," MirageGaogamon said to him, trying to gently sit him down against the cold cave wall. "Let me remove this armour so that I can dress your wounds."
DarkKnightmon nodded weakly and allowed MirageGaogamon to start removing his chest armour. The heavy plate was pulled off his form, revealing bloody, but largely shallow, gash marks on his chest.
"We can't stay here for long," Dorbickmon told them with urgency. "Once the scouts arrive, it won't be long 'til they find this place. It's a pretty obvious hideaway."
"If DarkKnightmon keeps losing blood, he'll pass out," MirageGaogamon barked at him with an annoyed glare.
"And if the Royal Knights catch up with us, we're screwed," Dorbickmon countered. "We can't fight them with these injuries."
"We won't stay for long," DarkKnightmon assured him, wincing and tensing up when MirageGaogamon began putting pressure on a slash mark across his pectoral muscle. "My data isn't going anywhere; just apply a few bandages and I can tough it out until we reach our allies. There, we can receive shelter and healing."
"Fine by me," Dorbickmon replied with a grunt, leaning against the wall and folding his arms, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his form.
Omegamon Zwart walked over to DarkKnightmon and bowed his head with what seemed to be shame or, at least, uncertainty.
DarkKnightmon looked up at Omegamon Zwart. "Omegamon Zwart…" he spoke, making sure to include the second word.
"I am sorry, DarkKnightmon…" Omegamon Zwart said with a faint grimace. He replayed the event over and over in his mind. He was in front of the World Tree, his cannon was pointed straight at it. He had the opportunity, but then Alphamon tried to stop him. He didn't take the shot. He wasn't sure why, and it frustrated him. He felt… uneasy.
"What happened back there?" DarkKnightmon asked, not with anger, but with a calm, understanding voice.
"He choked, is what it looks like," Dorbickmon spoke up.
For once, MirageGaogamon agreed with Dorbickmon. He didn't trust Omegamon Zwart; he was too much of an unknown quantity, having been forced to their side instead of joining them willingly. However, DarkKnightmon was invested in having Omegamon as an ally, so MirageGaogamon kept quiet and allowed Dorbickmon to be the voice that spoke out against him.
"I… don't know," the black Omegamon responded, removing his Garuru Cannon in order raise his hand up to his face and rub it. "I tried to fire… I wanted to fire…" He looked down at the Garuru Cannon, which was tucked under his arm. "It was as if there was something stopping me… from inside…"
DarkKnightmon looked at Omegamon Zwart silently, as if attempting to see into his heart and soul. Quietly, he thought to himself before closing his eyes and tensing up as pain shot through him. "I… see…" he spoke. "Don't worry, Omegamon. It's only natural for you to retain some misgivings about attacking the World Tree, after so many years of being beholden to it. What's important is that you still have the resolve to fight the Royal Knights. Those who wronged you and took advantage of you. Are you still resolved to exact your justice upon them?"
Omegamon Zwart's gaze hardened with determination as his words. "…Yes." He closed his fist tightly and his crimson eyes burned with restrained anger and resolve.
"So, I can count on you?" DarkKnightmon asked him. "I like to think that I can trust you, Omegamon Zwart."
"Trust…" he thought to himself before replying. "Yes. I will bring them down for you." He rose his head up and looked down at DarkKnightmon with a stern stare. "I won't fail you again. Whatever happened before… it will no longer be an issue."
DarkKnightmon nodded at him gratefully. "I believe you."
Dorbickmon glanced at them out of the corners of his eyes. "So, what's our next move?" he asked. "They're going to start building up defences around the tree, so…?"
"We will go to our mercenary allies and stay out of sight for a few days. This will allow us to recover and prepare… and hopefully it will be enough time for the Royal Knights to slacken their defence around the World Tree," DarkKnightmon explained, wincing as he lifted himself into a slightly more comfortable sitting position.
"'Hopefully'," Dorbickmon muttered pessimistically. "I don't think they're going to just put some guards on night watch around the tree after what we just did. The World Tree's massively important; they'll probably have whole battle groups around it."
"They will also want to search for us, however. I'm sure that they will want to catch us while we are busy licking our wounds, so to say," DarkKnightmon responded. "If they want to do that, they will have to split their forces. With luck, only a manageable chunk of their forces will be left guarding the tree."
"Licking our wounds, huh?" Dorbickmon asked, unable to help but glance at MirageGaogamon with a shit-eating grin as the canine warrior continued to bandage DarkKnightmon.
MirageGaogamon caught his expression and responded with a bitter, insulted glare.
Dorbickmon shrugged it off carelessly. "So, we're going back to the World Tree?" he mused. "To finish it off?"
"As much as possible…" DarkKnightmon replied. "That would be a crippling blow to the Royal Knights' credibility. Although, that is secondary to my main goal."
Omegamon Zwart looked at him with a stern, curious stare. "Which is…?"
There was a sparkle in DarkKnightmon's eye as he turned his head towards his fellow black knight. "Imperialdramon Paladin Mode…"
Omegamon Zwart's eyes widened ever-so-slightly. "Imperialdramon?" he inquired.
"The founder of the Royal Knights?" MirageGaogamon asked with shock.
"Yes…" DarkKnightmon spoke, his voice as calm as ever. "We will find him and I will take him down personally. When I defeat him, we will bring him to the World Tree and finish them both off at once. When we do that, we will destroy the very foundations of the Order in one fell swoop, and everything will come crashing down around Alphamon and his knights." He closed his fist tightly, his eyes gleaming from the light that poured in from the mouth of the cave. "The Royal Knights will be destroyed at their cores. Their spirits will be crushed and they will submit to my will… And if, even after all that, they still stubbornly resist us, then we will simply destroy them in body as well as soul."
"…Yes, sir," MirageGaogamon replied, no longer allowing himself to listen to his misgivings, instead placing his full faith in DarkKnightmon.
Omegamon Zwart closed his eyes and nodded silently.
Dorbickmon narrowed his eyes and glanced away, looking outside of the cave. "Sure…"
"We have reached the end phase of the plan," DarkKnightmon spoke, a hint of passion behind his unflappable tone. "We simply have to act intelligently and our goals will be achieved. With victory at our finger tips, we must strike like a lightning bolt, swiftly tearing through whatever stands in our way." He planted the Twin Spear into the ground and pushed himself to his feet, despite the fact that MirageGaogamon was finishing up the bandages. A rogue drop of blood slipped from his shoulder and splashed down on his palm as he stood up.
DarkKnightmon walked past the three and stopped at the mouth of the cave, gazing out into the forest. "Whatever it takes… I will fix this world…"
"My Digital World."