I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way! Nor any of the songs I will be using!
Speech Key:
"The" – Oral/Normal Speech
'The' – Thoughts
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE BEGINNING!
AN: Sorry about the late update! I was originally supposed to have this out much sooner, but I caught a cold from the whole up and down weather thing. Then, that escalated into a fever, leaving me partially mute so I pretty much spent my day in bed sleeping. Of course, now the fever's broken for the most part, but it's left me absolutely mute. For how long? I don't know, but I certainly hope it's not too long. So as of now, writing for here and on a notepad are my only means of communication…
Good heavens, this took too long to write! The damned chapter just had so many explanations that I needed to tweak to fit my story that it took longer to write than I intended and of course, the chapter turned out longer than I thought it would…
Anyway, this chapter is going to begin from the episode "Stone Soup" and continue on into "The Kyoto Dragon". Those of you that want to go back and watch the three episodes ("A Chance Encounter", "Destiny in Doubt", and "Cody Takes a Stand") that came before this one, you can do so, but I'll only be making references to them.
Once again, my thanks to Bishounen'sFoxyMiko for her song suggestions!
Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!
-The Ninth Child-
xX-The Guardians' Tale -Xx
-Hamasaki Academy-
Kagome sighed as she sat down in her desk. 'I can't believe there's just one left…Oh, Eclipse, I don't think you know what you've done…'
It had been a few days since the appearance of the Digimon back in Kyoto and even more since BlackWarGreymon destroyed five more Destiny Stones with one left for the DigiDestined to protect. The warp that had started with the destruction of the first Destiny Stone only continued to get larger and larger to the point where Digimon weren't only appearing on Kyoto, but in other places around Japan as well. The present and older DigiDestined had already arranged it so that each person watched over certain districts so they'd be able to split up the tasks and get the work done efficiently.
The raven-haired teen was especially worried because she hadn't received more than a glimpse of what was to come when BlackWarGreymon destroyed the third Destiny Stone. But after that one last vision, her Sight halted completely. She didn't receive anymore visions, which worried the DigiDestined quite a bit. And so, the raven-haired girl had resorted to using her Tarot Cards to at least find out something or another.
'Now if we only knew where the last Destiny Stone was,' Kagome thought, 'It would be that much easier to protect it. But every one of us have searched through the areas and sectors, but we've had no luck in finding it…I only hope we find it before Eclipse decides to get rid of it…'
However, there was one thing that puzzled the DigiDestined, both old and new. During the destruction of the last few Destiny Stones, glimpses of what looked like five different Digimon appeared in a sort of hazy form. One, Kagome was able to identify as Oryu, there was another that looked much like a dragon or snake, another seemed to be a large bird, one seemed to be a large turtle, and the last looked much like a feline.
'I wonder if it was just coincidence that they reminded me of the Guardians in mythology,' the raven-haired girl leaned back in her chair and looked out the window, 'The Azure Dragon of the East, the White Tiger of the West, the Phoenix of the South, the Turtle of the North, and the Yellow Dragon of the Centre… I wonder if those Digimon have any connection to those myths?'
She reached up with her hand and touched a finger to a space just below the corner of her right eye. Although the patch of skin looked as flawless as it always had, what no one knew was that the small place was covered up to prevent what was underneath from being shown so as not to cause any unnecessary panic with her friends and family.
The raven-haired girl thought back to the dream she had before waking up this morning.
-Flashback-
"Okay," Kagome looked around the area where she was, "This is definitely out of the ordinary…"
Kagome, herself, seemed to be standing barefoot atop a large fluffy cloud in the soft-blue sky where more clouds rolled along peacefully. "Does anyone want to explain why I'm in the sky? On a cloud of all things?!"
"Well, if you turned around, it would be much easier to speak with you, Little One," a voice said amusedly from behind her.
The raven-haired girl stiffened as she slowly turned around to face the large coiled figure of Oryu atop his own cloud, just behind her own. "Oryu? What are you doing here? What am I doing here? Are you contacting me through my dreams again? Was there something you needed to tell me? Did something happen? Is something happening? Why are—"
"Slowly, Little One, slowly," Oryu told her gently with a chuckle, "Breathe and allow me to explain."
Kagome did what the large dragon before her told her to do and took a breath before releasing it slowly and sitting down on the fluffy surface of the cloud. "So what's going on?"
"I've called you here for two reasons, the first being the changing of the gifts I bestowed upon you," the dragon told her.
"You mean how apparently now I can't See very much, if anything, anymore? And how I can apparently form barriers with singing?" Kagome tilted her head curiously.
Oryu nodded. "As it was me who gifted you those abilities, I still had a connection to you; it was why I was able to speak with you outside of your dreams. However, due to recent circumstances, I've needed to retract quite a bit of the gift I granted you; this was what caused your loss of The Sight. But the manifestation of your new abilities came to pass from the remains of my original gift attempting to make up for the loss of one ability. Your body, having been quite used having my power flow through it, seemed to have my signature ingrained within it and as a result formed a completely new ability that is all your own."
"So this means that everything I can do now isn't from the gift you gave me," Kagome commented, "And that they are entirely my abilities now? Does this mean that seeing and sensing auras as well as singing to create barriers are the only things I can do?"
"Only time will tell, Little One," the dragon shook his head, "Your own power seems to flow through your body, and yet it is still quite new. As time goes on, you will notice the changes yourself; for all we know, this could very well have been happening for quite a while even before I had retracted the gift."
"I think I understand," Kagome nodded slowly. "So what was the second thing you wanted to talk about?"
"Digivolution," Oryu told the girl before him. "As you know, there are different stages of evolution. One, however, that was never expected is this new form of Digivolution you and the other DigiDestined have discovered."
"DNA Digivolution," Kagome stated.
(AN: The next lot of stuff that Oryu's going to say is literally compiled of bits and pieces of research thrown together with elements of this story to create a whole new thing.)
The dragon nodded. "In order to for this Digivolution to occur, two Digimon and their bonded child must have a close bond or a deep sense of trust in each other and with their Digimon. You, however, will not be able to do this."
"Because everyone is already paired up?" Kagome guessed.
"Not entirely," Oryu shook his head, "The main reason is that your partner Kudamon is an Exalted Beast Digimon and also what is known as a Royal Knight."
"Royal Knight?" Kagome echoed confusedly.
"Eons ago," Oryu spoke with the tone of an experienced storyteller, "When the Digital World first came to be. One creature was chosen to rule over it all."
"I apologize for interrupting," Kagome broke in, "But you said 'creature'. Does that mean that this ruler wasn't a Digimon?"
Oryu nodded. "But neither was he human. The king…just was, and it seemed that there were no more to it than that." He cleared his throat to continue the story. "This leader, King Drasil, knew he could not maintain harmony within the Digital World on his own. And so, he granted a special power of his unto thirteen different Digimon, all while they had still yet to be born, irrevocably changing them. Once hatched, these Digimon grew and Digivolved further and further until they reached the peak of the power. And thus, they formed a council known as the Royal Knights, whose duty it was to maintain balance and harmony within the Digital World. They would answer to no one but King Drasil if orders were issued, but they were always known to help others in their time of need."
"But something happened, didn't it?" the raven-haired teen guessed quietly.
"Soon after centuries passed on in the Digital World," the dragon continued, "The Digital World began changing, most likely due to humans' unknowing access into it. This in turn created the Seven Demon Lords and their first creation, Titamon, causing a massive unbalance of light and dark within the Digital World. King Drasil and his Royal Knights went into battle against these powerful Digimon, but not without paying the ultimate price. By the end of the battle, the Demon Lords were locked away within an area of the Digital World most would call a void where corrupted deleted data tend to go. Titamon, however, had been sealed away within the Dark Realm with an anchor to keep him there and away from the Digital World forever. Unfortunately, eleven Knights were lost with only two remaining, though they had been rapidly weakening as was King Drasil. The King used the last of his power to reverse the Digivolution process of his two remaining Knights and sealed off their DigiEggs until the time came for them to be reawakened."
"Who were those Digimon?" Kagome asked, having an idea of who one of them was.
"Your Kudamon is one of those two Knights," Oryu told her, "And the second was granted to that boisterous annoyance you call, Davis."
"Wait, Veemon is a Royal Knight?" the raven-haired girl blinked rapidly, trying to process the thought, all the while mentally laughing at the wording the dragon had used to describe Davis. "Huh, who'd have thought…"
It was then that a thought occurred to her. "But wait, what about what that strange entity told us about how my friends, brother, sister, and I were chosen to be the DigiDestined? If Kudamon's Egg was sealed away, how could the DataHumans have gotten their hands on it?"
"It was your Digimon's DigiEgg that had brought itself to them," the dragon explained, "The DataHumans had only just created the Crests belonging to each of you when they realized they needed Digimon partners for you all. Once Kudamon's Egg had appeared after responding to your Crest, they were able to match it to your Crest easily. Eventually, one by one, each of the other Digimon's Eggs had come as well, heeding the call of the Crest that was to belong to their bonded human."
"But what happened after King Drasil's death?" the raven-haired girl asked. "I mean, if he was there with the Knights to maintain harmony, doesn't that mean that a replacement was needed?"
"It is true that without King Drasil and his Knights," Oryu told her, "the Digital World was in nothing short of chaos. Now, no one knows, not even I, how this came to be. But five Digimon were chosen to be the five Sovereigns of the Digital World, each having a separate domain."
"The Azure Dragon of the East, the White Tiger of the West, the Turtle of the North, The Phoenix of the South, and the Yellow Dragon of the Centre where they all intersect," Kagome recited from memory. "You're that dragon, aren't you? The Dragon of the centre?"
"Clever you are, Little One," the dragon complimented with an inclination of his head, "Very good."
"So I know that Kudamon will never be able to DNA Digivolve," Kagome nodded, "But how can he Digivolve to Ultimate, then? I gave up the power of my Crest along with everyone else, years ago."
"I told you that I had retracted some of the gift I granted you," the dragon reminded her, "What I hadn't said yet was that I took that power in order to give you something that will help your Digimon Digivolve to his Ultimate form."
"What?" Icy-blue orbs opened wide. "But how? What is it?"
Instead of an answer, Kagome received a thin stream of light pound into her face, knocking her onto her back. "What was that?!"
"You will see, Little One," the dragon chuckled, "Though I believe you should be leaving, don't you have—what is it the humans call it…Ah, yes—school? I believe you have a test today, do you not?"
"Oryu~" Kagome said with a ticking brow, just before she was pulled out of the dream by the irritating sound of Tai's alarm clock.
-End Flashback-
When Oryu had told her that she would see it, Kagome didn't know what to expect.
And see it she had. When Kagome had gone into the bathroom to take care of her morning rituals, it had taken everything in the raven-haired girl not to scream when she'd seen the result of the beam of light she took to the face.
Right there, tattooed under the corner of her right eye in a brilliant rose-gold was her Crest of Compassion the size of an American dime, silvery-gold vines spreading outward just a bit in elegant little strokes.
'I still can't believe he tattooed me!' the raven-haired teen mentally whined. 'And on the face, too! Anywhere else, anything else would have been fine, but still, a tattoo?!'
"Hey, Kagome," Matt slipped into his seat next to Kagome's desk, "So what's up? You look like your thinking hard."
"Hm?" Kagome glanced at the blonde. "Oh, not much, really; I'm just worried about what could happen if Eclipse really does destroy the last Destiny Stone…"
"You sure that's it?" Matt asked, trying to coax a little more out of the raven-haired girl.
"Yeah," Kagome nodded, "I'm fine; you don't need to worry."
'Yes I need to worry!' Matt fought the urge to shout. 'You're hung up over some guy that your friend likes and I can see that you're breaking little by little! Just give up on him! Or at least, that's what I want to say, but I know it wouldn't do any good. You love that guy too much, but I wonder: Who is it?'
It might have sounded a little unorthodox or even low of Matt to have done what he did. But the worried blonde teen had taken off after his younger brother and Kagome a while after they left, hoping to find out what was making Kagome avoid him so much.
What he'd heard wasn't what he'd expected.
-Flashback-
"…would look good together. But if you like him, what haven't you said anything?" Matt heard T.K say.
He heard the raven-haired girl sigh. "Because I don't want to hurt anyone else," she whispered. "You see, someone else likes him, too, and I've only just found out. The girl that likes him is a good friend and I'm not about to hurt her by competing for the same boy. So I've been trying to put some distance between the two of us so it wouldn't hurt as much…"
"But it's not working out so well, is it?" T.K guessed. "Because you love him too much…"
There was silence for a little bit.
"But won't you regret not telling him?" the preteen asked.
"Maybe," the raven-haired teen answered softly, "But at the same time, I know I'll be happy for them because they'd be happy together."
"You know, it's okay to be selfish from time to time," T.K told the girl, "You're always looking out for others and never yourself, so I think everyone would understand."
"Even if they did," Matt could practically hear Kagome shake her head, "I couldn't hurt someone else for my own selfish desires."
"I thought you'd say that," T.K sighed, "So I just wanted you to know that if ever needed to talk about anything, anything at all, just remember that you've got friends and others there for you…Sis."
The last words Matt heard were was Kagome's soft, "Thank you…"
-End Flashback-
'At least she talked about it with someone,' the blonde teen looked at his raven-haired friend, 'But I wonder how T.K knew…'
-Digital World-
Kagome tuned out the rest of the preteens, Cody, and the Digimon when they ended up in front of a large colorful archway leading into what seemed to be the Digital World's version of China Town.
'I feel something…strong,' the raven-haired girl's eyes narrowed, 'Could it be the Destiny Stone? But where could it be? The energy I'm feeling is covering the entire area like a really thick blanket!'
"Uh, Kagome?" came Yolei's voice hesitantly.
"Hm?" the raven-haired girl turned to her lavender-haired underclassmen. "What is it?"
"You, uh, have a little something…" Yolei pointed to just below her right eye and outwards.
'Damn!' Kagome cursed mentally. 'Looks like cover up won't hide it in the Digital World as well as it did back home…'
"Wait," Kari squinted, "Is—Is that…a tattoo?! Since when did you get a tattoo?! Do Mom and Daddy know about this?!"
"I didn't even know I had one until I woke up this morning!" Kagome all but yelled out, face flushed.
"Say what?!" Davis scratched his head confusedly. "How could you not know you had a tattoo?!"
"Probably because the one who gave it to me, decided to be sneaky about it and plastered something on my face before I could ask what he was doing," Kagome said wryly.
Cody opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by Kari. "Hey," she closed her eyes and sniffed, "Do you guys smell that? It smells delicious!"
Everyone sniffed in unison and realized that there was a appetizing aroma on the air. "You're right," Yolei grinned, "that does smell delicious! And boy is my stomach growling with sheer delight!"
Two simultaneous rumbles were heard, causing everyone to look at Veemon and Davis amusedly.
"Looks like my stomach's growling in sheer hunger!" Davis flushed.
"Mine, too!" Veemon sweat-dropped.
'I know we should be look for the Destiny Stone,' Kagome thought before smirking at the tiny rumble she heard from a flushing Kudamon beside her, 'But it wouldn't hurt to have a little meal beforehand…' "I don't know about all of you, but ti wouldn't hurt to get a little bite to eat before we start looking again." 'Ah, but it looks like we have visitors here as well…'
"Right," T.K nodded enthusiastically, "And besides, it's not often that we'll find ourselves in DigiChinaTown, so we might as well enjoy it while we can!"
"Wha—Now?!" Cody's face fell.
"Oh yeah!" Davis cheered, leading the rest of the DigiDestined into the colorful replica of the place in their world.
'Thinking rationally while also being serious and having your priorities straight is a good thing,' Kagome looked back at the slow-to-follow Cody, 'But he needs to understand that you can't just live seeing things in a certain perspective. If you just open your eyes and your heart, you'll not only see more, but you'll feel and will be able to do more than you could have ever imagined.'
It wasn't long before they reached a semi-large building designed in the same colour-scheme as the rest of the town, but with a plaque that read "Fine Chinese Cuisine" attached to just above a pair of glass doors.
"Well," Davis commented, "I guess this is the place; the smell sure seems to come from here, anyway."
"So let's check it out!" Veemon urged. "I'm starving!"
And so, one by one, each of them filed into the restaurant, a small bell tinkling to let the staff know that new customers had arrived. However, two steps into the establishment and the group stopped dead in their tracks. Right there before them in a table a few feet away were Arukenimon and Mummymon, who looked just as shocked to see the DigiDestined as they were them.
"It's those kids!" Arukenimon and Mummymon shouted
Davis could only growl in response before seeing the Digimon with the chef's hat. "Digitamamon?"
"At your service," the egg-Digimon drawled.
"Sorry, but I think I've lost my appetite," the maroon-haired boy spoke, "No offense."
"Oh, it's no problem," Digitamamon told them, "Just remember that there's always take out. And when you're feeling better, maybe have a little Mushu, maybe a little poopoo, or just for fun, I'll even throw in some almond cookies."
Kagome and the others sweat-dropped at what the egg-Digimon said. 'Was he trying to be funny?'
"How about a nice trip to the moon?" Arukenimon cackled as she morphed into her arachnid form. "Would you like that?! Ready?"
Mummymon only laughed in agreement as his form morphed into his true form. "Whenever you are, my darling!"
"Veemon Digivolve to: ExVeemon!"
"Armadillomon Digivolve to: Ankylomon!"
"Hawkmon Digivolve to: Aquilamon!"
"Patamon Digivolve to: Angemon!"
"Kudamon Digivolve to: Reppamon!"
"Digi-Armour: Energize!" Kari called out.
"Gatomon Armour-Digivolve to: Nefertimon, the Angel of Light!"
"Blast Rings!"
"Queen's Paw!"
"Sky Fissure!"
Aquilamon, Nefertimon, and Reppamon's attacks converged as they came upon Arukenimon. But what baffled them was the smirk on the arachnid-Digimon's face.
"That all you got?" Arukenimon grinned toothily, showing off her sharp, pointy teeth. "Acid Mist!" The Champion Digimon could only cry out as they were flung back by the force of the toxic mist.
"Hand of Fate!"
"Vee-Laser!"
"Tail Hammer!"
Angemon, Ankylomon, and ExVeemon were only moments away from launching their attacks when Mummymon decided to drop in on them. "Necrophobia!" He fired a white-blue ray crackling with red from his blaster at the Champion Digimon; laughing as he did so.
The preteens and Cody could only gasp as their Digimon were beaten so easily. Kagome winced, 'This isn't good, they need to Digivolve further! But…since they didn't have anything to eat, then this might as far as they can go!'
"You've got to DNA Digivolve!" Davis shouted at his partner.
"I can't," ExVeemon shook his head, "Stingmon and Ken aren't here, remember?"
The maroon-haired boy blanched. "ACK! I forgot! What's Ken up to, anyway? Did he take up a job as a full-time maid or something?!"
"Then I guess it's our turn," Yolei nodded at Kari.
"Right," the brown-haired girl nodded.
"Gatomon…" "Aquilamon…"
"DNA-Digivolve to—"
The younger DigiDestined looked on in confusion when Gatomon and Aquilamon remained as they were and not merged into Silphymon as they should have.
"Uh, what just happened?" Davis blinked.
Kagome looked on knowingly and sighed when her sister and the lavender-haired girl decided to try again, only to find the same result occurring. "It won't work, our Digimon haven't eaten and because of that, they won't be able to go through with the DNA Digivoltuion. Don't you remember how they would pig out on food after we went back to our world? DNA Digivolving takes up a lot of energy, so if they don't have enough strength, then they won't be able to Digivolve further than a certain level."
"Then we've got to think of something!" T.K burst out. "Anything! We can't go on like this!"
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!" Cody said frantically.
'This really isn't good!' Kagome looked around for something, anything, which could be used against the two Ultimate Digimon before them, but to no avail. All that seemed to be in sight were table settings, and forks and knives probably wouldn't even make a dent! 'I know we gave up the powers of our Crests to save the Digital World, but it is too much to ask that we were left with some of that power for situations like this?!' Just then a thought occurred to Kagome. 'Wait, everyone said that a made a barrier when I sang, what if I tried doing something a little different…'
Arukenimon and Mummymon stalked closer and closer to the DigiDestined and their Digimon partners, both with malicious grins on their faces. The arachnid Digimon raised an arm, ready to attack and Mummymon lifted his blaster to the ready.
'Here goes nothing!' Kagome closed her eyes and clasped her hands together before her chest as though she were praying for something. 'Please work! Oryu help me!'
(AN: Not sure if the translation is completely correct, but I used several sites with translations and even compared the translations into Google translate, just to make sure at least some, if not all, of the lyrics matched.)
Lacrimosa – Kalafina/Black Butler
Canta miya
Santa krishna kamida liyagi
Mahiya kritia
The DigiDestined, their partners, as well as Arukenimon and Mummymon stopped to look at the raven-haired girl who'd begun singing. Much to Kagome's relief, her voice had taken on that same almost unearthly voice she'd sung with back when she'd raised that barrier to protect them all. At least this way, it was much more unlikely for anyone to make the connection between Kagome and Masquerade.
"Is she nuts?!" Davis whispered to Kari. "Why the heck is she singing?! Uh, what is she singing, anyway?" he added as an afterthought.
"In case you didn't remember," Yolei spoke up, seeing Kari's irritated expression at Davis' words, "Kagome's singing put up a barrier around us last time. I wouldn't be surprised if she's trying to do something to help us with her song, so shush!"
"I still think she's gone 'round the bend," the maroon-haired boy grumbled, getting a smack upside the head, courtesy of an annoyed T.K.
Joining harmoniously in the dark
Despair and the future
Where the moonlight revealing my sorrow
Shines coldly
Using the secret
You gave me as a sign
I go through
The silence of the blue night
Lacrimosa
Defeated, I vanish into the distance
I want to love this dazzling world once more
I hide dreams in my eyes
Until tears fall
Onto my broken heart
Canta miya kanari krista
Dorcheta iyo mariyai
Dorche ita
"Was that supposed to do something?" Arukenimon snickered when Kagome sang the final note. "Well, I appreciated the entertainment but—" she felt a light tingling sensation starting in her belly and working its way through her body. A pale-rosy glow outlined her form as, suddenly, her arachnid form began morphing back into the humanoid state she usually travelled in. "What's going on?! Mummymon?!"
"I don't know, my little arachnid!" The bandaged Digimon shouted in confusion as he, too, reverted back into his coat-draped form, a pale-rosy glow outlining his figure as well. "We've De-Digivolved!"
"We haven't De-Digivolved, you nitwit!" the now pale-haired woman snapped. "We can't hold our creature form, that's all! There's no possible way for Digimon like us to De-Digivolve!"
"But how did that happen?" Cody asked quietly. "It couldn't have been Kagome's song, could it?"
"Let's get out of here while we have the chance!" Digitamamon shouted as he and his Bakumon assistant rushed out of the restaurant and into the Digi-ChinaTown.
"Hey!" Arukenimon shouted, seeing the fleeing Digimon. "Get back here! That was some soup you gave us!"
"We'll get you for this, you abominations!" Mummymon vowed as she shifted his jeep into gear, driving off after Digitamamon and Bakumon, leaving a group of four stupefied preteens, one child, one teenager, and their Digimon partners (who'd turned back into their Rookie forms, or in Gatomon's case, remained as is).
"Okay," Davis blinked, "I so didn't expect that!"
"Uh, Kagome?" Kari spoke up hesitantly. "Your tattoo's glowing."
"My what is what?" Kagome blinked. She turned around to look at her reflection in a small hanging mirror ornament and gaped. There, just like her little sister had pointed out, was the tattoo Oryu had given her, glowing a bright rose-gold hue.
"What's going on? What happened here?" Ken asked, rushing into the restaurant with Stingmon right behind him. "And why was I hearing singing?"
"Um, I think I'll answer those," Yolei cleared her throat. "Well, we came in here to get a bite to eat since our Digimon were hungry, too. But then we found Arukenimon and Mummymon here, but when we tried fighting them, we couldn't because our Digimon hadn't eaten anything yet. So then Kagome steps up and starts singing! Mummymon and Arukenimon were glowing, really freaky cool by the way, and they just suddelnly reverted back to their 'human' form before hightailing it out of here after Digitamamon and that Bakumon. This is their restaurant, actually."
"And I know we're not ordering the soup!" Davis piped up.
"So, then, what are we waiting for?" Ken said. "Let's go after them!"
Davis and T.K nodded, opening their mouths to give an answer, but were cut off by Cody. "Wait! We can't go after them! Not now!"
"Huh?" everyone, but Kagome looked at the small boy in confusion.
"Think about it," the young boy told them, "We know we should be going after Mummymon and Arukenimon, but right now we have to focus on what's most important. Our Digimon are hungry and if we want them to fight at full strength as DNA Digimon, then we'll need to stay here and replenish our energy before we go." He looked around at all of them. "So? What do you say?"
"I'm in if everyone else is," Patamon chirped.
"I am feeling a little famished," Stingmon looked down at his partner.
"But wait," Kari said worriedly, "We don't have anyone to cook for us, remember? Digitamamon and that Bakumon left!"
"Then we'll just cook for ourselves!" Yolei grinned. "We're not helpless, you know!"
"Then we'll do our part and help set the tables!" Hawkmon chimed in.
At once, everyone began speaking and talking about what they would be cooking, all the while making their way into the fully-stocked kitchen.
The~Ninth~Child
"That was great!" Davis said after drinking up the last of his soup.
"Not bad for a bunch of kids, right?" Yolei grinned.
"Well, we did have help from Kagome, and she's a way better cook than I am," Kari reminded them.
"That'd not true," Kagome shook her head, "You're a much more decent cook than Tai will ever be. The only thing he can make without blowing anything up or setting something on fire is a rice omelet!"
"But we added a special touch to this soup, don't you think?" Ken added.
"It's because everyone's hands went into making it," Cody spoke up.
"Tastes better that way," Armadillomon nodded happily.
"But seriously," T.K put down his chopsticks, "I'm getting a strange feeling from this soup Cody." He looked at the younger boy. "I have the feeling that our Digimon will finally be able to DNA Digivolve today!"
Suddenly, the room went dark as a bright green glow was seen from the outside. "Hey, what gives?" Davis shouted. "It can't be night already!"
"That's the light of a Destiny Stone!" Ken announced, standing up from the table along with everyone else.
'And where a Destiny Stone is, there Eclipse will be headed,' Kagome thought grimly. "We have to go, if Arukenimon and Mummymon are already there, then Eclipse won't be too far behind."
The rest of the group nodded as they ran out the door with their Digimon. "You know," the maroon-haired preteen spoke to the raven-haired girl, "I still can't get over how you gave that big guy a nickname!"
"Less talking, more running," Kagome huffed.
"Veemon Digivolve to: ExVeemon!"
"Wormmon Digivolve to: Stingmon!"
"Hawkmon Digivolve to: Aquilamon!"
"Armadillomon Digivolve to: Ankylomon!"
"Patamon Digivolve to: Angemon!"
"Kudamon Digivolve to: Reppamon!"
The DigiDestined and their Digimon ran through the thick bamboo forest until they saw the large spherical stone hovering in the air. "That's must be it!" T.K shouted back to his friends.
"I will shatter it to pieces and finally, my suffering will come to an end!" they heard BlackWarGreymon growl.
"You touch that stone and we'll turn you into a can of sardines!" Davis yelled out as he and the others ran out in front of a large pool of what looked like pale-brown liquid. A glance at the signboard showed that it was just murky water, but actually, soup.
"You again?" BlackWarGreymon questioned. "You never seem to learn your lesson, do you?"
"Please, Eclipse, don't do it!" Kagome called out to the Mega Digimon. "Legend has it that if all seven Destiny stones are destroyed, chaos will befall this world! You are a Digimon and as a creature of the Digital World, it's your home! Do you really want to throw your home into chaos?"
"You shut up! Obnoxious parasites!" Arukenimon barked at the raven-haired teen. "Show 'em what you're made of BlackWarGreymon!" She stomped atop a large stone for emphasis.
"I don't need you to tell me that," the Mega Digimon turned a glare in the two Ultimate Digimon's direction before flinging a semi-large ball of red energy at them, sending them flying out into the distance.
"Cody, I think it's time to put that big guy away for good!" T.K looked at the younger boy.
Cody nodded with a determined look on his face. "Right!"
"I'm ready when you are, Angemon!" Ankylomon looked at the angel Digimon.
"I am, too, let's let 'er rip!" Angemon nodded.
"It's payback time!" Davis clenched his fists.
"Save some for me!" Ken added.
"ExVeemon…" "Stingmon…"
"DNA Digivolve to: Paildramon!"
"Let get him!" Yolei nodded.
"I'm with you!" Kari agreed.
"Gatomon…" "Aquilamon…"
"DNA Digivolve to: Silpymon!"
"Terra Destroyer!" BlackWarGreymon shot off a giant ball of energy at Paildramon, who luckily was able to dodge just in time.
"Desperado Blaster!" Paildramon shot off pellets of bluish-white energy from his twin blasters at BlackWarGreymon, who only held out his arm to shield himself from the attack.
"Static Force!" Silphymon lobbed a ball of swirling red energy at the Mega Digimon, who batted it away as thought it were nothing more than a mere fly.
'There's got to be something I can do to help Reppamon!' Kagome thought worriedly as she watched the two Ultimate Digimon present fight with BlacWarGreymon. 'Everyone else has a way to get to Ultimate, but Oryu told me that…he would give me something—wait, does it mean, that this tattoo he gave me contains the power to allow Reppamon to Digivolve to Ultimate? But how do I—unless, I need to sing…Oryu told me that one time that singing would be my salvation; and it looks like my powers only activate when I sing, so maybe…Oh well, I guess it's worth a shot!'
Closing her eyes and clasping her hands once more, she opened her mouth to sing, the lyrics coming to her lips naturally, as though she had always known them.
(AN: I put this specific portion in because I felt that it suited quite well to Kagome, otherwise I would have only put in the first chorus and left it at that.)
Magia – Kalafina/Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Someday you will wish for great power
For the sake of someone else
In the night when love captured your heart
Unknown words are born
"She's singing again?!" Davis all but shouted. "And right in the middle of a fight?!"
"Davis…" Kari glared at the maroon-haired boy.
Said preteen gave a small flinch in fright before turning back to the battle, a bead of sweat making its way down the side of his face.
If I can go on without losing my way
I don't mind if my heart is broken
I want a spell that will let me fight
Against the sorrow before me
You're a memory that keeps on dreaming
I'm the sleepless tomorrow
I'll move forward in order to reach
The miracle of the two of us meeting
What I hold in these hands of mine
Is a sword of handpicked flowers
My feelings alone are all that I live for
A wish that I wield
Within my heart
When the last note fled from Kagome's lips, her tattoo glowed extraordinarily bright, nearly blinding everyone in the clearing, had they not shielded their eyes. Of course, even then, the light was still too bright, and a few of the Digimon and DigiDestined swore that they'd be seeing spots after this.
Reppamon, on the other hand, stood stock still as he felt a warm energy flow through him. 'What is this? I feel as though I'm…gaining strength!' He looked at his partner, who stood, eyes closed and hands still clasped from singing. The song echoed around in his head. 'Was it Kagome's song that did this? I think…I think—'
"Reppamon Digivolve to: Chirinmon!"
'I did it,' Kagome thought weakly; 'I can't believe it worked!' She noticed a glow coming from her pouch and opened it to see her D3 glowing faintly before it changed colours in a quick flash.
The~Ninth~Child
Just as everyone else's D3 had changed when their Digimon DNA-Digivolved, Kagome's had apparently decided to modify itself as well.
The base was a dark-forest-green with gold accents, the button had turned into a coppery colour, while the antenna was left a solid black.
The~Ninth~Child
When the glow died down, everyone turned to Kagome, who was gazing off in another direction in wonder and elation. They all looked in the direction Kagome was watching, only to see a large dragon Digimon in the place of Reppamon.
The DigiDestined's jaws dropped as did Silphymon, Angemon, and Ankylomon's. Paildramon could only look on in dumbstruck silence.
"What the heck just happened?!" Yolei burst out, a wild and confused look on her face. "Did Reppamon just Digivolve to Ultimate? Without DNA Digivolving? And without a Crest?!" She halted for a second before turning to T.K and Kari. "Hey, wait a second, didn't you say that you guys gave up the powers of your Crests and that pretty much meant bye-bye to your Digimon's Ultimate forms?"
T.K nodded with wide eyes, still looking on at Chirinmon. "I really don't know how this is possible…our Crests were the only things that allowed our Digimon to Digivolve to Ultimate through the normal Digivolution process!"
"Maybe it was Kagome's song that did it," Kari looked contemplatively at her sister, "Her song saved us from BlackWarGreymon, and then Mummymon and Arukenimon again today. I'll bet my entire photo collection that Kagome's song caused Reppamon to Digivolve into Chirinmon."
"Well, I'm not about to get left behind," the blonde shook his head. He turned to Cody, "You in?"
"Let's give it all we've got!" Cody nodded.
Just then, like everyone else, their D#s also changed in colour scheme to match with the base being yellow and the accents white.
"Ankylomon…" "Angemon…"
"DNA Digivolve to: Shakkoumon!"
The~Ninth~Child
Shakkoumon looked to be a large silver metallic ornate doll with gold accents and designs, a pair of gold peg-legs, and a pair of semi-large white wings that also looked metallic. He had a pair of gold three-prong claws as hands and what looked like a gold hat atop his head with a knob-like handle topping it. A ruby was implanted in each shoulder with a sapphire in its breastplate and on his head.
His eyes were thin gold slits set in large silver oval eyes rimmed in red, a sun on its skirt-like fauld with a yin-yang symbol as its centre, and his mouth was left open in a small O-shape.
The~Ninth~Child
"Whoa…Shakkoumon!: T.K and Cody said in unison, eyes wide.
"We did it!" the younger laughed as he jumped into his blonde friend's arms, the two laughing in joy as the older boy swung them around.
'And now you understand,' Kagome smiled at the rejoicing boys before going up to her own Digimon. "It's nice to see you in this form again, Chirinmon."
"It's good to be back, Kagome," Chirinmon nuzzled his partner lightly, nearly knocking the smaller girl over.
"Shakkoumon is the coolest thing since clumping litter!" Gatomon announced. "His enemies better make travel plans 'cause his Kachina Bombs'll send 'em flying!"
"Finally!" Cody grinned. "Now we don't have to let Silphymon and Paildramon do the hard work!"
"You said it!" T.K nodded. "Let him have it, Shakkoumon!"
"I'll prove my metal," Shakkoumon moved over a pace or two.
"You, too, Chirinmon," Kagome nodded, "I don't want to hurt him, but I don't think he'll listen to reason now; not after everything that's happened.
"As you wish it, as is my duty, Milady," the dragon Digimon padded his way over to where Shakkoumon, Silphymon, and Paildramon were situated.
"You all are the only things between me and the last Destiny Stone," BlackWarGreymon spoke, "Now get out of my way!"
"Who's gonna make us?" Silphymon retorted.
"Move or else…" the Mega Digimon left the threat hanging.
"We won't," Paildramon spoke this time.
"Very well, you leave me no other choice," BlackWarGreymon lifted his arms, "Terra Destroyer!"
The DigiDestined all shielded their eyes from the brightness of the attack, not having thought that it would be so bright, having never been so close to his Terra Destroyer before.
'Wait a second, shouldn't we be getting hit?' Kagome lifted her head just a bit, 'Shakkoumon! He's protecting us!'
And it was true, the metal Digimon stood before the DigiDestined, taking on the Terra Destroyer attack head on without a flinch. "That's one tough Digimon," Davis grunted out, peeking through his arms.
Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, the metal Digimon sucked BlackWarGreymon's Terra Destroyer into his own body. "Justice Beam!" His gold slits glowed a deep red before they let loose thin beam-like blades of the same shade.
"Now, everyone!" Shakkoumon commanded the other three Ultimate Digimon.
"Right!" Silphymon, Paildramon, and Chirinmon said in unison as they rushed forward.
"Astral Laser!"
"Desperado Blaster!"
BlackWarGreymon only batted both attacks off as quickly as they came. "You asked for it!" He flew into the air and tossed both Paildramon and Silphymon into the ground swiftly.
"Eclipse, please don't do this!" Kagome called out to the Mega Digimon.
If the dark-hued Digimon heard her, he didn't respond. He only looked at his next opponent who appeared in the air before him. "And now it seems that I have another pest to deal with."
"Swift Knowledge!" the dragon-like Digimon moved quickly around the Mega Digimon, creating clones of himself.
"You would do well to listen to what we have to say, Eclipse," all the Chirinmon spoke, using the name Kagome gave the Digimon before them, "Or do you not think of Kagome as your friend any longer?"
At this, the dark-hued Digimon froze; his gaze slightly wide upon the dragon Digimon before shifting to look at the raven-haired girl that looked up at him worriedly. The same raven-haired girl that hadn't been afraid to come up to him. The same raven-haired girl that had extended her hand out in friendship.
'She…is worried…for me?' the Mega Digimon looked at Kagome curiously. 'Why? Why does she care? Even after I've tried destroying her and the other DigiDestined? Could it be—Is that what it means to be a friend? To care no matter what happened in the past?'
He hadn't realized that he said any of this out loud until the dragon Digimon answered. "Yes," Chirinmon nodded, "The past is in the past and that is where it should remain. The fact that My Lady, Kagome, had never once tried to stop talking to you, should have been the first clue that she was your friend. It was why she gave you that name, Eclipse."
"Eclipse," Kagome called up to the dark-hued Digimon, "Eclipse, do you remember?"
"I—" BlackWarGreymon struggled to get his words out, "I have questions that need to be answered and yet…with that girl I feel…warm. Calm…wanted…Is that odd?"
"No," Chirinmon shook his head, "My Lady is a wonderful young woman with a beautiful golden heart. She cares and loves with everything she has; so much that people, even Digimon tend to become attached. That she has chosen to care for you was no surprise because that is who she is. That she has chosen you to bestow her love upon should not be taken for granted." 'As it usually seems like it is…'
'I have destroyed the Destiny Stone, believing that it would end my suffering and give me the answers I seek,' BlackWarGreymon looked back at Kagome, straight into her clear, warm icy-blue gaze. 'But what if my answer has been here this entire time? What if this girl…Kagome, was my answer all along? With her I do not feel that emptiness inside…does this mean that my destiny and my purpose was to be with her?'
"What's going on?" Ken asked. "Why isn't he trying to fight anymore?"
"Kagome said he was looking for answers, a purpose," Kari reminded them quietly. She followed the dark-hued Digimon's gaze to her sister. "And I think he's found it…"
Everyone watched warily as the Mega Digimon slowly lowered himself to the ground, Chirinmon following his descent, the clones dissipating as he did so. They watched as BlackWarGreymon stalked forward, his path leading him to a few feet from Kagome.
"Eclipse?" the raven-haired girl questioned softly.
"You once told me that my purpose was something I needed to discover on my own," the Mega Digimon spoke, "I believed that in destroying the Destiny Stones, I would get my answers and finally find my purpose. But you also said that I have the right to choose my own path and whether it is good or bad is left for me to decide."
"And what is your path?" Kagome asked.
"I wish to be…with you," BlackWarGyremon answered, "I understand you have a partner already. But if not as a partner, then I wish to remain with you as a protector, anything so long as I can stay with you."
"Why not a friend?" the raven-haired went up to the taller Digimon and clasped one of his large hand in both of hers.
"Friend," he nodded, a soft gaze in his eyes as he looked upon the girl before him.
"Kagome's really something, isn't she?" T.K smiled lightly at the scene.
"She's definitely one of a kind," Kari nodded in agreement.
"Wait, so that's it?" Davis scratched his head in confusion. "We don't have to worry about fighting this guy for the Destiny Stone anymore so I guess it's all good?
"We still need to find a way to move the Destiny Stone so that it'll never be found again," Yolei pointed out. "Even if BlackWarGreymon's not going after the last Destiny Stone anymore, Mummyon and Arukenimon are still out there, remember? They're the ones that started up the whole mess anyway and you can bet that they'll come back to finish the job."
"So how do we move it?" Cody inquired. "'Cause from my point of view, it doesn't look like it's gonna budge. Especially when consider the fact that it hasn't moved a single bit since the fight started."
"Cody has a point," Kagome nodded, "We'll just have to come up with something else, then. But what?"
"Can't you sing something and then move it?" Davis asked.
"I don't think my abilities work like that," the raven-haired girl said wryly.
"So how about the D3s?" the maroon-haired boy suggested. "It's worth a shot, anyway."
"It could work," Kari chimed in, "In our final battle with Apocalymon, our Digivices created some sort of barrier to contain a massive attack that could've destroyed both worlds. If our old Digivices would do that, then I'm sure that our D3s can be capable of something just as extraordinary!"
"I'm in if everyone else is," T.K nodded.
One by one, each of the DigiDestined made sounds of agreement, showing that they would go along with the plan. They all brought their D3s out, ready to attempt to move the Destiny Stone.
"May I be of any assistance?" BlackWarGreymon asked Kagome.
"Eclipse, as much as we'd like your strength to help us move the Destiny Stone," the raven-haired girl bit her lip, "I don't want anything to happen to you if the Stone has some adverse affect on you from your touch. Could you stand guard with our Digimon and help them if Arukenimon and Mummymon show up again?"
"As you wish," the Mega Digimon dipped his head lightly before going over to where Chirinmon stood off to the side.
"Why don't you just give up and say goodbye?" Arukenimon smirked as she walked out into the clearing, a maliciously grinning Mummymon right behind her.
"That's your cue to cry and beg for mercy, by the way," Mummymon snickered.
"Like we would!" Davis retorted.
"Forget it, Davis," Ken spoke up, "She's not worth it; neither of them are."
Arukenimon only laughed haughtily. "You're trying to make me med, aren't you? Clever, but it won't work; not on me, you brat. Mummymon?"
The coat-draped form morphed until he was in his bandaged state. "I'm going to put these kids under wraps for the last time," he stalked closer and closer to the DigiDestined. He lifted up his blaster, "Necrophobia!" a blue-white ray crackling with red electricity aimed straight for the group of children before him.
BlackwarGreymon tackled the bandaged Digimon, grasping his blaster and snapping it, but he wasn't quick enough to stop the stream of energy already heading for the children. "No…!"
"Nightmare Syndrome!" a black blob with beady yellow eyes and short scraggly arms came flying out of nowhere, eating up Mummymon's Necrophobia attack.
"I told you not to drink out of the Chinese Soup Spring!" Digitamamon snarled, jumping out in front of the DigiDestined from one side.
"You'll pay for that!" Bakumon flew out before the children from another side.
The two Digimon tackled Arukenimon and Mummymon straight into the bamboo forest. "We'll take care o these idiots, you take care of the Destiny Stone, kids!"
"Don't worry," Davis nodded with a determined expression.
"Thank you Digitamamon, Bakumon!" Yolei called out.
"Let's get going and move that Stone!" Ken ordered.
"Right!" everyone chorused, taking out their D3s and pointing them towards the Destiny Stone.
The Stone glowed a bright green in response, but just then, six lights shot into the sky, merging at a point high above the final Destiny Stone. "Hey, what's going on?" Yolei asked. "What are all those lights?"
"They feel like…the same kind of energy from the Destiny Stones," Kagome's eyes narrowed upon the lights' convergence point. "I think those lights are from the other Destiny Stones!"
"But that's not possible," Cody protested, "The other Destiny Stones were destroyed, remember? This is the only one left that's still intact!"
"But that doesn't mean that the power within them left when they were destroyed," Kagome pointed out, "The rifts were created, yes, and they only became larger and stronger as another Destiny Stone was destroyed. But the power of the stones themselves must have also embedded themselves into the area they were situated in. That's the only explanation I have for whatever's going on up there."
The point where the six lights merged into one swirled around for a few seconds before separating into six lights that went into everyone's D3, but Kagome's. A thin stream of white light shot out of the Destiny Stone before them and into Kagome's D3, completing the set. "Great, just what I needed," Davis complained, "Another flashlight! But seriously, what's going on here?!"
"Did we do something?" Kari asked.
"I don't know," Kagome shook her head, "There's no way we could've done anything to the destiny Stone when our only intention was to move it to safety…"
Just then seven lights shot out of their D3s and straight into the Destiny Stone before them. The Destiny Stone's green glow began retreating as a swirling array of multiple colours moved along the surface. A multi-hued beam shot from the Stone up into the air, splitting into five as It did so.
"What the heck?!" Davis blurted out in shock.
Clouds began covering the once clear blue sky as thunder crackled across it, slowly and lightly at first, but getting stronger and faster as each second passed on by. A loud 'Boom' sounded as a bright light filled the area, causing everyone to look away to shield their eyes, in attempt to keep them from going blind.
When they finally opened their eyes, everyone's jaws dropped. There right before them in the sky were five large Digimon, one of which Kagome recognized straight away. 'Oryu?!' She looked at the other four that came along with the golden dragon. 'But who are they?'
The first was a large crimson bird resembling a phoenix with yellow and orange flames printed on his seven (possibly eight) wings and down his back to the tip of his tails as stripes. He had four red glowing eyes set in a red feathered head with yellow as the layer beneath and grey feathers going down its neck beneath that. Six pale-red orbs glowed as they encircled his neck and around his reptile-like tail.
The~Ninth~Child
The second Digimon was a giant white tiger with lavender stripes and black claws set in rather large paws; the front paws being covered in two large violet vambraces with the kanji for 'White Tiger' etched on them in white. Two black circular metal-studded braces encircled its hind legs and a smaller one with spikes was clasped around a little before the end of its tail. Three black spikes protruded from his back a little below the neck to the upper shoulder. He wore a violet mask over most of his face, leaving his mouth and four red eyes bare. Twelve glowing golden orbs encircled its torso.
The~Ninth~Child
The third Digimon seemed to be a large beige two-headed turtle with both heads being covered in two different types of headwear, one being a dark-brown and the other having it in black. A giant lush tree sat upon its back, possibly making it the Digimon's shell with twelves cream-hued orbs glowing around the tree's trunk. The Digimon, like the last two, also had red eyes in both heads; one pair for each head.
The~Ninth~Child
The final Digimon had a long pale-azure semi-transparent snake-like body with a long chain wrapping around the length with small white wings protruding along it as well. The head was covered by a blue and yellow mask, leaving only a long white beard to be seen, a long jagged horn the same hue as it's body, though more solid-looking, and four red eyes. A larger set of white wings protruded from his body just a little way down from its head. Four legs were encircled by three glowing azure orbs each.
"So you are the one with the soul of darkness we sense," the azure Digimon spoke to BlackWarGreymon.
"Soul of darkness?" the Mega Digimon looked up at the five other Digimon in the sky. "Do you mean me?"
"He was made up of Control Spires," Kagome spoke up, despite the other DigiDestined's pleas to shush, "Of course you would feel a dark aura from him. But just because someone has a dark aura, doesn't mean that their nature and heart should be determined from that!"
"Does your sister have a death wish?" Cody hissed to Kari.
"I don't really know," Kagome laughed nervously.
"So this is the little human you've chosen?" the Phoenix Digimon spoke to the golden dragon Digimon.
"Though it seems that yeh've grown fond of 'er, 'aven't ya?" One head of the turtle Digimon said slyly with a slight Irish accent.
"Lass's got spirit, she 'as," the turtle's other head said in a more gruff voice with the same accent.
"I'm standing right here," Kagome deadpanned loudly. "If you wouldn't mind, could you all introduce yourselves? It's a little hard to be talking to someone we don't know!"
"We are the five Sovereigns of the Digital World," the tiger Digimon spoke. "My name is Baihumon, Guardian of the West and Keeper of the Forces of Knowledge and Reliability."
"I am Azulongmon," the azure Digimon said, "Guardian of the East and Keeper of the Forces of Light and Hope."
T.K and Kari looked at each other, startled. 'Those are our Crests!'
"Name's Ebonwumon," one head of the turtle Digimon introduced themselves.
"Guardian o' the North an' Keeper o' the Forces o' Love an' Sincerity," the other head finished.
"I am Zhuqiaomon," the phoenix Digimon spoke, "Guardian of the South and Keeper of the Forces of Courage and Friendship."
"And I am Fanglongmon," Oryu introduced himself, "I maintain the balance of the Four Guardians as the Centre and am Keeper of the Force of Compassion."
It was then that all the Ultimate Digimon reverted back to their Fresh forms, or in Gatomon's case, her Rookie form. The DigiDestined all laughed as their Digimon bounced up into their arms.
Shakkoumon had reverted back into Tokomon and a small cream ball with a large feathery-like form protruding from its head.
The~Ninth~Child
Silphymon reverted back into Salamon and a small pink blob-like form with black eyes and a tiny beak. This Digimon was called Purumon.
The~Ninth~Child
Paildramon reverted back into two tiny Digimon called Chibomon and Leafmon. Chibimon was a tiny blue puffball with dark eyes and little wavy structure atop its head from its body. Leafmon was a little green puffball with a stem protruding from its back extending into a large leaf. A tiny pink pacifier was in its mouth.
The~Ninth~Child
Chirinmon had reverted back into a small near-translucent furry mass with dark eyes two long pointed ears tipped in dark-brown and a small curl on its end, acting like a tail of sorts. This Digimon was called Pafumon.
Suddenly, there was a light surrounding BlackWarGreymon. "W-What's happening to me?!"
"What's going on?" Davis asked, nearing hysteria. "He's not exploding or anything, right?"
"Don't be ridiculous!" Yolei gave him a smack upside the head.
(AN: Okay, Whatever is coming up next is something I altered a bit from what I found as I'd researched through the DigiWiki, so please don't read so much into it.)
The group watched in awe as BlackWarGreymon's figure was engulfed in a golden light before slowly shrinking and shrinking until it stood about the same height as Kyaromon. The light died away to reveal a small In-Training Digimon by the name of Kapurimon.
The~Ninth~Child
Usually Kapurimon all wear silver spike-horned helmets over a puple body with a white-striped foxtail.
This particular Kapurimon was a silvery-grey with a white muzzle and white-striped tail. Its eyes were a pretty gold hue while the helmet it wore was a shiny obsidian.
The~Ninth~Child
"Did he just De-Digivolve?" Cody blinked at the Kapurimon, who looked around skittishly, confused by its sudden change in form. "Is that even possible? He was created from Control Spires into the form he was, so how did he De-Digivolve?"
"I don't know," Kagome shook her head, placing Pafumon gently on her shoulder before kneeling down so she didn't seem so threatening to the Kapurimon. "It's okay, sweetie, I'm not going to hurt you. Do you remember who I am?"
The Kapurimon flinched back a little when the raven-haired knelt to the ground, but slowly relaxed as he listened to her voice.
"It's me," Kagome reached out a hand as far as she dared towards the Kapurimon, "Kagome. Your friend, remember?"
The silvery Digimon watched the raven-haired teen warily as he bounced little by little closer to her ahdn until he was far enough from the girl to be comfortable, but close enough to take in her scent. 'She smells…familiar,' gold eyes looked into icy-blue and found nothing but warmth within, 'I know her…' Kapurimon took a chance and bounced slowly at first but quickly jumped into Kagome's arms when she held them open.
"It's okay," the raven-haired girl cooed to the slightly shaking Digimon, "It's okay, no one's going to hurt you. You're safe with us, sweetie; isn't that right, Pafumon?" She turned to the little furry mass on her shoulder.
Pafumon only chirped in agreement before bouncing into her arms beside Kapurimon, nuzzling the slightly larger Digimon, purring all the while to calm it down.
"It seems that there is more to you than meets the eye, young one," Azulongmon commented, "Even though BlackWarGreymon had been created from a hundred Control Spires, giving him an astonishingly large dark aura and soul, your bond with him seemed to have…cleansed him. He will still be able to become BlackWarGreymon, but no longer does his aura radiate an ill sort of darkness."
"His aura feels…neutral, calm," Kagome spoke, concentrating on the aura of the little Kapurimon in her arms, "Why?"
"It is because of you, Little One," Fanglongmon told her, "BlackWarGreymon was created from a hundred Control Spires. Those structures were all forged and contained a some darkness within them. So when BlackWarGreymon was created, he only knew darkness, there was no balance within him. When you formed a bond with him, you cleansed the darkness enough so that it was no longer threatening."
"So wait, does this mean that BlackWarGreymon is still one of the bad guys?" Yolei asked.
"Nay," One of Ebonwumon's head spoke, "Tha' Lass only helped bring the whelp into balance by gettin' rid of the bad stuff inside 'im. Lad's still dark, but not the bad kind anymo'."
"I don't mean to interrupt or anything," the lavender-haired girl spoke up, "But do you have any relation to the Guardians of Kyoto?"
"The what?" T.K asked.
"Remember what I told you after I got back from Kyoto?" Yolei reminded them. "Sora's dad said that Kyoto is protected its four guardians of the East, West, South, and North. It was the reason why there were so many shrines and temples built there. They believed that Kyoto was the gate between our world and the spiritual world."
"There are many similarities between your world and ours," Baihumon said wisely, "However, not everything is exactly the same, as you've seen with your time in the Digital World."
"Long ago," Zhuqiaomon spoke, "We Guardians were sealed away after a long battle with the Dark Masters; that was when seven of the nine DigiDestined were brought to the Digital World. However, when those seven DigiDestined left this world to return to their own the first time, that was when the Dark Masters came out of hiding to strike. They wanted the Digital World to be simpler to control and take over, and so they dismantled it, only to reshape it into something entirely different."
"Spiral Mountain," Kari guessed.
The Sovereigns nodded.
"One by one, each of the nine DigiDestined defeated the Dark Masters," Baihumon continued the sotry, "However, we were still trapped beneath the seal they placed upon us. In order to break free of the seal, we needed to take back the power of the Crests granted to the DigiDestined."
"But wait," T.K spoke up, "Four years ago, we were all told that our Crests were created from the traits that stood out the most in each of us. So how can you take something that was ours?"
"Courage, Friendship, Love, Sincerity, Reliability, Knowledge, Hope, Light, and Compassion," Azulongmon stated. "These are traits that reside in all people and Digimon. We Guardians valued these traits, but in order to keep balance, we chose to keep jurisdiction over only a certain trait or traits. When you gave up the powers of your Crests, the powers of the Crests we held authority over were transferred to us, breaking the seal upon us and also providing an extra layer of protection to the Digital World."
"Because the DigiDestined gave up the powers o' their Crests," Ebonwumon continued, "This meant tha' their Digimon couldn' Digivolve to their Ultimate forms. It's why we're here now; because we weren't really needed, we didn't come to ye then."
"At least this explains why our Digimon were able to Digivolve only at certain times," T.K commented.
"But because the Control Spires prevented Digimon from Digivolving," Baihumon picked up the story, "We were able to use the last of the strength we had left before the Control Spires were built, to allow you all access to an ancient form of Digivolving."
"You must mean Armour-Digivolution," Davis spoke up.
"Yes," Zhuqiaomon nodded. "We chose certain Digimon and created three new Digivices before sendinf them off to three new DigiDestined; though it wasn't done without help, of course."
"So now you're talking about me, right?" Davis pointed to himself.
"Hello? The whole world doesn't revolve around just you, Davis," Yolei chuckled.
"He's talking about all of us," Cody clarified.
"But somethin' happened tha' we never foresaw," Ebonwumon continued, "You were all given devices tha' made it possible to carry more than one DigiEgg; I think ye call 'em D-Terminals. Tha' was why when the DigiEggs of Friendship, Reliability, an' Sincerity were needed, they were revealed. But because the Crest o' Kindness was hidden away by those Powers of Darkness, we had to reconstruct it into the DigiEgg of Miracles; 'twas the golden DigiEgg, Mr. Goggles 'ere found."
"So you'll be able to get all your power back, right?" Davis asked.
"It's not as simple as it sounds," Baihumon answered, "Because so many of the Destiny Stones were destroyed, the Digital World has become unbalanced. We Guardians must plants the Seeds of Light where the Destiny Stones once were and hope for the best."
"Seeds of Light?" Ken asked. "What are those?"
"They will be placed and in time they will grow to take on the same purpose as the Destiny Stone," Azulongmon replied.
"And then the balance of the Digital World will be restored little by little," Kari smiled lightly.
"Then I guess we—" Davis cut himself off when he saw Ken's face. "Hey, what's up?"
"It's nothing," the vay-haired preteen shook his head.
"Come on, if you've got something to say, then just say it," the maroon-haired preteen pressed.
"I was just thinking," Ken sighed, "That we just might have to keep destroying every last thing that has to do with the Powers of Darkness because over time, it'll just keep building up until it overwhelms us all."
"It doesn't work that way, Ken," Kagome shook her head. "There always needs to be balance, so where there is light, you'll always find some form of darkness. It's like putting your hand beneath a light; you see the light, but there will always be shadows and there's no way to get rid of them. The stronger the light, the deeper the darkness will be. It doesn't matter how deep the darkness may be, all that matters is that you never lose the light inside."
"But what is the light inside?" Ken asked. "I just don't understand."
"The light inside is hope," Fanglongmon spoke, "When all that you see around you is darkness, you must never lose the light within your heart. When the Dark Masters were defeated, the Crests of Light and Hope broke Azulongmon's seal, while the Crest of Compassion broke mine."
"But then, how were you able to communicate with me?" Kagome asked "In that dream? And why did you give me that gift?"
"The Crest of Compassion isn't a normal Crest like the others," the golden dragon explained, "While everyone holds a certain amount of compassion within them, in order for someone to have been granted the Crest of Compassion, they would have had to have been able to care for anything and everything. You were the only one I found to care selflessly, putting others before yourself each and every time. As the Guardian of the Centre, I must maintain balance between the four regions the other Guardians preside over. The gift I gave you was intended to allow you to help maintain the balance where I could not, but you've utilized it in more ways than I could have ever imagined."
"So I was given those abilities to become your assistant?" Kagome raised and eyebrow.
"In a way," Fanglongmon nodded. "But then I noticed that you had been manifesting abilities of your own, though you never knew because my energy flowing through you, courtesy of my gift, wasn't allowing your own to break free. It was why I took back a majority of the gift I gave you, allowing your power to break free, before giving it back in a form to help you."
"But did it have to be a tattoo?!" Kagome blurted out. "Do you know what Mama and Papa would do if they saw this?!"
"Ye really like ta rile the lassie up, don't ya?" Ebonwumon sent a bland look to Fanglongmon, who conveniently decided not to answer.
"When the Dark Digivice was brought into the Digital World," Azulongmon continued with a cough, "we were only able to find three Digimon that were capable of Digivolving by use of the Ancient form. However, the Digimon belonging to those bearing the Crests of Hope, Light, and Compassion also had the capability to Armour Digivolve. It was the reason why their Digivices took on new forms; this allowed those Digimon to make use of the Ancient Digivolution."
"Nefertimon, Pegasusmon, and Sorcermon," T.K stated.
"The Crests of Light, Hope, and Compassion are much different than all the others," Zhuqiaomon spoke. "The Crests of Love, Courage, and Knowledge all come from deep within the hearts of the Digidestined themselves. But the Crest of Light brings life to this world, while The Crest of Hope continues to shine no matter how much the darkness tries to snuff it out. You've heard why the Crest of Compassion is different, but something that wasn't said, however, was that it gives heart to this world."
"Heart?" Cody asked.
"He means tha' the Crest o' Compassion allows Digimon to feel emotion," Ebonwumon explained, "The Crest o' Light gives life, but the Crest o' Compassion works with it to allow this world to feel."
'I'm getting the feeling that Ebonwumon doesn't like long-winded explanations,' Kagome sweat-dropped.
"It was only when the hearts of the DigiDestined became one did the light shine even brighter, allowing a new power to be born," Baihumon spoke, "This was what gave the Digimon the power to Digivolve. It is because of you, DigiDestined, that the Digital World still exists today."
"But there's more danger to come, isn't there?" Kagome asked seriously.
"Yes," Zhuqiaomon nodded. "Although BlackWarGreymon has been stopped, the true evil has still yet to appear. Our power will slowly return to us, but you must be cautious, for the threat is still there. The evil that attempted to seal us all away permanently is not gone."
"Do you mean Arukenimon and Mummymon?" Yolei asked.
"They are merely pawns," Azulongmon answered, "There is another who hold theirs strings and commands them."
"You mean there's someone that controls Arukenimon?" T.K asked.
"Then that must be the same person that was controlling me," Ken said.
"Yer job isn't complete," Ebonwumon stated, "Ye must continue ta fight until this world is safe again."
"Don't worry," Davis grinned, "We'll keep one eye on our world, another on the Digital World, and the last on each other."
"Hm, you must be Davis," Azulongmon said dryly, "Well, despite him; we wish you all the best of luck!"
"Can I still call you Oryu, or do you want me to call you Fanglongmon now?" Kagome called up to the retreating golden dragon.
"You may address me however you wish, Little One," was all the raven-haired girl heard as all the Guardians retreated into the sky, one by one.
The~Ninth~Child
"Thanks to you, I was able to return to my restaurant!" Digitamamon said happily.
"How about some treats?" Bakumon grinned, gesturing to a large platter of meat buns.
"I know they're not much," the Egg Digimon replied, "But take them, please!"
"Thank you for the food!" Everyone called out to Digitamamon.
"Here you go," Kagome broke a meatbun into small pieces to that her Pafumon could eat without a problem.
"Hey, isn't Kapurimon gonna eat, too?" Kari asked.
"Poor thing fell asleep," Kagome smiled helplessly down at the snoozing Digimon in her lap, "I guess everything that happened today just overwhelmed him…"
"Do you think he'll remember you?" the youngest Kamiya look at the sleeping Digimon.
"I don't know," Kagome shook her head, "After he reverted into Kapurimon, I don't think he remembers so much of what happened as BlackWarGreymon. Maybe the only reason why he came to me at all was because my scent was familiar or something. But I really do hope he remembers soon."
"You have to try this, Kagome!" Pafumon bounced happily. "These meatbuns are great!"
-Earth-
The group walked home together, listening to Davis and Yolei argue about who'd eaten the most meatbuns.
Kagome tuned them out, though, paying more attention to the Digimon in her arms, looking around at the human world with curious gold eyes. Pafumon stood upon Kagome shoulder, snuggling into her hair with a purr.
Suddenly, the raven-haired girl's head snapped to the side to see a tall, thin black structure before it fizzled out as though it were nothing more than a mirage. 'That couldn't be…Could it?' She glanced at the others to see if they'd noticed something, only to find that Davis was the only one to have seen what she did. 'It looks like things are going to get interesting from here on out…'
Digivolution Chart:
Chibomon - DemiVeemon - Veemon -ExVeemon
Purumon - Poromon - Hawkmon - Aquilamon
Tsubumon - Upamon - Armadillomon - Ankylomon
Leafmon - Minomon - Wormmon - Stingmon
Tokomon - Patamon - Angemon - MagnaAngemon
Nyaromon - Salamon - Gatomon - Angewomon
Pafumon - Kyaromon - Kudamon - Reppamon - Chirinmon
Ciao,
TsukiyoTenshi