Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Crossroads

by StoriesandGlories

This story examines the events of both Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth games by telling the adventures of Simon, a tamer from the west, and Keisuke, a tamer from Japan, in Tokyo as the story unfolds. Both stories are occurring in real time with each other. Rated T for swearing and mild violence. I do not own Digimon. I am not affiliated with anyone who makes the Digimon video games.

35. Simon: An order of destruction

Simon Chapter 18—An order of destruction—

The next day, I went back into the office and Kyoko looked up as she said: "Good morning, Simon." "Good morning, Kyoko. Have any new cases come in today?" I asked. "Not yet… still, I'm sure something will come up after the Under Zero incident, so be patient—it's only a matter of time." Kyoko said. "Sure thing!" I said. I then left the office and walked back out.

I guess that leaves the matter of deciding what I'm going to do again… but just then I felt my phone ring! I picked it up and said: "Hello?" I then heard Nokia say: "Hi Simon! Do you have a minute?" "I sure do. What's up?" I asked. "Omnimon wanted to talk to us in the hall of heroes. He said he had something important to tell us." Nokia replied. "Something important? Like what?" I asked. "I have no idea. Omnimon said he wouldn't talk about it until we were both there…" Nokia said. "Huh…" I said. "It is a little unlike him to say the least, but… I guess that makes it all the more important! So hurry on over!" Nokia said. "Sure thing! I'm on my way." I said.

We then hung up and I headed straight to the fourth floor where I logged into the hall of heroes. When I arrived, I spotted Omnimon and Nokia ahead… but no one else was here. Nokia waved and I came forward and when I closed in, I said: "Hi Nokia, hi Omnimon. Where are the others? Have they not arrived yet?" "There isn't going to be anyone else coming, Simon… it's just you and Nokia." Omnimon said. "Huh?" I asked. Omnimon then went on: "I'm sorry if this seems unusual Simon, but you two are the only ones I trust enough to disclose what I'm going to say to." "What do you mean? What is this all about?" I asked.

"Well to explain that, I'm going to have to explain something else first, which is that even though it looks like it, this isn't the first time I've been an Omnimon." Omnimon said. "Huh? You've digivolved to this level before, Omnimon?" Nokia asked. "Yes… long ago, when I was still living in the Digital World. But before I continue… do you both know what the Digital World is?" Omnimon asked. "It's the world where all Digimon come to Earth from, right?" I asked. "Exactly right! You're good." Omnimon said. "Um… well I know now, anyway." Nokia said.

We all then laughed together before Omnimon went on: "Well anyway, it wasn't long after I assumed that form that I became a member of the Royal Knights in the Digital World—"and then I said: "The Royal Knights?" "Yes. We are sworn protectors of the Digital World, working under the command of King Drasil, the host computer that created the Digital World." Omnimon said. "So this 'King Drasil' was the one who was ultimately responsible for the creation of Digimon then? I'd like to thank him someday…" I said. "Me too! If it weren't for him, then we'd never have met, Omnimon!" Nokia said. Omnimon then smiled and said: "That's just like you both. But that being said, the Royal Knights all answer to King Drasil and do whatever is necessary to protect the Digital World. Now I'm sure you're wondering how I de-digivolved back to Agumon and Gabumon and the answer to that lies in what I was going to tell you… I remembered what I forgot when I came here, which is what I was doing coming to Earth."

"Okay… so what was that, Omnimon?" Nokia asked. "I was trying to assess the situation with regard to Eaters here in the network that you call 'EDEN'." Omnimon said. "Why were you trying to do that?" I asked. Omnimon appeared to be hesitating for a moment before Nokia said: "What? What is it?" "…The Digital World… it has been overrun by Eaters." Omnimon said.

"WHAT?! That's… so horrible…" Nokia said. "So the Eaters… they've been jumping through EDEN to the Digital World just as you Digimon have been doing to access EDEN…" I said. "Exactly. Our world is threatened by Eaters right now. They've swarmed it." Omnimon said. "So it's our fault… that your world is threatened?" Nokia asked. Omnimon then turned to Nokia and said: "Nokia!" before he went on: "I don't believe we can conclusively say anything. All we know is that Eaters are getting into the Digital World from Earth. That's all we know—we can't prove anything about where they live, in how many worlds they exist or how they're made… we Digimon know very little about them, all things considered."

Then he continued: "Of course, the problem did not escape King Drasil's attention. He traced the Eaters back to the EDEN network in your world and so judged that something must be done to stop the Eaters from coming to our world." "Well, I suppose I can see a few solutions… so what did King Drasil decide?" I asked. "King Drasil was not the one to come up with the solution… it was a Royal Knight named Leopardmon who had the idea. Leopardmon's idea was effectively… to destroy Earth." Omnimon said.

"WHAT?!" Nokia and I said. "Yes… that was his plan. Destroy the world and everything on it to stop the Eaters from arriving. No more Earth, no more Eaters. No more Eaters, no more problems…" Omnimon said. "And… what did King Drasil say?" Nokia asked. "He approved it. So the Royal Knights have already begun to carry out their plan to destroy Earth. They called it the 'Paradise Lost' plan." Omnimon said.

"But Omnimon… if you're a royal knight, why are you sharing this information with us?" I asked. "I was against the Paradise Lost plan—as were a few of my fellow Royal Knights—and so I came to Earth to try and judge what the problem really was. I couldn't get through as I was, because I took up too much memory to pass through, so I split myself into Agumon and Gabumon in order to get in. But I lost my memories in the process, which cost me a lot of valuable time…" Omnimon said. And then he went on: "But anyway, I don't believe it is King Drasil's will to destroy Earth. So I'm trying to warn you of what will be coming."

And then he continued: "Listen carefully… the leaders of the Royal Knights who are going to be attacking are Crusadermon and Leopardmon. They are planning a surprise attack and will be bringing an army of Digimon of all levels and ages to destroy your world." "But… how are they going to accomplish anything? I mean, Digimon can't exist outside of cyberspace…" Nokia said. "Can you really think of nothing they could use?" Omnimon asked. "The digital waves…" I said. Omnimon then pointed one of his arms at me and said: "Exactly. They are planning to cause a massive scale digital wave over the planet with Tokyo as its focal point and arrive ready to attack."

Omnimon then went on: "I don't know how they intend to do it, but I need to work fast and I was hoping I could count on you to help." "Leave it to me, Omnimon! I'm your tamer and you can always count on me!" Nokia said. "I'm in too. After all, I'd hate for it to come to humans and Digimon having to start fighting each other…" I said. "Nokia… Simon…" Omnimon said before he went on: "Thank you both. Of course, it won't be easy. We have to start by figuring out how they are planning to carry out the plan and who will be doing it—" and then I said: "We already know that. It's Kamishiro who's behind it—Rie Kishibe intends to carry out the Paradise Lost plan."

Omnimon then immediately turned to me and said: "WHAT?! Simon, how do you know that?!" "We recently infiltrated Kamishiro and hacked that data. It wasn't easy, but we found it in a difficult-to-access spot." I said. Omnimon then smiled and said: "That's fantastic! That's a major success for our side! Now that we know who the enemy is and what they intend to do, all we need is a way to stop it! Since Kishibe is creating digital waves all over Tokyo, we just need something that could stop her from making them… like causing a massive power outage!" "A power outage?" Nokia said. "Well think about it—Kishibe has been using computers to create digital waves, and computers need electricity to operate at all. If we could turn off the power in Tokyo until we can catch and corner Kishibe, we could bring her in and then restore the power to prevent a disaster." Omnimon said.

Nokia then grinned and said: "That's great! Omnimon, you're a genius!" "True. It's simple, but a direct approach and guaranteed to work—I think we may have our plan here." I said. Omnimon then smiled and I went on: "I have some friends who I think may be willing to help. I'll leave and check with them before I report back." "Thank you, Simon. I look forward to hearing from you soon!" Omnimon said.

I then logged out and prepared to go to Kyoko's office… only to find that I got a phone call from her! I answered it and said: "Hello?" and Kyoko said: "Hi Simon. We finally have a new case in and this one is pretty serious. The client's here now, so I'll need you to drop what you're doing and come to the office, alright?" "Sure thing! I'm on my way, Kyoko!" I said.

I then hurried back to the office and opened it to find Kyoko… and Fei! "Fei?" I said. She then turned to me and said: "Hey…" "So you submitted a case? How can we help?" I asked. "I'll get straight to the point. It's Yuuko…" Fei said and then I suddenly felt full of dread and said: "Oh god… please don't tell me she was a victim of the Eaters!" "No, she was kidnapped!" Fei said back.

"WHAT?" I said. Fei shook her head and said: "Let me back up—as you can see, I was one of very few people to escape Under Zero unscathed. Luckily, Yuuko escaped the Eaters too… but not Kamishiro. They came in and abducted her, taking her off to who-knows-where…" She then looked down and clenched her fists and said: "I hate them! I hate knowing that my Digimon were too weak to stop them because I played into their hands… I hate knowing there was nothing I could do to protect my friend from being kidnapped! It was all I could do to try and find someone strong enough to help me save Yuuko while I hated those Kamishiro scum from afar." I then put my hand on Fei's shoulder (and she immediately looked up) as I said: "I'm sorry, Fei. I understand you being worried too, but don't worry—we'll get this job done." "Well of course! Yuuko's been my best friend for years—" Fei began, but then she stopped and said: "Wait a minute—what do you mean, 'too'?"

Suddenly my face felt hot somehow and I didn't say anything… Fei then grinned and said: "Oh, so you care about Yuuko, huh? Hee-hee… I wonder what I can expect you to do when we find her? Maybe it's Yuuko I should be looking out for, to make sure you're not trying to lock lips with her when I'm not looking." Now I was starting to lose my patience at her teasing. I crossed my arms and said: "How much longer do you intend to go off on a tangent? I mean, weren't you just saying how worried you were about Yuuko?" Fei laughed before she said: "I was just pulling your leg, don't take it so seriously." She then went on: "Anyway, I followed them as stealthily as I could and I heard them saying something about going to the Roppongi underground research lab, so that's our destination. The first part would be discovering where that is—" Fei began and then I said: "That's not necessary." "Huh? Why's that?" Fei asked. "We already know how to get to it." I said.

Fei then grinned and said: "Really? I'm glad you were my first choice of an agency to visit, then!" "Glad to hear it. Even so, I can't imagine this will be easy… did you hear anything else that could be of use to us when you were following them, Fei?" I asked. "Hmm… well, they did say something about a 'paradise lost', whatever that means—" Fei began, but as soon as I heard this, I stopped listening. If kidnapping Yuuko was related to the paradise lost plan, then we'll need more people to handle this than just us two…

Finally, Fei said: "What? What is it?" "…If what you say is true, this may be more serious than I had thought." I said. "Huh? Why?" Fei asked. "I discovered the reference they were talking about recently… the Paradise Lost plan—as it is fully known—is a plan that could destroy our world." I said. "HUH? So how does Yuuko fit in all this?" Fei asked. "Unfortunately, I don't know. But the point is, this mission is a serious one and we'll need more than just you or me to rescue Yuuko. With your permission Fei, I'd like to bring in two of my friends to help with this case." I said. "I don't care if you need to bring a hundred friends! If it'll help save Yuuko, I'll go along with it!" Fei said. "Great. Then let me get in touch with them…" I said.

I then called Nokia and Arata and asked if they could meet us at Nakano and (very luckily) they both could! We then waited until Arata and Nokia arrived and when they walked in, Arata said: "Hey Simon. What's—" and then he eyed Fei before he said: "Whoa! What's she doing here?" "Hmph. And hello to you too, Arata." Fei said. She then went on: "I can see Yuuko and I were making a mistake at Under Zero after all—" and then Arata angrily said: "You're damn right about that! If it weren't for you two, no one would have gotten EDEN Syndrome!"

Kyoko then stood up and said: "Calm down, you two! Even though you've quarreled recently, I think it's about time you called a truce—this is a serious mission." Arata looked down while Fei looked away and eventually they both said: "Fine." At the same time. Nokia looked uneasy and I said: "Sorry about calling you both here so soon, Nokia and Arata, but as Kyoko said, this is serious business—the Paradise Lost plan may be about to get started." "WHAT?!" Nokia said while Arata said: "You mean that plan Kishibe had to connect the Digital World to Earth? Why is she starting it now?" "It might have to do with her kidnapping Yuuko. Let me explain…" I said.

I then retold Fei's story and what I knew about the Paradise Lost plan from the hack on Kamishiro and from what Omnimon had told us. By the end of it all, Arata looked shocked and Fei said: "So they're trying to destroy the world… and they're going to use Yuuko to do it?! Why those little…!" and then Nokia said: "All the same, this is really, really serious stuff. Now let's see…" and then she went on: "Omnimon said we should cause a massive power outage to stop the Paradise Lost plan… so we'd need someone to do that while the other party is rescuing Yuuko—"

"You leave that to me." Arata said. "Arata, are you sure? There are a lot of power plants that would need to go offline." I said. Arata then turned to me and said: "Don't worry about me, Simon—I may not look it, but I'm an awesome hacker. And I have some friends I can ask for help with some of them." Arata said. I then smiled and said: "That's true. You are an awesome hacker, especially given that you led the Judes—" and then Arata sighed and said: "…You're still thinking about that, huh?" Nokia chuckled and said: "Take it as a compliment, Arata."

"Okay, so we've got someone to cut the power, and that leaves Simon and me to rescue Yuuko and take down anything in our way. That's easy enough—" Fei began and then Nokia said: "Hey! Don't forget about me! Omnimon and I are eager to help stop this Paradise Lost plan too, you know!" Fei then nodded and said: "Sure. I can't say I'm opposed to having greater numbers on our side—that'll only help."

Kyoko then said: "Okay, so now we've got our two parties with their objectives defined." She then turned to Arata and said: "Go on ahead and get ready to cut the power, Arata. Just be sure to proceed quickly—we're counting on you." "You don't need to worry about that, Kyoko." Arata said. Kyoko then turned to us and said: "And it looks like our rescue team is ready to go, too. Simon, would you show them to the Nakano Underpass?" "You bet!" I said. "Good. Then you'd best be off, everyone—time is of the essence now!" Kyoko said. We all nodded and went off. Arata left Nakano, while I took Fei and Nokia to the Nakano Underpass.

When we arrived, I opened the gateway and revealed the digital shift ahead. When Nokia saw it, she said: "Whoa! Just look at how unreal this is… this is surreal!" "Yes… this is a special kind of digital wave known as a 'digital shift'. Digimon can appear here and wherever there is a digital shift, there is an Eater as well, so make sure to watch your back." I said. "Wh-whoa! So those monsters from Kowloon will be here too?" Nokia said. I nodded and then Fei said: "Fine. Bring 'em! I'm ready to take on anything that comes through here! Now let's get going!"

We both nodded and started making our way through the Nakano Underpass. Eventually, we made it back to the Roppongi underground research lab with all of its machinery… where we saw Yuuko strapped down (both by her wrists and ankles) in a chair with a circular headpiece with electrodes over her head! Rie was also next to Yuuko, typing on a keyboard over a screen of data. I turned to look at Fei and saw she was experiencing tremors, doubtlessly from the rage she was feeling… Rie then said: "There! All done, Yuuko, my dear! Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" The headpiece then came off Yuuko and Yuuko turned her head to the side and said: "Uhhhh…" before she turned back to Rie and said: "Just what has gotten into you?! We used to get along so well, Rie, but lately you've been such a— " and then Fei yelled: "YUUKO!"

We all then ran in as Rie turned around (and Yuuko turned to face us) and Rie said: "Well, well, look who's back from the dead… it's that Zaxon second banana and those kids who knew better." While Yuuko said: "Fei! Simon! Nokia!" Fei then approached her and said: "Let her go right now, you eel!" Rie then frowned and said: "Watch your language, you brat!" and then she went on: "Don't worry—I'll be happy to let her go, since I've already extracted the last piece!" "You… what do you mean 'extracted'?!" Fei asked.

"Hee-hee… it was simply a backstage pass to her memories. Believe it or not, there was one in there that I needed, so I took a peek and I got it." Rie said. "Why you…!" Fei yelled and she ran at Rie, who looked perfectly calm. Fei then tried to grab Rie, but Rie reached in and grabbed Fei's arm first and threw her away! When Fei rose, Rie said: "Hee-hee… you fight like a second banana too." "Grr! Do not push me, old woman!" Fei yelled. "Ha ha… Yes, you taunt me like that now… but in a few moments, you're going wish you hadn't." Rie said. She then stepped back and started typing on the screen again before she stopped and smiled with a very wide, evil grin.

"You… what did you just do?!" Nokia asked. But then something surprising happened: our Digimon all appeared next to us! "What?! Omnimon?!" Nokia asked and I said: "I don't get this… we didn't call them out before because there was nothing here… but now they were forced to appear?" Rie then laughed and said: "You fools! They weren't 'forced to appear' by anything! They merely came out where they can exist now, that's all." "But that's just because of the digital shift covering this area and making real world space digital, right?" Nokia asked. Rie giggled and could barely stop herself from erupting into laughter at this point…

"What? What is so funny?" I asked. "You're speaking as if real world space and digital space are separate, and there was a time when that was true… but no longer! Everywhere on this planet is now digital space! I have just rewritten the laws of all matter! I have just made the impossible happen!" Rie said. "Then you mean…?!" Nokia said and Rie said: "YES! The Paradise Lost plan was a success!" Rie then went on: "And now that that has been done, I can finally leave this weak, frail body I had to seize in order to carry this out—" and then Yuuko said: "What?!" and Rie went on: "I hope you're all ready, because you're about to get more than you bargained for!"

And then pink light surrounded her before it engulfed her and expanded outward… and when it was gone, a Digimon was standing where Rie was! She was humanoid and walked on two legs. She wore magenta and pink leg armor with gold knee armor. She had pink armor around her hips and a magenta and pink breastplate that showed her midriff. She had pink arm armor that went from finger to halfway up her bicep. She had a gold shield with a purple cross attached to her left arm and magenta pauldrons on her shoulders with gold ribbons around them. She had a pink helm like a bird's head with a pointed beak above her mouth and she had gold feathers on either side of the top of her helm. She had whitish-gray skin and looked 6'8 tall.

"What the hell?! She was a Digimon, all along?!" Fei said. Omnimon then stepped forward and said: "Crusadermon! To think you had entered a human's body all this time…!" and then the Digimon laughed and said: "Yes, it wasn't easy finding a vacant body… but I'm glad I kept looking." She then went on: "But it's good to see you again Omnimon, my proud and gallant fellow Royal Knight!" Omnimon then grimaced and Crusadermon then turned to Scott and said: "And Gallantmon! It's so good to see you too! I'm surprised you were with a human, but I do hope you've been well."

I then looked at Scott (who was staring Crusadermon down) before he said: "…I can see why you'd confuse me with Gallantmon of the Royal Knights… but you're wrong. I'm not him. I'm an ordinary Digimon who worked hard and advanced to this level with the help of my tamer." "Wh-what?! You… you're not Gallantmon?! You're really just an ordinary Digimon… who…?!" Crusadermon said and Scott said: "That's right. And I have a name, it's Scott."

Crusadermon then said: "I'm not sure I can believe it… no Digimon has digivolved into a Gallantmon in centuries… and to think that you've been so domesticated and groomed by a human that you would answer to a common name! You are such a pitiful poser!" and then she turned to Omnimon and went on: "Now then, you're doubtlessly aware of our Paradise Lost plan and King Drasil's approval of it… so in order to serve our king, why don't you join me in eradicating these stupid humans? It'll be just like old times!"

Omnimon then shouted: "Shut up!" at Crusadermon and Crusadermon then said: "What?!" before Omnimon went on: "Let's be clear on one thing… I don't take orders from you, Crusadermon. I serve King Drasil… and I do not believe it is his will that Earth and the humans be destroyed!" Crusadermon then looked furious and said: "Blasphemy! King Drasil himself approved the plan! It is your duty as a Royal Knight to kill those human fools behind you!" "What did I just say?! I don't take orders from you, Crusadermon." Omnimon said. "So you would dare to betray our king and our world… and for what? A bunch of fools whose irresponsibility brought our world to its knees…?!" Crusadermon asked.

"Why must you continue to blame humanity? It's not their fault that the Eaters exploited the very same channels we used to enter Earth." Omnimon said. "What… what did you say?!" Crusadermon asked. "You heard me. There is no need to repeat myself." Omnimon said. Crusadermon then said: "I have never seen such idiotic insubordination…! Very well. Then out of fealty for my king, I will destroy you too! It will be an act of mercy!" "Very well, then come at me! I do not fear you, Crusadermon!" Omnimon said.

I then felt my phone vibrate and I checked it and it said: "Crusadermon scan data: ERROR." I was surprised to see that my phone couldn't scan her data, although I guess that has to do with her being a royal knight…at least it said Crusadermon was a virus Digimon, so I called back everyone but Jason, Pepper and Zephyr and we came forward and I said: "We'll help too!" Omnimon then turned to us and said: "I hadn't meant to get you wrapped up in all of this… but that's fine by me! This is no time to be taking chances!" "Exactly, Omnimon!" Nokia said. We all then turned to Crusadermon and she said: "Hmph. I feel sorry for those impressionable Digimon you've enlisted… but that's okay. I'll free them soon enough!"

I then said: "Pepper, give yourself a boost, attack charge! Zephyr, use mirror reflection!" and Pepper said: "Attack charge!" and boosted his damage output with non-magic attacks. Zephyr then said: "Mirror reflection!" and prepared to strike back against any magic attacks. Nokia then said: "Omnimon, use holy light 3!" and Omnimon said: "Holy light 3!" and made a shining, exploding cross of light emerge where Crusadermon was! She took it pretty hard too before she recovered and said: "Spiral masquerade!" and she started to float before she flew in circles around Omnimon and made the ribbons around her armor extend and strike at him! After she landed a few hits, she went back to where she had stood before. Jason then said: "Holy light 3!" and attacked Crusadermon as Omnimon had.

Nokia then said: "Get her back for that, Omnimon! Supreme cannon!" and Omnimon said: "Supreme cannon!" and then Omnimon pointed his arm with the head like MetalGarurumon's at Crusadermon before the mouth opened, revealing a small cannon! It then fired a cannonball at Crusadermon and knocked her over! She got up though and then she said: "Hell crusher 3!" and made four groups of purplish-pink wisps spun around Pepper, Jason, Zephyr and Omnimon and they crashed into them! As soon as the attack concluded, Zephyr immediately flew over to Crusadermon and kicked her with his talons before he flew back and I said: "Pepper, blast Crusadermon with a giga destroyer! Zephyr, give her a taste of your savage emperor! Jason, use wind cutter sword!" Jason then said: "Wind cutter sword!" and he charged straight at Crusadermon and rammed his horn into her three times before he leapt out of the way and Pepper said: "Giga destroyer!" and shot missiles from the plate on his chest at Crusadermon. Zephyr then said: "Savage emperor!" and flew up higher before he blasted Crusadermon with a beam of light, which she took pretty hard!

Crusadermon then said: "Spiral masquerade!" and this time attacked Jason before I said: "Pepper, use acceleration boost! Jason, give her a holy light 3!" and Pepper said: "Acceleration boost!" and prepared to really strengthen his next attack. Jason then said: "Holy light 3!" and attacked Crusadermon with it. Nokia said: "Omnimon, hit Crusadermon with a saint knuckle 3!" and Omnimon said: "Saint knuckle 3!" and his arm with the head like WarGreymon's began to glow before he flew over and hit Crusadermon with a back fist! Zephyr then said: "Savage emperor!" and blasted Crusadermon with another beam of light.

Crusadermon then said: "Hell crusher 3!" and made the wisps of darkness surround our Digimon again and hurt them before Zephyr once again swooped at Crusadermon and kicked her with his talons before flying back. As soon as Zephyr was out of the way, Nokia said: "Alright Omnimon, give her another supreme cannon!" and Omnimon said: "Supreme cannon!" and shot Crusadermon with a cannonball. I then said: "Alright everyone, give her all you've got! Pepper, use giga destroyer! Zephyr, use savage emperor! Jason, use holy light 3!" Zephyr then said: "Savage emperor!" and blasted Crusadermon with a beam of light before Jason said: "Holy light 3!" and attacked her with another shining, exploding cross and Pepper said: "Giga destroyer!" and he shot missiles at Crusadermon! The force of all three attacks knocked Crusadermon flat on her back!

Crusadermon then rose and said: "Ha ha ha! You all have some serious spunk! Well, we will end this later, mark my words!" and then she teleported away! "Argh! That conniving…!" Fei began before she said: "She got away!" I frowned when I heard this and said: "That's the least of our concerns right now! If the Paradise Lost plan actually succeeded as she said it did, all life on Earth may cease to exist soon!" "Yeah… if that happened… it'll be horrible." Nokia said.

But then we saw something surprising: Yuuko's eyes suddenly widened and she was struggling to get out of the chair she was bound to! "Yuuko? What is it?!" Fei asked. We then turned around and saw: it was the Eater! It flew at her and closed it before it smothered her and pulled her towards itself—and then there was a flash of light!

When we could see again, the Eater had changed—now it was a four-legged Eater with a giant eye in the middle of its head and a horn in front of the eye—and Yuuko was somehow bound to it! When Fei saw this, she yelled: "YUUKO!" but Yuuko didn't respond… I saw her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving (outside of being moved by the Eater swaying its horn, of course) Fei then called out her TigerVespamon, along with two other Digimon… one was a humanoid Digimon that walked on two legs. She had a full-body black suit on and had yellow, lightweight-looking armor over her chest, as well as yellow rounded shoulder armor that looked huge. She had a black belt with a yellow belt buckle that looked like a fox's head, as well as purple long gloves and purple boots with yin yang symbols over her toes. She had a yellow helmet over her head that covered her eyes and looked like a fox's head (and her face had skin that looked like real human skin). She had very long white hair that was bound into two ponytails that went down to her ankles. She held a gold staff with a ring at the top and had what looked like yellow fairy wings on her back, although they were down and weren't moving. She looked 5'7 tall.

The other was a giant yellow bird Digimon with a gray underbelly. She had gray talons with gold shackle-like rings around them and had an orange mask over her face. She had feathers behind her head that were yellow, but then turned red and finally purple as they got further away from the back of her head (there were also feathers down her back of the same colors). She had four massive yellow wings and very long yellow and red tail feathers. She looked 7'2 tall.

Fei then said: "Alright everyone! Make that thing pay! Show no mercy!" and I stepped forward and said: "We'll help too!" and I called back Pepper, Jason and Zephyr and called out Scott, Gil and Sabrina. Fei looked at me and I saw her grin as she said: "Thanks, pal…" that was the first time she had treated me as a friend and not an acquaintance, and for Fei to do that… that was something.

Nonetheless, I said: "Scott, use lightning joust! Sabrina, use mental charge on yourself!" and Scott said: "Lightning joust!" and his lance became electrically charged before he flew at the Eater and thrust his lance into it! Sabrina then followed up by saying: "Mental charge!" and boosted her damage output with magic attacks and her damage resistance to magic attacks. Fei then said: "TigerVespamon, use status barrier on yourself! Sakuyamon, do the same! Hououmon, use power energy 3 on that monster!" and TigerVespamon said: "Status barrier!" and she made a purple barrier form in front of herself, although I saw no immediate effect… the Digimon in the yellow armor—Sakuyamon—then said: "Status barrier!" and also cast the same spell on herself. The giant bird Digimon—Hououmon—then said: "Power energy 3!" and made an explosion of gray energy envelop the Eater! The Eater then cast a spell on itself, although I saw no immediate effect either… Gil then said: "Wind claw 3!" and flew over to the Eater and raked it with his claws.

Fei then said: "TigerVespamon, use victory stinger mark 5! Hououmon, use status barrier on yourself! Sakuyamon, give that Digimon… err… Scott… a status barrier!" Hououmon then said: "Status barrier!" and cast another purple barrier in front of herself. Sakuyamon then said: "Status barrier!" and cast a purple barrier in front of Scott. TigerVespamon then said: "Victory stinger mark 5!" and leapt at the Eater and thrust her lances at it too fast for my eyes to follow before she flew away. The Eater then made a leaf come down in between our Digimon and then many more leaves erupted from the ground and hit our Digimon before a dome of green energy came up and hit them too. I then said: "Scott, use lightning joust again! Gil, keep up your wind claw 3! Sabrina, use talisman of light!" Scott and Gil then repeated their last attacks while Sabrina said: "Talisman of light!" and she conjured a giant paint brush which she used to draw a Japanese character and then she swung it at the character, sending it flying at the Eater! The Eater didn't seem to take it too hard though…

The Eater then repeated the same attack it used last time while Fei said: "TigerVespamon, give it another victory stinger mark 5! Sakuyamon, use holy light 3! Hououmon, use power energy 3!" and Hououmon caused another explosion of gray energy to envelop the Eater while Sakuyamon attacked with a shining, exploding cross of light. TigerVespamon also leapt at the Eater and thrust her lances at it. I had Scott and Gil attack as they had last time and had Sabrina cast another mental charge on herself, seeing as how her last magic attack hadn't done very much.

The Eater then lifted its horn up and white light streamed from behind it as it swung the horn down, seemingly cutting a rift in the air, which then expanded and caused light to come out and hit our Digimon! The rift then disappeared and our Digimon all took it pretty hard—and Gil and Sabrina fell forward and started sleeping! "Gil? Sabrina? Was that… a sleep status condition…?" I asked. "It sure looks that way." Fei said back. "Huh… I wonder why it only worked on them?" I asked. Fei then chuckled and said: "That's the power of a status barrier—it stops any status condition—or a stat cut—from working!" "Wow… that's great! Thanks for using those then, Fei!" I said. "Sure, no problem. Judging by what this thing can do, it looks like I'd better recast those soon too…" Fei said.

She then went on: "TigerVespamon, Sakuyamon, Hououmon! Attack as you did again!" and they did so before I said: "Scott, use lightning joust!" and he rammed his lance into the Eater. The Eater then cast another spell on itself before Fei had her Digimon all cast a status barrier on themselves and Scott attacked with lightning joust while Sabrina and Gil continued dozing. The Eater then attacked with the dome of leaves again before it knocked out Gil and Sabrina! "Gil? Sabrina?" I said. Gil then said: "Ahh… that thing packs a punch…" "Keep on going Simon. I know you can do it…" Sabrina said. I nodded and called them back before I sent in Elena and Zephyr.

Fei then said: "Alright everyone! Cast status barrier on Simon's Digimon!" and they did so before I said: "Scott, use lightning joust again! Zephyr, use savage emperor! Elena, give it a heavy strike 3!" and Scott and Zephyr attacked before Elena said: "Heavy strike 3!" and she went up to the Eater and swung her sword at its side, away from Yuuko. The Eater then went up to Scott and thrust one of its legs at him before moving away.

I then said: "Alright Scott, give everyone a guard charge field! Zephyr and Elena, use savage emperor and heavy strike 3 again!" and Zephyr and Elena did so while Scott said: "Guard charge field!" and cast a spell on everyone that boosted their damage resistance to non-magic attacks. Fei then had her Digimon attack with the attacks they'd been using and then the Eater once again drew its horn back and opened another rift which hit our Digimon hard! Zephyr even went down from it! I called him back and sent in Pepper before Fei said: "Argh, it keeps getting stronger and stronger…" and the Eater cast another spell on itself before Fei said: "I'd have to imagine that that must be affecting its damage output… which would mean…" and then she went on: "TigerVespamon, hit that thing with victory stinger mark 5! Sakuyamon, use amethyst mandala! Hououmon, give his MetalGreymon a status barrier!" and Hououmon did so before TigerVespamon attacked and then Sakuyamon said: "Amethyst mandala!" and she swung her staff around before a magic circle formed on the ground beneath her and flower petals went flying into the air as a dome of energy formed around her and shot outward!

The Eater looked knocked off balance from the attack and Fei said: "Ha! That'll teach you!" and I said: "What do you mean?" before Fei turned to me and said: "Since this thing keeps getting stronger, I judged it must be boosting some kind of damage output for its attacks. So I had Sakuyamon use her amethyst mandala—the nice thing is, her amethyst mandala has the power to get rid of most kinds of attribute boosts an enemy can make, and that includes any that can improve their damage output or damage resistance. So now it's weaker and should be more manageable." I then smiled and said: "That's brilliant! Good work, Fei!" Fei grinned and I turned back to the battle before I said: "Scott, get 'em with lightning joust! Pepper, use attack charge on yourself! Elena, use heavy strike 3!" and Scott and Elena attacked while Pepper said: "Attack charge!" and boosted his damage output with non-magic attacks. The Eater then thrust its leg at Sakuyamon this time before it went back.

Fei had all three of her Digimon attack again while I said: "Pepper, time to get primed! Acceleration boost! Scott, Elena, get ready to block!" and Pepper said: "Acceleration boost!" and prepared to really strengthen his next attack. The Eater then attacked with the leaf dome.

My Digimon were really starting to look worn out (and even Fei's were too), so I said: "Scott, use lightning joust! Elena, use heavy strike 3! Pepper, use giga destroyer!" and Scott and Elena got in and struck the Eater before Pepper said: "Giga destroyer!" and launched missiles at the Eater… and that was all it took! It wobbled in place and collapsed after the attack!

When it was over, we all went up to the Eater. It couldn't move, but Yuuko was still bound to it… Fei then started to look frustrated before she said: "Argh! Why won't she come off…?!" and she went up and kicked the Eater before she said: "Damn you! Let her go!" Nokia looked really worried too… "Let's search it over. Maybe we'll find a clue we can use." I said.

We looked all around the Eater for some kind of a clue we could use, but there wasn't a one to be found… "Argh, we've checked and double checked every part of the Eater, but we haven't found anything! How are we supposed to get her off of that thing?" Fei said. "Well we aren't getting any closer by looking at the outside. We'll need to think of something—" I began, but then I said: "Wait a minute… the outside…" and then I had an idea! I approached the Eater and tried to connect jump in. I then heard Nokia say: "Simon? What are you doing?" and I didn't respond before she said: "Hey, hold on! You're not seriously thinking of…?!"

And then I did it—I jumped in! I arrived in a black space with some white-and-gray chain-like lines everywhere and a trail of black and white rings below. I wasn't sure which way was forward, or even where Yuuko was, but that didn't matter… I ran on ahead until I saw Yuuko sitting on the ground in the distance! "YUUKO!" I yelled. She then looked up at me and said: "Oh, Simon…" "I'm so glad I found you. Now come on—we've got to get you out of here!" I said.

But then Yuuko shook her head and said: "What's the point?" "Are—are you serious?!" I asked. "I've been subjected to so much misfortune ever since I was young… my family died all around me and all I've ever done is flail and flounder and bring other people down with me… I mean, look at Under Zero—I thought I was going to create a utopia for all hackers and I only led my poor teammates to their doom! And then there's Rie… I said all of those mean things to her without even realizing she was being used by Crusadermon… I'm nothing special… I've just been a burden. I deserve to be locked up in a place like this and I won't miss out on anything anyway…" Yuuko said.

Now I was getting annoyed and I said: "You ignoramus! Don't you realize that you'd be hurting people by shutting yourself away in here?!" Yuuko looked up and said: "Hurting people…?" before she looked miserable again and said: "Aha… that's good. Like who?" "Fei, for one. You should have seen how frenzied she was trying to rescue you, even before we got here!" I said back. "Okay, so there's Fei… but can you really name anyone else?" Yuuko asked.

"There's the remaining Zaxons—they still respect you and need a leader. Then there's Rie… now that Crusadermon's out of her body, she'd be crushed if you let yourself get trapped like this. I can tell from the password for the secret room. And there's your brother too… he's got to wake up someday and if he finds out he's the only Kamishiro left, he'll be just as devastated as you have been. And… I would be hurt too." I said. "Simon…" Yuuko said. Her attention was fully on me now. I then went on: "Don't you see yet? Not just anybody could form a hacker team. Not just anybody could survive under the conditions you had to live under. You've accomplished significant things and proven how strong you are. It would be a tragedy if you were to disappear here. Don't do that to everyone."

Yuuko then got up and smiled and then she did something I had never seen her do before: she came up and hugged me! I hugged her back as I heard her whisper in my ear: "You win… I was feeling so miserable and hurt… maybe the Eater had something to do with it. But now I see how irresponsible I was being… thank you. I don't want to be stuck in here anymore. Please take me out of here, so I can see everyone." We then let go as I said: "I'm glad to see you're back to your old self. Now come on! Everyone's waiting for you!" and then I took Yuuko's hand and connect jumped out!

We were thrust back out into the room with Nokia and Fei. As soon as we landed, Fei said: "Yuuko!" and she came up to her and said: "Are you okay? That Eater didn't hurt you, did it?!" Yuuko was still smiling as she said: "No, of course not. Thank you for the warm welcome, Fei." Fei smiled back and said: "Of course! That's what friends are for!" She then turned to me and said: "Thank you for rescuing her, Simon. I owe you big time." I laughed and said: "Don't feel obligated Fei. I'm happy to help." But then we heard an odd hissing noise! We whirled around to see the Eater melting away into nothing! "Whew! Thank god that didn't happen when Simon and Yuuko were in there!" Nokia said. "Yeah… well, at least it got what was coming to it." Fei said.

But then the lights suddenly went out! It was almost pitch black in here now… if it weren't for the light coming from the tunnel from the digital shift, we wouldn't be able to see anything! Nokia then yelled: "Waaah! What's going on?! It's like a sudden blackout!" and then she went on: "What a minute… a black…out…?" and then she said: "Arata! He must be making his move!" Fei then said: "Yeah… a bit late, judging by the looks of it." "Well, we'll have to see. Now just to figure out how we're going to make our way back…" I said. "Our only choice is to follow the light from the tunnel. Come on, everyone!" Omnimon said.

We then followed the tunnel back to the underground entrance back to Nakano (luckily, by the time we got there the lights were back on, so we headed back up to Nakano Broadway. As we walked out into the first floor, Omnimon was still with us… "So Omnimon can exist here… please don't take this the wrong way Omnimon, but this isn't looking so good…" Nokia said. "I understand Nokia… I'm just as nervous as you are." Omnimon said. Our heads then turned to the entrance and we all looked at each other before we all ran to it and as we stepped outside into the sunset, we saw it: the buildings around us were experiencing phenomena like in the digital shifts we had been in… and there were Digimon in the streets!

We all then turned to each other. There was no doubt about it now… as grim of a situation as it was, the paradise lost plan was a success…