(A/N: The holidays are coming up, so Happy Holidays! Here's an early Christmas present for you all. The next chapter! Yay! Enjoy.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 125: An Unscheduled Stop

"I'm glad Jijimon and Babamon were able to get us a Trailmon," Davis grumbled, "but this isn't exactly what I had in mind."

Shoutmon snorted. "We were able to get what we needed. Be a little more grateful; we could be walking."

Davis fixed the dragon Digimon with a dirty look. "I am grateful. But I was also hoping for something a bit… bigger."

He motioned to the Trailmon they were riding, a species called Ball. It was very small, for a Trailmon, and lacked any cars, and the seven of them were barely able to fit on it. But it wasn't just small, it was slow too, moving itself along by turning the cranks on its sides.

After everything that had happened in the village regarding Deathmon and the Parasimon, the Digimon who had once been hosts to the parasite Digimon had been immensely grateful to Takuya and Shoutmon. And though it had taken some groveling from Jijimon and Babamon, they had been willing to forgive the ancient beast Digimon for the roles they had been forced to play in providing the Parasimon with hosts.

The others had been sorry that they hadn't been able to assist Takuya and Shoutmon in the battle with Deathmon, but their concerns had been waved off.

"It's not like you could help it," Shoutmon had told them. "And believe me, you guys definitely got the shorter end of the stick than we did by having those disgusting parasites attached to you."

So grateful were Jijimon and Babamon to them for clearing the village of the Parasimon that they had given them all the supplies they needed, free of charge. And thanks to the connections the other Digimon had, they had been able to get in contact with the nearest Trailmon station and get a ride. It had taken a little convincing that this wasn't a trick of the Parasimon, but a Trailmon had eventually been sent, albeit a much smaller, much slower one from the ones the teens were used to.

"I think he's cute," said Kari. She patted the Trailmon's head. "Good boy, Ball."

Davis just humphed. "We might as well have just continued on foot. I could jump off and run faster than this."

"Suit yourself," Shoutmon replied, and kicked him off the Trailmon. It wasn't a high fall, and they weren't going fast enough for Davis to get hurt, though he would end up with a sore bottom.

"Hey!" Davis shouted as the distance between him and his friends began to grow. Jumping to his feet, he ran after them, but contrary to his claim, he was nowhere near as fast as Ball, despite the train Digimon's speed being much slower than other Trailmon. "Come on, get back here! Let me on!"

"But I thought you said you could run faster!" Shoutmon called back to him teasingly.

"Shoutmon," Tai grumbled.

"What? I'm just sick of him whining all the time."

TK sighed. "Hey, Ball, do you mind waiting for our friend."

"Coming to a stop," the train Digimon announced, and applied the brakes.

Davis caught up a minute later and threw Shoutmon a dirty look as he hopped on and the Trailmon began moving again. "That wasn't funny."

Shoutmon held up his hand, his thumb and index finger a fraction apart. "Maybe a little funny?"

Tai just sighed and patted Trailmon's side. "Thanks, Ball. You can get going again."

"All aboard!" Trailmon called. "We're moving out… now!"

They began moving along again. Davis didn't complain about the speed anymore, though he did have something to say about the size, particularly when it came time to go to sleep. Trailmon's smaller size made it difficult for them to find a comfortable position, but they had to make do with what they had.

But as everyone else slept, Takuya found himself unable to. His mind had been busy ever since what had happened back at the village with Deathmon and the Parasimon, and it made him rethink his opinion on things.

Glancing at the sleeping Shoutmon, he nudged the dragon Digimon with his foot. Shoutmon snorted awake and began looking around with sleep-filled eyes. His fists raised to fight.

"Whoozit?" he demanded sleepily. "Wadda want?" Shoutmon rubbed his eyes and blinked up at him. "Takuya? What's going on? I just got to sleep."

Takuya gave him a guilty smile. "Yeah, sorry about that. I just wanted to apologize."

The dragon Digimon stared at him for a few moments before his shoulders slumped. "Um, ok. Apology accepted, I suppose. Don't see why this could have waited until morning though." He raised an eyebrow. "What are you apologizing for anyway?"

A deep sigh escaped the teen. "For giving you such a hard time about the whole sacrificing others thing. After seeing what happened back at that village, and knowing that the Demon Lords not only encourage that type of behavior, but enjoy watching it and find it amusing-"

"And have done far worse themselves," Shoutmon interrupted. He motioned for him to continue. "But go on."

Takuya sighed again. "Right. Anyway, after seeing that, and knowing that horrible things like that are happening all over the Digital World, I think I have a better understanding of why you and AncientWisemon would find it so easy to sacrifice a few to save many."

Shoutmon held up his hand. "Hey, whoa, back it up there. I never said it was easy. In fact, knowingly sending someone to their death may be the hardest thing I've ever done."

Takuya nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I didn't mean… Look, what I'm getting at is that I can see why you would think it's… justifiable if a lot of good can come out of it. I guess it would be like in my world, if we could sacrifice a handful of people to take out Hitler and prevent the Holocaust, then…"

"You lost me after you started talking about your world."

Takuya resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "What I mean is that I understand why you would find it acceptable to sacrifice a few in order to stop or prevent the Demon Lords from doing something horrible. I can see why you would do it if you think it were necessary."

"How can you say that!?"

Both Takuya and Shoutmon's heads snapped towards the speaker, and they saw Takato staring at them in disbelief. How long had he been awake and listening in on their conversation?

"Takato," said Takuya with false delight. "How much of that did you hear? 'Cause it may have been out of context."

"And why were you eavesdropping on us?" Shoutmon demanded.

Takato glared at them. "I heard the whole thing. And just for the record, I wasn't eavesdropping; you were having your conversation right next to me. More importantly, how can you say AncientWisemon was justified in making those sacrifices? Weren't you so completely against it before? I thought you were with me on this."

Takuya nodded. "I was against it. I still am. But I can understand why it was done." He held out his arms. "Just look at everything we've seen. That's all because of the Demon Lords."

"Yeah, I remember," Takato growled. "I still don't see how you can agree that sacrificing lives, even if it stops the Demon Lords, can be condoned."

"Don't you remember Myotismon and his snatchers?" Shoutmon asked. "Don't you remember what he was doing, how many suffered because of it? Or what about Devimon and his black gears? Rather than letting those that were suffering to continue to suffer, or to allow countless others to suffer in the future, isn't it better to just lose a few to put and end to all that evil? Or do you think that we should have let more innocents be victimized because we were unwilling to do what was necessary?"

"Of course not. I don't want anyone to suffer."

"Then you must understand that sometimes sacrifices are necessary."

"No, I don't understand that! I don't understand that at all. There has to be another way, a way without sacrificing anyone. There always is, even if we can't see it."

Shoutmon snorted. "You're living in a fantasy. This isn't some child's story where everything will work out just because you're good and follow the rules. This is the real world, come back to it, otherwise you're going to get us all killed. Sometimes certain things are just unavoidable. You make the best decision you can to deal with it, and, unfortunately, that can sometimes comes at a terrible cost."

But Takato just shook his head, refusing to accept this. "Not me. I can't. I'll find another way, a way that won't require sacrificing anyone. I have to."

Shoutmon didn't respond, but he did mutter "delusional" under his breath. Takato heard him, but chose not to respond. Deep down, he knew that what Shoutmon said was true, and that's why Takuya had eventually accepted it. But Takato couldn't. If he came to believe that sometimes sacrifices needed to be made, then he might end up making one.

Truthfully, he was thinking about the reading he had received from AncientWisemon, that he would need to allow someone to sacrifice themself for him and his friends.

He didn't want to believe it, he refused to believe it, yet he couldn't deny that so far it seemed that AncientWisemon's predictions had begun coming true. Tai's had, when he had achieved Burst Mode, and Takuya's had, when he unlocked his EmperorGreymon form. That was two predictions already. If those could come true, then so could the others.

He shook his head. No, they wouldn't. They could prevent them. After all, AncientWisemon's predictions had included Davis betraying them and siding with the Demon Lords. There was no way that could happen. So if one prediction could be avoided, then others could be as well. And Takato fully intended to avoid his. Nothing was set in stone; AncientWisemon had said so himself.

That was why he absolutely had to reject the idea that sometimes sacrifices needed to be made. As long as he refused to accept that, then he would never have to make one, so they would have no choice but to find another way to do whatever they needed to do, one without sacrifice.

He was jolted out of his thoughts as Trailmon came to a sudden stop. TK and Kari, having been leaning against each other, were jolted awake from the sudden stop, and Shoutmon almost fell off. "Hey, what was that for?"

"There's someone on the tracks," Trailmon replied.

The teens looked further ahead and saw that there was indeed someone standing on the tracks, preventing them from going any further. Not just one person, but three, and worst of all, they were familiar.

"Oh, great," Takuya growled, "not these guys again."

"Davis, Tai, wake up," said Shoutmon, bopping them on the head. "We've got company."

Davis groaned, sitting up, but not opening his eyes. "Can't you ask them to come back later?"

"It's the Machine Mercenaries."

"Good for them. Just tell them that we… Wait, the who?"

"Infinity Cannon!" Suijinmon cried, firing a blast of energy.

The teens quickly scrambled to get out of the way of the attacks. Trailmon, however, was stuck where he was, wiggling to get off the tracks, but was unable to dislodge himself before he was blasted away.

"Ball!" Kari shouted as they watched the Trailmon burst into data. "No, how could you? He had nothing to do with any of this."

"His death is on you," Fujinmon stated plainly. "You should have known better than to associate with anyone when you have a bounty on your heads."

"Why can't you just leave us alone?" said Takato. "We've got nothing against you."

"Except for the fact that you keep trying to kill us," Davis muttered.

If the Machine Mercenaries heard him, they ignored the comment. "It's as we told you before," Raijinmon replied, "it's nothing personal. It's just a job."

Takuya held up his Digivice. "Fine then. But if you're going to insist on fighting us, then you should know that our team has gotten stronger since the last time we met."

"Yes," Suijinmon acknowledged. "Omnimon. We were there when his Digivolution was achieved."

"Not quite," said Takuya. "Execute! Spirit Evolution… EmperorGreymon!"

"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Omnimon!"

"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Imperialdramon Fighter Mode!"

"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Gallantmon!"

"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Seraphimon!"

"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Ophanimon!"

"Shoutmon Digivolve to… OmniShoutmon!"

The Machine Mercenaries looked at the DigiDestined, taking special notice of EmperorGreymon. "So another one of you has Digivolved," Fujinmon noted. "And to a rather high level too."

"Congratulations," said Raijinmon. "You are now the third strongest member of your group, after Gallantmon and Omnimon."

"Seriously?" Imperialdramon wondered out loud. "Hey, where do I rank?"

"Second weakest," Suijimon stated, and glanced at OmniShoutmon. "With your so-called leader at the bottom."

The dragon Digimon in question growled. "Watch it."

Seraphimon leaned in closer to Omnimon. "Hey, we're not going to retreat again, are we?"

Omnimon glanced at his friends, then looked back at the Machine Mercenaries. "No, I say we take them. We're stronger now, we might be able to win. Besides, they're never going to stop hunting us. I say we fight."

"Alright," Imperialdramon exclaimed. "Now we're talking. Ionic Blaster!"

The Machine Mercenaries took to the air and fired upon the DigiDestined. They took to the sky as well, and yet another rematch began.

"This is for Ball!" Ophanimon shouted. "Sefirot Crystal!"

"Maltcyclone!" Fujinmon cried, spinning around rapidly and using his blades to knock away the crystals. "You'll have to do better than that."

He sped towards Ophanimon, still spinning around. She used her Unicorn Shield to block, and a shower of sparks went flying as the machine Digimon collided with her, and they bounced away from each other. Fujinmon went for her again, causing another spark shower collision, then struck again for the third time.

"Hallowed Ascension!" Seraphimon cried, calling down bolts of lightning.

Fujinmon was struck, and he cried out as he ceased spinning. He immediately flew after Seraphimon, and the angel Digimon quickly used Excalibur, manifesting his sword to block Fujinmon's blade. The machine Digimon began swinging his bladed arms wildly, and Seraphimon quickly found himself on the defense.

Ophanimon let out a battle cry and flew over, thrusting out with her javelin. Fujinmon made a half turn and blocked her javelin while still holding back Seraphimon's blade with his other one. The two angel Digimon began working together to stab and slash at the machine Digimon as he fended them off.

"You've improved some since we last met," Fujinmon commented. "It seems like you've tapped more into your Digimon forms' true power. But it's not enough. Silph Storm!"

He unleashed a powerful wind that blew the two angel Digimon away, then followed up with his Voltage Blade, flinging blades of energy at them. Seraphimon cut through the one coming at him with his sword while Ophanimon deflected hers with her Unicorn Shield.

"Holy Light!" she cried, following up with an attack.

Fujinmon recoiled from the light as Seraphimon flew towards him, repeatedly punching outward as he fired his Hallowed Knuckle. After the first few balls of light hit, he began knocking away the others with his blades. Suddenly, Ophanimon came flying at him, stabbing forward with her javelin.

Fujinmon managed to catch the javelin between his blades and hold it back, but Ophanimon followed up with her Eden's Javelin, firing a beam directly into his face and knocking him back. Seraphimon then launched his Strike of the Seven Stars, and the attack carried the machine Digimon down to the ground.

Raijinmon was using Imperialdramon's size against him as he maneuvered around the large dragon Digimon's body, making sure to stay close. This also made it difficult for OmniShoutmon to attack, as he kept finding parts of his friend in his line of fire.

"Quit running and fight," he shouted at the machine Digimon as he ducked beneath Imperialdramon's wing.

"I am fighting," Raijinmon replied. "Running would be what you and your human friends have done every time our paths have crossed."

Imperialdramon turned to the sound of his voice and threw a punch, only to have the machine Digimon dodge and maneuver around him again. "You're not fighting. You haven't attacked once."

"A fair assessment. Elekugel!"

He fired streams of electricity from his shoulder cannons directly into Imperialdramon's back. The dragon Digimon grunted as the attack pushed him through the air. "Yeah, I pretty much asked for that."

But it had gotten Imperialdramon out of the way, and OmniShoutmon used his Omni Torpedo to plow into the machine Digimon. Raijinmon managed to catch him, but still got the wind knocked out of him, and drove his knee into the dragon Digimon's gut, knocking him back. "Justice Burst!"

OmniShoutmon ducked beneath the attack, then did a flip while using his Doom Drillpress, bringing his bladed foot down on Raijinmon. The machine Digimon caught his leg and used his Blitz Arm, blasting OmniShoutmon back with a bolt of electricity.

"Positron Laser!" Imperialdramon cried, firing a beam.

Raijinmon swerved to the side to avoid the attack, but Imperialdramon had anticipated this and was already coming at him, swinging his Splendor Blade down at him. Raijinmon swerved and dodged the blade before moving back some and firing his Electro Ball attack, shooting numerous balls of electricity at the dragon Digimon.

Imperialdramon held up his arms to block as the attacks blasted against him. OmniShoutmon came to his aid by firing his Victorize Banking, hitting the machine Digimon. With the cease in attacks, Imperialdramon lowered his arms and opened his chest. "Ionic Blaster!"

A bolt shot from his emitter and struck Raijinmon, resulting in an explosion that sent him crashing to the ground like a meteor.

"Ouch," said Imperialdramon. "I think I felt that one."

He and OmniShoutmon flew down and tried to find the machine Digimon in the cloud of dust, being careful not to get too close in case of a surprise attack.

Their caution amounted to nothing as Raijinmon used his Back Storm attack. In an instant, a downpour started, and lightning came flying down to strike Imperialdramon. The dragon Digimon dropped to the ground, and as OmniShoutmon's attention went to him. Raijinmon burst up into the air. "Elekugel!"

"Flame Cannon!" OmniShoutmon countered, firing streams of flaming bolts from his chest. They met with the stream of electricity coming from Raijinmon's cannons, colliding in a stalemate.

The two Digimon hovered in the air a few feet apart, firing their attacks, the energy building up between them. Neither let up, and the energy exploded, blasting both of them back. Raijinmon stopped his momentum and sped at the still dazed OmniShoutmon. Suddenly, Imperialdramon leapt up into the air and delivered a Dragon Kick that sent the machine Digimon flying into the distance.

Omnimon, Gallantmon, and EmperorGreymon had teamed up against Suijinmon. Even so, they were still having trouble against him, but not as much as they had in the past. Aware of the type of powerhouse he was, they used their numbers to their advantage.

"Transcendent Sword!" Omnimon cried, bringing his sword down.

Suijinmon caught it, and was immediately met by EmperorGreymon's Dragon Soul Sword. He caught this one as well, but it left him open to Gallantmon, who plowed into him with his Spiral Saber.

"Shield Attack!" Gallantmon followed up, unleashing a burst of energy from his shield.

The attack blasted the machine Digimon back, and he released the others' blades. He wasn't affected long though, as he slammed his fists together before motioning for them to come at him again.

"You want more?" EmperorGreymon asked, and pointed his sword at him. "I'll give you more. "Dragonfire Crossbow!"

Suijinmon's fists clenched and he bellowed loudly, punching forward. His fist struck the fire arrow, causing the attack to disperse, much to EmperorGreymon's surprise. He then flew forward and backhanded the dragon Digimon, knocking him away. Omnimon aimed his cannon at him and fired. Suijinmon turned and fired his Infinity Cannon. It overpowered Omnimon's attack, blasting the knight Digimon away.

"You!" Gallantmon shouted. "Gallant Charge!"

His lance electrified, and he charged at the machine Digimon. Suijinmon caught the electrified lance and used his Accel Arm, bringing his large hand down on the knight Digimon. Gallantmon hit the ground hard, and Suijinmon dropped down after him.

Balling his fists together, Suijinmon brought them down on Gallantmon. The knight Digimon barely had time to raise his shield before Suijinmon's fists came down on it, sending out a shockwave that shattered the landscape. Suijinmon then proceeded to bring his fist down on Gallantmon, and the ground cracked apart more and more beneath him.

"Flame Edge!" EmperorGreymon cried, igniting his sword as he flew at the machine Digimon. "Dragon Soul Sword!"

Suijinmon leapt away and fired his Infinity Cannon, blasting EmperorGreymon away. He then cried out as Omnimon slammed into him from behind, stabbing his sword into his back. Suijinmon reached over his shoulder and pulled the knight Digimon off. Omnimon then surprised him with his Ultimate Uppercut, slashing him into the air with his sword before repeatedly blasting him with his cannon.

Gallantmon grunted as he adjusted his shield, feeling as if his arms had been crushed. He lined it up with Suijinmon and used his Shield of the Just. The machine Digimon barely recovered from Omnimon's attack before he was blasted by Gallantmon's, the attack carrying him further into the air.

"Now it's my turn," said EmperorGreymon, stabbing his sword into the ground. "Pyro Dragons!"

The nine fiery dragons emerged from the ground and flew up towards Suijinmon. Chomping down on him, they held him in place as the ground exploded beneath EmperorGreymon, launching him into the air. Crying out, he brought his sword down on the machine Digimon, and the two came down from the sky.

Gallantmon leapt away as Suijinmon crashed into the same place he had been laying with EmperorGreymon. The dragon Digimon had been hoping to slice him in two, but it seemed that Suijinmon's metal body was too tough for that.

He leapt away as Suijinmon suddenly took a swing at him, and the machine Digimon got to his feet. He was joined by Raijinmon, who set down beside him, and a few seconds later by Fujinmon, who burst up next to them, having tunneled underground. The DigiDestined regrouped together a short distance away and got ready to fight again.

"They are doing much better than before," Raijinmon commented.

"Indeed," Suijinmon agreed. "Their skills have improved."

"We made an error," Fujinmon told them. "We've fought them too many times, allowing them to get used to our fighting style, and we've allowed them to get too powerful."

"Yeah," Imperialdramon taunted. "Not too bad for a couple of impersonators, huh?"

Omnimon pointed his sword at them. "I suggest you leave us alone from now on before we decide to take you out."

Fujinmon's eyes narrowed. "Take us out? Nonsense. While it is true that this job has become more difficult than we anticipated, it is far from over. Now, behold our trump card."

A feeling of unease gripped Seraphimon. "They have a trump card? That doesn't sound good."

"Everyone brace yourselves," Omnimon told them, expecting some large scale combo attack or fighting strategy.

He was wrong in both accounts. Instead, bands of Fractal Code emerged from the three Digimon and surrounded them. This was followed by a light that had become all too familiar to the DigiDestined.

"Wait!" Ophanimon exclaimed. "Are they…? But they can't!"

OmniShoutmon's eyes narrowed. "They can. And they are."

"Fujinmon/Raijinmon/Suijinmon DNA Digivolve to… Raidenmon!"

(A/N: Well, that was intense. It looks like EmperorGreymon and OmniShoutmon just took out the entire Parasimon population, but no one's gonna shed a tear over that. And Deathmon, yikes, what a baddie. And I think Takuya is beginning to realize just how terrible the Demon Lords' rule is. It's not just them that are bad, but they're encouraging acts of evil. Maybe this will change his tune a bit. But more on that next time. Lets see what the rest of our heroes will think about what happened to them when they wake up.)

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

New Digimon that appear. Replace the DOT in the link(s) with actual periods.

digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/Trailmon_(Ball)

digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/Raidenmon