(A/N: And we're back. Did you all remember the Author's Note saying that I would be updating in one week rather than in two weeks if a fight was left unfinished? If not, well, I guess yo got here eventually. Last time, Gallantmon fulfilled AncientWisemon's prophecy by having to sacrifice Grani to achieve Crimson Mode. Will this be enough to turn the tide of the battle against Beelzemon X? Read on to find out.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 132: A Crimson Conclusion
ShineGreymon knew that his time in Burst Mode was limited, and so he needed to deal as much damage to Beelzemon X as he could before it ran out. As the lightning from the Demon Lord's High Impact attack came down around him and the others, he flew up to Beelzemon X, using his shield and sword to deflect and counter the bolts.
"Shining Blast!" he cried, and plowed into the Demon Lord.
Beelzemon X grunted as the dragon Digimon slammed into him. "Oh, you just don't know when to quit, do you? Darkness Claw!"
ShineGreymon held up his shield to block. "Bro says to never quit, no matter what. And I don't intend to."
Beelzemon X humphed. "Admirable, but annoying. Lets see how long it takes me to break that spirit of yours. Beelzeb Kick!"
ShineGreymon was knocked back, but he immediately retaliated with his Torrid Weiss. Beelzemon X countered with his Double Impact SDX, deliberately shooting ShineGreymon's fire bullets out of the sky, laughing all the while.
ShineGreymon switched it up by using his Final Shining Burst, blasting the Demon Lord back. Then he flew forward and used his Corona Blaze Sword. Beelzemon X recovered from the previous attack and began dodging as ShineGreymon swiped at him. Then a blast from OmniShoutmon's Victorize Banking struck him from behind.
He glanced back at OmniShoutmon irritably before he had to dodge another swipe of ShineGreymon's sword. When he came at him again, Beelzemon X reached out and grasped the dragon Digimon's wrist, holding back his flaming aura sword. While he was preoccupied with that, Imperialdramon flew up behind him and used his Dragon Kick, doing a flip and bringing his heel down on the Demon Lord, sending him crashing to the ground.
Beelzemon X managed to turn his crash into a landing, hitting the ground in a superhero pose. As he looked up, however, he found Seraphimon and Ophanimon standing right in front of him, and he was blasted by their Strike of the Seven Stars, and Sefirot Crystal.
Flying into the air, Omnimon raised his sword into the sky. "Omni Blast!"
He sent explosive lightning down at the Demon Lord, raising a dust cloud with the electric blast. EmperorGreymon then charged forward, raising his sword. "I'm going to take your head! Dragon Soul Sword!"
He brought his sword down where he knew the Demon Lord was in the dust cloud, but hit nothing but air.
"Looking for me, punk?" Beelzemon X asked from somewhere in the cloud.
The next thing he knew, EmperorGreymon was being knocked out of the dust cloud by the Demon Lord's Beelzeb Kick. Beelzemon X then flew straight up out of the cloud and repeated his attack on Omnimon. Imperialdramon's chest opened and his emitter stuck out to fire his Ionic Blaster, but the Demon Lord beat him to it, his gun appearing in his hand and firing at the dragon Digimon. The end of Imperialdramon's emitter exploded as the bullet hit, and he was thrown backwards from the blast.
Beelzemon X laughed as he used his Double Impact SDX, firing a continuous stream of bullets at the DigiDestined from up above. Only ShineGreymon, with his Burst Mode's speed and power, was able to deflect the bullets with his sword and shield as he flew towards the Demon Lord.
"Die, you beast!" he shouted, and began swinging his sword wildly.
Once more, they engaged in a type of aerial dance as Beelzemon X avoided ShineGreymon's blade. In the midst of their dance, however, ShineGreymon fired his Glorious Burst into the Demon Lord, and raised his sword again, certain he would land the blow this time. "Now I've got you."
Suddenly, the fiery aura that seemed to be a part of ShineGreymon's very being vanished, and he reverted back to his base form. The strength and speed in his sword swipe dropped drastically, and Beelzemon X easily caught his blade. The time limit for his Burst Mode had run out.
"Oh no, not now!" he exclaimed.
A chuckle escaped the Demon Lord. "Such a shame. Seems you're out of time. Too bad, because you were actually worth fighting. Darkness Claw!"
He swiped at ShineGreymon, and the dragon Digimon hit the ground. Beelzemon X laughed before dropping from the sky and landing hard on ShineGreymon, making him cry out.
With a sneer, Beelzemon X leveled his blaster at ShineGreymon's head, the end of the double barrel less than an inch from the dragon Digimon's face. "I'd say that I'm going to put one between your eyes, but in all honesty, this'll likely completely blow your head to hell."
"Get off him!" Seraphimon demanded.
Beelzemon X glanced at the angel Digimon to see him and a few of the others glaring at him threateningly. The sight brought a grin to the Demon Lord's face. "Tell you what, lets see what's faster. You rushing over here to stop me, or me pulling this trigger."
"Hurt him and I'll kill you myself!" Marcus shouted.
Beelzemon X raised an eyebrow at the boy. In all honesty, he had actually completely forgotten about him. Whipping out his gun, he pointed it at him. "You're more than welcome to try."
Before anyone could react, there was a flash of light, and something sent the gun flying out of Beelzemon X's hand. He let out a surprised cry of protest and turned to the source. "Who did that?"
He had only enough time to see a second spear of light come flying at him before he had to duck to avoid it. An annoyed growl escaped him as he wondered who was interfering now.
"BEELZEMON!"
There was a blur of red as something rushed over, stopping a short distance away, and Beelzemon X's eyes widened at the sight of the knight Digimon. "Wait, you're…?"
"Did you forget about me?" Gallantmon demanded furiously with tears still present in his eyes. "Or did you already write me off as dead? Me and Grani both?"
"Grani?" OmniShoutmon repeated, looking at Gallantmon's new form. He suddenly gasped. "Ah! Gallantmon Crimson Mode!"
Ophanimon glanced at him. "Crimson Mode?"
"Gallantmon and Grani must have DNA Digivolved. That or Grani gave him his Fractal Code."
Gallantmon didn't take his eyes off the Demon Lord. "Grani is gone, but his power is in me. And let me tell you, I've never felt stronger."
Beelzemon X glared at him. "Is that right?" He hopped off ShineGreymon and kicked the dragon Digimon away. "And I suppose you think that this means that you can beat me. Just like this idiot thought he could with his Burst Mode. Ha! You really have no idea what-"
"Final Justice!" Gallantmon cried, holding out one of the swords of light he held. It erupted into a beam of light, surprising the Demon Lord, and carrying him off to crash into a house. "I'm done talking. I'm going to end this."
From the rubble, Beelzemon X emerged, glaring at the knight Digimon. "No more talking? Fine. Then come to your death!"
Gallantmon complied and sped towards the Demon Lord. Beelzemon X leapt up and flew out of the way as Gallantmon swiped his Invincible Sword at him. He fired his Gluttony Flare, but Gallantmon sliced through the fire bullet. He used his Royal Saber, firing a blast of lightning, and Beelzemon X flew straight up to avoid it. He rapidly fired with his Berenjena SDX, and Gallantmon maneuvered around the bullets as he soared up towards the Demon Lord.
Gallantmon had to admit, actually being able to fly like this was much easier and far more convenient than simply hovering like in his previous form. He had been able to float in the air and launch himself about, but to actually be able to fly like this was something else. And that wasn't even counting the massive power increase he had received.
"Blutgang!" he cried, stabbing at the Demon Lord.
"Darkness Claw!" Beelzemon X countered, swiping at the blade of light.
His claw collided with Gallantmon's sword, resulting in a shockwave that knocked them both back. Then one of the swords of light in Gallantmon hands suddenly extended into a weapon that was a cross between a lance and a spear, and he threw it into the air. "Crimson Light!"
The spear erupted into a beam of light that came down on the Demon Lord. Beelzemon X cried out as the beam sent him crashing to the ground. As he was pinned down, Omnimon aimed his cannon at the Demon Lord. "Omni Howling!"
"Positron Laser!"
"Dragonfire Crossbow!"
"Eden's Javelin!"
"Hallowed Knuckle!"
"Flame Cannon!"
"Glorious Burst!"
The blast radius grew larger and larger as the attacks bombarded Beelzemon X. They paused to take a breather as the dust cloud rose, obscuring the damage.
"Tell me that did something," Imperialdramon begged, clutching his aching chest. "I feel like I'm going to fall apart."
"It had to have done something," said EmperorGreymon, although he didn't sound too sure himself.
From out of the dust cloud, Beelzemon X sped towards the latter dragon Digimon. "Oh, it did something alright. Beelzeb Kick!" His foot slammed into EmperorGreymon's head, knocking him off his feet. "It pissed me off. Darkness Claw!"
He slashed at the dragon Digimon, carving a groove out of his metal body. Omnimon raised his cannon at him, and, as if sensing the attack, Beelzemon X turned to him and raised his blaster. He fired his Seventh Full Cluster as Omnimon shot his Supreme Cannon. The Demon Lord's attack burst straight through Omnimon's ice blast and hit his arm. The knight Digimon went flying, and when he crashed to the ground, he was down half an arm, his cannon gone.
"Tai!" Ophanimon shouted, turning to him, not seeing as Beelzemon X suddenly appeared behind her.
"Watch out!" Seraphimon cried, and swung his Excalibur at the Demon Lord.
Beelzemon X whirled around while dodging the angel Digimon's blade and grabbed his arm. He pressed his blaster to Seraphimon's torso and fired his Black Skewer, shooting a beam of dark matter straight through him.
This had all happened before Ophanimon had even had time to turn around, and by the time she did, Beelzemon X's Darkness Claw was already coming down at her. She managed to materialize a new shield and create a barrier with her Unicorn Shield, but the Demon Lord's attack shattered it, although it was deflected.
Raising his blaster to her, he prepared to fire, only to have Gallantmon come down on him. He held the Demon Lord down as he looked at Ophanimon. "Go!"
Ophanimon complied and rushed towards her brother as OmniShoutmon and ShineGreymon joined Gallantmon in an attempt to hold the Demon Lord down. "Hold on, Omnimon. I'll heal you."
He groaned. "Don't waste your energy. You'll need it for the fight."
"And you'll need your arm. And especially your cannon. Now shut up and hold still. Final Aura!"
Her healing light flowed over him, and his injuries healed, including the missing half of arm. Omnimon sat up, grateful for the healing despite knowing the energy it cost her. "Thank, sis."
"Get off me!" Beelzemon X bellowed, and with a burst of strength, sent the three Digimon on top of him flying.
Whirling around he held out his gun and his blaster. He fired his Nosferatu at Omnimon and his Double Impact SDX at ShineGreymon, then turned both weapons on Gallantmon. "Oblivion Cannon!"
"Final Justice!"
There wasn't more than a few feet between them, and their attacks met in the middle, resulting in an explosion that sent them both flying. As Beelzemon X skidded to a halt, Ophanimon unleashed her Air Sefirot. Air from the Tree of Life began swirling around the Demon Lord. Then Omnimon rushed in and used his Sword of Ruin, slicing the air to produce an explosion the Demon Lord was caught up in, the blast amplified by Ophanimon's attack.
Omnimon moved in front of his sister protectively in case the Demon Lord came popping out to attack like he did before. This proved to be the right call, as Beelzemon X came leaping out at them. He slashed with his Darkness Claw, and Omnimon deflected with his Omega Sword. This, however, knocked the knight Digimon's sword-wielding arm out if the way, and Beelzemon X raised his blaster. "Oblivion Cannon!"
"Unicorn Shield!" Ophanimon cried from behind Omnimon, thrusting her shield forward and producing a barrier. It deflected Beelzemon X's attack back at him, but the knight and angel Digimon were blasted back as well from the shockwave of the barrier collapsing.
Beelzemon X growled. "You pests are really getting on my nerves."
"Final Justice!" Gallantmon cried, firing another beam.
Beelzemon X turned to the incoming attack and flew up into the sky to avoid it. A snarl twisted his features as he stared down at the DigiDestined. "I'm done with this nonsense. Die, all of you! High Impact!"
Lightning began raining down, tearing apart the ground and striking the DigiDestined unable to avoid it. Gallantmon, however, flew directly towards the Demon Lord, heedless of the lightning around him, even as he was struck. Beelzemon X glanced at him as he approached and fired his Gluttony Flare. The fiery bullet struck Gallantmon in the chest, burning straight through his armor, and the knight Digimon began to fall from the sky, mere feet away from the Demon Lord.
"Crimson Light!" Gallantmon cried, using the last of his strength to throw his spear.
Beelzemon X's eyes widened and he cried out in pain as Gallantmon's spear stabbed into his chest. The spear erupted into the knight Digimon's Crimson Light, the attack bursting out of the Demon Lord's body as he thrashed about.
"Ultimate Uppercut!" Omnimon cried, flying up towards the Demon Lord.
He did an uppercut with his sword, and the end of the blade stabbed into Beelzemon X's chin and out the top of his head. A gargled sound escaped the Demon Lord before his eyes slowly slid down towards Omnimon.
Despite the sword going through his head, Beelzemon X brought up his blaster, pointing it at the knight Digimon, moving in almost slow motion. Omnimon, likewise, raised his cannon, glad that Ophanimon had healed him after all. The barrels of both weapons were pointed directly at each other, and they both fired.
The sky lit up in an explosion, consuming both Digimon. A few seconds later, however, the flaming form of Omnimon came speeding towards the ground like a fiery meteor, forming a large crater upon impact.
The others quickly gathered around to see if he was alright. But it wasn't Omnimon in the crater, it was Tai, having reverted his human form.
"You ok, man?" Imperialdramon asked.
The teen groaned. "I think I'll survive. That wasn't very smart though."
A growl escaped EmperorGreymon. "I don't know how much longer we'll be able to last. This could actually be the end."
"Hey, you guys!" Marcus called to them. "Look!"
He pointed up at the dying explosion. The cloud of smoke was beginning to disperse, and something was flowing out of it, moving across the sky. It was Beelzemon X, not quite flying, but gliding across the sky as he fell. A shower of data flowed out of him as he dissolved away, filling the sky with data and making it appear as f it were snowing.
"Wait," said Imperialdramon, "is he…?"
"Yes," OmniShoutmon exclaimed. "That did it. He's been defeated!"
Ophanimon dropped to her knees, feeling all her strength leave her as she was overcome with relief. "It's over then. We won. We finally won."
There were tears in ShineGreymon's eyes. "No way. We actually did it. Bro, we helped defeat a Demon Lord. I honestly didn't think we could."
Marcus flashed him a grin. "Well, I did. And you should know better than to doubt your bro."
"Lesson learned."
OmniShoutmon sat down. "Three Demon Lords down. I never would have imagined it. And after he became Beelzemon X. This is truly a miracle."
Gallantmon was oddly quite as he watched the data left behind float about as the last traces of Beelzemon X disappeared. "You should probably get his data before it's too late."
OmniShoutmon jumped to his feet. "Oh, you're right! I better go and… Uh…"
He glanced at ShineGreymon, but his fellow dragon Digimon just waved it off. "It's all yours. Thanks to bro, I don't need to absorb data to get stronger."
OmniShoutmon shrugged. "Suit yourself."
As he flew after the data, Seraphimon let out a sigh. "Since we don't need to worry about conserving energy anymore. Perfect Revival!"
Healing light flowed over ShineGreymon, and his injuries healed. A look of relief passed over him, and he let out a pleased groan. "Ah, that's better."
Imperialdramon became Davis once more and let out his own relieved sigh. "This feels better too. No injuries in our human forms."
Taking a leaf out of his book, the others resumed their human forms as well. Despite their victory, Takato still had a scowl on his face. It didn't go by unnoticed by the others, and Kari asked, "Takato, what's wrong?"
"What's wrong? What's wrong!? What's wrong is that we lost Grani in that battle. No, we didn't just lose him, he sacrificed himself just so I could reach Crimson Mode. And after I had already sworn never to sacrifice anyone!"
Frowns appeared on the others' faces as the impact of the loss of the steed Digital life form hit them. They exchanged sorrowful looks with each other, but there was really nothing they could say to make the situation any better.
"It's war," Tai finally said remorsefully. "There's always losses in war."
"It wasn't a loss!" Takato shouted. "It was a sacrifice. The one AncientWisemon predicted. I swore that I wouldn't let it happen, but then I let it anyway. How am I supposed to live with that?"
"By not being such a baby," ShineGreymon snapped. His words were so shocking that they promptly shut Takato up while drawing everyone else's attention. The dragon Digimon, however, didn't look the least bit sorry, and he held his head up high. "That's right. I said it. Stop being such a baby. If Grani gave his life for you, then you dishonor his sacrifice by moping about it. Instead, you should honor his bravery. Show gratitude for his sacrifice, and relish in the victory that it brought you."
Even Marcus had initially looked surprised by his partner's outburst, but then he gave a small smile. "Yeah, he's right. Grani did what he did because he had faith in you. And that faith paid off. Beelzemon's been defeated. You avenged Grani."
Takato gave him a look of disbelief. "You expect me to be happy about this?"
"Not about his death," ShineGreymon told him. "It's natural to feel sad about the death of a friend. But Grani did not give his life for you to be miserable. He wanted you to be happy, and he sacrificed himself so Beelzemon could be defeated and everyone would be able to enjoy life with one less Demon Lord around. If you're upset about having to accept his sacrifice, then use his power to make sure that no one else will ever have to meet the same fate."
Marcus stepped forward. "He's right, pal. Grani believed in you, that's why he gave you his power. You may not have made the finishing blow against Beelzemon, but you were the one who allowed Omnimon to take it. Even before that, you really turned this battle around. And you saved us after Beelzemon had ShineGreymon pinned down and his gun pointed at me. That's why I think you deserve this."
He tossed something to Takato, who caught it on reflex. Looking down at it, he saw that it was a small round object with an X inside it, and realized it was the X-Antibody that Beelzemon had used in order to Digivolve to Beelzemon X. "But this is…"
"I picked it up after it landed nearby when Beelzemon started dissolving away," Marcus told him. "I think you should have it. You earned it."
Takato looked back at the X-Antibody. "Why me though? We all took part in the fight."
ShineGreymon let out a snort of laughter. "Didn't you hear what bro said? It's thanks to you that we won. And you did kind of save my life back there."
Takato just lowered his eyes at this. "No, it was thanks to Grani. If he hadn't given me his power-"
"I think they're right," Tai interrupted, and Takato glanced at him. "Grani may have given you his power, but I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you to accept his sacrifice."
"Yeah, especially with how opposed to it you were," Takuya added.
"And how determine you were not to let AncientWisemon's prediction for you happen," Kari added.
Takato stared at them for several long moments before looking back at the X-Antibody. "I don't know. I still feel like-"
"Oh, for the love of…" Davis grumbled impatiently, and marched over to him. "Just take it already."
Grabbing Takato's hands, he made him push the X-Antibody against his Digivice. Takato's Digivice began to chime before it suddenly absorbed it into the device.
"There," Davis said, letting him go, "was that so hard?"
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OmniShoutmon was completely unaware of the conversation taking place amongst his friends. He was busy looking for something; he had been ever since he absorbed Beelzemon X's data. It had to be around here since they were indestructible. Even for those who didn't possess an X Digivolution, it would still provide a nice power boost.
"Where is that X-Antibody?" he asked himself impatiently gleefully as he looked around. "It's got to be around here somewhere."
But as he looked around, something began to happen. A loud rumbling sound drew his attention upward, and he looked up to see the sky began to ripple and distort. OmniShoutmon's eyes widened at the phenomenon as the distortion increased.
"Um, guys," he muttered, all thoughts of everything else forgotten, and he quickly flew over to them. "Guys!"
The others turned to him as he rushed over, spotting the distortion in the distance. "Whoa, what's happening!?" Davis exclaimed.
"No clue," said Marcus. "I've never seen anything like it."
ShineGreymon got into a fighting stance. "If it's a new enemy, I'll do my best to hold them off."
TK held up a hand. "Wait, I think I know what this is. Look."
Clouds began to form in the distortion, and something large emerged from them. It was a giant bird with patterns of fire all over its body. Letting out a screech, it circled around a few times before flying over to the teens.
OmniShoutmon immediately DeDigivolved and dropped to his hands and knees. "The Vermillion Bird of the South, Zhuqiaomon!"
ShineGreymon instantly DeDigivolved down to Agumon and bowed as well. "The Southern Sovereign, here!? What an honor!"
The phoenix Digimon came down for a landing. Like Ebonwumon, he too was surrounded by an aura, only his was bright red, and he also had 12 orbs floating around him, six around his neck and six more around his tail, only his were pink instead of yellow. And while he was much smaller than the tortoise Digimon, though still massively large, he looked far more powerful, and hostile.
"So," Zhuqiaomon thundered, "you are the humans who defeated the Demon Lords that set myself and Ebonwumon free."
Takuya gulped; this Sovereign was far more intimidating than the seemingly gentle and grandfatherly Ebonwumon. "Y-Yes, sir."
The phoenix Digimon's four eyes narrowed. "Speak clearly. I have no patience to decipher mumbling. And show the proper respect to a Sovereign; bow to me."
The teens were somewhat taken aback by the phoenix Digimon's harsh tone, especially since they had been the one to set him free, yet they bowed all the same, not wanting to offend the Sovereign.
"Geez, what's up his butt," Davis grumbled quietly.
Still bowing, Shoutmon kicked him. "Cut it out. Zhuqiaomon is much stricter than the other Sovereigns. Don't piss him off."
"Stop whispering," Zhuqiaomon ordered. "It's quite rude." His gaze zeroed in on Shoutmon. "You there, Shoutmon. I recognize you. You're no ordinary Shoutmon; you're the Digimon King."
Shoutmon raised his head. "I am, sir. It is an honor to see you again. I am most relieved to have you back."
"No more than I am," the phoenix Digimon agreed. "And to know that several of the Demon Lords have fallen is an even greater relief. Tell me, which of them have been dethroned?"
"So far, Leviamon, Belphemon, and Beelzemon."
Zhuqiaomon's eyes narrowed, as if simply hearing their names were offensive to him. "I see. Then there is still much work to be done." His gaze shifted to the teens. "And I suppose I have these… creatures to thank for my release. It certainly took them long enough."
A feeling of outrage fell over Tai at the ingratitude the Sovereign was showing them. "Yes, your Sovereign-ness. I'm sorry we took so long."
Despite knowing that he shouldn't irritate the mighty Digimon Sovereign, he couldn't help the traces of bitterness that crept into his voice. Zhuqiaomon seemed to detect the frustration in his voice, and an annoyed "humph" escaped him. "Just to make it perfectly clear, I was very much against using humans in the war with the Demon Lords. However, I suppose you did do well. Just be sure to keep up the good work. Shoutmon, I trust you will keep things in order."
The dragon Digimon bowed lower. "Oh, yes, my Sovereign. I have been watching over them from the beginning, and will continue to do so."
Zhuqiaomon nodded. "See that you do. I do not care to have humans with such power running freely through my world. Now, I must go; I have many duties to catch up on since my imprisonment."
Spreading his wings, he took off into the sky. The teens hesitantly rose to their feet as they watched the Sovereign disappear into the distance.
"What a jerk," Davis growled. "Not even a thank you. And after everything we've been through to set him free."
"Don't take it personally," Shoutmon told him. "Zhuqiaomon has always been a bit on the grumpy side, and very prideful. I don't think he liked the fact that he needed help getting free, especially by humans. He's also always been rather prejudice against outsiders, especially humans."
"Then it was personal," Takuya complained.
Agumon chuckled. "Like Shoutmon said, he's very proud. I think he just didn't want to admit that he was wrong, and that humans aren't as bad and useless as he thought."
Marcus bopped him on the head. "What was that?"
"Ow,"the reptile Digimon complained. "I'm saying that that's what he thought, not me."
Tai turned to the duo. "Speaking of which, we really owe you guys for helping us out. I don't think we would have survived if it wasn't for you."
Davis let out a bark of laughter. "Yeah, no joke. And I can't believe you had the nerve to slug a Demon Lord like that. Twice."
Marcus gave him a thumbs-up. "Hey, it was our pleasure. Right, Agumon?"
"You bet, bro. It's just too bad I couldn't be the one to take him down. I wanted to land the finishing blow."
Kari gave them a smile. "You still might be able to. There's still four more Demon Lords to deal with. We were actually going after Laylamon when Beelzemon started coming after us."
TK nodded. "Yeah, it'll be a big relief to know that you'll be fighting along side us."
Both Marcus and Agumon looked surprised. They exchanged looks before smiling sheepishly at the teens. "Yeah, about that," Marcus muttered. "Agumon and I weren't planning on going after the other Demon Lords."
The reptile Digimon nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we only came to fight Beelzemon because of the threat he was making to this village and demanding that the humans come here." He glanced at the abandoned village. "Speaking of which, we should probably find everyone that ran away and tell them that it's safe to come back."
Davis shook his head. "Wait, you mean you're not coming? But I thought that fighting was your thing."
Marcus grinned. "Oh, trust me, it is. But going after the big bosses seems to be your thing. We'll still be doing our part though. The Demon Lords aren't the only baddies out there. They've got a lot of agents causing trouble. That's who we'll focus on. It won't do to just focus solely on the top bad guys and let their men run wild."
His words made the teens think about the likes of Devimon, Dragomon, Argomon, Myotismon, and ShadowSeraphimon. Put in that context, Marcus' plan not only made sense, but it sounded like a good idea.
"Then does that mean we'll be heading in different directions?" Tai asked.
Marcus shrugged. "Seems like it. But I think we can stick around for one more day."
Agumon grinned. "Yeah. After all, we've got to celebrate. We did take down a Demon Lord. Lets party!"
(A/N: Beelzemon X has been defeated and Zhuqiaomon has been freed. Not the friendliest or most grateful Sovereign, but still good new for our heroes. And now for some bad news. Marcus and Agumon will be staying with our heroes. Did you think they would be? Nope, sorry, they were just temporary, and now it's time for them to head off on their own journey once again. But maybe this will lift your spirits. The next arc is going to be different from the others, and it will have something happen that several people have been asking to happen for a while now. Did that get you excited? I hope so. Stay tuned for more. And stay safe and healthy.)
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New Digimon that appear. Replace the DOT in the link(s) with actual periods.
digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/Zhuqiaomon
