Chapter 38 – The Royal Knights

The eyelid at Dorumon briefly twitched. Then his facial features became a strained expression. A quiet sound of pain came out of his jaw as he regained his senses. He felt something surprisingly soft under him, while it was pleasantly warm. The purple dragon noticed that something was lying on his body. Maybe this gave some warmth.

Dorumon growled a little and finally opened his eyes. In front of him he saw a low table, which seemed very familiar to him. Dorumon straightened up a bit and briefly shook his entire body. At first, he wasn't even able to think clearly. What had happened? Why did he feel so incredibly weak? A throbbing feeling made the whole thing even more difficult for him. He had a tremendous headache, but still tried to concentrate.

"What... happened?" the purple dragon asked.

He looked around and could see three Digimon on a sofa eating different things. They talked quietly and didn't seem to have noticed Dorumon awoke.

"Koromon!" said Tsunomon: "Why do you always eat so much?"

"Hey! Someone has to gather all the energy we need when we fuse to Omnimon!" explained Koromon.

"Well..." said Hackmon, looking forward: "Dorumon is awake!"

"Well, finally." the purple dragon heard a fourth digimon.

Dorumon looked at the said Digimon. It was Veemon who smiled at him kindly. Next to him was a fifth Digimon, Wanyamon.

"What exactly happened?" was the purple dragon's question again.

"Do you not remember?" asked Koromon: "In the fight against us, you were suddenly shrouded in a light..."

"And it split into two Digimon." Tsunomon continued.

"We're so glad you're fine!" cried the blue dragon.

"With you at our side, we can beat King Drasil!" said the four-footed dragon.

"Right..." Wanyamon agreed.

Dorumon remained silent and looked to the ground. He was responsible for so much. Did he deserve their kindness at all? After all, he was the one who had started King Drasil again.

"I..." began the purple dragon, but could not speak further.

"Is something wrong?" asked Tai's partner.

"I'm sorry." Dorumon said, bowing his head down: "I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."

"Why are you-" Hackmon began, before recalling and widening his eyes: "Ah... I see... You don't have to be sorry, Dorumon."

"But it's my fault. I was the one who had started King Draisl." the purple dragon crunched with his teeth.

"That's true," Akira's partner raved.

"Wanyamon!" Veemon exclaimed in anger.

"But you did everything you could to stop you. Even though it didn't work out." Wanyamon said.

"Thank you for the words of energising, but what happened and what I did can't be changed." Dorumon sighed.

"What exactly do you mean?" the four-footed dragon asked: "The Homeostasis meant you were the copy of Alphamon."

"No. I'm the original. I could only push Piedmon's sphere out of my body with the help of my copy," the purple dragon explained: "But I never thought the bullet could materialize."

"Did you plan this from the beginning?" was Veemon's question.

"Yes. I had expected that Piedmon's sphere would take me over sooner or later, so I made preparations. I have created a copy in the form of a Dorumon with the intention that when I am absorbed, a mechanism will activate. This mechanism was intended to get me back to my senses."

"But that would mean you could remove Piedmon's sphere from your body all the time." Tsunomon said.

"If it had been too early, I would have died." Dorumon explained: "I had found out that I could only separate myself from the sphere if it had full effect. However, I would never want to separate myself from the sphere, which is why I made a copy with this mechanism..."

"I see..." Wanyamon said thoughtfully: "What will become of the materialized part of the sphere?"

"How exactly did the part look?" the purple dragon asked: "I can't remember."

"It was a gigantic purple dragon..." Koromon recalled.

Dorumon's eyes widened with horror.

"Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no! This is the worst thing that could happen!" he said with a feeling of a tight throat.

He had to swallow several times while the other Digimons looked at him inquiringly.

"It's a very bad thing, isn't it?" said Akira's partner.

"Yes. Yes!" confirmed Dorumon.

"And why is it so bad?" was Veemon's question.

"What has emerged from the sphere is an Undead Digimon! A Digimon that must not exist!"

"Uh yes... And what does that mean?" asked Tai's partner.

"Like a zombie." Hackmon said.

"Ah... Wait a minute! Does that mean it can turn us into its slaves?!" Koromon shouted in panic.

"That won't be the case." the purple dragon appeased him: "DexDorugoramon is not like Meicoomon."

"At least a good thing." Tsunomon said, sighing.

"It's probably going to turn out to be something negative quickly." Davis' partner said.

"How bad can it be?" was the question of the four-footed dragon.

"DexDorugoramon could develop into a Dexmon, which then connects to this planet with the help of King Drasil and then controls the entire ecosystem. So it could then attack people with the help of plants and animals." Dorumon explained.

"That means we have to find and kill DexDorugoramon!" said Wanyamon.

"And how?" asked Koromon: "How should we find it?"

"I... It's all just my fault,." the purple dragon said, embarrassed.

"Stop it, Dorumon." Hackmon rebuked him: "It doesn't help you. You've done something bad, but if you just sit around and whine, nothing will change!"

Dorumon began to smile slightly and said:

"You're right, Hackmon... Sorry."

"And you don't have to carry all the burden for yourself. We are with you, we can help you if you allow it, Dorumon." Koromon encouraged him, before reaching for a piece of melon with his tentacles and biting into it.

He chewed on it for a while until he swallowed. You could see that he particularly enjoyed the piece.

"We can look for DexDorugoramon. After all, we are Royal Knights!" Veemon smiled, reaching for a piece of melon, into which he also bite a little later.

"Your optimism is great. But my wing is certainly not healed yet." Wanyamon replied defiantly: "But I have to get my partner back. She's still not doing well."

"But the kidnapping was over a week ago." Hackmon said, astonished: "Shouldn't she be okay again?"

"Humans are like us, Hackmon." Tsunomon began to explain: "They can be just as fragile as we are. I mean, we saw it with you because of the argument. You totally changed after that. So I wouldn't be surprised if Akira changed a lot."

"Akira won't change!" Wanyamon told him, causing Matt's partner to be terrified.

"Hey, hey. Calm down, Wanyamon." Dorumon tried to save the situation.

"He has only become sensitive since Akira was kidnapped by Crusadermon." Koromon said.

"I didn't get sensitive!" raved Akira's partner.

"You're just worried." Hackmon concluded, smiling before jumping on the table and using his teeth to steal a piece of chocolate.

"Speaking of kidnapping. Do you know who liberated us, Dorumon?" asked Tsunomon.

"That was my copy that had influenced me." the purple dragon explained.

"The copy then asked us to kill you." Tai's partner recalled.

"Yes." Dorumon confirmed, closing his eyes as he breathed sharply out of his nostrils.

Suddenly, someone opened the door, causing everyone to be terrified, and Davis entered Izzy's study with long strides.

"Sorry. I only borrow Veemon for a short time." he said, smiling, grabbing his partner under his arm and going out again the next moment.

Veemon still wanted to protest, but they were already gone.

All the other Digimons then remained silent until Koromon had to start laughing.

"That's so typical for Davis." he laughed: "Appears, wants something, and then disappears!"

"Yeah..." Hackmon agreed: "We were in a serious conversation and there's just Davis coming and ruining the moment!"

The four-footed dragon began to laugh, lifting his left front claw.

"Could you please take the situation seriously!" shouted Tsunomon.

"Come on." said Tai's partner: "The situation was funny!"

Dorumon closed his eyes and began to laugh. He didn't know when he had laughed so well last time, but it did him good.

"At least they like the fact that we have to stop a wandering time bomb!" Wanyamon told the rest of the Digimons, causing them to stop.

"You're not a piece of stone!" the four-footed dragon protested insulted: "You can laugh."

"And I want us to get the matter done with King Drasil and the other Royal Knights!" wadded Wanyamon, while behind him a distortion appeared: "If you are looking for me. I'm with Akira."

Thus, the in-training digimon hopped into the distortion, which disappeared a little later.

"I see he's still so friendly." Dorumon said sarcastically.

"He's already changed." Tsunomon said: "But he's always very concerned about Akira."

"Then at least he should admit that he is worried about her." Koromon said.

"Some things aren't that simple." the purple dragon explained, sighing heavily.

Akira was lying in her bed and had pulled up the blanket up to her shoulder. Wanyamon, who had been there for more than half an hour, slowly ran out of patience. His partner hadn't spoken for quite a while. Actually, she hadn't even welcomed him.

"Are you asleep?" he asked again, because he had already asked her a few things.

The young woman, on the other hand, deliberately did not answer him. She wanted to be alone and, to be honest, drown in self-pity. The in-training digimon hopped on the bed and jumped up and down several times in the hope of getting a reaction from her.

"Do something, say something!" he demanded.

"Fine!" she screamed, and straightened up, causing Wanyamon to fall to the ground: "I've done something now! Are you satisfied now?! Great! Leave me alone now!"

Her partner growled angrily and jumped back on her bed.

"Hey." he said, looking directly at her: "Don't blame me for feeling bad."

"If you had put more effort into it, I wouldn't have been kidnapped!"

"Akira! Stop it!"

"You didn't apologize for it, didn't you?!"

"Because it's not my fault!" now he slowly became angry: "You want an apology?! Here it is: I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect you! Are you satisfied?!"

"Yeah. Now leave me alone!" she told him, and lay down again, before pulling the blanket to her shoulders, causing Wanyamon to swell to the floor, closing her eyes: "I want to be alone."

"Akira..." he sounded begging: "I don't want to argue with you. Hey... I am your partner."

She just kept silent, tried to ignore the words. But couldn't.

"I know you're listening to me. I know you can't ignore me. So I ask you. What is wrong with you?" was his question.

"I just want to forget it." she quipped as she tried to hide her tears: "I want to forget the whole kidnapping. Do you know what it's like when you barely escaped death?"

"Yes. I was a Royal Knight. I faced death several times." he said, "It changes you..."

"It's only been a week since Crusadermon tried to kill me, but..." she whimpered: "I have nightmares about that. I dream that you wouldn't be able to catch me and I drown in the ocean. Or that you would pierce me with one of your claws."

"Hey, this didn't happen... I am with you. Nothing can happen to you now." he tried to reassure her.

"How can you say something like that?!" she yelled at him and straightened up again as she flipped the blanked back.

"What?" his eyes widened with horror.

"How can you say something like that?!" she repeated the sentence.

"Right. I am sorry. I constantly blame myself for this, but unlike you, I don't drown in self-pity." he tried to remain as calm as possible.

"What should I do then?! How am I supposed to deal with it?!" she yelled at him, before she began to cry bitterly.

"Akira..." he said, hopping toward her.

He comforted his body by her stomach.

"Why..." she sniffed: "Why am I a DigiDestined? Why are you my partner? Why do I have to experience so much suffering?"

"There are questions you can't get an answer... Unfortunately, I can't answer your questions. But I am with you. I want to protect you. I can protect you, so I don't cry." he comforted her.

"I know... Thank you, Wanyamon." she said after a while, smiling softly at him.

"You don't have to come along when I'm fighting the bad guys." he said.

"You idiot."

"Hey!" the in-training digimon exasperated.

"You're only strong because you want to protect me."

"That's probably true."

She started to laugh slightly, while Wanyamon began to grin. Both did not notice how Sera opened the door.

"Akira, Wanyamon." she shouted, "Davis and Veemon are visiting."

"Huh?" the young woman said in amazement.

"What do they want here? Apart from the fact that Veemon is also a Royal Knight, I can't explain why they want to see us." Wanyamon said.

"I don't know why they're here." the older sister said, as Davis squeezed between her and the door frame.

"Hello!" he shouted with a smile on his lips.

"I'll leave you alone. Do you want to have snacks?" asked Sera.

"No, no." Veemon replied, "We're only here for a short time."

"Okay." the older sister disappeared again before the red-brown-haired man closed the door behind him and his partner.

"So... What do you want here?" was Akira's question, narrowing her eyes.

"Sounds like you're insinuating something suspicious to us." Davis scratched his head: "I just wanted to ask you something."

"And what?"

"How did your... How did your sister take it?" the red-brown-haired man asked hesitantly.

"What?" she tilted her head to the side.

"Well... erm..."

"Davis says how well Sera and Shin coped when you told them you were a DigiDestined." Veemon explained.

"Pretty good. After all, they were DigiDestined as well." Akira said.

"My parents and my idiot sister didn't take it very well." Davis said.

"I thought you'd told them before." Wanyamon grumbled.

"No... I don't." the red-brown-haired man looked on the floor a little shyly.

"So you told them today?" the young woman sounded astonished.

"Well..." he looked to the side, then to the ceiling, before his gaze turned into her eyes: "Yes."

"Why?!" the in-training digimon asked, disenchanted: "I can understand if you don't want to tell someone right away..."

"I have asked him many times... He only managed to tell them today, after three years!" the blue dragon crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Yolei took three years, too!" exclaimed Davis.

"But... In addition to her parents, she also has three siblings!" argued Veemon: "You only have one sister, June!"

"That's why."

"If you want to argue, do it somewhere else!" Akira shouted: "I don't want you to live out your personal disputes here!"

Both the red-brown-haired man and his partner were silent and looked at the young woman. Davis then muttered an apology and left the room with Veemon as quickly as he had come.

"That idiot." she scolded.

"You know what I noticed. You often argue with people you like." Wanyamon said.

"What? Do you mean I have a crush on Davis?! Are you mad?! He's not my type at all!"

"Sure?" he teased her.

"For me, there's only Jack!"

"You could call him. He still doesn't know you're back home." he reminded her with a dry tone.

"Right!" her eyes widened before she rushed out of her room to grab a phone.

Examon flapped vigorously with his larger pair of wings to keep himself in the air. The midday sun warmed his back, while his eyes were on the far away. Eventually, Elecmon relied on his help to protect Primary Village. The Dragon Emperor briefly closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had been in the air for good five hours and slowly his muscles got tired. He would like to land once to rest for a short time, but he was not allowed to. He had to stay up for at least an hour. Suddenly, his eyes caught something purple.

/Isn't that?/ Examon himself wondered.

He raced towards the ground. The closer he approached the stranger, the more clearly he could see him. It was Craniamon, one of the Royal Knights. And someone who worked for King Drasil. The Dragon Emperor landed in front of him and folded his wings.

"What are you doing here?" was Examon's question.

"Just see if you're doing well." the purple knight replied.

"Sorry, Craniamon, but I don't believe you." the Dragon Emperor gritted his teeth.

"Good." he summoned his spear and tried to ram it into Examon.

He slapped the weapon away with his long tail. However, he took advantage of the momentum and rammed his knee into the Dragon Emperor's stomach. He could only growl furiously before being thrown to the ground by another punch, this time by the fist. The attack left Examon, so Craniamon used the wide side of his spear to press it on the opponent's neck, preventing him from getting up.

"For the protector of this village, you have a lot of defence," he mocked him.

"ELECMON!" the Dragon Emperor shouted after him.

"What should a rookie-level digimon be able to do to me?" he asked him, thrusting his foot into Examon's chest.

"Grah!" he quipped.

"King Drasil ordered me to destroy Primary Village" he said.

"Is it... insane?! Without the Village... Digimon... would no… longer be able… to be reborn… again...!" declared the Dragon Emperor.

"King Drasil will ensure that Digimon are reborn."

"You are a fool to follow him, Craniamon!"

"So you stand for the Homeostasis?" the purple knight asked him.

"I don't stand for any side! I have vowed to protect this Village together with Elecmon!"

"Silence! Your decision not to choose King Drasil is considered a high treason." he pointed his spear at the Dragon Emperor's neck: "Farewell, Examon!"

Craniamon pulled out and wanted to stab him.

"Aussterben!" an energy wave captured the purple knight and hurled him several meters from Examon.

He looked up relieved and looked at Duftmon. The green eyes of the digimon saw Craniamon. Then the Digimon looked at Examon.

"That you let yourself be defeated so easily." the leopard knight remarked.

"Sorry." the Dragon Emperor growled ashamed: "Elecmon."

"Seriously? I allow you to call me by my real name, lizard."

"You still call me lizard, Duftmon."

"However. The problem seems to be a Royal Knight who doesn't know what his duty is."

Duftmon straightened his sword in front of his torso. The brown knight briefly closed his eyes and breathed a deep breath. Examon flung his teeth and slapped his long tail on the ground as he summoned his weapon, Ambrosius.

"The Homeostasis... King Drasil... No matter who rules the digital world... We don't care!" the Dragon Emperor growled: "We just swore one thing."

"We protect Primary Village, no matter what will happen! Even if we have to take action against our own comrades, it serves the good of the Village!" Duftmon clarified.

Purple energy gathered in the brown knight's weapon before Examon rose into the air and pointed his lance at Craniamon.

"Traitors!" shouted the purple knight, letting his spear circle over his head.

"Examon, make sure he doesn't use his spear!" Duftmon ordered.

Immediately, a powerful laser was fired at Yggdrasil's servant, who was forced to block it with his shield Avalon.

"Ernste Welle!" the brown knight sent a purple wave of energy, which the opponent also blocked with his shield.

"Draconic Impact!" Examon raced toward Craniamon.

His body was wrapped in a red aura. The purple knight's eyes widened because he knew he couldn't block the attack. But he was able to dodge it. The Dragon Emperor could not change his trajectory and if he dodged, he would hit the ground. However, there was Duftmon, who was probably waiting for such a situation. He would use the gap to attack him directly with the sword and since he used his arms to balance through the jump, his unprotected neck would be in danger. So he turned his spear over his head and created a tornado to protect the purple knight from Examon's attack.

The Dragon Emperor collided with the attack, causing several lightning bolts to pass through his body before being thrown by the enemy with a kick. With a dull impact, Examon landed on the ground. Duftmon rushed to Craniamon and crossed with him.

"Don't follow King Drasil, Craniamon!" said the brown knight.

"Why? King Drasil is the only true god of the digital world!" the opponent shouted, turning around his own axis.

Duftmon saw the attack coming and jumped away, so the spear missed him. With an elegant back flip, he landed on the ground with both feet.

"As I see, I can't convince you, Craniamon." he said, exhaling heavily: "Then I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"That we have to kill you."

"Then you're on the Homeostasis' side."

"We are not on either side. You just decided to attack what we swore to protect."

Duftmon's sword once again wrapped itself in energy.

"Do you really think I'm going to allow this?!" Craniamon raced toward him.

"Pendragon's Glory!" cried Examon.

The eyes of the purple knight widened. The Dragon Emperor had risen in the air during the brief conversation and prepared an attack. Craniamon was captured by a laser and forced to his knees.

"Aussterben!" a wave of energy smashed into the purple knight's body and hurled him on the back.

The opponent straightened up again and coughed. He wanted to place his shield in front of his body, but he couldn't do more. No, he didn't want more. He realized that the path King Drasil had taken ended in disaster, for if two neutrals in the battle of the gods told him that King Drasil was wrong, then the god had to be wrong. And although Craniamon still trusted him, he couldn't and wouldn't take it anymore.

/Incredibly, I follow your decision, my friend... UlforceVeedramon./, thought the purple knight.

Around Duftmon's sword, an aura was gathered again, while Examon also prepared his attack. Craniamon closed his eyes and waited for the attacks, which then also hit his body. The purple knight screamed in pain before his body dissolved into data.

The two neutral Royal Knights briefly looked at the spot where their opponent stood a few seconds ago, then the Dragon Emperor landed on the ground. The brown knight could see tears in Examon's eyes.

"It was his decision, Examon. All alone his... He died here because of us." Duftmon said: "He didn't know what to do. Should he join the Homeostasis, or should he continue to follow King Drasil's insane orders? He couldn't do either, so he decided to kill himself."

"I know. I'm just glad the Village didn't suffer any damage." the Dragon Emperor replied: "Despite that... He had been our comrade."

"Sometimes death is the best solution."

"Yeah..." he agreed, flapping his wings.

The brown knight turned to Primary Village before returning to his rookie level and rushing to said place. With his ears, he had heard that one of the baby digimon had started screaming.