Chapter 46 – Between friends
Hackmon's sobs could still be heard. But Agumon and Gabumon also mourned Alphamon. But not as strong as the four-footed dragon. He was in Tottori with Meiko. The DigiDestined were completely exhausted and returned to their homes. Hackmon had rolled up and pulled his red hood over his head. His partner was not in her room. She chatted with her father in the kitchen. More specifically, she explained to him what had happened recently.
"Hm..." Mr. Mochizuki pondered: "I'd love to lock you in your room so you don't expose yourself to any further danger, Meiko... First Meicoomon, now this Deemon. I'm worried that you get yourself killed."
"Don't worry, dad. I have Hackmon with me... Unlike Meicoomon..." the black-haired woman broke off as she noticed her partner getting into the room.
He still had his hood pulled over his head and he looked depressed to the ground.
"Hackmon..." her father breathed as his eyes widened.
Meiko got up and walked over to him. Then she knelt down to him and lifted him up. She then sat down on the chair again and placed the four-footed dragon on her lap.
"Mr. Mochizuki." Hackmon replied softly.
"Thank you." he said.
"For what?" he looked up and realized how Meiko's father had tears in the corners of his eyes.
"That you for protecting my daughter."
"I..." the four-footed dragon broke off and looked up at his partner, who had pulled his hood over his ears.
"Not only." said the black-haired woman: "Hackmon gives me moral support. Without him, I would never have overcome Meicoomon's death. He is an irreplaceable friend to me."
"I see..." her father closed his eyes and sighed with relief.
Meanwhile, Hackmon let his head hang again.
Agumon himself sat at the window sill and looked out. Drop by drop had formed on the window and flowed slowly downwards. He himself had tears in his eyes and, like Hackmon, was deeply dismayed by Alphamon's death. Tai, who was reading a book, looked up and walked over to his partner. Then he took him in his arms and whispered a few reassuring words to him.
"Is it... Is it my fault that Alphamon died?" the yellow dinosaur asked.
"No. Not at all." his partner replied, enclosing him even tighter.
"But I let him die..."
"Agumon!" Tai snapped at him: "Don't say that! What would Alphamon think if you had such a negative mood?"
"He would... try to cheer me up... He would want... that...", Agumon closed his eyes and began to cry bitterly: "Alphamon... Alphamon..."
"It's okay... Let it all out, Agumon." he comforted him.
The phone rang and the brown-haired man dropped the yellow dinosaur. He accepted the call. Tai himself was surprised that the caller was Matt. Normally, the two of them almost never made phone calls.
"Matt?" the brown-haired man sounded astonished.
"Hi, Tai. Say... How is Agumon doing?" he asked.
"Deeply dismayed... Depressed... Sad... Can't be cheered up..."
"Just like with Gabumon... No matter what I do... it just seems to make Gabumon more depressed... For example, I played on my harmonica... because Gabumon always liked it. But he immediately simmered and sighed heavily. Then I took the guitar and played on it. Even then, his mood didn't get any better. Gabumon curses himself. I think he thinks that if they had been faster, they could have saved Alphamon."
"That's complete nonsense, Matt! Deemon is strong... even if Agumon and Gabumon fused to form Omnimon, we would have no chance against him... We need the Sovereigns."
"But where can we find them?"
"I... don't know... In addition. I doubt it's right to kill Deemon."
"Tai?! Are you completely nuts?! We must kill Deemon!"
"For what? That an even worse digimon are coming?" the brown-haired man sighed heavily: "Sorry. I don't know how we can defeat Deemon without the Sovereigns..."
"You mean Zhuqiaomon, who helped us against Kato's gizmon... You don't think they're going to help us?"
"It's just a feeling, Matt..."
"If they care about the digital world, they will help us!" exclaimed Matt.
"I hope you're right."
Veemon bit into a piece of chocolate and chewed on it for a while. Jun, Davis's sister, watched him amused. His partner was outside in the rain. Davis' sister took a piece of chocolate herself stuffing it into her mouth. She honestly toyed with the idea of wanting to become a DigiDestined. It would be great to have a digimon with which you could do so many things. Almost a friend for life.
"Say, Veemon... How can I become a DigiDestined?" asked Jun.
"Hm? Basically, you're chosen by the Homeostasis." the blue dragon replied after chewing down his piece of chocolate.
"Damn it. But I want to be a DigiDestined!" she cried, holding her hands in the air.
"And what are you doing now, Jun?"
"Maybe a Digi-Egg comes from the air."
Veemon started laughing. He was very pleased that Davis' older sister distract him from his negative thoughts. The blue dragon was also sad about Alphamon's death, but unlike Hackmon, Agumon and Gabumon, he did not grief so much.
"It's not going to happen like that, Jun." Veemon laughed.
"Why not?" she smiled: "I'm going to be a DigiDestined too! Okay, Homeostasis! Just send me a Digi-Egg and a Digivice so I can become a DigiDestined."
As if out of nowhere, a blue Digi egg with golden rings plumped into her hands. The blue dragon didn't look bad when Davis' sister embraced the egg. The Digivice lit up in her palm.
"See! I know it will work!" said Jun, enclosing the egg more firmly.
If Veemonon's mouth had been so elastic, it would have hit the ground now.
"A digi egg... just out of thin air..." the blue dragon stuttered: "How... what..."
"Uhm... How should I even take care of this egg?" she asked: "Do I have to keep it warm?"
"I don't know..."
"I'm back!" exclaimed Davis, entering the living room.
When he saw the Digi-egg in his sister's arms, his mouth was open.
"Looks like I'm a DigiDestined now," Jun smiled at him, rubbing her hand over the egg.
It suddenly began to glow and shortly afterwards revealed a round blue digimon with a tip on the head and big eyes.
"Puah!" the Chibomon made and shook.
"N'aaaaawww!" Davis' sister enthused, caressing her hand over its fur: "Are you cute."
"Puah, puah!"
"Hahaha."
„Puah!"
"It's too young to talk." Veemon said, reviewing the baby digimon: "He's cute."
"It's a He?" asked Jun.
"Yes."
"Puah, puah, puah!" Chibomon hopped through the apartment.
Meanwhile, Jun tried to catch him.
"Stop!" she exclaimed angrily, pushing her partner into a corner.
"Puah!" her partner smiled broadly and jumped between her legs directly to the blue dragon that caught it.
Veemon laughed.
"Akira!" Sera shouted: "Akira!"
"What is it?!" her daughter said angrily, before she had to laugh.
She and Wanyamon were watching a funny movie. Both laughed when a man was poured over a bucket of water on the TV.
"Boah, he fell for it too." laughed the in-training digimon.
"Exactly!" his partner agreed, and had to laugh again.
Sera sighed and walked into the hallway. Once there, Shin smiled softly at her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Leave them. We're just writing a piece of paper." he suggested.
"Do you mean ut? I can't leave her alone." she sighed.
"She's grown up, Sera. You have to let them go at some point. He also looked briefly into the living room: "She's not alone. Wanyamon is with her."
"You're right... I still see her as a little kid who was cut off because she didn't want to do the bone marrow donation." Sera said sadly.
"Hey... She's your daughter."
"I know."
They remained silent for a while until Shin began to write a note. Both wanted to take a walk and also pick up Azuma from the psychiatry. Mr. Kawa put the writing in front of the TV table and said goodbye to Akira. She only made a hand gesture. Shin sighed and left the apartment with his girlfriend. In the underground car park, however, the car's engine did not want to start.
"Come on... Come on..." cursed Mr. Kawa.
"Maybe we should take the bus." smiled Akiria's mother.
"The car just had an inspection! Why doesn't he jump on?!"
"Did you leave the light on? Maybe the battery is empty?"
"Such nonsense. I would have noticed."
Angry, Shin got out of the car and kicked his foot against a tire.
"Shin..." said Sera, and also got out, before calmingly placing a hand on his shoulder: "We can take the bus."
"Okay…" he closed his eyes and breathed deeply.
Both had no idea that they had been swallowed by a distortion the next moment.
"What?" said Shin, terrified.
Before they got it, they were both in the air and raced towards the ground. Sera screamed in horror as Mr. Kawa tried to grab her by the wrist. When he had done this, a gigantic bird roared under them and caught them. Both former DigiDestined recognized the bird.
"Zhuqiaomon!" shouted Shin with delight.
"We're happy to see you." Sera smiled.
"The joy is all on my part, Shin, Sera." Zhuqiaomon replied: "Before you ask. I created the distortion because you are looking for us Sovereigns."
"Yes. We need you..." Mr. Kawa interrupted himself: "Wait. Us? Does that mean that we-"
"That we will see Ebonwumon and Azulongmon again?!" cried Akira's mother.
"Exactly." the phoenix confirmed.
Both began to smile. Finally, after so many years, they would see their partners again. Ebonwumon, Azulongmon. Somehow, however, Shin and Sera were also sad. Her friends were all dead. Kato died in a car accident, Maki drowned in the Dark Ocean and Daigo succumbed to serious injuries. All three never had the chance to see their partners again.
"You think of Daigo, Maki and Kato, right?" the phoenix concluded.
"How do you know that?" Sera asked him.
"You've always been easy to read." Zhuqiaomon laughed a little and set off for the landing.
"Are we?" was Shin's question.
"You are." the Sovereign confirmed, landing on the ground.
But the former DigiDestined saw no one. Not a single Digimon was there. Mr. Kawa looked at the phoenix inquiringly. In his eyes was both disappointment and anger. Had Zhuqiaomon lied to them?
"They will come in a moment." said the Sovereign confidently: "Don't worry. I didn't lied to you."
Even when he said this, a tortoise-like digimon appeared. On its back grew a huge tree, which was densely filled with green leaves. A series of spheres circled the thick trunk of the tree. Its two heads, studded with brown scales, looked curiously at Sera, who began to smile broadly. The turtle digimon had grey-white scales at the bottom of the neck, while the top of the neck and the four legs were studded with yellowish scales. The belly was protected by a brown armour, which also covered the whole swing.
"Ebonwumon." Sera called the turtle and joined her.
"Sera." Ebonwumon rejoiced, lowering her two heads down to her: "I'm so happy to see you again. I missed you."
"Me too, Ebonwumon." she gently stroked over both heads of her partner, then smiled softly.
Another digimon joined in. This had similarities to a tiger. The coat was white and covered with purple stripes. The head was protected by a purple armor, which revealed his four, reddish-brown eyes. At the corners of the mouth there was a long metal part, which, however, served no purpose. A white, thick strand of hair grew down from the cheeks to the knees. The digimon briefly opened his mouth and revealed a series of white, pointed teeth. Then he closed his mouth again and waved his tail back and forth. On this part of the body was a black metal ring with four tips. In an emergency, this digimon could use the ring as a weapon. Three black spikes grew on his back, while purple protectors with white characters were strapped around his front legs. Around the hind legs there was a black metal ring. A series of yellow spheres hovered around his animal body.
"You are late, Baihumon." Ebonwumon said.
"You've just arrived here, Ebonwumon." the white tiger replied.
"Where is Azulongmon? Is he late again?" the tortoise asked.
"Again? Did he take this bad habit of Daigo?" was Sera's question.
"Unfortunately, yes." Zhuqiaomon sighed: "He always comes too late."
"I should have raised Daigo better." Shin laughed dryly.
A blue lightning bolt passed through the sky and revealed the last of the four sovereigns, Azulongmon, a short time later. He also landed on the ground, but digivolved to his perfect-level because he was the largest of the four ultimate-level digimon and he thought it was inappropriate because his human partner was present. Mr. Kawa rushed to Triceramon and hugged his right front leg.
"It's been a long time, Shin." said the dinosaur, rubbing his head at Shin's.
"I know. A lot has happened, Triceramon." he said, smiling.
"So... Now that everyone is here." Zhuqiaomon said.
"The first thing I want to know is how my partner is doing." Baihumon said: "So... How is Daigo doing?"
"He..." began Sera.
"He is dead." Mr. Kawa interrupted her: "Daigo succumbed to his injuries when he protected one of the new DigiDestined."
"I see..." the tiger lowered his head sadly: "Daigo..."
"Sorry." Akira's mother gently stroked over Ebonwumon's right head.
"But Maki and Kato are also dead." the phoenix replied.
"So only two of our partners are left." Triceramon concluded.
"Looks like that." Baihumon confirmed.
"You can't do anything about it," Zhuqiaomon said: "But we have the memories of them... and these memories keep them alive."
"That's right." Shin nodded to the phoenix, sighing: "Times change... We are no longer DigiDestined."
"But there will always be new ones... My daughter Akira, for example." Sera explained: "She's a DigiDestined now."
"And who is her partner?" the dinosaur asked.
"Wanyamon... Or should I say, one of the Royal Knights?"
"The Royal Knights..." Baihumon repeated tonelessly: "So they still exist?"
"More or less." Shin laughed dryly.
"And what does that mean, Shin?" was the turtle's question.
"Some of the Royal Knights are dead." Akira's mother said: "Alphamon, Crusadermon, Craniamon, Sleipmon, Gallantmon and UlforceVeedramon. They're all dead."
"That's sad." Triceramon said.
"Indeed." the tiger replied.
"Well… It doesn't matter right now." Zhuqiaomon continued.
"You are right." Sera smiled, putting her hand on her chest: "However, we your help to defeat Deemon."
"Deemon?!" the dinosaur angrily said, "One of the demon lords?!"
"Yes." Shin confirmed, paused briefly before continuing.
"Unfortunately, we can't, Shin." Ebonwumon said sadly: "We may be Sovereigns, but we are still severely weakened by the sealing by Ken Ichijouji."
"But then... how are we going to defeat Deemon?" asked Sera with his eyes wide open.
"The bond between humans and digimon..." explained the phoenix.
"This allowed Omnimon to fuse with his friends and defeat Ordinemon." Baihumon continued.
"But they couldn't even defeat the gizmon!" Mr. Kawa exclaimed angrily: "How are they supposed to defeat Deemon?"
"They have to believe in the bond they have." Ebonwumon repeated, lowering her head down to her partner.
"But how? We are powerless. We want to help them... But we can't do anything but watch."
Akira's mother breathed deeply, clutching her torso with her arms.
"We are the ones who have defeated the Dark Masters." Triceramon said: "Lead the DigiDestined and give them the hope they need."
The dinosaur closed its eyes and digivolved to Azulongmon. He then rose into the air.
"Azulongmon!" shouted Shin.
"I'm glad to see you again, Shin. But this will be the last time we will see you. The Homeostasis doesn't want us to meet you again."
With that, the dragon flew away.
"Unfortunately, it is true." said the white tiger: "The Homeostasis no longer recognizes you as a DigiDestined, so you will soon no longer have access to the digital world. You will no longer be able to enter the digital world."
"But we were DigiDestined! Why can't we go into the digital world anymore?!" demanded Sera after the answer.
"We don't know why the Homeostasis wants this... But it looks to you old DigiDestined as a plague." Zhuqiaomon explained coldly.
"I thought the Homeostasis wouldn't be like King Drasil?!" Mr. Kawa told the three Sovereigns.
"The Homeostasis is a program developed by King Drasil, which should stop him if he falls into madness again." Baihumon said, turning to walk: "I have to go now. Fare well, Shin and Sera. I want to mourn Daigo's death alone."
With this, the white tiger also disappeared. Meanwhile, Ebonwumon switched eyes to the phoenix.
"You have also lost your partner." the turtle sounded sad.
"Yes... Kato died a while ago..." Zhuqiaomon confirmed: "It pains me to know. But that is the course of events. One day we will also have to die..."
"But unlike us, you will be reborn." Shin said calmly.
"And that hurts the most." replied the phoenix: "I will never see Kato again. He's dead. Baihumon will never be able to see Daigo again... and Tapirmon... he..."
"What? Tapirmon is alive again?" asked Sera, astonished.
"The reboot of King Drasil... He made sure that Tapirmon was reborn." Ebonwumon explained, before growling: "All our work destroyed by the Dark Masters, Ken Ichijouji, King Drasil and Deemon."
"You can't change it, Ebonwumon. I'm just as angry as you are." the phoenix sighed.
"I know..." she looked down at her partner.
"You want to say goodbye now, or Ebonwumon?" she asked.
"Exactly. I'm really happy to see one last time, Sera. I wish you and your daughter a beautiful life. Keep your character." the turtle's two heads smiled at her.
Then she turned to walking, too. Eyes closed with grief.
"She had never been good at saying goodbyes." Zhuqiaomon said as he watched Ebonwumon with his eyes until she disappeared.
"So... This is the last time we were allowed to enter the digital world." Shin said sadly.
"I'm sorry." the phoenix apologized.
"Well…" Sera wiped her tears from the corners of her eyes: "The Homeostasis just doesn't want us in the digital world anymore."
"I'm going to bring you home," Zhuqiaomon said: "I hope you liked my gift."
"Thank you, Zhuqiaomon." smiled Akiria's mother.
"Thank you for the gift." Mr. Kawa put his hand on Sera's shoulder.
"Good." the phoenix closed his four eyes: "Fare well. Thank you for everything. Thank you for telling me that Kato is dead. Otherwise I would have waited forever for him."
"Yes... Our promise." Shin quipped.
"We will see each other again. Even if it was difficult, we would see each other again." Sera recalled.
"Goodbyes hurt... But our memories will keep us alive." Zhuqiaomon smiled and created a distortion under the two former DigiDestined: "Farewell, Shin and Sera."
"Farewell well, Zhuqiaomon!" they shouted and disappeared into the distortion. The phoenix suppressed his tears and flapped vigorously with his wings. Then he rose into the air and slid away.
