(A/N: Wow, so a lot f people were really liked Magndramon's surprise appearance last chapter. Cool. The chapter was called "unions", meaning more than one. Well, I've got another surprise this chapter too. Whether it's good or bad is up to you. You'll just have to decide that for yourself. So, let's get to it.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 147: The Eighth

For some reason, the thought of DNA Digivolution had never occurred to them. They had known that it was a type of Digivolution, and had even seen it take place before, but it never seemed like an option before. Possibly because they thought of themselves as humans merely wearing the bodies of Digimon. Or maybe because despite having seen others do it, since they were human, they just never considered combining with each other to be a possibility.

But apparently, not only was it possible, it had actually happened, and the DigiDestined were unable to tear their eyes away from the sight.

"Kari?" Omnimon whispered. "TK?"

"Not anymore," said OmniShoutmon. "Now they're Magnadramon."

The new dragon was indeed a sight to behold. Resembling a lion crossed with a dragon, it was a pale pink color, and glowed with a holy light.

"Magnadramon is the ultimate form of god beast Digimon, who's a ruler of the sky," OmniShoutmon explained. "She's a member of the Miracle Four and the Four Great Dragons."

"I'm not sure what all that means," said Takuya, "but it sounds good for us."

"But what about TK and Kari?" Takato asked worriedly "What happens when two humans merge?"

"Priorities," OmniShoutmon replied. "Once we're out of danger, we'll see about any repercussions them DNA Digivolving should cause."

EvilbeastLaylamon growled up at Magnadramon, still dwarfing her in size. Magnadramon roared down at her, and the Demon Lord hissed back.

"We gave you a chance," Magnadramon declared, "and you threw it back in our faces! I will not forgive this!"

The Demon Lord roared again and fired her Demon Blast. Magnadramon swerved out of the way and flew down at her. EvilbeastLaylamon still massively dwarfed the dragon Digimon, who was only a few inches long in comparison.

"Hermit Fog!" Magnadramon cried, breathing a freezing mist over the Demon Lord.

EvilbeastLaylamon hissed as a cold fog blew over her, and her skin began to corrode where it made contact. She slashed at the dragon Digimon with her Nazar Nail, but Magnadramon cartwheeled backwards in the air to avoid it. She then flew straight up to avoid the Demon Blast fired at her, and countered with her Dragon Fire, summoning down energy bolts from the sky on EvilbeastLaylamon that exploded in bursts of light and electricity.

"OmniShoutmon, tell us honestly," said Omnimon, "does Magnadramon stand a chance?"

The dragon Digimon hesitated for several long moments before sighing. "No… not unless…"

"Dark Pentagram!" EvilbeastLaylamon cried, and a magic circle appeared before her that unleashed a magic beam.

"Fire Tornado!" Magnadramon countered.

Flames gathered in her mouth that burst forth in a spiral of fire. The two attacks slammed together, sending out a shockwave that caused the castle to crumble further. EvilbeastLaylamon hissed and unleashed more power, and her attack began to push back Magnadramon's Fire Tornado.

The dragon Digimon's eyes narrowed as she continued to breathe fire. EvilbeastLaylamon's attack continued to get close, but she refused to back down, even as the Demon Lord laughed, assured of her victory.

"You find this funny?" Magnadramon demanded as she proceeded to fire her attack. "We really were fools to think a Demon Lord could change. You're reign of terror is a blight on this world, and we won't tolerate it any more." Her eyes began glowing as the fire she breathed grew in intensity. "It's time you faced justice for all the wrong you've done."

Her heart suddenly began glowing in her chest. A distance away, the hearts of her friends began glowing as well. OmniShoutmon didn't seem surprised though as he looked down at his chest in awe. From each of them, a beam of light suddenly burst forth, shining in the sky above Magnadramon, where a spiral of light appeared over the dragon Digimon. Countless specks of light came down from the sky, gathering in the spiral, causing it to grow.

"That," said OmniShoutmon. "Unless that."

"OmniShoutmon, what is this?" Davis exclaimed.

"It's Magnadramon's hidden power," he replied. "The full extent of her Fire Tornado attack gathers the light energy of all justice in the world and unleashes it in a spiral of holy fire." He looked down at EvilbeastLaylamon. "This battle is over."

A ray of light came down from the spiral above Magnadramon. She began to glow brighter as she was bathed in the light until she was blinding. The flames in her mouth shined all the brighter as well and grew in intensity as the energy of all justice gathered together, and EvilbeastLaylamon roared in outrage.

"Feel the light of justice," Magnadramon cried, "and be gone!"

She unleashed all the stored energy, and the Fire Tornado she breathed expanded many times over. It completely consumed the beam from EvilbeastLaylamon's Dark Pentagram attack. The spiral of fire came down and flowed over the Demon Lord, completely filling the bowels of the castle.

A murderous cry escaped EvilbeastLaylamon as she looked up at the dragon Digimon, her body blackened and burned. Within seconds, only a giant charcoal statue of the Demon Lord remained as her cries ceased, with only her glowing blue eyes shining in her blackened face.

EvilbeastLaylamon stood frozen for several seconds as the flames continued to flow around her. She slowly reached up towards Magnadramon as cracks began to appear over her, spreading across her whole body. Then she began to crumble apart before exploding into an eruption of data.

Magnadramon stopped breathing fire and roared in victory as the light of justice around her faded. She looked down at her friends, relieved that they were ok, before flying over to them. They simply stared back, completely dumfounded by what they had just witnessed.

"Is everyone alright?" she asked.

Takato was the first to find his voice. "You just completely incinerated her. How'd you do that?"

Magnadramon just smiled. "I wouldn't have been able to without the help of everyone who believes in and seeks justice." She glanced to another section of the castle. "Come on, it looks pretty stable over there."

She led them over to the section she indicated. OmniShoutmon set down Davis, Takato, and Takuya as Omnimon allowed himself to return to his human form, relieving him of his burns and other injuries. Magnadramon settled down beside them before she suddenly split into TK and Kari once more.

"Kari!" Tai cried, and rushed forward to hug his sister. "Thank goodness. You're… you."

She blinked. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"We didn't know what would happen since you and TK were human," Takato told them. "For all we know, you two could have remained merged together even as humans, or ended up swapping bodies or switching genders, or even ending up like Siamese twins or something."

TK held up his hands. "No, guys, really, we're fine. See, perfectly normal."

"Well, in that case, that was awesome!" Takuya declared. "I can't believe you guys DNA Digivolved like that. How'd you do it?"

Tai broke the hug. "I'd like to know that myself. Now that we see that there are no repercussions for us to use that, we could definitely use it in the future."

Both TK and Kari paused. They seemed to think about it for a minute before glancing at each other questioningly.

"How did we do it?" Kari asked.

TK shook his head. "I'm… not really sure. We just did."

Davis rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but how?"

Kari bit her lip as she tried to recall how she and TK did what they did and how to put it into words. "It's… hard to describe it. We just sort of did it. I remember feeling a deep desire to fight with and want to protect TK in that moment, and then we just kind of…"

She clapped her hands together for emphasis, and TK nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I felt that too, but I don't really know how to explain it. It's like being able to laugh or cry. You know you can do it, but you can't really explain how to."

OmniShoutmon DeDigivolved back to Shoutmon. "Often, two Digimon will DNA Digivolve if they're compatible and when they fall completely in sync with each other. Their hearts and spirits unite, and then they Digivolve together."

"That doesn't really tell us anything though," Takuya complained. "We need to know how it works so we can do it again. Or so at least TK and Kari can again." He glanced at them. "You guys can do it again, can't you?"

The two teens glanced at each other uncertainly. "I'm not sure," TK muttered.

"I guess we can always try," Kari added.

That's when it happened. High in the sky, visible through the missing ceiling, a distortion began, interrupting their conversation. Familiar clouds appeared, drawing the teens' attention. They knew what that meant, and they knew what was coming.

"Better put this topic on hold," said Tai. "It looks like we're about to meet another Sovereign."

"Hope this one is more helpful than the last two," Davis muttered.

"Don't worry," Shoutmon assured them. "If the Sovereigns are escaping weakest to strongest, then I think I know who the next one is."

From out of the clouds, the next Sovereign suddenly appeared. It was easily one of the largest Digimon they had ever seen. It resembled a dragon with a long serpentine body that seemed to be made of transparent, pale blue vapor with white angel-like wings running down its back, and four clawed limbs.

Chains ran down the length of its long body that were attached to the dark blue mask with yellow patterns it wore. A long white beard that hung down its face gave it a wizard-like appearance, and a blue aura surrounded its whole body. Like the other sovereigns, it had twelve orbs rotating around its body, six around its neck, and six more around its tail.

Shoutmon immediately dropped to his knees and lowered his head in a bow. "Behold, Azulongmon, the Azure Dragon of the East."

Davis whistled at the sight of the massively large dragon Digimon. Each of the Sovereigns four yellow eyes was larger than their entire body. "Now that's a Sovereign."

Shoutmon shushed him. "Show the proper respect. He might not be the strongest, but Azulongmon is the most deified among the main four."

Before any of the teens could ask what he meant by that, the Sovereigns looked down at them. "You. You are the humans who defeated a Demon Lord and set me free?"

His words held great power and authority, and each of the teens took a knee. "Yes, Azulongmon, sir," said Tai, "that was us."

Azulongmon's gaze took in each of them, as if he were trying to commit each of them to memory. "Then you have my utmost gratitude. Thanks to you, the tides are now turning. Half of us have been freed, and the Demon Lords' power has crippled further."

"It was with the biggest satisfaction that we put those monsters in their place," said Takato. "We're glad we could have been of service."

Azulongmon's already kind gaze softened further. "Please rise, young ones. You have done, not just me, but the Digital World as a whole, a great service. You have more than earned the right to stand in my presence."

Relieved breaths escaped a few of the teens. Azulongmon seemed far friendlier and not as uptight as Zhuqiaomon.

"Thank you, sir," said Tai as he and the others stood up. "We're glad you're alright."

"I owe that to you, young human. I knew we made the right choice when we called on you." His gaze shifted to e smaller dragon Digimon. "But what is this? Shoutmon. I did not expect you to join the humans on their quest. You were only tasked to provide them with the DDNA of the Guardians."

Shoutmon rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, well, I couldn't just abandon them after tasking them with such a difficult, uh, task. So I went along as a sort of guide until I became strong enough to fight alongside them."

Azulongmon nodded to him. "A noble cause, but a dangerous one. You are the Digimon King, handpicked by the Digimon God himself. You have your own duties to attend to."

Shoutmon began nervously tapping his fingers together. "Yeah… about that. Even though I've been going around telling everyone that I'm the Digimon King, the truth is that I haven't really been the king of anything since Lucemon dethroned me. I won't really be the Digimon King again until I've earned back my title. And to do this, I need to help take down the one who dethroned me, and those that have covered this land in darkness during my absence as king."

Azulongmon gave another nod, looking pleased. "Spoken like one truly worthy of his title. I only wish I could personally assist you on your journey."

Davis gave him a thumbs-up. "Hey, no sweat, we get it. You've been gone a long time and have a lot of work to catch up on. You just leave the Demon Lords to us; we'll take care if them. I still don't feel like I've gotten even with them yet."

TK's face lit up. "Speaking of which, do you guys realize what this means? We're over half done. We took down four Demon Lords. Just three more to go, and we'll have freed all the Sovereigns. Then we'll finally be able to go home."

Takato punched the air. "Woohoo! We passed the halfway point and beyond!"

Azulongmon's face fell slightly. "I am terribly sorry, humans, but I'm afraid you've been misinformed. It will take more than defeating the Demon Lords to free all of the Sovereigns."

His statement was met with silence. The teens stared up at him in shocked disbelief, then with horror as the full extent of his words hit them, and their spirits came crashing down.

"What!? Tai shouted furiously. "But how can that be!?" He rounded on Shoutmon. "Did Cherubimon lie to us?"

The dragon Digimon shook his head. "Of course not! He would never lie like that!"

"Then I don't get it," said Kari. "We were told that the Demon Lords sealed away the Sovereigns, and that if we freed them that they'll be able to send us home. We've been destroying the Demon Lords, and that has been freeing the Sovereigns. What else do we have to do to get them all?"

"Children," Azulongmon cried, drawing their attention, "what you were told is the truth. It was primarily the Demon Lords who sealed us away, and thus they do need to be destroyed in order to free us. However, there was another that assisted them, and contributed their power into sealing us away. He may not be a member of the seven, but he is in the same classification. An unofficial Demon Lord if you will. He too will need to be defeated in order for all of us Sovereigns to be free."

Davis' eyes narrowed. "Let me guess, it's Boltboutamon, isn't it? That figures."

Tai crossed his arms. "We should have known. Only someone like that could-"

"I'm afraid you're mistaken," Azulongmon interrupted. "While Boltboutamon is indeed a great evil and could indeed be placed in the same class as the Demon Lords, he is not the one I speak of."

Takato let out a heavy sigh. "Well, let's look on the bright side. We're still half done. It's one more bad guy. And he can't be worse than Lucemon."

Azulongmon closed his eyes, looking dismayed. "Once again, I am sad to say that you are wrong. This is an enemy whose powers surpasses even that of Lucemon."

"Oh, come on!" Takato yelled. "When are we ever going to catch a break? It's like this never ends. Now not only do we have another enemy to defeat besides the Demon Lords, but it's someone even worse than the worst of them."

Tai angrily grabbed Shoutmon's cape and picked him up. "Did you know about this?" When the dragon Digimon didn't answer and simply looked away guiltily, Tai shook him. "Well, did you? Tell us!"

The dragon Digimon grabbed the arm that was holding him. "Yes, ok! I knew!"

TK angrily turned to him. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Shoutmon sighed in resignation. "To what end? When Cherubimon first told you that you needed to defeat the Demon Lords, it seemed so impossible that I didn't even see any point in mentioning that we would still need to face someone worse than Lucemon. Even with the progress we've been making, it felt like it would only bring down everyone's spirits if I told you that if we somehow accomplished the impossible and managed to defeat the Demon Lords that there would be someone even stronger than any of them waiting afterwards."

A frustrated groan left Tai, and he dropped the dragon Digimon. Kari placed a reassuring had on his shoulder, and he let out a sigh. "Ok, fine. I get why you didn't tell us right away. And it's like Takato said, we're still half done. It's just one more enemy. Even if they are stronger than Lucemon." His eyes narrowed, and he looked back at Azulongmon. "Unless there's anyone else we need to defeat after that."

Azulongmon shook his head. "No, once the Demon Lords and their ally are defeated, your journey will be over. All of the Sovereigns will be freed, the balance will be restored, and we will be able to send you hone."

Davis crossed his arms, looking irritable. "I can't believe I didn't hear about this guy when I was," he cringed, "working with Laylamon. Who is this guy anyway?"

Azulongmon was quiet for a long moment before speaking. "His name is…"

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Lucemon's fingers drummed impatiently against his arm as he sat in the meeting hall, waiting for his fellow Demon Lords to arrive. A scowl was present on his face, revealing his displeasure as a noise of frustration escaped him.

Finally, the doors to the meeting hall opened, and both Daemon and Barbamon marched into the room. The only greeting Lucemon gave them was a grunt of, "It's about time you got here."

Daemon's eyes narrowed slightly as he and Barbamon took their seats at the table. "You called this meeting on such short notice; some of us were in the middle of something."

Lucemon uncrossed his arms and sat up straight. "It was necessary. I'm sure you can imagine why."

"Of course," Barbamon stated plainly. "We all felt Laylamon's seal on the Sovereigns' prison lift. That means she's been destroyed."

"Indeed," the Demon Lord of Pride said. "That makes four of us that have fallen. This is inexcusable. Those humans must be dealt with."

"The humans are nothing," Daemon replied. "While the fall of our comrades is indeed… unfortunate, the humans are not in our league. They pose no true threat to the three of us."

Lucemon angrily slammed his fist on the table. "Be that as it may, we can not ignore them the way we have been. Their defiance must be dealt with, regardless of their insignificance."

A chuckle escaped Barbamon. "Careful, Lucemon, it almost sounds as if you're worried about them."

The head Deon Lord let out a humph and sat back. "I'm hardly worried, but they are causing unnecessary problems for us. In addition to decreasing our numbers and freeing the Sovereigns, they are restoring hope and making us look bad. That is the real issue here, not whether or not they actually pose a threat to us."

Daemon cocked his head to the side. "So you suggest that we treat the humans as if they really are a threat? That will only make us lose face all the more if the public thinks we're afraid of a group of puny humans."

Folding his hands together in front of him, Lucemon narrowed his eyes at the other two Demon Lords. "The fact is that we need to address the human issue for what it is; rebels that defy us, and somehow managed to destroy four of us. It's not a matter of making us look like we're worried, it's of us nipping something in the bud that we should have taken care of long ago but didn't because we considered them to be nothing. Only now that nothing is causing other issues that are making things complicated for us."

"Then what would you suggest?" Barbamon asked. "How do we deal with the humans without making it appear as if we're afraid of them?"

A deep laughter suddenly echoed through the room. The three Demon Lords looked around for a few moments before realizing that it was coming from above them and looked upward.

From above, another Digimon slowly descended. They didn't appear the least bit concerned to be in the presence of the Demon Lords as they settled beside the meeting table, standing at the other end of Lucemon.

The Demon Lord of Pride's eyes narrowed in irritation. "So glad you finally decided to join us, Bagramon."

The Digimon in question resembled a mighty warlord. His body was somewhat lop-sided, as both his right arm and leg were carvings of wood shaped into monstrous limbs, his arm in particular being far too big for his body. Six blackened and burned wings protruded from his back, indicating that they had once been far grander. In place of his right eye, a large ruby was present in his head as he surveyed the three Demon Lords.

"I would have thought the great and powerful Demon Lords could handle a few powerless humans," he scolded, "but it seems I was wrong. Instead, you've shown incompetence the likes of which I've never seen, and have now painted yourselves into a corner."

A low growl escaped Lucemon. "You're out of line."

"Am I?" Bagramon demanded, his mocking tone giving way to his own irritation. "Because the way I see it, you ignored a potential problem due to your vanity and pride, allowing it to grow until it became an actual threat that defeated two of you. And when you finally addressed it, you failed to kill the humans, and now two more of you have been destroyed as a result, along with several of your most loyal followers, including four Chaos Generals. Now you can't even take care of the situation without it appearing to the public that you're actually afraid."

Barbamon pointed his staff at him. "And why have you not dealt with them yourself?"

"As I said," Bagramon replied, looking unconcerned, "I did not think it was necessary, as I trusted that the Demon Lords would be able to deal with the situation. I see now that I was mistaken."

Lucemon stood up. "You forget who you're talking to. We are the Demon Lords. You may be allied with us, but you are not one of us."

The demon Digimon didn't look the least bit intimidated by Lucemon. "And there is a reason for that. Our goals may be aligned, but our ambitions are not. My ideals are something I have committed myself to entirely, and I am willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish my goals. You do not have the resolve that I do, and will let things like pride and public opinion stop you from doing what needs to be done."

Daemon stood up as well. "Do not test us, Bagramon."

"And do not attempt to intimidate me. We all know which of us is the strongest one here." He looked at each of them in turn, as if daring them to contradict him. "And even if that were not the case, you wouldn't dare to destroy me. I bring too much to the group; including my seal on the Sovereigns' prison. You need me, just as I need you. We do not need to like each other to be allies; Beelzemon and Laylamon certainly despised each other after all."

He turned his attention to the wall, and his ruby eye glowed briefly. "Azulongmon is speaking to the humans now. With him free, half the Sovereigns have been released." He looked back at the Demon Lords. "Regardless of how you think it may affect your reputation, the humans must be dealt with. If you do not wish to lose face, then do as Beelzemon and Laylamon attempted; crush them so completely that it will seem like overkill. This will give the impression that they are merely being severely punished for their deeds as opposed to making it look like you're worried about them."

He turned his back to them, having finished with what he had to say. "I hope you'll show me that your ambitions are even half of what mine are by handling things from here on out. It will truly be a sad day for the Demon Lords if I need to step in and deal with a situation you should have easily been able to take care of."

With nothing else to say, he casually strolled out of the room. The doors closed behind him, leaving the three Demon Lords alone. Lucemon and Daemon remained standing for several moments before the latter sat. "He does make a point. We viewed the humans as so far beneath us that we ignored them until they became a problem that has escalated. Now we do indeed risk looking like we're afraid of them if we take them on ourselves. That opportunity has passed with our first attempt."

Lucemon sat down as well and crossed his arms. "That may be, but he also provided us with a solution. We are to crush the humans so completely that it will make it appear like punishment rather than us facing a threat. Not only will this remind the world of just what the Demon Lords are capable of, it will also remind them of the repercussions of defying us. This will also quickly crush any resistance that has risen up against us since their coming. The humans are a symbol of hope. Without them, that hope will die."

A wicked grin spread across Barbamon's face, exposing his shark-like teeth. "I may have something that will work very nicely. As you know, I've been working on a little project for some time now, and I'm close to completing it. Once I do, I'll show those humans, along with the entire Digital World, just what a Demon Lord is truly capable of."

Daemon chuckled. "What a coincidence. I've been working on a little something myself. I'd be more than happy to show the humans once I've finished. I think it'll get the point of where they stand compared to us very clear."

Lucemon smiled. "Excellent. Then you may both handle the humans as you see fit. And if it doesn't work out, we still always have our secret weapon to fall back on." He chuckled cruelly. "And at the end of it all, they'll still have us to deal with."

High above, hidden in the shadows, a grin spread across Boltboutamon's face. "And I can't wait to see it."

(A/N: Dun, dun, dun. That's right, it's not just the Demon Lords our heroes have to deal with. Bagramon has been there behind the scenes the whole time. I'd had this planned since the beginning. And with that, our bad guy roster is complete. But how are out heroes going to react to Bagramon? What will they be able to make further use of DNA Digivolution? If they do, will they be able to stand against whatever Barbamon and Daemon's projects are? And what is this secret weapon Lucemon spoke of? And then there's still Boltboutamon and his schemes. There's a lot coming up, so stay tuned for me. I'll be updating in 2 weeks.)

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

digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/Azulongmon

digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/Bagramon