Chapter 47 – Old friends

Magnamon flew through the air on his two shoulders he was carrying Davis, Jun and Chibomon. The four had no real goal. Both he and his partner wanted to show her and her partner the digital world. After all, they had never seen them before. Again and again the Royal Knight heard astonished expressions of Jun, because she was really impressed. Magnamon was kind of pleased that Davis' sister was also a DigiDestined. There was hope, he knew that. The Royal Knight took a quick look at Chibomon, who cheerfully squeaked in Jun's lap.

"So... about this level-system." Davis' sister suddenly began: "What exactly are levels?"

"I had explained this to you yesterday, stupid." her brother hissed.

"Davis." his partner groaned: "It was a lot of information for her."

"Yes, yes." Davis rolled his eyes and sighed heavily.

"Back to your question, Jun." Magnamon said: "The levels divide Digimon into their strength. Your partner, Chibomon, is currently on the baby level. He can't defend at the moment and is pretty helpless. His next level will be the in-training level. There he starts to talk and will be quite playful, like most digimon at this level. But there are exceptions."

"For example?" asked Jun.

"Wanyamon. He is an intraining-level digimon, but he is behaving like an ultimate-level digimon."

"Ultimate-level?" she repeated.

"After the in-training level comes the rookie level. Normally I'm always at this level because it requires very little energy. This is followed by the adult level and then the perfect level. Most Digimon are at the rookie or adult level. Few digimon are on the ultimate-level. They are extremely strong. Hardly any perfect-level Digimon, let alone an adult level, could defeat an ultimate. Less than three percent of all digimon are at the super-ultimate level. This level is virtually the top class of the levels."

"Hm... And you're an ultimate-level digimon, Magnamon?"

"No. There are also special levels. There are Armor-Digimon, which can digivolve with the help of DigiMentals. Normally, such digimon are stronger than adult levels but weaker than perfect level Digimon." he explained: "I'm the exception. I have the strength of an ultimate-level digimon."

"I see..." Davis' sister nodded.

"Puah, puah!" Chibomon quipped, before wrapping himself in a light.

"What's wrong, Chibomon?!" shouted Jun, terrified.

'It's completely normal. He's digivolving." the Royal Knight said.

"DemiVeemon!" ended Jun's partner digimon's digivolution.

"He... can speak now, right?" was her question.

"Exactly!" quipped DemiVeemon.

Meanwhile, Magnamon's eyes saw an acquaintance. If his face had not been covered by the helmet, he would have smiled broadly.

"Dorbickmon!" he shouted, landing on the ground.

The dragon man looked at the Royal Knight and smiled.

"Hey, Goldy." Dorbickmon greeted him, while Jun and DemiVeemon snorted.

Davis, too, clearly struggled not to laugh.

"Goldy...", Magnamon repeated tonelessly: "Seriously? That's the first thing you can think of, Dorbickmon? Have a little more respect for me."

"Okay..." the dragon man sighed: "How about, shortie?"

"It's getting worse and worse. Stop it now!"

"Understood..." Dorbickmon shrugged his shoulders before his gaze fell on Jun and DemiVeemon:

"And who exactly are the two?"

"I'm Jun Motomiya." she introduced herself: "and that's my partner DemiVeemon."

"Nice to meet you. I am Dorbickmon. Friend of the Royal Knight Examon." he said.

"Examon?" asked the little blue dragon.

"He, along with Examon and Elecmon, Primary Village." Davis said.

"Primary Village?" repeated Jun.

"There, deceased digimon are reborn in Digi-Eggs." her brother continued.

Dorbickmon's gaze fell on DemiVeemon, who shrugged.

"It seems to be a very young Digimon." said the red-headed Dragon Man.

"He is only a few days old." Magnamon said.

"Jun, Jun..." whispered the little blue dragon.

"Yes?" she replied softly.

"I don't like him. I want to leave." he whined.

"Don't worry, you two. He may look grumpy, but Dorbickmon is really nice." the Royal Knight reassured the two.

"Are you sure?" was Jun's suspicious question.

"Yes."

Magnamon knelt down so that his partner and sister jumped down from him. He then straightened up again.

"Just a question, Magnamon. How do you know him?" asked Davis' sister.

"He has already introduced himself." the Royal Knight sighed, rolling his eyes: "He is a close friend of the Royal Knight Examon. And he had worked for us Royal Knights."

"Work is too much of a good thing. I just helped my friend." the dragon man raved: "Wasn't it the same as with your friends, Quetzalmon, Spinomon, Ornithmon and BanchoStingmon?"

"Yeah... Do you know what happened to Spinomon, Ornithmon and BanchoStingmon after I sealed myself into the DigiMental of Courage?"

"Sure. They lived for a while and fought once against the Dark Masters, but were defeated by them. They did the same and sealed themselves into the DigiMentals of knowledge, love and kindness."

"I see... Thank you. And what did you and DarkKnightmon do all the time?"

"I settled into the forest of memory as DarkKnightmon roamed the digital world. We met sometimes... and then separated due to arguments. Do you know what happened to him and Quetzalmon?"

"DarkKnightmon supported Gallantmon and Sleipmon in the fight against King Drasil and was killed by Gankoomon. As for Quetzalmon..." he paused briefly and looked to the side: "She died from an attack by a Gizmon."

"I'm sorry. You were very good friends with Quetzalmon."

Magnamon remained silent. Meanwhile, Jun asked her brother:

"Have you met Quetzalmon?"

"No. Unfortunately not. But Magnamon was very sad about her death, even when he didn't know he was a Royal Knight," Davis said.

"Poor Magnamon!" squeaked Chibomon.

"Hey! Don't feel sorry for me so much!" shouted Magnamon.

"Says the right one. You mourned for Quetzalmon for quite a long time!" the red-brown-haired man replied.

The Royal Knight ignored him. He looked into the sky with a heavy sigh. Something had caught his attention. Magnamon narrowed his eyes before noticing the something approaching the group. Jun screamed in horror as a large red-scaled dragon landed on the ground. Examon's eyes immediately fell on the golden knight and he pulled his lip up, revealing a smile.

"Magnamon." said the red scaled dragon: "I'm happy seeing you again."

"The pleasure is on my part, Examon." Magnamon replied, before turning to Jun: "Don't worry. This is Examon, a Royal Knight like me. He may be very tall, but he is calm."

"You flatter me, Magnamon." Examon said: "Oh yes, Dorbickmon."

"Yes?" his friend asked him.

"You've been keeping watch for longer than you'd expected. Withdraw. I'm going to take over the rest of the day."

"Thank you for your care... But I'm fine."

"Duftmon had always said that if you don't rest, you become inattentive. Normally you would have attacked the four..."

"Just because I know that one of them is Magnamon, should I attack the group? Who do you think I'm, Examon?" the dragon man growled, before turning around and going without losing another word.

"I apologize for his behavior..." said Examon.

"You shouldn't." Magnamon said: "We both know how Dorbickmon can sometimes be."

"Yes... And who are your two stranger companions, Magnamon?"

"That's Davis' sister Jun and her partner DemiVeemon."

"Chosen by the Homeostasis, I suppose."

"Exactly."

"Does the Homeostasis always choose the DigiDestined?" asked Davis.

"Yes." Magnamon replied.

"The Homeostasis seems to be quite... undetermined… Matt is always upset about it." the red-brown-haired man said thoughtfully.

"I don't know the Homeostasis directly... I've met it a few times, but I can't really appreciate it."

"The Homeostasis acts always different..." Examon hit his long tail on the ground, causing both Jun and DemiVeemon to be terrified: "I don't serve anyone anymore... except for the babies of this village."

The dragon emperor sighed briefly and struck vigorously with his wings before rising into the air.

"I have to leave you now. I have been talking to you for far too long. Elecmon will be quite angry because I neglect my duties." Examon sighed, flapping again vigorously with his big wings before saying goodbye to the four.

After he disappeared, Jun quietly said:

"There are... such... Large... digimon?"

"Examon and large?" the Royal Knight asked: "I'm just thinking of Eldoradimon."

"And who is Eldoradimon?" Davis asked him.

"The Digimon that was killed by Kato while we tried to defend it." Magnamon said, before sighing: "We should go back to your world... I don't think your parents know that Jun is a DigiDestined."

"Oh, yes. Then we should confess to them." smiled DemiVeemon's partner.

The group left the Digiwelt and found themselves in the Motomiyas' apartment. There, Jun told her parents that she was now also a Digiritter. This time, her parents took it far more casually than the last time Davis told them. After dinner, Davis and his partner retreated to his room. As the red-brown-haired man lay in his bed, he asked:

"Do other followers of the Royal Knights actually live, apart from Dorbickmon?"

"Where does this come, Davis?" was Veemon's counter-question.

"Just asking."

"I don't know... But I could tell you what direct followers we had. I had, as you know, Quetzalmon as well as Wormmon, Armadillomon and Hawkmon. DarkKnightmon was under Sleipmon. Gankoomon and Jesmon had the three Sistermon sisters.

„Sistermon sisters?" Davis repeated curiously.

"The oldest is Sistermon Ciel. The youngest is Sistermon Blanc and the second oldest is Sistermon Noir. While the last two were always on the road with Gankoomon, Ciel travelled alone."

"Why?"

"Hm..." he thought: "I honestly don't know. I've only heard of Ciel."

"I see... Another question. How did you actually meet Quetzalmon?"

"That interests you, Davis?" the blue dragon sounded astonished.

"Why not?"

Veemon smiled and began to tell with great joy.

It was a sunny day in the digital world. Magnamon looked up into the sky and recognized several digimon which flew. They were led by a HippoGriffomon, who repeatedly shouted to the others that they should fly faster if they wanted to make it to their next resting place before sunset. The backmost member of the group could hardly keep up. The Royal Knight narrowed his eyes briefly. But then he shook his head and walked on. Actually, he just wandered through the digital world. He had no goal.

"Hurry up!" the griffin shouted to the last Digimon in the row.

"O... kay...", this digimon wailed, before her power subsided and she fell to the ground in dismay.

Magnamon sprinted off and flew into the air to catch this digimon. Then he angrily shouted to HippoGriffomon:

"Hey. You can't just let this Digimon plunge into the depths!"

The griffin ordered the group to continue flying while he joined the Royal Knight.

"Sorry. But she is far too slow. If she is too slow, she will hinder the whole group." HippoGriffomon hissed.

"But that doesn't mean you shouldn't protect the weak!" the Royal Knight growled, before looking at the digimon he held in his claws: "She is completely exhausted. You as a leader should have been more careful. If Alphamon acted in this way, he would quickly be turned away by the others."

"You're a Royal Knight, aren't you?"

"Exactly."

"I'm not going to listen to your advice anyway. In the past, I have also protected the weak. When we were attacked, almost all of them were killed, which is why I don't do anything like that anymore." the griffin flapping powerfully with his wings: "If you want to take care of her… She is very weak! Farewell, Sir Magnamon."

HippoGriffomon left the two and rushed after his group.

"You shouldn't… have done… this…"

"Why not? I can't turn away from the suffering of others." Magnamon replied kindly: "What is your name by the way?"

"Quetzal... mon, Sir Magnamon."

"Hm... I've never seen a Quetzalmon. They are extremely rare."

"That's true. I've never seen others of my kind. We are also said to have been blessed by the DigiMental of light, which I do not believe." she freed herself from his arms and flew to the ground.

The Royal Knight followed her and eventually crossed his arms.

"Where are you going to go now?" he asked her: "Your swarm has let you down."

"I... I honestly don't know."

"What if you followed me?" he offered her in the blue.

"How? But I'm very weak... I can't even digivolve to the perfect-level. And I'm very weak for an adult level digimon. Are you sure that I should be part of your subordinates?"

"Yes. You have a good heart, Quetzalmon."

"How can you say that? You don't know me, Sir Magnamon."

"I believe in the good in every digimon... You also owe me something because I saved your life."

"Well…" she gave in with a heavy sigh: "I'll follow you, Sir Magnamon."

Meiko and Hackmon were also in the digital world. Since Alphamon's death, however, the four-footed dragon barely spoke. He just wanted to be alone and drown in grief. Much to the displeasure of his partner. She didn't want Hackmon to be so sad... But she didn't know what to do about his sadness. The black-haired woman had only the idea that they should go into the digital world and... from that point on, she wasn't so sure. What the four-footed dragon desperately needed was someone to encourage him. No matter how. With a heavy sigh, she watched Hackmon put one foot in front of the other.

"Byakusai!" a voice shouted, before two knives flew towards Meiko, who screamed in surprise.

"Fifth Rush!" the four-footed dragon carried the weapons to the side with his claws to protect his partner.

Out of the bushes came a human-like digimon with a white dress. The left eye was obscured by several dark blue strands of hair, while the iris of the visible eye formed a cross. The visible, turquoise eye locked onto both Hackmon and Meiko. The stranger Digimon wore a blue hood on its head, which resembled a mouse and reached up to the knees. The feet were in white stick shoes and socks that ranged far above the knees. The human-like Digimon placed a sword in a sheath on her left shoulder. A confident smile spread across the Digimons' face.

"You... you are..." began the four-footed dragon, but had to interrupt.

"Hey, Hackmon!" the Digimon greeted him with a female-sounding voice.

"You... Does she know?" Meiko asked him.

"More or less. She is Sistermon Ciel. She used to travel through the digital world with me, Gankoomon and her two younger sisters Sistermon Noir and Sistermon Blanc." he told her.

"The emphasis is on travelling. Now I travel alone through the digital world in search of potential dangers and inform Sir Gankoomon about them." the Sistermon explained: "Like now. I saw a dangerous digimon and wanted to inform Sir Gankoomon."

"And who is this Digimon?" was the question of the black-haired.

"Deemon." Ciel replied, while Hackmon cramped.

He bit his teeth and dug his front claws into the ground. The Sistermon saw his reaction, but at first he remained silent.

"Master Gankoomon would never be able to defeat Deemon!" the four-footed dragon screamed angrily: "If even Alphamon couldn't defeat Deemon, how could Master Gankoomon?!"

"Hackmon?!" shouted Meiko, terrified.

She had never seen her partner so desperate. The black-haired woman desperately wanted to help him, but couldn't because she didn't know how.

"What if you saw Sir Gankoomon again?" suggested Ciel.

Hackmon just bent his head down. He didn't care. He just wanted to be alone... The Sistermon looked at Meiko with a slight smile on her lips before grabbing Hackmon by the collar and putting him over her shoulder.

"Hey!" he complained.

Ciel ignored his protests and marched off. Again and again the four-footed dragon fought back, but the Sistermon had grabbed him tightly. The black-haired woman didn't know what to think of the scene. But if Gankoomon could help Hackmon, she was right. After a good ten minutes, the group reached the finish line. Gankoomon himself seemed to be waiting for Ciel, but was pleasantly surprised when he saw the four-footed dragon and his partner. Gently let the Sistermon Hackmon off her shoulder.

"Hackmon?" the man said in amazement: "And... What was your name again, human?"

"M-Meiko..." she stuttered.

Meiko had to admit that Gankoomon was particularly imposing.

"Good. So, Hackmon…" he began, and went to him: "Ciel didn't drag you here for no reason. What's your problem?"

The four-footed dragon remained silent and looked to the side. Why would he say something to Gankoomon? Before the black-haired human could get it, the man hurled Hackmon with a punch against a tree.

"Hackmon!" Meiko shouted, shaking, and wanted to rush to him, but Ciel's hand was found in front of her.

"Leave him. You'll see that this will help Hackmon." the Sistermon said.

Gankoomon ignored the brief conversation between the two and turned to his former student.

"Is that all, Hackmon?" he asked him: "I thought I'd taught you better. A man answers when asked."

The four-footed dragon shook and then growled furiously. Then he jumped on his master and tried to bite him in the arm. Gankoomon summoned Hinukamuy and, with his help, hurled Hackmon against the same tree again.

"Argh!" the four-footed dragon shouted, and straightened up: "Hackmon warp-digivolve to... Jesmon!"

With an angry outcry, Jesmon attacked Gankoomon and tried to bring him down. But he blocked all his attacks and carried his student to the ground. The man stood over him and punched his fist in the dragon man's stomach, forcing him to bend. Jesmon hit him with his tail blade. However, Gankoomon jumped back.

"It... is my fault..." the dragon man began, attacking his master with tears in his eyes: "It is my fault."

He blocked the blow with the help of Hinukamuy.

"Why?" Gankoomon asked him.

"I wasn't able to... protect Alphamon... If I had been stronger, then... then Alphamon would still be alive. In addition... If I had been stronger 10,000 years ago, you, Blanc, Noir and some Royal Knights would not have died in Deemon's attack!"

"You IDIOT!," the man shouted, hurling Jesmon back: "What did I teach you?! Did you forget that, Hackmon?!"

"Never look... Back... always look... forward..." he quipped.

"You are a disgrace to the Royal Knights! What would Alphamon think of you?! Would he wanted you to fall into mourning like a coward now?! Would he wanted that?!"

"No..." Jesmon quipped.

"I can't hear you, Hackmon!"

"No..." he said now, more vaguely, but still quietly.

"I still can't hear you, Hackmon!"

"No! Alphamon wouldn't want that."

"And what about Blanc and Noir? Would they want that?!"

"No. Noir would have laughed at me. And Blanc would have been disappointed."

"And what about Meiko?"

This question made the dragon man freeze. He took a quick look at his partner, who has since been detained by Ciel for wanting to get involved in the 'fight'. Her eyes were widened and filled with worry and fear.

"She is worried and scared. Worry about me. Fear of losing me, as she once lost Meicoomon." Jesmon said with a firm voice.

"Good... Then show me your determination! Quake! Blast! Fire! Father!"

"Judgement of Blades!"

Both fighters raced towards each other.

After ten minutes, both Gankoomon and Hackmon lay on the ground in defeat. The Sistermon let go of Meiko, who in turn ran to her partner.

"Hackmon!" she shouted with concern as she knelt down to him: "Is everything okay?"

The four-footed dragon began to laugh. He laughed and laughed. And couldn't stop. The black-haired woman shrugged briefly at his laughing. But then she smiled. She noticed that her partner was doing better. Ciel herself joined in and knelt next to the man.

"That was good for you, right Hackmon?" said Gankoomon, smiling.

"Yes... Thank you, Master Gankoomon. I feel a lot better now." Hackmon said.

He smiled softly at Meiko, who hugged him with relief.

"Sorry you were worried, Meiko," he apologized softly.

"Don't." said the black-haired woman: "You don't have to apologize, Hackmon."

The man sat up and smiled mischievously to the Sistermon, who again put her sword on her shoulder.

"They get along very well." Ciel said, watching Meiko still hug her partner.

"As the Homeostasis had said. The bond human and Digimon share make them stronger." Gankoomon stood up and stretched out: "I'm pretty sure Hackmon benefits from this bond. He has come so far because Meiko is with him, Ciel."

The four-footed dragon approached the two of them with his partner and said:

"Thank you, Master Gankoomon, Ciel. You knew I needed something like that, didn't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Hackmon." the man replied: "but we're glad you feel better now."

"Sure. You reminded me what I was fighting for." he said briefly to Meiko: "I'm fighting to protect."

"That's my student!" said Gankoomon, turning around: "You are not alone. You have friends who support you. That's the key to defeating Deemon."

Both the black-haired woman's and Hackmon's eyes widen. The man said no further words. He sprinted off and left the two with the Sistermon.

"Well... Don't take it badly, Meiko." said the four-footed dragon: "Master Gankoomon can rarely say goodbye."

"Oh yes." Ciel confirmed: "He really can't say goodbye... Anyway. I have to go now. I was glad to see you again, Hackmon. And you, Meiko. Watch over him. That is what Sir Gankoomon would want."

The Sistermon smiled at the two of them before running away herself. Meanwhile, Hackmon created a distortion that led back to Tottori.