(A/N: And wend so we enter the arc. Only the top tier Demon Lords remain. But things are now in our heroes' favor. So long as Lucemon and Daemon don't team up, they should have the advantage, at least according to Shoutmon, so let's see how things go. Don;t forget, Lucemon's got his secret weapon and Daemon is planning something big. There's going to be some exciting twists and turns this time around, so I hope you're prepared for them.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 162: The Past Returns Again

Word spread quickly of Barbamon's defeat and Baihumon's return. In fact, the very land itself seemed brighter and more full of life. According to Shoutmon, this was due to Baihumon's holy power returning and Barbamon's evil energy being lifted from the world.

"We'd actually see an even bigger improvement if we weren't in Lucemon's domain," he told them. "And with the four compass Sovereigns now free, the Digital World itself will return to a more harmonious state."

Takato gave him a curious look. "What do you mean by "compass" exactly?"

The dragon Digimon began motioning about with his hands. "Just what it sounds like. It's even in their titles. Ebonwumon is the Sovereign of the North, Zhuqiaomon is the Sovereign of the South, Azulongmon is the Sovereign of the East, and Baihumon is the Sovereign of the West. The four directions."

"Oh, I get it," said Davis. "So what about the last two Sovereigns."

"The two of them watch over the whole Digital World," Shoutmon replied. "One is just of a higher rank than the other, and a little more free ranged."

Takato crossed his arms. "So it's like in Dragon Ball Z with the North, South, East, and West Kais, then there's the Grand Kai and the Supreme Kai. Right?"

Shoutmon gave him a bewildered look. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. All you need to know is that while the Digital World can function without them, it will be better off once all the Sovereigns are all freed."

It wasn't just the land that was affected, the residents were much happier too. Random Digimon they came across would shout greetings to them in passing, and those they interacted with seemed much friendlier and no longer found the teens to be such oddities. In fact, they even heard tales of Digimon who were once loyal to the Demon Lords having turned against them, even Digimon with wicked natures having turned their backs on them.

"Strange how such a drastic change in society can take place once the leaders fall," Davis noted.

TK shook his head. "Not really. Actually, it's not strange at all. We've seen it happen countless times in human history. Once a dictator is taken out of the picture, all of the people under their rule usually do a complete one-eighty and abandon the dictator's cause, or at least divert from them or become less invested. With them gone, their whole agenda almost always goes with them. Like Hitler for example."

Shoutmon lifted his chin. "I don't know who Hitler is, but you're right, it's not surprising at all. The Demon Lords are tyrants, enforcing their will on everyone else. Aside from those who directly benefit from their rule, pretty much everyone else, even evil Digimon, are opposed to their tyranny; they just can't do anything about it because they're so powerful. So they either obey out of fear, because they feel they have no choice in the matter, or because they hope to gain something, or to at least not lose anything. But everyone wants their freedom. With the Demon Lords reduced to only two and Bagramon, it's not surprising that their forces are abandoning them, if not straight up supporting us."

They saw a prime example that proved Shoutmon's words to be true a few days later when they encountered a Devidramon. They'd seen one before, even though that one had been an artificial Control Spire Digimon created by Arukenimon, they knew it to be a species of Devimon with a more savage and aggressive nature. At first it seemed like it was going to go after them, but before they even had a chance to Spirit Evolve, it backed off and left without even attempting to attack them.

"I told you," said Shoutmon after it left, "even evil Digimon are hoping you'll take down the Demon Lords. Not even they want to live under their tyranny anymore."

It did indeed seem that hope was spreading throughout the Digital World. It was present in their group as well. With the inclusion of Susanoomon to their team, their spirits were higher than ever. Shoutmon felt confident that as long as Lucemon and Daemon didn't team up that they would be able to defeat the last two Demon Lords, though he was still uneasy about facing Bagramon and Boltboutamon.

But that was still a ways away, and they tried not to think about it. Instead, they focused on the positives and what they could do with the power they had, and this kept their spirits high.

That is, until they got to the next town. Only it could no longer be called a town. Instead, what the teens had come across were the destroyed remains of what was once a town, and a rather big and active one at that.

No longer though. Everything was destroyed. The scene would have been right at home in a post-apocalyptic dystopia movie. The entire town looked like a warzone, and from the state of the damage, from a pretty recent battle.

"What happened here?" Tai wondered out loud. "Everything's destroyed."

TK looked around in horror. "I don't know, but from the looks of things, whatever happened here happened not too long ago."

A small flickering flame burned a few feet away from whatever had caused the destruction, and Davis stepped on it to put it out. "Is this the result if a battle?"

Shoutmon shook his head. "No, this is just senseless destruction. Whoever did this came here with the intent to destroy everything."

Kari's hand flew to her mouth as she gasped in horror. "Who would do such a thing?"

The dragon Digimon kicked over some rubble. "There are a few Digimon with destructive instincts, like Ordinemon, but I can't say who it actually was that did this. It looks like they're long gone though."

It was a morbid sight to be true, but they made the best of it, going around and salvaging any resources they could. They also found the least destroyed structure that didn't look like it would collapse and spent the night there before heading out the next morning.

A few days later, they came across an equally horrifying sight. Another town in ruins, the entire place destroyed. It gave the teens an uneasy feeling to find two towns that had been completely decimated in a matter of days.

This time, however, they found another Digimon called Ignitemon scavenging through the town. They inquired to him as to what had happened, but the reptile Digimon was immensely unhelpful.

"From what I heard, some Digimon just showed up one day and began destroying everything before leaving. Didn't even attack anyone. Just showed up, blasted everything in sight, then left."

They tried questioning him further, but there was nothing else he could tell them. Shoutmon crossed his arms in thought as he considered this information.

"It just doesn't make sense," he muttered. "It's pure senseless destruction simply for the sake of senseless destruction. If it were a Digimon with a destructive nature, it would have gone after other Digimon, it also wouldn't have enough sense to deliberately target everything in the town. Someone is making a conscious decision to straight up attack the town itself. But why?"

The others thought about this as well, and Kari gave her theory. "Maybe they're doing it for attention, or to provoke someone or something."

"Could it be some extremists?" Davis wondered out loud. "You know, someone who opposes the Demon Lords. You said this is Lucemon's land, and Digimon once loyal to the Demon Lords are turning on them. Maybe they're trying to antagonize Lucemon by destroying his towns."

Shoutmon shook his head. "That doesn't make sense. Lucemon wouldn't care about the land or its residents. When I called it 'Lucemon's land', I meant that it was territory that Lucemon claimed for himself amongst what the Demon Lords as a whole claimed. Lucemon's own domain on the other hand, where he and his forces stay and his castle is located, that's different. I could see getting a reaction out of him if someone attacked him there. But here, no chance. This is something else."

Sadly, there was nothing they could do about the destruction, but they all agreed that if they encountered whoever was causing it that they would stop them. According to Shoutmon, there were several small towns scattered across the land, but they had no way of knowing where the destructive Digimon would head to next.

It wasn't until a few days later that they finally made some progress on finding out who the destroyer was. They had already set up camp and were preparing dinner when a lone Digimon came scampering into their camp, collapsing beside them. The teens were instantly on their feet, startled by the sudden arrival of the Digimon, but relaxed almost instantly when they got a good look at it. Shoutmon further confirmed that they had nothing to worry about.

"It's fine," he said. "This is Morphomon. She's a Rookie level Digimon and is practically harmless."

Breathing heavily, the butterfly Digimon looked up at them, her eyes shining. "You're the humans, right? Thank goodness I found you! I've been searching for you for days?" Lower lip trembling, Morphomon stood up, giving them a pleading look. "Please, you have to save my town, otherwise it'll be destroyed!"

Tai jumped to his feet. "What? Your town is being attacked? Right now?"

The butterfly Digimon shook her head. "No, not yet, but I'm afraid it's going to be soon. We've had refugees coming in from the other towns that have been attacked. So far, eight towns have been destroyed."

"Eight!?" TK exclaimed in horror. "Eight towns have been destroyed?"

Morphomon nodded. "My town is closest to the last one that was destroyed, and I'm afraid it will be next." She looked down and began tracing circles in the dirt with her foot. "A couple days ago, an Ignitemon wandered through our town, bragging at how he met the humans who had been fighting the Demon Lords. I knew you would be able to help us, and I've been looking for you ever since." She fell onto her bottom, looking exhausted. "I haven't eaten or slept in two days. So tired."

"You haven't eaten or slept for two whole days?" Kari asked, and picked up the butterfly Digimon. "You poor thing. You must be exhausted."

Morphomon looked up at her with pleading eyes. "I want to hire you. Please, save my town. I don't now when it'll be attacked, but I just know it's going to be soon."

"Of course we'll save your town," Tai replied immediately. "Everyone, clean up, we're heading out."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

It was well into the night by the time they reached Morphomon's town. The butterfly Digimon had done their best to direct them, but kept falling asleep in Kari's arms. Fortunately, Shoutmon had an idea which town Morphomon had come from and where it was, and had been able to lead them during the times Morphomon fell asleep. And since they had been in a hurry, he had Digivolved to OmniShoutmon and carried the teens for the journey.

"Glad to see the town's still standing," TK said in relief.

"So am I," Davis mumbled sleepily. "I hope they have a place we can sleep. I'm about to keel over."

Takuya snorted. "Please, this is nothing compared to that time we pulled those all-nighters so we could get through that valley with all those data streams before having to fight Beelzemon."

"And just think how poor Morphomon must feel," Kari added, looking down at the sleeping butterfly Digimon. "The poor thing searched for us non-stop for days."

As if she had heard her name, Morphomon began to stir, and suddenly sprang awake. "Have to find the humans! My town!"

"Hey, hey, easy," Takato soothed. "We're here, you found us. And your town is fine. See."

Morphomon looked at her town in the distance and relaxed. "Thank the Sovereigns."

OmniShoutmon set them all down and DeDigivolved. They began making their way towards the town on foot, but halfway there, Shoutmon came to a stop and began looking around. The teens realized he wasn't following them anymore and looked back at him.

"Everything ok, Shoutmon?" Kari asked as she cradled Morphomon.

The dragon Digimon shook his head. "Sorry, I just realized where we are."

Takato cocked his head to the side. "Um, we're on our way to save Morphomon's town, aren't we?"

Shoutmon shook his head again. "That's not what I meant. I was talking about our location in the Digital World. If we continue on towards Lucemon's castle from here, we'll eventually come across…" He smiled and fell silent. "Never mind, I won't ruin the surprise."

"You want to give us a surprise?" said Takuya. "Give me a comfy bed to sleep in. That'll be a nice surprise. It's been so long since we've slept in a bed."

TK chuckled. "That does always seem to be the case. Come on, the faster we get there, the faster we can get to those nice, comfy beds."

They continued towards the town. There was no sign of any other Digimon anywhere, hostile or otherwise, to suggest that the town was in danger, but they still didn't know what kind of Digimon they would be up against. Which made them realize that perhaps they should inquire about it.

"Hey, Morphomon," said TK, "did any of those refugees say who it was that attacked them? It'd be good to know who we're up against."

Morphomon gave a small nod. "Yes, they said that it's a-"

"Freezing Wave!"

A blast of energy struck the ground in front of the teens, and they jumped back in surprise, pulling out their Digivices. Morphomon, however, jumped out of Kari's hands and held her arms out. "Wait, stop, BioQuetzalmon, it's me, Morphomon!"

There was no follow up attack, and a few seconds later, an armor-clad snake-like Digimon with wings like ears slithered out of the shadows from off the roof of a house. "Morphomon? What are you doing? And where have you been?"

The butterfly Digimon relaxed and put her arms down before looking back at the teens. "It's ok, she's a friend."

"Real friendly," Davis muttered irritably. "Such a warm greeting."

"She was just being cautious because of what was happening to the towns," Morphomon replied. "That was just a warning shot to confirm your identity. If she wanted to hit you, she would have."

Turning back to the mythical beast Digimon, she ran to her. BioQuetzalmon flew over to her as well, and Morphomon latched onto her serpentine body in the form of a hug. The teens hesitated a bit when she glanced at them suspiciously, but relaxed some when she looked back at Morphomon.

"Where did you go?" she asked. "We thought you might have fled in case the town was in danger."

Morphomon nuzzled her. "I didn't run away. I went to get help. Remember that Ignitemon said he saw the humans a few days ago? I thought they might be close by, so I went to find them so they could help us. And look, here they are."

BioQuetzalmon looked at the teens, and they hesitantly waved at her. She cocked her head to the side in interest. "So these are the humans. Kind of funny looking."

"Says the snake with the bird wings for ears and a tube on her head," Takuya grumbled.

Kari nudged him. "Takuya."

"Sorry, just cranky 'cause I'm tired."

"My apologies for attacking you," BioQuetzalmon told them. "I had to make sure you weren't the destroyer."

Davis held his arms out. "Do we look like the destroyer?"

"He's crafty," Morphomon replied. "He likes to get close at a lower level and then suddenly Digivolve and attack. But now that you're here, you can stop him."

BioQuetzalmon moved in closer, examining the teens closely. "Are these truly the humans who have been defeating the Demon Lords? They don't look that strong."

"Not right now," said Shoutmon, "but they've gotten a few surprises."

The mythical beast Digimon turned to him. She studied him for a few moments before her eyes widened and she lowered her head in a bow. "Your majesty."

A grin spread across Shoutmon's face. "So you recognized me, huh?"

"I would recognize the Digimon King anywhere."

Takato sighed and whispered to the others, "How can she tell? Doesn't he look like all the other Shoutmon out there?"

The dragon Digimon apparently heard him and threw him a dirty look. "And you all look the same to me, but not to yourselves apparently. Seriously, the only way I can tell the difference between you is because of your clothes, and also because Kari's a girl and TK's blonde. Other than that, you all pretty much look exactly the same to me. Do we really need to go through this again?"

Tai waved his hands. "Whoa, calm down. You know he didn't mean anything by that. We're all just tired and cranky, not to mention we didn't get dinner, so we're also hungry."

BioQuetzalmon closed her eyes. "I'm afraid you'll find no eating establishments open at this time of night, not with all the precautions the town has undergone since the whole… fiasco with the destroyer started. Many of the residential Digimon have already fled."

"It's fine," TK told her. "We have our own rations. We could just camp out front here and wait for this destroyer Digimon to come."

Morphomon flew up to sit on BioQuetzalmon's head. "Nonsense, you can stay with me. I did hire you after all. Eat up and get some sleep so that when the destroyer does come, you'll be rested and energized for the fight. We'll discuss your payment in the morning."

Kari's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, payment? We're getting paid?"

Morphomon cocked her head to the side. "Of course, I am hiring you to protect our town."

"If the payment she offers isn't enough," said BioQuetzalmon, "I can offer up more."

TK waved his arms. "Hey, hold up, we don't want your money."

BioQuetzalmon's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Then what form of payment would you like?"

"We're not doing this for payment," Tai insisted. "We're doing it because you need help and it's the right thing to do. You don't always need a reason to help someone, you know. A place to stay at night and a few meals so we don't waste our rations would be appreciated though, and you already offered that."

Morphomon's face lit up. "Oh, thank you, thank you! I know our town is in good hands with you here. Come on, I'll show you to my house. But I have to warn you though, it's a little small for so many of you."

"I shall continue to keep watch," BioQuetzalmon told them. "Should I see anything, I will inform you at once."

"Thanks," said Tai. "And don't worry, you can count on us. We'll keep the town safe."

They followed Morphomon as she led them to her home. With all that had happened since they arrived, they had forgotten to get an answer of who the destroyer was.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"Wake up! Wake up!"

The persistent voice stirred Tai from his sleep, and he let out a groan, pulling his pillow over his head. But it wasn't until a small body quite literally jumped on his stomach, knocking the air out of him that he fully snapped awake.

"The hell?" he grunted, looking down at Morphomon, who was now sitting on his stomach with a worried look on her face.

"He's coming, he's coming!" the butterfly Digimon shouted fearfully.

Groaning, Tai rubbed his eyes as the events of last night came back to him. After Morphomon had led them back to her house, a small but cozy place surrounded by a flower garden, she had served them up a quick meal before they had all went to bed. All had been quiet until this rather rude awakening, and it took a few moments for Tai to piece together what Morphomon was saying.

"Who's coming?" he asked sleepily. Then he remembered. "Wait, he's coming? You mean right now?"

"Yes," Morphomon exclaimed, and leapt off him to land on Takato. "Wake up! You need to wake up!"

She jumped off Takato and landed by TK, grabbing his pillow and pulling it out from under his head before going to Kari and ripping off her blanket.

"Wake up, wake up!" she shouted as she rushed over to Davis and began pushing against him. "He'll be here soon."

"Mmm, that's nice," Davis muttered sleepily, and grabbed hold of Morphomon, hugging her to his chest like a stuffed animal, then rolled over with her.

Tai clapped his hands together. "Everyone up, it's time to go. Come on, we've got a job to do."

It took a few seconds to get everyone up and moving, but soon they were scrambling for the front door, tripping over each other in the process. Once outside, they rushed for the town entrance. BioQuetzalmon was up on the roof of a house, but no longer bothered to hide in the shadows as she raised herself up like a snake ready to strike.

"We're here!" TK called up to her. "Where is he?"

BioQuetzalmon didn't bother to even look at them, not taking her eyes off what she was looking at. "Out there. He Digivolved a few minutes ago. He's coming now."

The teens looked out upon the horizon to where the sun was beginning to rise. They had to squint, but they could indeed make out the form of a Digimon flying towards them. As it got closer, they could see that it resembled an enormous, red, mechanical dinosaur with several cannons on its wrists and shoulders.

"Geez, what I that thing?" Davis exclaimed.

Kari quickly checked out her Digivice. "That's Destromon, a very powerful Ultimate level Digimon. He's a literal battleship with several energy cannons, and a primary weapon in his chest that can annihilate an entire city.

"Well, the name certainly fits with his description," Takato commented.

"Hold on," said Kari. "I'm getting another reading. There's someone else with him."

"Yes," BioQuetzalmon replied. "The refugees did say that another Digimon was with him who didn't actually take part in the destruction, just observed."

"Oh, great," Davis muttered. "Someone else to fight. Who is it?"

"Juggernaut Destroyer!" Destromon cried, firing explosive laser missiles from his cannons.

"No time!" Tai shouted. "Spirit Evolve, now! Execute! Spirit Evolution… Omnimon!"

"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Imperialdramon Paladin Mode!"

"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Gallantmon Crimson Mode!"

"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Susanoomon!"

"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Seraphimon!"

"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Ophanimon C!"

"Shoutmon Digivolve to… OmniShoutmon!"

BioQuetzalmon's eyes widened in astonishment at the sight of them. "Incredible."

They sprang into action, flying towards the incoming missiles. Seraphimon used his Hallowed Ascension, bringing down lightning that destroyed them. Destromon came to a stop in mid-air and stared at the seven of them.

"Your destructive rampage is over, Destromon," Imperialdramon declared.

The battleship Digimon continued to study each of them, and then his eyes narrowed. "You. I've found you at last."

The DigiDestined exchanged confused looks. "Um, do we know you?" Gallantmon asked. "OmniShoutmon, do we know him?"

The dragon Digimon glared at Destromon. "Oh yes, we know him alright. I recognize him now that we're closer."

"I think I would have remembered this guy," Imperialdramon commented.

The battleship Digimon's eyes flashed violently as they landed on him. "That's because I was only at the Champion level when we last met. You would have seen me at the Ultimate level back then had you not broken the code and attacked me while I was Digivolving."

That story most definitely sounded familiar to Seraphimon. "Wait, that means you're… Snatchmon!"

Destromon presented himself to them. "So you do remember."

Omnimon pointed his sword at the battleship Digimon. "How could I forget? You turned me into an Oinkmon."

"And your friend attacked while I was Digivolving and trapped me in Argomon's vines."

"Do you remember me as well?" another voice cried out.

From out from behind one of Destromon's cannons came another familiar individual, at least to Ophanimon C and OmniShoutmon. "BlackAgumon!" the former exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Wait," said Imperialdramon, "who's this now?"

"Someone I had a run in with after we were separated back when we were still dealing with Devimon."

The reptile Digimon's eyes narrowed. "Glad to see you haven't forgotten me. Do you also remember how our battle ended? How you sent me flying out into the ocean on your Rosetta Stone? Tell me, what do you think happened when your attack lost its momentum? Where do you think I ended up?"

Ophanimon C's gut clenched with guilt. In all honesty, she hadn't given a second thought to him after she had launched him out into the sea. In truth, she had completely forgotten him after that with everything that had been going on.

"That's right," BlackAgumon continued, reading her body language. "I ended up stranded in the middle of the ocean. I thought I was a goner, but fortune favored me. A loyalist of Leviamon found me. They were going to simply kill me, but when I told them that I had valuable information, involving humans being in the Digital World, I was spared and brought to dry land, where I was introduced to the Demon Lords themselves."

This was news to the DigiDestined. In all likelihood, it could have been from BlackAgumon that the Demon Lords had first heard of them.

"The Demon Lords may rule through fear and tyranny, but they do reward loyalty," the reptile Digimon continued. "And recently they rewarded me with great power. Power enough to take my revenge on you."

"The two of you need new hobbies," Susanoomon told them. "Living for the sake of revenge is pointless and unhealthy."

"Is that what all this destruction has been about?" Omnimon demanded. "Were you trying to get our attention?"

"We knew it would draw your attention and lure you to us eventually," Destromon replied. "After I delivered the key cards to Barbamon, he granted me power. Power enough to Digivolve so that I may take my revenge."

"And now here we all are." BlackAgumon added.

"All this because I attacked you while you were Digivolving?" Imperialdramon demanded of Destromon. He sighed in aggravation. "Ok, look, I'm sorry, alright! We were still new to this world and didn't know all the rules. Back then I didn't know you weren't supposed to attack when someone else was Digivolving. I'm sorry."

OmniShoutmon pointed at BlackAgumon. "You though, we have nothing to apologize to you about. You tried to kill us and merely lost the battle; so don't be expecting an apology from us."

Destromon snarled. "We are beyond apologies. I've waited months for this, and now I shall have my revenge, and more."

Gallantmon pointed his spear at him. "Fine then, bring it on. You need to pay for destroying all those towns anyway. But there's no way you can beat us. Even if Barbamon did give you enough power to Digivolve, you won't be able to defeat us at the Ultimate level."

Destromon threw his head back and laughed. "It seems you've forgotten. Back when I fought you as Snatchmon, your friend here attacked me when I was in the process of Digivolving to Destromon. That is the form you see me in now. It's true that Barbamon gave me the power I needed to Digivolve as a reward for delivering the key cards, but I had already achieved Ultimate on my own before that. And with the power I've been given, I'm now able to Digivolve to the Mega level."

BlackAgumon leapt off Destromon's shoulder. "Show them what they're up against."

Next to the DigiDestined, OmniShoutmon swore. "Not good, not good, not good."

"Destromon Mega Digivolve to… Galacticmon!"

The DigiDestined were utterly flabbergasted. The Digimon before them was larger than any other Digimon they had ever seen before. If they were at eye level, his head alone towered over Imperialdramon. Resembling a weaponized satellite or spacecraft with two metal, skeletal hands on his left side and a large metal claw pincer on his right side, and at least two giant missiles silos for legs. His tail alone was almost the size of Azulongmon, and was equally as long. It was aligned with solar panels, and even seemed to contain what looked like a second head at the end.

No longer feeling conflicted, Gallantmon felt his stomach drop out from beneath him. "I think I just wet myself."

"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it," OmniShoutmon chanted. "This is not good. Galacticmon is an extremely powerful Digimon; so strong that one has never appeared before."

Seraphimon swallowed nervously. "Ok, so he's big and strong. Really, really big. We should still be able to handle him with Susanoomon's power, right?"

The god Digimon in question punched his palm. "Yeah, we can do it. I won't hold anything back."

A fireball suddenly hit him, courtesy of BlackAgumon. It didn't hurt, but it did get Susanoomon's attention. "He may be really big, but he's not the only one you need to worry about. Remember, I got a power boost too."

"Get lost, you salamander," Imperialdramon snapped impatiently. "We've already faced down ChaosBlackWarGreymon, including after he DNA Digivolved and then Digivolved twice more. I'm talking about Omegamon Alter-B. That was his name, right? Yeah, Omegamon Alter-B. And he was a Chaos General too."

BlackAgumon snorted. "So you faced someone extremely powerful and won, but have you won against someone with power beyond Mega?"

His words sent an uneasy feeling through the DigiDestined. "Meaning what exactly?" Ophanimon C demanded.

The reptile Digimon chuckled menacingly. "The Demon Lords gave me the power I needed to reach Mega, but then I got something else, something they didn't offer, from an old friend of yours." He grinned broadly. "It was Boltboutamon. He showed me how to channel my hate into a dark energy to use it to go even beyond Mega."

"Boltboutamon!" Imperialdramon repeated. "Oh crap."

"Beyond Mega," OmniShoutmon whispered. "But that means…"

"BlackAgumon Warp Digivolve to… ShineGreymon Ruin Mode!"

Shocked gasps escaped the DigiDestined at the sight of the dragon Digimon. It was obvious just from looking at him that ShineGreymon Ruin Mode was just a dark, corrupt version of ShineGreymon Burst Mode, and they all knew what the power of Burst Mode was capable of. His appearance was almost identical to ShineGreymon in his Burst Mode, only his armor was black, gray, and dark red, and seemed more skeletal in appearance, and the fiery aura surrounding him was black.

"Damn it!" OmniShoutmon shouted. "Galacticmon and ShineGreymon in Ruin Mode. At this rate I think I might prefer to fight a Demon Lord."

Gallantmon glanced at him. "Wait, seriously?"

ShineGreymon let out a roar and suddenly charged at the DigiDestined like a mad beast. OmniShoutmon yelped and called out Susanoomon's name, and the god Digimon rushed forward, plowing into ShineGreymon with his Heavy Tackle. The dragon Digimon was knocked away, but immediately doubled back and charged at Susanoomon again. The god Digimon charged forward to meet him, and the two engaged in battle, ShineGreymon attacking with a ferocious veracity.

"What the heck got into him?" Imperialdramon remarked.

"Like I said, Ruin Mode," said OmniShoutmon. "It's like Burst Mode, only the user is unable to control their power and loses all reason. I can't believe he would enter that state willingly."

"I can," said Ophanimon C. "He was already bad the first time we met him, and if Boltboutamon of all people corrupted him further…"

"Will Susanoomon be ok?" Omnimon asked worriedly. "Ruin Mode surpasses Mega just like Burst Mode does, right?"

"Susanoomon will be fine," OmniShoutmon replied. "We have bigger problems." He looked up at the giant Galacticmon and gulped. "Much bigger."

Galacticmon looked down at them with a single glowing eye that moved about the black screen that served for his face. "I've waited a long time for this. Soon my dream will be realized."

"This guy can really hold a grudge," Imperialdramon grumbled. "I already apologized. The rest is on you at this point. So if you want to do this, then let's do this. Super Positron Laser!"

"No, wait!" OmniShoutmon shouted.

But it was too late, and Imperialdramon's beam blasted Galacticmon. The attack jolted him back, but he didn't seem too overly bothered by it, and raised his tail. "Galactic Counter!"

A beam fired out of the tip of his tail and headed straight for Imperialdramon. OmniShoutmon flew over and grabbed the dragon Digimon's tail, pulling him out of the way of the attack. "Will you hold on a minute! I was going to tell you that Galacticmon can counter special attacks used against him with an even more powerful counter move than his standard attacks. The stronger the attack used on him, the stronger he can counter it."

"Then we can only use physical attacks?" Gallantmon asked incredulously.

"No," said Seraphimon as he flew up to the satellite Digimon's head, "we just have to be careful not to get hit by his counter attack. Strike of the Seven Stars!"

His attack exploded into Galacticmon's face, and the satellite Digimon's head snapped back. Slowly, he turned back to Seraphimon and held up his hand. "Strike of the Seven Stars!"

Much to Seraphimon's astonishment, he found his own attack fired right back at him, and he was blasted out of the sky. OmniShoutmon winced as he watched the angel Digimon fall and hit the ground. "Careful, that was his ? ? ? ? ? attack."

"His what?" Imperialdramon asked. "How do you even spell that?"

"Just be careful when attacking him," OmniShoutmon replied, ignoring the question. "That move let's him copy the last technique used against him. He can change it at any time, so be careful, because you never know when he's going to copy an attack."

"These things would have been helpful to know in advance!" Omnimon snapped.

"You're basically saying that absolutely any attack we use against him can be used against us in some way?" Ophanimon C asked. "Either by being copied and reflected back at us or by being countered? How are we supposed to fight that?"

"You're not," Galacticmon declared. "You're simply supposed to die. Just like this. Ragnarok Cannon!"

The cannon on his chest began to gather energy. OmniShoutmon's eyes widened and he flew to the ground, dragging Imperialdramon with him. "Hit the deck!"

The DigiDestined did as they were told as Galacticmon fired his cannon. The beam he fired tore through the air and headed straight for the town they had come to defend. A massive explosion went off, completely consuming the town, and everyone and everything within. Within the mighty blast, the town, and everyone and everything within it, was completely obliterated.

(A/N: Haha! I bet you never thought you'd see these guys again. Well, you may have suspected Snatchmon after I mentioned how he was the one who gave Barbamon the key cards, but you certainly didn't expect BlackAgumon, did you? Now our heroes are facing two major threats. Galacticmon, who is extremely powerful, and ShineGreymon Ruin Mode, who is basically just a corrupted Burst Mode. They already failed to save the town they had come to protect, now they need to fight for their lives. There's a tough battle ahead, so I hope you're ready for it. Just two weeks til next time.)

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

digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/Ignitemon

digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/Morphomon

digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/BioQuetzalmon

digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/Destromon

digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/Galacticmon

digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/ShineGreymon_Ruin_Mode