The number of Digimon in the city was going down, and it was going down fast.
Each new defeat was another mark of pride as far as Taichi was concerned. He couldn't stop looking down at his D-Terminal, and his smile only grew wider each time that he saw an enemy Digimon had been defeated. He and the rest of his small group were working much faster than he could have expected, and Taichi was proud of all the progress that they were making in such a short span of time. It was impressive, he had to confess. He had been sure that it would take them ages to get anywhere close to finding success, and yet, there they were.
"We're already down to eleven," Yamato commented as he looked up from his D-Terminal. He smiled to himself as he tucked the device back in its home out of sight, and he glanced up to the sky a moment later. "The others seem to be doing well enough as well. We haven't gotten any distress signals yet, and if you ask me, that's a good thing."
"I agree," Sora said with a concise nod. "We're bringing the number down, and that means that everybody will be safe to return soon..." Sora's voice trailed off as she looked up to the nearby Ultimate Digimon. "I can tell that they're getting tired though. They're pushing themselves pretty hard, and we've been fighting for so long... I can't blame them for being exhausted after all of this."
"I think that everybody is running on adrenaline at this point," Daigo commented with a hollow laugh. "I know that I'm absolutely wiped after all of this constant activity. I don't know if all of the sleep in the world will be able to help me at this point. Oh, well. I guess that's a problem that I'll just have to deal with later."
Taichi let out a gasp, and his smile began to expand by a fraction of an inch. "And would you take a look at that? While we were standing here talking, another Digimon was taken out. I think this one was by Mimi and Daisuke's team... I believe that they're moving closer to where Jou, Takeru, Hikari, and Iori are," he said.
"Sounds to me like everything is under control," WarGreymon declared as he came to land beside his partner. Yamato and Daigo walked away to take care of transporting their most recent foe back to the Digital World as MetalGarurumon came to rest in the area as well. Hououmon formed a large shadow overhead that blocked out the sun itself.
"Ten Digimon left," Taichi sighed with a shake of his head. Under any other circumstances, he would have thought that the number was ridiculously high, but in this situation, he was thankful that it was only ten. With one more Digimon defeat, they were going to be back to single digits, and that was quite the accomplishment given the fact that they had initially started with more than two dozen Digimon to defeat.
"I'm looking forward to being able to leave all of this in the past," MetalGarurumon proclaimed, and WarGreymon, Taichi, and Sora all nodded along in agreement. They were all desperate for a break by that point even though they knew that it was going to be a while before they were presented with that chance. There wasn't even a guarantee that they were going to be completely in the clear by the time that the last of the enemy Digimon was defeated. It was a truth that all of them were vaguely aware of, but they were choosing to not acknowledge it because of the brutality of the matter.
"We know what we're doing now at least, and it seems like we all have a solid enough grasp on what's happening," Sora told the others in the group, and her expression made it clear that she was trying her hardest to remain optimistic. "I'm sure that we're going to be fine. For now, let's go on and see where we can take out the next enemy Digimon. After all, this situation isn't just going to resolve itself while we're here talking."
"I really wish that it would," Taichi muttered with a humorless chuckle, and Sora offered a small hum of agreement. He glanced up as Yamato and Daigo approached once again, and the latter shut his laptop before tucking it under his arm, a sign that he was ready for them to keep traveling.
"Well, we've got other work to take care of now, so we might as well get to it," Yamato commented. His voice was hardened from exhaustion, and his eyes were starting to grow dark. Taichi swallowed back his animosity towards their present situation before nodding and starting to walk in the direction of the next Digimon signal in the area. Everything was going to be fine soon enough. He was sure of that much. All he had to do was make it clear to everyone else that he had confidence in such a concept.
Things were not going well.
That much should have been obvious from the moment that the first Digimon breached the barrier between the worlds, but the phrase seemed to take on an entirely new meaning as Jou watched the fight between the partners of the Chosen Children and Dianamon take place on the horizon. He had an awful feeling about all of this. The situation had already spiraled out of their control, and Jou was simply hoping with everything he had that they would be able to find some sort of routine again soon enough.
HolyAngemon dove towards Dianamon, following his sword in a harsh, jagged angle in her direction. Dianamon was distracted with Zudomon, but that didn't stop her from easily lashing out and sending HolyAngemon flying backwards. The angel Digimon let out a cry of pain that seemed to resound through the sky even above the general cacophony of waves lapping lightly against the shore. Takeru cried out his partner's name, and Jou noted the way that his voice cracked in anguish and thinly-veiled terror.
Angewomon was the next to follow up on the offensive, and she and Shakkoumon struck at the same time. Angewomon's arrow did little to pierce through Dianamon's armor, and Shakkoumon's attack just barely managed to miss the place where the dark patch of data could be seen on Dianamon's body. She seemed to immediately feel the danger, and her posture shifted from pure offense to something of an agitated defense. She knew what they were trying to do, and she was willing to do anything that she could to stop it from coming to fruition.
Zudomon hit his hammer against Dianamon's body, and she was knocked down into the water below. When Dianamon resurfaced a moment later, Zudomon was ready, and his weapon sparked with electricity. He made rough contact with her, and Dianamon shrieked in pain. She managed to right herself against all odds though, and a moment later, she was ready for combat once again. She seemed to be practically on fire with her internalized rage, and no amount of possession would be able to hide that much from the rest of the world.
Dianamon hit Zudomon hard as soon as she found the ability to do so, and he nearly toppled backwards into the water. It was by pure luck that Zudomon was able to keep himself in a position that somewhat resembled being upright. He used his hammer to block the next attack that came from Dianamon, desperate to keep her from getting too close. The tough surface of the weapon was able to prevent Dianamon from doing any significant damage, as all of her strikes simply bounced off. Jou had never seen Zudomon use his weapon as a shield before, and if he was being honest, he wished that he was never forced to in the first place. Something about it was unsettling, and Jou was suddenly overly aware of the way that his heart sounded as it pounded violently in his ears.
"Zudomon!" Jou cried out before he could stop himself. He knew that his partner was too far away to hear him, but that didn't stop him from trying to make his opinion on the matter known. Jou let out a small whimper to himself, praying that there was something they could do to stop Dianamon. She had to be defeated soon enough, right?
There was one aspect of this battle that could have very easily been considered both a blessing and a curse. Dianamon had turned her focus completely towards Zudomon because of the way that he had done so much to knock her around already, and she seemed to be more intent on getting her revenge than actually finishing the battle and completing her objective. However, this also meant that Zudomon was the only one taking damage, and she was going to find a way to get past his defenses and hammer soon enough. Jou knew that it was inevitable, and such a thought absolutely terrified him to the very core of his being. He believed in his partner above all else, but he also knew that Dianamon was not a foe to be trifled with, and underestimating her could have very easily led to their downfall. Once again, Jou noticed how damn noisy his own heartbeat was, and he wished that there was something he could do to get that incessant sound out of his mind.
"The others have to find a way to follow up on this weakness in Dianamon's defenses," came the voice of Kaya from off to Jou's left. He glanced over to her, hating the way that her voice sounded as faraway as it did because of his own panic and paranoia. "If they can do that, then this battle should be won. Dianamon is distracted because she's trying to go after Zudomon alone. The others can figure out a way to break through that, I'm sure, and when they do, we should be able to consider this one battle that we've sealed away."
"I wish that we were just able to take care of her with a single blast to the data patch," Takeru commented with a nervous laugh, and it was clear that he was using the words as a way to cover for his own fears, though he wasn't doing a great job of keeping his anxiety secret from the rest of the world.
"It didn't work, so we'll just have to find another solution," Kaya concluded, taking control of the situation effortlessly. "I'm sure that your Digimon will be able to handle this. They've taken care of much worse in the past, I'm sure. I'm positive that you know what you're doing, and they have to be aware of that much as well."
Jou nodded, knowing that she was right. Zudomon was going to pull through. All of them were. It didn't matter how much of a fight Dianamon put up; she wasn't going to find victory in this fight as long as they had anything to say about it, and luckily for the Chosen Children, they had enough power to spare when it came to combat. Jou just hoped that it was going to be enough sooner rather than later. He didn't think that his nerves could take much more of this.
Miyako's group had truly picked up the pace since Maki joined them. She, Koushiro, and Ken were able to come up with strategies that they were confident would work, and all it took from there was putting the tactics in question into action. Surprise attacks had become their best friends, and Miyako was glad that they had figured out how to deal quick blows from a large distance away. AtlurKabuterimon had come to act as the bait, and from there, JewelBeemon or Silphymon would descend upon their foe from a different direction and give a single attack everything that they had.
"Eight left," Koushiro proclaimed as another Digimon melted away into the screen of Ken's laptop. Meiko, who had opened the gateway, dropped her Digivice and hand back to her side. "Everyone else seems to be doing a better job of defeating the Digimon as well, and that's making things easier for all of us."
"We're going to be home free soon enough," Miyako declared, a grin spreading across her features. That was the good news that she needed to hear. The day had been a complete disaster up to that point, but at least they were making progress. It was all that she could ask for, if she was being honest.
"Most of the Digimon that are left seem to be pretty far away," Ken frowned as he examined the screen of his laptop. "I think that we're going to have to do quite a bit of walking if we're going to track them down."
"All of the Digimon are still on the mainland except for one though, so I'm considering that a positive," Koushiro commented as he looked over Ken's shoulder at the screen with the radar on full display. "It seems as if Jou, Takeru, Hikari, and Iori are taking care of the Digimon that's out on the water as we speak."
"Good for us then," Miyako said, sighing as she did her best to keep her smile as bright as possible. It was difficult for her to say for sure if she was smiling more for her own sense of security or because she wanted the others to feel comfortable with the situation at hand, but she figured that she could investigate that later on. For the time being, the battle was waiting for them, and they weren't going to be making any progress as long as they just stood around waiting.
"If there are no other formalities for us to take care of here, then let's get down to business," Maki announced. "The nearest Digimon is off in this direction, and we have quite a bit of walking to do since it probably isn't safe to take to the skies quite yet. Koushiro and AtlurKabuterimon got lucky since they weren't sniped out of the sky while they were flying, but we can't guarantee that such luck is going to keep up, especially with a much larger group like this."
"I miss flying," AtlurKabuterimon confessed, and Miyako had to admit that she didn't blame him in the slightest. AtlurKabuterimon had always been the type to fly during combat due to him having wings, and walking around so much on foot was undoubtedly a new experience for him. Miyako missed flying as well, if she was being honest. It was certainly much easier than shuffling from place to place on foot, especially with how grating her nerves were that day. Flying would give her something else to distract herself with, and she wanted to be able to focus on some other subject more than anything as combat continued to rage on around her.
"You'll be able to get back to it the sooner that we take down this Digimon," Maki pointed out. "There aren't all that many left, and we can take care of them quickly if we put our minds to it. Come on. We don't have time to linger."
When Maki started walking a moment later, the rest of the group trailed after her without a moment of hesitation. Miyako found herself wondering how it was that Maki was so strong when it came to getting down to business this way, and part of her couldn't help but feel that this was far from being the first time that Maki had found herself in a situation of this nature. Miyako didn't know how that was even possible given the circumstances, but she wasn't going to ask any questions about it either. Something deep down told her that she wasn't going to be receiving any answers no matter how hard she pushed for them. Maki was the type to keep her secrets close to her chest, and Miyako wasn't going to be able to get past her regardless of what she tried. She was going to have to be patient if she wanted to hear the truth whether she wanted to or not, and Miyako knew for sure that she certainly fell into the latter of the two categories.
Jou could feel his heart twisting and threatening to burst free of his chest each time that he heard his partner cry out in pain. He bit down on his lip, desperate for something, anything, that would turn the tides of this battle in the favor of Zudomon. The endless attempts from Angewomon, HolyAngemon, and Shakkoumon had done little to actually pull Dianamon's attention elsewhere, and she continued to offer Zudomon a relentless beating as the seconds passed by. He defended himself to the best of his ability by throwing up his hammer to keep from being hit, but there was only so much that he could do when Dianamon's attacks were so overwhelming and constant.
Jou swallowed dryly. They were going to find a way out of this. He was certain of that much. There was too much riding on their success for them to fall apart then, and he was going to have to believe in Zudomon regardless of how dark the situation appeared to be at a first glance. Zudomon knew what he was doing. He had been fighting for multiple years, and countless encounters with enemy Digimon had strengthened him into the beast of combat that Jou had come to know him as. Dianamon was going to be defeated one way or another. Jou just hoped that it happened sooner rather than later, because it felt like his heart was being torn in half with each attack that managed to successfully land a blow on its target.
"Everything is going to be fine," Jou whispered to himself, treating the words like the one thread of a saving grace that would keep him from completely falling apart. His shoulders were knotted tightly with tension, but he didn't even notice due to the overwhelming amount of activity taking place elsewhere in the area. All that mattered was the ratio of attacks that Zudomon defended versus those that he was hit by, and while Jou had long since lost count, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he hated the numbers more than he could ever hope to describe to an outside viewer.
Jou took in a grounding breath, trying to keep himself from being pulled apart by the weight of his own terror. They were going to find a way out of this. He needed to have complete faith that Zudomon was going to be fine if they were going to come out of this battle on the other side victorious though. Zudomon needed all of the confidence that he could get given the circumstances, and if his own partner was starting to lose faith, then what was the point?
Dianamon was capable of doing unspeakable damage. That was something that Jou had come to realize already over the course of the battle. She was strong, and she wasn't holding back in the slightest as she rained down her powerful attacks against any who just so happened to get in her way. If such destructive strength was released against the rest of the city, then there was no way of saying what would happen. Jou hated to think of the idea, but he also knew that he had to face reality whether he wanted to or not. Dianamon was capable of hurting countless people, and he couldn't allow her to roam free as long as she had such strength at her disposal.
Dianamon was going to have to be stopped during that battle. Only one side was going to win this fight, and there weren't going to be any retreats. Zudomon was the one with the strongest chance of defeating her as far as Jou could tell. He was the only one of the Digimon with the power to truly soak up the hits that Dianamon had taken to dishing out, and such an endurance was what put him a cut above the rest of the Digimon that were in the area. Jou knew his partner well, and he was fully aware of everything that Zudomon was capable of. They had performed miracles together in the past, and Jou couldn't help but wonder if it would matter much if one more was added to the pile.
Before Jou could fully say for sure what he was doing, he had pulled his Digivice from his pocket and started to stare at it. He pressed the device between his palms as his head dropped, his eyes falling shut. He knew that they were going to be fine. It was hard to describe how, but his instincts had scarcely failed him in the past. He had learned to trust them during his time in the Digital World, and he put full faith in them as the battle continued to rage on.
Dianamon was going to harm countless people if she was given the chance to rampage through the city of Odaiba, so she would have to be defeated before that opportunity was presented. Jou's mind flashed back to the previous victims that he had treated during the attack, ranging from the cluster of terrified passerby to Takeru with the small cut on the base of his neck that bothered Jou much more than it had any right to. Jou remembered the small child that had been separated from his parents in the midst of a previous battle, and Jou had done everything in his power to try and return the young boy to a positive state of being. It was the least that he could do, and the same applied to fighting back against Dianamon.
"I'm not going to let this happen anymore," Jou whispered, looking up to glare at Dianamon. He was tired of seeing others be hurt because of the consequences of the recent attacks, and if there was something that he could do to ease such a burden from being inflicted further upon others, then he was going to do it. Nobody deserved to be put through such pain. Jou was training to become a doctor, a healer. If he could prevent harm before it could be delivered, then he had no true choice. His ethics wouldn't give him the decision in the first place.
Before Jou could fully register what was taking place, he felt warmth explode between his palms. When he looked down, he could see that his Digivice had started to glow with a vibrant silver color, and at the heart of the illumination, the outline of his Crest could be seen on the screen of the device. He felt starstruck all of a sudden, as if the universe mattered little compared to simply the sight of the Digivice and the Crest of Reliability that he had come to be associated with over the years.
Jou was distantly aware of the fact that Takeru, Hikari, Iori, Chisane, and Kaya were all watching him, but he didn't bother to reciprocate the gesture. He was too focused on the power that was suddenly surging through his body. It was an indescribable feeling, like he had suddenly come to stand at the apex of the very universe. The light only continued to grow stronger, but it didn't bother Jou in the slightest. After all, he had his tether to the world of the physical, and that was all that mattered.
Jou wasn't the only one experiencing this sudden surge of light though, and Zudomon was also bathed in silvery illumination. His body was starting to change shape, and when Jou slowly tilted his head up, another act presented to him by the instincts that he had come to trust so dearly, he could see the way that Zudomon was shifting. Something in the back of Jou's mind whispered that this was evolution. He didn't even need to be told to be fully aware of such a truth. He would have recognized such a sensation a mile away. There was nothing quite like it, after all, and this was even more magnificent than any previous instance of evolution ever had been. Jou was confident that he would never forget that moment, not that he would ever find a reason to wish for such in the first place.
Dianamon even seemed repelled by the light for a few brief moments, and Angewomon, HolyAngemon, and Shakkoumon were all more than happy to give their ally a wide berth as the evolution process was completed. Dianamon absolutely detested what was taking place as far as Jou could tell. This was the point in the fight that was marking the turn of the tides, so it was only natural that she would express distaste towards it. After all, this was hardly a situation that she was going to be able to get out of. Even in her possessed state, she seemed to understand that something was going horribly wrong, and there was a slim chance of her escaping under these terms.
"Zudomon, evolve to... Vikemon!"
By the time that Zudomon's shift had completed, a larger Digimon was in his place. Zudomon had been a massive Digimon, but this new form, Vikemon, was even bigger. Vikemon was largely similar to Zudomon in terms of structure, being a muscular creature of the sea, though his color scheme was completely different. A pair of large spiked maces were mounted to his shoulders, and they seemed to gleam ominously in the midday sun, promising Dianamon the undeniable truth that she would not be escaping from this scenario unharmed.
"Wow..." Takeru whispered from nearby, and Jou finally snapped out of his trance to glance over at the other Chosen Children. Hikari had come to smile brightly, and she gave him a thumbs-up as a mark of her support. Iori's grin, while small, seemed to act as a calming censor between Jou and the paranoia that had been trying to suffocate him throughout much of that day. He didn't realize just how much he needed it until Iori had started looking at him with such hope and kindness, and Jou didn't think that he would ever be able to go back after such a revelation.
"I think that we all know where this is going to go from here," came the snarky voice of Kaya. She was standing in the same place as before, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched Jou confidently. Her eyes glittered with something that almost seemed to imply that this was a familiar scenario to her, as if she had been in this position previously against all odds. Jou knew that such a thing could hardly be possible, and he allowed this thought, the strange figment of his imagination, to flow away with a simple whisper of the wind.
Sure enough, Vikemon was getting ready for the next segment of the fight. He bowed his head forward, and the twin maces on his back immediately flew towards Dianamon. That was all that it took to knock her off balance, and she was sent spiraling downwards to the sea just a fraction of a moment later. Dianamon shrieked in pain, but there was no ally of hers present to save her from what was to come. The water kicked itself up in a large splash around her body as she disappeared beneath the waves.
Angewomon waited for Dianamon to resurface once again, and when she did, Angewomon nocked an arrow and set it flying loose through the sky. Dianamon managed to dodge the attack at the last possible moment, but the explosion of light from where the arrow made contact with the water kept Dianamon from fully regaining her composure. Dianamon began to try and get back into the sky, but the ocean made it difficult for her to make progress in such an endeavor. In the end, it took an almost embarrassing amount of time on her part for her to break free of the sea in full.
Shakkoumon was waiting for her by the time that such a thing did happen though, and HolyAngemon wasn't far behind. Shakkoumon released a laser blast from the center of his body, and HolyAngemon followed up with an attack form his sword. Dianamon, disoriented and on the verge of defeat, continued to cry out in anger, frustration, and pain from her place at the heart of the battle.
Vikemon steeled himself for what he knew was going to be the finishing blow, and all it took was a brief action on his part to send a fist flying in Dianamon's direction. While the woman was grappling with the newfound force against her body, Vikemon unleashed a blast of his maces towards her, and her cries slowly began to die down. Her color scheme began to grow paler, and it became clear as could be that Vikemon had been successful in striking the patch of darkened data that had caused so many issues for them all in the first place. The battle was as good as won.
Dianamon began to fall down through the air, and Vikemon threw out one hand to grab her before she could hit the water below. He turned towards the shore where the humans were waiting and watching the battle, and Jou could have sworn that he saw a smile spread across his partner's face. Even though Vikemon was much too far away to see such an action, Jou returned the gesture, unable to stop himself from grinning once he had started, and his cheeks began to sting from the action a few short moments later because of his inherent intensity. Who knew that it was such a therapeutic thing to do when it felt like his world was on the verge of falling apart?
The Digimon came closer after that, and Vikemon reached one hand down towards Jou. The Chosen Child smiled and stepped up onto his partner's hand, understanding what it was that Vikemon was asking of him. Vikemon pulled Jou up so that his partner was at eye level, and the two smiled at one another.
"I can't believe that actually happened..." Iori admitted in a whisper. He glanced over to Takeru and Hikari, who seemed to be just as shocked and impressed as he was. "I haven't seen a Digimon reach Ultimate for the first time before now."
"It's been ages since it's happened..." Hikari murmured. "I didn't think that I would ever see it happen by natural means though without any outside interference. I guess that today has just been full of surprises from start to finish."
Takeru reached into his pocket and pulled out his D-Terminal, and he glanced over the screen carefully. "There are only four Digimon left that we have to take care of now," he declared before glancing up in concern to his partner. "But... I don't think that HolyAngemon is going to be able to fight for much longer. He's too tired for this."
"I think that Angewomon and Shakkoumon need a break as well," Hikari remarked, and her partner nodded in agreement. As if on cue, Angewomon, Shakkoumon, and HolyAngemon all began to change shape, glowing and shrinking back into their Baby forms. They were caught by their partners without any effort, and Nyaromon curled up against Hikari's grasp. Nyaromon must have been exhausted to revert back to Nyaromon rather than Plotmon. If that wasn't a sign that she had to take a break to rest, then Jou didn't know what was.
"Hey, would you take a look at that?" Takeru asked, a smile flickering across his face. "It seems like Mimi and Daisuke are close by here. Jou, why don't you go on and meet things up with the two of them so that you can keep taking out enemy Digimon? We'll come back and meet up with you all as soon as we've gotten some food in the stomachs of our partners."
Jou nodded from his place on Vikemon's hand, and his partner began to walk off in the direction of Mimi and Daisuke. Jou pulled his D-Terminal from his pocket and checked the radar of nearby Digimon so that they would know specifically where they were supposed to be going. He smiled up at his partner, unable to keep himself from grinning once he had started. He hadn't expected the day to go this way, but he wasn't objecting in the slightest. Who would have anticipated such a dreadful series of events ending in such a special way? Maybe that day hadn't been a complete loss after all.
"Three Digimon remaining," Mimi muttered to herself as she kept her eyes locked firmly on her D-Terminal. Rosemon and Paildramon were coming back down to the ground after defeating an enemy Digimon, and Daisuke was working with Hiraku and Atsuo to send their foe back to the Digital World. Mimi glanced up to Rosemon, giving her partner a smile. Rosemon was starting to get tired because of the events of the day, but she was still doing her best to hold herself together.
Mimi glanced back down to her D-Terminal and surveyed the screen for any other signs of nearby Digimon, and she was met with the surprising sight of a signal moving closer. "Hey... Jou is coming our way!" she declared to Daisuke. He came over to see what she was talking about, and sure enough, there was the signal belonging to Jou's Digivice creeping closer.
Mimi glanced up and set her sights on the horizon, a small frown on her face. She was about to speak up and ask what they were supposed to do to meet up with Jou, but she was surprised to see a large figure appear in her peripheral vision. Since she, Daisuke, Hiraku, and Atsuo had made their way to the outside edge of the city, there was water in view, and when Mimi looked a bit closer, she could see a lumbering shadow moving closer.
"That doesn't look like Zudomon..." came the whisper of Daisuke. He frowned to himself before letting out a cry of surprise. "Wait a second! That doesn't look like Zudomon! Do you know what this could mean?!"
Mimi gasped, her hand flying to cover her mouth. "His partner must have reached the Ultimate level!" she cried out. Before she knew it, Mimi was running off in the direction of the large looming figure on the horizon, and Daisuke chased after her. Atsuo and Hiraku glanced to one another before trailing after the pair of Chosen Children. The look in their eyes made it clear that they thought that they were much too inexperienced to do this, but they continued to follow after the Chosen Children regardless.
By the time that Vikemon had come into full view, Mimi's lungs were desperate for air. She stopped near the water, allowing herself the chance to breathe, as she took in the full impressive display that was Vikemon. Jou waved from his place on top of Vikemon's hand, and he was carefully lowered to ground level by Vikemon as soon as he caught onto what was being done. Jou slid onto the ground near Mimi and Daisuke, an awkward, lopsided smile on his face as per his trademark.
"Wow!" Daisuke crowed as he looked up and down Vikemon's impressive form. "I didn't realize that this was happening to everybody else today!" He gave a brief glance in the direction of Rosemon before pointing back and forth between her and Vikemon, a sign that the latter was not the only of the partner Digimon that had managed to attain an impressive new form throughout the course of the battles taking place that day.
"Meet Vikemon," Jou explained, gesturing up to his partner. "Who's that?" His gaze looked up to Rosemon, and it was clear by the look in his eyes that he admired Rosemon completely. It was only after Jou's D-Terminal emitted a small beeping sound that he looked away from Rosemon, eager to check the message as soon as possible.
"This would be Rosemon," Mimi explained, a prideful grin spreading across her features. She glanced down to her D-Terminal as she continued to explain. "She showed up while we were fighting against an enemy Digimon a short while ago, and she's been really putting in work today."
"I'm glad to hear it," Jou remarked with a light smile. He began to navigate to the message that had caused the small beep in the first place, and Mimi did the same thing. Daisuke, Atsuo, and Hiraku peered over their shoulders to see if they could get a glimpse of the message.
"It looks like the last of the Digimon have gone down," Mimi declared. "That was Koushiro saying that the last of the Digimon had been defeated and sent back to the Digital World. There aren't any other Digimon left on the radar either, so that means that we actually managed to do it! Odaiba has been saved from the invaders!"
"But that doesn't mean that we're out of the clear quite yet," Jou pointed out. "This must have all happened for a reason, and if we can't find out what that reason is, then it could happen again. The Digital World is the key to finding out the truth. Our various trips there haven't found us any answers in the past, but we have to try and do something to figure out why this is happening..."
"I guess that we're going to be heading over there then," Daisuke murmured before letting out a sigh. "Why do I already have a terrible feeling about whatever we're bound to run into over there?"
Jou and Mimi glanced over to one another, and neither one of them could come up with a response to that. After all, they were filled with the same sensation of dread. The three partner Digimon in the area began to glow before they shrunk back to their smaller forms, and they all returned to the arms of their human partners. Jou began to stroke gently at the top of Pukamon's head, and the gray Digimon laughed before nuzzling up against his partner's grasp, glad to be congratulated after the events of a fight well-won.
"I suppose that this is where we're going to be parting ways then," Hiraku commented. "It's not as if we can easily come with you to the Digital World, and we wouldn't have much of a reason to do so anyways. If anything happens over here, we'll find a way to get into contact with all of you. There's a lot to be managed on this side of the gate because of what took place here today, and we have to manage the aftermath."
"A lot of buildings suffered damage during the fighting today..." Mimi murmured, wincing at the idea of the data bureau and the destruction that had been visited upon it during the course of the combat. "It's going to take a long time before the rebuilding process can bring them back to what they once were. We have to make sure that this doesn't happen again."
"The past Digimon attacks have been on a much smaller scale, and this... This is really going to mess up everything," Daisuke said softly with a shake of his head. "I guess that all we can do for now is go and see what we can do in the Digital World. The heart of the problem is definitely on that side of the barrier, so we should go and take care of it as soon as possible."
"I can set up our way to the Digital World on the computer here, if that's alright," Jou offered. Hiraku responded by nodding, and he handed over the laptop to Jou so that the Chosen Child could start typing away at the keyboard. It didn't take long for the gate to be pulled up, and it dominated the screen in place of the radar that had previously been notable on the pixelated surface.
By the time that the gate had appeared, all of them were ready to go to the Digital World. Mimi glanced over to Daisuke as Jou handed the laptop back to Hiraku. After receiving a nod in response, Mimi held up her Digivice and allowed all three of them to melt into the screen, disappearing from view soon afterwards.
Once they were gone, Hiraku sighed and shut the computer. He glanced over to Atsuo, and the blonde man nodded. "I should have thanked them for saving our lives," Atsuo remarked with a small chuckle. "I guess that there's always next time. I hope that they're able to find everybody else on that side of the barrier though."
"I'm sure that they'll figure it out," Hiraku assured Atsuo, though it was clear by the sheen to his eyes that he was trying to convince himself as much as he was the others. "For now, we should go and see what we can do on our own. It's not going to be easy to find a way out of this situation, but... It's not like anybody else is going to be able to do this. Most others have already abandoned the city, so we're going to need to get the relevant figures back here for the restoration process."
"I miss being a simple musician, and I'm not even part of this issue," Atsuo remarked. "I don't know how you guys do it. You, Daigo, and Maki, I mean. I feel like I would be destroyed internally before I came anywhere close to figuring this out."
Hiraku laughed and shook his head, though the sound was hollow and empty. "That's alright. You don't need to worry about it... You shouldn't have had to be in this situation in the first place, but at least we're making the most of it, and sometimes... Sometimes, I suppose that's the most that you can ask for."
As soon as the message from Koushiro came through, it was clear what they were supposed to be doing.
That was what Yamato thought, anyways. He began to type away on his D-Terminal, instructing everyone to head into the Digital World so that they could try to figure out what was going on over there. If they wanted answers, that was bound to be the first step, and it would be easier if they met up over there since they could potentially pick up on extra information on the way to meeting the other members of the team.
"Nobody's been on their phones much today, huh?" Sora commented. Yamato knew what she was referring to without needing to ask. On Earth, their phones were a preferred method of communication, but since the battle that day had been so heavily reliant on them being able to use their D-Terminals to locate enemy Digimon, barely anyone had bothered to check the devices unless they noticed that there was a notification. Since Mimi's mass message, there hadn't been much else in the way of checking up on phone messages.
"I guess not," Yamato murmured. He shook his head and looked over to Daigo and Taichi. The latter was already pulling up the gate on Daigo's laptop while the man held it atop his forearms. After a few moments, the gate was up and running, and the screen seemed to burst to life when it realized that it was in the close proximity of Digivices that would be able to activate it.
"I'll look forward to seeing all of you soon enough," Daigo announced. "Do what you can to stay safe over there, alright? I know that this is a dangerous situation, and we want you all to come back in one piece. I'll be looking forward to hearing some extra news from you about what you stumble upon over there, so be sure to send out some information as soon as you get your hands on it." As he spoke, the three Digimon all reverted back to their Baby forms and returned to the arms of their partners.
"We will," Sora assured him as she pulled Pycomon in close to her chest. She gave him a brief flash of a smile before reaching for her Digivice, and she reached it out towards the screen. The gate pulled her, Taichi, Yamato, and their partners through.
After they were gone, Daigo allowed the laptop to fall shut. He released a sigh and pulled the device in close against his chest. He didn't know why he felt so empty all of a sudden, but it felt as if there was a void inside of him that threatened to swallow everything that he was whole. Life had become a damn disaster, and he absolutely hated it.
It wasn't until after all of the Chosen Children had passed through the gate that Maki started walking around the city once again. After all of that activity so close together, she barely knew what she was meant to do with herself anymore. It took a while for the Chosen Children to gather their bearings, but once they were ready to face the situation at hand with gusto and confidence, the pieces simply slid into place, and everything was tied off with a neat little bow.
That was what Maki would have liked to say about the situation, anyways. It seemed like everywhere she looked was a new sign of the chaos from that morning. She could see cars abandoned in a hurry, buildings suffering from minor dents where attacks had made contact, collapsed streetlights, and countless other signs of struggle. It would be a while before Odaiba was able to recover from this one, and that was if they got lucky. Maki chose not to think about what would happen if something so catastrophic took place again. She knew that it was only going to depress her, and the last thing that she needed was even more negativity after it felt like the day had already kicked her in the stomach twenty times over as it was.
Her hands were shoved in her pockets as she focused on placing one foot in front of the other. It was a warm day, almost too warm in Maki's humble opinion. The air was crisp and bright, but it felt like Maki was falling apart on the inside if she was being quite honest. The situation was too stressful, and she wanted to snap something in half, whether that be a pencil or the neck of the one who had thought that such a brazen and large attack was a good idea. Then again, what was she even meant to expect? The enemies weren't going to be thinking in the slightest of how to be considerate towards the occupants of Earth. They knew what they wanted, and their goal was nothing short of complete destruction. Maki's opinion didn't matter when push came to shove. It never had, and deep down, she somehow doubted that it ever would be taken into consideration.
Before Maki knew what she was doing, she had stopped in her walk through Odaiba to stand beside a building that was suffering from significant damages. It seemed as if just one rogue breath would be enough to knock it over, but Maki didn't put that much thought into it. She instead just allowed her fist the chance to lash out in the building's direction, and her knuckles made harsh contact with the metal lining the surface. She swore under her breath, though she wasn't entirely sure what she was swearing at in particular. Perhaps it was just the world. That felt twisted but fitting given the circumstances.
Maki hadn't been under this much pressure in countless years. School had been nothing compared to the mess that came with the past being dragged out into the light again as far as she was concerned. This was a disaster, plain and simple. Maybe it was because she knew why this was happening that she was so upset and generally agitated. She had pretended to not understand around the Chosen Children since she knew that the truth would be too much for them to bear for the time being, but she couldn't lie to herself, and the truth was plain as day when she was faced with the bitterness of reality.
It was because of her that this was happening. Well, it was because of her, Daigo, Atsuo, and Hiraku, to be more specific. That was the only explanation that she could think of. The Digimon had seemed to be deliberately targeting them in the past, and Maki knew why. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small device that fit snugly into the palm of her hand. Maki stroked at its surface tenderly with one finger, allowing its smooth texture to calm her nerves. She wanted to explode, but at least there was one thing that she could rely on even when times got rough. There would always be one person out there who still believed in her, and even if it had been well over a decade since Maki last saw the figure in question, she still knew that she was never alone as long as they still existed. She was confident that they were still out there, as a matter of fact, and nothing was going to ever be able to convince her otherwise. She could simply feel it, and no other explanation was needed in Maki's opinion.
The world had seemingly fallen apart a thousand times since Maki last saw their face. The world had been torn to shreds as far as she was aware, and she had to find her way back to them, even if it was only for her own peace of mind. She knew that they were still alive and well because of her gut instincts and their powerful bond, but she wanted to see their face for herself so that she could have that extra bit of reassurance. Was that truly so much to ask for? After all, it was the power of some unforeseen luck that she was in this situation in the first place, and the least that Maki deserved in her opinion was to be able to reap the rewards rather than only being pinned to the ground by a metaphorical foot that was powered by the drawbacks that destiny had presented her with.
"Maki?"
She practically jumped out of her skin upon hearing that voice, and Maki turned to see none other than Daigo approaching her. His eyes were utterly exhausted, not that Maki expected anything different. Daigo had been tired this way for years by that point. Ever since they were children, Daigo had been exhausted whether he chose to admit it or not. Before everything started to deteriorate, he had been so vivacious and full of life; Maki could see it in the old pictures of them from early elementary school where they hung off one another while on the playground like they owned the world and everyone else simply bowed to their whims. They were the king and the queen, and they were all that mattered. It was precious to be able to look back on images of the fractured past to see such beautiful images in Maki's eyes, because she knew that they would never come to be reality ever again.
Daigo had changed, and his eyes had become sunken and weary, as if the world had turned against him. In a bloody coup, he was named no more than a commoner rather than being the king that he deserved to be. His crown and title gone, there was nothing left for him, and all he did was shove his face down and pretend that his pride had not been shredded. No, it wasn't his pride that had been destroyed. It was something much deeper, like his faith in the world as a whole. There was nowhere near as much life left inside of him as there once had been, and Maki felt like seeing him so much more exhausted than usual was a punch to the stomach. She hadn't thought that it could get any worse, but the universe had been presenting challenges to her for as long as she could remember. Was this really too far out of the ballpark? They were the shattered glass left behind by the crowns of childhood whimsy. Nothing was left for them anymore.
But Maki couldn't bring herself to say any of this, whether it be in a casual or snarky manner "Daigo," she simply greeted instead, taking a step towards him after shoving her small device back into its home within her pocket. "The Chosen Children have all gone to the Digital World to see what they can find regarding the invading Digimon. That means that it's time for us to start cleaning up around here. There's a lot of work to be done, so it would be best if we got started on it sooner rather than later."
"Maki," Daigo repeated, his voice much softer and weaker this time. Maki froze in place, hating how much that caught her by surprise. "I know that you're hurting right now. Can... Can we talk about it? Do you think that would help you at all?" Maki knew what he was trying to imply without even needing to ask. It wasn't just her that needed to talk about things; Daigo was desperate to get all of this negative energy off his chest as well, but it would be impossible for either one of them to feel better if Maki was using her regular maladaptive coping strategy of jut ignoring everything until it came crashing down on top of her.
"Yeah," Maki finally whispered after a long pause that seemed to last for a century. She let one hand come up to her hair as she combed her fingers through her maroon bob effortlessly. "A lot sure has happened today... We should try to meet up with Hiraku and Atsuo before we do anything else like this though, huh? They're going to be upset if we leave them out of a conversation that's as important as this one is bound to end up being."
Daigo smiled gently in her direction, but Maki didn't have to be a genius to see that he was putting on a mask for her sake. She reached out and took his hand before she could fully stop herself, and he squeezed her fingers gently as soon as they were holding tightly to one another. Daigo appeared to be on the brink of emotional collapse, and Maki was left to wonder if she appeared at all better. She didn't have a way of looking at her reflection, and she didn't even think that she wanted to know the answer to her own inquiry, if she was being honest.
The two had been walking in silence for a few minutes before Maki heard a pair of sharp beeping noises pierce the air. They would have been enough to give her a headache had she not been so relieved to hear a familiar sound that she had not forgotten in fifteen years. Maki felt like she was about to start crying as she hurriedly fished her small silvery device out of her pocket, and Daigo did the same with his own counterpart. The screens were activating themselves for the first time in a decade and a half, and Maki felt like she was dreaming. How many times had she imagined this moment? It didn't even seem real as far as she was concerned.
Daigo shoved his device into Maki's hand before he sat down on the ground with little thoughts of how dirty his clothing was bound to get. Before Maki could stop him, Daigo had practically shoved his laptop open, and he was starting to type at such breakneck speeds that Maki could barely keep up with him. Adrenaline was starting to pulse through her system, and the world was left as a hazy blur around her. All that mattered was the pair of devices in her hand, Daigo's active computer, and his desperation for answers regarding truths that had haunted them for ages.
Before Daigo could finish what he had previously been doing, he let out a gasp as the laptop's screen began to change, presenting itself with a new image. The picture in question showed a world that was far less marred by the influence of technology and civilization, and while many would have called it a strange ideal, for Maki and Daigo, it was everything that they had ever envisioned. Even after fifteen years, it was just as they had remembered it.
"Daigo..." Maki whispered, holding tightly to the word as if she felt the universe itself would fracture to pieces if she spoke it incorrectly. Before she knew it, there were tears welling up and streaming down her cheeks, though she only noticed after she felt the traces of wetness across her skin. Maki didn't bother wiping away the tears. She didn't care, and part of her wondered if she would ever bother enough to remove the traces of emotional wreckage that had been left behind by this situation.
"It's calling us back," Daigo whispered, not even seeming to believe the words that he was speaking as he slowly looked up at Daigo. "Maki, it's calling for us. We have to listen to it. After all this time, it... It wants us to come back, and... We have to go. We have to listen."
"Of course we do!" Maki cried out, choosing to ignore the way that her voice cracked when she pushed it the wrong way. She pressed Daigo's small device into his hand, and they both reached for one another's fingers once again. Daigo glanced up at Maki, and for a brief moment, she could see an illusion of the boy that he once had been before reality kicked him to the ground and told him the truth of life's cruelty. A crown of orange and blue appeared above his head, but when Maki blinked, the image was gone, proving itself to be little more than a trick of the light that she had thought to be unmistakable.
"Let's go," Daigo told her softly. He squeezed at her hand carefully, though Maki could feel the way that he was trembling. She nodded in response, and they extended their devices in the direction of the screen. That was all the indication that the laptop needed, and in the blink of an eye, they were pulled inside. Daigo's laptop trailed after them, sucked in as a precautionary measure by whatever it was that had summoned them in the first place.
The journey made Maki's stomach turn, and it did haywire flips inside of her core that she scarcely even minded. How could she bring herself to care? At long last, she was being given the chance to embrace everything that she had dreamed of for the past fifteen years. For a few brief moments, she was a child again, and the world was her kingdom as she decreed for peace and love to all.
When Maki finally stopped moving, she felt grass beneath her. Slowly but surely, she pushed herself up so that she was on her knees, and the wind blew gently through her hair. Daigo was beside her, and their hands were still clutched against one another tightly in the image of a world that they had never expected to witness once again.
"The Digital World..." Maki whispered breathlessly with all the love in the world. "We're finally back."
Oh boy, things are really getting interesting now!
This chapter really is a great one on all levels if you ask me. I really liked writing the scene where Vikemon first appeared, and in part, that's because of the callbacks and parallels to Zudomon's first appearance. That's been a bit of a pattern with all of the Ultimate first appearances so far, huh? Good. I like a little bit of symbolism in my stories, and I fully intend to make that everybody's problem but my own.
The ending scene of this chapter has tons of foreshadowing in it, which is another thing that I love doing in stories like this. I promise that all of the mounting tension with Daigo, Maki, and the rest of their friends is going to be going somewhere soon, so you can look forward to that. All shall be revealed before the end of this arc in chapter thirty. Wooooo.
There's not all that much else to say here, so I'm going to catch some sleep since I have school early in the morning tomorrow. Oops. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed! Next week, we're going to keep chugging along through act two. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is always appreciated. Have a nice day, everyone!
-Digital