(A/N: I'm not sure what to expect with this one. I imagine that some of you will be disappointed, but others will like it. This was always the plan though, but you decide if you like what I did or not.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 166: Data ex Machina
Omnimon wasn't sure how long he had his eyes shut for, but he slowly came to the realization that everything had gone completely quiet. Slowly, he cracked open one eye, then another, before gasping at what he saw.
Everything was frozen in place. The Dark Spores, which had been just a few feet away from hitting him, were frozen in mid-air along with everything else. It was as if time itself had stopped, freezing everything in place. Even the color and lighting looked strange, giving further evidence to his theory that time had indeed stopped.
"Whoa," came a voice from behind him, "this is weird."
He turned and was surprised once again to see his friends, all in human form, being the only things that hadn't frozen. It took him a moment to realize that he had reverted to his human form as well. No, that wasn't exactly true. It was more like they had completely separated from their Digimon forms. In fact, their Digimon forms were still present, frozen in time with everything else, but they each stood separate from them in their human forms, the only things still moving in this frozen world.
"What happened?" TK asked, his voice sounding echo-y and distorted. "It's like time stopped."
"I think it did," Takato replied. "Did this happen because the Destiny Stone was destroyed?"
"I don't know," said Kari, looking around. "It seems strange that destroying something meant to stabilize a dimension because it has multiple layers would stop time. But then again, I'm not exactly an expert on the subject."
Suddenly, a giant portal appeared in the sky, and three large creatures emerged from it. The first looked like a giant, multi-headed mechanical dragon. The other two looked like they were made of random parts of dozens of Digimon randomly pieced together into messes of creatures, one even more elaborate than the other.
The teens all stared up at the three giant creatures, completely flabbergasted. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say that one of them stopped time," Davis stated.
"Are they Digimon?" Takato asked, looking at his Digivice. "I can't tell, my Digivice isn't working."
"More like they're made up of Digimon," Tai replied. "At least those two are. I'm not sure about that dragon one though. It looks like a dragon crossed with a jet."
As the three creatures hovered in the air, something small leapt off the dragon creature, dropping down to the ground, clearing a path through the cloud of Dark Spores. It landed a few yards away from the teens and glanced at them curiously.
"Hmm, so you weren't affected, huh," it muttered with mild interest. "Guess it's because you're not from this world, and that's what I froze. Whatever."
The creature, which seemed to be male, shrugged uncaringly as the teens stared. They didn't know what the little imp-like creature was, but it seemed to be made of parts of different species mashed together. He gave no further care to them though as he began walking through the cloud of Dark Spores, quickly becoming irritated by them as he shooed them away.
"Geez, these stupid things are annoying," he grumbled. Then he snapped his fingers, and all the Dark Spores simply vanished. "That's better."
The teens weren't sure what to make of the creature, but at the very least he didn't seem to be their enemy. The same could be said for the other three creatures flying above them, though this much smaller one seemed to be the one in charge.
Cautiously, they followed after the creature. He paid them no mind as he made his way over to where the Destiny Stone once stood and threw his hands in the air in frustration.
"Look at this," he growled in annoyance. "Can't believe this little pebble disappearing woke me up."
He waved his hand through the air, and a tear appeared. Within the tear seemed to be nothing but pure data. The creature began humming tunelessly to himself as he reached in and pulled out a data particle, then began examining it.
"Um, excuse me," said TK, "but who are you?"
The creature didn't even look at him as he pulled out another data particle. "The name's NEO, and I'm the closest thing to a god you'll meet in this world."
Davis raised an eyebrow. "NEO? Like from The Matrix?"
The creature, NEO, glanced back at him. "Careful, pal. I could destroy you with a single thought."
Tai quickly waved his hands. "He didn't mean anything by it, Mr. NEO. Um, who are your friends up there?"
"Them?" NEO asked, looking up at the three creatures in the sky. "That's Giga Devast, Tera Devast, and Leviathan. Don't worry about them, they won't do anything without my say so. They're basically my bodyguards." He scoffed. "As if I need anything of the sort, especially since I'm so much stronger than all three of them put together. Heck, I could even destroy ZeedMillenniummon at his strongest if he were here."
The teens' mouths all simultaneously dropped open. NEO may have made his claim nonchalantly, but they got the feeling that he was being quite serious, and was issuing them a warning.
"Wait," said Takato, "you're saying that you're stronger than ZeedMillenniummon?"
NEO made a pfft sound. "Please. After the Digimon God, I'm the most powerful being in this entire dimension. I even have the power to control time and space at will. This, however, is going to take a little extra work to make sure I get it right. So, if you'll excuse me."
He pulled out another data particle and stretched it out into a ribbon of Fractal Code. Then he took the other two data particles he had taken out previously, mashed them together, then tied the Fractal Code around them.
"Um, excuse us again," Tai said carefully, "but what are you doing?"
A deep sigh escaped NEO. "This is why I hate interacting with others," he grumbled to himself, loud enough for them to hear him. "If you must know, I'm trying to get back to sleep. The backlash of the Destiny Stone being destroyed woke me up, so I'm trying to fix it."
Kari blinked curiously. "Back to sleep?"
NEO ran a hand over his face in frustration. "So now I'm sharing my backstory, is that it? Fine. I live in my own private pocket dimension with those three watching over me so I won't be disturbed." He gestured up at Giga Devast, Tera Devast, and Leviathan. "There I spend all my time sleeping, until the dimensional quakes from Millenniummon being destroying the Destiny Stone woke me up. I could always just go back to sleep, but since the Digital World is now down a Destiny Stone, it'll be a little unstable, so it'll experience more dimensional quakes from time to time, and I don't feel like waking up every time another one happens, so I'm fixing the problem. That enough of an explanation for you humans?"
With that, he went back to work, fiddling with the data in his hands. He plucked out more to add to what he already had, and began taking out pieces of data from what he had gathered and throwing it back into the dimensional tear.
"Wait," said Tai, trying to wrap his head around all this information. "You know we're humans?"
NEO scoffed again. "Of course. I know I absolutely everything that goes on in the Digital World. My sleeping basically grants me an omnipresent consciousness. Basically, I dream what happens all throughout the Digital World. I see everything, and know everything that's going on, so of course I would know about you."
The teens exchanged looks. "So then…" Takato began, "you've been watching us since we got here?"
NEO flashed him a smirk. "I've been watching everything that's been going on everywhere. Weren't you listening? But yes, I've been giving special attention to you lot. You're certainly shaking things up in the Digital World. I'm quite curious to see how your war with the Demon Lords turns out."
Kari suddenly realized something and had to hide her outrage. "Wait, you say that you see everything. If you're as powerful as you say you are, then why haven't you done anything about the Demon Lords, or all the other stuff that's been going on?"
NEO shrugged. "Not my problem. Besides, I like to see how things play out. I'm a neutral observer in all this. I don't get involved. Like I said, the only reason I'm here now is because I woke up. Once I finish with this, I'm going back to sleep."
"But that's horrible!" Kari exclaimed. "How can you just do nothing when there are people suffering?"
Not even bothering to look at her, NEO went back to playing with the data. "When you're practically all-powerful and borderline all-knowing, then you'll understand the pointless of getting involved with anything, or even doing anything for that matter. That's the downside to having basically unlimited power that no one ever seems to understand. Once you can do practically anything at will, everything starts to lose its appeal and starts to feel meaningless. That's why I stay asleep and just watch rather than get involved. I guess you can say I'm vicariously living through others since my life can literally be anything I want it to be. It's quite boring having that to be honest. There's never anything fun or exciting."
"But you're still seeing all the suffering going on. How can you just overlook it?"
NEO glared at her. "What happens to the residents of this world is of no concern to me. Do you care about the wellbeing of every insect in your world? How about the little creatures too small for the naked eye to see? Do you worry about how many you step on every time you walk somewhere? What about the countless microscopic creatures covering every bit of surface? Do you even give them a fraction of thought?"
"It's hardly the same thing."
"Why? Because their level of awareness, sentience, or consciousness isn't as high as yours? I could say the same to all the residents of this world when compared to me. Even if they were, do you concern yourself with the wellbeing of each and every human in your world?"
"But you…" Kari began, but fell silent when Tai placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't bother," he told her. "You're not going to be able to sway him. Like he said, he exists on a whole other level than us. We can't hold him to our standards, even if we disagree with him."
"Spoken with the wisdom of a true leader," NEO replied as he went back to work. "But if you're still sore about it, consider this, do you really want me dictating what's right and what's wrong and altering the world and the lives of everyone in it based on my own opinion, and then using my power to control things to take the choices of everyone out of their hands? Because I can do that. I'm so powerful that I can freely manipulate time, space, and matter at will. I just have no interest in doing so. Heck, if I wanted to, I could completely destroy the entire Digital dimension in an instant."
He shrugged as he tied another ribbon of Fractal Code to the bundle of data he was working with. "But like I said, that's the problem with being too powerful. It's boring. There's no excitement or fun when you can make everything go your way all the time. Life loses all meaning. That's why I detached myself from this world and instead spread my consciousness throughout the Digital World through my dreams to experience life through others. Whether the experiences are good or bad, that's life, and it's how I experience it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to finish up here so I can go back to sleep."
He fell silent as he returned to his work, adding to, taking away from, and manipulating the data he was working with, occasionally muttering to himself. The teens were left feeling rather awkward as they watched this near godly being work.
"Hey, um, NEO," said Takato, "just out of curiosity, if you're as powerful as you say you are and can do the things you say you can do, then are you able to send us back to our world?"
NEO didn't even bother to look back at him. "Oh, sure, that's nothing. Look."
He snapped his fingers and a portal appeared. The teens all gasped as they saw what was indeed their hometown. They didn't get to see it for long though as NEO snapped his fingers again and the portal disappeared.
"Hey!" Takato exclaimed.
NEO snickered. "What? Did you actually think I was going to send you home? I told you, I don't get involved with things, and that includes with you. If you want to get home, then you're just going to have to do it yourselves. What's the saying? Life is about the journey, not the destination. Something like that. And like I said, life would have no meaning if I do everything for you. Besides, I'm interested in seeing how your battle with the Demon Lords goes."
He examined the data he had gathered before rolling it up into a ball and clapping his hands together over it. When he opened his hands again, the data had been mashed together into a smaller ball of data. NEO blew on it, and the ball of data dissolved away, leaving what seemed to be a glowing seed.
NEO smiled, looking proud of himself, and waved his hand, closing the tear in reality he had made before turning back to the teens. "There, all done. It's actually good that you didn't freeze when I stopped time; this way I can just give you this now."
He held out the glowing seed, and it floated out of his hand and over to Tai, who held out his hand as the seed floated into it. The others gathered around to look at it before glancing back at NEO.
"What's this?" TK asked.
"A Seed of Light," the Digital life form replied. "Plant it where the Destiny Stone was. Once it grows, it'll serve the same purpose. Even as a seed, it'll prevent any dimensional quakes from happening."
Davis blinked in confusion, finding NEO's actions contradictory to his earlier words. "Why'd you make this? I thought you said you weren't going to help us."
NEO scoffed. "I'm not. I'm helping myself. Like I said, with one of the Destiny Stones gone, the Digital World will be a little unstable and start to experience dimensional quakes, and I don't want to be woken up every time one happens, so this will fix it so that doesn't happen. Speaking of which, tell the Destiny Stone guards to do a better job with their guarding. I don't want to make a habit out of this, or waking up at all."
He glanced at the hole in the canyon wall that had been made by the first Heat Viper attack Millenniummon had unleashed. Reaching out, he grasped at air and twisted. The hole in the canyon wall twisted shut, as if the hole had never been made at all, and NEO nodded in satisfaction.
"Well, I'm done here," he said, then called up to his three companions. "Come on, you guys, we're going back!"
He waved his hand, and a giant portal appeared. Tera Devast, Giga Devast, and Leviathan flew into it, and the portal closed behind them. Then a second smaller portal appeared, and NEO headed for it.
"Hey, wait!" TK called, making the Digital life form stopped. "Thanks for you help."
NEO glanced back at him, smirking. "No need to thank me. I told you, I didn't do it for you. I did it for me, and no one else. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to sleep; I hate waking up. Ever."
He walked through the portal, and it closed behind him. The teens stared after him, not quite sure what to make of him.
"I can't get a reading on that guy," said Takuya.
"I know what you mean," Takato agreed. "He came across as a little immoral, but I at least don't think he's a bad guy."
"And he did give us this," Tai added, looking at the Seed of Light in his hands. "Even if it was for selfish reasons."
Suddenly, his vision began to distort and become blurry to the point where he could no longer see. It returned to normal a few seconds later, and he was suddenly Omnimon again, his friends also having returned to their Digimon bodies.
Time also began moving again, and Shoutmon X7F, having been frozen as well, picked up where things left off. "NOOOO!"
He reached out to his friends, where, a moment ago, they had been about to be hit by a cloud of Dark Spores. Only now all the Dark Spores were gone, and he was left reaching out to his friends for no apparent reason.
Blinking, he looked around, not sure what had happened. "Wait, what's going on?"
Seraphimon sweat-dropped. "That's… kind of hard to explain."
Before Shoutmon X7F could question them further, they were hit by another, what NEO had referred to as, dimensional quake. The DigiDestined stumbled around as more landed masses from other levels of the Digital World transitioned in and out of sight.
"Hold on!" Shoutmon X7F told them loudly. "The Digital World should stabilize in a bit once it gets used to being down a Destiny Stone. I still can't believe Millenniummon destroyed it."
Omnimon looked down at his hands, seeing the Seed of Light floating on the end of his sword. "Why wait? I got this."
He flew over to where the Destiny Stone had been and dropped the Seed of Light. It floated down and seemed to phase through the ground. A few seconds later, the dimensional quakes calmed and then ceased completely, and everything else returned to normal as well.
Shoutmon X7F blinked. "Wait, what was that? What'd you do?" He looked around. "And what happened to all the Dark Spores? What's going on?"
Omnimon turned back to him. "That's a bit of a long story."
"And we have some questions too," said Imperialdramon. "Like how did you defeat Millenniummon? And how did you become… that?"
Shoutmon X7F looked down at himself. "This is the ultimate form of DigiFusion. Using the power of the Destiny Stone, I was able to contact everyone in the Digital World and DigiFuse with them."
Behind her helmet, Ophanimon C's eyes widened. "You mean you fused with everyone in the Digital World?"
Shoutmon X7F wobbled his head. "Practically. Millenniummon was a threat to everyone. Aside from the Demon Lords and their most absolute loyal followers, they all responded. No one wanted Millenniummon to destroy the world."
He began to glow, and countless particles of light flowed out of him. They rose into the sky before becoming individual Digimon again, floating back into the cracks in the sky they had initially emerged from to return from whence they came. And when the last of them vanished, the cracks in the sky closed, as if they had never appeared at all.
Shoutmon X7F had not only unfused from everyone, but had reverted back to his Rookie form as well. Placing his hands on his hips, he gave his friends an expectant look. "Now it's your turn to explain. What happened? One second the whole Digital World is shaking from the Destiny Stone being destroyed and we're about to be hit by a bunch of Dark Spores, the next the Dark Spores are gone and Omnimon has something that completely fixed the Digital World's instability. What did I miss?"
One by one, the DigiDestined resumed their human forms. "Well…" said TK, "like I said, it's a little hard to explain, but…"
He told Shoutmon of what happened from the point where time had frozen, explaining how NEO had appeared, gotten rid of the Dark Spores, and created the Seed of Light for them to take the place of the destroyed Destiny Stone. Shoutmon's mouth had long since fallen open during the explanation and had not yet closed.
"You actually saw NEO!?" he exclaimed when TK finished. "How could you have met NEO? I've never met NEO! I don't even think the Sovereigns have met NEO!"
Kari frowned in disapproval. "Yeah, that's because he spends all his time sleeping instead of using his power to help others. He's not like the Digimon God, who is all about free will and letting everyone live their own lives and make their own choices, he's just indifferent about everything and lazy."
Davis placed a finger to his lips and shushed her. "Careful, he's watching, remember. It's probably not a good idea to bad talk the supremely powerful godly being."
"Actually," said Takato, "I don't think he cares enough about anyone's opinion to do anything about it."
Shoutmon ran a hand along the side of his face. "NEO, wow. I never would have expected that."
Takuya glanced at him curiously. "Speaking of which, is what he said true? Will the Seed of Light he gave us work just as good as the Destiny Stone?"
Shoutmon nodded. "If he said it will, then it will. Besides, the Digital World will remain intact as long as only one Destiny Stone remains; things would just be unstable, and the walls between dimensions would be weak." He turned back to look at the spot where the Seed of Light had been planted. "The problem right now if that there's no one to protect the Seed of Light."
"Never fear, I'm still here!"
They all jumped at the unexpected voice and turned around to see Dantemon. No longer petrified, he was back to normal and seemed to be in good health.
"Dantemon," Kari said happily, "you're alright!"
"Dante, dante, dante, I'm feeling fine. With Millenniummon gone, I have returned to normal. Dante!"
Shoutmon breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you're alright, but it looks like you're the only protector that survived."
Dantemon's shoulders sank. "Yes, this is bad, very bad. Dante, dante. What to do, what to do? Bad enough I lost my friends, but we are down two protectors. There must be three, must be three. Dante!"
Davis glanced at Shoutmon. "What's he mean, there must be three?"
The dragon Digimon rolled his eyes. "It's a divine rule. There must be three Digimon protecting a Destiny Stone at all times. And with Mastemon and Ageisdramon gone, we'll need to find two more to replace them." He rubbed the back of his head. "That could be difficult. We're going to have to-"
At that moment, the sky shattered like glass as something came bursting through dimensions. Everyone's attention shifted to the newcomer, surprised to see none other than Mastemon.
"Where is he!?" she demanded furiously. "Where's Millenniummon!?"
Dantemon's face lit up and he charged at the angel Digimon, pulling her into a hug, which was more like him cuddling her since he was so big in comparison. "Mastemon, you're alive! I'm so happy! Dante, dante!"
The angel Digimon pulled out of his grip. "Now is not the time! Where is Millenniummon?" She looked around and inhaled sharply when she saw that the Destiny Stone was gone. "No! The Destiny Stone! What happened!? Where is it!? And where's Ageisdramon? What did I miss!?"
"Quite a bit actually," Tai replied uneasily. "But how are you even here? We thought Millennummon killed you. Shouldn't you be an egg right now?"
Mastemon scowled. "He almost did. Fortunately, I have the power to travel through dimensions. I was able to escape from the pocket dimension he trapped me in before he destroyed it, and me along with it. It just took me some time to navigate through dimensions to get back here. Now, what happened here?"
Takuya sighed. "Ok, but listen closely, because we already went over this."
And so, once again, they explained their encounter with NEO, and also gave a brief summary of what had happened in the battle with Millenniummon. By the time they were finished, Mastemon had calmed down, and both she and Dantemon looked distraught.
"Dante, dante. We lost Ageisdramon," Dantemon said sadly.
"And worse, we failed in our duty to protect the Destiny Stone," Mastemon added. "We are disgraces to the Protectors of the Stones."
Takato waved his hands. "It's not your fault. You did your best. I mean, who could have predicted that Millenniummon of all people would show up. And now you have the Seed of Light to protect, so you still have a job."
Mastemon glared at him. "All that is irrelevant. If the Destiny Stone was destroyed, we should have been destroyed beforehand. That is our duty, to protect the Destiny Stone from any and all threats at all cost."
Her shoulders slumped and she walked over to where the Seed of Light had been planted. "But you are right about one thing; we have been given another chance to do our job, and so we shall protect this Seed of Light with all of our strength and see that it blooms. However, we have another problem."
"Yes," Dantemon agreed, catching on to what she was talking about. "We need a third protector. Oh, what to do, what to do, what to do? Dante."
The teens exchanged looks. "Well, what would you normally do if you lose a protector?" Kari asked.
Dantemon blinked and tapped his chin. "I'm not sure. It's never happened before. In fact, no one has ever even attacked a Destiny Stony before. Dante."
Mastemon sighed. "Fool. We would either have to contact the Sovereigns or the Digimon King, and they would appoint someone new to join us."
With that, both she and Dantemon looked at Shoutmon expectantly, and soon the teens did too. The dragon Digimon looked at both groups before blinking. "Wait, you want me to appoint some one new right now?"
"Well," said Takato, "you are the Digimon King."
"Dante, dante, it's your duty."
Shoutmon's eye twitched. "Well, yeah, but I'm in no position to do that right now. Technically, I'm only the Digimon King in name only. I'm still trying to regain my position after Lucemon dethroned me."
"There must be three protectors," Mastemon told him. "We can't be lacking in guards for an unspecified number of time, especially since the Seed of Light has not yet bloomed."
"Dante, dante. She's right."
The dragon Digimon rubbed the back of his head uneasily. "Well, yeah, but…"
Mastemon gave him a hard look. "If you cannot provide a suitable replacement, then you know what you must do."
The teens didn't seem to understand what the angel Digimon meant at first, but then Takuya gasped. "Wait, are you saying that you want Shoutmon to stay with you and protect the Seed of Light?"
Mastemon swiped her hand through the air. "It is his duty as the Digimon King to see to the wellbeing of the Digital World. If he cannot provide a replacement for Ageisdramon, then until one can be provided, he must fill that role himself."
The teens all looked at Shoutmon, who looked like a deer caught in headlights. "I… I…"
"Hold it," Davis argued. "We need Shoutmon to stay with us. He's not just part of our team, he's also our guide. We need him to help us stop the Demon Lords."
Mastemon held herself up taller in an intimidating fashion. "Making sure the Digital World remains intact is more important than who is ruling it. If another threat appears to destroy the Seed of Light, we need a complete team to fight it."
"Even though Millenniummon was the first threat we ever faced, dante," Dantemon added.
"Irrelevant!" Mastemon snapped at him.
Takato sweat-dropped. "No offense, but I think you guys would be ok being down a guard for a while. Besides, Millenniummon only came here because we were here; he didn't actually come here to destroy the Destiny Stone, and he only did so because he was dying."
"Besides," Takuya added, "since pretty much everyone fused with Shoutmon to stop Millenniummon, I think that tells us that there isn't anyone crazy enough who would want to destroy the world."
"Except for maybe Boltboutamon," Davis muttered.
TK nudged him and whispered under his breath, "Not the time."
"Irrelevant," Mastemon said again. "We must be ready for any danger at any time, and we need three protectors for that." She pointed at the dragon Digimon. "Shoutmon, as the Digimon King, it is your duty to protect this world and see to its wellbeing, is it not?"
The teens looked back at Shoutmon, unable to even consider the possibility that the dragon Digimon wouldn't be with them anymore. He wouldn't really leave them, would he? How would they get by without him? Would they have to leave him behind while they sought out a replacement for Ageisdramon?
A deep sigh escaped Shoutmon. "She's right. As the Digimon King, I have a duty to uphold. And that duty places seeing to the preservation of the Digital World over who rules it."
Takato rounded on him. "You can't be serious? Shoutmon, we need you with us."
"Can't one of us stay here until you find someone suitable?" Tai suggested.
"No," Mastemon objected. "Currently, you humans play the role of the Guardians. That is your duty. Furthermore, I mean no offense to this, but we cannot have outsiders play such an important role to this world."
Takuya sweat-dropped. "Ok, no offense taken, I guess, but we still need Shoutmon with us. We'd be lost without him. Both literally and figuratively."
The dragon Digimon sighed. "I know, and I'm sorry, but what Mastemon said is true. Three protectors are to be present al all times. And if I don't have anyone to fulfill the role, then I have to do it myself until the Sovereigns can find someone to fulfill the position, and that will probably take a long time since they'll be busy catching up with all their duties they've missed out on during their time sealed away."
"But Shoutmon, we need you!" Kari exclaimed.
The dragon Digimon's fists clenched. "I know, but it can't be helped. I don't have anyone who can fulfill the role."
"But you do have someone."
The unexpected voice startled them. Dantemon let out a surprised cry of "Dante!" while Mastemon fired her Holy Desire attack at the speaker on reflex. They caught a brief glimpse of a small Digimon hidden in the shadows before it leapt out of the way of Mastemon's arrow of light.
"Who is there!?" she demanded. "Show yourself!"
The little Digimon, still in the shadows, held up his hands. "Hold your fire! I'm here to help."
Shoutmon's eyes widened as he recognized the voice. "It can't be…"
Stepping forward out of the shadows came a familiar face, one the teens hadn't seen for a long time, but recognized all the same, and they all cried his name at the same time. "Gumdramon!"
A smile crept up the dragon Digimon's face. "Hello again, humans. It's been awhile." Then he turned his attention to his fellow dragon Digimon and gave a nod of greeting. "Shoutmon."
Shoutmon's eyes were as wide as saucers. "Gumdramon. What? I don't… How are you here?"
Lowering his hands, Gumdramon let out an amused chuckle. "How do you think? I was in the DigiFuse along with everyone else. I just stayed behind while everyone else left. Thought it would be a good time to catch up on things, especially after the way our last reunion went."
"You're trespassing here," Mastemon said aggressively. "Your presence is not permitted."
"Stand down," Shoutmon demanded. "You can trust him. He's my friend." He looked back at Gumdramon. "A much better and more loyal one than I am."
The purple dragon Digimon stared at him seriously for several long moments before his seriousness vanished and he let out a small chuckle. "Well, I don't know about that. I'd say you've redeemed yourself here today."
Shoutmon blinked. "What?"
Gumdramon sighed and shook his head. "You didn't run away this time. You faced absolute certain death and stood your ground for the sake of your friends. Despite knowing that you were going to die, you didn't abandon them. Hmm, I wonder if you like them better than me and that's why you stayed for them."
Shoutmon sputtered. "I didn't say… That's not what I…"
The purple dragon Digimon threw back his head and laughed. "Oh, Shoutmon, you can still crack me up." He gave him a look of fondness. "I missed you, old friend, and I can see that you really have changed. I'm proud of you, and I think I can finally forgive you for abandoning me."
Something seemed to break in Shoutmon, as if a huge burden he had been carrying had finally crumbled to pieces, and the weight was lifted from his shoulders at last. Tears filled his eyes and he fell to his knees, looking, perhaps, more relieved than the teens had ever seen him before. They exchanged smiles with each other as Shoutmon rubbed his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Gumdramon," he said. "I'm so sorry."
The purple dragon Digimon sighed and gave him a smile. "No, I'm sorry. I wasn't very nice when we last met. It's just that seeing you again after so long brought back all those old feelings of resentment I felt from when you abandoned me to ZeedMillenniummon."
Shoutmon shook his head. "No, you had every right to be upset with me. I was still upset with myself."
"No," Gumdramon said seriously. "It had been 10,000 years since we last saw each other. A lot can happen in all that time. I didn't even think about the possibility that you had changed or come to regret what you did during all that time. I was just a jerk holding a grudge, and I thought the worst of you, so I acted out. For that, I apologize."
Shoutmon sniffled. "Gumdramon…"
Mastemon impatiently cleared her throat. "As touching as this is, it's not the place for a reunion. And there is still the matter of a replacement protector that still needs to be addressed."
Gumdramon looked at her. "Yeah, about that, I might have a solution." He looked back at Shoutmon. "I stayed behind after the de-fusion to settle things between us, and couldn't help overhearing your conversation. You need someone to replace Ageisdramon. I think I can help you there."
Kari's face lit up. "You know someone who could take his place?"
"No," Mastemon interrupted. "Not just anyone can become a protector. They must be approved by either the Digimon King or the Sovereigns."
Shoutmon stood up. "If Gumdramon recommends them, then I know they're trustworthy. Be that as it may, I will meet with and judge this candidate to see if they are worthy. So, who did you have in mind?"
Gumdramon looked back at him, looking quite serious. "Me. I'll volunteer."
Shoutmon gasped. "You? But, Gumdramon…?"
"It wasn't my attention to take up this role when I stayed behind to talk to you, but after hearing what I heard, I can't look away or not help."
"But, Gumdramon, are you sure?" Shoutmon asked worriedly. "Being a protector of the Destiny Stones is a very big, very serious job. If the Sovereigns or I can't find someone else to take up the position, then you could be stuck with the job until Ageisdramon fully returns, and that could take thousands of years, or tens of thousands of years, and that considering he doesn't die at all in his attempt to return to full power, if he even wants to retake the position at all. You're absolutely sure this is what you want?"
Gumdramon was silent for several long moments before he gave Shoutmon a serious look. "Shoutmon, do you remember what we both agreed upon when we first started traveling together?"
Shoutmon stared at him for several long moments before sighing. "Yes. We swore that we would do whatever it took to protect this world and make it a better place."
The purple dragon Digimon nodded. "And if this is a role that needs to be fulfilled in order to see to the Digital World's wellbeing, then I will do it."
Silence met this statement. The teens didn't say anything, knowing that this was between Shoutmon and Gumdramon. However, Dantemon felt that he needed to speak up.
"Dante, dante. We appreciate the offer, but we need someone strong. The protectors must be at the Mega level in order to combat another Mega level threat should one show up."
"Indeed," Mastemon agreed. "A Rookie couldn't possible fulfill the role."
A smirk crept up Gumdramon's face. "A Mega, huh? Well then… Gumdramon Warp Digivolve to… XrosUpArresterdramon Superior Mode!" Now at the Mega level, he turned back to Mastemon and Dantemon. "I believe I meet the criteria."
Mastemon didn't say anything, she simply stared hard at the dragon Digimon. Dantemon looked back and forth between the two of them nervously, but didn't speak.
Finally, Mastemon turned to Shoutmon. "What is your judgment?"
The dragon Digimon just looked at XrosUpArresterdramon, not speaking. Then a resigned look appeared on his face and he let out a deep sigh. "Shoutmon Digivolve to… OmniShoutmon!"
Having Digivolved, OmniShoutmon stood before XrosUpArresterdramon, holding himself up as tall as possible and speaking with all the authority of a king. "If he is willing to fulfill the role, then I honestly cannot think of anyone more worthy of the position. I have seen his determination and bravery first hand when he willingly rushed into battle to face ZeedMillenniummon to protect this world, despite knowing what fate would befall upon him. Therefore I, OmniShoutmon, the Digimon King, hereby appoint XrosUpArresterdramon as the new protector to the Destiny… I mean, the Seed of Light!"
XrosUpArresterdramon bowed. "I shall uphold my duty to the best of my abilities. To this I swear." He let out a chuckle and looked up at OmniShoutmon. "I guess this means we'll have to wait a little longer before we completely settle things between us."
A smile crept up OmniShoutmon's face as he nodded at his friends. "I'll look forward to it."
(A/N: Ok, so a lot happened. And yes, we did have a literal Deus ex Machina moment, hence the pun for the chapter title. I hesitated in subverting expectations after the way last chapter ended because I wasn't sure how you would feel abut it and might think it was a bit of a cop out. It was supposed to be sort of reminisce as to what happened with BlackWarGreymon, the Destiny Stones, and Azulongmon in Season 2. The main point of these last few chapters was all to lead up to Shoutmon finding his redemption for abandoning Gumdramon in the battle with ZeedMillenniummon and then reconciling with him. And we got to see NEO as well, along with his guards, as if he actually needs any, who gave them a bit of assistance, even if it was for selfish reasons… or so he claims. And with that, Lucemon has lost his secret weapon, because yes, it was Millenniummon. Where things are going to go from here is anyone's guess. Well, I know, but you'll have to wait two weeks to find out. See you then.)
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New Digimon that appear or are mentioned. Replace the DOT in the link(s) with actual periods.
digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/NEO
digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/Giga_Devast
digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/Tera_Devast
wikimonDOTnet/Leviathan
digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/Gumdramon
digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/XrosUpArresterdramon_Superior_Mode