(A/N: I'm baaaack! Did you miss me? Sorry for the past month. I was hoping I'd be up and updating again by August, and I am. Now things can finally get back to normal. So, here's the next chapter. I really didn't have a good name for it, so I ended up going with something basic and generic. I mean, it works, but I'm not really satisfied with it. Whatever, the chapter itself is what really matters.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 168: The Morning After

Despite losing a day of traveling, the detour the teens had taken was not only worth it, but well earned. Seeing the peaceful, happy little family, their hosts had only helped to motivate the teens further in wanting to free the Digital World from the Demon Lords' tyranny. And they were so close to their goal. Just two more to go, followed by Bagramon and Boltboutamon.

It also made them all feel homesick. Each of them longed to see their families again, which only made seeing the farm family all the harder, strengthening their determination to get back to their world.

"It won't be much longer, guys," Tai told them as they settled in for the night. "It's been a long road, but we're almost there."

A snort left Davis. "You want to know what's really ironic? For as long as we've been gone, it hasn't even been a full day back home. I wonder if our parents even miss us."

"Considering I was supposed to being working in my parents' bakery right now, I won't just be missed, I'll be grounded," Takato replied.

"Grounded?" said Takuya. "That's nothing. I missed my date with my girlfriend, so now I'm going to have to smooth things over with her, 'cause she's gonna be pissed. Trust me, it's much better to have your parents mad at you than your girlfriend."

"I can vouch for that," Tai agreed. "I'll probably have both mad at me."

"I don't care how much trouble I'll be in," said Kari. "I just want to see Mom and Dad again."

TK sighed. "Yeah, me too. And Matt. And all my friends."

A humorless chuckle escaped Takuya. "It's funny how much we take for granted; from people to everyday things. I even miss my annoying little brother, Shinya."

"I don't have any siblings," Takato stated, "but I still really miss my family. Sometimes I complain about having to work in the bakery with them, but right about now, I'd give almost anything to be able to."

"Alright, I get it!" Shoutmon suddenly exclaimed. "You all miss your friends and family and can't wait to go back to them. You've said it enough times already."

Tai sat up in bed and gave him a strange look. "Hey, Shoutmon, are you ok?"

"I'm fine. I'm thrilled that soon you'll be able to leave the Digital World forever and be able to be reunited with your family and friends. I'll be fine too. I'll be the Digimon King again, and I'll hang out with my own friends. We'll be fine and dandy, nothing to worry about."

The others sat up as well and began exchanging looks before glancing back at Shoutmon.

"You sure you're alright?" TK asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm great. I think it's wonderful that you'll get to leave and never come back. I'm gonna go to sleep now."

He pulled the covers over his head and curled up into a ball beneath them. The teens exchanged more looks as they began to catch on with what was bothering the dragon Digimon.

"Shoutmon," Takato said softly, "you know we're gonna miss you a lot when we go."

The dragon Digimon refused to come out from under the covers. "Who said anything about missing you? I'm not gonna miss you. I'll be just fine on my own. I'll have so much to do that I won't even have time to miss you."

Kari frowned. "No, really, Shoutmon, we're really going to miss you. You're like family to us. But you know that we have to go back."

Shoutmon finally popped out from under the covers. "Who says you have to go back? You don't have to go back. Marcus never went back. Would it really be so bad if you stayed here indefinitely?"

"Shoutmon…" TK said quietly. "You have to know how much you mean to us, but we have to go back. We all have lives back there."

"And what of it?" the dragon Digimon demanded. "Do you not have lives here? You can have new lives. Much longer lives than you would back in the human world at that. Possibly even better lives."

"It's not just our lives though," Davis told him. "It's the lives of everyone back home that we're a part of. Just think about how it'll affect them if we never go back."

"And what of my life?" Shoutmon asked. "If I lose you guys, I'll… You know what, forget it. I'll be fine. I was fine before you came here, and I'll be fine after you're gone. We had some good times together, but we're all gonna move on. Glad we cleared that up. Good night."

He laid back down and covered his head with the pillow. The teens exchanged more understanding looks before getting up and gathering around Shoutmon's bed. The dragon Digimon heard them approach, but didn't come out.

"Come on, Shoutmon," said Kari. "Don't be that way. We think of you as family too."

"Yeah, we're all like family to each other," Takato replied. "You are too. But you know we can't stay here indefinitely, we just can't."

A few seconds passed where they received no reply, but then a muffled sigh came from beneath the pillow before Shoutmon pulled his head out from under it and sat up on the bed. "Yeah, I know. I know! I've known that since the beginning. I still fully intend to help you get back, but part of me hopes that you will change your minds." His shoulders sank. "And another part of me kind of hopes that… there is no way for you to return home."

He dropped facedown on the bed and pulled the pillow back over his head. "I'm sorry, I know that's horrible to say, but I can't help it. I don't want you guys to go. You guys are my best friends. I haven't been this close to anyone since Gumdramon. I… I love you guys."

The teens stared at the dragon Digimon as he hid under the pillow, touched by his words. Slowly, TK reached out and picked up the pillow, and Shoutmon lifted his eyes up to them sadly.

"Shoutmon, it's ok, we're not mad at you for thinking that way," he told him.

The dragon Digimon frowned. "You're… You're not?"

"Of course not," said Tai. "What you said may sound selfish, but we know it comes from a place of sincerity."

"You don't want to lose your friends," Kari added. "No one ever wants to lose a friend, even if it means that leaving would be better off for them. We don't want to leave you either. In fact, I wish we could take you with us, even though we know you're needed here."

Davis grinned. "Yeah, we love ya, man. The hardest thing about this whole experience is going to say goodbye. Compared to that, defeating the Demon Lords is going to be a piece of cake."

Shoutmon's eyes teared up and he sniffed loudly. "You guys are the be-ee-est!"

He began openly bawling The teens all enveloped him in a group hug as he continued to wail. The moment was ruined, however, as the door burst open and Hackmon appeared in it.

"There are others in this house who are trying to sleep!" he shouted at them. "We have very early mornings around here, so cut the chatter and show some consideration!"

He slammed the door, and embarrassed chuckles escaped the teens.

"Well, that was awkward," said TK. "But he's right though, we were being inconsiderate." He looked back at the dragon Digimon. "Goodbyes are never easy, Shoutmon, but the important things is to enjoy the good times and hang onto the memories you have of each other. And no matter what happens, we'll always be friends forever."

Shoutmon wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry. It's just, seeing how these guys are like family, it just…"

"Made you feel emotional," Tai finished for him. "We never know what tomorrow might bring."

There was a knock from the other side of the wall, presumably Hackmon telling them to be quiet again. Tai chuckled and placed a finger over his lips. "We'll talk about it tomorrow."

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"Up! Get up! Come on, everyone up!"

Groans escaped the teens as Hackmon's demanding voice rang throughout the small room. Davis was the only one who didn't wake up while Takuya pulled the covers over his head. "Too early."

"That's your fault," Hackmon replied. "I told you last night that we have very early mornings around here. If you're going to stay, you're going to take part in things. Now come on, there's lots of work to do."

He left the room and closed the door after that. Yawns and tired mumblings left the teens as they tried to shake off sleep.

"We have to work?" Takato muttered as he rubbed his eyes. "I don't mind contributing, but I thought we were invited for thanks for our services to the Digital World. You don't typically invite someone somewhere and then ask them to work for it."

"Technically, Tokomon invited us, not Hackmon," Tai pointed out. "But we might as well help since we're up. Hey, Davis, wake up."

He threw his pillow, and it bounced off Davis' face. His look-alike sat up, a trail of drool running down his face. "Wha' happenin'?"

"Morning chores." Kari told him. "Come on, let's go."

Davis blinked a few times, still looking half asleep. "Chores. Right. I'll get to that… in the morning."

He toppled over, ending up with his face on the floor, half in and half out of the bed. Shoutmon rolled his eyes and walked over to him. He stared at the once again snoring teen before sighing and shaking his head. Reaching out, he covered Davis' mouth and pinched his nose shut.

A few seconds passed before he snapped awake and pulled away, gasping for breath and then giving the dragon Digimon a dirty look. "What was that for?"

Shoutmon grinned. "For to wake you up. Now let's go."

Once they all got up and got ready, they made their way downstairs. Most of the residential Digimon were already sitting at the table as Hudiemon served them. She looked up as the teens came down and gave them a smile.

"Ah, good morning to you all," she said cheerfully. "I trust that you slept well?"

TK nodded. "Yes, we slept great, thanks."

"We just didn't get enough of it," Davis mumbled.

Copymon chuckled. "Yeah, Hackmon was complaining about how you kept talking last night."

The dragon Digimon humphed. "They're undisciplined. If they want to defeat the rest of the Demon Lords, then they're going to need to shape up."

Takato sweat-dropped. "I guess that's your way of saying you care."

"Hackmon's a big fan of tough love," Spadamon replied with a smirk, making the dragon Digimon grumble.

Takuya laughed nervously. "We appreciate the concern. But don't worry about us. We've got the Demon Lords situation under control. We were actually on our way to deal with Lucemon before we met Tokomon."

Copymon pouted. "You mean you're not staying?"

"Please," said Hudiemon, motioning to the table, "at least join us for breakfast. You should at least have full bellies before you head out."

Takato cocked his head to the side. "But I thought we were going to help with the chores around here."

Hudiemon stared at him for a few moments before rounding on Hackmon. "Hackmon, what did you tell them?"

He snorted. "It's a rule. If you stay here, you've gotta work."

"Not if they're guests."

"It'll be good for them. Work builds character."

"It's rude to make such a request."

TK raised his hand. "Um, we don't mind helping out."

"Nonsense," Hudiemon told him. "What you've done for the Digital World is more than we could ever repay."

"Indeed," Kudamon replied, who was once again draped over her shoulders. "We expect nothing in return for our hospitality."

"Just having you here is payment enough!" Bun declared, and Copymon nodded in agreement.

Kari looked around the table, noticing that someone was missing. "Hey, where's Tokomon?"

Spadamon laughed. "That ball of energy? He was so excited to have you here that he got up extra early and went to get a head start on his chores. Last I saw him, he was watering the vegetable garden. Now sit down and eat before Bun devours everything."

"Hey, I resent that!"

Hudiemon smiled. "Don't worry, there's plenty more where that came from."

Hackmon pushed his empty plate away. "Not for me. I'm full. Going to go get started on my chores."

Without another word, he left the room. His departure left an awkward silence behind as the teens slid into the empty spots at the table.

"So…" Takuya muttered uncomfortably, "what kind of chores do you guys have to do?"

Copymon let out a small chuckle. "Farm chores. What else?"

Takuya sweat-dropped. "Oh, yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"We'd still be happy to help you out," Kari added.

Takato beamed. "Yeah, I help my parents out with their bakery all the time, so I know all about hard work."

Hudiemon gave them an appreciative smile. "That's very nice of you, but not necessary; this is our daily routine. Besides, we don't want you to be tired for when you face the Demon Lords."

Shoutmon scoffed. "We're still weeks away from reaching Lucemon's castle."

The butterfly Digimon nodded in acknowledgement. "That may be, but you could still run into their servants."

Davis grinned. "Ah, don't worry, we've even been able to send the Chaos Generals running for the hills. We can handle anything that comes our way."

At that moment, there was an explosion from the outside that shook the house. All occupants jumped in surprise and quickly rushed to the front door as Davis muttered, "Me and my big mouth."

Upon bursting outside, they caught sight of Tokomon X running fearfully through the garden. A Digimon was pursuing him, and the teens gasped as they recognized who it was.

"Hey," said Kari, "isn't that…?"

"It is," Takuya replied. "AxeKnightmon. What's he doing here?"

"Did he track us here?" asked Davis.

Shoutmon's eyes narrowed. "Unlikely. He wouldn't comer after us alone. It looks like he's after Tokomon. He must be after his X-Antibody."

Tokomon X continued to run, but suddenly tripped. AxeKnightmon stood over him and raised his spear, ready to bring it down.

Before the teens could act, Hackmon suddenly came charging in. Leaping up, he slammed into AxeKnightmon's spear, and it stabbed into the ground beside Tokomon X, just missing the lesser Digimon. AxeKnightmon turned to him as Hackmon jumped up again and used his Fifth Rush, slashing at the knight Digimon with his claws while spinning around in the air, following up with his Baby Flame, spewing a burst of fire in his face.

AxeKnightmon stumbled back, waving the smoke out of his face, but seemed unfazed otherwise. Hackmon landed in front of Tokomon X protectively and growled at the knight Digimon.

"I'll handle this," said Tai. "Execute! Spirit Evolution… Omnimon Merciful Mode!"

"So cool!" Copymon and Bun exclaimed.

Omnimon charged forward as Hackmon and AxeKnightmon leapt at each other. He reached them before they met, slamming into the knight Digimon and knocking him to the ground.

Tokomon X's face went from afraid to awed as he took in Omnimon's presence. "So cool…"

Omnimon pointed his sword at AxeKnightmon. "Hackmon, get Tokomon to safety while I take care of his guy. We've got a score to settle."

The dragon Digimon let out a grunt before grabbing Tokomon X and carrying him back to the house. AxeKnightmon stared up at Omnimon, surprised to see him there, before getting to his feet. "Human."

"Been awhile," Omnimon stated. "What brings you here? Us?"

AxeKnightmon scoffed. "Hardly. This is just an unpleasant coincidence." He glanced at the teens before looking back at Omnimon. "Contrary to what you may think, the Demon Lords have other matters to deal with that don't involve you. I was simply sent here because there were reports of a low level Digimon with an X-Antibody around here. I came to investigate and spotted the little weakling in the garden, so I attempted to retrieve it. I had no idea that you would be here."

"Do you regret coming now?" Omnimon asked, pointing his sword at him. "You came here to bully someone weaker than you, but instead ran into us. So, do you regret it?"

AxeKnightmon let out a chuckle. "On the contrary. I'm glad we ran into each other. Multi-Dimensional Axe!"

Omnimon braced himself for the attack, but AxeKnightmon instead cut a hole between borders. With a sneer, he stepped into it. "There are a few old friends who have been looking for you."

The tear closed, but Omnimon didn't lower his guard. AxeKnightmon's words had been far too vague and ominous. Was he getting the Demon Lords? No, he didn't think either Lucemon or Daemon would go out of their way to come for them. But he had an idea of who would.

"Omnimon!" Davis cried as he and the others rushed over. "That was awesome! You sent AxeKnightmon running without even having to fight him."

Shaking his head, the knight Digimon wished that were the case. "This isn't over. Brace yourselves, I think the Chaos Generals are coming."

"The Chaos Generals!?" Takato exclaimed, and quickly pulled out his Digivice, the others following suit. "Here? Now?"

"It'll be fine," said TK. "We can take them on. We sent ChaosGallantmon running last time, and our team has grown even stronger since then."

Davis nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and after facing guys like Galacticmon and Millenniummon, how much worse could the Demon Lords' baddies get?"

Shoutmon nudged him. "Don't jinx it. You never know when-"

A tear suddenly appeared in the sky, and an attack flew out, apparently being shot at random. The blast hit the ground close to the teens, and the explosion sent them flying a few seconds later. Omnimon's theory proved to be true as both Chaosmon and ChaosGallantmon stepped out of the tear. AxeKnightmon, it seemed, had not joined them, as the tear closed a moment later.

"Looks like I missed," ChaosGallantmon stated as he looked at the teens. "No matter; I would prefer to kill them in combat anyway."

"You already had that chance," Chaosmon stated, "with the aid of a ChronoCore might I had, and you still failed."

"Which is why I'm looking forward to redeeming myself."

Takato got up and dusted the dirt off himself. "The only redemption you should be concerned with is redeeming yourself for your sins."

Chaosmon laughed. "How philosophical."

"Well, you certainly have many of them," Shoutmon growled. "Just imagine how everyone will give you your just desserts after we destroy you and you're reborn at the Baby level and you're too weak to fight back. Then you'll know what it feels like to be at the mercy of others stronger than you as they take their revenge for all the evil you've done. In fact, I bet you'll be too scared to ever come out of your eggs. That is, if they're not repeatedly smashed from now until forever by everyone you've harmed so you never get the chance to hatch."

ChaosGallantmon took a step forward. "That is one possibility. Another is that we destroy you and continue to serve the Demon Lords as they rule this world, just as it has been for thousands of years."

"Big words for the guy who ran away from us the last time we fought," Davis taunted, "and we've gotten even stronger since then."

ChaosGallantmon's eyes narrowed, but he didn't rise to the bait. "You're not the only ones, little humans. Lucemon was quite livid when you destroyed Millenniummon, and decided to pull out all the stops. He provided me with the power I need to truly crush you. Behold. ChaosGallantmon Digivolve to… Gallantmon Chaos Mode!"

The teens were taken aback. ChaosGallantmon's Digivolution was not something they had expected, especially after his more recent one of ChaosGallantmon C, but now they realized that they should have seen it coming. The Chaos Generals were the Demon Lords' biggest supporters; it only made sense that they would focus on keeping them in power.

Like his previous form, Gallantmon Chaos Mode seemed to be a dark blue and gray version of Gallantmon Crimson Mode, with a few small differences. His wings were a light shade of blue, and seemed to be solid, though still transparent, rather than made of white light, and he held a single weapon similar to Gallantmon Crimson Mode's double-end, lance-like spear, only it was much larger, and also appeared to be solid rather than made of light.

"Well, this just got better," TK mumbled. He glanced at Chaosmon. "And what about you?"

The Chaos General cocked his head to the side. "Is that your way of asking if the Demon Lords gave me additional power as well?" He chuckled. "What makes you think I needed a power boost?"

"You're going to be wishing you'd gotten one after you deal with us," Takato told him. "You never did see Takuya's new form, did you?" Gallantmon CM looked at the human in question. "It seems like your friend has other things to worry about."

The teens all turned to Takuya to see him on his hands and knees tossing around clumps of dirt and vegetables that had been uprooted. He seemed to feel everyone's gaze on him, and he slowly looked up before grinning nervously. "Ok, yeah, um, you guys aren't going to like hearing this, but I kind of dropped my Digivice when that explosion sent us flying, and now I can't find it."

Silence greeted this statement as everyone stared at him, slowly digesting his words. Slowly, Shoutmon's eyes closed and he let out a deep breath. "Please tell me you're joking."

He spoke calmly, but there was an edge of seriousness to his words, and Takuya rubbed the back of his head in discomfort. "I really wish I was."

Laughter escaped Chaosmon. "How delicious. We come back stronger, and you lose your trump card!"

"He's not our trump card," Takato snapped. "He's just our… strongest member."

The two Chaos Generals said nothing as they loomed over the teens. A frustrated growl escaped Shoutmon as he pointed at them. "Don't take the rest of us lightly. Our team is still strong. Shoutmon Digivolve to… OmniShoutmon!"

"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Imperialdramon Paladin Mode!"

"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Gallantmon Crimson Mode!"

"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Ophanimon C!"

"Execute! Spirit Evolution… Seraphimon"

"So cool," Tokomon X, Copymon, and Bun all commented together.

"Takuya, keep hunting for your Digivice," Omnimon told him, and then turned his attention to their hosts. "We'd appreciate it if the rest of you could look for it as well."

"No problem!" Tokomon X declared.

Bun saluted. "You can count on us!"

Hackmon moved in front of them. "You'll do no such thing. Shadamon and I will look for it. The rest of you are to stay safe."

"Safe?" Gallantmon CM repeated. "I'm afraid none of you are safe any longer."

His fellow Chaos General came up beside him. "You're as far from safe as you could possibly be. This will be our final battle. Either it will end in your victory or ours, but only one group is making it out of here alive."

(A/N: I wanted to address some of Shoutmon's thoughts and feelings in regards to his friends leaving. You know something like that is going to be hard, so I needed to bring it up at least once. He got a little closure, but this probably won't be the end of it. In other events, we've come to it, the proclaimed final battle with the Chaos Generals. And it looks like Takuya can't fight. Sorry, I kind of had to do that this round; Susanoomon is just too powerful. So now the others gave to deal with Chaosmon and Gallantmon Chaos Mode without him. By the way, you can probably tell, but in order to avoid confusion, I'll be calling Takato's Digimon form Gallantmon and the Chaos General Gallantmon CM to differentiate the two. Stay tuned to see how this battle plays out.)

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

digimonDOTwikiaDOTcom/wiki/Gallantmon_Chaos_Mode