"Kyubimon Warp Digivolve to!" the glowing kitsune howled while the glowing armadillo, dragon, and whatever-Patamon-was declared theirs.
Within a blue space, a Kyubimon spun, becoming light that shot up into the air. Taomon manifested soon, crafted from those energies. Spinning around, the energy surged from the mage. A white-haired human in black stood serenely, upon a lake under a crescent moon, surrounded by pink-petaled trees. With a hand motion, the air rippled beside her, and fiery fox spirits raced to envelop her.
Within a grey space, Armadillomon fired a blast of light up, forming a grey CGI Ankylomon that transmitted the light further up. A grey-colored Shakkoumon appeared, leaning back and delivering it up to a bestial figure. A white tiger raced towards him, becoming light swirling like a storm around him. When it died down, the beast had formed fully, as had a frozen landscape. With a strike of his mace, the land cracked apart.
Within a golden space, Patamon's fur changed to match it. He swirled around, shooting a beam into the air. A golden angel appeared first and sent the beam further up, then his Ultimate form sent it further still. An armored angel appeared, taking on color - sleek blue and silver and gold. Five pairs of golden-white wings jutted from the angel's back.
Within a blue space, Veemon somersaulted and fired a blast of energy up to ExVeemon, who delivered it to Paildramon. An azure dragon raced to the chimera's side, enveloping it. In a burst of power, Paildramon became the legendary dragon. Beneath the armored dragon had formed a vast forest and a castle. With a blast, Imperialdramon laid waste to it all.
The lights around them died down, and their transformation concluded with them announcing their names.
"Sakuyamon, huh," Rika grinned, appreciatively inspecting the mage. TK mirrored her expression, remembering Willis at the sight of Seraphimon. Cody looked Vikemon over again, admiring.
"Do you like this body, Rika?" Sakuyamon asked. There was something about the way she asked that made Tai think he should leave them alone. Flushing, the ginger returned a grin.
Spotting an unfamiliar human, Baihumon affixed her with a glare. "Who are you, stranger?" Seraphimon looked quizzical, looking around, then saw who he had meant. The others also looked her way.
A tall woman dressed moderately thickly, in a black turtle-neck and a pair of cargo pants, had stepped from the portal. Cody stared at her lime-green hair, speculating that it was dyed. Tai noticed that she had red eyes, and straightened up.
"Hey, y'all," Rina grinned, a hand raised in greeting. "I know you probably have a ton of questions, I sure as hell would. I'm Rina, and the low-down is that we've been asked to pop over and lend a helping hand. You guys ready to kick all Hell's ass?"
Davis and Cody each felt deja vu, recalling the old man and the Clockmon. Their and Tai's eyes went wide at the sight of the blue dragons and the man who next stepped into his sight - a maroon-haired man garbed similarly to the woman, in a pair of black jeans, an open slate-grey jacket and a soft-blue shirt underneath, grinning to them.
"Davis," Cody voiced. It was not a question. Rika was completely lost. "You're older, which means you time traveled to get here."
"Exactly," he affirmed. Another woman, dressed in a pink hoodie and white jeans, a white cat on her shoulder, emerged. Tai, TK, Cody, and their partners all stared at her, Kari returning a smile. The four gods stared, taken aback at her arrival.
Cody's shock was replaced by a scrutinizing stare. After everything he'd seen, he doubted that an exact duplicate of Kari was hard to make. A beaming smile broke out on TK's face.
"Kari," Tai murmured. "No, don't tell me," he smiled wearily. TK's joy dimmed. "You're not actually back from the Dark Ocean. That would be too easy."
"I'm sorry, Tai," she smiled wistfully. "We're from a parallel world's future, not yours. We still have your sister to save, and trust me, we will." She said it so matter-of-factly that Tai believed her. Azulongmon hoped so.
"Dammit," TK exclaimed, running a hand through his hair. He wanted to scream. This - dangling his hope in front of him, then taking it back - was just cruel.
"Don't worry, TK," Seraphimon said resolutely, putting a hand on his partner's shoulder. "We are going to save her," he stressed the word. "Nothing will stop us."
TK smiled. "You're right, Seraphimon, we just have to keep the faith." A bit of unease, of doubt, lingered in his eyes.
"You said it," Davis intoned with good cheer in his voice. He smiled as he looked around, seeing the others less down in the dumps.
"What's Rika and Renamon doing here?" Veevee asked. The locals all were mildly surprised by his voice. Except for Rika. She wasn't paying attention anymore.
"Oh, this is our world's version of her," Seraphimon answered. Future Davis shrugged, indifferently. The concept wasn't news, not since he'd met the other Tai long ago.
"We've asked them to help out with getting Kari back from the Dark Ocean," TK elaborated. The same one reaction came onto the faces of the new arrivals - alarmed surprise.
"You've what?" Gatomon asked, staring at him. Davis cursed loudly. Kari raised her hand to her face, sighing. All the locals looked confused, even Rika.
"What's the problem with that?" Agumon wondered.
"In any other situation, nothing," Rina answered. "In this situation, you might as well ask them to join a suicide pact."
Sakuyamon wondered if it was too late to back out. Seraphimon wasn't sure what a suicide pact was, but he could tell it wasn't a good thing.
"Please, tell me you haven't asked anyone else to join as well," the elder Davis said.
"We haven't asked anyone else to join, and that's a promise," Vikemon answered, chipperly. The six all glared daggers back, Gatomon leaping down from Kari's shoulder.
"There are things you just don't joke about, ever," Gatomon was almost shouting. "Did you, yes or no?"
"Yeah," Tai eventually said. "We have, and we're not changing the plan just because you say so." Rina and Davis exchanged a look. Then, they looked back at Tai.
"Izzy, call your group," Future Davis said sternly, "Tell them to just get back, with or without whoever they're picking up." Izzy's look asked for elaboration. "You should all make an informed decision." Without answering, he made his way back inside.
A little past half an hour passed before the original twelve Digidestined began to steadily flock back. Yolei and Hawkmon returned first, from Shinagawa, bringing Hiroshi and Biyomon to the party. Kari had watched with concern as they entered the office. The portal and the time-and-dimension travelers were a surprise, and as quickly explained to them. Hawkmon had taken a moment to admire the new forms of the other three.
Ken and Wormmon followed minutes later, accompanied by a girl with short brown hair, dressed in a soft-colored green skirt and a tank-top, and a small red dragon. The Shoutmon had been a surprising sight to the people from the future, as the travelers had been to him and Noriko. Kari had thought that Mikey was the only one in the multiverse with a Shoutmon for a partner. None of them had called attention to it.
"By the way, guys," Seraphimon said. "There's something we just found out, and it's kind of a big deal." Wormmon and Hawkmon and their humans looked to him. "DNA Digivolution doesn't work the way Izzy originally thought, and Daemon is from a place in the Digital World called the Dark Area."
Yolei and Hawkmon looked surprised. Noriko looked equally confused, over in their corner of the office. Tai wondered why he was doing this now.
"How do you mean?" Wormmon asked. "How does it work, then?"
"Apparently, it's the second Digimon empowering the first, like what our Crests do, or how Azulongmon's DigiCore did," Izzy disclosed. "When you and Veemon DNA Digivolve, you're actually helping ExVeemon to reach his next form. It's actually very fascinating." Wormmon didn't like that explanation and gave his thoughts. Ken smiled apologetically.
"THAT'S IT!" TK hollered. All eyes turned to him, varying levels of shock at his outburst. "We can't waste any more time," he insisted, voice still raised a bit. "Who knows what those things have done to her by now?" He looked around at them, seeing a number of moods - anger from Tai, what seemed like disinterest on the time-travelers, concern from Matt and a few others.
"I'm with TK," said Davis. "This was a bad idea from the start. We could've saved Kari by now, but instead, we've wasted I dunno how long."
Somber silence washed over the room. Ken looked uneasily at them, doubting that repeating the reasoning would help. He wasn't convinced himself. Tai agreed completely with them.
"Would you two prefer dying for nothing?" Davis the elder returned. "Because I promise you, that's all you would've accomplished if you had charged in," he paused, to let that sink in. TK glared daggers at him. "Hell, even with what you have now, you won't stand a chance alone."
"Seraphimon can handle anything they've got," TK bit back. Future Davis didn't answer. Rina decided to follow his lead. Kari watched him quietly.
Less than ten minutes of silence later, Matt and Gabumon stepped in. Yoshi and Lalamon followed behind them. Joe and Gomamon came by soon, bringing Shuu and Gomamon, Jun and her Veemon. Mimi and Palmon were the next to arrive, through the portal.
A short while later, Keiko stepped into the office, seeing giant computer systems stood off at the side of the room, contained within a glass box. At the center of the room, there was something she didn't know what was, through which she saw a meadow. She saw the time travelers in the adjacent couch and their partners around the room, her attention caught by Kari and by Rina's hair. On the other side, Shuu sat with Jun.
All eyes turned to her, seeing a brunette dressed in a black tank-top and skirt and a SnowAgumon, accompanied by a ginger girl dressed in soft-colored clothes, light-orange jeans and a red shirt marked with the number thirty-eight. Behind them came a tanned girl likewise dressed lightly, a red hoodie and a green skirt, accompanied by a walking fire.
Sora stared blankly at the green-haired woman and her companion. Rina returned a grin.
"Yo, Keiko," commented SnowAgumon, poking a claw into her stomach and getting her attention. "We ain't got all day. Quit day-dreamin'."
Snapping out of her reverie, Keiko blushed. "Right, understood." She made quick bows to them. "It's an honor to work with all of you."
"Please, take a seat," Future Davis said, gesturing to the couch closest to her. Keiko was quick to do so. He contemplated where to begin.
"We'll have to skip formal introductions because you're in some serious BS," Rina said, sternly. "You should know the situation, but what you don't know is what the Dark Ocean is. We're here to brief you on that." She gave Future Davis a shoulder pat.
"The Dark Ocean is both a dimension and a power, one under the rule of Lovecraftian horrors," Future Davis picked up. Shuu arched an eyebrow in recognition. "If any of you are unfamiliar with that term, the gist of it is a monster so terrible that your eyes would bleed from the sight."
Nervousness came over SnowAgumon, mirrored by a few others like Ken. Shoutmon just looked dismissive. On the other side of the portal, the gods wished that they would listen.
Kari looked around, ill-pleased to see their reactions. Future Davis scrutinized Jun, who met his gaze with uncertainty.
"Both the Emperor's Control Spires and the virus that infected the Lopmon partnered to Willis Gladstone are products of the Ocean," Future Davis revealed. Davis' breath hitched. Collectively, memories of that returned to the ones who had faced Cocomon. "And that's just the two things you would know." Future Kari doubted that the D-Reaper would ring a bell.
"Another of its creations is a land of demon Digimon," he elaborated. "There are armies of demon birds like Velgemon and demon dragons like Orochimon." Keiko recognized the name. "And demon foxes, ants, squids, knights, snakes, you name it. The variety of its output is why the Dark Ocean is also called the Dark World or the World of Darkness, or plain and simple Hell." Keiko gulped at that.
Nobody wanted to imagine that, Jun thought, confirming it to herself with a look around the office. Tai glared at Future Davis, fed up with being beat over the head about how oh-so-scary this place was.
"We've seen hundreds of VenomMyotismon and MaloMyotismon over there," Future Kari disclosed. More than a few faces went pale at that. Shuu and Jun simultaneously flashed back to the devastation that VenomMyotismon had caused years ago.
"We've heard this from Azulongmon already, so just get to the point!" Tai demanded. Future Davis looked to Future Kari. She returned a brief smile, then looked around with a frown on her face.
"The Dark Ocean's king is called Dagomon," Future Kari disclosed, looking to TK. "The origin of his species is the Cthulhu Mythos, where there is a race of sea creatures called the Deep Ones who worship Cthulhu and routinely mate with humans. Sound familiar, TK?"
"Oh yeah," TK answered, a frown on his face. Glancing around the room, Future Kari saw that some like Keiko were a bit confused.
"To get everybody up to speed on that part, both here and in and our universe's 2002, a group of Deep Ones summoned me because they wanted to have kids." Jun stared, her disgust mirrored by many of the others present. Shuu wasn't surprised to hear that. "Believe me, nobody approved," she assured. "That's why Dagomon had imprisoned them when I found them." Shuu looked quizzical, as did Matt and a few of the others.
"They were locked up for something they hadn't done yet? How does that work?" Seraphimon wondered at the same time. Shoutmon wondered why he was trying to make sense out of all this. Kari was grateful he asked. She hadn't known how to segue into that.
"How many people in this room have heard of a concept called 'eternal recurrence'?" Shuu had. Kari looked around, seeing some confusion. "Basically, the entire situation we're in has happened before. Fourteen years ago, we fought Dagomon and his people when our earth was invaded." Now that she thought about it, where were this world's Meiko and Meicoomon? She decided to shelve it for now.
"Nowadays, we're the ones who prevent Hell on every earth, which is why we're here now," Future Kari continued. Davis's eyes positively lit up with awe. "Any further questions?" A brief silence followed.
"I think I get it," Keiko said. "The Dark World is like the Demon World from Yu Yu Hakusho." Rina laughed, a sound that pleased Future Davis's ear. Of all the comparisons she could imagine, that one was far from the top. Keiko smiled, hoping that was a good sign. Kari stared blankly at her.
"I guess that's a good comparison," Future Davis admitted. Shuu thought to himself that this was officially crazy.
"Yeah," Future Kari confirmed. "That leaves just the question of why Dagomon is after me, but I guess you all can work that one out."
"That Crest of Light thing," Lalamon voiced what everybody was thinking.
"Yeah," Future Kari affirmed, trace nervousness in her voice. She thought about telling them that it was where this trouble had begun, with Homeostasis forging it in her soul.
"Look," Future Gatomon broke in. "We're losing sight of the bottom line here. How many of you are prepared to risk both life and soul to try and save her?"
"Let's be clear here," Davis said. "This is not a 'first twelve Digidestined only' thing. We're saying this to them as much as the rest of you. It would be ideal if only the most powerful few goes, and that means us plus Tai, Matt, and Omnimon. Be very sure about this," he finished gravely.
"I am," Mina answered. "All I really wanted was to spend a day with Keiko, but if Kari's in trouble, I have to help. It's just the right thing to do, isn't it?" she asked, looking expectantly to the fire demon next to her.
"I guess I'm in, too," Meramon answered. Hiroshi said he was out, and his Biyomon followed suit.
"Same here," answered SnowAgumon. "She's helped save both our worlds from terrors like the Dark Masters and Myotismon. This is the least we can do to pay her back for that."
A nervous frown filled Joe's face. Gomamon watched him with concern. "I don't think I'm going to join you this time, guys," he murmured.
Tai immediately looked at him, glaring daggers once the shock had died down. All eyes were either on him or Joe.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Tai snarled. TK and Davis and Yolei all joined him in glaring at Joe. "Kari could be going through who knows what, and you're just gonna abandon her?"
The sour taste of guilt came over Joe. "I know Tai, but," he trailed off, sighing. There was no way this wasn't going to sound bad. "I have a life, Tai. I have responsibilities, exams to study for. I can't just drop everything to go off on crazy adventures into other dimensions."
Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to see Shuu's smiling face.
"Relax, Joe, they've got this," Shuu voiced, glaring at Tai.
"He's got a point, Tai," the older Davis said, standing up to face him. "We've got enough firepower as it is, and Cody and Armadillomon to supply a Vikemon. Joe can safely bow out if he wants." Future Davis smiled at Joe.
He couldn't count the number of times they had thought about cutting worlds-saving from the list of obligations, just deal with the restaurant and life and dinner dates. The least he could do was help Joe step out.
"I think we're in for the long haul unless Lalamon wants to drop out," Yoshi said, looking to her partner. Lalamon shrugged, paws raised and everything. TK smiled at that.
"Very well," Azulongmon's voice rang out. "If you will not relent, then come before the gods and rise to power."
Shuu imagined that it didn't escape anyone what they meant by 'gods', or so he inferred from nobody asking. He glanced around, seeing no particular confusion about that. He was only glad for that - this had been the most verbose few minutes he'd spent in a while.