Episode 10: Protect the Light of the Town, Lobomon! OR Back To Nature, Back To Battle (Part 3)

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"Nothing can dim the light that shines from within." -Maya Angelou

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Previously On DFX:

The gang was seen searching their spirits. Nagisa and Takuya while arguing stumbled upon Shamanmon. Before he could tell anything, an old enemy made an entrance. Cerberumon was out for revenge and destroyed the village. Nagisa managed to stop him for the time being, as Takuya obtained the H Spirit of Flame. The two worked together and almost defeated the evil Digimon until he digivolved to Cerberumon Werewolf Mode. Just before the Demon Man could damage our heroes, KnightChessmon came to help. The two advanced to look for their remaining spirits after that. Let's see what the others are up to.


Same time Takuya and Nagisa met Shamanmon


-Location: Underground Labyrinth ~Continent of Flame~-

Tomoki's POV:

So... we're lost.

"So... we're lost," I said nonchalantly. Charle was looking sideways, up and down, even spinning in circles.

So much for the wonderful escort.

I sighed, "Charle, admit it already."

She pouted, "I will certainly not! We just took a wrong turn-chu."

"You have said that five times already."

"B-b-but... I was so sure," Charle slowly plopped on the floor. I crouched down and petted her head, "There, there."

Meanwhile, I looked around. We had decided to leave marks so we would know which path we took before. During the exploring, Kouji-san disappeared on us. We only noticed him gone while we were going on and on in circles. I don't even know for how long we have been separated. I hope he's okay and not too far.

I cradled Charle in my arms, smiling at her softly, "Don't worry, everyone makes mistakes. We'll just have to figure our way out together."

She nodded as tears build-up in her eyes. I brushed the tears away and swayed her tenderly, just like my mom used to. It always helped me calm down when I was a crybaby. It's not like I have grown out of the habit, I still feel like crying when I do something wrong or someone scolds me harshly but overall, I'm fine. Looking at Charle reminds me of myself sometimes.

"Shall we go?" I asked the little Digimon. "Yeah-chu."

Kouji's POV:

Damnit! Where did he go? I swear I saw it fly off in this direction.

I ran through the labyrinth while searching for a creature. It was spying on us from afar and when I noticed its presence, it flew away. I have been tailing the Digimon for quite some time now. Finally, I stopped at the meeting point leading to four different paths.

I didn't catch it flew to which direction, so I turned around to ask Tomoki, "Hey Tomo, did you-" only to see that the other two weren't with me.

Aw shit, I must have left them behind. Even if they did follow me, the two must've lost me.

I sighed and glanced at the routes ahead. Going back would be pointless right now so I took the first route to my right. The light here was a little dimmer than the rest of the place. The path was surprisingly straight unlike the rest of this maze. I fished out my D-Tector and opened the map which Charle told us about before coming here. The projectile map for one second glowed then dimmed. At first, it was doing so at a slow pace but as I walked further, the speed increased.

Maybe Lobomon is up ahead. While holding the device forward, I began to ran until I reached a familiar place. It was the middle of the labyrinth where I first got my spirit. Just in case, I passed through the other tunnel entrances to see if I could find that spy Digimon. Once all was clear, I decided to contact Tomoki. After figuring out how to, the kid's Spirit Symbol displayed on the screen.

A buzzing sound was heard as I spoke, "Hello, Tomo? Can you hear me?"

A moment later, the said boy responded, "Yes, Kouji-san. The static noise is a little too much, but I can still hear you."

"You and Charle together?"

"Yes. We're currently trying to find a way to you."

"I'm in the middle of the labyrinth. Maybe using the map will help."

"I'll check... Aha! I can see your location now though it wasn't showing anything a while ago."

"Okay, I'll be waiting for you two then." With that, I slipped my D-Tector into my pocket and waited for them to arrive.

-Location: Breezy Village-

Junpei's POV:

The food here sure is delicious. I can eat this all day! Munchy, munchy, munch...

After walking for like an eternity, we reached our destination. We were warmly greeted as Izumi had been depicted as their heroine. Due to this, we received special treatment and even insisted on helping us search for our spirits. Right now, we were having a meal while Izumi had gone to look around the area.

I sighed in relief as I finished my food. A yellow ivy swooped the dirty dishes, "I'm glad you enjoyed the meal."

"Thanks, Floramon."

Neemon raised his hand, "Can I have a refill?"

"Where are you stuffing all of this? It's like your third plate."

"I'm a growing Digimon!"

"Ah… okay."

Just then, Izumi stumbled in and sat on the opposite side of the table. "It's no use. The D-Tector isn't responding."

"Don't sweat on it. Something will surely pop up. Here," I passed a bowl of soup to her.

She mumbled 'Grazie' and ate her food, deep in thought. "I wonder how the others are doing. Maybe they have had better luck than us," Izumi scoffed.

"Let's contact them after doing another round," I said.

"Hm..."

-Location: Forest Terminal-

Takuya's POV:

Right now, I'm running for my life. Well, Kirishima and I.

We skidded to a stop while catching our breaths.

"Di-did we lose them?" I puffed out a question. Kirishima nodded while taking a glance behind, "I think... so."

I squatted down with my arms on my knees, "Darn, those guys sure made us run."

"We had to leave the Trailmon halfway here."

"No way! We ran that much?!"

"I always knew that village was hella weird but this... Fuck." My thoughts exactly...

Right after leaving the village, we boarded on a passing Trailmon, Buffalo was it? He agreed on taking us to the Forest Terminal since he was going the same way. Without us knowing, a few of the fortuneteller Digimon climbed in and started saying eerie stuff. Kirishima got frustrated and told them off but when they didn't back away, she left the Trailmon causing me to follow her as well. Those guys were very persistent and began chasing us. So, here we are now.

I looked around my surroundings while also being cautious of those meddling Digimon. The place was the same as before except the mist wasn't as thick. You could see clearly unlike last time.

Kirishima was leaning on an iron pillar with her eyes closed, so I also plopped myself against one and rested properly. The two of us were already tired from the battle with Cerberumon and then this whole chase. I don't wanna go on but we have no choice.

I felt something lightly tap on the head and looked up to see Kirishima offering me... Pocky Sticks?

"Pocky?"

She nudged the box towards me, "It's better than nothing."

I took out two sticks and munched on them, "Where did you get these from? Wait, don't answer that, advance Digi-World and all." I slightly grimaced while chewing, "Chocolate, eh. I prefer caramel latte, though."

"Beggars can't be choosers."

"I'm just saying. What's it gotta do with begging or choosing? Cripes." I went to grab a few more, but Kirishima snatched the box, "Hey, what gives? I want more!"

She kept munching on the snack with her back turned towards me. I was in no mood to argue so I leaned back on the pillar once more, closing my eyes. A few moments later, something landed on my lap. I opened my eyes to see the box of Pocky, which still had some in it. I glanced up at the girl again to see her walking in the other direction.

Me: Who the hell does she-!

Brain: Get up and follow her, dimwit.

"Damnit, wait up!"

-Location: Core of the Underground Labyrinth-

Normal POV:

Kouji had decided to roam the area while he waited for his two comrades. His main focus was to find the spy and demand what it was searching for. After looking through the tunnels and going inside each to a certain distance, Kouji began sliding down to the middle of the core. He stopped just before the opening and steadied himself. He turned on the map projectile to detect the spirit. Just like before nothing was being shown, except that Tomoki was close to where he was. He waited for the two so he could go with Charle inside the hole and search further.

A clink was heard from one of the tunnels. Kouji whirled his head in the direction of the sound and saw a bat-like ball whirling towards him.

"PICODEVI CLAW!" The boy dodged the red claw as it barely scratched him. Kouji steadied himself on his knees while keeping his eyes on the attacker. Before he could identify who it was, it again launched the same attack. Kouji ducked down as it passed above him. Seeing an opening, Kouji twisted his body and kicked the creature sideways.

"Woah!" The creature flapped it's bat-like wings and halted to stop before it could collide with a wall. "Easy, chump! I'm not a toy you can toss around!"


Digital Analyzer

Name: PicoDevimon

Type: Mini Devil

Level: Rookie

Attack Techniques: Pico Dart(s), Devil's Whisper, Bat Flutter, PicoDevi Claw

Description: PicoDevimon is an Evil Digimon. A tiny familiar Digimon which has an appearance like a bat. It exists to serve as a familiar for higher-class Demon Digimon. Its personality is the epitome of a Dark Side Digimon, so although its offensive ability and the like are not strong, it is cunning and makes mischief all over, but it seldom voluntarily takes part in anything like direct combat. When it absolutely must fight, it uses a Special Move "Pico Dart". It prefers the dark and is often with a higher-level Digimon at all times, so it seems that it is seldom observed on its own.


Kouji stood up but slumped onto his knees with a wince. His jeans had been ripped, and a long cut was visible on his left leg. Thankfully, no blood was seeping out of the wound but it still hurt to move.

Its claw must have scratched me when I kicked it away. Goddamnit…

"Looks like I gave you a big booboo there," PicoDevimon snickered. The boy scowled in return.

Enduring the pain, Kouji slowly stood up and waited for the Mini Devil to make its next move.

I can't digivolve into KendoGarurumon here. This place is too congested to fight.

Despite this, Kouji pulled out his D-Tector. PicoDevimon began panicking when he saw the device, "Whoa! I'm not here to fight! I just have a few questions."

"Oh really? Wonder why you attacked me then," The noirette scoffed.

"O-oh that... Uh, I was just testing ya. Yeah, that's it!"

A thought crossed Kouji's mind, "Are you the one who was secretly spying on us?"

"Huh? Nope, it definitely wasn't me." Yes, it definitely was you.

The Digimon lowered itself on the ground. Kouji glared at it while clenching his D-Tector. He planned on contacting Tomoki but considered it too risky at the moment since he didn't know the creature's true intentions.

"No need to lie, there is no one in this labyrinth except for four people. Two of my comrades, me and yourself. Why don't you come clean?"

PicoDevimon stood silent but then began laughing loudly, "Ah man! You sure as heck are one serious human." It flapped its wings and slowly approached Kouji, who put up a defensive posture. "You got me. Whatcha gonna do, huh? Ya clearly don't have the right Spirit to fight."

"How do you about this?"

"Now, that's classified. The boss will get mad if I told ya."

"Boss? You mean Barbamon."

"Ya also know a little too much for your own good."

"I don't think I do. Enlighten me a bit."

"Tch. I'm the one who wants answers!"

"Give and take."

The bat-like creature stopped a foot away from Kouji, grinning, "I know whatcha playing at, kid. I'm not that foolish! I'm not gonna tell you how Barbamon-sama has every single info on you 'Warriors', and how my clones and I have been sent to spy on each one of you."

Kouji snorted whilst PicoDevimon realized what it had just said, "NO! That's not it! Forget I said anything!"

"Sure, why not? After I relay this info to the others, I will forget it all."

"Argh! You tricked me... You're gonna pay for this!" The Mini Devil flew back and screamed, "PICO DART!" A gigantic syringe made its way towards Kouji who tried to dodge but couldn't because of his injury. Just as the needle reached the teen boy, a shout echoed in the room.

"EXECUTE... BEAST SPIRIT EVOLUTION!"

SWISH!

"AVALANCHE THROW!"

A tomahawk flew from above, slicing the syringe in half.

"Wha?! Who did that?" PicoDevimon demanded in an angered tone. Kouji already knew who his savior was as he gazed behind him. Korikarkumon stood in front of one of the tunnel's entrances with Charle sitting on top of his head.

"Bandana-san! Are you okay?" Charle asked.

"Been better," Kouji answered as she came up to him, "Oh no! You're hurt," she gasped when she saw the large gash in his leg. She plopped down on the floor, next to the injured appendage. Her arms glowed a bright green while she moved them in an up-down motion. Kouji felt the pain go away, 'How-"

"I can do minor healing-chu."

Korikakumon jumped and landed beside his two comrades, glaring at PicoDevimon.

The Devil Digimon snarled, "Hey! Who do you think you are interrupting us like that?!"

Kouji kicked his leg a few times and adjusted himself properly, "Tomoki, can you keep an eye on this guy? I'm gonna check down the drain with Charle."

"Oi! You ain't going anywhere while I'm here," PicoDevimon said as he dashed towards the group.

"FROZEN ARROWHEADS!" The extensible hair on Korikakumon restricted the Digimon from moving further. PicoDevimon struggled while watching Kouji walk towards the hole with Charle in tow.

Not giving up, it growled, "This was supposed to be my chance to prove myself to Barbamon-sama but these brats... I won't let ya do as ya wish!"

The Mini Devil forcibly twisted in his confinement, shouting, "BAT FLUTTER!"

Numerous bats appeared in thin air and sped towards Kouji. He raised his arms to block the attack, causing him to stumble backward. Before he could notice, his foot slipped and down the hole, he went.

Oh wow, Déjà vu... This had happened five years ago, resulting in Kouji discovering something incredible that changed his life. It was like time had stopped as he was descending in slow motion. A cool chilling feeling ran down his spine, making his hair stand. Takuya was the one who pushed him last time, wonder what that guy was doing. Izumi was surely waiting to hear from him, Junpei better not be causing her much trouble. Kouichi... hope he was okay going to a place like that.

Shit, shit, SHIT! Gotta think fast... The light shone here once, it can come again. Focus!

The thought seemed to linger as if it was his end, but deep down the boy knew it was not. He braced himself, slamming his eyes shut. He felt a surge of energy when he had entered the place. He knew for sure he was not going to return from this place empty-handed, so why these stupid thoughts came to him.

There is no way I'm stopping here!

His determination grew and as he was about to hit the ground. He gasped as a surge of energy engulfed his body and a flash of light surrounded the compact area. It busted out of the hole then vanished, causing the worried Warrior of Ice and fellow Digimon to scramble away. The Mini Devil escaped his restraints in the process and tried to scurry away but something stopped him. The aura around him turned dark as he was covered in a small black sphere.

Korikakumon turned to see but was smashed to the wall. The black sphere dissipated, instead fractal code surrounded PicoDevimon. A ghostly Digimon stood in its place as the ball of code disappeared.


Digital Analyzer

Name: Soulmon

Type: Ghost

Level: Champion

Attack Techniques: Dark Claw, Necro Magic, End Trance, Energy Drain, Ghost Chop

Description: Soulmon is a Ghost Digimon. A Ghost Digimon constructed from a cursed virus program. As it was a Bakemon that took in data of mages that appear in fantasy stories, the black hat it wears raises its magical power. Because of that, its attacks that make use of curses or magic are tremendously powerful.


Soulmon appeared calm and remained unmoving. Korikakumon stood up and took a defensive stance. It looked like the elder boy still had to arrive so he took charge. With a roar, he dived towards the ghost, only to stop before his fist made contact. The Beast-Warrior felt as if all of his energy got pulled away in a matter of seconds and he was now on his knees.

"Tomo-kun!" Charle rushed to the Ice Beast, only to feel the same dizziness.

"Wh-what... is this?" Korikakumon mumbled while trying to stay conscious.

"Energy Drain..." Soulmon whispered in a calm ghastly voice. A green aura spread around the underground space, shadowing over the two fallen creatures. The ghost kept murmuring the spell as it hovered slowly to its victims. Korikakumon once again tried to step up but this time completely fell to the ground. The Candy Digimon next to him was out like a fuse.

What was taking Kouji so long? Had he fallen deeper... did that light meant he... No. That can't happen. It won't happen. That light was a sign of hope. But how long do they have to wait?

Soulmon, however at a snail's pace, reached the two relatively fast. It stopped. Incurious. Perfectly silent. Floating in mid-air. But the dark aura spoke differently. The green hue began circling on top of the Ghost Digimon, shapeshifting into a still structure. It morphed into a huge skull, which hovered above the two.

"Die..." The Ghost snarled and the skull fell on top of the victims. Well, it would have if it hadn't gotten sliced into two. The slash of light slammed Soulmon into the nearest wall, causing the place to rumble. Korikakumon and Charle regained some of their strengths and looked up to see their savior standing in full glory. Surges of light emitted from the teenage boy's body, brightening the room.

"Not only are you a shitty spy but you had the nerves to pick a fight with us and intend to win... Tough fucking chance." Kouji held out his digivice, ready to brawl.

-Insert Song: WITH THE WILL-

A bluish sketch of the Human Spirit of Light traced on the black screen of Kouji's D-Tector. When the outline was complete, the screen on the little device stated to glow in shining, white light. With his black and blue D-Tector in his right hand, Kouji extended his left arm in front of him and opened up his hand. A ring of Fractal Code surrounded the boy's hand. He raised his hands after bringing his device and the Fractal Code ring together. When the Fractal Code scanner on the top of the D-Tector made contact with the ring of Fractal Code, Kouji's device started making loud and powerful sounds. The dark area that surrounded Kouji's body was completely engulfed by glimmering, bright light.

"EXECUTE..." Kouji screamed out loud, swiping the Fractal Code ring with the D-Tector's scanner. "... SPIRIT EVOLUTION!"

Upon command, a long line of Fractal Code swirled and surrounded the boy's body. At the same time, Kouji's clothes began to disintegrate as the Human Spirit of Light awakened. The boy felt a torrent of energy completely taking over his body. He could feel himself becoming one with the Spirit. Arms. Legs. Head. His entire body was slowly changing into the Legendary Warrior of Light. It wasn't long before the transformation was finally complete. He descended from the light and landed on the hexagon plate, shooting a laser beam to the front.

"LOBOMON!" The creature said.

The said creature took out a lightsaber, slashing Soulmon, who dodged the attack just in time. Seeing the huge cut on the wall, the Ghost shifted in fear but regained and proceeded to counter.

"Energy Dr-"

"HOWLING LASER!"

The blast collided with Soulmon, sweeping it into the air. Lobomon jumped and kicked the creature into the hole. It descended at full speed and an echoey crash was heard. The injured Digimon in his last waking moments, whispered, "Necro... Magic..."

Just as he did so, Lobomon delivered his final blow, "AERIAL SLAYING!" He dived downwards, beheaded the enemy and jumped back up with ease. The Warrior of Light just sighed in relief when his comrade called, "Kouji-san!" He whipped around to see green soul-shaped mists surrounding the now younger human, as it seems he had reverted from his Beast form, with Charle in his arms. He was completely defenseless but stood strong nonetheless. Lobomon dashed with his lightsaber in hand, slashing his way to the center of the circle.

The Humanoid Warrior glared at the souls, "That bastard left his dirty work for us."

"Even when you slashed them, they appeared back. I thought light-type attacks would be effective," Tomoki spoke while analyzing the dead crowd.

More spirits were coming out of the ground, making the circle bigger and stronger as Lobomon kept slaying. "There's no end to this... Tomoki, look out!"

A green mist appeared above the boy, who barely dodged it from before it could surround him. The sudden action made the tiny Digimon in his arms wake up with a jolt.

"Huh?! Wha?! Where?"

"Charle!" Lobomon called out as he continued his attacks. "Can you take us out of here?"

"Is that... Bandana-san? You got your Spirit-chu!"

Tomoki stopped her mid-cheer, "No time to celebrate! We need to get out of this place before these souls take us out."

"But we can't just leave these here! From the looks of it, they'll spread and come outside with us."

Lobomon skidded to the two, "What should we do then?"

"If I remember... A lot and I mean a lot of light energy is needed to make them disappear-chu."

The Warrior of Light scanned the area, a plan forming in his mind. "Here's what we'll do. Charle, you digivolve so these things back away enough for us to climb on you and once, we're high enough, I'll try to blast an attack big and bright enough to dissipate them. It'll take immense power to control so I will most definitely digivolve back. All clear?"

The two nodded and the plan was set into motion.

"Charlottemon Slide-Digivolve To... TENACIMON!"

Just as predicted, the ghosts spread into a wider circle, giving the other two to climb on the Beast Caterpillar. She slithered to the top, ready to speed away once ordered.

This better work or Kouji will be responsible for letting creepy, dead Digimon souls to roam all over the Digi-World. Lobomon inhaled a deep breath and stretched his left hand towards the bottom. Energy gathered in his left wrist, shining with brilliance. A different feeling formed inside him... or was it something else? He couldn't comprehend as his concentration would break. Once, he felt he had the amount of power required, he exhaled a shaky breath and put his all in this one blast.

"INTENSE HOWLING LASER!"

A ball of light grew in size before it released and fell upon the floor, the souls vanishing in the blinding light. Tenacimon slithered in full speed and out of the center through the tight tunnels. It was difficult as her size caused her to collide with the sidewalls, but she didn't care. Her mind was set on protecting the two occupants. She kept dashing from left to right, not caring that they were in a maze. Charle would break a wall or two if she had to. The rays of light seemed to have followed their trail as the Beast Digimon busted out of the labyrinth. She rolled in the open atmosphere, a sense of freedom surrounding the trio.

"We made it-chu!"

Tomoki sighed in relief, "Finally..." He glanced back to see the now Digimon-to-Human breathing heavily. "Kouji-san! Are you okay?"

The said boy huffed, "Never been better... You two okay?"

"We are fine. Looks like that attack took a lot out of you."

"Yeah... It's been so long, I had kinda expected this to happen." His mind wandered to the sensation he felt earlier, while he spoke. It was weird and funny. He felt very warm but at the same time, felt as if he looked too deep into it, he'll get consumed by the power.

"So what to do next-chu?"

"Maybe we should rest up someplace-" Kouji interrupted Tomoki and said, "No. We still need to get your Spirit. I don't think we should waste any more time considering how spies like that devil will appear out of nowhere."

"But-"

"I'll be fine," Kouji ruffled the little boy's hair. "We have handled worse."

"If you say so."

Charle paused for a moment, "Candlemon Village-chu?"

The human nodded in approval with Kouji confirming, "Candlemon Village it is."

Tenacimon did a full loop before zooming to their next destination.

"Charle, please no circus tricks..."

"But it's fun!"

Tomoki just snickered.

Back at the labyrinth, a grunt echoed. PicoDevimon flapped its wings and plopped on the metal floor.

"Those pesky brats are so gonna pay for this. That illusion really did the trick, though." It flew out of the hole and saw the damage. "Argh, that guy did a number on this place. Better report to Barbamon-sama." With that, it left through one of the tunnels.


Alright! Kouji got his Human Spirit too. Let's see who will be the next lucky human? I was wondering whether or not I should write every single person's chapter on how they get their Spirits back or two in one chapter or just skip the whole thing. Gimme your ideas people, I'm a desperate willy-nilly writer. I have university projects and stuff too... Turns out CS is not an easy field of study, apparently.

Btw, Kouichi is next because I wanted to give him more screen time. The guy didn't get much showcasing in the real show so... See you next time!