ZAFT: Another update, another week. :3
DarkFoxKit: We'll be a bit slow for a little while, due to my treatment. I know we've said this before, but it felt like it's been a while since we last wrote together because of it.
Takuya: At least it won't be much longer.
DarkFoxKit: Well, technically I still have 5 more weeks of another type of treatment after this one, but it should be easier to set up my schedule since it's only twice a week instead of 5 days a week like I'm doing now. These early mornings though, they're killing me. I'm a night owl by nature, but I've had to go to bed at 9 or 10 PM and wake up at 5:30 AM every weekday lately.
ZAFT: Well, at least the major pain of this type of treatment you have going on will be over soon. :3
DarkFoxKit: Doesn't feel soon enough if you ask me. But yeah, I'm glad that it's almost over, even if I do have 5 more weeks of another one.
Andy: Think of it this way; twice a week is better than 5 days a week. You'll get through this, and it'll all be over soon.
DarkFoxKit: Yeah… and what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?
ZAFT: True. :3 Now, let's get on with the chapter, shall we? :3 Our readers are probably tired of waiting. :3
(Two symbols, one red, and one blue, spin before colliding and flaring with light as they do so, showing the title)
Digital Phantom!
(Shows three forms in shadow before they are revealed to be Danny Fenton, Sam Manson, and Tucker Foley)
Three worlds, connected side by side
(A swirling green portal is shown, followed by the sky cities of the living world before a computer monitor is zoomed in on, revealing another world of lush greenery through that)
Connections, with secrets to hide
(Andy Fenton is shown with a small purple fox-like creature, Dorimon, in his arms as Takuya Kanbara appears behind him, a form in shadow behind Takuya himself)
Is one always chosen by fate?
(Danny is shown transforming into his ghost form, Danny Phantom, flying towards a vampiric looking ghost, Vlad Plasmius)
Or can one make their own destiny?
(Andy is shown looking on as his cell-phone transforms into a Digivice, the D-Arc)
Digital Phantom!
(Andy holds up his D-Arc as a heart symbol appears on the screen)
The power is deep inside!
(Takuya holds up his D-Tector before fractal code surrounds him, dissipating as fire erupts from it, revealing him as Agunimon, lunging out from the fire just as Dorimon glows and becomes Dorumon, firing off a metal ball into the distance)
Digital Phantom!
(The metal ball blasts past Vlad Plasmius as he fires off a ghost ray at Andy, who blocks it with his Fenton Rod)
Destiny is unbound!
(The Fenton Rod is smacked away by Vlad, going spinning before Sam reaches up and catches it, a shadowed form with wings appearing behind her, transparent in appearance)
Digital Phantom!
(Sam throws the Fenton Rod to Tucker, who spins it before throwing it at Plasmius, a shadowed form with gun-hands appearing behind Tucker, transparent in appearance)
Fight on, without regret
(Shows Takuya looking up from his D-Tector as he makes eye contact with his Human Spirit of Agunimon, who give a smile back and reaches out a hand as Takuya takes it)
Two sides never rest
(Danny is shown reaching for a glowing Digi-Egg, with a shadowed form above it just as an evil version of the shadowed form appears beside Vlad, both transparent in appearance)
Digital Phantom!
Chapter 36: Reunion With Old Friends
"So you're going back to the Digital World?" Andy asked, catching Takuya standing in front of the lab's computer with his D-Tector clutched in his hand.
Takuya froze, he had intended to sneak downstairs without waking anyone, yet Andy was here, as if he had been waiting for him.
He looked back at Andy. "Uh… Yeah… I was. It was Sorcermon who asked me to come." Takuya replied. "I'm sorry… this is a matter of Legendary Warriors only… I couldn't take you with me."
"I take it Dash is going as well?" Andy asked.
"Yeah… he said he'll go through his own computer and meet me there," Takuya confirmed.
"So you were going to leave without even saying goodbye?" Andy sighed.
Takuya rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Ehehe… Sorry…"
"Do you even know how long you'll be gone?" Andy questioned.
"Uh…" Takuya hesitated.
"Exactly. What if you were gone for days?" Andy asked. "Then we would be worried sick about you."
"It won't be long, I'm sure." Takuya assured Andy. "I will be back. Don't worry."
"Well… if you aren't… at least call me or Jazz," Andy sighed. "We'll try to cover for you with Mom and Dad if you have to be gone for longer. And Takuya… next time you have to go somewhere, don't try to sneak out."
Takuya rubbed the back of his head nervously again. "I won't. And I will be sure to let you know if I am gone for longer than expected."
"Good. Be safe out there, okay?" Andy said. "There must be a reason why they're calling back all the Legendary Warriors after all."
Takuya nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure there is." He then turned to the computer and held up his D-Tector. "Digi-Port, open!"
Takuya then realized something at the last second. How did Andy know I was going to be here?
Takuya was then sucked into the computer screen. Andy let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead. "I don't know if I should like or hate that I saw this coming…"
Takuya went through the digital portal. He saw Dash for a moment, who was in another digital portal.
Dash had his outfit change, but to a black jacket that had a grey shirt, and khaki pants with grey shoes. Takuya, however, turned into Flamemon again.
Takuya felt the familiar presence and groaned to himself. Not again...
Takuya was then ejected out of the vortex. Takuya yelped as he fell face first on something metallic. He groaned.
"Ugh…" Takuya, or Flamemon actually, sat up rubbing his head. "Ouch… That is gonna leave a bruise…"
Flamemon stood up, rubbing his head, and looked around. He realized this was the Flame Terminal rather quickly, it was the first place in the Digital World he had seen.
"Hey… I'm back at the Flame Terminal…" Flamemon realized. He smiled wistfully. "This brings back memories…"
Flamemon could see the Poyomon flying through the sky without a care in the world. The Biyomon and Pagumon were flying as well. There were also Pagumon bouncing around as well. They were quite the troublemakers when Flamemon first met them.
"Hey, who are you?" An Agumon asked, surprised at seeing Flamemon.
"Oh! I'm Flamemon, you could call me Agunimon's Rookie form I suppose." Flamemon said with a shrug. Might as well roll with it since this seems to be happening more and more lately.
"Agunimon?" Agumon blinked in surprise. "As in the Legendary Warrior of Flame? That Agunimon?"
"Uh… Yeah. Who else would I be?" Flamemon replied. "I have the symbol here on my belt." He pointed at it for good measure.
"Oh!" Agumon suddenly got on his knees and began bowing his head. "Please forgive me, Mr. Flamemon, I'm still very ignorant! I was only a Botamon when you and your friends saved the Digital World!"
Flamemon gave a sheepish laugh. "No need to act like that… It's fine." A sweatdrop ran down the side of his head as he said that. I guess we Legendary Warriors are a bit worshipped here...
"Mr. Flamemon, what brings you here to the Flame Terminal?" Agumon asked, lifting up his head.
Flamemon became serious here. "That is official business for the Legendary Warriors only, I'm afraid."
Agumon quickly bowed his head again. "Yes, yes, of course! I didn't mean to insult you by asking such a classified question! Please forgive me!"
Flamemon sighed. "You were curious, nothing more. I'm not offended. And please, I'm just a Digimon like you. No need to act all worshippy of me."
Agumon looked back up at Flamemon. "Oh, am I holding you up from your important business? Please, don't mind me!"
Flamemon gave a smile. "It's okay. It was nice to meet you, Agumon." He then put a hand on Agumon's head. "Don't worry. Whatever is going on here, we Legendary Warriors will take care of it."
Agumon's green eyes sparkled with happiness when Flamemon put his hand on his head. "Uncle Bokomon was right, you are amazing!"
Flamemon's eyes went wide. "Bokomon?! He's here!?"
"Hmm? Of course he is, he lives here," Agumon answered.
Flamemon was torn. He wanted to see his old friend, but at the same time, his duty as a Legendary Warrior took priority. But, since he was there, he decided to at least catch up for a bit. "Can you take me to him? It's been a while since I saw him."
"Sure! Uncle Bokomon would be happy to see you!" Agumon smiled.
As they walked off, Flamemon looked to Agumon. "Say, why are you calling Bokomon 'Uncle'?"
"Ah, well, when I was a Koromon, my parents were turned back into Digi-Eggs by some rough and tough Digimon. Uncle Bokomon took me in and raised me as his nephew. I owe him for that," Agumon answered. "He's taught me a lot about you Legendary Warriors, but I've still got a long ways to go before I'm as smart as him."
Flamemon just laughed. "That's just like Bokomon. He has a big heart when it comes to young Digimon like you."
"Heh, yeah, he told me how he raised Seraphimon, one of the Celestial Digimon from an egg. I was amazed by that," Agumon chuckled. "My best friend Gabumon was raised by Neemon. We often get to play with each other."
Flamemon blinked at the comment of Neemon raising a Digimon. "Um… That's a bit of a surprise. When I was traveling with Bokomon and Neemon, Neemon wasn't exactly… the smartest Digimon I knew.""
"Oh, no, Neemon is a genius!" Agumon smiled. "It's just he has trouble with words, so others often see him as an idiot. He sees things that others tend to miss, at least that's what Gabumon told me. Uncle Bokomon still thinks Neemon is an idiot though."
Flamemon sweatdropped. "Yeah… I can guess why…"
Agumon led Flamemon into a forest-like area, where there was a house. Bokomon was reading a book to some Pagumon, Yokomon, and Poyomon outside of the house.
"Ah, looks like we came in during Uncle's story time," Agumon noted.
Flamemon smiled at seeing that. It reminded him of when Seraphimon was newly hatched and how Bokomon took care of him.
"-and everyone was finally safe to live on in peace. The end," Bokomon finished, closing his book.
"Aww, tell that story again! That was a good one!" A Pagumon bounced.
"I liked the part where the girl got her Beast Spirit and fought off that ugly squid," A Yokomon remarked.
Here, Flamemon grinned. "What about when the Legendary Warriors all became Susanoomon?"
The Digimon all turned to look at Flamemon.
"Who's that Digimon?"
"I don't know, but he looks familiar somehow."
"I feel like we've seen or heard of him before."
Agumon stepped forward and smiled. "Uncle Bokomon, I brought over Agunimon. The one you said you travelled with?"
"Hmm?" Bokomon blinked, looking at Flamemon. "This Digimon?"
Flamemon gave a familiar cocky grin at Bokomon. His symbol of Flame gleamed on his belt buckle as well. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Bokomon?"
Bokomon's eyes went wide, immediately recognizing his voice. "That voice… can it really be?"
Bokomon looked into Flamemon's eyes, then tears of happiness began falling from the Digimon's eyes. "It is! Takuya! It's been far too long!"
Bokomon jumped at Flamemon, pouncing him in a hug.
"Hey! Settle down!" Flamemon laughed as he hugged his friend. "I know it has, but I'm here now, right?"
"You have no idea how much I missed you, Takuya. I had to put up with Neemon's nonsense since you all left!" Bokomon remarked, still hugging Flamemon. "I've told your story to as many Digimon as I could so everyone would know about your and your friends' brave heroics of saving the Digital World!"
Flamemon laughed. "So I can see! You haven't changed a bit, Bokomon!"
"Oh!" Bokomon stopped hugging Flamemon and looked at him. "You… what happened to you? Why are you… in that form?"
Flamemon sighed. "It's hard to explain, but it's basically like a proto-fusion of my Spirits. Like an incomplete version in a sense."
"Oh, Takuya! I must write this down! This is new!" Bokomon smiled excitedly. "Come on inside, we can catch up with some tea and cookies! Agumon, would you mind getting some water?"
"Right, of course, Uncle!" Agumon smiled.
Dash was looking at a town that he came out of from the broken TV that was sitting at the corner of a building. "Huh… what is this place?"
"Uh… are you new here?" A voice asked.
Dash turned around, and saw a small white Digimon looking at him.
"Uh… Yeah, I am." Dash confirmed, looking at the small Digimon.
"Heh, I'm actually surprised. Are you a real human?" The Digimon asked as it flew up to him with its ears. "We don't usually get different humans here. Does that mean you have a Digimon partner?"
"What?" Dash blinked.
"Oh, sorry, I should introduce myself. I'm T- err, Calumon. It's nice to meet you," The Digimon that called itself 'Calumon' greeted.
"Ah… I'm Dash. Dash Baxter. I hold the Spirits of Wood." Dash said as he held up his D-Tector. "I'm what you would call a Legendary Warrior."
Calumon's eyes went wide when he heard that. "You're… a Legendary Warrior? The holder of the Warrior of Wood?"
"Yep." Dash said with some pride. Then he looked around. "You didn't happen to see another human here did you? He wears goggles around his neck and has brown hair."
"Uh…" Calumon hesitated. "No, you were the only human to come out of that TV here."
Dash frowned. "I see…" He then looked at his D-Tector. "I was told by my friend that I should head to a large castle in the Forest Terminal. Do you know where that is? This is my first time here in this Digital World."
"Oh?" Calumon blinked. I wonder why he was told to go to Seraphimon's castle… "Well, I could take you there. But before I do… do you want to get some burgers to go?"
"Burgers?" Dash questioned.
Calumon smiled. "Look around you, you're in Burger Town. This is a place where a family of Digimon called Burgermon make the best burgers in the Digital World. I came here myself to eat some of their newer ones. Though the Little Tommy is still my favorite."
Dash blinked. "They have burgers here?" He then smiled a bit. "Sure. I could go for a bite since I missed dinner back in the real world."
"Great, follow me! I know a great family who makes the best burgers." Calumon grinned as he flew ahead.
Dash hurried after Calumon. As he looked around, he could see there were many banners and stores that had the burger picture on them. There were also a lot of those Digimon that Calumon called Burgermon roaming around. They all looked happy and going about their business, though many of them were looking at him curiously. There were also these little brown chicks that were flying around. The town also reminded Dash of a western town he usually would see on TV.
Calumon stopped in front of an entrance that didn't seem to have a door, but one of those floppy doors that the bars would have in an old western town.
Dash followed Calumon and looked inside. "Wow. This is a nice place."
"It definitely is. I helped out with rebuilding it after Pe- err… a big, mean Digimon caused a mess around here," Calumon replied.
Two Burgermon came walking out, a female Burgermon wearing a pink apron gave Dash a kind smile, while the male Burgermon wore a white chef outfit.
"Welcome to our humble little burger cafe," The male Burgermon greeted. "My goodness, it's been a while since we had a new human customer."
"How may we serve you?" The female Burgermon asked with a smile on her face.
Calumon landed on the ground and smiled at them. "Hey guys."
"Oh, hi little dear, is this human a friend of yours?" The female Burgermon asked.
"Well, we just met, but he seemed pretty hungry so I thought I could bring him here to try out your burgers." Calumon smiled.
Dash smiled. "I heard you have some good burgers, so hit me up with some, please."
"Would you like anything from the menu, young man?" The chef asked, giving Dash a menu of different kinds of burgers.
Dash looked at a few before deciding to try one. "I would like to try the Little Tommy. This little guy said it was his favorite, so why not give it a try myself?"
Calumon blushed a little.
"Alright then, one Little Tommy, coming right up," The chef chuckled before he headed into the kitchen.
"Can I get you anything else? Perhaps some refreshments?" The female Burgermon asked.
"Just some water, please." Dash replied. He wasn't in the mood for anything too special in terms of a drink.
"Coming right up," The female Burgermon said before she walked to the back.
Dash looked at Calumon. "It's pretty late, isn't it? So how long do they stay open?"
"They're usually open 24 hours. If they get tired, their kids usually take over," Calumon answered.
"Huh…" Dash then looked out the window and noticed there were three moons in the sky. "Wow… there are three moons!"
"Oh yeah, the Digital World has three moons instead of just one," Calumon chuckled. "It looks like all three moons are aligned tonight."
Dash looked on in awe at the three moons. "It's so majestic to see, not to mention amazing…"
Dash felt something in his Spirit that was a little agitated though, but he wasn't sure why.
Dash just brushed it off as something that was a one time deal, figuring his Spirit was just excited to be back in the Digital World.
"So…" Calumon sat down on a small chair, but it was tall enough for him to see over the table. "While we're waiting, how about you tell me about yourself? I'm actually interested to know how you have the Spirits of one of the Legendary Warriors."
Dash gave a sheepish chuckle here. "I actually got my Spirits when some of my friends were in trouble from a Digimon that somehow got into the Human world. They were unable to defend themselves, and I wasn't going to sit back and let them get hurt. The next thing I know, I am Spirit Evolving and I was able to beat the Digimon in question. I think it was called WaruMonzaemon or something like that."
"Oh wow, that was awfully brave of you," Calumon noted.
"Yeah… to be honest, I didn't really like myself that much until that point," Dash admitted. "I used to be quite a big bully actually, maybe even the king of bullies. It started out with me venting because my aunt and uncle were putting so much pressure on me… but after that, I just… couldn't stop hurting people. It wasn't until one of the people I used to hurt the most came into my defense when I was being… well, bullied myself, did I finally manage to get myself to stop and try to change."
Dash looked at Calumon, who was looking at him curiously. "Heh, I'm sorry, this all probably sounds very stupid to you."
Calumon shook his head. "Not at all. I'm glad to hear that you're trying to turn over your bullying days."
Dash smiled. "I'm glad you think so. To be honest, it feels better to not be a bully than it is to be one."
The two Burgermon came back, one of them giving Dash a glass of water, while the other had two plates with burgers on it. He put one plate in front of Calumon, and the other in front of Dash.
"Here you are, the Little Tommy burger. I even brought one out for Calumon, because I know how much he likes it," The chef Burgermons chuckled, giving a wink at Calumon.
Dash laughed at Calumon's blush, but not in a mean way at all. "You look adorable when you blush!" He joked. "Just like a plush toy too."
Calumon pouted a little. "Just eat your burger."
"Hey, I was just joking with you." Dash said in a reassuring tone. "I meant no harm by it."
"I know," Calumon rolled his eyes. "I just reacted accordingly."
Calumon picked up his burger and took a bite into it, smiling as he tasted the flavor.
Dash followed suit, his eyes lighting up as he ate the burger he had in his mouth. "Wow! That's amazing!"
"I'm glad you think so. That burger was actually made by a human child who came here four years ago, it's been our top burger ever since," The chef chuckled.
Dash blinked at that. "Is that so? I can see why it would be a hit then. Humans must not be common to see here."
As Dash tasted the burger, he felt a hint of dejavu for some reason, like he had eaten this burger before in a dream. His Spirit suddenly took over, and coated his body with fractal code. Calumon's forehead triangle glowed suddenly. Calumon stared in shock and horror as he dropped his burger back on his plate.
The two Burgermon's eyes went wide as they were staring at the very same Digimon that had pilfige their home town for their burgers before. In Dash's place was Petaldramon, who licked the rest of the now tiny burger.
Calumon wasn't sure if this was a bad thing or a good thing. It didn't seem like Petaldramon was going on a rampage this time. Unfortunately, the Burgermon were still quite traumatized from when Petaldramon kidnapped one of them and demanded a better burger for ransom.
"Why is everyone staring at me?" Petaldramon asked, noticing all the eyes were suddenly on him. "Why is everything suddenly smaller? … And why do I feel so hungry?"
"It's you! You monster!" The female Burgermou shouted, pointing at him.
Petaldramon winced back a little, blinking and sweatdropping at the sudden accusation. "I'm sorry, what?"
The male Burgermon got in front of his wife. "I will not let you take her, you fiend! Not after what you did last time!"
"Why would I take her? I've also never met with you guys before until today," Petaldramon pointed out.
"Um… Dash? You… kinda… changed?" Calumon pointed out.
Petaldramon looked himself over and sweatdropped. "Oh… Uh… Is this a bad thing?"
"Petaldramon was a corrupted Digimon in the Digital World 4 years ago… he… was the big Digimon who caused the destruction of this place," Calumon informed hesitantly.
Petaldramon felt sweat running down his wooden skin. "Uh oh… And because I hold his Spirits… Crap…"
Calumon ran up to the two Burgermon. "It's alright, he's not the same Petaldramon. He's still the human kid, his Spirit likely just reacted to my burger- the burger I mean."
Petaldramon noticed the slip up, but he didn't question it. However, it did raise his curiosity as to who Calumon was.
The two Burgermon paused for a moment, looking at Petaldramon. Petaldramon tried his best to look as innocent and least threatening as possible. He waited, hoping that he passed whatever test they had for him to prove he wasn't the same monster that tormented them 4 years ago.
There was no movement from either party, which made it feel like a western stand-off to Petaldramon. This feels like a western film for some reason...
Finally, the chef relaxed. "You certainly do have a different aura than the original Petaldramon had. If you were the same, I doubt you'd just let us look at you like that for so long. He was never the patient one."
Hearing that, Petaldramon relaxed. "Sorry… I just didn't think my Spirit would react like that." He sheepishly chuckled. "It must have been quite the shock…"
"It certainly was," The female Burgermon remarked. "But as long as you aren't the same Petaldramon, and you don't have any ill intentions, then we're sorry for overreacting like that."
"It's not your fault," Petaldramon said.
"Your Spirits do have minds of their own. The Petaldramon Spirit likely remembered the taste of the Little Tommy's burger and came out when you tasted it," Calumon explained.
Petaldramon took in that information. "I guess that makes sense. I've heard the Spirits can be alive in a sense, but I never thought it was actually possible."
"Keep in mind of it for next time then," Calumon chuckled. "Also… it looks like we may need more burgers, you're likely feeling pretty hungry right now. The three moons seem to make Petaldramon pretty hungry."
As if on cue, Petaldramon's stomach let out a loud growl, to which, Petaldramon blushed and the leaves on his neck extended out to cover his embarrassed face.
"That would explain why I feel so hungry…" Petaldramon muttered sheepishly.
"Heh, well it's been a long time since I had to make a bigger burger." The chef smiled.
Petaldramon looked at the chef. "You would do that?" He was surprised.
"Sure, just think of it as payment for being so rude to you earlier," The chef chuckled. "It's also on the house."
"Wow, thank you so much!" Petaldramon smiled.
Once Dash finished eating his burgers, and managed to turn back to his human form, he thanked the Burgermon before he and Calumon left their restaurant.
"So, you said you needed to go to the Forest Terminal to a castle?" Calumon asked, who was currently on Dash's shoulder.
Dash nodded. "That's right." He confirmed.
"Okay then. I guess Sorcermon wanted to meet the newest Legendary Warrior," Calumon muttered. "Well, we could walk there, but it would be faster to take a Trailmon there."
Dash looked at Calumon. "I've seen a Trailmon a few times, but never ridden on one."
"It's like riding on a real train, only one that talks," Calumon chuckled.
Dash blinked at what Calumon said. "Wait… how do you know what a human train is like?"
"Uh… I've… seen one before…?" Calumon nervously answered.
Dash frowned a bit at that. He was getting the feeling something was off about Calumon, but as to what it was, he wasn't sure. Still, he didn't point out the answer was more like a question and let Calumon feel less nervous with the lack of a reaction.
"Um… anyways, the nearest Trailmon station is just a few blocks away from here," Calumon continued. "It should be easy for us to get on one that'll take us to where we need to go."
Dash smiled. "Well then, let's find a Trailmon and take the tracks to the castle!"
Flamemon had a nice time chatting with Bokomon, but he knew he needed to get going. Sorcermon and his friends were likely waiting for him at Sorcermon's castle.
"It was nice to talk to you, Bokomon, but I need to get going. Sorcermon is waiting for me." Flamemon said as he stood up. "I wish I could stay longer, but you know how it is being a Legendary Warrior." He smiled sheepishly at that.
"Yes, of course," Bokomon agreed, he had a notepad full of notes. "It was nice seeing you again, Takuya. It was nice hearing about your heroic deeds at Amity Park. I look forward to hearing more again soon. Don't be a stranger now."
"Maybe one day, Gabumon and I could digivolve into something really awesome that could be a great help to you Legendary Warriors." Agumon smiled.
Flamemon laughed at that. "That is a good goal. Just stay on the path you are now, and that will happen!" He then patted Agumon's head. "Maybe we can train together one day as well."
Agumon smiled happily at that, before he passed out.
"Oh dear, looks like he got a little too excited," Bokomon chuckled. "But you really made his night, Takuya."
Flamemon smiled. "I'm glad I could. He seems like a good Digimon."
"I'll let you in on a secret, but you have to promise not to tell anyone, especially Agumon and Gabumon," Bokomon whispered. "Neemon and I actually found them together when they were Koromon and Tsunemon. We're not entirely sure yet, but we think it's possible they were a royal knight before. Like Crusadermon and Dynastmon."
Flamemon looked at Bokomon. "A Royal Knight? Which one?" He wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.
"An Agumon and Gabumon's Mega lines usually have to fuse in order to create this particular royal knight; Omegamon. Considering we found those two together, it's possible that was who they were before they were reborn," Bokomon stated. "They're also always together, and they get along better than most other Digimon their age."
Flamemon pursed his lips. "I see. You know we had bad experiences with the Royal Knights before, but… it was only two of them. I can't say I know the rest of the Royal Knights very well, but you know my personal experience isn't the best with that group…"
"I know. And like I said, we're not 100 percent sure that is the case. They could just be normal Agumon and Gabumon that just happen to become friends," Bokomon stated. "I guess we won't know until later. It's only a hunch for now."
Flamemon nodded. "Okay." He then looked back at Agumon, who was still on the floor. He picked up Agumon and put him on the couch so he didn't wake up sore. "If he is a Royal Knight Digimon, I hope he turns out noble instead of evil. It would be great if that happened."
"Well, if it helps, you are his favorite Legendary Warrior, and he's a very nice Digimon at his Digi-Core," Bokomon assured. "And so is Gabumon. I just can't imagine either of them turning out like Crusadermon or Dynasmon."
Flamemon smiled. "I will hold you to that then. You've done a good job raising him."
"Ah, well now, I do have experience after all!" Bokomon smiled proudly. "Ah, but I've kept you long enough. You should get to where you're needed now. I'm sure everyone else is waiting for you."
Flamemon smiled again. "Yeah, I probably should." He then turned and ran out, but not before he turned back and gave a wave of goodbye as he ran. "See ya, Bokomon!"
"Be sure to come back and visit again soon!" Bokomon waved as Flamemon left.
Flamemon looked at the sky. "Okay, so how do I want to get there? Should I go there by Trailmon or by air?"
Deciding flight would be faster, he focused on his fusion link for his Spirits and let the form he was in go, returning to human form. Now Takuya again, the boy looked at his D-Tector before he took it out. "Time to fly!"
One evolution later, BurningGreymon was now airborne and on his way to the castle. "Okay, here we go! Sorcermon, here I come!"
As BurningGreymon was flying, he was enjoying the relaxing atmosphere of the night sky and the Digital World around him, he was happy that it wasn't in pieces like it was the last time he was here when Lucemon was eating away the world, literally. It was good to see the world in one piece. Then he thought about Dash. Oh… Dash doesn't know anything about this world… I hope he'll be able to find his way to the castle.
BurningGreymon found himself wishing that he had gone with Dash instead of through the lab's computer. But when he remembered his Flamemon form, he felt a sweat-drop run down the side of his head. Yeah… that would have been hard to explain… Maybe it was best we came the way we did, separately…. Still, I may need to look for him if he's not at the castle by the time I get there.
"I can't believe we're riding in a pink Trailmon that looks like a cute mole… This looks like something Paulina would like to ride, not me," Dash grumbled as he and Calumon were riding in a Mole Trailmon.
"Oh stop complaining, it was the only Trailmon available for the Forest Terminal. Just be glad they built actual tracks there. If you tried to get there a year ago, you'd be walking," Calumon huffed.
Dash sighed. "I guess that's a good counterpoint. I heard about how walking was hard on the Legendary Warriors before when they were here a few years ago."
"Oh? Who told you about that?" Calumon asked.
Dash froze, realizing he had something he probably shouldn't have said. But he decided to be honest with the little guy. "Would you believe me if I told you I met one of the Legendary Warriors back in my hometown?"
Calumon's eyes looked at Dash with a sense of surprise and curiosity. "Really? Oh… well, I guess I shouldn't be that surprised since you do hold the Warrior of Wood… but still… I guess I just didn't expect you to meet one of them. You… come from the United States, right?"
Dash nodded. "Yeah, I do. A small town called Amity Park to be exact."
"I see… so the Legendary Warrior you met…" Calumon paused for a moment. "What was their name?"
Dash blinked. "Can you clarify that? I mean, I have my Digimon names and my human name, so which are you asking for?"
"It doesn't really matter. Human or Digimon, they're the same person," Calumon remarked. "But I suppose, I am asking for their human name."
Dash nodded. "Well, his name is Takuya. Takuya Kanbara."
For a moment, Calumon didn't give any visible reaction, but then he gave a small smile. "Heh… so it was him after all…"
"You know Takuya?" Dash asked, surprised.
"He and I have met before, yeah," Calumon admitted.
"When did you meet him?" Dash asked. "I mean, he never mentioned you in his story he told me."
"I suppose he wouldn't. Calumon has only met him recently," Calumon said, seeming to refer to himself in third person.
Before Dash could ask what Calumon meant, there was a sudden shake, then the Trailmon let out a surprised yelp as the trailer they were sitting in suddenly went flying a bit. Dash and Calumon rolled on the ground as the trembling and shaking finally stopped.
"Ugh… That wasn't what I expected…" Dash groaned as he sat up. "Hey, are you okay, Calumon?" He picked up the smaller Digimon, who had landed next to the human.
"Ugh… a little disorientated, but I'll be fine…" Calumon groaned, rubbing his head. "What happened? Did we get derailed?"
Dash got up to his feet and looked out of the window. "Not that I can see… We appear to still be on the tracks, but I don't see the Trailmon."
"We better take a look outside, something must've happened to Mole," Calumon said in concern.
Dash walked over to the door and opened it, getting out of the train car they were in. He looked around, only to have his eyes widen at seeing a large hole in front of the car just ahead of them. All he could see was Mole's rear end sticking out of the hole the Trailmon had fallen into.
"Oh dear… I seem to have fallen and can't get up," The Mole Trailmon muttered. "Um… excuse me up there, if you don't mind, could you help pull me up? This hole looks pretty dark."
Dash looked at Calumon. "I think we should help."
"Yeah," Calumon agreed before the upside-down triangle on his forehead gave a slight red glow. "You better do it fast. Whatever made that hole might still be around."
Dash took out his D-Tector as the dark green Beast Spirit roared before appearing on the screen of the tan and brown device. He invoked the ball of fractal coding on his hand before swiping the D-Tector across the coding. "EXECUTE! BEAST SPIRIT EVOLUTION!" Dash cried out as the coding surrounded his body. He could feel his skin becoming bark, with the leaves forming on his back. A tail sprouted from his spine as his body took on a quadruped form, and the leaves around his neck formed as well. Finally, the coding vanished as he landed, swishing his tail around before calling out his Beast Spirit name. "PETALDRAMON!"
Now as Petaldramon, he grabbed onto Mole's back and started pulling him back onto the trail. Calumon flew around in a circle, trying to find what made that hole in the first place.
"Just hang on! Almost got you out!" Petaldramon shouted as he pulled.
Mole gave a sigh of relief, until he saw something moving in the darkness. Mole gave a bit of a shriek. "H-hurry! There's something down here!"
Petaldramon was able to pull Mole to safety, just as something swiped at, and missed, Mole's front end. "Gotcha out!"
Calumon looked at the hole, then he saw something moving, and digging. Calumon's eyes widened. "Petaldramon! It's coming underneath you!"
Petaldramon looked down, only to wind up moving back as a large drill emerged from the ground "Whoa! That was close!"
A large mole-like Digimon came up from the hole. It had purple fur on the top of its back and head, with cream colored fur on the rest of its body. The 'horn' on its nose was actually a drill, and it had smaller claws that were similar in appearance. It had blue eyes, and sharp teeth as well. The Digimon also appeared to have three whiskers per side above its mouth too.
"What the heck is that?" Petaldramon asked.
"It's a Drimogemon!" Calumon called out.
"Drimogemon is an Animal Digimon. It moves underground at high speeds with the gigantic drill attached to its snout. It is an extremely rare Digimon to come across because it is always digging deep underground. It is a Champion level, and a Data type." A voice said in Petaldramon's head.
"Okay… I swear I heard a voice in my head…" Petaldramon muttered to himself.
Calumon flew over to Petaldramon. "That was probably one of your Spirits giving you information on the Digimon. The other Legendary Warriors have those voices too when they see a Digimon they've never seen before."
Petaldramon considered that. That does make sense, given how the Spirits were once Digimon too… He then looked at Drimogemon. "But why is he attacking?"
"Actually… it's a she…" Calumon pointed at the eyelashes. "And I don't know. Maybe the Trailmon ran over her territory?"
Petaldramon frowned. "I don't know myself, but we can't let him… err, her, get away with attacking like that."
"You're going to pay…" Drimogemon hissed in a feminine voice.
"Pay? Pay for what?" Petaldramon asked, but he was ready to attack in case talking didn't work.
"You've hurt my family and I. I'll make sure you pay for that! Drill Spin!" Drimogemon ran at Petaldramon with her large drill nose spinning.
Petaldramon quickly moved away from the Drimogemon, but she turned and was following him. "Calumon! Did Petaldramon do something to her too!?"
"Not that I know of!" Calumon answered back, flying with Petaldramon.
Petaldramon looked back at the enraged Drimogemon. "What did I do to your family?! I've never met you before!"
Drimogemon didn't seem interested in answering, instead she growled. "Justice will be served."
Drimogemon created a large bone in her hand. "Bone Crusher!"
"Look out!" Calumon yelped.
Petaldramon used his tails to swipe the bone away.
Petaldramon was getting frustrated now. "It seems talking won't work on this one. She's too driven by rage."
Calumon frowned as he looked at the Drimogemon. He noticed something wasn't quite right with her eyes, they seemed glazed over, like she wasn't all there.
"I'm going to try to knock her out," Petaldramon decided.
He decided his Leaf Cyclone would do the trick. "Leaf Cyclone!"
Drimogemon quickly burrowed underground, avoiding the tornado of leaves. Petaldramon gasped, seeing the ground was coming towards him.
"Okay… bad idea…" Petaldramon muttered before deciding his Thorn Jab would be a better bet. "But since she is underground, maybe…" He then knew what to do. "Thorn Jab!"
The vines came up from underground. Drimogemon was easily wrapped up in the vines as Petaldramon had the vines lift her above the ground. Drimogemon yelled and struggled against his hold.
"Yes! It worked!" Petaldramon exclaimed.
"Screw Claw!" Drimogemon's mini drill claws began to spin and she dug them into the vines that held her body.
Calumon gasped at seeing that before he quickly flew towards the Drimogemon.
"Hey! What are you doing? Don't get too close, it's too dangerous!" Petaldramon called after the small Digimon.
"I have to stop her claws before she drills through the vines!" Calumon called back. "She could accidentally pierce herself!"
Petaldramon realized that was a possibility and froze. "Oh, that's not good." Then he paused. "Wait… How do you plan to do that?!"
Calumon frowned as he analyzed the claws trying to dig through the vines. "You might feel slightly cold."
Calumon focused for a moment, the red upside-down triangle on his forehead turned light blue, and into the shape of a teddy bear's face. "Crystal Breeze!"
A small blizzard of ice and snow came out of Calumon's forehead, freezing the Drimogemon's claws into ice, stopping the drills completely, though he did also freeze some of the vines as well.
Petaldramon blinked as he saw that. "What the…?" He was stunned. How did that little guy do that?
Calumon turned to Petaldramon as the blue teddy bear's face turned back into the red upside-down triangle. "Hurry and knock her out. That weak ice attack won't hold her claws for long."
Petaldramon blinked. "Oh. Right." He ran at Drimogemon and gave her a good headbutt with his own head, knocking the Digimon out.
"Whew… looks like that's that," Petaldramon sighed in relief.
"Yeah… but…" Calumon frowned as Drimogemon began to groan despite being unconscious. "What could've happened to her?"
"I don't know…" Petaldramon frowned. "I don't believe that attack was random, err… was it?"
"I don't think so. She sounded like she was out for revenge," Calumon answered. "We better take her with us. Sorcermon might be able to help her and find out what's going on."
Petaldramon nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." He then looked himself over. "Hmm… Maybe I could take her with us more easily as Arbormon."
Calumon looked back at Mole, and the tracks that were stopped over a big hole. "First… we might need to get Mole over that hole…"
Petaldramon looked back at Mole. "Oh… Right..."
It was late by the time Mole reached the Forest Terminal. He stopped by a large tree that seemed to go up forever. "We're here. I'm going to have to get someone to fix up that hole back there though. I may be a mole, but I don't like falling down dark holes."
Arbormon stepped out of the train car, pulling the unconscious Drimogemon with him. "I don't blame you. Dark holes aren't fun for anyone, human or Digimon."
"I'm glad you understand," Mole replied. "Well, good luck."
Mole began moving down the track once Dash and Calumon were out. Calumon had been analyzing the unconscious Drimogemon since they brought her on the Trailmon.
"Were you able to find out anything?" Arbormon asked.
Calumon frowned. "There's nothing wrong with her body, nothing physical… there's no unusual energy inside her body that I could see either. I may be a bit of a doctor, but I am still in training, so whatever this is, someone else will have to try to pick up on it."
Arbormon frowned. "I see. I mean that's why we brought her with us anyways." He then looked around. "So… where do we go from here?"
"The castle is above this tree. It used to be hidden, but it's been open after the war against Cherubimon 4 years ago," Calumon answered.
Arbormon blinked. "Really? Well, then it shouldn't be hard to find."
"Yeah. You just have to have enough endurance to walk up stairs," Calumon replied. "Lots of stairs."
Arbormon felt a sweat-drop run down the side of his head. "Great… Lots of stairs… I am so looking forward to that…"
As Arbormon carried Drimogemon and followed Calumon up the stairs, he groaned to himself. It's times like this I wish one of my Spirits could fly… If Takuya were here, he'd be able to fly to the castle no problem, but noooo, I'm stuck carrying a giant mole, following a small Digimon up the stairs of a giant tree.
Arbormon walked up the stairs for a while before he perked up as he saw a large castle coming into view. "Hey… Is that it?"
"Yup, that's it, Seraphimon's Castle," Calumon answered. "We're almost there."
"Good… because while I am in shape, it's quite a bit of a pain to carry Drimogemon while climbing up stairs," Arbormon grumbled.
Suddenly, a shadow flew over them. Calumon nearly jumped at the sudden shadow flying over them. They looked up, seeing BurningGreymon flying over them. BurningGreymon didn't seem to notice them, however, he was just looking straight on at the castle.
"And speaking of flying…" Arbormon groaned at seeing that. "So much for hoping for some help with Drimogemon…"
"Why is he here again?" Calumon frowned, having landed on the stairs and retracted his ears. "Is something going on?"
Arbormon frowned at hearing Calumon's words, but he didn't question it, figuring he would get some answers when they arrived. "Might as well keep going…" He sighed, continuing his long trek to the castle.
The rest of the way was pretty quiet. Calumon had stopped flying after BurningGreymon passed them, he was walking up the stairs as well, and seemed to be contemplating something.
Arbormon noticed the silence from the little Digimon, but he didn't press the matter. Still, he decided to try and strike up a conversation nonetheless. "So… what is this Sorcermon like?"
Calumon blinked, coming out of his thoughts. "Ah… well, he's a good guy. Very well versed with magic attacks. He's also a good doctor, he can scan for anything unusual inside a Digimon, a lot better than I can anyways. He can be a little protective when it comes to Seraphimon though, so be careful if you want to ask him about Seraphimon."
Arbormon nodded. "I will keep that in mind." He then blinked. "Wait… Seraphimon? As in one of the Celestial Digimon?"
"Yeah. He went missing a few months ago," Calumon replied. "And with the other two Celestial Digimon weakened, and back at the real world, well… Sorcermon and a few others are stepping up to try to keep the peace in the Digital World."
Arbormon blinked. "Do you think that's why he called upon the Legendary Warriors? Because whatever is going on is getting to the point where it is out of his hands?"
"He called on the Legendary Warriors?" Calumon asked as they came up to the gate. "What do you mean by tha-aaaat…"
Calumon trailed off when he saw some very familiar faces.
"Well Takuya, it's about time you got here." Koji remarked.
Takuya sighed. "Sorry, but I met with Bokomon for a while. He wanted to catch up on old times."
"Oh, you did? We actually met up with Neemon and a Gabumon on our way here." Koichi smiled.
Takuya laughed. "Yeah, Bokomon raised an Agumon. I met that very Agumon when I arrived here."
"So, Takuya finally arrived, huh?" A chubby teen asked, coming over. "Jeez, I thought I would have to eat all the chocolate, but since you're here, I can give you your share."
Takuya laughed. "It's good to see you too, JP!"
JP was wearing a blue shirt that had a lightning bolt on it with grey pants and blue and yellow sneakers.
"Nice to see you again, Tacky, so what's it like in America?" JP chuckled, calling Takuya by the nickname he unofficially gave him.
"JP, don't be rude," A girl with long blonde hair grumbled as she walked over as well. "Well, well, it has been a while, hasn't it, Takuya?"
Takuya blushed a bit. "Uh… Yeah. It has, Zoe."
Zoe was wearing a purple shirt with white lines down the arms, and blue jeans with her pink and purple shoes. A purple beanie sat on her head. Zoe had also obviously developed over the years, which Takuya was trying very hard not to notice.
Takuya then looked around. "Hey, where's Tommy? I was sure he would be here."
"We're not sure. We thought he might arrive with you since you were so late," JP answered. "I thought he might like trying some new chocolate bars I got for him."
Takuya frowned. "That's odd… Because I never saw him when I got here."
Calumon was trying not to sweat, but beads of sweat were already running down his head. Arbormon looked at the now very nervous little Digimon. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yes! Of course I am! W-why wouldn't I be?" Calumon laughed nervously. "Ummm… why don't you introduce yourself? They're the… uh… the other Legendary Warriors."
Arbormon nodded. "Sure. I guess…" he was nervous about this, considering his Spirits were once the enemy. "Uh… Hey there, Takuya."
"Is that Arbormon?" Zoe asked, surprised.
"It sure looks like it." JP frowned.
"Calm down, guys," Koichi spoke up. "This is a friend, we actually battled alongside him a few times before."
Takuya sighed. "Guys… This is the new Legendary Warrior of Wood. He's human like us, but he is apparently evolved right now." He then looked at Arbormon. "Why are you evolved right now anyway? And… why do you have a giant mole with you?"
"Ah, well, my little friend and I got attacked by this Drimogemon on our way here," Arbormon answered. "I knocked her out though, and brought her here to see what's wrong with her. We don't know why she attacked us."
Takuya blinked. "Okay…? That's odd."
"Who's your little friend?" Koji asked.
Calumon was nervously behind Arbormon's legs, hoping nobody would notice him. He didn't have such luck.
Takuya blinked. "Huh? Calumon?" He saw one of Calumon's ears behind Arbormon's left leg.
Calumon froze for a moment, before he stiffly walked out from behind Arbormon, giving a very strained smile. "H-hey… didn't… expect to see you here again so soon."
Takuya frowned at seeing the nervous smile, but he decided to hold off on asking for now. "I didn't expect to come back here so soon either."
"It was because of him I was even able to find my way here. Because somebody decided we should go into different computers to get here," Arbormon stated, looking sharply at Takuya.
Takuya gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah… Sorry about that…" He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
Zoe went over to Calumon and smiled. "Awww, who's this little cutie?"
Arbormon looked down at Calumon. "He said his name is Calumon."
"Yeah, he's a doctor here from what I know," Takuya added.
"Aww, cute and smart~" Zoe smiled.
"Heh…" Calumon nervously chuckled. "Y-yeah…"
"There's… something familiar about that little Digimon, don't you think?" Koji asked, which made Calumon start sweating more.
Koichi nodded. "He does have that familiar air about him… But this is the first time we met him. Maybe it's our Spirits that are actually familiar with this Digimon and we are just feeling what they are feeling."
"I don't know… Calumon said he recently came into being due to an important artifact that shattered here not that long ago," Takuya remarked.
"Hmm…" JP walked over to Calumon.
Calumon looked up at JP. "Uh… h-hello?"
JP smiled and then held out some chocolate as he knelt down in front of him. "Hey, why don't you have some chocolate to feel better? You look a bit tense."
Calumon blinked before he took a piece of chocolate from JP, he remembered that JP usually liked giving chocolate to people and Digimon. Calumon nodded. "Thank you."
Eating the piece of chocolate did help Calumon feel a little better.
"So what's your name?" Zoe asked Arbormon. "I mean your human name."
"I'm Dash. Dash Baxter." Arbormon introduced. "I met Takuya back in the human world, so that's how I know him."
"That would explain it. Takuya's D-Tector did hold the Warrior of Wood after all," JP noted.
"But this is good, we now have one more Legendary Warrior on our side," Koichi remarked.
"Indeed," Sorcermon spoke up, walking over to the group. "Arbormon, you can put down the Drimogemon. I'll have Lillymon take a look at her in the medical room."
Arbormon did as was asked before fractal code surrounded him and he reverted to his human form. "Thanks. I had to carry her up the stairs the whole way." He then gave a look at Takuya. "And no thanks for the help."
Takuya blinked. "What?"
"You flew overhead, and didn't even offer to help!" Dash pointed out.
Takuya frowned. "Uh… I guess I didn't see you?"
Lillymon came flying over, using her flower petals to pick up the unconscious Drimogemon and carried her to the castle.
Sorcermon looked at each of the humans and Calumon for a moment. "Right then, looks like all the current Legendary Warriors are here."
The assembled group all looked at Sorcermon in confusion. "Huh?" The six were all confused.
"What do you mean, Sorcermon?" Takuya asked. "We're missing Tommy."
"Yeah, Tommy is also a Legendary Warrior, even if he is the youngest one of our group," Zoe agreed.
Calumon was slowly trying to sneak away from the group.
Takuya looked back at the movement. "Calumon? Where are you going?"
Calumon froze for a second, before he looked back with a nervous smile. "O-oh, I just figured I would leave you Legendary Warriors alone with your important meeting. Maybe that last member of your group is already here in the castle! Maybe I should go get him!"
Takuya blinked. "You… think Tommy is here?"
"We've been here for a while, we never saw him," Koji pointed out.
"Really? Maybe you missed him, I'll go look!" Calumon said quickly before he rushed into the castle so fast that he would make even the fastest Trailmon jealous.
Takuya blinked as Calumon took off. "Okay… That's… weird…"
"What's got him all worked up?" Koji questioned.
Sorcermon sighed. "Forgive me, I had… forgotten about the Warrior of Ice."
Takuya gave Sorcermon a small smile. "It happens. Don't worry about it."
"Wait, the Warrior of Ice?" Dash spoke up. "Huh…"
"Yeah, why do you ask?" JP questioned. "We each are a warrior of an element. Ice isn't all that unusual."
"It's just… Calumon used an ice attack to keep that Drimogemon from scratching her way out of my vines when we were trying to knock her out," Dash remarked. "I just thought it was kind of a funny coincidence that he used ice and we're waiting for the Warrior of Ice."
Takuya frowned at hearing that. Wait… Last time I was here, and Danny needed healing… the room suddenly got cold, cold enough that even when I was Agunimon I could see my breath...
"I'm sure it's just a coincidence, we don't know that much about Calumon after all," Koichi noted. Though there is still something about that Digimon that's familiar...
Koji frowned. "So… what do we do while we wait?"
"Are we sure Tommy is even here? I mean we were here for an hour and never saw him," Zoe pointed out. "Maybe we should look for him. He might've gotten lost or hurt out there."
Takuya nodded, getting a feeling in his gut he wasn't liking. "I think we should. I mean, sure he can handle himself, but we don't know how long he could have been here if he came at all."
Sorcermon looked back at the castle.
"Hey guys!" A familiar voice spoke up.
Everyone looked at the voice, and were surprised to see a boy of about 12 years of age. He wore an orange hat that had the kanji of ice on it, a white T-shirt, khaki shorts, and white socks with teal and green sneakers. His hair was brown, and his eyes were a green color.
"I was wondering what all the racket was out here," The boy remarked as he walked closer to them.
Takuya smiled. "Tommy!" He ran over and hugged the boy.
Tommy was caught a little off guard at the sudden hug, but he gladly returned it. "Hey, Takuya, long time no see."
Takuya pulled away. "Where were you? We were about to go looking for you because you didn't get here for a while!"
"Ah… sorry about that… I didn't get the message until… recently," Tommy chuckled sheepishly.
"Have you been here the whole time?" Koji asked.
"No… I just got here actually, through one of the monitors here," Tommy answered.
Takuya smiled in relief. "I'm just glad you got here okay."
"Yeah, it's good to see you again, Tommy. You look like you've grown since we last saw you." Zoe complimented, making the young boy blush.
"You think so?" Tommy sheepishly rubbed the back of his hat. "Sometimes I feel like I've shrunk."
Dash then smiled. "Hey. You must be the Warrior of Ice. I'm Dash Baxter, the new Warrior of Wood."
Tommy smiled at Dash. "It's nice to meet you, Dash. I'm Tommy Himi."
"Huh… you wouldn't happen to be the same Tommy who made The Little Tommy burger at the Burgermon's restaurant, would you?" Dash asked.
"Uh, yeah, I am," Tommy answered.
Dash then smiled again. "I had one earlier, and it was good. You're quite a good cook."
Tommy blushed. "Heh… yeah… it was actually my first time cooking, but I'm glad it turned out as well as it did."
Takuya laughed. "Okay, I guess we're all here then!"
"Ah, I had a new chocolate bar I wanted you to try," JP spoke up, digging into his pocket.
"Maybe later, JP? I think Sorcermon called us all here for a reason," Tommy said.
Takuya looked at Sorcermon. "Yeah. What is that about anyway?"
"Right, well now that you're all here, we can get to the matters at hand," Sorcermon said before raising his staff, showing the group an illusion.
The group could see other parts of the Digital World in the illusion, and they were surprised to see normal, innocent, civilian Digimon suddenly attacking someone. Some Digimon even attacked their own kind.
"That Drimogemon you brought here earlier, Warrior of Wood, isn't the only Digimon to suddenly attack others for no apparent reason," Sorcermon stated in a serious tone. "This has been happening all over the Digital World since yesterday morning. Friends suddenly attack each other, families suddenly being pushed out of their homes by their own sibling, parent, or children. As you can see, this is not normal."
Takuya frowned at seeing the images. "That does sound bad. And you don't know what is causing this?"
"We're not sure yet. But since you did bring in one of the victims of this… whatever this is, we should be able to analyze her and see what's going on," Sorcermon answered. "But with so many Digimon affected by this mysterious 'illness', we've had our hands full. That's why we called upon the Legendary Warriors. As Legendary Warriors, you are the symbol of hope and justice of the Digital World. If anyone can find out what's going on and put a stop to it, it's all of you."
Dash rubbed the back of his head. "Wow… That's quite the tall order…"
Takuya laughed. "Well, you have the rest of us to help you out; we did this before so you're in good company."
Dash chuckled at that. "I guess I am."
"It's just like old times, huh?" JP chuckled. "Of course, those weren't exactly the best times. I remember always being scared whenever something bad happened."
"But that's changed now, right, JP?" Zoe smiled.
"R-right, Zoe! Of course! I'm a much braver man now than I was back then!" JP quickly said, trying to look all brave and heroic.
Takuya coughed. "Are you sure it's not because you want to impress the lady?" He teased JP by nudging his arm.
"Put a sock in it, Takuya!" JP snapped, his face blushing.
"Some things never change," Koji chuckled.
Takuya looked back at Sorcermon, his face going serious. "So where do we begin looking? Maybe we could find some clues at where this all started."
"There have been witnesses to the start of this, but it was in two different places," Sorcermon answered. "One was in the TV Forest. Another area was in the Autumn Leaf Fair."
Takuya frowned at hearing that. "Hmmm… If that's the case, then we may have to split up to cover more ground. One group could go check out the TV Forest while the second group goes to check out the Autumn Leaf Fair." He was already running through some group assignments.
Takuya then looked up. "I have some group assignments in mind. Group one will be me, Tommy, Dash, and Zoe, while the second group is Koji, Koichi, and JP. Where the groups go will be up to Sorcermon."
"Oh? There a reason you chose the group like that?" Dash asked.
"Right, I don't think I told you yet…" Takuya sighed. "Koji and I can Fusion Evolve, that means our Spirits can fuse to create a much more powerful Digimon when needed. I figured it would be a good idea to give each group someone who can Fusion Evolve, just in case we run into a strong Digimon."
"This sounds like a solid plan to me," Koji remarked, before looking at Takuya. "Though I'm surprised, you're not usually one to make such plans, Takuya."
Takuya rubbed the back of his head. "Blame it on my cousin Andy. He's… been rubbing off on me…"
Dash snickered. "Andy has ways with planning and words. Sometimes he scares me, it makes me wonder how I got away with… ah, nevermind."
"Very good," Sorcermon spoke up. "Okay. I may send someone over to you in case we find something out about the Drimogemon. Takuya, I'll send your group to the TV Forest. Koji, your group will be going to the Autumn Leaf Fair. Remember, this is to gather information. I would advise against fighting against another Digimon's friend or family until we can resolve this matter."
Koji frowned a bit. "But what if they attack us first? We should at least Spirit Evolve in self-defense."
"If you must act in self-defense, you can do so. Just try to cause as little damage as possible to them. They are likely not in control of their actions, but I wouldn't say they've been corrupted enough to need purification. Because remember, if they go back to being a Digi-Egg, they'll lose all their memories of their past life," Sorcermon informed.
Takuya and the others all nodded.
"Don't worry. We'll only act in self-defense." Takuya assured Sorcermon.
"Alright then. You all better get going to your destinations then," Sorcermon stated. "Just be on the lookout for any potential attacks."
Takuya nodded, as did Koji and the others. Takuya then looked to his friends and fellow Legendary Warriors. "Okay, guys! Let's go!"
Titanic X: ZAFT: Thanks! :3
Luna Lillyth: DarkFoxKit: I'm glad you liked the way 13 was wrapped up.
CT7567Rules: DarkFoxKit: Yeah, I thought it was funny when Jack and Maddie secretly approved Danny of spying on Jazz. I decided to do it with Andy since Danny and Takuya were a little busy with each other at the moment.
ZAFT: As for the armor digivolving and Veemon… we will see. We already have Digimon partners planned, but we will see for down the road. ^^'
DarkFoxKit: We don't know about armor Digivolution yet, since they're a bit complicated, and they need armor digi-eggs to work, but we will see what happens in the future.