Chapter 21: In Preparation of War

We finally made it back to Twin Rivers later that evening. Ogremon was in my digivice, waiting to take us to the final battle. Now we just needed to get the whole team together.

"Give us three days," I had said to Ogremon. "That will give us some time to prepare."

"I understand. Three days it is, then."

When I got home, I sat Aunt Ruby down at the kitchen table and explained the situation to her over coffee. I told her all about our encounter with Devimon in the museum, but I omitted the part about our highway chase with Machmon. I didn't want her to worry about us since she seemed to frown upon Tobias and me going after him the first time. I did tell her about Ogremon and how he said that he could take us to Devimon, though.

"It will be our final battle," I said, taking a sip of my hot beverage. "I have no idea how long I'll be gone, and I don't know what will happen if things go wrong-"

"Don't think about it going wrong," she said, sitting her empty coffee mug on the table. "You kids have been at this for a while now. You're practically pros."

"We lost the first time we fought him."

"And now you know what to expect. Why don't you get the team together tomorrow evening and brainstorm some plans?"

"That's not a bad idea. We need to be prepared."

Before I went to bed, I sent everyone a text, "Why don't we all get together tomorrow for a team meeting? Meet me at the Empty Cup." Everyone had agreed to come over, except for Riley, which I already assumed would happen.

"Count me out," Riley said back.

"You're coming over, whether you like it or not. We're going to fight Devimon in three days and we need to be prepared for the battle."

"Devimon? You know how to get to him?"

"We have a source. Now, are you coming over tomorrow, or not?"

"Fine. I'll be there. Pick me up at the middle school parking lot. I'm not walking." I had nearly forgotten that he was a year younger than me and was still in middle school.

We were finally in agreement and went to bed for the night. Strange dreams plagued my sleep, but I was so tired that I just slept right through them.

Once school let out for the day, we all hopped into Tobias's car. Our first stop was the middle school, where we picked up Riley, and he was not happy to have to sit in the back with me and Deckard.

"Everyone buckled up?" Tobias asked after Riley closed the door. "Next stop, the Empty Cup."

After a short drive, we were at my place. I led everyone inside and up the stairs to our home. I gave Sophie and Riley a quick tour, as neither had been over before. In the meantime, Tobias and Deckard were making themselves at home in the kitchen, getting something to snack on. After I was done showing them around, we all met up in the living room and let our digimon out to begin the meeting.

We told Riley about the events that had transpired the day prior and he seemed genuinely impressed. "You guys actually fought four digimon in one day?"

"Five for Piper and Gammamon," Deckard added.

"You guys might not be as bad at this as I thought."

"We've now seen what Devimon is capable of," I said, ignoring the backhanded compliment. "He's incredibly powerful, so we have to go in prepared."

"What kind of nonoffensive moves do you guys have?" Riley asked. "Wizardmon can create illusions."

"I have sleep spores," Palmon said.

"While you're digivolved?"

"No, only like this."

Ghostmon looked around and said, "Maybe if I can get him caught in an illusion, we can get Palmon up close and put him to sleep."

Deckard nodded. "If she can put him to sleep then the rest of us can attack with everything we've got and that should be enough to overwhelm him."

"I think we have a plan," I said.

"What's plan B?" Riley asked.

"We split up, surround him, and fire everything we've got. That's my plan B."

Riley rolled his eyes. "That's a horrible plan B."

"Alright, smart guy, what do you have?"

"Runnermon also uses electricity, right? Maybe if he shoots a lightning bolt into the Wizardmon's Thunder Cloud, it will power up the move?"

"Coming up with combinations isn't a bad idea," Tobias said thoughtfully. "If anything, we should practice them in cyberspace and see what ones are most effective."

Sophie stood up from her chair and said, "We should probably be sparing, first and foremost. Don't you all agree?"

She was right, while coming up with a plan of attack was important, so was practicing and training for this final battle. I to my room to get my laptop. Once I returned, we all warped into cyberspace and began our sparring sessions.

"Piper, what form are you and Gammamon going to go with?" Deckard asked.

Gammamon looked at me expectantly. This was going to be my call to make.

"May I make a suggestion?" Ogremon said as he appeared from the digivice. "I know how Devimon fights, and there's one move you have yet to see."

"What is it?"

"His Touch of Evil. If he hits you with it, you will be under his control. I guarantee that he will use it to make you turn on one other."

"Why are you helping us?" Riley asked, suspiciously.

"Devimon abandoned me when I lost to Piper Calloway and Gammamon. I no longer follow him. I am masterless and without direction. I see no reason to forgo assisting you. As I was saying before, your best bet is to hit him hard and fast. He will not tire easily and can last a long time in battle without becoming fatigued. You guys on the other hand…"

"Because we humans feel the pain our partners feel, we have to try to beat him before he wipes us out again," I finished for him.

"Exactly. The faster you can take him down, the better your chances. Dragging the battle out is exactly what he will aim to do. He loves torturing his opponents."

"So, for this battle, I think our best bet would be WezenGammamon."

"Isn't he going to be too slow?" Deckard asked.

"He's our strongest form. After a few hits, he should go down."

"That Albion attack isn't very accurate though," Riley pointed out.

"Maybe Ballistamon can help him aim?" Ghostmon offered. "I bet Ballistamon is strong enough to correct WezenGammamon's aim if it's off."

"I most certainly could pull that off," Hagurumon said. "It's worth a shot, eh, get it?" Everyone groaned at the pun, which only made him and Tobias snicker.

Gammamon cheered, "That's a great idea, Ghostmon! You're so smart."

Ghostmon hid his face behind his hands and giggled, turning away and hiding behind Riley.

"Now, let's get these sparring matches done. Who wants to go first?" I said.

We spent the next several hours training and working on our attacks and combinations. We found out that Runnermon's lighting could, in fact, power up Wizardmon's Thunder Cloud attack. We also discovered that Ballistamon's Seismic Speakers made a good combo with Sunflowmon's Cactus Tail, in which the sonic boom sent the thorns flying with more power. Ballistamon was also able to correct WezenGammamon's aim when he fired his Albion, and Sunflowmon's Sunshine Beam combined well with it, strengthening the beam and generating even more destructive power.

Then came the worst part of training; Ogremon insisted that we get our pain tolerance up. He would go over and beat the crap out of our digivolved digimon, and we humans had to endure the pain and maintain the evolutions for as long as possible.

"Devimon will hit harder than I ever could," Ogremon roared as he slammed his club hard against the side of WezenGammamon. "If you can't handle this, then you won't be able to handle him. You kids are literally fighting for your lives, so you'd better be able to handle a little pain."

I grunted as he brought the club down again. WezenGammamon endured it, and I kept myself from stumbling. "Good, Piper Calloway," he said as he slammed it against WezenGammamon again. "Fight through the pain."

I did so, and refused to fall after each hit. By the time he was done, both me and WezenGammamon were exhausted. My partner de-digivolved and we had to tap out for the day. The others soon followed suit after Ogremon's beatings… er… Pain tolerance training. At least, that's what he insisted on calling it. I think he just wanted an excuse to smack us around.

When we were too tired to keep going, we pulled our digimon back into the digivices and left Cyberspace. We practiced exactly like this the next day, and by the third day, we were ready to fight Devimon.

After school, we all met up at the Empty Cup Cafe, and Aunt Ruby had been waiting for us. She had baked fresh pastries and brewed some coffee for us. There was also a pitcher full of lemonade, as she knew Deckard was sensitive to caffeine, and Pulsemon really didn't need any coffee with how hyper he was. There was enough for all of us and our digimon, too.

"I just thought a little something before your big fight would give you an energy boost," she said. We all thanked her for her generosity. We ate and drank, filling our bellies before we headed out for our last battle. When we were done, everyone thanked Aunt Ruby again.

She wished us luck and said, "Please be careful in there. Promise me?"

"I promise," I replied.

And with that, we gathered around my laptop and warped into cyberspace. Ogremon led the way and we trekked deeper into cyberspace, deeper than we had ever dared to go. We traveled for hours, and the environment began to change as we ventured onward. There were noticeably fewer communication spires, the grid on the ground glowed a crimson red instead of blue, and the environment felt like it was getting darker. The few communication spires that still stood also looked darker than usual, like they had been corrupted. The circuit board pattern in the sky above was completely blocked out by darkness, and all was still and silent. We had expected there to be chaos at every turn while we continued into Devimon's territory, but no, everything was oddly peaceful.

It was the calm before the storm.

"How much further?" I asked Ogremon.

He grunted and stopped. "This is where we part ways," he said. "Just keep moving forward and you'll find him. Good luck, Digidestined."

With that said, he turned around and headed back the way we came. I wondered then if we would ever see him again. I waved and called to him, "If you ever want a rematch, we'll be down."

He stopped and looked back at us. All he said was, "Keep moving forward, and never look back."

Once he disappeared into the horizon, we continued on our way. "Keep moving forward," his voice rang in my head, "and never look back."