Me: Wow! I never thought a story of mine would go this long chapterwise. I don't own Digimon, nor do I own Let's kick it up off said Digimon soundtrack-if I did, well, I don't want to bore you…
Tai: You won't! Tell us!
Me: Okay-Straightaway, I'd hook you and Sora up, then Davis and Yolei, T.K. and Kari, and finally, Mimi and Matt!
Tai: Uh…no comment! (runs off)
Davis, T.K. and Matt: WAIT UP! (run after Tai)
Sora, Yolei, Mimi and Kari: WHAT'S WRONG WITH US, HUH?! (grabs weapons that only Xena could enjoy using and run after the guys)
Me: Oh boy…
Digimon
The WarGame of the 21st Century
Chap. XV-The Fate of the DigiDestined
"You're gonna quit, give up just like that? Look Kari, I care too much about you to let anyone take you without a fight!" –T.K.
"Well, you know what? I care for you too." –Kari, His Master's Voice
"Tell you what: I'll make a special batch just for you." –Sora
"I'll be waiting…Thanks." –Tai, A Very Digi Christmas
The DigiDestined were spiraling down a seemingly endless black hole until suddenly, they stopped midair and just hung there!
"Whoa! This seems familiar. Is everybody okay?"
"I'm okay, Tai." Tai hadn't even had to turn to know that Sora was next to him.
"It looks like we all survived the fall intact. What about you guys? Any abnormal effects?" Izzy asked.
"Besides a sneaking suspicion of déjà vu, we're all fine. Davis, Kari, you guys all right?"
Turning to Kari's partner, Davis offered a thumbs up. "A-okay! But, if this is a black sky, where are all the stars at?"
"This isn't the endless limits of space, but rather, MY domain! The 8 of you are the originals, but you've since added 4 more to your ranks-impressive. Most impressive. What's the matter? Can't even say hello to an old friend?" Tai, the other DigiDestined, T.K. and Kari gasped in shock as one of their greatest foes was before their eyes once again…Apocalymon.
"Apocalymon? This guy sounds like he could be the Digimon version of Armageddon!" Davis exclaimed in shock.
"He may very well be, Davis. Apocalymon's a very dangerous Mega Digimon. With his Death Claw attack, he can take out a significant number of Digimon in one move-without even breaking a sweat!" Tai growled angrily.
"After four years of walking around in limbo that you heroes personally trapped me in, I found myself restored to capacity. Yet, I wasn't at full power, so I fed on the darkness and despair that you DigiDestined went through-the hero of Courage helped me regain full use of my powers when he was rejected by his heroine of Love during a certain Christmas that involved the hero of Friendship, a box of cookies and a broken heart. Hardening your heart wasn't that smart, hero of Courage. That enabled me to grow stronger." Tai glared at Apocalymon while Sora shuddered with sadness, pain and unshed tears. Even after all this time, that one Christmas still ate at her heart.
"Maybe not, but things are back to normal now and we're gonna finish you once and for all!" That came from T.K., whose eyes were filled with anger toward Apocalymon.
"Even now, you're feeding me more energy by attempting to taunt me. It was I who restored your enemies from yesteryear. I wanted to test you and see how far along you'd gotten in strength since our last encounter. I must say, I'm not that impressed. Only in tense situations-say this one, for example-do you show the full extent of your powers. Pathetic. Hero of Hope, the only time you showed some significance of compassion toward the Heroine of Light was during the time when she was pulled toward the World of Darkness. Hero of Courage, Friendship and Miracles is the only one who shows promise, even though getting together with the Heroine of Love and Sincerity was a rash move." Davis and T.K. both looked like they wanted to strangle Apocalymon, but Tai and Matt held them back.
"Don't do anything! He only wants you to feed him more by being angry at him." Tai advised.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but listen to Tai. He's got a good point for once."
"After gaining the necessary ability needed to Digivolve, I made sure that three Diaboromon were created to distract you-one in the Digital World, which your younger selves took care of nicely with some future assistance. The one in the Internet could have taken care of your leaders were it not for the appearance of Phoenixmon. I wondered when she would show up. It wasn't the Diaboromon who escaped into the Real World that destroyed your precious home…it was me. I told him to head off to New York, but only after making some appearances at specific places so that when you returned home, you'd think it was his doing."
Now Tai was mad, really mad. Sora had to grab him and keep him from launching himself toward Apocalymon!
"You did that to our town?! Why?" Tai struggled to hold back his tears. Their parents could've died if Apocalymon had destroyed the Digital Barrier that had protected the remains of the city.
"The answer is simple-I plan to live there where Odaiba once stood. With you out of the way and the Digital Barrier destroyed, I will take over Japan and soon enough, the world, as they say it, will be my oyster!"
This shook up the entire team. Apocalymon was planning to take over the world!
"Not as long as we're still breathing! Terra Force!!" WarGreymon's attack flew straight through the darkness.
"Crimson Flame!!"
"Positron Laser!!"
"Static Force!!"
"Metal Wolf Claw!!"
Chuckling, Apocalymon rose a hand and all five attacks dissipated in the air!
"I think we're in serious trouble, guys!" Joe basically spelt it out for all of them.
"Not yet! But, what did he mean by 'gaining the necessary ability to Digivolve?'" Ken asked.
"Observe DigiDestined-your downfall as you gaze on my true form: Apocalymon Digivolve to…DARKAPOCALYMON!!!" The DigiDestined all gasped in shock and amazement as Apocalymon Digivolved past the Mega Level!
"I think we've found out the answer, Ken!" Imperialdramon said cynically.
The Digimon Analyzer popped up as WarGreymon explained, "DarkApocalymon's twice as dangerous as Apocalymon! With his Claw of Destruction attack, not even a Mega Digimon could stand up to his awesome power! But we'll prove him wrong. NOVA FORCE!!"
"CRIMSON FLAME!!"
"POSITRON LASER!!"
"METAL WOLF CLAW!!"
The four Mega Digimon used full power and that didn't even faze DarkApocalymon at all!
"Come on, guys! We gotta help them. Static Force!!" Slyphymon's attack didn't even reach DarkApocalymon-it disintegrated in midair!
Tai couldn't believe it-unless WarGreymon either DNA Digivolved with Phoenixmon or MetalGarurumon, they didn't have a prayer, unless…
"I've got it! WarGreymon, stand still, 'cause I'm gonna bring our past selves back again!" Tai yelled out.
"How? You don't have Azulongmon's core with you."
"Gennai taught me how to use my Digivice and amplify its power. All I have to do is hit you in the proper spot that won't cause you any pain like this!" Tai aimed his Digivice at the Crest of Courage on WarGreymon's back and a beam of light flew gracefully and hit its mark! True to Tai's word, his Digimon didn't feel any pain. A bigger beam of light appeared and two figures appeared out of it-01 Tai and Agumon!
"All right! It worked!" Tai yelled out.
"Nice job, Tai!" Sora said as she hugged him tightly.
"What's going on?" 01 Tai asked with a confused look on his face.
"Let's cut to the chase-Remember Apocalymon?" Tai asked his younger self.
"Yeah?"
"He's Digivolved into DarkApocalymon, a Level beyond Mega, and we need your help. Will you DNA Digivolve with Sora and Phoenixmon?"
01 Tai eyed Sora with awe. "Sora's got a Mega Digimon now? Cool! I'll do it!"
"Reverse Digivolve!!" DarkApocalymon's claws grabbed at Sylphymon, MetalGarurumon, WarGreymon, Phoenixmon and Imperialdramon, stripping them of their energies and forcing them back into Rookies, with the exception of Gatomon!
"I think we're in trouble, Tai!" Agumon noted.
"I can see that. Yolei! Do you have any food with you?" Tai questioned.
"Yeah, but I don't think he'll give us a chance to distribute it to our Digimon in time."
"Just pass some to Agumon, Gabumon and Biyomon! We'll feed the rest when we get back home."
"IF you get back home. Claw of Destruction!!" DarkApocalymon's main attack was headed straight for Tai, Sora and Matt! On pure adrenaline alone, three Digimon summoned up whatever strength they had left in order to Digivolve.
"Biyomon…"
"Gabumon…"
"Agumon…"
"Warp-Digivolve to…PHOENIXMON!!!/METALGARURUMON!!!/WARGREYMON!!!"
The three Mega Digimon were hit hard and hovered motionless in the air! Completely depleted of energy, Phoenixmon deDigivolved back to Biyomon. It was different for WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon-they'd exhausted their energy supply entirely! Tai and Matt watched helplessly as their Digimon were deleted right before their eyes.
"MetalGarurumon…"
"Sorry, Matt. I don't have the energy anymore…"
"WarGreymon…don't go…"
"Tai, I've failed you…I'm sorry…"
Saddened, Tai and Matt sobbed quietly on Sora and Mimi's shoulders as the two most powerful Mega Digimon were gone within seconds.
"Two down…more to go. Who's the next to fall?"
Tai grimaced as he pulled out his Digivice. What he was about to do had never been done before by any of the DigiDestined…until now. The tiny device shrieked in his hand as a beam of light shot out and pierced him in the heart. Instantly, Tai felt a twinge of pain and his feet were deleted! Matt realized what Tai was doing and did it to himself, despite the shocked and scared looks on the others' faces.
"Tai, what are you doing?"
"Matt, cut it out!"
"Their bodies are being deleted into bits and pieces of digital data by the use of their Digivices!"
"Tai, don't do this!" Sora grabbed Tai by his shirt and pulled his rapidly deleting body close to hers.
"I'm sorry, Sora, but I've got to get to him…be brave…I'll always love you…" Tai kissed Sora with all the energy he could muster up until finally, his face was deleted and Sora was left kissing nothing but dead air. The same thing had happened between Mimi and Matt. Saddened, Sora, Kari and Mimi burst into tears while 01 Tai did his best to comfort the girls. Davis and the others just looked on in shock and pain. Two of their closest friends and Digimon had just been deleted in front of them, and they were going to be next…
None of us knew what happened when a Digimon was deleted, but Tai and Matt were probably the first humans to experience it firsthand, since they were the first ones to be deleted the way they'd been in the Digital World. Sure, we were turned into data before, but it was nothing like what Tai and Matt went through…
"Agumon…where are you?" Tai's bits and pieces of data floated around a datastream of information alongside Matt's, searching for their Digimon.
"Gabumon, you here? Why can't he answer me, Tai?"
"I don't know, Matt. Maybe their pieces of data are too far ahead of us…"
"Tai? What are you doing here?"
"Matt? Is that you?"
"…Or they could be right next to us and we wouldn't know it 'cause we have no eyes anymore. Come on, you two-pull yourselves together! You gonna let some beyond Mega Digimon get the best of you? Together you guys create Omnimon, one of the hottest Digimon the world's ever seen! True, PhoenixGreymon could be even more powerful, but that's not the point! We've gone through more stuff this year than we ever did four years ago! Ken gained control over you and we won! He tried taking you down with a RedVegimon Gabumon, and we won! You're not alone in this, because you have us! Together, we can win any battle!" Tai yelled confidently.
"And you had the courage to let Sora go to Matt during Christmas, and you waited for her. I'm not gonna let you throw a chance at true love away, Tai!" Agumon declared.
"Feel the love from the other DigiDestined! Feel the strength!" Matt and Tai chorused.
"I feel them…" The bits of data suddenly went the opposite direction of the others and reconfigured themselves into Tai, Matt, Agumon and Gabumon, fully restored and ready for battle!
"Agumon…"
"Gabumon…"
"Warp-Digivolve to…WARGREYMON!!!/METALGARURUMON!!!"
Before DarkApocalymon's eyes, Tai, Matt, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon reappeared, restored and powered up!
"Sora, here!" Tai pulled Azulongmon's core out of his pocket and tossed it to her. Instantly, Biyomon and 01 Agumon started glowing.
"Biyomon…"
"Agumon…"
"Warp-Digivolve to…PHOENIXMON!!!/WARGREYMON!!!"
"I thought you didn't have that." Matt replied.
"I forgot it was there. Sue me." Tai joked as their Digimon started glowing again.
"WarGreymon…"
"…MetalGarurumon…"
"DNA Digivolve to…OMNIMON!!!"
"WarGreymon…"
"…Phoenixmon…"
"DNA Digivolve to…PHOENIXGREYMON!!!"
"NOOOOOOO! IT CAN'T BE! CLAW OF DESTRUCTION!!" DarkApocalymon's attack headed straight toward the newly Digivolved Digimon. Omnimon reacted first.
"Transcendent Sword!!"
Instantly, the sword destroyed about 1/3 of the claws!
"Omnimon's an awesome Digimon, guys!" Davis yelled.
"You haven't seen what PhoenixGreymon can do." Tai responded.
"Flames of Courage!!" Within seconds, half of DarkApocalymon's body was scorched.
Let's kick it up and show them all the things we can do!
Let's kick it up…together!
"Force of Love!!" DarkApocalymon screamed in agony as he was electrocuted with bolts of red energy.
"That's for deleting my man's Digimon!" Sora cried angrily.
"I think Sora's more than a little upset at DarkApocalymon." Matt whispered.
"What made you think that?" Tai muttered back.
"Supreme Cannon!!" A second later, DarkApocalymon roared in anger, releasing his rage.
"Time to say goodbye, DigiDestined! Pure Annihilation!!" A ball of light appeared in his hand, and the team figured out what it was for.
"Not today! Transcendent Sword!!" SHINK! Omnimon's sword punctured DarkApocalymon's chest seconds before he could launch his attack, which deleted him instantly!
Let's kick it up 'cause they ain't seen the last of me and you!
Let's kick it up…together!
Suddenly, as Omnimon and PhoenixGreymon deDigivolved into Koromon, Tsunomon, Yokomon and Botamon, a bright light appeared and the team suddenly found themselves back on File Island, 01 Tai and Botamon vanished from sight.
"I was wondering when you guys would show up."
Turning around, the DigiDestined saw none other than…