Escape! We need to get out of here!
However, as Mimi looked around the cramped closet at the trio of expectant faces around her, she had to admit silently to herself that this would be no easy task. After all, they were just three kids and a digimon against an entire army of evil digimon, and only one of them was any sort of a fighter…and Palmon was a much better warrior when she was in her Champion form, Togemon. Of the children, only Mimi herself had any real experience in fighting the enemy: both Miyako and Iori had been unaware of the Digital World until they had been taken hostage along with their families by Myotismon and his troops. Both she and her partner were the only defense that they had against the enemy…
Mimi bit the inside of her lip to keep herself from trembling, not wanting her two new friends to see her fear. Silently, she wondered just where the other Digidestined children were. She knew, of course, where poor Yamato was: the conversation she had overheard some of the enemy digimon having had revealed to her that he had been captured. She could only pray that he had not been killed; that he, and all of the others, was still alive. That there was still hope…
…As long as we can keep fighting, then there's hope…
"So, what's the plan, Mimi?" Miyako asked, wide tan eyes fixed trustingly on the older girl's face. Beside her, Iori was watching Mimi silently, his intense jaden eyes dark with thought. Palmon was also staring at her partner, patiently waiting to hear her plan.
"Okay…" Mimi took a deep breath, steeling herself. "Here's what I figured we could do…"
* * *
…There were voices somewhere above her, strange voices that she did not recognize. She could vaguely remember hearing some of them before; she recalled clearly how one had promised that she would be okay, but she could not put names or faces to them. All she could see was an image of an angel…an angel with huge, feathery wings who had knocked away the demon pursuing her…
…Another voice, but this one she could place. The little orange creature with the horn on its head, the one that Matt-sama had told her to protect for him. He was speaking now, talking to the owners of the other voices…she could hear how the voice trembled, faltered, and knew that its owner was nervous about what he had to reveal.
"…Then, right as I lost all my power and changed back, he shoved her over to where I was lying and told her to run away with the Crest of Friendship and me. He…distracted the enemy by shouting insults…they went to attack…I didn't see what happened after that…"
…She remembered that. She could still taste the raw terror she had felt at that moment; it had never truly faded away. Shuddering, she moaned with remembered fear.
"…H-hey, I think she's waking up!"
…A child? A young boy's voice, one she thought she had overheard right when the angel had appeared, shouting something dimly in the background.
"…Takeru, calm down. She still needs time to recover…she was hurt pretty badly…"
…That was the one who had promised she would be okay! So she wasn't in the hands of the enemy…? She wasn't dead…?
"Hello, hello?"
"…Can you hear us? Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Jun managed a groan in reply, and slowly forced her wavering brown eyes to open. She had to shut them again almost immediately, for everything blurred so badly that she felt sick, but from the increased chattering of the voices she knew that they had seen her response.
"…Oh man! Are you okay?"
"Jyou, help me help her up!"
Then there were hands gripping her, helping her rise to a sitting position. Not huge, muscular hands, but ones that held a subtle strength all the same. Hands that seemed used to guiding others, judging from the gentle yet insistent way that they helped her up.
"Are you feeling better now?"
Jun opened her eyes again, slowly, and was delighted to find that her vision was not blurring as badly anymore. Raising her head, she found herself staring into the faces of her saviors…a bunch of kids? She blinked, shocked and yet somehow not surprised: the voices had sounded too young to belong to adults, but she had figured that at least one adult might be around somewhere… But no, that was not the case.
Jun looked around, taking in the faces around her. All of them were children: a couple of girls and about five guys, if she counted correctly. More of those strange creatures, too, but somehow that didn't alarm her. Besides, none of these monsters looked anything like the mean ones who had taken her and her family away…and taken Daisuke…
The older girl, the one closer to her, had on a sky-blue helmet that covered most of her hair, letting only a few wispy strands of orange-red out of its confines. Her soft tan eyes were fixed on Jun, filled with concern despite the fact that neither girl recognized the other.
"…Are you feeling better?" she asked, smiling faintly. Jun managed a slight nod in reply, and the girl sighed, "That's a relief. My name is Sora, what's yours?"
"…J-Jun," she heard herself reply, as she looked around at the others. They seemed to sense her uneasiness, and one of them, a young blonde boy with huge sapphire eyes, stepped up to her and grinned.
"I'm Takeru!" he piped, and Jun realized with a start that he was the child she had heard shouting in the background when the angel had rescued her. Indicating the orange, winged creature perched on his head, the boy added, "And this is my friend Patamon!"
"Nice to meet you," Patamon chimed in, and Jun stared at it, somehow not surprised that it could speak.
"And that's Ken, with his partner Minomon," Takeru was continuing, pointing toward a small boy with short, dark blue hair and violet-blue eyes that was holding what looked like a green worm in a cocoon to his chest.
"I'm Wallace, from America," the other blonde boy spoke up, looking at her shyly with mint green eyes. "These are my friends, Gummimon and Kokomon…"
"I'm Jyou," an older boy with glasses said next, and Jun stared at him in surprise, recognizing his voice as the same one who had promised that she would be safe. He gestured toward a white seal with purple spots on its back and a red mohawk as he added, "And this is my partner, Gomamon."
"Hey, glad to see you're still with us," Gomamon said, grinning widely.
"The kid with the pineapple laptop is Koushirou, and the red beetle is his partner, Tentomon," Sora continued, pointing out each in turn as she spoke. "The little girl is Hikari, and the blue In-Training she's holding in her lap is called Chibimon…"
Suddenly the little blue creature was directly in Jun's face; his huge garnet-colored eyes focused directly on her.
"Are you my partner?" it asked in a slightly lisping, childish voice.
"…Uh…I don't…think so," Jun managed to reply after a few moments, blinking in confusion.
"Aww…" Chibimon moaned, sinking back down to the ground with disappointment clearly etched on its face.
"There, there, it'll be okay," Hikari said, pulling the In-Training back into her arms.
"Yeah, I'm sure that you'll find your partner really soon!" Wallace chimed in, smiling reassuringly.
"…Y-you think?" the small blue digimon asked, looking around at the others hopefully.
"…Hey, Jun," Koushirou spoke up after a few moments, his voice so soft that she barely heard him. She looked back at him, dark brown eyes wide, and he asked, "The digimon that attacked you when you were with Yamato and Gabu…Tsunomon…what did it look like?"
"Oh! Well, it looked kind of like a bird," Jun replied, after thinking for a moment. "It had reddish feathers, and the coldest blue eyes I've ever seen…" She shuddered at the memory. "Colder than ice…"
"Yeah, and he had this headband on," Tsunomon chimed in, as he shifted nervously in Sora's lap. "There was a feather sticking out of the top, too; he attacked us with it like it was a boomerang. Its edges were really sharp…"
"Hmm…" Koushirou looked down at his computer screen as his fingers danced over the keys on his laptop. "I can't find any data on such a digimon…did you happen to overhear the Bakemon using its name, by any chance?"
"Um…Bakemon?" Jun asked, a blank expression on her face. Koushirou sweatdropped.
"…You don't know the names of the digimon, do you?" he asked. Jun shook her head no, and he sighed.
"Bakemon are digimon that look like ghosts with huge fangs," Sora explained.
"O-ohhh, I get it now!" Jun chirped, understanding dawning on her face. Her smile faded as quickly as it had appeared, however, and she looked down at the ground as she continued, "No…none of them ever used a name that I heard…"
"Hawkmon…"
The children all looked over at Armadillomon in surprise, and Koushirou asked, "Excuse me?"
"Hawkmon…the name of the digimon that she described is Hawkmon," the armor-plated digimon replied.
"…Hawkmon?" the red-haired keeper of the crest of Knowledge repeated, his dark eyes becoming thoughtful.
"…How do you know that, Armadillomon?" Wallace asked, mint green eyes filled with confusion.
"………" Armadillomon glanced back at the American boy, then slowly got up and stalked away, retreating into a shadowy corner with his back turned toward the others.
"…What's wrong?" Wallace asked, about to get up and walk over to him. However, Wizardmon suddenly placed his hand on the young blonde's shoulder, and shook his head as the boy looked back at him.
"…Leave him alone for a little while," the digimon instructed, quietly. "Something appears to be bothering him, and it may not be a good idea for you to go talk to him just now…"
* * *
Armadillomon stared off into the shadows, back turned on the Digidestined and their companions.
So he's here, then…I knew it, the armored digimon mused, green eyes darkening. I knew that he would bring you here…oh, man, what has he been doing to you, buddy?
The young Rookie closed his eyes with remembered pain as memories of the past swept over him, taking him back to that fateful day…
* * *
Everything was burning. It seemed as though the entire world had suddenly burst aflame, transforming the peaceful life that the two friends had known into a new hell.
Neither of the tiny In-Trainings knew exactly what to think about what was happening to them. For as long as both of them had known, they had lived at the small forest shrine, staying at the otherwise abandoned building with only each other for company. They had never ventured from the safety of its walls, never strayed away from it for any reason. They had no friends apart from each other; the entire world to them consisted of the shrine and themselves.
Why had they never left the building, why had they never gone looking for a new place to live, for friends? Neither was certain, knowing only that they didn't feel as if they needed to. Something seemed to bind them to the building, a force beyond the understanding of either of the young digimon. They felt as if they were waiting there…for something… someone…
But now the shrine was gone, ablaze, and the two In-Training were fleeing into the forest, pursued by the shadowy forms of the ones who had torched their home. The howls of their chasers echoed all around them.
"I don't know how much longer I can keep this up!" the yellow-skinned one cried, as he began to fall farther and farther behind his pink-feathered friend.
"Just keep moving! Don't stop!" came the panted reply.
Suddenly, his friend's scream ripped through him, and the small avian turned to see that the yellow-skinned In-Training had fallen, and was currently scrambling to right himself, a task made somewhat difficult by his lack of appendages. Their pursuers were drawing closer: he could make out their beady black eyes and yellowed, jagged teeth from where he stood, hesitating. To turn back now would probably mean capture, and then…?
His friend finally managed to right himself, and he sucked in a sharp gasp as he noticed the angry reddening mark on the pale yellow skin. Whimpering, the In-Training hopped into the nearby underbrush. Unable to flee anymore, the terrified young digimon could only cower in his hiding spot, and pray that he was not detected.
Seeing his lifelong friend and companion in such danger caused something to snap in the flying In-Training's heart. He could not…no, would not abandon him when he needed him the most. Taking a deep breath, he used the only attack he knew: a spray of bubbles that erupted from his tiny beak and took the closest of their pursuers full in his ugly face.
He felt a strange sense of satisfaction as the startled enemy fell backward, crashing into some of his companions. He caught a glimpse of his friend's stunned expression as he flew forward, horror and shock filling his wide black eyes as he realized what he was doing. Ignoring that, he flung himself right into the center of his first battle.
Of course he was going to lose; he understood that perfectly. As fast as he was able to fly with his tiny pink wings, as good a shot as he might be with his bubble spray, he was still only an In-Training, and he had never fought in a real battle before. He knew he could never seriously hope to defeat these digimon, so he concentrated on leading them away from his still hiding friend instead.
As he took off, darting away as fast as he could with the now furious enemy in pursuit, the yellow-skinned In-Training watched him leave from the relative safety of his hiding spot. Trembling with fear, the little digimon began to cry softly to himself.
Meanwhile, the ghost digimon were closing in on their quarry. Exhausted, the little pink In-Training nevertheless struggled as grimy hands seized him from all sides…
* * *
Ice-blue eyes flashed open as the bird digimon snapped out of his reverie. Shaking his head irritably, Hawkmon silently berated himself for allowing his mind to wander off like that while he was on duty. If Myotismon had found him like that, he would have gotten into serious trouble…
Something bumped into him from behind, and Hawkmon whirled around to face it, one wing reaching reflexively for the razor-sharp feather in his headband. His pale blue eyes narrowed in annoyance as he saw what had brushed against him; a small patrol of Bakemon was drifting past him, and one of the idiotic digimon had accidentally run into him. The pathetic creature shied away from him, obviously thinking that he was going to attack. For a moment, he seriously considered it, but then dismissed the idea as a waste of his time.
"Get out of my sight," he snarled instead, coldly glaring at the Bakemon.
Nervous, but thankful to still be alive, the ghost digimon scurried back to join its patrol again, leaving Hawkmon still glaring after it. He sighed in frustration; he found it more and more difficult to believe that these sort of worthless creatures had once overpowered and defeated him. Even if he only had been an In-Training at that time…
Suddenly his ice-blue eyes narrowed into slits as he noticed something…off…about the Bakemon's movements. The ghost digimon was moving very oddly, swerving from side to side occasionally as it trailed after its patrol. It was an abnormally small group, as well: while the incompetent digimon typically moved in swarms in order to overwhelm their opponents, he could only see four Bakemon in this team…
…and he could also see that all four of them had feet.
Thinking quickly, Hawkmon grabbed his razor feather again and threw it directly at the false Bakemon. It unerringly flew through midair to its target, and the lead 'Bakemon' let out an agonized shriek as its edge bit into the half-concealed skin of its legs. It toppled over, and the avian digimon raced toward them, already preparing another attack.
* * *
"Mimi!"
The strawberry blonde-haired girl shrieked as her legs seemed to drop right out from beneath her and she crumpled to the ground, costume fluttering around her. Through a haze of pain, she glanced down at the floor, and bit back another scream as her dimming gaze focused on her legs. All she could see was a rapidly spreading crimson stain beneath her: the same angry red that covered her legs and boots.
Great…Mom's going to have a fit about her sheets, and it's going to be so hard to get these bloodstains out of my clothes…
She had no idea where that thought had come from: one of the drawbacks of living a fairly spoiled life for nearly ten years, she supposed…
"Palmon, digivolve!" she shouted, knowing that the enemy was already aware of their presence. If they were going to take advantage of the fact that they had a digimon on their side, they had to make their move now…
"Palmon, digivolve to…"
Suddenly the Rookie's voice was cut off in mid-shout, and Mimi felt her heart sink into the pit of her stomach as she heard a dull thud beside her. Looking up, she confirmed her worst suspicions: her partner lay sprawled on the floor, eyes spiraling as she moaned in pain.
She could just barely see the digimon who had attacked them standing a few feet away, a cruel smile on his beak as he approached them. Mimi shuddered: the avian's pale blue eyes reminded her of pure ice, glittering faintly as they raked over her fallen body and that of her partner.
"Miyako, Iori…run away," Mimi whispered, trying to control her trembling as best she could.
However, the young boy responded simply by standing in front of her, blocking the evil digimon's path. Iori gripped the wooden broomstick he had carried from the closet in both hands, mimicking the stance he had seen his grandfather use so many times during his kendo practice. Behind him, Mimi and Miyako gasped in horror.
"Wha…what are you doing, Iori?! Run away…get out of here!" the bearer of Sincerity pleaded.
Iori just shook his head slightly, never taking his eyes off of his opponent. The bird digimon had paused in his approach when the boy had first stepped in his path, and was studying the scene before him in surprise, a hint of amusement glinting in his cold blue eyes.
Behind him, Mimi struggled to push herself up with both arms, even though she knew in the back of her mind that the gesture was useless. She could barely feel her injured legs anymore: even if she did manage to force herself up, how could she possibly stand, let alone run away…?
"Iori, Miyako, I am ordering you two to run away…please, just leave," she pleaded again, seeing that neither one was reacting.
Palmon let out another faint moan, and Mimi quickly glanced over at her partner. If the plant digimon managed to regain consciousness again, maybe there was a chance that she could still digivolve… but would that be enough, now? She had hoped that the Bakemon costumes would keep them from being detected for a longer time than they had, but… and even if they somehow managed to escape this digimon, her costume was ruined…
…Wait a second…
Mimi felt her caramel eyes widen slightly as a sudden realization hit her. Thinking quickly, she glanced over at the enemy digimon again, then looked back at Miyako. The violet-haired girl had frozen, and was staring at the bird digimon with an expression of pure horror on her face, tan eyes huge with fear. Mimi felt a short pang of recognition, knowing that she had often had a similar look on her face during her adventures in the Digiworld…
"…Miyako, help me with this," she whispered urgently, locking eyes with the younger girl. Miyako stared at her in confusion for a moment, and Mimi quickly added, "Just hurry, okay…we need to help Iori…"
That got Miyako's full attention, and the violet-haired girl cast a frightened glance toward her friend, biting the inside of her lip. Her gaze flicked over to the enemy digimon, and she winced visibly, then turned back toward Mimi.
"What are we going to do?" she whispered back.
Meanwhile, Hawkmon was studying the small group before him with a slight smirk on his beak. A little kid with a stick, a pair of longhaired, wide-eyed girls, and a digimon…not a very big group, but one that interested him all the same. The digimon's presence, in particular, intrigued him: from his master's briefings, he knew that one of the Digidestined kids happened to have a Palmon for a partner…probably that girl in pink, if he had overheard her command clearly. His smirk widened into a cocky grin: the master would be pleased to discover that another Digidestined child had fallen into his clutches.
He stepped closer, and the little boy swung his broomstick directly at the bird digimon's face. In a movement too swift to follow, Hawkmon whipped out his razor feather and slashed through the makeshift weapon, slicing it neatly in half. The little boy's jaden eyes widened with shock as he saw the pieces of his weapon fall to the ground, leaving him holding what was left, and Hawkmon's sneer grew wider as he brought his wing back to strike the distracted child…
Suddenly the entire world went white, as something engulfed his body entirely. Startled, it took the bird digimon a moment to register what was happening, even as he heard a female voice shout out orders:
"Come on, let's get out of here! Iori, Miyako, help Palmon, alright?"
"But what about you, Mimi?" a whispery voice asked, sounding extremely concerned. "Your leg is…"
"I'll be fine! You guys need to look out for yourselves!"
"We're not leaving you, Mimi!"
Cursing, Hawkmon thrashed wildly to free himself from the white sheet that the girls had thrown over him, while with a part of his mind he listened to the sound of the group's footsteps getting farther and farther away. Yanking it off, he looked up in time to catch a glimpse of them running away, the young boy helping the digimon along while the violet-haired girl aided the other female human. Ice blue eyes narrowing in outrage, he got up to follow, shouting at them to halt.
"Does he really think that we're going to listen to him?" Miyako noted under her breath, panting as she ran forward.
"Just keep moving!" Mimi ordered, struggling to run on her injured foot so she wouldn't slow down the others as much. Her legs ached horribly, but she tried not to think about the pain too much.
Suddenly Miyako stopped short, and Mimi heard the younger girl whisper, "Uh-oh…"
Looking up through a haze of pain, it took the bearer of Sincerity a few moments to realize what was wrong. Her heart seemed to drop into her stomach as she realized belatedly that she should have been focusing on directing her friends out of the building. However, since she had failed to give them any ideas about which way they needed to go to get out, the panicked kids had run blindly, ending up taking a wrong turn and finding themselves on the rooftop.
A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed Mimi's worst fears: their pursuer hadn't been far behind, and the avian tossed his razor feather at the cornered group.
"Get down!" Mimi shouted, and managed to knock Miyako, Iori and Palmon down before the sharp edge of the boomerang sliced into her shoulder. Thankfully, she flung herself down in time to avoid a fatal injury, but the girl still shrieked as a shallow gash appeared in her back.
"Mimi!" Miyako and Iori shouted in unison, seeing her collapse.
"…Mim…Mimi," Palmon moaned, shifting as she struggled to stand up again and aid her partner.
As Iori attempted to help the plant digimon stand, Miyako stared at the scene in horror, wavering caramel eyes huge behind her glasses. With their monster ally still recovering, Mimi's injuries, and Iori's preoccupation with helping their wounded companions, that left only one of them in any position to do anything about their enemy was…
"We're dead," Miyako muttered, sweatdropping.
However, she couldn't simply give up on the others now…they'd made it this far together, and if she had anything to say about it, they were going to escape. Taking a deep breath, the violet-haired girl pushed her glasses back up onto her nose and nervously gripped her makeshift Bakemon costume: she was the only one who had managed to hold onto hers for this long. Using the sheet had distracted their pursuer once before…could she get that trick to work again…?
There was no time to think, only to act. Whirling on her heel to face her adversary, Miyako closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to look at the digital monster and flung herself in his direction, hoping to tackle him.
Hawkmon froze, taken off guard by the little girl's sudden assault. Apparently the humans were braver than he'd given them credit for… Still, it was a worthless gesture. Easily dodging the female human's flailing attempt to trap him in the white sheet she was carrying, Hawkmon brought his wing swiftly down against the back of her neck. The girl made a sharp, strange noise that sounded oddly like a squawk and dropped to the ground, one hand instinctively covering her wounded neck. Before she could rise, the avian digimon had whipped out his razor feather and placed it just underneath her neck. She froze, trembling faintly, and Hawkmon smirked coldly.
"Hey!" the little boy shouted, seeing his friend in danger. He started forward, but a quick glare from ice blue eyes froze the child in his tracks.
"Don't even think about trying anything, or your friend will face a very painful death," Hawkmon hissed threateningly, pressing his razor feather a little closer to the violet-haired girl's neck to further emphasize his threat. The boy backed off obediently, and Hawkmon sneered, "That's better…"
Inwardly, the bird digimon rejoiced. Not only had he captured these errant humans single-handedly, but he was certain that the digimon was one of the chosen ones. That meant that one of these brats was her partner…
"All right, which one of you is that digimon's friend?" he asked, glaring down at the violet-haired girl. When none of them answered, he raised his sharp feather closer to his captive's neck and hissed, "Is it you? Look at me, human brat, and tell me what I want to know… Look, or else you'll suffer more!"
She did not answer, so Hawkmon grimaced and yanked on her hair, causing her to cry out faintly.
"No matter what happens, I will give you to my master, Myotismon," he told her, ice blue eyes gleaming. "But you'll get to choose whether or not I give you to him whole…" –here he pressed his weapon closer to her throat until he drew a drop of blood- "…or in pieces!"
Silence. Enraged, Hawkmon yanked on the girl's lilac hair again, forcing her to look directly into his face…
He froze, stunned, as their eyes met for the first time since he had spotted them. Two shimmering orbs of caramel light met his cold, pale blue gaze and widened slightly behind panes of glass, filling with fear, a wild terror…and a strange sense of anger. She was… enraged at the humiliation he was putting her through? The thought might have made him laugh, had he not been shocked into silence by the sight of her face.
She made no sound, not even a cry of fear…but her huge eyes seemed to penetrate into the very depths of his being, plunging into the coldness of his heart, his spirit, and embedding themselves…itself…herself…into him. Mere words could never describe the wave of emotions that engulfed the avian digimon at that moment: everything about the girl was suddenly part of him, and Hawkmon got the strangest feeling that he was a part of her…
It was too much for him to bear, and Hawkmon gasped, releasing the girl's hair and staggering backward, covering his face with one wing.
"Wha…what did you do to me?!?" he demanded hoarsely, gasping for breath.
She said nothing, but continued to stare at him with those haunting tan eyes of hers, a stunned expression on her face. Hawkmon winced: her eyes felt like they were burning into his body, penetrating straight into his heart…
"…G-go away! Stop this! Whatever you're doing to me, cease it at once!" he screamed, barely able to recognize his own voice. Gone was its normal detached, icy tone, replaced by a quavering, broken tone that he cringed to hear, grating on his own ears.
Clutching his aching head between both wings, Hawkmon screeched and crumpled to the ground, momentarily paralyzed by the unfamiliar emotions surging through him. He felt as if he was struggling with something, although just what he was fighting, he couldn't put a name to.
Miyako stared at the bird digimon in shock, absently folding her trembling hands against her chest. She had felt something…pass between them, that was the only way she could think to possibly describe it. She had stared up into pale, icy blue eyes and felt…what?
"Mim…Mimi! Mimi!" a quavering voice shouted behind her: Miyako barely noticed it through the fog surrounding her senses at the moment. Vaguely, she recognized the voice as belonging to the digimon, Palmon.
"Mimi!" Palmon sobbed, tears filling her huge verdant eyes as she shook her partner's shoulders. The strawberry-blonde-haired girl looked up at her with pain-fogged caramel eyes and smiled faintly.
"Pal-Palmon? Thank…thank goodness you're alright," Mimi breathed, reaching up toward her friend's face. "Can…do you think you'll be able to…"
"…Yeah, I think so," Palmon answered, realizing what her partner was trying to ask. "Don't worry, Mimi, I'll protect you! I promise!"
Mimi smiled, even as pain and fatigue took over her senses, and as the girl's shimmering tan eyes drifted shut, the crest around her neck began to glow with a faint, leaf green aura.
"Mi-Mimi? …MIMI!" Palmon shrieked, tears falling from her eyes as she saw her friend pass out.
One of the plant digimon's teardrops landed squarely on the center of the Crest of Sincerity and Purity, and suddenly the verdant aura burst into violent light, glowing like a beacon on the unconscious girl's chest.
"Palmon digivolve to…"
Palmon shouted the words instinctively as she felt her body undergo the familiar metamorphosis, her tiny body expanding and growing into the giant cactus known as Togemon, her Champion form. However, instead of announcing her name to the world as she typically did at the end of this change, the plant digimon suddenly trailed off into silence. Togemon was not enough; somehow, she knew that she would not be able to aid her partner anymore in this form. As a Champion, she was a warrior, a fighter able to sent deadly sprays of needles in every direction…but no amount of battling would be able to help Mimi now. They had to retreat, escape, not fight…
Her consciousness seemed to rise out of Togemon's huge body, leaving it an empty shell. A single flower bud materialized on the cactus's head, and the digimon of Sincerity and Purity felt her energy, her spirit, flow into it instead. Guided by instinct and a desire to aid Mimi alone, she shaped her body into a new form, one that could be of use to them. Emerging from the cocoon created by the flower's soft pink petals, she twirled around in midair on fluttering wings, testing her slender arms and legs, long, vine-like hair whipping around her delicate face.
A name formed in her mind, and the digimon called it out, recognizing it as her own:
"…Lilymon!"
Gazing down at those so far below her, the newly born Ultimate giggled lightly at the expressions she saw on the faces of her audience. Miyako and Iori were awestruck, the lilac-haired girl's mouth hanging open slightly as she stared at the pixie digimon. Even Hawkmon appeared to be impressed, his pale blue eyes unnaturally wide with shock.
However, Lilymon's amusement lasted only a moment, fading the instant her gaze rested on the unconscious form of Mimi. Folding her leaf-like wings behind her, she dove back toward the small group, intentionally nearly crashing into Hawkmon so as to distract the enemy digimon.
"Come on, we have to get moving!" Lilymon shouted, lifting up Mimi's limp form in her arms. She didn't know if she could carry all three of the children at once, but she had to try…she refused to leave any of them behind. "Just hold onto me, okay?"
"O…okay!" Miyako agreed, snapping out of her awestruck stupor. Seizing Iori's hand, she forced the young boy to wrap his arms around the Ultimate digimon's chest, then pulled herself into place behind him, positioning herself so that if his grip started to slip, she would be directly beneath him and able to catch him.
"Are you sure you can do this?" Iori asked, his whispering voice quavering slightly at the thought of flying through midair supported only by the digimon's frail-looking wings.
"Do we have a choice?" Miyako commented darkly, looking over at Hawkmon nervously. The avian digimon still appeared to be recovering from the shock of whatever had passed between them earlier, plus Lilymon's attack, so hopefully he couldn't interfere, but…
"…St-stop!" Hawkmon shouted, already attempting to stagger forward and keep them from escaping.
Lilymon took a deep breath, and her wings beat wildly as she sprang into midair, struggling to support the three children. It was difficult; she knew that her slight frame was not really suited to carrying others, but at the same moment, her desire to protect these three at all costs drove her forward. Wings straining, she managed to fly clumsily forward, striving to put as much distance between them and the enemy headquarters as possible before she was forced to land and rest.
"Stop!" Hawkmon ordered again, but the bird digimon could not give chase: he still felt extremely drained, and he slumped to the floor in defeat, pale blue eyes fixed on the retreating figures of his quarry.
He needed rest. The bird digimon's body shrieked at him for relief, to relax…but he could not. He dared only rest for a moment, enough to regain his strength, before reporting this to his master. Hawkmon moaned silently, wondering how he could phrase this loss in a way that would avoid his punishment for such failure…if such a thing was likely…
A single name kept repeating through his mind, over and over again, until he was finally forced to give it voice in a hushed, defeated sigh…
"…Miyako…"
