Digimon Tamers Zero Two Chapter 47: Rebirth, a digimon fanfic

AN: Well, here we are. It's been a long while, hasn't it? I've been crazy busy until this week, and I'm going to be even crazier and busier for the next two months after this so this is really the only time I have to post this. I want to thank all of you for holding on with this story for... jeez, four years. I had a ton of fun with this, and I hope you did too. But, well... you'll see. I hope you all like this chapter, too. Landing the plane is stupidly difficult.

To Ironic-Chuckaboo: I'm glad you liked the last chapter. I hope this one continues the hype!

To Guest: Henry and Terriermon... I hope I do a good job with it here. Most of what neded to be said has already been said, but...

To Smartalec121: I really liked the Leomon bit, too. Circumstances kind of made Jeri an antagonist in this story, so she deserves some good coming her way.

To Guest: I hope this does indeed go out with a Bang.

Enjoy this episode of Digimon: Digital Monsters, and I'll see you at the end of the chapter!

Episode 47: Rebirth

"Voice of the Dragon!"

Revelamon opened his massive jaws, splitting further up the side of his head with teeth reaching up to his ears in a horrible grin, and unleashed a storm of red and black flames. I shot forward, sweeping my plasma spear up at the center of the wall of flames. "Fafnir's Edge!" The green blade extended as I swept upward, energy crashing into the flames. I roared and slashed down again as I saw my plan was working, the flames slightly extinguished in a cone spreading from the clash of energies. The second slash nearly managed the rest of the attack – but I was already feeling drained. We needed to move SaintMegaGargomon out of harm's way, because I didn't know if I could handle blocking like that again.

Thankfully, the others knew exactly what to do. SaintMegaGargomon was way too big to move, but we could keep Revelamon busy. Alphamon and Jesmon shot over me, weapons gleaming as they rocketed towards Revelamon, who swept one of his claws at them, green energy firing from his knuckles. "Sloth: Gift of Darkness!"

"Iron-Fist Judgement!" Jesmon snarled as he jumped in front of Alphamon. The glowing creatures on his back shot forward, slamming forward as fists into Revelamon's attack and sending an explosive burst of pressure outward from the point of contact.

Alphamon flapped her wings and shot past them, holding the Ouryuken out to her side and summoning a trail of flames along its edge. "Ultimate Ouryuken!" she screamed, the flames erupting all over the blade now as she swung it down at the wrist Jesmon was holding in place. The weapon cut through flesh like a flaming sword through butter... but only to a point. We could cleave through his claws, but the thick bone and scale of his arms was another story. Her strongest attack, and she wasn't even able to cut a full halfway through Revelamon's wrist.

"Gluttony: Quick Shot!" Scales shot from his arms, destructive bullets crashing into the others' armor and giving Revelamon space to move back a half step, the flow of data from the Real World once again healing him. I flew forward, reaching the others as the last scales approached and deflecting them with Gorgon's face. "Lust: Empress Emblaze!" A shadow erupted from the gaping wound on his wrist, something like blood coiling and twisting together to become a claw that swiped at me.

"Digitalize Soul!" A blast of green energy flew over my shoulder, crashing into the claw and exploding. Both attacks were made inert, and the three of us retreated slightly. Alphamon readied her sword. "We have to figure out a way to beat him!"

"At least we can hurt him now. If he were Ogudomon, we'd still be completely screwed," I growled out.

"Yeah, much better," Alphamon grumbled, but she didn't have much time to complain because we were already forced to dodge a 'Wrath: Flame Inferno' attack Revelamon shot at us – basically just a beam of concentrated flames flying from his eyes towards us. We scattered, flying in every direction to avoid the flames, with me making sure to stay close enough to SaintMegaGargomon to get close and use my shield to keep him safe if I needed to.

How to get close... "I'll get you guys an opening," I said. I shot upward, hoping the others knew I needed a moment to get to what I was doing. They seemed to get it, because they were already peppering his claws with attacks to distract him. He unleashed more of the other Demon Lords' attacks as they did, giving more than he got if not for their good luck and dodging. Wouldn't last forever, though.

I settled into place and hefted Gorgon right in front of me, aiming the massive crystal in the center directly at Revelamon's head. He'd feel this one – definitely. I deactivated my plasma cutter, because I would need to channel all my focus into charging this attack up and aiming it. The crystals lining the shield slowly began to glow one at a time. Alphamon took a glancing blow from another Double Shot. About a third of the way there. Jesmon's arms struggled to hold back a lancing claw cloaked in flames. Almost full.

Almost...

My shield let out a pealing ring, and I grinned behind my helmet. "JUDECCA PRISON!"

The energy shot towards the crystal at the center, a green glow suddenly becoming like a small star blazing in front of me. Then, barely a half second later, the energy blasted towards my target: right between Revelamon's eyes. He looked up as the energy blast creating a crackling boom from superheated air and instinctively threw his hand up. The blast crashed into the scales on his palm, and his burning flesh began to let out a horrible whine and smoke as the scales and data were fried under the attack's force. I slammed my other fist into the back of the shield, urging myself to pour more into the attack so the others could get around him. There was a hiss and another explosion, and the energy burnt right through his hand and towards his head.

"Greed: Pandemonium Lost!" A stream of pure Darkness erupted from between the horns above his head, crashing into my attack and stopping it in its tracks. "You thought that would be enough!?

Jesmon and Alphamon blasted forward, blades glowing with energy as they got closer to our target. The shine of their weapons caught Revelamon's attention, and he jerked his head to the side, letting my beam slice through one of his horns and causing his attack to vanish suddenly as the horn began to turn to data flying into the air. He threw his left arm out and down, then swept it up towards my friends. "Blade of Stars!" Shimmering data formed into the shape of suns, moons, and planets that aligned into a massive sword clutched in his left hand, the blade around the celestial bodies made up of the void of space filled with stars. He swung it around at the others, trailing shimmering lights as it arced across enough space to reach even me... and Henry!

"SHIT!" I snapped, I blasted towards SaintMegaGargomon at full speed, doing my best to throw my shield out in front of us and hoping that a dumb idea would help me. It was a patch job, hasty and half-baked, but I didn't need as much energy channeled into this Judecca Prison – it wasn't a beam after all. Instead of channeling the energy to the center of the shild, I instinctively knew that I could send it instead to the crystalline shards extending from the center and beyond the edge of Gorgon. The blade's energy reached me and I hoped the others had figured out a way to survive, because even with the Judecca Prison extending a foot away from my shield to carve a path through the energy and keep me safe I was feeling the attack. My armor rattled and my bones creaked, an odd feeling for the half of me that had never had real bones as much as a wireframe. Gorgon was screaming from the force of the attack, but it held right through until the wave of stars and emptiness passed over me and Henry.

My armor clanked and I fell to my knees – or, as much as one can when flying. "That... hurt," I grumbled. I let my mind splip apart. "Digi-Modify... Energy, activate." That helped, I thought as my mind reconnected in a fraction of the time it had once taken. The energy card caused my armor and body to glow for a moment, repaired to full strength. "If possible...Dodge, not block," I noted.

"That was... a lot," a smoking Alphamon grumbled as she and Jesmon rocketed towards me. She turned and we regrouped in front of SaintMegaGargomon, watching Revelamon slowly grin.

"Oh, he realized we have to shield Henry," Jesmon grumbled. And then, just like that, a thousand more scale bullets were flying at Henry and us, and any idea of getting close was gone. We needed a plan, and didn't have any time to think of one. Crap.

X X X

Suzie clutched her Digivice tight, wishing she could raise it to the sky to blast another laser towards the kids to help them. But that miracle had vanished a while ago, just long enough to save the kids from their prison. She had heard her friends in that moment, their Digimon calling out for the kids alongside her.

It had made things better, if only for a moment. The kids' freedom had clearly made that huge monster significantly smaller and weaker, and they had even managed to get a few good hits in that definitely hurt him. But once he began attacking Henry directly, it became a distinctly one sided battle. The only benefit was that the monsters had stopped falling from the sky as he focused his attacks completely on killing the children, and the slow loading of the entire world had stopped in its tracks. But if he beat the kids, they'd be back stronger than ever.

She had to help.

"Suzie." She looked over at Antylamon, who was holding a car up with one arm to help agents reach and pull a family out from rubble. The large Digimon slowly lowered the car once the victims had been rescued. "I need a moment of rest."

"Yeah," Suzie said quietly, still staring up at the fight beyond the sky. She tore her gaze away after a moment and let her partner de-Digivolve. If the kids needed help, or... well, Lopmon needed as much energy as possible. Thinking about the other possibility wasn't going to help. She let the small rabbit drift down to her shoulder and made her way inside, lost in thought and moving slower than she realized. She barely heard the people they had saved thanking her, but smiled and waved at whatever they were saying regardless. She continued on her way, eyes unfocused and tracing up through the building.

Her feet carried her into the elevator, and she traveled upwards still hoping to find something she could use to help the kids. She didn't even notice Lopmon telling her she was on the wrong floor as people flooded in past her. She continued walking, right up until... she stopped and her eyes widened as she realized she'd made her way to the broadcast room.

"Suzie, there's no food in here!" she finally heard.

But it was too late: Suzie had an idea. She turned to the surprised men and women still in the room, packing up the studio. "Throw on the lights, we've got one more video to make!" she shouted, grinning wide. She pointed at another guy. "Lopmon needs a snack, can you get me... uh... Everything!" The guy bolted, overwhelmed by her sudden enthusiasm and probably ready to come up with a private chef if he could find one just to make her happy.

"Suzie, what are you talking about?" Lopmon asked, tugging on Suzie's hair to get her attention.

Suzie grinned at her partner. "I was being so dumb, Lopmon. We have everything we need to help our little Prince and Princess right here! And we can get the entire world to help!"

Lopmon was confused, but she knew to trust Suzie after all this time. "...Well, then we better get started, Suzie. I'm with you."

X X X

"How are we supposed to get close!?" I snapped as I cut down another barrage of scale bullets that came our way. Aimed at me or SaintMegaGargomon..? Don't know. My plasma cutter didn't care, just flashing a round in dangerous arcs. I swept one blast to the side ans spun again, cutting down some that tried to sneak by me before I had to swing my shield around to block something coming at my back. The flaming bolt of energy exploded against the crystalline face and blasted me back, trailing smoke and sparks the entire time.

"According to G-Man, I think the answer is 'we don't,'" Jesmon said, five blades flashing to deflect attacks he'd be much better off dodging with how lightly armored he is. "Our plan wasn't wrong, we just need more... everything. Before we make a mistake the others can't cover."

That made me growl. "Screw this battle of attrition garbage!" I snapped, charging forward like a bolt of lightning. "He can't attack Henry if I cut his stupid, smug head right off!"

"CG!" Alphamon shouted, worried I'd get in over my head. She began flapping her wings to try and catch up, only to realize her huge, heavy armor made her way too slow. Instead, she flew back and defend SaintMegaGargomon with her shield sized blade. "Dammit! Jesmon, I'll keep an eye on this, you help him!"

"This is stupid!" he snapped, but did as she requested, easily catching up with me; he was easily the fastest of us. The blades in his arms flicked up, deflecting a claw of flames and annihilating it with the holy weapons. "You can't just act like an idiot and go off on your own!"

"You're with me, aren't you? Not alone!" I retorted, chuckling as I shot past the claw's rmains and threw my right hand forward. A bolt of energy crackled in my fist for a moment, then a blade of energy exploded out and I swung it wide, elongating it to vaporize scales that were aimed at Alphamon and SaintMegaGargomon. I didn't get them all, but it was something. "I'm killing him before he can hurt Henr – SaintMega – Er, SMG. We hurt him before, and I cut off one of his horns earlier. We can kill him if we get a good enough hit in!"

"A horn is pretty different from a DigiCore," Jesmon pointed out, but he danced around another flame claw coming at him and kept going with me. "She can only cover him for a little while, so we only get one shot."

"Then I'll get it," I said, feeling completely sure. I strained my energy and sped away. I dropped my plasma cutter and began to pour energy into the gauntlet around my fist.

Jesmon seemed to trust me, because he began running along the air in front of me, blades at the ready. He broke off to the right, charging towards Revelamon's left arm. "I'll get you one shot, that's it! I get the feeling doing this twice isn't in the cards." He retracted his swords and flexed his fingers. "Hey! You ugly Jerkmon!"

I bolted the other direction, swinging around wide to make sure we were at opposite sides of Revelamon. Jesmon continued his taunting, snapping, "What's the matter, Jerkmon!? You seem a lot less scary now that you can't hold my mom hostage, Coward!"

Revelamon laughed and stopped his assault on Alphamon and SMG, giving her a minute of breathing room. "My offer to protect her has long since passed, Pawn. Because of you, I shall shred her to the last byte! Blade of -"

Jesmon shoved his fist into his own chest, causing Revelamon to freeze for a moment. My chance. I shot forward as he regained concentration and began manifesting the sword again. "Blade of Stars!" He swung it down, its path directly in front of me. I'd made a mistake about my moment! But I didn't have a choice anymore.

"Shit! Digi-Modify! Phantomon, activate!" My body turned ethereal, and I passed through the attack unharmed other than my armor now burning hot around me.

I glanced back for a moment, seeing Jesmon tear his hand out of his chest... a huge pillar of golden flames in his hand. No, wait – a sword, one made of the same burning energy as the fists on his back. "HOLY CONQUEROR SWORD!" The golden fists on his back grabbed what I could now see was the hilt, and the weapon came up to crash into the Blade of Stars.

Light and Void crashed into one another, sending waves of energy around us that destabilized the odd in-between space we were in. Ripples traveled through the air, and the window leading home began to shudder under the stress. The planets and stars in the Blade of Stars began to hake themselves, the form of Revelamon's blade warped and cracking under the stress. But Jesmon was not much better, his weapon seeming to be sucked right into the other sword's emptiness. He really was giving me one final chance unless we got some help.

I pulled my right fist over my shoulder and decompiled Gorgon; I had only to focus on attacking. In physics, force is a measure of strength. Anything that can cause an object to undergo unnatural motion. Impulse is the sudden change in Force in an instant, like a ball bouncing on the ground. Force times time. Strictly speaking, I didn't have nearly enough energy to match the Impule Revelamon could put out, the same force he had to be able to handle in order to dish out the attacks he had.

But what I had was pressure. Force divided by area. The smaller the area, the more the effects of a force could be felt. It's the concept behind a drill, the small tip a focal point for the force to push through much harder materials with a fraction of the force required to break them in a full frontal assault. My plasma cutter could extend and widen as much as I wanted, though its energy would disappate with every inch added in any direction. The focus to do the opposite was hard, but I could do it once. Shrink down the superheated matter my right arm could create into a single molecule, the ultimate in pressure. And once it was lodged in his Digicore, use that like a milkshake blender and turn Revelamon's insides into a damn milkshake. Lightning plasma hit 50 thousand degrees Fahrenheit – about 5 times hotter than the sun. A molecule of that drilling into him might be able to hurt that bastard.

So, as the swords both shattered and Revelamon was suddenly on the back foot, unable to turn his focus on me, I thrust my arm forward and launched that thin molecule of energy straight out. "Micro-Gram Drill!" I screamed, the green blade an impossible to block attack headed right for the monster's head to vaporize his Digicore. The green glow was impossibly bright, a bolt of lightning headed to kill him.

"QUO VADIS!" Revelamon snapped, and a two sided spear of pure energy flew from his jaws. Its tip, impossible, perfectly collided with my attack head on in a blast of thunder. Energy exploded as the two impossible energy attack crashed head on, the fundamental structure of the space screaming around us again. I screamed against his attack, pouring more and more into the attack. I had to break through! I had to kill him! My drill began to work slowly, painfully through the spear – through GALLANTMON'S spear! - and cracks appeared along its body. My arm was screaming at me – this kind of energy wasn't meant to be held in my hand for this long. And the pushback was... I steeled myself. I had to keep strong.

"ENOUGH!" Revelamon screamed, grabbing the spear with his left hand and thrusting it forward as well.

And then both of our spears shattered. I was blasted backwards, pain running down my arm as the energy gauntlet on my wrist exploded and cracked my armor. I was flying head over heels, tumbling... somewhere. Space didn't really mean much.

But in my frantic spinning, I could see one thing – Revelamon had a burning stump sitting where his left hand had been a moment before.

"Amethyst Mandala!" I slammed into a wall and was thrown into another two bodies. Jesmon and Alphamon, crumpled up with me in a cage – one Sakuyamon would make. He could use their data now? Were they still alive? "Enough!"

Revelamon looked pissed beyond measure as he held us in our amethyst prison, the same energy glowing on his right hand. He glared down at the stump of his hand, flames rising from the destroyed limb. It wasn't growing back. "Fine. Then we do this the hard way."

I grinned. "Bring it on, you -"

"CG!" Alphamon grabbed my shoulder and pulled me to look beside us. Data was streaming from the real world, a torrent from all over the world and the space around us, congealing into...

An army. Revelamon smiled down at us from behind a horde of D-Reaper drones. "Outgunned. Outnumbered. You played a fine card for your last, Children." He gripped the stump of his arm, the pain making his eyes wild and angry. "But it was still your last."

I glanced around at our jail cell, then at the sparking garbage that was my lance on my arm. "I... may have been exaggerating how much I can fight him now," I supplied, earning a groan of disapproval from Jesmon as he and Alphamon readied their weapons. Step one, break out. I compiled Gorgon again and hunkered down behind it. "It's... no one I'd rather have with me."

"KayKay. Me neither," Alphamon said.

"Somehow, better than I could have ever picked," Jesmon agreed.

Time to fight to the bloody end.

X X X

Yamaki felt lost. For the second time in his life, he was forced to stand to the side and watch children do a job he would not wish on the most hardened of soldiers. The fate of the world, placed on their shoulders. The aid that the former Tamers had given to the Digimon above had been a godsend, slowing the falling rain of fire and the Loading of the real world as the figure above was forced to deal with the small group of Digimon standing up to him. But now? With that horde of D-Reaper drones swarming them?

Yamaki did not have high hopes for the fate of the world.

He wondered, briefly and suddenly, how Riley was doing. Their relationship had been a bright spot before his workaholic nature ended it prematurely. He hoped she was happy, and drove away the idea that there was a different path he could have taken. He had helped the Digimon, the children, and the world. Even if it was about to end, that was a life worth living.

He was drawn from his thoughts when his computer let out a sudden beep. A personal direct message? That wasn't what he had expected. Oh, Japan's Diet had been on the phone a dozen times before he's blocked them out and told them to be with their families. They'd e-mailed him a couple times before he had shut it off. But a personal message?

He walked over to it and froze. "Riley," he muttered as he saw the message was from her. He quickly opened it. She still had access to his old personal message ID from HYPNOS, she wanted to say something to him?

He frowned as he saw it was a video file, with a simple message above it. "Tally told me you're in charge again. Wong has an idea. Sent this to me, but you can do more. Boss man – watch this."

An idea? Well, it wasn't like watching it would end the world, would it? He decided that joke was in poor taste the moment it rang through his mind.

"If you're watching this, watch it to the end! I'm not kidding when I say... the world depends on it! I'm Suzie Wong, a Tamer. And this is my partner, Lopmon. We've known each other since I was six," Suzie Wong explained, her hair dirty and face smudged but all of that blown away by the fire in her eyes. "All of this is scary, I know that. I bet you're all thinking that there's nothing you can do, that this is the end of the world...

"WRONG!" She threw her hand up in a fist. "Just wish for the kids to win, to get exactly what they need to save all of us! Thoughts, prayers, social media! Anything you can do is the right thing to do! The Digital World runs on the internet and dreams, so everyone on the world putting the same idea out all at once can change what's going on up there! And if you're a Digimon who can fly, please just try to get close and we'll figure the rest out! I know some of you don't know what to think about life on Earth... but it's life! And we need you to fight to keep it safe!"

Yamaki smiled at the video as it ended with a call to share it everywhere. It wasn't the Tamer's bet work, though the one take necessity of the end of the world could excuse that. Still, it was informative. It was true. It was simple. It... may have just been all they needed. A way for every person to help, so over 7 Billion dreams could work in tandem. And if the wild Digimon listened? Even if only one of them?

Yamaki downloaded the file. "Very well, Suzie Wong. I put the world in your hands." He placed the file into an emergency broadcast service and watched it slowly upload. It seemed to take forever, even with the powerful servers making it so fast. Yamaki turned away from the loading bar and moved towards the window to watch. It wasn't long before Suzie's desperate, excited plea was on every screen. He knew it would be on the internet soon, sending it worldwide.

After a short while, the video had been shared more and more, played across every television in Japan more and more. In the distance, the bay began to bubble up as if something masive was writhing beneath its waves. A golden horn poked out from the water and MetalSeadramon began to slowly rise into the sky towards the battle, dominating the skyline of Tokyo. He saw the flash of Digivolution and some Tamer Digimon flew up on new wings, congregating with the Wild Ones following MetalSeadramon into the sky. Accompanying those flashes of Digivolution also came beams of light, following the Digimon and overtaking them. The lights flowed up, side by side in the sky as they approached the fight. The wishes and dreams of Digimon Tamers, children and adults, fueled by the wishes of everyone else, and building a bridge into the sky.

X X X

What is this video even about?

Hey mama, that's the princess voice! Share the video! Share it, Mama!

This has to be a hoax, right? But whatever, might as well comment. World's ending anyway.

Hey man, last month we never would've said Digimon are real. At this point, thoughts, prayers, and Facebook posts are worth a try, right?

remember to like, comment, and subscribe! And share the video, just like she said!

Trending on Tik Tok: Dance for Digimon!

Leomon, give them all the help they need. Please, help them save us!

MarineAngemon, I know you're still up there. Suzie's right, I – I'm going to hope for the best!

Impmon, you don't get to leave us again. Save him!

Guardromon, you better believe Chumley Junior can do this, because I believe it!

Mayumi, you better make it back... You have to make it back...

May, you can do it! Mama's scared, but you can!

Please, protect my son. Help Davis... Padre Nuestro, Sanctificado sea tu nombre...

-Whoever you are -

-Mayumi, Davis, Tasuke-

WE BELIEVE IN YOU!

X X X

I jumped behind Alphamon, raising my shield and catching the huge claws of a Drone that had been aimed at hr back. "I rally hate not being able to fight back!" I growled as the claws rebounded from Gorgon's face.

"I'd laugh that you of all of us can't fight, but we could really use the help now," Alphamon said as she turned, flying around me to cut the Drone down with her sword in both hands. The thing shrieked and melted away, a red rain falling into a small lake of the stuff we'd already managed to accumulate on the non-existent floor. But with a swarm of all these things, we were taking our own share of damage. One of Jesmon's swords had cracked from sheer overuse, and both of Alphamon's wings were ragged from near misses.

"Save your cards until we need them, too," Jesmon shouted as he wrapped his tail around another Drone's throat and threw it towards another group as a distraction before killing all of them with a single strike. Quantity didn't mean quality, but damn if quantity wasn't getting to us; a dozen glommed onto him a moment later, clawing at him for a moment before he cut them away and backed up to the rest of us and SMG. "Though that might be pretty soon."

Revelamon smirked down at us from behind his army, a violet burning in his remaining hand as more of the drones appeared inside of the large boundary of the Amethyst Mandala he had expanded. I snarled and readied my shield. "What do you think Satan's fugly cousin is laughing at?" I asked the others. I dove to the side and slammed my shield in the back of one drone's neck, cleanly cutting it off with one of the sharp crystals.

"You." Oh, good. He decided to answer himself. "You almost had me, but now?" He tightened his fist and the Mandala tightened around us. "I could attack, but what's the point of shooting fish in a barrel?"

"I hate him," Alphamon remarked simply.

"I'm gonna kill him," Jesmon and I said.

"You had your chance. Now it's my turn to watch you suffer."

"Oh, screw off with this!" Alphamon snapped as she held back a drone's teeth with the long handle of her sword. She wrested it to the side and slammed her fist into its face, a Digitalize Soul blasting through the head and vaporizing it.

"They're getting too close," I growled, barely having the time to cover her again.

"Can't do much about that!" she replied just before another crashed into her from the front, tackling us both and coiling around us with razor teeth poised to kill. "Crud!"

"Finally. Victory." Revelamon laughed and said, "You should have just accepted my deal." The teeth lunged down.

"RIVER OF POWER!"

The creature stopped, no longer under control, and turned to the noise. A brilliant walkway of white light was soaring down from – from the window to earth? And riding that walkway was a MetalSeadramon, snout glowing dangerously with bright blue light as it led what looked like a small army of Digimon towards us. The blue energy shot from its face, crashing intot he center of the horde, setting off a massive explosion that vaporized hundreds of the things. The other Digimon split off, smaller forms rushing in to attack the things.

Revelamon cried out in surprise as the monsters vanished, and with his concentration so did the Ametheyst Mandala. We were free. "GET OFF!" I snapped, turning over and slamming my foot into the drone's face. It flew back from the force, teeth flying from its face as the same rain of red. I turned back to the walkway and my eyes widened as I realized just what it was.

Faces. Thousands – millions – hell, who even knew? But it was so many people, from so many places, all saying the same things. Putting aside why I could understand them, but... it was wishing. Hoping. "Stop him. We'll help you, just like she said!"

The light arced off from the walkway and crashed into us. It didn't heal us, but... I felt something.

"OH!" Alphamon shouted. Me and Jesmon turned to see one of those terminals that I'd seen Datamon use, something that could -

"Alphamon! It's a computer!"

She let out a girlish squeal that I had hoped to never hear be made by a Royal Knight, but the painfully loud screech in my ears was awful regardless. "This thing can compile my DigiCode!" she shrieked, shattering my ears again.

"Your -

Another shriek interrupted Jesmon and we decided to ignore her as she typed something up. "Keep her safe?" Jesmon asked me.

"KayKay," I agreed, moving so we were on opposite sides of her. The new group of Digimon may have been helping with the horde but we were still target number one.

"This is not enough to stop me!" Revelamon screamed. "VOICE OF THE DRAGON!" Flames shot from his jaws, vaporizing some of the Digimon that he Loaded as that red puddle data. "This is just getting me my food early, you stupid children!"

I backhanded a drone that got too close and turned to kick another's face in. "You going to get there soon!?" I snapped. I caught a third one's teeth on the edge and fell backwards, flying with it trying to chew through my shield on top of me. Wait, 3D movement you idiot! I simply used my flight to turn us over so I was on top now. "ALPHAMON!"

She didn't respond at all. Typical – get her in front of a computer and she ignores everything else! She just kept typing and typing, totally stuck in her own little world even as – Ach! I pulled up my feet and placed them at the center of the thing trying to kill me so I could kick it away into the one about to hit Alphamon's back. I charged after the both of them and punched one through the head before the other grabbed my shield arm with its teeth. "OW!"

Jesmon wasn't doing much better. He was fencing with another group of the things, blade cutting through one before another grabbed his tail and wrenched it to the side so the others could attack his arms and legs. He slammed his spiky head back at that one, stabbing it through the eyes and getting it to let go. He spun around, tail sword cutting it down before the others piled up on his back. "Dammit!"

"Good thing I already had them built. COMPILE!" Alphamon cried out joyfully, reaching out and pressing a button.

A new weight began to form in my free hand. It was... a spear, a gleaming white with a blood red tip. "Zero Arms: Longinus!" I snapped, the name blooming in my mind as I turned and stabbed it straight through the drone's head. There was no sound, no surprising and terrifying flash... I just stabbed the thing and it was vaporized, data and all.

"Zero Arms: El Cid!" Alphamon charged forward, a brown and white shield held on her left arm. It let out a pulse of bronze energy that shot towards Jesmon, exploding out and blasting the drones right off of Jesmon to save him.

He immediately rushed straight up, a white and violet crossbow on his left arm, a gauntlet that had replaced his left arm sword.. Amethyst energy glowed along the tip, firing off by the dozen. The bolts pierced drones with crazy accuracy, again just turning them to nothing like Longinus had. "Zero Arms: Yew Bow!"

I grinned behind my helmet and tightened my grip on Longinus. It's like I knew everything it could do, just by holding it. The handle felt natural in my hand, like the spear was made for me. So I reared back with my arm. "You know, do you think someone who throws a spear is an archer?" I asked, then took a floating step forward and twisted with perfect mechanics, releasing the spear with all my strength and momentum at the peak of my throw. The spear, which I felt deep in my body that I could simply recompile in my hand at a moment's call, shot forward with a sonic boom towards Revelamon's body. He barely had time to turn and see what was happening before the spear pierced his other horn, shattering it with another sonic boom. He screamed, more in surprise than pain, and stumbled back. He clutched at the broken horn, eyes growing wide and locking onto me.

That had been easy, compared to all the time and effort it had taken to cut through his horn before with my Judecca Prison attack. Longinus had cut through his horn like butter. "Hey, focus!" Jesmon shouted, and a rain of his violet arrows crashed down around m, vaporizing a dozen drones that wanted to carve me up in revenge. He came up behind me and stabbed the last one in the chest. "There's too much going on to just throw your weapon!"

I looked over my shoulder. "I wouldn't worry too much about that." I recompiled Longinus in my hand, gleaming red tip arcing before the rest had even appeared to carve cleanly through another drone. "After all, how'd you know you could shoot a thousand bolts at once?"

"Guys, keep your eyes up!" Alphamon explained as she got close, followed by a hundred Drones closing in on us. She raised her shield above all three of us and slammed the face with her sword. A bronze wall exploded into being around us, pulsing with energy that sent vaporized the weaker Drones and sent the stronger ones flying back trailing smoke. "Do I do good work, or do I do amazing work!"

"I love how humble you are," Jesmon remarked with a laugh.

"I know you love a lot -"

"NO MORE FLIRTING!" I snapped. "Focus. These things can hurt him like – well, like my spear wrecked his arm and my spear. He's not healing." And he wasn't. The horn I'd just cut off was still smoking and cut in half, just like his smoking stump of a left hand. And it hurt a lot less to destroy the horn.

"You think that thing can hold up to a Blade of Stars attack?" Jesmon asked after a moment of thinking, looking towards Alphamon.

"Like I said, I do awesome work," she replied, no hesitation whatsoever. I wish I had her confidence sometimes.

"Well, then you'll tank that."

She nodded. "One time? Easy."

"How are you this confident?" I asked dryly.

"I'm just that good at coding," she explained. "These babies are my Magnum Opus, DummyJerkmon."

Jesmon nodded. "Good. Then I'll distract him. CG – you pierce his Digicore. If it kills him, great. But if it doesn't, Alphamon and I will get Takato and Rika out while he's stunned."

I looked over at the army of Digimon engaging the Drones. The MetalSeadramon was guarding the walkway to Earth, unleashing tidal waves at the front lines to sweep away the monsters and letting the other Digimon jump in further. It was a good effort, but who knew if they'd last much longer with a limitless enemy to fight, and one that grew in number with every Digimon they killed. Already, some of the weaker Digimon were being Loaded by the drones, their data restructured and converted into yet another Drone pushing towards earth.

"And if it doesn't kill him, we can use my special surprise." I turned, surprised, to Alphamon. She shot me a thumbs up. "You asked for Power Rangers, you got it!"

I blinked once, then let out a shocked laugh. "I was joking! You have to be the dumbest brainiac out there!" I shook my head; I could laugh at her later. "Okay, Jesmon. We'll go with your plan."

He nodded. "Give me just a few seconds to get into position." He shut his eyes for a moment, took a breath, and sprinted away. He bounced from a series of mall barriers, his movement catching the attention of the MetalSeadramon.

"Stay behind me," Alphamon said, grabbing my shoulder to get my attention. She flapped her wings, sending a few loose, singed feathers into the air around us. I nodded and focused to fly after her.

Jesmon must have seen us start to move, because he and the MetalSeadramon began to fire blast after blast at Revelamon's main body. "Dammit!" Revelamon snapped, the first sudden volley surprising him and blasting a hole in his shoulder. He snarled in pain and spun, lashing out with his two tails. "Envy: Duo Cauda!" The black tails flared with energy and snapped like whips at his attackers. A Whamon flew into the path of one, quickly becoming eviscerated by the attack and turning to a puddle of red data. The other tail flew towards Jesmon and MetalSeadramon unimpeded. Jesmon bolted to the side, firing countless bolts at the tail to try and knock it off course. But MetalSeadramon was too large and slow. There was a massive 'crunch,' and the tail shattered hiss armor plating, then quickly eviscerated the rest.

We had nobody guarding Earth now.

I tightened my grip on Longinus. This would be worth it. We had to make it worth it.

Jesmon continued to attack, getting much closer and weaving between a hundred more drones. He blasted them from the sky, dogfighting alongside an ExVeemon and Angemon that just couldn't keep up. They helped him, playing the part of willing Chaff, but it wouldn't last long. "You think this is enough to fight me? This is a game to me!" Revelamon shouted as he smirked down at Jesmon's attempts to fight back. Alphamon watched his gaze lock onto him and shuddered, afraid, but pushed herself to fly harder towards him. I followed close.

Jesmon didn't respond, simply glancing over us and firing another volley towards Revelamon's other side to draw attention away from us. It did its job, but it wouldn't last. Our luck determined he'd see us eventually. And he'd definitely notice me stabbing his Digicore.

We continued our ascent, pushing as fast as Alphamon could go. "... You'll need to break off," I realized suddenly. Alphamon didn't respond, but her eyes flicked over her shoulder at me. "Alphamon, you're too slow If I stun him, you need to get to Takato or Rika ASAP. If you distract him and tank his Blade of Stars, I can pour on just enough speed to get to him."

"... Are you sure?"

"Hey, if this is your max speed I think I can estimate the calculations well enough," I replied. I chuckled to put her at ease. "Besides, you clearly want to save Loverboy from getting mobbed."

She looked at me, rolled her eyes, then nodded. "KayKay, CG. Just give me a signal."

I nodded and followed her, keeping close to his left side. I snickered at his burnt out stump of an arm, taking just a little joy in having hurt the jerkwad. We ascended upward, approaching his elbow. I tapped her leg and broke off to our right, getting behind him while Alphamon shot towards his front side. "Digitalize Soul!" She shouted, blasting powerful streams of green energy up to his face.

His attention was torn from Jesmon, and I noticed that the ones attacking our friend slowed down that instant. They were connected – my mind flashed back to when Revelamon and his hordes had been stunned by MetalSeadramon's opening attack. Something to file away, if need be.

Alphamon being that close had the same effect that it had last time: worry covered up with bloodlust. "Ah, running to your doom so quickly? BLADE OF STARS!" He threw his right hand up, and I knew that I was about to have my shot. I flew up along his spine and decompiled Gorgon so I could hold Longinus in both hands. I spared a thought for Alphamon, but shook it off; if she was sure El Cid could tank Blade of Stars, I'd believe her. She hadn't screwed up yet, after all. The weapon materialized above me, trailing sparkling energy and emptiness. "I will kill you both then, here and now!"

Alphamon pushed it as hard as she could, and Alphamon shot towards her in turn. I forced myself not to watch. I had to focus, just like them. The blade swung down, and I made my move. There was a loud shrieking as the void collided with El Cid's barrier, That was probably the noise of the air superheating and being sucked into the weapon's vacuum. The fact it was even making any noise meant that Alphamon was right in trusting her coding skills, because almost anything else would have broken long before we would have heard the noise.

I shot up behind Revelamon's head. One last shot. "Zero Arms: Longinus!" I raised the weapon in both hands and shot straight down at the base of his neck. The weapon in my hands glowed with a vibrant, crimson intensity starting from the tip and spreading down to my hands. SMG was safe, protected by the Digimon. My friends were safe, protected by Alphamon's Zero Arm. And when this monster was dead, we'd all just be safe. For real. "Crux Stab!"

The tip of the lance easily passed through Revelamon's nearly impenetrable skin and sank down, deeper and deeper into his body. The energy spread throughout his data pathways and he let out a pained, horrible scream that echoed all through the space. And then he stated to fight against my hold on his Digicore.

It was like holding back an earthquake with my bare hands. Every move shook me down to my bones, causing my armor to scream as it dragged against other plates. I could barely keep a hold on Longinu as his paralyzed body shook harder and harder in a seizure. I swung my feet down and stabbed the hooked blades on my feet into his back, using it to get a foothold. I don't know how much it helped, because now I was getting the earthquake two times over. Flames exploded upward out of his jaws, a last ditch attempt to throw me off his back. I held Longinus tighter. I had to do this, even if it killed me. Even if -

"NO!"

It wasn't something I had been expecting, but I'm sure I should have in retrospect: he was shrinking. As Alphamon and Jesmon retreated with the eggs holding Takato and Rika, Revelamon was shrinking. This had the unfortunate side effect, of pulling Longinus out of his spine and leaving me open to an attack. A tail slammed into my back, shattering armor and sending me flying.

I tumbled, head over heels, until I slowly came to a stop. I was gasping for air, and it was like my back had been sliced open by a dozen blades with how much of the armor had cracked inwards from the force. "Son of a... Shit..." I hissed. I wanted to swipe an Alias card so bad. I had to, just to escape the pain.

But then I saw Revelamon, the same size as us, clutching a Blade of Stars in one hand. It wasn't over. I slowly, painfully rotated back upright and recompiled Gorgon. I couldn't take another hit, probably not even with Gorgon, but it might do something. Jesmon and Alphamon flew towards SMG, so I decided to limp towards SMG to meet them.

"You stupid children!" Revelamon snapped once he had recovered slightly, his form glitching every so often as he lost the data holding him together. "You do not get to stop a god from ascending!" The Digimon and drones around him were still fighting, a swarm of lights and destruction throughout the entire space that was being slowly pushed back from the bridge to earth. We were winning. "Your pest allies do not get to hurt me!"

I glanced at the others, who placed the eggs beside SMG and readied their weapons one last time. "I think we already did!" I shouted back, ignoring the flame that each word caused along my back as best I could. Longinus clattered in my hand but I held tight. I had to keep going.

His eyes widened and his entire body shook, rage seeping out from every movement. Incoherent screams and babbling were all he could muster now as his body began to dissolve into bright red liquid. I was struck, then, with a question. "How were we ever scared of you?"

That seemed to be the last straw. He exploded, and an ocean of red data swept over the entire area. Red cables devoured the other Digimon and turned them into Drones that swarmed around a central, glowing unit. He'd surrendered any concept of himself to beat us, now. He was just a pale echo of what he'd devoured – the D-Reaper.

I held Longinus out to Alphamon. "You guys got me the shots I needed. I'll pay the favor back now."

She and Jesmon looked at me, clearly worried. "Hey, I can handle – ech – handle it."

She grabbed Longinus. "Leave it to you to take the easy job," Jesmon remarked dryly.

I laughed, but immediately cringed in pain. "Ow – stop," I groaned. I let go of the spear. "The drones distract him. I'll clear a path."

I focused on my shield and grabbed its edge with my other hand while I began to slowly fly upward. All the energy I had left I poured into the crystal at the center, letting the crystals along the edge fill with energy. Henry. Suzie. Jesmon. Alphamon. Takato. Rika. Even Dr. Katou and the HYPNOS Tamers. They trusted us. I stopped and turned towards the mindless drones writhing about the core. "Screw you," I told Lucemon. The last Zero Unit filled up. "JUDECCA PRISON!"

The green energy shot out from my shield, crashing into the horde of drones. I watched drones get vaporized in the resulting explosions and forced my arms, trailing data as I glitched and got close to breaking apart, to move to the side. The stream of energy trailed through the hordes, creating more explosions and causing that central node to writhe in pain.

"Zero Arms!" Jesmon and Alphamon shouted. I flicked an eye towards them, watching as El Cid split apart for the other Zero Arms to lock into, unfolding into a large handle with a pair of steadying handles on the sides. The Yew Bow began to stretch further, becoming a larger and much more powerful Ballista launcher that locked onto El Cid. Finally, Longinus a single bolt of ammunition that had small bristles spread out from the base to form fletching. "MICHAEL!"

Longinus shot through the air, coated in red, violet, and bronze energy swirling around each other. I watched it crash into the central node, and everything went quiet. My shield dissolved in front of me and I could barely keep my eyes open when the energy of the bolt finally caused an implosion of the D-Reaper data entirely. The energy condensed, swirling into a singularity of condensed data growing heavier and heavier. And then... Bang.

Everything went white.

X X X

I groaned and raised a hand to my head. "Where am I?" I wondered. My voice made me feel... uncomfortable. What was wrong with it? It felt incomplete. It felt like – "BG!" I staggered to my feet, ignoring the feeling of raw skin stretching on my back. "BG!"

"I'm right here," he groaned. I turned and rushed to the source of the voice, finding BlackJyarimon laying exhausted on the ground. I rushed over and picked him up. "Thought you'd never – yaaaaawn – wake up."

I rolled my eyes and looked around, trying to figure out where we were. Data was falling from the sky like snow, landing on the ground just... building the Digital World back up. We were surrounded by rolling green hills and vibrant springtime flowers. Just beside us was a glowing vortex of purple, red, and bronze energy with... home. Beyond it was home, the last place we had been on Earth before going to save Henry. I took a breath and turned around. On the horizon... "SaintMegaGargomon!" I began running as fast as I could towards the mountainous golden creature that filled the world in one direction. I hised in pain with every step, the back of my shirt growing wet with sweat and blood before, finally, I made near his unconscious head.

He was way worse off than me. Data was flowing into the sky, but he wasn't de-merging. His eyes were shut tight, and it was clear he wouldn't be waking up any time soon. But if he didn't wake up... What would happen to Henry? Momentai was there too, whining and pawing at him to wake up. He had to -"Hen -"

"YOU!"

I turned and fell over in surprise, barely dodging the golden flame that had been aimed at my head, thrown by the child sized, humanoid Digimon glaring at me with pure hate. His wings were ragged and destroyed, their data barely held together through sheer force of hate. "Lucemon!" BG snarled from my arms.

I slowly stood up. "Can't you take a hint and just die already?" I asked the husk in front of me. He wasn't long for this world; any time now, he'd lose integrity and his data would fly away. "You lost, get over it and show just a little bit of dignity."

His face quivered with rage and I let out a laugh. "Looks like a toddler throwing a fit, huh?"

BG laughed harshly. "Ha! And this is what he always was on the inside!" he taunted.

"SHUT UP!" Lucemon screamed, and he abandoned all thought. He lunged forward, arms aimed for my throat. "I WILL KILL -"

"Fist of the Beast King!"

An orange lion shot through the air, crashing right into the back of his legs. The unteady data immediately shattered, and my would-be attacker fell flat on his face. I stared down at him, then looked up at the new arrivals.

At the front, Davis and May were looking exhausted with an equally tired Huckmon and Dorumon at their sides. The one who had attacked was a Leomon, his fist still raised and ready to do it again. He was near Guardromon, MarineAngemon, and had a very shy and timid Impmon glancing at him. Takato and Rika covered the other side, Guilmon and Renamon ready to leap forward and shred Lucemon at the slightest provocation.

"And now you can't even stand up and take it like a Mon," I sneered down at Lucemon. "Serves you right, Loser."

I took a step forward, BG growling down the entire time. "You worthless human. You silly, useless creature! You think this is the end!? I will kill you! I will -"

"If I'm a useless creature?" I cut in. I smirked down as he glitched again, a thought occuring to me. He didn't even have the data integrity to take a stiff breeze. Which meant – I brought my foot back. "What does that make you?" His eyes widened with fear as he understood what I was going to do: deny him the death at the hands of a strong Digimon. He'd be killed like a common insect, under a human foot. And then I brought it forward and into his temple, shattering the data and finally killing the bastard.

"Wow... that was a little dark, Junior," Impmon remarked as the last of the data flew into the sky. He said that, but it isn't like any of them tried to stop me; Lucemon deserved worse than that after all.

I watched the data go for a moment, then turned to SMG. He still wasn't awake... and the data loss was getting faster. Momentai was howling, crying. "Henry?" I asked, reaching out to the face. "Henry! Henry, wake up!"

No response. The data was breaking his wireframe down a little now. "HENRY, PLEASE!" Nothing. "Y-you can't do this!" He kept sleeping.

"Taj..." May whispered, walking up with Davis. They looked at each other, then grabbed me tight in a hug.

"Wake up, Henry, please!"

Takato and Rika joined in, along with all the Digimon. They were trying to help. But it wan't helping. Because I needed one person to be there. I needed Henry.

I fell to my knees and leaned forward, placing my forehead on the face. With no one able to see me, I let the tears fall and whispered as quiet as I could so none of the people near me, trying to comfort me, could hear, "Henry... you can't leave me, too."

There was a loud clanking and whirring. I shot to my fet and backed up, hitting the others as we all backpedaled from the now glowing, massive eye that was taller than Leomon. A glitching voice came out, saying, "T-Tasuke?"

There was a huge flash, forcing us to look away and cover our eyes. When it finally dimmed, I turned back and saw Henry. He was laying on the ground, panting with exertion and clutching a small green blob to his chest. And that blob... was falling apart, data still floating into the sky. "What the hell? Henry! Use an Energy Card!" I rushed forward, fishing one out of my pockets and holding it out.

I didn't get a response. Henry just clutched his partner tight to his chest. "Thank you so much, Zerimon..." He was on the verge of crying, sobs catching some of the words in his throat. "Thank you..."

"Henry..." Takato whispered, taking a half step forward before Rika grabbed his arm.

Herny slowly sat up, carefully cradling his partner in his arms. Zerimon shuffled, slowly turning as he glitched in and out, to stare me in the eye. "Well... I guess it was worth it, Henry." He looked up at Henry and shut his eyes as he grinned. "Wouldn't change a thing. From Gorillamon to now." He opened his eyes. "Henry. I love y-"

He shattered then, data fragmenting further and further rather than flying into the air. It just... vanished. I stared, horror creeping into my gut. "Did... did he..?" BG asked, sounding hollow.

Henry stared at his empty arms, face still stuck in his sad smile as he had listened to Zerimon's final words, the only difference the heavy stream of tears coming from both eyes. He didn't move, didn't make a noise. I took a hesitant move forward and grabbed his shoulders, hugging him tight. "Henry..."

He clutched me tight right back. "Tasuke... I'm... I'm so glad... you're okay." And then he gave out, sobbing violently into my shoulder. "Z-Zerimon!"

I shut my eyes tight and hugged him, even as the others got close and did the same. "I... I'm sorry, Henry," I said, knowing it wouldn't do anything to fix it. But what else could I say? I didn't understand. I didn't know if he'd be okay. But I could be there for him, just like he'd been there for me for so long. "I'm so sorry."

X X X

Two Days Later...

The eggs in the pan were giving a nice sizzling noise when I poured them in. The fourth dozen eggs I'd made this morning, and I was already sure I had to ration from now on. The Digimon were like bottomless pits, and we were hosting nine. One egg per person from now on, I don't care how much Guilmon and BG whine about it. "Any news from May?" I asked Aunt Suze across the counter. Dorumon perked up immediately from where she was laying on the couch, glancing over cautiously.

She sighed and put her mimosa down, running a finger along the lip. "Jaarin is still unsure about all this. I can't quite blame her, but being separated from Dorumon, you, and Davis won't change that she's Digidestined."

Dorumon's ears fell and she lowered to the couch again.

Rika and Takato came down the stairs, trailed by Guilmon. Renamon was... who the hell knows. She was sneakier than Huckmon. "He's still up there?" I asked them.

Rika nodded. "Yeah. I don't think he's coming down today, Tasuke," she said. She came up and sat down on the other stool beside Aunt Suze. She reached over and tentatively patted my arm. I hesitated for a moment, but... well, they were here for now. That meant something at least. I shot her a cautious smile before I got back to making the scrambled eggs.

"How long did it take for that Katou lady to feel better?" BG asked. He blinked once at Suze's annoyed glare, then turned to look up at Leomon right next to him. Leomon was looking real uncomfortable with the new string of questions, and Impmon was basically green and ready to puke. "Oh, uh..." He shrugged, knowing the damage had already been done. "So how long did it take?"

Takato shook his head. "Feel better? Without the D-Reaper, who knows how long it would have taken? But even then, she wasn't okay for years." He glanced over at Impmon and Leomon, who both had very different looks of guilt and fear. "She'll be a whole new kind of okay now, though." Seemed to make both of them less anxious.

"Speaking of..." Renamon appeared suddenly behind me. I yelped and nearly threw the pan into the air.

"Don't do that!" I hissed. I let out a breath and began spooning out the eggs onto a bunch of plates. I stopped and put the pan back before stopping and glaring at the plates. "I knew this would happen."

Suze glanced between us. "I... You're leaving!?" she shouted, surprised.

"No!" Takato exclaimed back, hands up. "It's definitely not forever. The portal in the park can take us to the Digital World, and from there we can get to Japan and back easy. A few days, max."

"I cannot wait to see Kazu again," Guardromon remarked upon hearing that. "Ah, surely he must be up to trouble he needs me to help with."

I shut my eyes tight. Whatever. "Then I guess I'll see you when you get back," I muttered.

Rika spoke up, "We won't leave for a few days, we -"

"Someone needs to get them back and talk with HYPNOs, I get it. We beat Lucemon but it isn't the end of fighting, I get it, yeah."

"The portals are interfering with communications," Suze muttered. He hook her head. "It's another 'no other choice' thing, huh?"

Rika glared down at her hands. "There is no other choice. But this isn't something that we can't come back from. We'll be back, Tasuke. And we want -"

I nodded. "Yeah... Yeah." I let out a sigh. "Okay. If you need to do that, then do it. I got it."

The door opened and I looked over. "Davis and – May!" I grinned and rushed over, wrapping her up in a hug. "What are you doing here?!"

"We snuck her out," Huckmon said smugly, appearing right behind me.

I jumped again. "Don't do that!" I snapped at him, turning and kicking in a way I knew he'd dodge.

"We walk into something?" May asked, glancing around at the room. None of us looked... comfortable. "Taj, you okay?"

"You could come with us," Rika said quietly, finally finishing what she'd been saying before I cut her off.

I froze. That offer was... I felt some of the anger melt away. It... it did mean a lot they'd even offer. And it was a chance to meet my family, the grandparents I never met. To spend time with them on an adventure. "I -"

"No. Don't," Takato cut me off. He sighed, but was smiling sadly."We know. Henry needs you. Mayumi and Davis, they're your friends. This, well, it's where you belong. You're lucky to find that."

I swallowed hard and walked back to the eggs. "Well, it's not like you won't be back soon with my grandparents in tow, so I can handle a week or two," I remarked. I picked up one plate. "May, you can have BG's plate – he's already had three."

"WHAT!?" he snapped, but I ignored him. I took the plate I had and moved towards the stairs. When he understood, BG lumbered up them beside me.

"Tasuke... it will get easier for him, even if it doesn't just get better," Takato said as we took a step. "And... I'm proud of you. You saved the world, and now you're helping Henry. He did a good job with you... and when we come back, we will too."

"Yeah... I know." I continued up the stairs, slowly opening Henry's door.

X X X

Henry didn't bother rolling over as Tasuke walked in, closing the door behind him and BlackGuilmon. He just kept staring at the ceiling, eyes hollow and glazed. "Hey, Henry." He walked over to the bedside table, carefully placing a plate of eggs in an empty pace. He looked at Henry for a moment before sitting down. Momentai moved over from where he'd been laying on the bed and curled up beside both humans. "Davis snuck May out, if you want to see everyone."

Henry shut his eyes. "I know. I should be down there..." he said, voice hoarse. "I'm sorry, Tasuke. It's my job to be down there, and -"

"You lost someone important. I cried for how long when it happened to me?" Tasuke supplied. He shrugged. "Take all the time you need, Henry."

"Tasuke... I feel lost. I don't know what to do," Henry admitted he brought his hands up to cover his eyes. "I feel alone."

Tasuke looked hurt for a second, then shook his head. "Yeah. That's how it was for me." He sat there for a moment, fidgeting with something in his jacket pocket. It took a while, but he finally stood up and pulled it out. He placed it beside the plate of eggs then walked over to the door. "But you were there for me. I'll be there for you – and so will everyone down there." He left with his partner and hut the door quietly.

Henry turned to the bedside table, jaw set. Staring at him from the table was a small pin, the face of a smirking Terriermon head with his tongue sticking out. Henry couldn't stop himself form letting out a laugh, only for it to die after a moment. "I wasn't ready to lose you, Terriermon," he muttered. He shut his eyes tight to keep the tear from streaming again. He could hear talking downstairs. Even a little laughing. Mayumi, Davis, Tasuke, the Digimon. Suzie and Lopmon joking. Even Takato and Rika laughing at their antics. "But you were right. It was worth it."

Henry sat up and grabbed the pin, running his thumb over it for a few moments. "Terriermon... 'you aren't alone, Henry. Momentai.'" He laughed, the joke making him feel even adder but making him feel more stable anyways. Momentai barked at the mention of his name and came up, jumping up on his back legs and panting as he wagged his tail. "Yeah. Let's go down."

Henry stood up and carefully put the pin on his shirt. He brushed it with a thumb and felt closer to his partner now. Henry smiled at that feeling, knowing that – one day – everything would feel better. Up and downs.

Henry grabbed the plate of eggs, staring at them for a moment, then moved over to the door and pushed it open. "Scrambled eggs?" He asked from the top of the stairs. He felt a surge of joy in his chest when everyone looked up. Friends, family. Twenty years of his life. A worthwhile life. He moved down the stairs and stopped in his tracks. There on Tasuke's chest was a matching pin of a smirking Terriermon. Henry let out a cough and held up his plate. "What is this? A day that ends in Y?"

END... EnD... Ë̷̡̖̩͓̜͙͓̗̖̳̠̖͐̌̃͐́̒̾̂Ę̶̢̲͈̻̖̜̩̥̻͕̍̈́̿͌̒͜͜E̶̡̬͈͓̗̯̖̯̬̠̲̘̙͂̓̍̾̈́̏E̴̡̧̗̺̘̮̮̩̫̟̾͊̈́͒͒̎͒̃͗̈́̌͝Ȩ̶̢̢͖̺̰͈͙̮̗̞͎͔͔͊̈́͆̌̈́N̴̡̟̮̈́̉̂͌̂̑̐̽̃̚̚͝d̴̨̨̢̥̮̼̳̜̊͊̀̋̓̉͂̒͒̓͂̚̕d̵̼̼̘͖̦̫͌͒̿͆̀̋͘̚͝ḑ̸̢̛͈͓̰̻̖̻͐̀͋͑̔̓̀͗̈́͋̂̎͘͝ͅd̷̬͉͍͖̤̬̜̼͔̋͂͜͜...

.̴̨̼͇̄̑̎ͅ.̷̤̙̱͍͕̪̺̭͕͍̙̟͕̿̒̓̈́̌͜.̶̧̥̹̥̮̼̗̱͚͊̑͜

Rebooting...

…

...

Run Digimon_Tamers_0.2.

…

Startup...

…

"It's gonna be okay, Ketomon." The wind was blistering, dragging burning sand like knives into his skin. He'd wrapped his scarf around his head, but his partner needed his jacket to keep his tiny body safe. That meant Ryo Akiyama's arms and neck were exposed and getting shredded by the sand. "I – I promise."

He kept stumbling through the sand, chanting reassurances to his sleeping partner. "Keto... keto – What... Thirs-ty..." He stumbled again and fell face first into the sand, partner clutched tight. "I have to... up... get up..."

By the time the boots on the ground found him, he was barely alive. But they would make sure he would survive. After all, the Tamer of Millenniummon was too good to lose.

…

"Brynn!"

"Okay, I'm coming, Mom!" A sixteen year old girl rushed down the stairs, not noticing the faint glow of a DigiEgg under her bed.

…

"In our main story tonight at nine, we'll be talking about the rise in tension between nations, aggravated by the collapse of international communication and how that affects you. Also, an inside source claims this conflict has been going on for years behind the scenes; we'll check the validity of that statement in an exclusive interview. After that: Digimon attacks may be falling after Shu-Chong Wong's video pleading for help, but they have not stopped. More tonight."

…

.̶̢̧̡̨̮̻̣̥̙̰͎͈͉̠͚̥̘̝̩̹̥̫͚̤͖͔̫̪̥̟̤̘̦̐́̎͂̄́̚͜ͅ-̴̧̤̙̟͍̻̟̼͍̱͉̮̦̬̦̼͐̏̒̎͌̉͐͐̾.̷̢̡̨̝̹̭̯͓̖͔͍̤̮̯̞͔̮̻̩͉̺͔͕̈̀̅̍͜-̷̢̛̠̤͈̝̮̫̭͕̳͔̭̗̜͉̤͕̿̿͌͐̾̓̓̀̋̀̾̊͑͆̎̀̅̆̏͘̚͝.̸̢̧̡͚̬̼̠͚̻͓͉̲̮̲͕͓̙̲̩̟̦̺̯̦̻̺͈̝͕̆̔̌̈́̓̍͊̅̂͗̓͛̈̍̎̾̃͒̂̕͜ͅ-̵̡̡̫͔̞̱̗̩̲̙̳̞̞̹͓̌̎͋̐͌̇̋̅̐̉͌̃͑͗̂̓̀̄̏͗͌̅͛̽̍̅̀͗̊͌͘̚͝!̶̨̨̢̻̱̣̱̪̥̱͉͓̭̘̪͈̹̳̳͉̜̝͕͖̠̆̈́͛̈́̈̈́̅́̿͑̃̑̔͒̊̏̏̈́͋̾͊̈́̇͑͐̐͑̀̈̈́̀͝-̷̨̡̦̺̮͔͙̮͙̱̪̬͖̟̜̬̣̬͉̱̘̼̬͍̙̮̏̄͑͊̑͗́͆̄́̊̉͒͛̅̊̀͊̽̅̓͌̆͆͘̚̕͘̚͝͠͝͠ͅ.̸̧̧̛̫͓̬̳̖̪̫̰̥̪͒̒̐͊̎̉̿̈́͌̔͌̀̔̋̑̀̽̆̈́̅͆̚͠͠͝͠_̸̨̢̛̛̞͇͚̘̝̜̟͋͗͊͊̓̔̒̽́́̄́̊̐̋̆̈́̒͊̽̆̃̂̃̆̉̅͋̈́͗̕͝_̷̡̧̩̳̗̖̘̟̥̗̠̜͎̞̗̟̱̤̘͋͂̇͑͆͒̚͜͜ͅ_̸̧̧̗̦̺̤̦͉̺̥͔̥͓̘̲̜̯͖͔̣͚̼̖̤̞̠̞̼̩͉͎͉́͐͑̓̔̂_̵̨̢̢̡̧̢̢̙̩̻͓̭͚̥͈͖̬͓̟̳̙̥͇̻̮̪̝͇̯̙̘͇͉͉̟͓̩͐̑̃̂́̒̓ͅ_̶̡̡̡̛̲̺͔͔̜͎̫͔̲̘̟̳̈́͆́̌̃̎́̊͆̐̏͊̍̄̌͛̈́͛͒̏͗̕͝ͅ_̴̡̢̧̬̱̹̪̞̞̥͍̗̫̼̮̯̤̖͍͔̪̱͉̖͇͈̳̇͊̾̒͒͌͛͒̓̕͘͜͜͜ͅ_̸̡̧̛̻̫̥͕̗͉̩̞̱̺̱̲̞̠͍̀͋̉̓́̿͊͌͠_̷̢̡̯̗̬̝̻͉̗̪̠̯̯̜̤̣̠̟͙͓̫̣͚̬͓̈́̒̋̿̉̃̈́́͌̂̔̆̑͊̄̔͆̈́̊͑́̔͗͐̍̀̈́̂̚͝

…...

...

"Keep running!" Herrismon looked up at his partner, who was motioning for the people to keep going towards the Node room. It was their last chance at survival now that they'd been found again. They'd been trusted with getting these people out, and they wouldn't fail. "Not much further! Keep running!"

Herrismon's partner scooped him up and rushed forward, pushing a young boy and his Digimon partner forward. "I've got you. Keep going." There was an explosion somewhere. Herrismon's partner grinned at the kid. "Don't worry, he'll keep you safe."

"Y-yeah."

Herrismon's partner slid to a stop near the Node. "Everyone, get ready I'm going to activate it soon. Remember to start getting set up, just like we did for here. I'll be behind you in just a minute!"

Kids, adults, and Digimon swarmed into the same target area while Herrismon's partner took them over to the Node itself. He put Herrismon down beside him and began inputting coordinates. "Okay, we'll -"

Another explosion, this one blasting the wall wide open. A silver and violet knight with a green cape was thrown through the cloud of dust that resulted, hitting the ground and rumbling back up to his feet. "HURRY!" The knight snapped. He raised his shield in front of him and lashed out, jumping forward with his entire body to hit his opponent head first.

"ChaosGallantmon -"

"GO! FAFNIR'S EDGE!" The knight raised his right arm, and green sparks of plasma exploded into being. He swung the blade at his stunned opponent, cleaving through armor then rushing forward and slamming the shield's edge into his opponent's face. "I can't hold Dexmon back forever, and CannonDramon is fighting a losing battle with the other two!"

"Got it!" Herrismon's partner finished with the Node and sent the crowd away. He began inputting new information. "I've got a lock on CannonDramon and his partner... They're out! And... NOW!"

There was a flash of pink light, and ChaosGallantmon, Herrismon, and his partner were surrounded by the people they were protecting. ChaosGallantmon panted heavily as CannonDramon lumbered over, deDigivolving with every step back until he was Commandramon. His partner, an older woman and former soldier, crossed her arms as she came up too. "How many did we lose?"

"A third," Herrismon's partner explained. He glanced over at the others. "I don't know how many died and how many..."

"Right." She looked up at ChaosGallantmon X, who fell to one knee and clutched a dented piece of armor on his left side. "You get everything you need out of there?"

ChaosGallantmon X disappeared in a flash, leaving his human and Digimon halves there on the ground. BlackGuilmon grumbled and nodded at the question while his partner stood up straight, movements stiff and sore. He gestured with the briefcase at his side then smoothed his ragged lab coat out with his other hand. He looked exhausted, but Herrismon supposed that was normal. For a man in his early thirties, he looked older than he should from the fighting and his research. The losses, too. "Well, Taj?"

Tasuke nodded. "Made a small breakthrough." He glanced at Herrismon and his partner, a frown spreading across his face. He shook his head. "I'll look for a place to set this up and test the new findings. If I'm right, it might be the last piece we need to fix this."

Tasuke walked over to a window, seeing that they were in a large, abandoned warehouse. The sky above had a glowing sphere drifting above. Earth... but it looked different, as it had for almost a decade and a half. No longer was it bright as it glowed above the vast wilds of the Digital World... no it was now dim, like hidden under a black sheet, all courtesy of the Dark Ocean flooding across the Portals and giving him all the power he needed... "It is the last piece we need to fix this."

See you next time... on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

AN:

Yep, surprise. There is just a bit more left. Part 2, as it were. But that will not be for a long, long time. I've got an absurd amount of work I need to do, and then I need to outline part two in more specifics. But there are a few hints here, enough that I'm sure you guys can figure out some of the basic premise of what I'm going to do. Either way, it shouldn't be 50 chapters. Nowhere near. I'm shooting for 10 min, 20 max. There's a lot of loose ends to tie up, and Taj and the others' journeys aren't quite done.

Still, for now... See you later.