There was a very long pause before Jareth spoke, practically biting
off the end of each word.
"What are you doing?"
Kayo dropped the fish in his hand, fumbling mentally for a quick excuse. "Uh, well.you see."
Jareth's cold gaze turned to Aeromon, who was bristling. "And you? Have you managed to even reach Ultimate yet?"
"Currently, I'm not concerned with digivolving," Aeromon replied coolly, "since we can't even find our target."
"You have got to be kidding me. One boy and his Digimon can't be that hard to find. You two are hopeless."
"Hopeless?! I don't see you attempting to destroy your targets, Jareth," Kayo growled. The way he uttered Jareth's name was like he wanted to spit it out into the dirt. "Or are you and Venomon having a tough time locating them, too? What's the matter, Digidestined too strong for you to handle?"
"Shut up, boy. I'm your elder and you should respect me as such." Jareth turned his back on Kayo, returning to the forest. "Time is running out. The Digidestined are drawing nearer to the peak of Infinity Mountain as we speak. We must stop them, or die trying. Do you understand?"
"I don't care," Kayo shouted back at Jareth's retreating form. "Piedmon can rot in hell. I never asked to be a Dark Digidestined in the first place! As far as I'm concerned, this whole place can burn, you and everything else on it!" With that, Kayo grabbed the closest thing he could find and lobbed it at Jareth. It missed the youth's head by millimetres.
"Cool it, Kayo," Aeromon said, nudging the boy in the leg. "He's not worth it."
"I never wanted to be here anyways," Kayo continued muttering, kicking the dirt. "I never asked, and I never would have said yes even if they did. Why the heck did Piedmon have to choose me, anyway? Out of six billion people, it had to be me." The boy turned to his Digimon. "Why, Aeromon? Why me?"
"Actually, I don't know. Maybe you've got something in you that the other six billion out there don't." Aeromon yawned and lay down beside the fire, staring into the flames. "Go to sleep, Kayo. You'll feel better in the morning. That's what I do when something bugs me."
"What could possibly bug you besides and empty stomach?"
"Garurumon."
"Oh." Kayo stretched out, using a smooth rock nearby as a headrest. "Well, maybe you're right. If I just shut my eyes and drift off, I'll forget this whole thing by the time I wake up."
* * *
"Kayo.Kayo.KAYO!"
The boy started up with a jolt and immediately wished he hadn't-his neck was stiff. Rubbing his eyes, Kayo gave a groggy moan.
"That's the last time I try to use a rock pillow."
"Kayo." Aeromon's voice was edged with urgency.
"What?" That's when Kayo realized the air he was breathing had a salty tang to it. The boy got to his feet and glanced at Aeromon, who looked ready to fight, if need be. Around him, the scenery had changed. Instead of the trees leading back to the forest, there were hills of sand and an old, worn fence. Replacing the lake was a vast ocean, the water appearing pitch black. The strangest sight of all, though, was the lighthouse at the edge of the ocean, to Kayo's right-it shone pitch black out to the already dark and gloomy setting.
"Any ideas to how we got here?" Kayo asked, confused.
"We could've flown in our sleep for all I care, but I don't think we've actually moved," Aeromon replied, glancing down at the charred bits of wood and fish bones that had been their campsite. Kayo followed his Digimon's gaze.
"I thought this place was weird in general, but I didn't think it got this weird."
"It doesn't-I've never seen this place before. Digiworld's always been in colour, even though it's been strange lately." Aeromon trotted around in a circle, as if trying to get his bearings. "Besides, even the black and white places I've been to never had black light."
"If you even call that stuff light," Kayo muttered, gesturing at the lighthouse. "I hate this place. It looks like someone smacked an island onto a Xerox machine and pressed 'start'."
"What's a Xerox?" Aeromon asked, turning back to Kayo. The boy had a shocked expression on his face and was backing away a little, which made Aeromon even more confused. "What?"
"Tell me if I'm seeing things, but turn around."
Aeromon did, and leapt back a few feet, snarling. A series of dark tendrils were coming out of the ground and forming a large black cloud that had been directly behind the wolf cub. Unlike normal clouds, this one didn't drift away-instead it grew in height and seemed to solidify. Limbs grew out from the base, as did a head with two blazing red eyes and a pair of long ears. When it had finally solidified, it stood at a good ten feet or so. Kayo was scared, but he wasn't about to bolt when he didn't know where he was going, or if this thing was even as scary as it looked.
"Ah, so you're here," the thing said casually in a deep voice.
"Excuse me for being blunt, but what the heck are you?" He finally blurted.
The thing glanced down at him with its narrowed eyes, the only features on its face, or body for that matter, visible in detail. "I am Shadowmon, made of pure darkness and destroyer of the light."
"Okay, Shadowmon," Kayo continued, ignoring Aeromon's look of absolute mortification, "are you the one responsible for bringing me and by buddy to this stupid place?"
"Indirectly, I am," Shadowmon answered. "However, it was your negative energy that enabled you to travel here. I have wanted to meet you for a long time."
"I never wished to be here in the first place. Why the heck can't I be control of my life?" Kayo complained.
"You are here because you have a power deep within you, but it remains locked because you do not have the key."
"And what have you got to do with it?" Kayo asked sharply.
"I can help you unlock this power in you. You cannot reach your full potential until you have done so."
"Give Kayo a good reason why he should listen to you," Aeromon growled.
A hint of amusement glinted in Shadowmon's eyes. "Ask him-the boy knows."
* * *
Kayo didn't know he'd made a big mistake until he actually saw the bike he was about to use. It was a big red bike much bigger than the one he had, and it had no training wheels. He didn't know how to ride a bike without training wheels, although it was obvious the rest of his classmates did.
He watched his friends climb on their bikes and take off easily, laughing. He looked uneasily at the bicycle, still standing there and rapidly becoming the only one without a rider. Well, even if this was a road safety program, there were pedestrians. He could just join the pedestrians and pretend nothing ever happened-
"Hey, Kayo, what's wrong?" One of his classmates called. "Can't ride a bike?"
That did it. There was no way he was going to be tagged as the only ten year-old who couldn't ride a two-wheeler bike, training wheels off. Besides, it looked easy enough. And even if he didn't know how, he was going to learn on the spot. With grim determination he leapt onto the bike and flipped the kickstand off.and nearly fell over as the bike leaned dangerously. Okay, maybe this was going to be a little harder than he thought.
Com'on, it's just a bike missing two wheels. Ride it like a bike. Kayo pushed the bike forward and barely got his feet on the pedals before the bike lurched sideways again, but he somehow managed to keep it upright. The bike swayed like a drunken animal for a few centimetres as Kayo wrestled with the handlebars, then gave up and crashed onto its side, taking the boy with it.
Kayo stumbled to his feet and he righted the bike, at the same time taking a look around to see if anyone saw that undignified fall. Nobody had, much to his relief. Glaring at the bicycle, Kayo mounted it again, placing one foot solidly on the pedal and pushing off with the other. For a moment, it looked like he finally got the hand of it, and the bike cruised grudgingly forward. Then, the bike suddenly grew a mind of its own and jerked the handlebars sideways, throwing it and Kayo into a nearby ditch.
The boy lay where he had fallen for a moment, tears of pain and frustration welling up in his eyes. The bike had him pinned to the ditch, grinning tauntingly back at him. Kayo was far too ashamed and angry to call for help or shove the bike off. He was the most pathetic ten year-old in existence, who couldn't even keep up with his peers. Maybe this was his destiny, to lie forgotten while others excelled.
* * *
"Give me a break," Aeromon said. "All this from one lousy experience with a bicycle?"
"There are lots more," Kayo said softly, his eyes downcast. "Every time I try to do something, try to prove others wrong, I fail and end up even worse than before. I can't do anything well, be it school or sports. I always get picked on, and my so-called friends back at camp left me to look after the campsite while they had fun because I'm weak and pathetic."
"I'm offering you an alternative to that," Shadowmon said. "I'm offering you a way to change your destiny from that of a loser.to a winner."
"You have my attention," Kayo replied, looking up at the gargantuan shadow.
"Are you sure this is a good choice?" Aeromon asked cautiously.
"What have I got to loose?"
The wolf cub paused. "Good point."
Shadowmon seemed to grin, as if everything was going according to plan. "Firstly, you do have a dark Crest."
"Yeah, Piedmon gave it to me," Kayo replied, pulling the medallion out from under his shirt. "The Crest of Havoc."
"The Crest of Havoc holds great powers that will enable you and your Digimon to become stronger than you ever have been."
"So, I can Digivolve to Ultimate?" Aeromon asked eagerly. "And kick that tin can wolf's sorry butt to kingdom come?"
"Yes. However, the Crest must be activated by Kayo before he can use it, otherwise there will be no effect." Shadowmon turned to the boy. "Visualize this in your head. You're fighting your most hated rival, and you're loosing, as usual." As Shadowmon spoke, a dark haze seemed to develop around him, Kayo and Aeromon, chilling to the touch. "He has you on your knees, and there's nothing you can do to retaliate. He laughs and taunts you. What do you want to do?"
Kayo's eyes were shut and his face contorting with hate. His fists balled tightly. "I want to win. I'm going to win," he muttered under his breath.
"What do you want to do?" Shadowmon repeated, raising his voice. The haze grew even thicker and darker as he spoke.
In his mind, Kayo saw Jareth, arms crossed, laughing cruelly. He saw Piedmon in all of his arrogance, screaming, "You pathetic little human. Pathetic. Pathetic. Pathetic." Ann appeared too, alongside Felinamon. She formed a gun with her hand, pretended to shoot him, and laughed. Kayo's anger intensified. Who were they calling pathetic? He was no weak little shrimp.not anymore.
"I'm going to wipe that grin off their faces," he heard himself saying, and even he was surprised to hear his voice carrying all his anger with it. "I want to smash them to smithereens, tear them apart slowly, reduce them to a sobbing, pleading pile on the floor.!"
Before he even finished is sentence, Kayo was aware of something weird. His Crest was glowing an angry red, and he could feel the power pulsing from it and into the area around him. Aeromon was now standing in front of him, and seemed to be absorbing the darkness around him and growing dramatically in size. The wolf's eyes glowed red as he continued to expand.
"Excellent." Shadowmon breathed.
"Aeromon Dark Digivolve to.Shimalupidramon!"
In the small wolf cub's place stood a massive hound straight from the fiery pit of Hell, with well-muscled limbs and a powerful tail that ended in a spade. His fur was sleek black and his claws were crimson and hooked. Long fangs protruded from his mouth, and instead of ears, two red horns swept backwards from where the ears should have been. A row of spines ran from neck to tail, and a pair of broad dragon's wings sprouted from his shoulder blades. Kayo's jaw practically hit the ground in surprise.
"Whoa.Aeromon!" The boy grinned. "My Crest did that?"
"Sure looks like it," grunted Shimalupidramon in a low, menacing voice. "I'm now Shimalupidramon, and I feel like I can take on two Megas at once!"
"Shimalupidramon.he is a Skull level Ultimate, and the most powerful Digimon of that rank, it seems," observed Shadowmon. "His Dark Lightning Apocalypse will definitely serve you well."
The dark fog around them lifted, and both Kayo and Shimalupidramon found themselves back on the shore of Dragon Eye Lake. Shimalupidramon unfurled his large wings to their full extent.
"Ah! Hop on, Kayo, let's go find that tin can of a wolf and his partner! We can't lose this fight!"
"Alright, Shimalupidramon." The boy clambered up onto his Digimon's back. With a powerful leap, they were airborne, soaring above the tree line of the forest and high into the air, until everything below them looked like tiny specks. Although a little queasy, Kayo felt more confident up high in the air. For once, he felt like he could amount to something after all. He was going to make them pay, one at a time. First Matt, then Jareth and Ann, and Piedmon too. Nobody was ever going to call him a weakling again.
Below, unnoticed by the two, Shadowmon stood watching calmly. The evil Digimon chuckled.
"Hikayo, if only you knew just how weak you really are."
* * *
Kayo only felt one thing as he and Shimalupidramon scanned the ground from the skies for Matt and Gabumon-a thirst to prove he wasn't weak or pitiful as everyone thought. Shimalupidramon seemed to share the same thought. They had to end their loosing steak.somehow.
Matt was playing his harmonica at the edge of the now deserted Primary Village, completely devoid of colour. Gabumon sat alongside him, staring out at the vast body of water before them. The Digimon sighed inwardly.
Suddenly angry red twin beams shot at a rock just in front of it, demolishing it. Startled, Matt dropped his harmonica and jumped to his feet. Gabumon did likewise, searching the skies for the source of threat. From the sky swooped a hell hound of massive proportions, another pair of twin beams shooting from its skull collar and igniting the grass in front of the duo. Riding its back was Kayo, looking grim.
"You two again! Doesn't Piedmon ever learn?" Matt shot. "We want to be left alone!"
"That's no concern of mine," Kayo said. "Our orders are to destroy you, and that's what we're going to do."
"Skull Beam!" Another pair of beams shot out and hit the ground, too close for comfort. Gabumon stepped between the hell hound and his partner, ready to protect Matt at all costs. Matt's digivice and crest began to shake and glow as Gabumon began Digivolving.
"Gabumon, Digivolve to.Garurumon! Garurumon, Digivolve to.WereGarurumon!"
WereGarurumon jumped into the air and did a roundhouse kick, which totally missed Shimalupidramon. The hell hound retaliated with another Skull Beam, which hit WereGarurumon and sent the bipedal wolf crashing to the ground. Matt ran up to his injured Digimon.
"WereGarurumon!"
"There can only be one wolf on this turf," Shimalupidramon growled, flaring his wings. The insides of them began to glow a deadly red. "Lightning Apocalypse!"
Red bolts of plasma rained down onto the ground all around Matt and WereGarurumon, destroying trees, rocks, and anything in its path, reducing them to data fragments. WereGarurumon stood in front of Matt to protect him from the barrage and ended up taking several bolts. With a pained howl, the Ultimate crumpled to the ground. Without anything left to shield him, Matt ran towards his Digimon, shouting his name. One of the bolts hit him and with a silent scream, the boy collapsed unconscious. From his vantage point on Shimalupidramon, Kayo jolted. What-
"Matt!" WereGarurumon, though badly injured, shakily got to his feet and stared at his unconscious partner, not sure if he was dead. Then, with an anguished howl, WereGarurumon turned on Shimalupidramon with renewed fury.
"You hurt Matt, you stinking villain!" WereGarurumon roared. "I'll take you down yet! Wolf Claw!"
The attack slammed into Shimalupidramon's face and the hell hound grunted. Shaking off the effects of the attack, Shimalupidramon growled.
"With your partner down, it's only a matter of time before you join him!" Shimalupidramon darted forward, and Kayo had to hang on tighter to avoid falling off. The hell hound snapped at WereGarurumon, who just barely avoided the attack. Turning, Shimalupidramon lashed out with his thick tail, flinging WereGarurumon into a dense forest of trees. Somehow, the weakened Ultimate recovered and leapt back up, only to be smashed down again by Shimalupidramon's large paw. The hell hound meted out beating after beating, and showed no sign of stopping until his opponent was completely destroyed. Something in Kayo's mind clicked and panic settled in.
"Shimalupidramon, stop! Stop! That's enough!"
Shimalupidramon paid no attention, slamming his opponent to the ground again and again. WereGarurumon wheezed and kicked out at his attacker. Shimalupidramon responded by snapping down at the bipedal wolf, who rolled out of the way. Kayo kicked his mount in the side.
"Quit it already, we've done enough!"
"I won't stop until this wolf burns in Digital Hell!" Roared Shimalupidramon, backing a bit and preparing to launch another barrage of plasma bolts. Kayo was becoming frantic now.
"Back off, Shimalupidramon! You've already beaten him! Back off!"
"Lightning."
WereGarurumon wasn't going to wait to be incinerated. With the last of his strength, he jumped up and landed a punch to Shimalupidramon's jaw. The attack interrupted, WereGarurumon roundhouse kicked Shimalupidramon in the chest, sending the Digimon pummelling to the ground with an almighty crash. The built up charge of Shimalupidramon's attack backfired on him, shocking both him and Kayo. Exhausted, WereGarurumon collapsed to the ground as well, shrinking into Gabumon. Shimalupidramon groaned and he, too, shrank and reverted to his Rookie form.
When Kayo opened his eyes again, he found that they were in the middle of a dense forest, exactly where they had landed. Gabumon and Matt were nowhere to be seen. Kayo sat up, rubbing his head. Aeromon shook himself and stumbled to his feet.
"Are you okay?" The wolf asked with all the innocence that was missing when he was Shimalupidramon. Kayo shook his head to clear it.
"My head hurts. Aeromon?"
"Yeah?"
"Promise me you'll never do that again."
The two slowly started walking into the forest, both groggy and worn. Finally, Aeromon spoke.
"Well, I almost had WereGarurumon back there, right?"
Kayo said nothing.
"What are you doing?"
Kayo dropped the fish in his hand, fumbling mentally for a quick excuse. "Uh, well.you see."
Jareth's cold gaze turned to Aeromon, who was bristling. "And you? Have you managed to even reach Ultimate yet?"
"Currently, I'm not concerned with digivolving," Aeromon replied coolly, "since we can't even find our target."
"You have got to be kidding me. One boy and his Digimon can't be that hard to find. You two are hopeless."
"Hopeless?! I don't see you attempting to destroy your targets, Jareth," Kayo growled. The way he uttered Jareth's name was like he wanted to spit it out into the dirt. "Or are you and Venomon having a tough time locating them, too? What's the matter, Digidestined too strong for you to handle?"
"Shut up, boy. I'm your elder and you should respect me as such." Jareth turned his back on Kayo, returning to the forest. "Time is running out. The Digidestined are drawing nearer to the peak of Infinity Mountain as we speak. We must stop them, or die trying. Do you understand?"
"I don't care," Kayo shouted back at Jareth's retreating form. "Piedmon can rot in hell. I never asked to be a Dark Digidestined in the first place! As far as I'm concerned, this whole place can burn, you and everything else on it!" With that, Kayo grabbed the closest thing he could find and lobbed it at Jareth. It missed the youth's head by millimetres.
"Cool it, Kayo," Aeromon said, nudging the boy in the leg. "He's not worth it."
"I never wanted to be here anyways," Kayo continued muttering, kicking the dirt. "I never asked, and I never would have said yes even if they did. Why the heck did Piedmon have to choose me, anyway? Out of six billion people, it had to be me." The boy turned to his Digimon. "Why, Aeromon? Why me?"
"Actually, I don't know. Maybe you've got something in you that the other six billion out there don't." Aeromon yawned and lay down beside the fire, staring into the flames. "Go to sleep, Kayo. You'll feel better in the morning. That's what I do when something bugs me."
"What could possibly bug you besides and empty stomach?"
"Garurumon."
"Oh." Kayo stretched out, using a smooth rock nearby as a headrest. "Well, maybe you're right. If I just shut my eyes and drift off, I'll forget this whole thing by the time I wake up."
* * *
"Kayo.Kayo.KAYO!"
The boy started up with a jolt and immediately wished he hadn't-his neck was stiff. Rubbing his eyes, Kayo gave a groggy moan.
"That's the last time I try to use a rock pillow."
"Kayo." Aeromon's voice was edged with urgency.
"What?" That's when Kayo realized the air he was breathing had a salty tang to it. The boy got to his feet and glanced at Aeromon, who looked ready to fight, if need be. Around him, the scenery had changed. Instead of the trees leading back to the forest, there were hills of sand and an old, worn fence. Replacing the lake was a vast ocean, the water appearing pitch black. The strangest sight of all, though, was the lighthouse at the edge of the ocean, to Kayo's right-it shone pitch black out to the already dark and gloomy setting.
"Any ideas to how we got here?" Kayo asked, confused.
"We could've flown in our sleep for all I care, but I don't think we've actually moved," Aeromon replied, glancing down at the charred bits of wood and fish bones that had been their campsite. Kayo followed his Digimon's gaze.
"I thought this place was weird in general, but I didn't think it got this weird."
"It doesn't-I've never seen this place before. Digiworld's always been in colour, even though it's been strange lately." Aeromon trotted around in a circle, as if trying to get his bearings. "Besides, even the black and white places I've been to never had black light."
"If you even call that stuff light," Kayo muttered, gesturing at the lighthouse. "I hate this place. It looks like someone smacked an island onto a Xerox machine and pressed 'start'."
"What's a Xerox?" Aeromon asked, turning back to Kayo. The boy had a shocked expression on his face and was backing away a little, which made Aeromon even more confused. "What?"
"Tell me if I'm seeing things, but turn around."
Aeromon did, and leapt back a few feet, snarling. A series of dark tendrils were coming out of the ground and forming a large black cloud that had been directly behind the wolf cub. Unlike normal clouds, this one didn't drift away-instead it grew in height and seemed to solidify. Limbs grew out from the base, as did a head with two blazing red eyes and a pair of long ears. When it had finally solidified, it stood at a good ten feet or so. Kayo was scared, but he wasn't about to bolt when he didn't know where he was going, or if this thing was even as scary as it looked.
"Ah, so you're here," the thing said casually in a deep voice.
"Excuse me for being blunt, but what the heck are you?" He finally blurted.
The thing glanced down at him with its narrowed eyes, the only features on its face, or body for that matter, visible in detail. "I am Shadowmon, made of pure darkness and destroyer of the light."
"Okay, Shadowmon," Kayo continued, ignoring Aeromon's look of absolute mortification, "are you the one responsible for bringing me and by buddy to this stupid place?"
"Indirectly, I am," Shadowmon answered. "However, it was your negative energy that enabled you to travel here. I have wanted to meet you for a long time."
"I never wished to be here in the first place. Why the heck can't I be control of my life?" Kayo complained.
"You are here because you have a power deep within you, but it remains locked because you do not have the key."
"And what have you got to do with it?" Kayo asked sharply.
"I can help you unlock this power in you. You cannot reach your full potential until you have done so."
"Give Kayo a good reason why he should listen to you," Aeromon growled.
A hint of amusement glinted in Shadowmon's eyes. "Ask him-the boy knows."
* * *
Kayo didn't know he'd made a big mistake until he actually saw the bike he was about to use. It was a big red bike much bigger than the one he had, and it had no training wheels. He didn't know how to ride a bike without training wheels, although it was obvious the rest of his classmates did.
He watched his friends climb on their bikes and take off easily, laughing. He looked uneasily at the bicycle, still standing there and rapidly becoming the only one without a rider. Well, even if this was a road safety program, there were pedestrians. He could just join the pedestrians and pretend nothing ever happened-
"Hey, Kayo, what's wrong?" One of his classmates called. "Can't ride a bike?"
That did it. There was no way he was going to be tagged as the only ten year-old who couldn't ride a two-wheeler bike, training wheels off. Besides, it looked easy enough. And even if he didn't know how, he was going to learn on the spot. With grim determination he leapt onto the bike and flipped the kickstand off.and nearly fell over as the bike leaned dangerously. Okay, maybe this was going to be a little harder than he thought.
Com'on, it's just a bike missing two wheels. Ride it like a bike. Kayo pushed the bike forward and barely got his feet on the pedals before the bike lurched sideways again, but he somehow managed to keep it upright. The bike swayed like a drunken animal for a few centimetres as Kayo wrestled with the handlebars, then gave up and crashed onto its side, taking the boy with it.
Kayo stumbled to his feet and he righted the bike, at the same time taking a look around to see if anyone saw that undignified fall. Nobody had, much to his relief. Glaring at the bicycle, Kayo mounted it again, placing one foot solidly on the pedal and pushing off with the other. For a moment, it looked like he finally got the hand of it, and the bike cruised grudgingly forward. Then, the bike suddenly grew a mind of its own and jerked the handlebars sideways, throwing it and Kayo into a nearby ditch.
The boy lay where he had fallen for a moment, tears of pain and frustration welling up in his eyes. The bike had him pinned to the ditch, grinning tauntingly back at him. Kayo was far too ashamed and angry to call for help or shove the bike off. He was the most pathetic ten year-old in existence, who couldn't even keep up with his peers. Maybe this was his destiny, to lie forgotten while others excelled.
* * *
"Give me a break," Aeromon said. "All this from one lousy experience with a bicycle?"
"There are lots more," Kayo said softly, his eyes downcast. "Every time I try to do something, try to prove others wrong, I fail and end up even worse than before. I can't do anything well, be it school or sports. I always get picked on, and my so-called friends back at camp left me to look after the campsite while they had fun because I'm weak and pathetic."
"I'm offering you an alternative to that," Shadowmon said. "I'm offering you a way to change your destiny from that of a loser.to a winner."
"You have my attention," Kayo replied, looking up at the gargantuan shadow.
"Are you sure this is a good choice?" Aeromon asked cautiously.
"What have I got to loose?"
The wolf cub paused. "Good point."
Shadowmon seemed to grin, as if everything was going according to plan. "Firstly, you do have a dark Crest."
"Yeah, Piedmon gave it to me," Kayo replied, pulling the medallion out from under his shirt. "The Crest of Havoc."
"The Crest of Havoc holds great powers that will enable you and your Digimon to become stronger than you ever have been."
"So, I can Digivolve to Ultimate?" Aeromon asked eagerly. "And kick that tin can wolf's sorry butt to kingdom come?"
"Yes. However, the Crest must be activated by Kayo before he can use it, otherwise there will be no effect." Shadowmon turned to the boy. "Visualize this in your head. You're fighting your most hated rival, and you're loosing, as usual." As Shadowmon spoke, a dark haze seemed to develop around him, Kayo and Aeromon, chilling to the touch. "He has you on your knees, and there's nothing you can do to retaliate. He laughs and taunts you. What do you want to do?"
Kayo's eyes were shut and his face contorting with hate. His fists balled tightly. "I want to win. I'm going to win," he muttered under his breath.
"What do you want to do?" Shadowmon repeated, raising his voice. The haze grew even thicker and darker as he spoke.
In his mind, Kayo saw Jareth, arms crossed, laughing cruelly. He saw Piedmon in all of his arrogance, screaming, "You pathetic little human. Pathetic. Pathetic. Pathetic." Ann appeared too, alongside Felinamon. She formed a gun with her hand, pretended to shoot him, and laughed. Kayo's anger intensified. Who were they calling pathetic? He was no weak little shrimp.not anymore.
"I'm going to wipe that grin off their faces," he heard himself saying, and even he was surprised to hear his voice carrying all his anger with it. "I want to smash them to smithereens, tear them apart slowly, reduce them to a sobbing, pleading pile on the floor.!"
Before he even finished is sentence, Kayo was aware of something weird. His Crest was glowing an angry red, and he could feel the power pulsing from it and into the area around him. Aeromon was now standing in front of him, and seemed to be absorbing the darkness around him and growing dramatically in size. The wolf's eyes glowed red as he continued to expand.
"Excellent." Shadowmon breathed.
"Aeromon Dark Digivolve to.Shimalupidramon!"
In the small wolf cub's place stood a massive hound straight from the fiery pit of Hell, with well-muscled limbs and a powerful tail that ended in a spade. His fur was sleek black and his claws were crimson and hooked. Long fangs protruded from his mouth, and instead of ears, two red horns swept backwards from where the ears should have been. A row of spines ran from neck to tail, and a pair of broad dragon's wings sprouted from his shoulder blades. Kayo's jaw practically hit the ground in surprise.
"Whoa.Aeromon!" The boy grinned. "My Crest did that?"
"Sure looks like it," grunted Shimalupidramon in a low, menacing voice. "I'm now Shimalupidramon, and I feel like I can take on two Megas at once!"
"Shimalupidramon.he is a Skull level Ultimate, and the most powerful Digimon of that rank, it seems," observed Shadowmon. "His Dark Lightning Apocalypse will definitely serve you well."
The dark fog around them lifted, and both Kayo and Shimalupidramon found themselves back on the shore of Dragon Eye Lake. Shimalupidramon unfurled his large wings to their full extent.
"Ah! Hop on, Kayo, let's go find that tin can of a wolf and his partner! We can't lose this fight!"
"Alright, Shimalupidramon." The boy clambered up onto his Digimon's back. With a powerful leap, they were airborne, soaring above the tree line of the forest and high into the air, until everything below them looked like tiny specks. Although a little queasy, Kayo felt more confident up high in the air. For once, he felt like he could amount to something after all. He was going to make them pay, one at a time. First Matt, then Jareth and Ann, and Piedmon too. Nobody was ever going to call him a weakling again.
Below, unnoticed by the two, Shadowmon stood watching calmly. The evil Digimon chuckled.
"Hikayo, if only you knew just how weak you really are."
* * *
Kayo only felt one thing as he and Shimalupidramon scanned the ground from the skies for Matt and Gabumon-a thirst to prove he wasn't weak or pitiful as everyone thought. Shimalupidramon seemed to share the same thought. They had to end their loosing steak.somehow.
Matt was playing his harmonica at the edge of the now deserted Primary Village, completely devoid of colour. Gabumon sat alongside him, staring out at the vast body of water before them. The Digimon sighed inwardly.
Suddenly angry red twin beams shot at a rock just in front of it, demolishing it. Startled, Matt dropped his harmonica and jumped to his feet. Gabumon did likewise, searching the skies for the source of threat. From the sky swooped a hell hound of massive proportions, another pair of twin beams shooting from its skull collar and igniting the grass in front of the duo. Riding its back was Kayo, looking grim.
"You two again! Doesn't Piedmon ever learn?" Matt shot. "We want to be left alone!"
"That's no concern of mine," Kayo said. "Our orders are to destroy you, and that's what we're going to do."
"Skull Beam!" Another pair of beams shot out and hit the ground, too close for comfort. Gabumon stepped between the hell hound and his partner, ready to protect Matt at all costs. Matt's digivice and crest began to shake and glow as Gabumon began Digivolving.
"Gabumon, Digivolve to.Garurumon! Garurumon, Digivolve to.WereGarurumon!"
WereGarurumon jumped into the air and did a roundhouse kick, which totally missed Shimalupidramon. The hell hound retaliated with another Skull Beam, which hit WereGarurumon and sent the bipedal wolf crashing to the ground. Matt ran up to his injured Digimon.
"WereGarurumon!"
"There can only be one wolf on this turf," Shimalupidramon growled, flaring his wings. The insides of them began to glow a deadly red. "Lightning Apocalypse!"
Red bolts of plasma rained down onto the ground all around Matt and WereGarurumon, destroying trees, rocks, and anything in its path, reducing them to data fragments. WereGarurumon stood in front of Matt to protect him from the barrage and ended up taking several bolts. With a pained howl, the Ultimate crumpled to the ground. Without anything left to shield him, Matt ran towards his Digimon, shouting his name. One of the bolts hit him and with a silent scream, the boy collapsed unconscious. From his vantage point on Shimalupidramon, Kayo jolted. What-
"Matt!" WereGarurumon, though badly injured, shakily got to his feet and stared at his unconscious partner, not sure if he was dead. Then, with an anguished howl, WereGarurumon turned on Shimalupidramon with renewed fury.
"You hurt Matt, you stinking villain!" WereGarurumon roared. "I'll take you down yet! Wolf Claw!"
The attack slammed into Shimalupidramon's face and the hell hound grunted. Shaking off the effects of the attack, Shimalupidramon growled.
"With your partner down, it's only a matter of time before you join him!" Shimalupidramon darted forward, and Kayo had to hang on tighter to avoid falling off. The hell hound snapped at WereGarurumon, who just barely avoided the attack. Turning, Shimalupidramon lashed out with his thick tail, flinging WereGarurumon into a dense forest of trees. Somehow, the weakened Ultimate recovered and leapt back up, only to be smashed down again by Shimalupidramon's large paw. The hell hound meted out beating after beating, and showed no sign of stopping until his opponent was completely destroyed. Something in Kayo's mind clicked and panic settled in.
"Shimalupidramon, stop! Stop! That's enough!"
Shimalupidramon paid no attention, slamming his opponent to the ground again and again. WereGarurumon wheezed and kicked out at his attacker. Shimalupidramon responded by snapping down at the bipedal wolf, who rolled out of the way. Kayo kicked his mount in the side.
"Quit it already, we've done enough!"
"I won't stop until this wolf burns in Digital Hell!" Roared Shimalupidramon, backing a bit and preparing to launch another barrage of plasma bolts. Kayo was becoming frantic now.
"Back off, Shimalupidramon! You've already beaten him! Back off!"
"Lightning."
WereGarurumon wasn't going to wait to be incinerated. With the last of his strength, he jumped up and landed a punch to Shimalupidramon's jaw. The attack interrupted, WereGarurumon roundhouse kicked Shimalupidramon in the chest, sending the Digimon pummelling to the ground with an almighty crash. The built up charge of Shimalupidramon's attack backfired on him, shocking both him and Kayo. Exhausted, WereGarurumon collapsed to the ground as well, shrinking into Gabumon. Shimalupidramon groaned and he, too, shrank and reverted to his Rookie form.
When Kayo opened his eyes again, he found that they were in the middle of a dense forest, exactly where they had landed. Gabumon and Matt were nowhere to be seen. Kayo sat up, rubbing his head. Aeromon shook himself and stumbled to his feet.
"Are you okay?" The wolf asked with all the innocence that was missing when he was Shimalupidramon. Kayo shook his head to clear it.
"My head hurts. Aeromon?"
"Yeah?"
"Promise me you'll never do that again."
The two slowly started walking into the forest, both groggy and worn. Finally, Aeromon spoke.
"Well, I almost had WereGarurumon back there, right?"
Kayo said nothing.