Disclaimer: I own none of the characters of Digimon, but the "DigiDestined Knights", that's what I'm calling my team for now, and their Knightmon forms are my creation, so don't steal.
Digimon HeroesBy DigiScanner-Shonen
Legend Two: Gaiamon, Earth KnightmonDJ Yoshida was still awake at that hour, sometime in the morning, lying in his bed. He had come to understand why he was seeing Trailmon in the Real World, but he wasn't fully able to comprehend what he was supposed to do. He was a DigiDestined? Who made the choice for him? He never wanted to see the thing in the first place or even go to another world made entirely of digital information. He didn't want to explore it or even save it since he was one of the chosen few.
But then again, he wasn't alone in this.
Lopmon had told him that many other DigiDestined had come before him, but few had the power to change into Digimon, much less legendary ones. It seemed that destiny had chosen the time for DigiDestined to become extraordinary heroes in this, one of their most desperate hours. DJ didn't want to be a hero; he just wanted to remain one of the coolest kids around. People envied him, girls wanted him and boys would give anything to be in his shoes for a day. And why not? He had cool hair, a dazzling smile and some of the best brains in the school. Who'd want to give all that up just to be a hero in another world where the tiniest slip-up could cause the world to end?
Then, DJ thought of Taylor Motosuke.
Taylor wanted to be that hero. DJ remembered how Taylor had Knightmon Digivolved with the Armour they found to become PyroKnightmon, one the mythic Digimon who saved the Digital World years ago. He also remembered how Taylor had defeated the Digimon who threatened Seren Village, Dinohumon. And how he had been praised by the villagers and the other kids as a hero. DJ kept quiet all that time because he didn't believe that someone could be cooler than him. Especially not some kid who moved from a city far away and had only been a Tokyo a couple of days.
No one could be as cool as DJ Yoshida.
But wait, the other kids who were there with him and Taylor: Noah, Loren and Alexa. They thought Taylor, as PyroKnightmon, was incredible. They thought he was better than DJ. They thought he was, dare he think it, cool. That couldn't be possible! It shouldn't be!
DJ thought of Taylor laughing in his face as everyone else turned to him as the new cool one, leaving DJ a has-been. His reputation, looks and attitude all overlooked because of some new kid at his school who could become a hero in another world.
That was it. He couldn't take someone being cooler than him. DJ turned to the side of his bed and looked at his Digivice, lying on his desk next to his bed. The next time he went to the Digital World, DJ was going to get the next Armour. He didn't care how he did it, he would get an Armour.
DJ Yoshida wasn't going to let some common student out-cool him.
Taylor Motosuke was too excited to sleep that night, still thinking of the battle yesterday when his mother called him to get up for breakfast. Grabbing his Digivice and placing it on his wrist, he got dressed, brushed his teeth and went immediately to the kitchen, anticipating breakfast. His mother and brother were already there; his father was just leaving.
"I'll see you later, honey. There's supposed to be a big scoop on the west side of town and I have to get there before the early news starts," Mr. Motosuke said as he slipped on his shoes and lifted his briefcase up, "Goodbye, Ben. Have a good day, Taylor. And remember what we talked about last night."
"I know, Dad," Taylor said, "I won't get into any more fights."
"That's my son," he said as he closed the door behind him and left.
What he didn't know was that Taylor was crossing his fingers behind his back.
"Hey bro," Ben said as he shoved down another piece of sushi from his breakfast, "I've been meaning to ask you about that watch you got."
"Oh, that. I got it yesterday after school."
"Really? From where?"
"Where? Ah...er..." Taylor tried to think up a good excuse about his Digivice, "From the...school."
"Why?"
"It was...a gift for coming to the school," Taylor said as he sat down and snatched a couple of sushi rolls from his brother's plate.
"Hey! Mom, Taylor took my sushi!"
"Taylor, that sushi was Ben's."
"Well, yeah, but I'm pretty hungry and I want to get to school pretty fast," Taylor told her between chomps, "I need to talk with my new friends."
"Oh, yes, your friends. What were their names again?"
"Noah Ito, Alexa Hidoyuki, Loren Takara and DJ Yoshida. It's about the place we're going after school from now on."
"Where are you going after school, anyway?" Ben asked.
"Can't tell you. I don't want my friends to see the hideous monster of our family."
"MOM!"
"Taylor, apologise right now to your brother."
"Can't. Gotta go," Taylor said as went back to his room and picked up his backpack from where he left it by his bed, "See ya."
"Taylor, I'm going shopping today, so this should be the last day you have to buy cafeteria food," Mrs. Motosuke called after her son, "Here's the money."
"No thanks, Mom. Noah promised to share some food with me."
"What about your train tickets?"
"I already got that money in my pockets. 'Bye!" Taylor called as he got out the door and headed for the elevator. As he pushed the button to call it, he thought again of fighting Dinohumon. How he had rocked the dinosaur back in the Digital World! He couldn't wait to go back and become PyroKnightmon again!
As the elevator arrived, Taylor entered and couldn't wait to talk to the others about his victory.
"Dude, you so rocked as PyroKnightmon!" Noah told his friend as they stood outside the school, waiting for the bell to ring. He, Taylor, Loren and Alexa were all there, talking about PyroKnightmon and the Digital World, "You just slashed once and that Digimon was data before you could blink!"
"I know! It was just so amazing!" Alexa said, "Taylor, how did it feel to be a Digimon?"
"Well, it felt...strange. You could feel the power rushing through you and you had the feeling you could do anything if you believed in yourself enough," Taylor described, "I believed I could beat Dinohumon and it happened."
"Those attacks were too cool. What were they again?" Noah asked.
"Inferno Slash and Dragonforce Sword. Those were my, er, PyroKnightmon's attacks. It wasn't totally me."
"What?" Loren wondered, "What do you mean? Of course, it was you! It was all you!"
"Well, it was me inside, but there was something else inside PyroKnightmon with me."
"What do you think it was?" Alexa asked.
"I think it was the spirit of the original PyroKnightmon. I was controlling him, with the movements and attacks, but it was like something was telling me what to do and guiding me through it."
"Hey! DJ's here! Yoo hoo! DJ!" Loren called out as she caught sight of the approaching boy. As he passed, he glanced at the group talking. Noah was staring back with some resentment, Alexa was blushing and Loren was waving her arms all around, trying to get DJ to look at her. And of course, there was Taylor, looking back at DJ, with a bit of a smug look on his face.
After the glance, DJ quickly snorted and continued walking past.
"Oooh...he didn't look at me..." Loren sniffed.
"It's okay. We don't need him anyway," Noah said, "But its not fair, Taylor. I mean you Knightmon Digivolving and the rest of us can't."
"Well, maybe when we go back to the Digital World, you'll all find your Armours, too," Taylor said.
"If we can get back, that is," Alexa pointed out. They all remained silent, wondering if they could get back. Then, the bell rang and they all went to their different classes.
"I hate Math..." Noah said plainly during their last block, "I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. Why'd Mr. Matoru have to give us so much? I'm never going to get it all done by tomorrow."
"Yeah, I know the feel," Taylor said, "Math's not my best either."
"I wasn't referring to the math, so much as the load."
"Ah..."
"But forget Math, the Digital World's way better! You rocked the Digimon!"
"You've told him that for the last five hours, Noah..." Alexa noted, "I'm sure Taylor's getting tired of hearing that."
"I'm not, actually," Taylor grinned, still remembering his fight with Dinohumon and his Knightmon Digivolution.
"So how are we going to get back into the Digital World?" Noah asked.
"Same as last time, on Trailmon. I can't wait to go back there and become PyroKnightmon again!"
"You were undeniably cool as that big red knight, better than DJ could ever hope to be! Right, Alexa?"
"Well, he was pretty cool, but still not as cool as DJ," Alexa sighed.
"Come off him, Alexa. He barely knows you exist."
"But he still knows!"
"I will never understand you women..." Noah shook his head and sighed.
"Motosuke! Hidoyuki! Ito!" the teacher slammed down his ruler onto a nearby desk and the three snapped back to the class, "Since you like talking so much, why don't you tell the class what we're doing?"
"Um...er..."
"You're staying after school and I want a 200 word essay on why it is important to listen. I don't want this happening again, understand?"
"Yes, sir," the three nodded.
"Good. Now back to the lesson plan..."
"Stay after school? No fair!" Noah whined, "What if a Trailmon shows up while we're in detention?"
"We'll just have to deal with it and go tomorrow," Alexa said.
"But didn't Worm say we just had to use the Digivices to call a Trailmon to get us back?" Taylor wondered.
"Hey, he did!"
"We're back in business, baby!" Noah cheered.
"Motosuke! Hidoyuki! Ito! Do you want the essay to be 400 words?" the teacher asked as he slammed his ruler down on the desk again.
"Loren!" Alexa called as she ran across the field to where her friend was waiting with Taylor and Noah. Detention was finally over and a few kids were leaving the school as the sun was beginning to draw closer to the western horizon.
"It's about time! Where've you been?" Loren asked.
"Detention and essay-writing. Man, my hand's got writer's cramp..." Noah said as he tried to flex his fingers.
"Well, it's good that you're here. I was afraid I'd have to go to the Digital World all by myself."
"Oh yeah, the Digital World! C'mon, let's go!" Taylor said.
"Wait, you'll never guess who's coming with us!" Loren said as she stepped to the side, revealing a familiar face, "It's DJ! He's agreed to come to the Digital World with us and help protect us!"
"DJ? We don't need him when we've got Taylor," Noah dismissed, "Besides, DJ doesn't have an Armour like Taylor."
"It doesn't matter. What does matter is that DJ's coming with us and that's that. Come on, let's go to the Digital World," Loren said as the group began heading off toward the train station.
DJ walked in silence as the group passed the blocks on their way, all the while thinking of getting to the digital realm and gaining an Armour, thereby re-establishing him as the coolest guy around. He didn't really care for the adventure or the others, he just wanted the Armour. And he'd get it.
He'd make sure of it.
"Okay, so we call Worm like last time with the Digivices, right?" Alexa asked as they stood on the platform, fiddling with the watches on their arms, "Noah, just how'd you get there?"
"Oh, I scrolled using one of the grey buttons and when I found 'Trailmon Call', I just tapped the screen."
"Like this?" Alexa asked as she scrolled through the device and tapped the screen when it said Trailmon Call. When she did, a light mist surrounded the group and everyone around them disappeared. Then, a whistle sounded.
"Here comes our ride," Taylor said as a train pulled up in front of them. The front was a blue engine with a red in the middle and a kind of light extending from its head, pulling three or four carriages.
"Hey, that's not Worm!" Loren said.
"You're right, I'm not. Call me Angler the Trailmon," the train spoke with a kind of accent, "I heard about you from Worm and I was the Trailmon closest to the entryway to the Real World, so here I am. Now, are you getting on, or should I leave?"
"No, no! We're getting on!" Taylor said as the doors of the carriages opened and the group stepped inside, taking seats, "All right, Angler, take us to the Digital World!"
"You got it!" Angler replied as the whistle sounded again and the train began to move.
"I can't wait to see PyroKnightmon re-emerge," Loren said, "Think you can Knight-whatever again when we get there?"
"First, it's called Knightmon Digivolve, and yes, I'm sure I can do it," Taylor answered, "I have to or we're in serious trouble when we arrive."
Angler ran along the track with his passengers, gaining more and more speed as he charged toward a hole in space. Before the kids knew it, they had passed into the void again, with the numbers, monsters and locations flying past them again.
DJ wasn't paying attention to the surroundings, or the ramblings of the others. He was keeping to himself, thinking over and over how he would not let Taylor become cooler than him. When they got there, he'd have to find his Armour. There would be no stopping him whatsoever.
Light suddenly penetrated the cars and then died down as the train began to slow. The area Angler was passing through now had a large mountain somewhere in the distance, but the immediate area had a small field, a couple of mini-forests, and a village just through the forest right by the terminal the group was now pulling up to. The terminal was just like the previous one in Seren Field, except the overhanging nameplate was "Yashiyoko Mountain Terminal".
"This is Yashiyoko Mountain! Everybody out!" Angler announced as the Trailmon finally stopped and the carriage doors opened. The DigiDestined stepped out onto the platform and turned to thank their ride.
"Thanks a lot, Angler," Alexa bowed in respect.
"It's nothing. When you're done, call me back with that thing on your arms. Meanwhile, I got a lot more passengers to transport. See ya!" Angler called as he sounded his whistle and chugged off into the distance. They watched him go out of sight before Taylor leapt off the terminal.
"All right! We're back! I can't wait to kick butt again!" Taylor cheered, "Just point me in the direction of an evil Digimon and he's going down! Just one flick of the Dragonforce Sword and BAM!!"
"Whoa there, Tay," Noah said as he came down to his friend's level, "Much as I'd like to see you do that again, I think we need a plan."
"You're just jealous 'cause you can't Knightmon Digivolve."
"No, I'm not! I just think we should get some background information on where we are before we do anything."
"I actually agree with Noah," Alexa said, "We're here to save the Digital World, even if its little by little. Maybe someone in the village I saw as we came here needs help?"
"Yeah, let's go see, Taylor," Loren added, "And even if you can become PyroKnightmon, we've got DJ to protect us."
"Yes, please protect us, D..." Alexa started as she turned around to face DJ, but found she was staring at nothing, "DJ? DJ, where'd you go? No, DJ!"
"DJ!! COME BACK!!" Loren cried out as she sank to her knees in despair, "Protect me!!"
"We don't need him when we got Taylor," Noah reassured the girls, "He probably got fed up with your praise and ditched."
"We'll find him sooner or later, guys," Taylor said as he looked down at his Digivice, "And if he's in trouble, I'll just Knightmon Digivolve and save his butt. Come on, let's go. I can't wait to be PyroKnightmon again! Follow me!"
Taylor led the group into the forest closest to the terminal as the group started calling out DJ's name.
It's about time I got away from them, DJ thought as he jogged through the trees, I thought the train ride would never end. And I'm sick of how they treat Taylor as if he's cooler than me. No matter. Once I find an Armour, I'll once again be the coolest guy around. Now, if I were an Armour, where would I be?
DJ continued jogging through the trees, ignoring the calls of the others for him. He lifted his Digivice to face level, thinking maybe it could help. Trying to push several buttons while running wasn't an easy task, so he stopped and started messing with the device. As he pushed the buttons, he ran through programs. "Trailmon Call," "Data Storage," "Set Clock Time"...
Wait, what was that last one?
He backtracked a little and saw "Map Overview" appear on the screen. Pressing what he thought was the execute button, the words on the screen disappeared, replaced with a 2-D Map of Yashiyoko Mountain. Many different coloured dots were on the screen. The four ones in a group, one red, another blue, the third yellow and the final a light shade of pink, were supposedly the others. The green dot just a little ways from them was him. There were some light blue dots in the area that looked like the village, probably the signals of Digimon. But wait...there were two light blue dots pretty close to DJ's dot.
And they were coming fast.
"AAAAHHHH!! HELP SOMEONE!!"
"What?" DJ asked as he turned around and saw what looked like a small mushroom thing being chased by a blue lizard in green pants with armour on miscellaneous parts on his body, with red hair and a helmet with no eyeholes covering the top part of his face, "What the heck!?"
"You cannot escape! You will be captured!" the chaser cried, "No one can escape Strikedramon!"
"Strikedramon?" DJ asked and his Digivice brought up a screen with the chasing Digimon's data.
"Strikedramon, a Vaccine-type, Dragon Man, Champion level Digimon," the Digivice read off, "Strikedramon will usually search for opponents worthy of their mighty strength. Attacks include Strike Claw and Strike Fang."
"So why is it chasing the poor mushroom thing?" DJ wondered.
"HELP, PLEASE!!" the mushroom Digimon cried again.
"No help will come for you, Mushroomon! No one has fought Strikedramon and lived! Strike Claw!!" Strikedramon yelled as he slashed at Mushroomon.
"NOOO!! HELP!!"
"Hey, stop that!" DJ suddenly cried out, without really knowing why, "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"
"Hmmm?" Strikedramon stopped his attack and turned toward the boy just a few feet away from him, "Who are you to tell me what to do? I serve no one but the Dark One!"
"Dark One?"
"Yes, I am his loyal servant who always accomplishes what he asks. No one tells me what to do but him! Take this, boy! Strike Fang!!" Strikedramon bared his teeth and rushed towards DJ. DJ was ready to take the hit, when...
"Fungus Crusher!!"
A parade of mushrooms rained upon Strikedramon, filling his mouth so the Digimon couldn't crunch the boy. Both the Digimon and the boy turned to the source of the attack, the small purple and yellow Digimon, Mushroomon.
"Mmph, mmmph," Strikedramon tried to speak, but was unable to, "Mmph! Mmmmph!"
"Can't attack if you can't yell it out, can you?" Mushroomon asked.
Strikedramon looked like he was at a loss, so he quickly ran off into the forest, hoping to get the mushrooms out of his mouth as soon as he could.
"There, I bought us some time..." Mushroomon said, "Come on, hurry!"
"Wait a second, shorty," DJ said, "First you yell for help, then you tell me to come with you? You look like you can take care of yourself."
"That was a lucky hit! And I yelled for help so someone could help me find the Armour to save my friends!"
"Armour?! What are you talking about?"
"That Strikedramon that was chasing me serves the Dark One who intends to rule the Digital World. He was sent here to infect the whole area with darkness. Those who resist are sent to the place after deletion! I managed to sneak out of the village he was attacking, but he spotted me escaping and here we are now. But I've got to find the Armour!"
"What Armour?"
"Duh, the Armour of one of the Legendary Knightmon! Where've you been, pal? The Dark One won't stop until the whole Digital World is under his control, and the only ones who can stop him are the Knightmon! They say somewhere in this forest is the Armour of the Knight of Earth. If I can use it, I can stop Strikedramon and maybe take on the Dark One!"
"Do you know where it is? I need it, too!"
"Oh, no you don't! You're some kind of thief, waiting to steal it from me before I use it! Well, I won't fall for that!"
"Come off it, I just saved you!"
"More like I saved you, kid."
"It's not kid, it's DJ. And you're Mushroomon, right?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Listen, I have an idea that could benefit the both of us..."
"So where exactly in this area is the Armour?"
"Keep digging, DJ! You'll know it when you see it!"
The two of them came to a bit of a compromise/contest. They'd help each other find the Armour by looking around the area. Whoever found it first would get to keep it. So basically, it was now a battle of wills to find the Armour first. Mushroomon wanted it to save his friends while DJ wanted it to impress the others and be cooler than Taylor. Secretly, DJ wanted to also stop Strikedramon, but he wouldn't admit it.
But of course, they'd been digging for a while now and they were both getting tired.
Man, I need to take a break, DJ thought as he wiped his brow, but then looked back at Mushroomon still going, No, I can't stop now. I can't let him find the Armour first. I need that Earth Armour to prove to the others that I'm still the coolest one around. And I'm not going to let some small mushroom-thing outdo me!
DJ continued to dig with the shovel Mushroomon had made him out of a nearby tree, determined to find the Armour first. He was sore, he was panting and he looked worse for the wear, but he wouldn't give up.
After yet another minute of digging, a kind of "THUD" was heard on Mushroomon's side. The Rookie Digimon became excited and began to dig faster and faster. Before long, Mushroomon had uncovered what they'd been looking for.
"Yes, I found it! I found it, I found it! The Armour of the Legendary Knightmon!!" Mushroomon cheered.
DJ looked over the Armour, composed of a breastplate, leg guards, shoulder guards, two large gauntlets and a helmet, which had a mask to block the mouth from view and cover the lower area. It was grey, trimmed with some black along the outer edge. On the shoulder guards, breastplate and the top part of the helmet on both sides was another strange symbol that DJ couldn't quite make heads or tails of.
"Just like we promised, I get to keep it!" Mushroomon reminded DJ.
"Yeah. Yeah you do..." DJ said sadly, thinking of what he could've done with the Armour and how cool he'd become with its help.
"Okay! It's time to go and stop Strikedramon permanently!" Mushroom said as he stepped into the Armour, "Let's go, Armour!"
Both of them waited for something to happen, but nothing on, move!"
Still nothing.
"We gotta go and stop Strikedramon! Do as I say and power me up to fight him!!"
"I don't think it's intelligent..." DJ started, but then remembered how PyroKnightmon's Armour activated when Taylor faced off against Dinohumon.
"Please work! Puh-le-he-ease!!"
"...it's not gonna work."
"It has, too! It must! It will! I need this to stop Strikedramon!"
"Stop me from what?" a voice said. Out of some nearby brushes came Strikedramon, mushroom-free and ready for revenge, "I despise mushrooms! I especially despise Digimon who defy me and my master! Prepare to pay, Mushroomon! Strike Claw!!"
Strikedramon slashed at Mushroomon, sending him flying headfirst into a tree. The Rookie slid down after impact, bruised with his eyes closed.
"Mushroomon!" DJ cried in shock.
"And now for you! Strike Claw!!" Strikedramon screamed as once again he slashed at the boy. The attack hit DJ and he was brought to his knees, screaming in pain. Strikedramon laughed as he raised his claws in the air, "Want me to end your misery? Fine! Take this!!"
"DJ!!" voices called out as a thrown stick was caught between Strikedramon's second attack and DJ. The stick was instantly deleted upon impact. Both the Digimon and the human turned to see four familiar faces. Taylor and the others had come to DJ's rescue.
"More who defy my master?"
"You bet we defy him!" Taylor answered, "Not only that, but we'll defeat him as well! I've waited all day to get a chance to do this again."
"Go, Taylor!" Noah cheered as the girls went over to DJ to help him up.
"To defeat my master, you'll first have to defeat me!" Strikedramon said, "Which you'll never do!"
"Oh, yeah? Let me prove you wrong!" Taylor said as he raised his forearm so it was beside his face, with the screen of the Digivice facing the opponent. Pressing a button on it, he said five simple words, "Knightmon Digivolution, Activate!! Courageous Flame!!"
As Taylor's evolution to become a Digimon began again, Loren and Alexa were fretting over DJ.
"DJ, are you all right?" Loren asked.
"You're not hurt too badly, are you?" Alexa added.
"...I'm fine," DJ said simply as he looked away from the girls. He was more concerned that he wouldn't be the coolest one around anymore. Taylor had again Knightmon Digivolved to take on an enemy and become a hero. DJ looked on in envy as the evolution finished and in place of Taylor Motosuke stood...
"PyroKnightmon!!" the Knightmon of Flame announced himself.
"So, the Flame Knight has finally shown himself. You were the one who defeated Dinohumon yesterday in Seren Field," Strikedramon said, bemused at the Digimon. Baring his teeth he continued, "He was not worthy to defeat a Legendary Knightmon. Today, I shall finish what he started: the destruction of PyroKnightmon! Strike Fang!!"
"Inferno Slash!!" PyroKnightmon's sword sent out a burst of flame right into Strikedramon, who was sent reeling back into a nearby tree.
"Argh!!"
"And I thought this was going to be a challenge..."
"Oh, but it is!!" Strikedramon said as he stood up, then seemingly disappeared.
"What the...?" PyroKnightmon asked as he looked around for the opponent. Strikedramon was nowhere to be found.
"Behind you!"
"Huh?" PyroKnightmon turned around too late as Strikedramon delivered a kick to PyroKnightmon's head. The grip on the sword was loosened and it flew from the transformed Taylor's hands and the Flame Knight was sent to the ground.
"Taylor!!" the others cried.
"You're nothing without your sword, Knightmon. Let me prove it!" Strikedramon called as he began dealing a series of blows to the fallen Digimon.
"Oh no, Taylor!" Alexa cried.
"Stop it!!" Loren screamed.
"Taylor, fight back!" Noah called.
DJ still was in shock as PyroKnightmon received his beating from Strikedramon. Their only protection had fallen and now there was a certainty that they'd all be killed right then and there after PyroKnightmon was finished off. It would all end here and be for nothing...
"D...J..."
"What?" DJ looked around for the source of the voice, and found it was coming from the same spot where Mushroomon had landed. He crawled his way over to the Rookie Digimon, who was still injured, but wasn't quite ready for deletion, "Mushroomon, you're okay..."
"Yeah...it'll take more than him to stop me..." Mushroomon panted, "Come on, let's get him..."
"You're still injured from that Strike Claw, you shouldn't fight. Besides, it's all over," DJ said as PyroKnightmon continued to be trampled, "Taylor's almost finished and we're next. We've got nothing to stop Strikedramon..."
"But we do...the Armour..."
"What?" DJ wondered. Then he remembered. How could he forget? "The Armour we found! We can use it to bring back the Earth Knight!"
"Correction...you can use it..."
"But, I thought we had an agreement and the Armour's all yours."
"You can wear it this one time...now quit talking to me and put on that Armour!" Mushroomon told him.
DJ complied as he crawled near the Armour, where it lay from before. It went unnoticed by Strikedramon, luckily, and was still there for the boy. But how would he get it to work?
Remembering how Taylor got the other Armour to work, DJ leaned in and placed one hand on the grey Armour. He whispered, "PyroKnightmon needs help and I'm the only one in a position to give it to him. At first, yes I wanted you only to be cool and better than Taylor, but I don't think that right now. Right now, I'm the only one that has a chance to stop Strikedramon, but I can't do it as I am. So please, if you can hear me at all, show me some kind of sign and lend me your powers..."
The grey armour began to glow and was sent into DJ's Digivice. The Armour appeared on the screen, imposed over it in red letters was the word "READY". DJ looked over to where Strikedramon was beating PyroKnightmon, and immediately stood up from where he was standing.
In the meantime, PyroKnightmon was heavily beaten, laying on the ground before Strikedramon, gasping for air. He felt so weak and helpless. As Strikedramon laughed out loud, a burst of flame engulfed PyroKnightmon and in a moment, Taylor was in his place, bruised and tired.
"Taylor!!" the others screamed for their fallen friend.
"And now, to show as a warning to all who would defy me and my master!" Strikedramon proclaimed as he readied to finish the boy.
"Hey, Striking Lizard!" DJ yelled from where he was.
"Hmm?"
"You want a real battle? I'll give you one!" DJ called out as he thrust one of his arms out to the side, the screen of the Digivice facing Strikedramon. Thrusting the other arm to the other side, DJ quickly brought it over with swiftness and pressed a button on his Digivice. As he did this, he cried, "Knightmon Digivolution, Activate!! Solid Earth!!"
The screen glowed with bright light and shot out a long line of jagged rocks, which then about faced and returned to DJ, whose arms were now crossed in front of his chest. The rocks came together to form rock rings which were sent all over his body. The rings tore the boy's clothes off of him. On his arms, the rings briefly came together to form a kind of rock armour before breaking off and revealing grey armour underneath. The same was done to his legs, chest and torso, breaking to reveal new armour. As the final rings circled his head, DJ closed his eyes as they came together briefly and broke off, revealing a new helmet, which also had DJ's sideburns and the hair at the back of his head sticking out. What was not covered in armour was covered by a white bodysuit. Snapping his eyes open and yelling a kind of battle cry out of his mask, the new Digimon raised his arms over his head and brought them down onto the ground, which shook very violently and raised a couple of pieces of land behind him. Assuming a battle stance with his fists curled and arms in front, the new Digimon announced himself.
"Gaiamon!!"
Everyone was frozen as they looked in awe at the new Digimon created from the Solid Earth Armour and the boy known as DJ Yoshida. Strikedramon, however, was less than impressed.
"So, another Knightmon has awakened. Well, that's just swell. That'll be two Legendary Knightmon I've defeated on my own! I'll go down in history and will surely find favour with my master!" Strikedramon laughed.
"Not unless I stop you first, Amphibian Breath," Gaiamon told him. Like PyroKnightmon, Gaiamon sounded like DJ, but wasn't at the same time.
"Really? Let's see you try!!" Strikedramon screamed as he rushed toward Gaiamon with his claws glowing. Gaiamon, in the meantime, was winding up his right arm behind him. The closer Strikedramon got, the faster Gaiamon's arm would spin. Then, at point blank, Strikedramon launched his attack, "Strike Claw!!"
"Richter Fist!!" Gaiamon cried as he sent his fist right into Strikedramon's face and the opponent was sent a few feet back, violently shaking.
"Wh-what happ-pened? What di-did y-you do to m-me?" Strikedramon asked as he violently shook.
"It's called the Richter Fist. I wind up my arm with energy so that it pulsates and launch it straight at the opponent. When he gets back up, he can't stop shaking," Gaiamon informed Strikedramon, "It throws off the enemy's body signals so he can't use his body properly. Now you can't fight me properly."
"D-don't c-count o-o-on it, kid," the Dragon Man Digimon told him as he tried to calm down his body. Focusing heavily on unmoving things, Strikedramon's body started to stop shaking slowly. After a moment, Strikedramon was completely still."
"What?!"
"Told you. Now to finish you like I was supposed to do to your friend over there," Strikedramon smirked as Taylor remained on the ground where Strikedramon left him. Before Gaiamon could blink, Strikedramon vanished.
"What? Not again!" Gaiamon started looking around for the enemy, until he felt a sting of pain on his leg, "Ahh!"
Then, he felt another on his neck, "Aahh!!"
And then, he felt it all over his body, "AAAAGGHHH!!!"
"How do you like that, Knightmon? It's my ultimate attack. I've trained myself to run at abnormally fast speeds and attack with Strike Claws while I do it! It's the perfect attack to bring down those who would challenge the will of my master!!" Strikedramon laughed as the attack continued and Gaiamon was bombarded with Strike Claws from every angle.
"DJ!! You can beat him!!" Loren screamed, "I know you can!!"
"Go, DJ! Stop his attack somehow!" Alexa added.
"Kick his butt, DJ!! You got the power of the Knightmon of Earth! Use it!!" Noah told the transformed boy.
"That's...right. I am the Knightmon of the Solid Earth. The entire structure of the Digital World is my weapon. I can use it to stop you, Strikedramon!" Gaiamon yelled as he raised his fists into the air and yelled out before bringing them down onto the earth, "Geo Shield!!"
From the point where Gaiamon brought down his fists, the earth around him began to crack. Some of the land rose up and formed a shield around him, protecting Gaiamon from the attacks.
"You think your little defence can stop me?" Strikedramon taunted.
"No, but this can!! RRRAAAHHH!!!" Gaiamon cried as the shield immediately burst outwards, sending rock flying in every which direction. The girls were forced to hide behind a tree to avoid the debris while Noah managed to grab Taylor and drag him behind a bush.
A rock shrapnel was flying through the air when it hit something and Strikedramon finally appeared in front of a rock wall, bruised from the shrapnel and the speed illusion broken. He held himself where he was bruised and growled at the Earth Knightmon.
"There you are!" Gaiamon said as he turned around to face Strikedramon, "I knew I had to slow you down before I could attack you so I broke the Geo Shield and made it into the Rock Shrapnel attack. You can't fool me twice!"
"This is impossible! No one has defeated me! No one!" Strikedramon cried, "I can't be beaten by some child!!"
"I'm not a child!" Gaiamon said as he wound up his fist again, faster and faster. When he finally had enough, he stopped and the last thing Strikedramon saw was the glowing fist of Gaiamon, "Richter Fist!!"
The attack met Strikedramon's weak point and the Digimon was deleted a moment after impact. The remaining data was sent flying, but it didn't go far as Gaiamon raised his arms over his head and his gauntlets began to glow. The gauntlets absorbed Strikedramon's data and after every last piece was absorbed, he put his arms back to his sides and said, "I am the Legendary Knightmon of Earth, Gaiamon!!"
"WOW!!" came a squealing of voices and before he knew it, Loren and Alexa were right next to him, cheering with joy.
"You so cool, DJ! Better than what happened last time! You're the best!" Loren squeaked.
"Unbelievable! I couldn't remember that it was you doing all that! You're just amazing!" Alexa squealed. The two girls continued to praise Gaiamon as Noah pulled Taylor from the bush and helped him out onto his feet.
"I hate to admit, but...you were pretty cool out there, DJ. Even better than Taylor!" Noah joined in the cheering, but then remembered that Taylor was standing behind him. He turned to Taylor, who had a bit of a hurt expression on his face and said, "No, Tay! I didn't really mean it! You're just as good, but DJ was a bit better this time."
Gaiamon glowed and the group backed off from him to see what would happen. The glow began to form into a layer of rocks, covering the Earth Knight. In a moment, he was completely covered. A second later, the rocks broke off, revealing DJ Yoshida in the place of Gaiamon.
"Just as good, Noah?" Loren asked, "DJ rocked! He was better than Taylor could ever hope to be! Besides, Taylor had his shot and he was shot down!"
DJ walked past the group and as he passed Taylor, there seemed to be just the two of them at that time. As he passed, DJ glanced at Taylor and smirked in triumph while Taylor furrowed his brow and growled. Before they knew it, the moment was over and Noah, Loren and Alexa were there again with them. Loren and Alexa continued to follow DJ as Noah and Taylor trailed them.
DJ went over to the spot where he had left Mushroomon and bent down over to him. He asked, "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Mushroomon replied as he stood up and dusted himself off, being careful not to wipe where he was hurt, "I would've liked that Armour, though..."
"I guess you want it back..."
"Keep it."
"Huh?"
"The only time it worked was for you, kid. It's almost as if the Armour was sentient and knows what's going on around it. It tests you to see if you have the courage and heart to use it."
"The Armours are sentient?" Loren repeated.
"That must be why both Taylor and DJ were the only ones to activate them," Alexa said, "They both had good intentions and that's why the Courageous Flame and Solid Earth Armours worked. After all, they're both DigiDestined."
"Hey, so are we!" Noah added indignantly, "It's only a matter of time before we get our Armours too!"
"DigiDestined? You five are the DigiDestined?" Mushroomon asked.
"Yeah, I guess..." DJ replied.
"Then it's no wonder why only you could work the Armour. They say that the Armours of the Legendary Knightmon only work for the ones who have courage and heart, the true ones chosen to save the Digital World. I guess I was too blind to see that until now..."
"What'll you do now, Mushroomon?" Noah asked.
"I'll head back to my village and get these wounds fixed up. I'll try and explain what happened to Strikedramon as best I can. DJ, in the meanwhile, you keep the Solid Earth Armour and use it to defend what's good, hear me?"
"Yeah," DJ nodded.
"And one more thing. Punch out that Dark One for me, okay?"
"You got it," DJ smiled, "Come on guys, let's go call Angler."
"Bye Mushroomon!" Everyone waved to the Rookie as they left and Mushroomon waved back.
"Use that Armour right, DJ, or I'll find out about it and take it, got it?" Mushroomon called out, but by that time, the DigiDestined were out of earshot.
It was later back in the Real World after the group had gotten off Angler and was waiting for their trains that DJ really had time to think about what happened. He had used the Solid Earth Armour to become one of the most powerful Digimon from the past to battle Strikedramon. He had all these cool attacks. He felt the power flowing within him while he was transformed. He had retained his cool status and outdone Taylor Motosuke, the DigiDestined who could become PyroKnightmon when he used the Courageous Flame Armour.
The power was amazing yes, but that wasn't what he was thinking about. The praise of his teammates and his dubbing as cool was perfect, but that wasn't it either. The way he used his attacks in his fight was mind-boggling, yet it wasn't that either.
There was something else DJ thought about.
It was this strange feeling while he had the Armour on. This overpowering desire to protect all those around him. A strong compassion for the good citizens of the Digital World and the other members of the DigiDestined. He thought about how he'd use every bit of strength in his body to defend everyone around him, at any cost.
DJ Yoshida had never really felt this emotion before. He normally wouldn't be concerned about anyone but himself, but while he was Gaiamon his perspective changed. The previous Knightmon of Earth was in there with him, telling him what to do when he battled Strikedramon, then captured his data with his gauntlets. The feeling of compassion was coming from Gaiamon, DJ was sure of it. But then again, Gaiamon told DJ that it was coming from inside of him and that he had it all along. The overwhelming compassion and power was strange.
But all DJ Yoshida knew was that he liked it.
TO BE CONTINUED...Well, how do you like it? It's shorter than the last one, I know, but I hope it was equally as exciting. Please let me know what you think of this story when you review and check out some of my other work, you might find something you like. I look forward to the reviews.