Imperialdramon reverted to Metal Devidramon as he landed, watching the forces he had brought with him from the Dark Ocean charge ahead. "Fools." he muttered. "Once the remaining digidestined are finished with this lot, they'll be too weak to fight me." He grimaced suddenly, dropping to one knee. "Not now..." he growled. "I can master this power..."
=====
Digimon: Digicross Episode 33
'Baihumon's Legacy 2: The Guardian's choice.'
=====
Kyle opened his eyes, somewhat surprised he was still able to. He could see that someone was leaning over him, but he couldn't tell who it was.
"Why is it," June asked, "that you keep winding up in bed when I come visit?" Without another word, she put her arms around him, relieved that he had woken up.
After a minute, they broke apart. "What happened?" Kyle asked.
"Mewtwo was able to bring you here, along with everyone else. The rest of us came as soon as we could. Yolei's gone to get Davis, and Ken left to get Cody." Kyle nodded. "What happened to you?"
"It was Metal Devidramon. While we were defending Primary Village, Demon took him to another Destiny Stone. Somehow, Metal Devidramon was able to turn himself into a digimon called Imperialdramon. That's when...Eevee!" he gasped.
"He's at the pokemon centre in Stone Town." As she spoke, Growlithe jumped on the bed, face grim.
"Leave you alone for a second..." the pokemon grumbled. "So, Dragon type digimon?"
"He blasted Primary Village with one shot. I think Baihumon managed to block the shot. Is he...?" Kyle trailed off as he saw June's expression fall.
==Dark Ocean
Word of Demon's defeat spread quickly. With that digimon gone, the other digimon quickly started battling each other, eager for power. Except for three digimon, that is.
"Arukenimon...my sweet..." Murmuxmon murmured, trudging through the halls. More of the old bandaging had fallen away, revealing Mummymon's bluish skin and vaguely reptilian body. Arukenimon had caught sight of him vaporising one digimon with a wave of his hand, and decided it was time to flee the deranged mega digimon. Sneasel had gone with Arukenimon, telling herself that Arukenimon knew the castle better.
"Arukenimooon..." Murmuxmon called softly. "It is quite alright. I forgive you for betraying me to Demon, and for all those things you said about me. Please, let me show my... affection..." He looked around. "I heard everything. All those years close to your heart, and Demon made sure that I could hear everything you said, feel everything you felt...please, come to me."
"I can take him." Sneasel growled.
"No, you can't." Arukenimon replied. "Whatever happened to Mummymon has obviously increased his powers. But please, feel free to go ahead and battle him; it'll give me time to escape." Sneasel glanced at Arukenimon, but said nothing. "That's better. Now stop acting like an idiot and move. There's a place we can hide from that maniac. Hopefully, someone else will take care of him."
==Professor Oak's lab
Caryl glared at Ryo. "You...idiot! You had to go and drag me away from the fight, and now you're all hurt. Why couldn't you let me stay?"
Ryo grimaced as he tried to sit up. After Caryl had been sent through the portal, Ryo and Renamon had run back to join the other digidestined, just as Imperialdramon had attacked. As a result, he had several minor injuries, a few burns, and a sprained wrist. Renamon was in another room, also recovering from several minor injuries. "Because you might have gotten hurt. And if you had, I might be standing over your bed, yelling at you. I think I like listening to you shout better than seeing you hurt."
"Ryo..."
Charmeleon, still recovering, groaned. Whether it was because of his injuries or the dialogue was anyone's guess, though. "Where's Renamon?"
"In one of Professor Oak's recovery beds." Tracey said, stepping into the room. "He just wanted me to let you know she'll be up soon. Digimon seem to be quick healers."
"Quicker than pokemon, at any rate." Charmeleon replied, wincing. "I don't think I'll be able to battle again for a while."
Tsukaimon entered the room. "Listening to you two sure sounds familiar," he said, grinning. "Kyle and Casey just got through saying pretty much the same things. Ain't love grand?"
Kunemon, Casey's partner, sighed. "I confess that I still do not know much about human relationships. Although Monodramon offered to explain the finer points to me."
"I think that'd be a bad idea." Kyle Evanick said. He was leaning on Casey, and walking with a slight limp. "And let me just say what a knock-about of pure fun THAT was."
Casey growled a bit as Kyle's weight sent a small spike of pain through her shoulder. "I don't know why I listen to you! You should be in bed, resting."
"You're pretty eager to get me into bed." Kyle replied acidly. He stifled a shout when, a second later, a furiously blushing Casey stomped his foot with her own.
"It's like they're married already." Caryl murmured.
==New York
Mimi glanced over the printouts that Sora had sent her, memorising the contents. "Okay, I think we can do it. I'll just let Sora know."
Palmon, sitting on Mimi's bed, grinned. "Should be quite a show, huh? I can't wait to see Matt's face."
"Really? I thought you'd be all focussed on Ivysaur's face." Mimi replied sweetly. "I've heard of blooming relationships, but that's a bit much, isn't it?" Palmon stuck her tongue out at Mimi, who only smiled and turned back to her computer. "Oh? A new message?" Curious, Mimi opened it.
From: "Sora" stakenouchi@worldnet.jp.org
Subject none
Mimi;
There's been a big fight in the digital world, and a lot of the new kids were hurt. They say that there's a really strong digimon called Imperialdramon, and he might be attacking somewhere else soon. Stay there and keep an eye out.
-Sora
PS: I checked and everyone's fine. But stay clear of the digital world for a while. Tai and Matt went off to talk to Gennai and Azulongmon about something, but they won't say what. Boys. Honestly!
Mimi stared at the screen, stunned.
==Dark Ocean
It was a good day to be Darkrizamon. But then, this particular Darkrizamon always thought that. He happily jumped around, blasting opponents with his flame powers. Already, he had attracted several followers, and he was now leading his troupe towards Demon's castle, intending to take it over as his own. "Yes!" he crowed. "With that fool Demon gone, we can take over and run this place the right way! And my fiery followers shall rule this entire plane of existence, and we shall destroy the digital world! And I'll start with that human that killed my brother!"
"Ambitious, but not very creative." someone said.
"Who dares?"
"I do. You know, Darkrizamon, you know why you never made it very far? It's because you could never think things through. And you were never brave enough to challenge Demon directly."
"Dread Fire!" Darkrizamon cried, sending a fire blast at the speaker. Not the brightest member of his family, he never bothered to see who he was attacking. He had about a fifth of a second to ponder this as the counter attack vaporised him and his entire entourage.
==Orange Islands
Davis leaned on the railing, a little exhausted. "That was an awesome show, Melody." He smirked as a thought came to him. "But I thought priestesses weren't allowed to go to rock concerts."
Melody snorted. "Unlike the rest of my family, I kind of like living in today's world. And I'm a shrine maiden, not a priestess."
"There's a difference?"
Melody frowned. "Yes. Could a priestess do this?" She leaned over and kissed Davis.
Okay, Davis thought. What would Tai do? Stammer and act like a doofus, right. Matt? Same thing...Alright, what would...Kyle do? Stammer, be a doofus, and apologise. TK?
Shut up and enjoy it, a part of his mind ordered. And stop talking to yourself!
"There you are!" Yolei interrupted, breaking the mood. "Come on, you're needed!"
"Huh...whuuuh?" Davis babbled, trying to recover.
"No time! The other digidestined are at Professor Oak's, and they're in no condition to fight. Now move!"
"Veemon-"
"June brought him here, then dropped him to check on Kyle. MOVE, MOTOMIYA!"
Davis glanced at Melody, who nodded, then ran for the nearest Digiport. "I'll get V-Mon." she said, heading back to her home.
==Tokyo
As Upamon watched, Cody managed to parry every one of his grandfather's attacks. "Nicely done, Cody. But your arms are still too rigid. An opponent could do...THIS!" Suddenly, his grandfather stepped back, darted to one side, and swung at Cody's back. Awkwardly, Cody blocked the strike. "Good! At this rate, you'll have no trouble beating that Tyson boy."
"The one that's into those battle tops?" Cody asked.
"Focus! I-ah, we have a visitor. Welcome, Ken."
Ken bowed respectfully. "Hello, Mr. Hida. I'm sorry to interrupt, but-"
"Trouble in the digital world?" Mr. Hida replied. Ken nodded. "Then you and Cody should go. Cody, we will resume when you get back. Remember, keep your arms relaxed!"
"Thank you, grandfather!"
Mr. Hida nodded. "Ken. You are welcome to come by any time. Please, tell your family to not be strangers. That goes for you too, Minomon!"
"Thank you, Mr. Hida." Ken answered.
==Pallet Town
Mewtwo looked at the not-human in the bed. Baihumon had reverted to his human guise, presumably as a means of conserving his energy. "Your injuries are grave, and I have done all I can afford to do."
Baihumon nodded. "You sense it too. They're coming, I can feel them approach. What will you do?"
"Before, I would have hidden. But now? Now, I will show Imperialdramon the folly of attacking this world." As Mewtwo spoke, blue fire rippled around him. "I do not know if you will recover. Whether or not you do will depend on you not expending any more of your energy."
Baihumon chuckled weakly. "Your bedside manner needs work."
"I am a pokemon. Not a doctor."
==
Professor Oak yawned; since Mewtwo had brought in the injured digidestined, he had been working non-stop on making sure they were being treated correctly. Fortunately, one of the local Nurse Joys had been near, and had come to assist. Tracey had also helped, as had Joe, who had made it out of Primary Village relatively uninjured.
"It's good thing digimon can heal themselves." Oak sighed. "If it were any worse, I'd have to ask Mewtwo to bring them to a Pokemon Centre. I'm not equipped to handle this sort of thing on a regular basis."
Joe grimaced. "Neither are we. If we just knew more about this Imperialdramon digimon, maybe we could stop him, or at least weaken him enough to drive him back to the Dark Ocean." There was a hard knock at his door. Curious, he went and answered it.
"Get all the pokemon here as far away from the north edge of town as possible!" Officer Jenny ordered. "If possible, get them into pokeballs and transport them out to Viridian, or even Celadon! We're evacuating the town!"
"WHAT?" Oak shouted, startled.
"There's a large number of unknown pokemon approaching Pallet Town, and they've been attacking anything that moves!"
"Those aren't pokemon!" Joe said, horrified. "They've come here..."
"You mean...Imperialdramon?" Oak asked, aghast. Joe nodded. "Tracey, start getting the pokemon in the research forest moving. I have a transporter system set up, we'll send them to Professor Elm's in New Bark Town. He's better equipped. Joe, you and I will get the kids and their digimon-"
"We're not going anywhere." Kyle said, as he entered the hallway.
"Don't be insane!" Officer Jenny said. "This isn't a pack of Houndour that's running amok, this is...an army!"
"And we're the only ones that can handle it!" Growlithe replied, causing Jenny to stop and stare. "They've come for us. If we run, they'll pursue us, and destroy anything that gets in their path."
"Well said." Mewtwo added, appearing in a flash of blue fire. "Davis and Yolei are on their way, as is Melody. Once Ken and Cody get here, we can fight them."
"Komainumon and Paildramon, yeah." Elecmon said, nodding. "But is Patamon healed enough to DNA digivolve with Ankylomon?"
"Leave it to me!" Patamon said.
"And we'll run interference." Crystal said, Eevee nodding in agreement.
"No way!" Jenny almost snarled. "I've already had to airlift one trainer who tried to be a hero. It was a miracle that-"
"Digiarmour Energize!"
"Eevee, armour digivolve to...Strabimon, warrior of hope!" As Officer Jenny watched, Crystal's Eevee evolved into a humanoid fighter, unlike anything she had ever seen. "We're staying." Strabimon said quietly.
"Alright." Izzy said, entering the room with Tentomon, Kari, and Salamon. "Kyle, June, and Crystal will go on ahead to hold off the army. TK, you wait here for Davis, Ken, and Cody."
"What about you?" Kyle asked.
"Tentomon and I will join you. Kari, I know you want to help, but Salamon's still too weak. And the other digidestined are going to help with the pokemon evacuation."
"But-"
"Kari." Izzy said quietly, looking right at her. "There's no other choice. If Imperialdramon is able to make it here, then he might be able to make it to our world too. That's why I didn't get Tai, Matt, or Sora to come." Izzy glanced up as the computer flared several times. "Sooner than I expected."
Ken nodded. "Mr. Hida was very understanding."
"At least you didn't walk in on Davis and Melody m-Mmrph!" Davis clapped a hand over Yolei's mouth before she could say any more. Melody blushed slightly, and both Veemons sighed.
"What were Davis and Melody doing?" Cody asked.
"When you're older, Cody." Kari replied. "Izzy...?"
"I'll be careful."
"Better be careful Davis." Elecmon joked. "Izzy's got the whole thing planned out."
"Yeah. You might have to let him wear those goggles." Salamon added. "I think I can digivolve to Gatomon in a few minutes, Kari."
"Thanks, but no. I get goggle-hair." Izzy chuckled at the image of him with goggles on, trying to lead Tai around. "And the more help we can get, the better, Salamon."
==
"This way, come on." Seth said, motioning to the family of Oddishes. "Just head towards the lab, and we'll get you sent to a safer place."
"Come on! Please?" Caryl begged, trying to push a Snorlax through the door. "There's no way we can get this pokemon into a pokeball! Renamon, a little help?" Sighing, Renamon tried to move Snorlax, with little success.
"This is going too slow!" Kyle Evanick called from inside. "It'll take hours to get all these pokemon into pokeballs!"
"Maybe we can help!" Tsukaimon said. "I think I'm strong enough to digivolve again. How about you?" he asked Candmon, who nodded. "Right. Kyle, if we can digivolve I think we can speed this up. Tsukaimon, digivolve to...Wizardmon!"
"Candmon, digivolve to...Wizardmon!" Both Wizardmon held up their staffs, focussing what energy they could.
"Kyle, tell Elm to open up the portal, NOW!" Kyle did so, tapping instructions out on the keyboard. "Magic Game!" both digimon shouted. The transporter system flared azure for a second. When everyone in the room could see again, they saw that a portal had formed to Professor Elm's home! "We combined our powers to create a more stable portal! We should be able to march all the pokemon through now!" Seth looked at the portal, trying not to look too startled when a very confused Professor Elm stuck his head through. "Uhh...step back, sir? Snorlax coming through."
"Renamon, HELP! He's trying to sit on me!"
==
Tracey looked around. "There's still a few pokemon in this area to clear out. I'm glad that Ryo and Charmeleon were able to get the word out about the evacuation."
Stuart shrugged. "Well, leave pokemon to the experts, right? Where is he now?"
"He and Casey are east of here, clearing out the ground and rock pokemon. It's weird. There's usually so many pokemon in these woods, now it's..quiet." He glanced at Scizor, who was staring into the distance.
"Not for too much longer." the bug pokemon whispered. "Get moving."
"I-" Monodramon started.
"GO!" Scizor roared, wings already extended. There was a crack, and Tracey's Scyther appeared. Scizor glanced back, and saw that, judging by Tracey's surprised expression, he hadn't released the pokemon. "Not this time, old man."
:Try and stop me: Scyther replied, marching towards the attackers. :I don't run from battles. Besides, someone's got to keep him safe.:
Tracey stepped forward, trying to recall Scyther. "Go." Scizor repeated. "I'll keep an eye on him."
==
Mewtwo looked up as the first explosions reached the lab. "Battle has been joined. But I do not sense Imperialdramon among the attackers."
"Standard plan." Baihumon replied, voice rattling slightly. "Wear down the defenders, then sweep in and finish them off. Don't go yet, there's no point in drawing him out now."
"I will not wait long, Baihumon. We would be better served by finding Imperialdramon now and removing him."
"And he's expecting that. He's still a Dark type pokemon at heart, you know. The majority of your powers will not work on him. It's a risk, but we'll have to wait for him to commit himself to battle."
==
"Growlithe, digivolve to...Arcanine!"
"Elecmon, digivolve to...Leomon!"
"Veemon, digivolve to...Exveemon!"
"Wormmon, digivolve to...Stingmon!"
"Armadillomon, digivolve to...Ankylomon!"
"V-Mon, digivolve to...Depthmon!" Depthmon's tail glowed for a second, and became a pair of blue and white legs.
"Tentomon, digivolve to...Kabuterimon! And does it feel good to be back!"
TK stepped forward, but was stopped by Crystal. "Not yet. Just give Patamon a bit longer, alright?"
"Only if you and Strabimon are careful out there."
Leomon groaned slightly. "If you two are quite done?"
"You have no romance in your heart, Leomon." June pouted.
"We do have a battle coming up."
Exveemon smirked. "That's no excuse to come between a boy and a girl." TK and Crystal were both blushing now.
Davis shared a sigh with Ken. "Okay, the moment's over. Let's go save the world!"
"Kyle?" Arcanine asked.
"You bet I'm going with you. Someone has to tell you which way to aim your Flamethrower."
"Right, sure. Just...be careful, alright? June'd have my hide for a rug if anything happened to you. Even if it did mean she'd get to see you in bed again."
Kyle carefully avoided looking in Davis' direction, already feeling the mental daggers coming from June's brother.
==
"Get'em, guys!" Yanmamon shouted to the swarm of Yanma he had summoned. The bug pokemon, acting as one, hammered the Devidramon with a massive Sonic Boom, forcing the digimon to his knees. "Thunder Ray!" The electric bolt speared the Devidramon. The Yanma flew off, as Yanmamon landed near Casey.
A short distance away, Ryo and Charizard were fighting a pair of Flymon. "DRAGON RAGE!" Charizard bellowed, sending a wave of greenish flame at one of the attackers. The other Flymon dodged the blast, and stabbed Charizard with his stinger.
"Charizard!" Ryo cried. "Nidoking, GO!" he called, releasing the massive pokemon. Nidoking emerged, saw Charizard already kneeling, weakened by the venom in Flymon's sting, and attacked the insect digimon. Flymon lasted about three seconds against Nidoking's near-berserk attacks, quickly disintegrating.
"Please, not that slop again..." Charizard groaned as Ryo approached with a small bottle in his hand.
"It'll counter the poison. Now drink up." Ryo ordered. "Hey, Casey, you alright?"
"Better than you, old timer!" Casey shouted back.
"I'll tell your boyfriend you said that!"
"HEY!"
==
Strabimon shouted an attack, and tore through the line of Vilemon that was approaching Professor Oak's lab. Beside him, Depthmon made several slashes with his talons. Above them, Stingmon and Kabuterimon were teaming up against an Ice Devimon that had made it through. Further away, Davis and Exvemon were trying to catch up with June and Leomon, who had gone ahead with Kyle and Arcanine.
"Where's Cody and Ankylomon?" Crystal wondered. There was a roar, as a Golemon sailed through the air, landing in a heap near one of the evacuated houses. "Never mind."
Arcanine, Leomon, Kyle, and June had broken off, and were trying to find Imperialdramon. The plan was, once they did, they would let TK know, and he and Cody would DNA digivolve their digimon to Shakouomon, and help defeat the powerful mega. "He's this way. I think he's gone back to being Metal Devidramon. Probably conserving energy." Arcanine said, sniffing the ground.
"Once we engage him, you two should go back to the others." Leomon said. Kyle grimaced; he hated not being with Arcanine in a battle.
"Are you sure?" June asked. "I know we can't really battle him, but-"
"If we fight Imperialdramon, he might try to use you as hostages; he's incredibly fast, from what the others had told us."
"And powerful." Kyle agreed. "We'll keep out of your way, but even if we wanted to, I don't think we could get that far away anyway."
"Well, keep safe, alright?" Arcanine asked. "Ahead. We're close."
"Close, yes." Metal Devidramon said, leaning on a tree. "Too close, in fact. Now, isn't this sweet. Two humans and their pets on a nature walk."
Leomon jumped forward, sword already drawn. "I'll teach you the folly of attacking this world!" he screamed. Metal Devidramon's tail whipped around, disarmed Leomon, and sent the warrior flying. Arcanine charged in, roaring.
==
"Hyper Beam!" Scizor yelled, firing twin bolts of energy at the attacking Devimon. Along with the evil digimon, several Vilemon had tagged along, and were harassing Scyther. "Hey, get out of here, old man!"
"Scyther! Scythe, SCYTHER!" Scyther replied, telling Scizor where he could stick that suggestion. He spun and decapitated one Vilemon, while maiming two more.
"Not bad for a geezer." Scizor muttered.
"You should respect your elders." Devimon leered. "Of course, you will not live to see the end of this battle, so I suppose it does not matter. Death Claw!" Scizor ducked the attack. While Devimon was not as powerful as Lady Devimon, he more than made up with his speed and cunning. "You cannot win, pokemon! I am your superior!"
"Only in ego! Swords Dance!"
"You won't have the chance to power up! Death Claw!"
"Scyther!" In a flash, the green bug leaped and intercepted Devimon's attack before it could connect. Wings buzzing, Scyther glared at Devimon.
"Please, I will squash you two like the bugs that you are! You two!" he indicated two of the surviving Vilemon. "Black Contract!" Devimon's arms stretched out, grabbing the two Vilemon and slamming them together. "Now, dark digivolve to...Skull Mamemon!" The resulting digimon was not much larger than the Vilemon it had formed from. It was a dusky grey, and had a skull over its head, and one arm was skeletal, with small claws extending from the wrist. "A little project; Metal Mamemon's attack and defensive powers, combined with Skull Greymon's ferocity. You like?"
"No. HYPER BEAM!"
Devimon dodged the attack, laughing. "It's not me you should be worrying about! Skull Mamemon, forget the old relic and destroy Scizor!"
==
"Keep fighting!" Seth yelled, as Stuart and Caryl herded a few more pokemon through the portal. A short distance away, Kyuubimon battled the two attacking Musyamon, while both Wizardmon were focussed on keeping the portal open. "We just need to keep the portal open for a few more minutes!"
"Double Star!"
"Rosetta Stone!" The two attackers were driven back as Shurimon and Nefertimon ran up. "Kari sent us ahead to help out." Nefertimon explained. "She's back at the house, Crystal and Melody are there too, defending the place."
"Good." Kyle answered, glancing at the computer. "The system's starting to overload. We're going to have to let the portal close and give the computers at both ends time to recover. I figure we managed to get about two-thirds of the pokemon here through. Hopefully, the rest are in hiding." He glanced out over the field, hearing explosions.
"Ryo!" Caryl gasped. "Aerodactyl! GO!" She called out the flying dinosaur pokemon and quickly flew off.
Seth watched Caryl fly off. "Where...?"
"She snagged it from one of those Team Rocket guys, when they tried to nab Ryo and TK." Kyle shrugged. "It's scary how good she's getting at this. Okay, let's go give Renamon and the others a hand!"
==
"Here comes the Calvary! V-LASER!" Exveemon shouted, energy blast striking Metal Devidramon head-on. Ken and Davis ran over to Kyle and June.
"Glad you two could make it out!" Arcanine yelled. "What kept you?"
"Davis took a wrong turn!" Ken answered, still a bit miffed.
"What? Hey, I've only been here, what, once?"
"Later!" June interrupted. "Kyle!" She held out her digivice.
"Arcanine...Leomon...DNA Digivolve to...Komainumon!"
"Don't forget about us! Exveemon...Stingmon...DNA Digivolve to...Paildramon!"
Metal Devidramon regarded the two DNA digimon coolly. "Well, this should be a challenge. I'll tell you what. I'll fight you as I am now for four minutes. If you can't beat me by then, I'll digivolve to Imperialdramon and disintegrate everything within a five mile radius. Fair?"
"Everyone, meet Vegitamon." Davis muttered darkly.
"You're kidding, right?" Paildramon asked incredulously.
"Four minutes, fifty seconds."
"You won't last another half-minute! Celestial Edict!" Komainumon's strongest attack shot at Metal Devidramon, but was blocked by an energy blast from the red gem on Metal Devidramon's tail.
"Desperado Blaster!"
==
Devimon laughed out loud, watching Scizor battle Skull Mamemon, not caring that the pokemon was slowly overcoming Devimon's creation. "Now, what about you...?" he mused, glancing at Scyther. Scyther was watching the battle, recovering his strength. "Ah, I know. Come, my servants. Come and destroy everything! Hell Contract!" Around Scyther, the ground opened up and a small swarm of Bakemon rose from the ground.
"No!" Scizor yelled, glancing and seeing Scyther start to get overwhelmed by the attacking ghosts.
"Pay attention!" Skull Mamemon roared. "Skull Bomb!" Instinctively, Scizor blocked the attack, taking the full brunt of the explosion on his claws. Skull Mamemon smirked, and turned away, convinced that the pokemon had been destroyed. "Pathetic." He snarled. A second later, Scizor, wrapped in a bluish-white aura, shot through the clouds, and struck Skull Mamemon, the Quick Attack finishing the battle in one blow.
"Impressive. But your friend needs help."
Scizor glared at Devimon. "I'll save him and then destroy you." Powering up, he flew down and sent several Bakemon flying. Devimon watched the two pokemon battle the ghost digimon he had summoned. Demon was right about him, Devimon mused. He is becoming more powerful. Ah well, I shall just finish him now.
Scizor finished off the last of the Bakemon attacking Scyther when he heard Devimon shout something. Looking up, he saw Devimon, red-tipped glove extended in front of him, attacking too quickly for him to defend.
"SCYTHER!"
==
"Come now, it's been three minutes, and I haven't even gotten a scratch! Surely you are capable of more than this?"
Just wait another two minutes and find out, Paildramon thought to himself. "We haven't even started yet!" he called, placing his hands together, as if praying. "Elemental Bolt!" A spherical bolt of energy shot from Paildramon's clenched fists, striking Metal Devidramon. The attack drove Metal Devidramon back, but did no damage. It did allow Komainumon to strike Metal Devidramon with his staff, though.
"Three minutes, twenty five seconds. I'm still waiting."
"This is getting stupid! Dragon Fang!"
"Desperado Blaster!"
"PATHETIC!" Metal Devidramon roared, blocking both attacks. "The Destiny Stone has given me so much power that fighting you is becoming boring! And...your time is up. Metal Devidramon, digivolve to-"
"NOW!" Paildramon yelled.
"IMPERIALDRAMON!"
"Ankylomon...Angemon...DNA Digivolve to...Shakouomon!"
"GIGA CRUSHER!" At the last moment, Shakouomon charged forwards, almost knocking Paildramon over and absorbing Imperialdramon's attack. "No!"
"Yes." Mewtwo said, appearing over Shakouomon. "Now you will feel our combined fury. HYPER BEAM!"
"Harmonious Spirit!"
"Desperado Blaster!"
"Celestial Edict!" Boosted by the power of Imperialdramon's own attack, the four beams slammed into Imperialdramon, the flare from the attacks blinding everyone in the area. "Did we get him?"
"I think so." Davis said.
"Yeah. No one could have survived that!" TK added, glancing at Shakouomon. His cheer died a second later when his vision cleared, and the smoke cloud kicked up by the combined attack.
"That. Stung. DIE!"
==
Kari ran down the hall to where Baihumon was resting. She had heard the explosion, and then a shudder had gone through the house. "I hate being the only one here. Why did Professor Oak have to go to Professor Elm's place now? Baihumon? Baihumon!" Kari ran into the room where the guardian was resting. She found the bed empty, and a giant hole in the wall.
==
With a shout, Imperialdramon swung his tail, striking and knocking out Shakouomon, that digimon splitting back into Upamon and Tokomon. Dismissing them, he turned to Komainumon. "Now for you."
"You infernal beast! I won't let you get away with this!" Baihumon roared, charging through the brush and leaping onto Imperialdramon, teeth sinking into the dragon's neck. Imperialdramon shot up into the air, carrying the guardian with him.
"What's he doing?" Paildramon gasped.
"He is burning himself out." Mewtwo snarled, aura flaring white. "At this rate, he will die within minutes." Saying nothing else, he flew up.
"Mewtwo!" Kyle yelled. Mewtwo ignored the protests of the humans, intent on saving Baihumon.
==
"Let go, you overgrown housecat! RELEASE ME!" Baihumon stopped biting onto Imperialdramon, trying to find some way to hang on.
"Fine, you taste terrible anyway!" Baihumon replied, claws digging in. "It ends here, monster!"
"I agree!" Imperialdramon flipped over, trying to toss the guardian off. "Let's see if you can breathe space, guardian." He would have continued, but was interrupted by a bolt of lighting striking him.
"You will not leave this world alive, Imperialdramon." Mewtwo growled. "And be assured. This world is my weapon."
"Conceited, self-righteous, and arrogant." Imperialdramon mused. "You would make a good guardian, Mewtwo. And you'll die like one too! Giga Crusher!" Mewtwo dodged the attack, teleporting out of its path. He responded with a psychic wave, which splashed harmlessly against Imperialdramon's defences.
"I agree with the first part, anyway." Baihumon said. "Iron Claw!" With a yell, he drew his claws across Imperialdramon's back, near his wings. He jumped, allowing Mewtwo to launch a ball of electric force at the damaged area.
"ENOUGH!" Imperialdramon roared, twisting in mid-air. One of his wings caught Baihumon, and sent the guardian hurtling towards the earth. He then took advantage of Mewtwo's distraction and fired his Positron Laser at him. It was not fully charged, but it was enough to knock out the pokemon and send him falling as well. Grimacing with pain, Imperialdramon followed the two down.
A few seconds before he hit, Baihumon recovered enough of his mind to try and slow his fall. He expended a burst of power, slowing his and Mewtwo's descent. This act, combined with his injuries, nearly knocked him out. As it was, he was barely able to stand when Imperialdramon appeared overhead.
"Impressive, but futile." Imperialdramon saw Komainumon and Paildramon approaching, along with their human partners. "And now for the master stroke." he flew up, particles of energy gathering in his cannon. "GIGA DEATH!" he shouted, launching a ball of energy at Baihumon and Mewtwo, strong enough to destroy Pallet Town, even at this distance. The ball slowly descended, then was stopped by the two DNA digimon's combined powers. "You're in my way! POSITRON LASER!" The two combined attacks punched through the barrier, and, slightly deflected, shot towards Mewtwo.
Baihumon channelled the last of his energies into a single well-timed leap, intercepting the two attacks with his own body. Imperialdramon was forced to pull away as Baihumon's own power fed back into the energy ball, causing it to detonate, the majority of its force directed upwards. When the dust cleared, there were four digimon, four humans, one pokemon, all badly injured, on the ground. Baihumon stood there, but his body was grey, it being carbonised on the spot. Slowly, the digicore spheres that always floated around the tiger darkened and fell to the ground, shattering.
"Now, for the denouement." Imperialdramon said, drawing on his power. His body shimmered, and vanished.
Slowly, Davis got up, pain shooting through his arms. "Baihumon..."
==Tokyo Bay
It was a clear day over Tokyo. Cold, but no snow or anything. Some people came to look over Tokyo Bay, and watch the ships leave and enter the dock.
Without warning, Imperialdramon materialised over the bay, roaring and sensing an easy kill. He stopped, sensing a massive power nearby.
"Let's dance." Omnimon said, glaring at Imperialdramon.
Next Episode
Baihumon is dead, and only Omnimon and Phoenixmon are left to fight Imperialdramon over Tokyo. But, one of Baihumon's digicores survives, and reveals a message and unlocks a hidden power that could save all three worlds from Imperialdramon's rampage. Next time, on Digimon: Digicross -
'Baihumon's Legacy 3 - Mewtwo, Guardian of the Digital World.'
=====
Digimon: Digicross Episode 33
'Baihumon's Legacy 2: The Guardian's choice.'
=====
Kyle opened his eyes, somewhat surprised he was still able to. He could see that someone was leaning over him, but he couldn't tell who it was.
"Why is it," June asked, "that you keep winding up in bed when I come visit?" Without another word, she put her arms around him, relieved that he had woken up.
After a minute, they broke apart. "What happened?" Kyle asked.
"Mewtwo was able to bring you here, along with everyone else. The rest of us came as soon as we could. Yolei's gone to get Davis, and Ken left to get Cody." Kyle nodded. "What happened to you?"
"It was Metal Devidramon. While we were defending Primary Village, Demon took him to another Destiny Stone. Somehow, Metal Devidramon was able to turn himself into a digimon called Imperialdramon. That's when...Eevee!" he gasped.
"He's at the pokemon centre in Stone Town." As she spoke, Growlithe jumped on the bed, face grim.
"Leave you alone for a second..." the pokemon grumbled. "So, Dragon type digimon?"
"He blasted Primary Village with one shot. I think Baihumon managed to block the shot. Is he...?" Kyle trailed off as he saw June's expression fall.
==Dark Ocean
Word of Demon's defeat spread quickly. With that digimon gone, the other digimon quickly started battling each other, eager for power. Except for three digimon, that is.
"Arukenimon...my sweet..." Murmuxmon murmured, trudging through the halls. More of the old bandaging had fallen away, revealing Mummymon's bluish skin and vaguely reptilian body. Arukenimon had caught sight of him vaporising one digimon with a wave of his hand, and decided it was time to flee the deranged mega digimon. Sneasel had gone with Arukenimon, telling herself that Arukenimon knew the castle better.
"Arukenimooon..." Murmuxmon called softly. "It is quite alright. I forgive you for betraying me to Demon, and for all those things you said about me. Please, let me show my... affection..." He looked around. "I heard everything. All those years close to your heart, and Demon made sure that I could hear everything you said, feel everything you felt...please, come to me."
"I can take him." Sneasel growled.
"No, you can't." Arukenimon replied. "Whatever happened to Mummymon has obviously increased his powers. But please, feel free to go ahead and battle him; it'll give me time to escape." Sneasel glanced at Arukenimon, but said nothing. "That's better. Now stop acting like an idiot and move. There's a place we can hide from that maniac. Hopefully, someone else will take care of him."
==Professor Oak's lab
Caryl glared at Ryo. "You...idiot! You had to go and drag me away from the fight, and now you're all hurt. Why couldn't you let me stay?"
Ryo grimaced as he tried to sit up. After Caryl had been sent through the portal, Ryo and Renamon had run back to join the other digidestined, just as Imperialdramon had attacked. As a result, he had several minor injuries, a few burns, and a sprained wrist. Renamon was in another room, also recovering from several minor injuries. "Because you might have gotten hurt. And if you had, I might be standing over your bed, yelling at you. I think I like listening to you shout better than seeing you hurt."
"Ryo..."
Charmeleon, still recovering, groaned. Whether it was because of his injuries or the dialogue was anyone's guess, though. "Where's Renamon?"
"In one of Professor Oak's recovery beds." Tracey said, stepping into the room. "He just wanted me to let you know she'll be up soon. Digimon seem to be quick healers."
"Quicker than pokemon, at any rate." Charmeleon replied, wincing. "I don't think I'll be able to battle again for a while."
Tsukaimon entered the room. "Listening to you two sure sounds familiar," he said, grinning. "Kyle and Casey just got through saying pretty much the same things. Ain't love grand?"
Kunemon, Casey's partner, sighed. "I confess that I still do not know much about human relationships. Although Monodramon offered to explain the finer points to me."
"I think that'd be a bad idea." Kyle Evanick said. He was leaning on Casey, and walking with a slight limp. "And let me just say what a knock-about of pure fun THAT was."
Casey growled a bit as Kyle's weight sent a small spike of pain through her shoulder. "I don't know why I listen to you! You should be in bed, resting."
"You're pretty eager to get me into bed." Kyle replied acidly. He stifled a shout when, a second later, a furiously blushing Casey stomped his foot with her own.
"It's like they're married already." Caryl murmured.
==New York
Mimi glanced over the printouts that Sora had sent her, memorising the contents. "Okay, I think we can do it. I'll just let Sora know."
Palmon, sitting on Mimi's bed, grinned. "Should be quite a show, huh? I can't wait to see Matt's face."
"Really? I thought you'd be all focussed on Ivysaur's face." Mimi replied sweetly. "I've heard of blooming relationships, but that's a bit much, isn't it?" Palmon stuck her tongue out at Mimi, who only smiled and turned back to her computer. "Oh? A new message?" Curious, Mimi opened it.
From: "Sora" stakenouchi@worldnet.jp.org
Subject none
Mimi;
There's been a big fight in the digital world, and a lot of the new kids were hurt. They say that there's a really strong digimon called Imperialdramon, and he might be attacking somewhere else soon. Stay there and keep an eye out.
-Sora
PS: I checked and everyone's fine. But stay clear of the digital world for a while. Tai and Matt went off to talk to Gennai and Azulongmon about something, but they won't say what. Boys. Honestly!
Mimi stared at the screen, stunned.
==Dark Ocean
It was a good day to be Darkrizamon. But then, this particular Darkrizamon always thought that. He happily jumped around, blasting opponents with his flame powers. Already, he had attracted several followers, and he was now leading his troupe towards Demon's castle, intending to take it over as his own. "Yes!" he crowed. "With that fool Demon gone, we can take over and run this place the right way! And my fiery followers shall rule this entire plane of existence, and we shall destroy the digital world! And I'll start with that human that killed my brother!"
"Ambitious, but not very creative." someone said.
"Who dares?"
"I do. You know, Darkrizamon, you know why you never made it very far? It's because you could never think things through. And you were never brave enough to challenge Demon directly."
"Dread Fire!" Darkrizamon cried, sending a fire blast at the speaker. Not the brightest member of his family, he never bothered to see who he was attacking. He had about a fifth of a second to ponder this as the counter attack vaporised him and his entire entourage.
==Orange Islands
Davis leaned on the railing, a little exhausted. "That was an awesome show, Melody." He smirked as a thought came to him. "But I thought priestesses weren't allowed to go to rock concerts."
Melody snorted. "Unlike the rest of my family, I kind of like living in today's world. And I'm a shrine maiden, not a priestess."
"There's a difference?"
Melody frowned. "Yes. Could a priestess do this?" She leaned over and kissed Davis.
Okay, Davis thought. What would Tai do? Stammer and act like a doofus, right. Matt? Same thing...Alright, what would...Kyle do? Stammer, be a doofus, and apologise. TK?
Shut up and enjoy it, a part of his mind ordered. And stop talking to yourself!
"There you are!" Yolei interrupted, breaking the mood. "Come on, you're needed!"
"Huh...whuuuh?" Davis babbled, trying to recover.
"No time! The other digidestined are at Professor Oak's, and they're in no condition to fight. Now move!"
"Veemon-"
"June brought him here, then dropped him to check on Kyle. MOVE, MOTOMIYA!"
Davis glanced at Melody, who nodded, then ran for the nearest Digiport. "I'll get V-Mon." she said, heading back to her home.
==Tokyo
As Upamon watched, Cody managed to parry every one of his grandfather's attacks. "Nicely done, Cody. But your arms are still too rigid. An opponent could do...THIS!" Suddenly, his grandfather stepped back, darted to one side, and swung at Cody's back. Awkwardly, Cody blocked the strike. "Good! At this rate, you'll have no trouble beating that Tyson boy."
"The one that's into those battle tops?" Cody asked.
"Focus! I-ah, we have a visitor. Welcome, Ken."
Ken bowed respectfully. "Hello, Mr. Hida. I'm sorry to interrupt, but-"
"Trouble in the digital world?" Mr. Hida replied. Ken nodded. "Then you and Cody should go. Cody, we will resume when you get back. Remember, keep your arms relaxed!"
"Thank you, grandfather!"
Mr. Hida nodded. "Ken. You are welcome to come by any time. Please, tell your family to not be strangers. That goes for you too, Minomon!"
"Thank you, Mr. Hida." Ken answered.
==Pallet Town
Mewtwo looked at the not-human in the bed. Baihumon had reverted to his human guise, presumably as a means of conserving his energy. "Your injuries are grave, and I have done all I can afford to do."
Baihumon nodded. "You sense it too. They're coming, I can feel them approach. What will you do?"
"Before, I would have hidden. But now? Now, I will show Imperialdramon the folly of attacking this world." As Mewtwo spoke, blue fire rippled around him. "I do not know if you will recover. Whether or not you do will depend on you not expending any more of your energy."
Baihumon chuckled weakly. "Your bedside manner needs work."
"I am a pokemon. Not a doctor."
==
Professor Oak yawned; since Mewtwo had brought in the injured digidestined, he had been working non-stop on making sure they were being treated correctly. Fortunately, one of the local Nurse Joys had been near, and had come to assist. Tracey had also helped, as had Joe, who had made it out of Primary Village relatively uninjured.
"It's good thing digimon can heal themselves." Oak sighed. "If it were any worse, I'd have to ask Mewtwo to bring them to a Pokemon Centre. I'm not equipped to handle this sort of thing on a regular basis."
Joe grimaced. "Neither are we. If we just knew more about this Imperialdramon digimon, maybe we could stop him, or at least weaken him enough to drive him back to the Dark Ocean." There was a hard knock at his door. Curious, he went and answered it.
"Get all the pokemon here as far away from the north edge of town as possible!" Officer Jenny ordered. "If possible, get them into pokeballs and transport them out to Viridian, or even Celadon! We're evacuating the town!"
"WHAT?" Oak shouted, startled.
"There's a large number of unknown pokemon approaching Pallet Town, and they've been attacking anything that moves!"
"Those aren't pokemon!" Joe said, horrified. "They've come here..."
"You mean...Imperialdramon?" Oak asked, aghast. Joe nodded. "Tracey, start getting the pokemon in the research forest moving. I have a transporter system set up, we'll send them to Professor Elm's in New Bark Town. He's better equipped. Joe, you and I will get the kids and their digimon-"
"We're not going anywhere." Kyle said, as he entered the hallway.
"Don't be insane!" Officer Jenny said. "This isn't a pack of Houndour that's running amok, this is...an army!"
"And we're the only ones that can handle it!" Growlithe replied, causing Jenny to stop and stare. "They've come for us. If we run, they'll pursue us, and destroy anything that gets in their path."
"Well said." Mewtwo added, appearing in a flash of blue fire. "Davis and Yolei are on their way, as is Melody. Once Ken and Cody get here, we can fight them."
"Komainumon and Paildramon, yeah." Elecmon said, nodding. "But is Patamon healed enough to DNA digivolve with Ankylomon?"
"Leave it to me!" Patamon said.
"And we'll run interference." Crystal said, Eevee nodding in agreement.
"No way!" Jenny almost snarled. "I've already had to airlift one trainer who tried to be a hero. It was a miracle that-"
"Digiarmour Energize!"
"Eevee, armour digivolve to...Strabimon, warrior of hope!" As Officer Jenny watched, Crystal's Eevee evolved into a humanoid fighter, unlike anything she had ever seen. "We're staying." Strabimon said quietly.
"Alright." Izzy said, entering the room with Tentomon, Kari, and Salamon. "Kyle, June, and Crystal will go on ahead to hold off the army. TK, you wait here for Davis, Ken, and Cody."
"What about you?" Kyle asked.
"Tentomon and I will join you. Kari, I know you want to help, but Salamon's still too weak. And the other digidestined are going to help with the pokemon evacuation."
"But-"
"Kari." Izzy said quietly, looking right at her. "There's no other choice. If Imperialdramon is able to make it here, then he might be able to make it to our world too. That's why I didn't get Tai, Matt, or Sora to come." Izzy glanced up as the computer flared several times. "Sooner than I expected."
Ken nodded. "Mr. Hida was very understanding."
"At least you didn't walk in on Davis and Melody m-Mmrph!" Davis clapped a hand over Yolei's mouth before she could say any more. Melody blushed slightly, and both Veemons sighed.
"What were Davis and Melody doing?" Cody asked.
"When you're older, Cody." Kari replied. "Izzy...?"
"I'll be careful."
"Better be careful Davis." Elecmon joked. "Izzy's got the whole thing planned out."
"Yeah. You might have to let him wear those goggles." Salamon added. "I think I can digivolve to Gatomon in a few minutes, Kari."
"Thanks, but no. I get goggle-hair." Izzy chuckled at the image of him with goggles on, trying to lead Tai around. "And the more help we can get, the better, Salamon."
==
"This way, come on." Seth said, motioning to the family of Oddishes. "Just head towards the lab, and we'll get you sent to a safer place."
"Come on! Please?" Caryl begged, trying to push a Snorlax through the door. "There's no way we can get this pokemon into a pokeball! Renamon, a little help?" Sighing, Renamon tried to move Snorlax, with little success.
"This is going too slow!" Kyle Evanick called from inside. "It'll take hours to get all these pokemon into pokeballs!"
"Maybe we can help!" Tsukaimon said. "I think I'm strong enough to digivolve again. How about you?" he asked Candmon, who nodded. "Right. Kyle, if we can digivolve I think we can speed this up. Tsukaimon, digivolve to...Wizardmon!"
"Candmon, digivolve to...Wizardmon!" Both Wizardmon held up their staffs, focussing what energy they could.
"Kyle, tell Elm to open up the portal, NOW!" Kyle did so, tapping instructions out on the keyboard. "Magic Game!" both digimon shouted. The transporter system flared azure for a second. When everyone in the room could see again, they saw that a portal had formed to Professor Elm's home! "We combined our powers to create a more stable portal! We should be able to march all the pokemon through now!" Seth looked at the portal, trying not to look too startled when a very confused Professor Elm stuck his head through. "Uhh...step back, sir? Snorlax coming through."
"Renamon, HELP! He's trying to sit on me!"
==
Tracey looked around. "There's still a few pokemon in this area to clear out. I'm glad that Ryo and Charmeleon were able to get the word out about the evacuation."
Stuart shrugged. "Well, leave pokemon to the experts, right? Where is he now?"
"He and Casey are east of here, clearing out the ground and rock pokemon. It's weird. There's usually so many pokemon in these woods, now it's..quiet." He glanced at Scizor, who was staring into the distance.
"Not for too much longer." the bug pokemon whispered. "Get moving."
"I-" Monodramon started.
"GO!" Scizor roared, wings already extended. There was a crack, and Tracey's Scyther appeared. Scizor glanced back, and saw that, judging by Tracey's surprised expression, he hadn't released the pokemon. "Not this time, old man."
:Try and stop me: Scyther replied, marching towards the attackers. :I don't run from battles. Besides, someone's got to keep him safe.:
Tracey stepped forward, trying to recall Scyther. "Go." Scizor repeated. "I'll keep an eye on him."
==
Mewtwo looked up as the first explosions reached the lab. "Battle has been joined. But I do not sense Imperialdramon among the attackers."
"Standard plan." Baihumon replied, voice rattling slightly. "Wear down the defenders, then sweep in and finish them off. Don't go yet, there's no point in drawing him out now."
"I will not wait long, Baihumon. We would be better served by finding Imperialdramon now and removing him."
"And he's expecting that. He's still a Dark type pokemon at heart, you know. The majority of your powers will not work on him. It's a risk, but we'll have to wait for him to commit himself to battle."
==
"Growlithe, digivolve to...Arcanine!"
"Elecmon, digivolve to...Leomon!"
"Veemon, digivolve to...Exveemon!"
"Wormmon, digivolve to...Stingmon!"
"Armadillomon, digivolve to...Ankylomon!"
"V-Mon, digivolve to...Depthmon!" Depthmon's tail glowed for a second, and became a pair of blue and white legs.
"Tentomon, digivolve to...Kabuterimon! And does it feel good to be back!"
TK stepped forward, but was stopped by Crystal. "Not yet. Just give Patamon a bit longer, alright?"
"Only if you and Strabimon are careful out there."
Leomon groaned slightly. "If you two are quite done?"
"You have no romance in your heart, Leomon." June pouted.
"We do have a battle coming up."
Exveemon smirked. "That's no excuse to come between a boy and a girl." TK and Crystal were both blushing now.
Davis shared a sigh with Ken. "Okay, the moment's over. Let's go save the world!"
"Kyle?" Arcanine asked.
"You bet I'm going with you. Someone has to tell you which way to aim your Flamethrower."
"Right, sure. Just...be careful, alright? June'd have my hide for a rug if anything happened to you. Even if it did mean she'd get to see you in bed again."
Kyle carefully avoided looking in Davis' direction, already feeling the mental daggers coming from June's brother.
==
"Get'em, guys!" Yanmamon shouted to the swarm of Yanma he had summoned. The bug pokemon, acting as one, hammered the Devidramon with a massive Sonic Boom, forcing the digimon to his knees. "Thunder Ray!" The electric bolt speared the Devidramon. The Yanma flew off, as Yanmamon landed near Casey.
A short distance away, Ryo and Charizard were fighting a pair of Flymon. "DRAGON RAGE!" Charizard bellowed, sending a wave of greenish flame at one of the attackers. The other Flymon dodged the blast, and stabbed Charizard with his stinger.
"Charizard!" Ryo cried. "Nidoking, GO!" he called, releasing the massive pokemon. Nidoking emerged, saw Charizard already kneeling, weakened by the venom in Flymon's sting, and attacked the insect digimon. Flymon lasted about three seconds against Nidoking's near-berserk attacks, quickly disintegrating.
"Please, not that slop again..." Charizard groaned as Ryo approached with a small bottle in his hand.
"It'll counter the poison. Now drink up." Ryo ordered. "Hey, Casey, you alright?"
"Better than you, old timer!" Casey shouted back.
"I'll tell your boyfriend you said that!"
"HEY!"
==
Strabimon shouted an attack, and tore through the line of Vilemon that was approaching Professor Oak's lab. Beside him, Depthmon made several slashes with his talons. Above them, Stingmon and Kabuterimon were teaming up against an Ice Devimon that had made it through. Further away, Davis and Exvemon were trying to catch up with June and Leomon, who had gone ahead with Kyle and Arcanine.
"Where's Cody and Ankylomon?" Crystal wondered. There was a roar, as a Golemon sailed through the air, landing in a heap near one of the evacuated houses. "Never mind."
Arcanine, Leomon, Kyle, and June had broken off, and were trying to find Imperialdramon. The plan was, once they did, they would let TK know, and he and Cody would DNA digivolve their digimon to Shakouomon, and help defeat the powerful mega. "He's this way. I think he's gone back to being Metal Devidramon. Probably conserving energy." Arcanine said, sniffing the ground.
"Once we engage him, you two should go back to the others." Leomon said. Kyle grimaced; he hated not being with Arcanine in a battle.
"Are you sure?" June asked. "I know we can't really battle him, but-"
"If we fight Imperialdramon, he might try to use you as hostages; he's incredibly fast, from what the others had told us."
"And powerful." Kyle agreed. "We'll keep out of your way, but even if we wanted to, I don't think we could get that far away anyway."
"Well, keep safe, alright?" Arcanine asked. "Ahead. We're close."
"Close, yes." Metal Devidramon said, leaning on a tree. "Too close, in fact. Now, isn't this sweet. Two humans and their pets on a nature walk."
Leomon jumped forward, sword already drawn. "I'll teach you the folly of attacking this world!" he screamed. Metal Devidramon's tail whipped around, disarmed Leomon, and sent the warrior flying. Arcanine charged in, roaring.
==
"Hyper Beam!" Scizor yelled, firing twin bolts of energy at the attacking Devimon. Along with the evil digimon, several Vilemon had tagged along, and were harassing Scyther. "Hey, get out of here, old man!"
"Scyther! Scythe, SCYTHER!" Scyther replied, telling Scizor where he could stick that suggestion. He spun and decapitated one Vilemon, while maiming two more.
"Not bad for a geezer." Scizor muttered.
"You should respect your elders." Devimon leered. "Of course, you will not live to see the end of this battle, so I suppose it does not matter. Death Claw!" Scizor ducked the attack. While Devimon was not as powerful as Lady Devimon, he more than made up with his speed and cunning. "You cannot win, pokemon! I am your superior!"
"Only in ego! Swords Dance!"
"You won't have the chance to power up! Death Claw!"
"Scyther!" In a flash, the green bug leaped and intercepted Devimon's attack before it could connect. Wings buzzing, Scyther glared at Devimon.
"Please, I will squash you two like the bugs that you are! You two!" he indicated two of the surviving Vilemon. "Black Contract!" Devimon's arms stretched out, grabbing the two Vilemon and slamming them together. "Now, dark digivolve to...Skull Mamemon!" The resulting digimon was not much larger than the Vilemon it had formed from. It was a dusky grey, and had a skull over its head, and one arm was skeletal, with small claws extending from the wrist. "A little project; Metal Mamemon's attack and defensive powers, combined with Skull Greymon's ferocity. You like?"
"No. HYPER BEAM!"
Devimon dodged the attack, laughing. "It's not me you should be worrying about! Skull Mamemon, forget the old relic and destroy Scizor!"
==
"Keep fighting!" Seth yelled, as Stuart and Caryl herded a few more pokemon through the portal. A short distance away, Kyuubimon battled the two attacking Musyamon, while both Wizardmon were focussed on keeping the portal open. "We just need to keep the portal open for a few more minutes!"
"Double Star!"
"Rosetta Stone!" The two attackers were driven back as Shurimon and Nefertimon ran up. "Kari sent us ahead to help out." Nefertimon explained. "She's back at the house, Crystal and Melody are there too, defending the place."
"Good." Kyle answered, glancing at the computer. "The system's starting to overload. We're going to have to let the portal close and give the computers at both ends time to recover. I figure we managed to get about two-thirds of the pokemon here through. Hopefully, the rest are in hiding." He glanced out over the field, hearing explosions.
"Ryo!" Caryl gasped. "Aerodactyl! GO!" She called out the flying dinosaur pokemon and quickly flew off.
Seth watched Caryl fly off. "Where...?"
"She snagged it from one of those Team Rocket guys, when they tried to nab Ryo and TK." Kyle shrugged. "It's scary how good she's getting at this. Okay, let's go give Renamon and the others a hand!"
==
"Here comes the Calvary! V-LASER!" Exveemon shouted, energy blast striking Metal Devidramon head-on. Ken and Davis ran over to Kyle and June.
"Glad you two could make it out!" Arcanine yelled. "What kept you?"
"Davis took a wrong turn!" Ken answered, still a bit miffed.
"What? Hey, I've only been here, what, once?"
"Later!" June interrupted. "Kyle!" She held out her digivice.
"Arcanine...Leomon...DNA Digivolve to...Komainumon!"
"Don't forget about us! Exveemon...Stingmon...DNA Digivolve to...Paildramon!"
Metal Devidramon regarded the two DNA digimon coolly. "Well, this should be a challenge. I'll tell you what. I'll fight you as I am now for four minutes. If you can't beat me by then, I'll digivolve to Imperialdramon and disintegrate everything within a five mile radius. Fair?"
"Everyone, meet Vegitamon." Davis muttered darkly.
"You're kidding, right?" Paildramon asked incredulously.
"Four minutes, fifty seconds."
"You won't last another half-minute! Celestial Edict!" Komainumon's strongest attack shot at Metal Devidramon, but was blocked by an energy blast from the red gem on Metal Devidramon's tail.
"Desperado Blaster!"
==
Devimon laughed out loud, watching Scizor battle Skull Mamemon, not caring that the pokemon was slowly overcoming Devimon's creation. "Now, what about you...?" he mused, glancing at Scyther. Scyther was watching the battle, recovering his strength. "Ah, I know. Come, my servants. Come and destroy everything! Hell Contract!" Around Scyther, the ground opened up and a small swarm of Bakemon rose from the ground.
"No!" Scizor yelled, glancing and seeing Scyther start to get overwhelmed by the attacking ghosts.
"Pay attention!" Skull Mamemon roared. "Skull Bomb!" Instinctively, Scizor blocked the attack, taking the full brunt of the explosion on his claws. Skull Mamemon smirked, and turned away, convinced that the pokemon had been destroyed. "Pathetic." He snarled. A second later, Scizor, wrapped in a bluish-white aura, shot through the clouds, and struck Skull Mamemon, the Quick Attack finishing the battle in one blow.
"Impressive. But your friend needs help."
Scizor glared at Devimon. "I'll save him and then destroy you." Powering up, he flew down and sent several Bakemon flying. Devimon watched the two pokemon battle the ghost digimon he had summoned. Demon was right about him, Devimon mused. He is becoming more powerful. Ah well, I shall just finish him now.
Scizor finished off the last of the Bakemon attacking Scyther when he heard Devimon shout something. Looking up, he saw Devimon, red-tipped glove extended in front of him, attacking too quickly for him to defend.
"SCYTHER!"
==
"Come now, it's been three minutes, and I haven't even gotten a scratch! Surely you are capable of more than this?"
Just wait another two minutes and find out, Paildramon thought to himself. "We haven't even started yet!" he called, placing his hands together, as if praying. "Elemental Bolt!" A spherical bolt of energy shot from Paildramon's clenched fists, striking Metal Devidramon. The attack drove Metal Devidramon back, but did no damage. It did allow Komainumon to strike Metal Devidramon with his staff, though.
"Three minutes, twenty five seconds. I'm still waiting."
"This is getting stupid! Dragon Fang!"
"Desperado Blaster!"
"PATHETIC!" Metal Devidramon roared, blocking both attacks. "The Destiny Stone has given me so much power that fighting you is becoming boring! And...your time is up. Metal Devidramon, digivolve to-"
"NOW!" Paildramon yelled.
"IMPERIALDRAMON!"
"Ankylomon...Angemon...DNA Digivolve to...Shakouomon!"
"GIGA CRUSHER!" At the last moment, Shakouomon charged forwards, almost knocking Paildramon over and absorbing Imperialdramon's attack. "No!"
"Yes." Mewtwo said, appearing over Shakouomon. "Now you will feel our combined fury. HYPER BEAM!"
"Harmonious Spirit!"
"Desperado Blaster!"
"Celestial Edict!" Boosted by the power of Imperialdramon's own attack, the four beams slammed into Imperialdramon, the flare from the attacks blinding everyone in the area. "Did we get him?"
"I think so." Davis said.
"Yeah. No one could have survived that!" TK added, glancing at Shakouomon. His cheer died a second later when his vision cleared, and the smoke cloud kicked up by the combined attack.
"That. Stung. DIE!"
==
Kari ran down the hall to where Baihumon was resting. She had heard the explosion, and then a shudder had gone through the house. "I hate being the only one here. Why did Professor Oak have to go to Professor Elm's place now? Baihumon? Baihumon!" Kari ran into the room where the guardian was resting. She found the bed empty, and a giant hole in the wall.
==
With a shout, Imperialdramon swung his tail, striking and knocking out Shakouomon, that digimon splitting back into Upamon and Tokomon. Dismissing them, he turned to Komainumon. "Now for you."
"You infernal beast! I won't let you get away with this!" Baihumon roared, charging through the brush and leaping onto Imperialdramon, teeth sinking into the dragon's neck. Imperialdramon shot up into the air, carrying the guardian with him.
"What's he doing?" Paildramon gasped.
"He is burning himself out." Mewtwo snarled, aura flaring white. "At this rate, he will die within minutes." Saying nothing else, he flew up.
"Mewtwo!" Kyle yelled. Mewtwo ignored the protests of the humans, intent on saving Baihumon.
==
"Let go, you overgrown housecat! RELEASE ME!" Baihumon stopped biting onto Imperialdramon, trying to find some way to hang on.
"Fine, you taste terrible anyway!" Baihumon replied, claws digging in. "It ends here, monster!"
"I agree!" Imperialdramon flipped over, trying to toss the guardian off. "Let's see if you can breathe space, guardian." He would have continued, but was interrupted by a bolt of lighting striking him.
"You will not leave this world alive, Imperialdramon." Mewtwo growled. "And be assured. This world is my weapon."
"Conceited, self-righteous, and arrogant." Imperialdramon mused. "You would make a good guardian, Mewtwo. And you'll die like one too! Giga Crusher!" Mewtwo dodged the attack, teleporting out of its path. He responded with a psychic wave, which splashed harmlessly against Imperialdramon's defences.
"I agree with the first part, anyway." Baihumon said. "Iron Claw!" With a yell, he drew his claws across Imperialdramon's back, near his wings. He jumped, allowing Mewtwo to launch a ball of electric force at the damaged area.
"ENOUGH!" Imperialdramon roared, twisting in mid-air. One of his wings caught Baihumon, and sent the guardian hurtling towards the earth. He then took advantage of Mewtwo's distraction and fired his Positron Laser at him. It was not fully charged, but it was enough to knock out the pokemon and send him falling as well. Grimacing with pain, Imperialdramon followed the two down.
A few seconds before he hit, Baihumon recovered enough of his mind to try and slow his fall. He expended a burst of power, slowing his and Mewtwo's descent. This act, combined with his injuries, nearly knocked him out. As it was, he was barely able to stand when Imperialdramon appeared overhead.
"Impressive, but futile." Imperialdramon saw Komainumon and Paildramon approaching, along with their human partners. "And now for the master stroke." he flew up, particles of energy gathering in his cannon. "GIGA DEATH!" he shouted, launching a ball of energy at Baihumon and Mewtwo, strong enough to destroy Pallet Town, even at this distance. The ball slowly descended, then was stopped by the two DNA digimon's combined powers. "You're in my way! POSITRON LASER!" The two combined attacks punched through the barrier, and, slightly deflected, shot towards Mewtwo.
Baihumon channelled the last of his energies into a single well-timed leap, intercepting the two attacks with his own body. Imperialdramon was forced to pull away as Baihumon's own power fed back into the energy ball, causing it to detonate, the majority of its force directed upwards. When the dust cleared, there were four digimon, four humans, one pokemon, all badly injured, on the ground. Baihumon stood there, but his body was grey, it being carbonised on the spot. Slowly, the digicore spheres that always floated around the tiger darkened and fell to the ground, shattering.
"Now, for the denouement." Imperialdramon said, drawing on his power. His body shimmered, and vanished.
Slowly, Davis got up, pain shooting through his arms. "Baihumon..."
==Tokyo Bay
It was a clear day over Tokyo. Cold, but no snow or anything. Some people came to look over Tokyo Bay, and watch the ships leave and enter the dock.
Without warning, Imperialdramon materialised over the bay, roaring and sensing an easy kill. He stopped, sensing a massive power nearby.
"Let's dance." Omnimon said, glaring at Imperialdramon.
Next Episode
Baihumon is dead, and only Omnimon and Phoenixmon are left to fight Imperialdramon over Tokyo. But, one of Baihumon's digicores survives, and reveals a message and unlocks a hidden power that could save all three worlds from Imperialdramon's rampage. Next time, on Digimon: Digicross -
'Baihumon's Legacy 3 - Mewtwo, Guardian of the Digital World.'