"While Davis went off to find his sister Jun, the rest of us decided to head back to Polarimon's territory. There, I've been getting nightmares about the Keeper Of Darkness. He was calling me to his realm, which turned out to be the Dark Ocean world. Worse yet, the Keeper of Darkness turned out to be Daemon! Everybody tried to save me, but it was Polarimon herself that came to the rescue. At last, all of the Keepers are now found!"
-Ken
DIGIMON: THE DIGITAL KEEPERS SAGA
Book Fourteen: "Rage Against The Machinedramon"
Deep in his dark and dismal laboratory, Daru- Gennai's polar opposite in just about every way- had spent all this morning gathering up negative energy from the digital world. This energy, which appeared to be nothing more than purplish computer streams, was gathered by a small device that Daru has kept secret for some time now: a digivice-like machine. The harnessed energy was placed in a wide yet short bowl, which seemed to be the kind of bowl one would use for certain rituals... or foot baths, either one.
But when the energy settled in this bowl, Daru then pulled out the Crest of Power, which gave off a red glow that made it look like a cat's eye. In mere seconds, the computer data started churning, turning black in the process, until finally two red empty eyes appeared. Those eyes were soon accompanied by a devilish grin of white fangs. Then the creature, fully formed, leapt out of the bowl and stood before Daru tall and proud. He smiled back at it, but was then startled by a female voice behind him: "So, that's how you create Shadowmon."
Daru glared back at Pridemon and replied coldly, "I don't remember inviting you here." Pridemon just grinned; "Pretty clever, I must say. So, you harness digital data from our world and recycle it like this, all thanks to that crest you have?" Daru answered, "Well yes, the data was actually made from digitized monsters that have been destroyed." "I see," nodded Pridemon; "That's why they start out as Champions; they were already born before. But something still puzzles me: How do you keep multiplying them?" Daru turned to her respectfully and explained, "They can do that on their own. After a while, they start absorbing wasted data given off by certain destructions of the digital world, and once one of them absorbs enough, that creature can then split in two, like amoeba."
Pridemon said then, "...So you're saying, when they destroy something like a rock, or tree, or another digimon, they absorb those digitized particles before they can reassemble themselves later." Daru nodded, "You're catching on." She smiled, "It's a gift."
As the newly born Shadowmon skipped off, Daru put away his crest and digivice-like machine and asked her, "Did you come all the way down here just to uncover my secrets?" The Sin Digimon then shook her head; "I came to give you a warning. Polarimon was found." "WHAT!?" barked the human; "Yes," replied Pridemon.
He narrowed his sharp eyes at her; "Your job was to seal off her skies with my Shadowmon! How did you fail?" "Excuse me," she hissed at him while leaning into his face; "but it was not my fault. Your precious Shadowmon, as clever as they are, couldn't think to follow those children into our Master's realm! That's where they found her... But it doesn't matter now, does it? We have those children to worry about now." "I agree," nodded the human; "I'll summon my Shadowmon after-" "No," she interrupted him; "Your Shadowmon have done more than enough recently. I believe it's our turn now."
"You mean-"
"Yes. The Sin Digimon. I'm going to sick Wrathmon on those children."
"But... Wrathmon is unstable. He- she- whatever it is- can't control itself for anything!"
"Exactly... Those little pests will expect us to form a strategic plan on them, with an army they'll be able to see coming. But Wrathmon likes to attack from all sides, with absolutely no plan at all, except to seek and destroy."
She twirled around to the exit and started heading for it; as she did so, Pridemon grinned malevolently: "Once the children are preoccupied with Wrathmon's onslaught, the Digi-Keepers will have no one to guard them. We'll then snatch them up right under everyone's noses, and the human children will learn first hand why no one messes with the Sin Digimon!" Her shadowy exit was echoed by the sound of her sinister laughter. Daru, meanwhile, watched her leave with a look of doubt in his face.
"Lightning bugs."
"Fireflies."
"Lightning bugs."
"Fireflies."
"Lightning bugs."
"Fireflies."
"Lightning bugs."
"Fireflies."
"I made them, and I'm calling them lightning bugs!" declared the half-woman, half-tree spirit as the tiny glowing insects danced around her that night. Her sister, the living constellation in the sky, argued back with, "One in every five-hundred people actually calls them that. 'Firefly' is the more popular name." Gaiamon eyed her sister and asked, "If you're so gun-ho about the name, why didn't you make them before I did?"
Then another female voice called out: "Girls, stop it. This is getting us nowhere." It was the water spirit, fleshing herself out into a woman from the water of a nearby river. Gaiamon then glanced over to Oceanamon and replied, "Nowhere is where we're headed."
"That's not even funny."
"I'm not laughing."
"You're acting like your old selves," Oceanamon sighed; "We haven't even manifested ourselves into living beings in eons."
Polarimon above shrugged, "Well, better late than never, right?"
"Look who's talking," giggled Gaiamon; then she gasped, "Oh! Speaking of you, star girl, I heard that Gennai is getting himself ready to reformat himself to look younger again."
"Oo! How's my hair?"
"Stunning, darling."
Polarimon then looked down to her youngest sister and asked, "What's wrong, Oceana? You're usually not this uptight." The river-girl answered, "I'm just worried about the children. Born to do this or not, they don't seem ready for the battle ahead." Gaiamon smiled optimistically; "They're advancing and evolving even as we speak. They will soon realize that the longer they stay here, the more 'digitized' they will become. And then, they'll be no more different than their partners." "And it won't be long then until the ultimate result of their bond with this world takes full effect," added Polarimon.
Oceanamon kept her frown; "...Gaia, I thought that you above all would worry about that day when it comes." Gaiamon nodded, "Oh, believe me, I'm very worried. But we just have to let things be as they are, don't we?" There was a brief pause...
"Hey, Oceana," Polarimon wondered, "what would you name them? Lightning bugs, or fireflies?" Oceanamon took a breath to think, and answered, "....Well... I always thought it'd be nice to call them sparklers." Polarimon and Gaiamon exchanged looks, then Polarimon turned again to her youngest sibling: "That's just sad."
"Po-lar-i-mon!" cried out a distant voice- the voice of Davis. The starry woman in the sky glanced around, and decided to follow the calling. She moved like a breeze, passed her sisters and into an open meadow half a mile away.
Indeed, there was Davis and Veemon, standing alone in the field. She stopped right above them, smiling; "Well! If it isn't Davis and his Veemon." "Hi," waved the human boy; "I, uh, just wanted to talk to you for a minute." Polarimon gave him a nod, "Alright. What about?" The boy grinned sheepishly in an instant; "Eh, heh-heh. Yeah... Um, about Daemon? Uh... It is Daemon, right?"
"For the time being."
"...'Scuse me?"
"Well, he always changes his form. Eventually he will pass this form on, to a digimon of his."
"Oh... Well, about what he said. He called me... 'Noble One.'"
"Yes."
"...What does that mean?"
Polarimon smiled; "Ahh. Davis, you must know that there can be as many as a thousand crests at one time. Each new one is created by one Keeper, but yours was the first created by all three of us. Me and my sisters, I mean." "All three of you?" Davis blinked; "Yes," answered the Keeper of the Sky; "It was during the time of your first adventures here... But that's a long story. The bottom line is, Daemon called you The Noble One, because you are The Noble One. Your crest is the Crest of Nobility."
".....no-bility....?" he muttered. He couldn't even believe that word when it came out of his own mouth; he was stunned. Even Veemon looked at him like he was a different person; the digimon said, "Wait, what does that mean?" Polarimon giggled, "It just means that he's destined for greatness. He has heart; lots of it. Oh sure, the others do as well; but Davis here uses his dignity as a pure virtue, just as Tai uses his courage the same way, and so on." Davis heard himself let out a small chuckle; "....Lady, you got me all wrong. I have no dignity! I'm... just a kid. ...A goofy one, at that." Polarimon nodded pleasantly; "Yes, of course. That's one of the things I like about you."
Veemon looked at the crest that hung from a neck-worn necklace like an amulet, and he took notice: "Hey, there's a piece of it that's still missing!" Polarimon replied, "Yes. That's the piece that I am t give you, Davis... when you earn it." "...Earn it?" Davis asked, as if confused. Polarimon explained, "Each of our crests are given to those who have earned them. Davis has already earned his new pieces from my sisters. You've earned Gaiamon's when you've displayed mind over matter. You've earned Oceanamon's when you chose words over violence to solve a problem." Veemon smiled, "Then what does he have to do to earn your piece?" Polarimon sighed, "Well, in my case... The Noble One puts himself last."
Davis paused, and sighed deeply; "...I am gonna earn it, right Miss?" Polarimon just smiled; "I have no doubts of that, my dear boy. It will probably take time, but it will happen. ...Just be patient." "I'll try," was all he could say.
"...The Noble One puts himself last?" repeated Matt that next day. Davis had just finished telling his story, and had left all of his friends speechless... all but Matt.
"But that makes no sense," added the Child of Friendship; "I mean, I always thought nobility meant that somebody was like a king or something. They always come first." Tai nearby guessed, "Maybe it's a riddle, you know what I mean?" "Whatever it means," Davis replied as he lounged back on a tree root, "it's sure got my brain tied in a
"...Did you guys feel that?" questioned Izzy, who had suddenly been overcome with surprise. Tentomon, who floated by his side, wondered, "Feel what?" Izzy explained, "It felt like some kind of earthquake." Tai shook his head; "I didn't-"
Rumble...
"...feel that?" he finished. Matt stopped himself from moving around and blinked, "I felt it too, and it just got bigger." "And louder," said Gabumon as he twitched his ears.
Rumble.... Rumble!... RUMBLE!
Everybody felt and heard it now, and were awestruck. Those who had wings took to the air to see what it was that could be casing the quake. They could only see in the distance an approaching puff of smoke. Patamon especially flew high up, and looked left, right, east and west. Until at last, he paused and stared in one direction; "....uh, guys?" "What is it? Whaddya see?" asked a curious TK from below. Little Patamon just let out a gulp: "....We've got company..."
RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUM--
The meadow had suddenly fell silent, and the puff of smoke that came along with the earthquakes came to a sudden halt. It surrounded the heroes, leaving them a circumference of just two miles. Then the fog lifted, and from it appeared an army of dark digimon. CyberDramon, DarkRizamon, DarkTyrannomon, SkullMeramon, Devidramon, GigaDramon, MegaDramon, Infermon, and SkullGreymon. Each kind of evil creature had at least ten of its kind. And they were all aiming their malicious eyes and claws at the little heroes. There was a pause; it was as if the baddies were allowing their enemies a moment to quiver in their boots. Then, they attacked in one raging rush.
In the distance, standing atop a large hill far away from what would soon be a desolated war zone, Wrathmon- still in its shadow form- waited.
She felt it in the wind, as it raked her leaf-like hair. Gaiamon was just standing there like the tree she was; her nearly-invisible human form that shaped the tree trunk's side was arm-crossed, and her face was hanging with closed eyes as if she was sleeping. But she wasn't sleeping; she was concentrating. For within the wind, she felt a strange presence that was coming her way.
Oceanamon felt it too, in the currents of the water as her mermaid form just sat there on a secluded rock in the middle of the open sea. She too looked almost as if she were sleeping; but like her older sister, she was in meditation.
Of course, Polarimon felt it too. While she was overlooking the digital world below her, she hid her human form in the sun. And she, like her younger sisters, felt the presence coming her way.
And then, they've arrived.
SPLASH/WHOOSH!!!
Greedmon and Envymon emerged from the depths of the dark ocean like sea dragons. In fact, they really did look like sea dragons; Greedmon was in his familiar four-feced dragon-like form, while Envymon looked like a giant green serpent with- count 'em- three Hydra-like heads. Their entrance was greeted with devastating tidal waves, as they surrounded the mermaid instantly. While in her mermaid form, Oceanamon looked tiny and helpless, just gazing at these giant sea-beasts with her deep-blue eyes. Greedmon, in his signature cocky way, snickered; "...I'm sorry. Are we interrupting something?"
Elsewhere, Gaiamon opened her emerald eyes to the sound of something thrashing through the forest- a mad truck, it sounded like. Actually, it was more like two. It was Gluttonymon, now a large, freaky- for lack of better word- beast with a pig-like face, a hyena-like neck, and a disgustingly slimy body complete with a huge face on his swelled stomach, and a fork-and-knife set for arm limbs. He was mostly yellow; his stomach and oozy bottom were tan; his limbs were silver; and he had some green hair running down his neck to complete the hyena look. His eyes were white, while the eyes on his hideous stomach-face were pale yellow.
With that grotesque weight of his, it would be impossible to believe that he could travel at great speeds- but it was possible. He reached Gaiamon in no time, and when he got there, all of the plant life that he barreled through was now a paved wasteland.
Gaiamon turned her human form over to the side of the tree that faced him, and just stared at him. That's when she realized that he wasn't alone; Lustmon- in a violet and black and seemingly nude body of a woman with flowing-as-if-free-of-gravity hair- was standing nonchalantly on Gluttonymon's shoulder. She, being an average-sized figure and therefore nowhere half as big as her ally, gazed right back at Gaiamon with violet eyes. She smirked; "I knew she had a green thumb, but I didn't think it was that green!"
Gaiamon narrowed her eyes at them; "You have a lot of gall, coming here unannounced." Gluttonymon then smiled with his pig-like head; "Ooooh, I'm sorry. Here, let me make this announcement then: (with both faces) WE'RE GOING TO EAT YOU ALIVE!"
"Oh, I'm so scared," commented a very sarcastic Polarimon.
"You should be," replied Pridemon.
As the woman in the sun stared at them, Pridemon- looking very elegant as a white-masked queen- and Slothmon- looking more or less like a silvery, empty-eyed Sandman complete with a pendulum for a scythe- faced off against her on their own complementary storm cloud.
Pridemon continued; "We have all gathered up our energy, just enough to call you and your sisters out for a fight. And as you can see, we have already fully developed our true forms. You, however, are still resorting to hiding behind your precious planet's elements. Come now, Polarimon, Queen of the Skies, come out of hiding and show yourself now! If you dare." Polarimon just gritted her teeth; "I'm not about to be intimidated by you and your remarks, you evil beast."
"A BEAST, am I?" Greedmon roared, as if offended by what Oceanamon had just called him. "Well," he replied, "if that's how you want to put it, I can act beastly for you." Oceanamon, still looking very small and helpless compared to her enemies, stood her ground on that stone sanctuary of hers. She lashed back with, "Go ahead, do your worst! I dare you."
"Oh, you dare me?" Gluttonymon asked the tree-woman; Lustmon had only laughed in reaction. Gluttonymon's two faces then said, "I could make this easy on you, and just swallow you whole in one gulp. But if it's a challenge you want-" "No," his companion had suddenly said. Lustmon jumped down from his shoulder and walked right up to the tree-woman, and with a devious smile, she finished, "Let me." Showing a bit of showmanship, Gluttonymon bowed; "Ladies first." All Gaiamon said was, "Bring it on."
And so, Lustman made the first official move: "BEASTS WITHIN THE BEAUTY!" With that, she raised her nimble arms in the air, and all of a sudden, her dark body was now revealing itself to be an open portal- to where? we don't know. But from her torso, as if on command, three giant, skeletal, and unholy-looking dragon heads launched!
They lunged themselves at Gaiamon, who in reaction created an instant force field around herself. The fearsome creatures plunged right into it, much to Lustmon's surprise. The dragons quickly moved back, further into Lustmon's body (or at least what seemed to be her body), and she paused to come up with another launch of attack. But it was too late; Gaiamon was already on a roll, and fought back with a great swat of her branches.
WHAM!
Lustmon went flying. But that just left the field open for Gluttonymon to take over. He raised his silverware-for-limbs, and tried to literally cut through Gaiamon's shield. But he was just as unsuccessful as Lustmon; the tree-woman smirked, "You guys just don't learn, do you?" Gluttonymon let out a growl; "I'm just getting started!"
He then oozed his way further from her, to make a lot of space between the two of them. He'd need space, for what he was about to do. He then turned back to Gaiamon and smiled, "Check this move out!" Then, his grotesque stomach face opened its jaws wide and bellowed, "FEED MY FACE!" Yeah, that's what he called his signature move.
But it was a good move; the swollen stomach/face then opened wider than one would imagine it could- proving that this part of Gluttonymon's body was in fact incredibly flexible. It then inhaled.... And if you think that inhale wasn't much, you'd be sadly mistaken. It created a great force of wind and gravitation, much like a black hole. Everything- everything- around Gaiamon was being sucked into that monstrous mouth that lay in the middle of Gluttonymon. The ground itself was being pulled in, piece by piece. That included the earth that was just underneath Gaiamon. She let out a small gasp as she felt her tree roots losing their grip on the ground.
Nearby, Lustmon had gotten her second wind and was now hovering in the sky, just above the tree-woman. She laughed maliciously at Gaiamon's situation; "At a boy, Gluttonymon! Swallow 'er whole!" "I'm trying! I'm trying!" he called back with his pig/hyena head. But to his surprise, Gaiamon stood her ground. Her roots were now being revealed due to the lack of earth around them, but firmly she stood. Gluttonymon narrowed an eye; "Odd... I usually get everything by now. ...Why is this taking so long?"
Only Gaiamon knew.
"I refuse to fight the sun," remarked an irritated Pridemon, who with Slothmon was still facing the "hidden" Keeper of the Sky. Polarimon, "hiding" behind the sun itself, remarked right back; "Too bad, 'cause I'm not moving from this spot." Pridemon shook a fist and growled, "Then you're a coward! How could you call yourself such an all-powerful being if you won't even defend yourself?" Polarimon replied, "But I am defending myself, you see? By not fighting, I indeed secure myself from you and your sleepy friend there." Crossing her arms, the proud one then huffed, "This is boring me. Go ahead, Slothmon; attack her."
After a few quiet seconds, Slothmon had finally lifted his head and pried open his weary black eyes. "....huh? ...wha?" he muttered weakly. Agitated, Pridemon grabbed his thin throat and hissed, "Unleash your greatest attack, or I'll put you to sleep permanently!" Slothmon then let out a soft yawn, "....Alright, Alright...." He then ever so slowly took his scepter, and held it in the air. And there it stood... for nearly five minutes.
"Come ON!" shouted Pridemon; "What is taking you so long?" Slothmon replied nonchalantly, "I forget what it's called." "WHAT?" roared his queen-like associate; "You forget the name of your own attack!? How could you?" Polarimon, meanwhile, was too busy giggling at them to even think about trying to escape. Slothmon then said, "Waitaminute, waitaminute. ...Yeah. I got it now." "'Bout time," grumbled Pridemon. The Sandman-like one then gripped tighter to his scepter and said, "Sands Of Time."
His scepter then unleashed thousands of tiny dust particles, all of which hurled at Polarimon in a flurry. And to make them go faster, Slothman giggled to Pridemon, "Heh, watch this," and twirled the scepter with great finesse. Instantly, Polarimon in her sun form found herself caught in a sand storm.
There didn't seem to be an inch of nature left in the meadow. No grass, no sand, not even a naturally-formed rock; just raked earth and rubble all around, as if a meteor had hit. The one thing that had proven that a meteor actually did not hit, was the fact that there were living creatures in the area. Humans and their digimon partners.
Most of them were doubled over and on their knees, gasping for air and wiping their sweaty faces. "...How on earth did we survive that?" muttered a weakened Sora; "I haven't the slightest idea," replied Joe who was being used as a head rest for Gommamon. Flat on his back laid Tai, and by his side was Agumon in the exact same position. Tai took a breath; "Is it safe to say that it's all over?" "I dunno," Agumon answered; "but I hope it is.... I can't feel my tail."
rumble...
"....Tell me I didn't feel that," said Tai in sudden despair.
Rumble...
"You mean that?" asked Mimi nearby; Tai responded, "Yes. That. Tell me nobody felt that." "I just did," admitted Matt; "...and it's getting !
"No! Don't say that!" Tai beckoned. But it was true; there was the eerie feeling of an earthquake in the land, which was only getting bigger, and bigger... Until Veemon stood up and gasped, "That's not an earthquake! That sounds like something else coming!" Davis sat up and wondered, "But what could it be?"
RUMBLE-
Before anyone could answer him, it was too late. An army of Machinedramon was upon them. They had come from who knows where, going as fast as they could on their army tank-like wheels, and now they have had the heroes completely surrounded. Their giga-cannons were aiming right at the little heroes, ready to strike at any moment. No one could say a word.
Well, Matt did: "LET'S DO IT!"
------------ Vision: Digivolution- Mega ------------
"AGUMON!"
"GABUMON!"
"WORMMON!"
"PALMON!"
"TENTOMON!"
"WARP-DIGIVOLVE TO..........
WAR GREYMON!"
METAL GARURUMON!"
GRAN KWAGAMON!"
ROSEMON!"
HERCULES KABUTERRIMON!"
------------ Vision: Digivolution- Ultimate ------------
(As before, the children of Polarimon raise their Crests in the air, and like the others, a slight change in imagery occurs. Instead of the crests just dissolving into data streams, they also show the image of Polarimon, shaded in a pale purple, giving a wink. The rest is history.)
"BIRDRAMON, DIGIVOLVE TO……………. GARUDAMON!"
"GATOMON, DIGIVOLVE TO………………… ANGEWOMON!"
"ANGEMON, DIGIVOLVE TO……………….. MAGNA ANGEMON!"
"AQUILAMON, DIGIVOLVE TO……………. SILPHYMON!"
------------ End Visions ------------
By now, Envymon and Greedmon had already begun their assault on Oceanamon. Actually, Envymon has been doing all of the attacking; Greedmon has just stepped back and watched all of the action. "EYES OF THE BEHOLDER!" announced the Hydra-like Envymon; her eyes- six, count them- then blasted golden lights of pure energy at Oceanamon, who in reaction blocked the attacks with a water-made force field.
Then Envymon's three heads moved back and hissed, "I can do this all day, you know." The small mermaid gave her a nod; "So can I." Greedmon finally spoke: "This is all fun to watch, but we really don't have all day. We need to net this little mermaid right now." Envymon's far left head turned to him and growled, "If you're in such a hurry, then jump on in here!" "I will," he grinned with all four of his faces; "As soon as you break her force field." "What do you think I've been trying to do?" she argued; "put on a light show for her!?"
Oceanamon then looked up at the green, three-headed snake and asked, "...I'm just curious; what exactly is your attack?" Envymon's far right head turned to her, taken by surprise, and replied, "Eh? ...Oh. It's supposed to hypnotize you, and make you do whatever I say. That is, if it can penetrate your shield." The mermaid then smiled; "Heh. You've got six eyes, and none of them can get through to me. What does that tell you?"
At last, Greedmon sighed, "Alright, enough of this. I didn't come here to look stupid; I came to capture you! Now you be a good litter fish-girl, and hold still! This could hurt if you don't." Oceanamon didn't flinch, and let the four-faced dragon show his stuff. And indeed, he did: "DEATH BY NUMBERS!" And like magic, one Greedmon became seven. They then dove into the water around Oceanamon, and as they did, they started absorbing the water itself. It was dissolving right before Oceanamon's eyes.
Envymon, all the while, moved back so that she can wait for the water to be clear enough for her to attack again.
Oceanamon's little rock became a bigger one, as the water level just kept lowering and lowering all around her. When he was done, Greedmon became one monster again; but to Oceanamon's surprise, the water he had absorbed was still gone; that part that remained the ocean was now a great whirlpool surrounding them.
"Well, little mermaid," growled Greedmon, "where's your precious water shield now?" At first, she was beside herself, but almost as soon as he finished his sentence, Oceanamon took both Greedmon and Envymon by surprise: she started giggling. Then she burst out laughing! "STOP THAT!" howled Envymon; "Why are you laughing, you puny fool?" Oceanamon then shook her head with a grin; "Oh no, see, that's the joke. I'm not the fool; you are."
"How so?" blinked the multi-faced Greedmon. Oceanamon explained, "Well, while you were so busy taking my water power, I was focusing all of my other energy on the sky." "The sky??" echoed the Sin Digimon. "That's right," the mermaid nodded; she pointed upward and added, "Don't you know me by now? I not only control the ocean, but also the weather!" They looked up, and sure enough they noticed how black the sky looked now with thunderclouds. Oceanamon then cracked her knuckles and said, "Now you're gonna regret ever taking my water! LIGHTNING, I SUMMON YOU; STRIKE DOWN MY ENEMIES!"
CRACKLE/BOOM!!!
Needless to say, Envymon and Greedmon were fried; worse yet for them, the lightning blast had caused them to be blasted away, far from Oceanamon herself. When the clouds cleared, she then tapped back into the water, and the level rose to its original height.
By now, it seemed as though Gluttonymon had swallowed every bit of earth around Gaiamon to the point where they would soon be seeing the planet's core. And to his and Lustmon's shock, Gaiamon's roots were still very much deeply rooted. "It's impossible!" Lustmon cried out in disbelief; "I know she's a powerful being, but THIS powerful!?" "I know," agreed Gluttonymon; "I've been at this for nearly an hour, and it looks like her roots are just getting longer and longer."
The tree woman, all the while, just stood there looking a bit tired. Or bored, perhaps.
Frustrated, Lustmon then jumped to the air and declared, "I'll cut 'em down! BEASTS WITHIN THE BEAUTY!" Again, her torso opened up like a black portal, and out from it emerged more hideous monsters. This time, there were five dragon heads, each armed with scissor-like beaks. They threw themselves at Gaiamon's roots, trying as quickly as possible to slice them in half with their beaks and fangs.
It was easy to focus her energy on one adversary, but now there were two to worry about. And while she may have been the Keeper of the Digital Land, her power was not fully generated. So it came a bit of a surprise to her attackers when Lustmon's beasts had actually cut through her roots in a matter of seconds. Lustmon was elated; "TIM-BE-E-E-E-E-R-R-R!" she cheered.
CRASH!
Gaiamon came crashing down into the nearly bottom-less pit that Gluttonymon had dug all around her. Lustmon cheered all the more, while Gluttonymon paused to catch his breath. Then, his stomach let out a loud belch. The sound made what was left of the earth around them quake. Moments later, the Sin Digimon looked down to see if Gaiamon has truly been defeated...
WHAM!!
They let their guards down one second too long. Gaiamon had already re-rooted herself into the ground, and instantly whacked Gluttonymon clear across the area with her higher branches. Lustmon paused in shock as she witnessed Gaiamon's magic; she was now re-creating all of the earth that Gluttonymon had swallowed up.
In seconds, the tree-woman was back on solid ground, taller and stronger than ever. She took a deep breath and smiled at the last Sin Digimon standing; "...Thanks. I needed a workout." And then, she whacked Lustmon with her branches so that she could join her obese friend in the farthest distance.
An hour had gone by, and Slothmon's attack was still clouding Polarimon in her sun form. But to the surprise of the Sin Digimon there, the Keeper of the Sky wasn't even blinking. Pridemon was getting all the more anxious; "....She should be sleeping right now. What's wrong, Slothmon?" "I dunno," he replied nonchalantly. Polarimon then replied with, "Ha! You guys have gone through all this trouble, and for what? " "Don't get cocky, Sky Keeper!" lashed out Pridemon; "Slothmon has the power to poison every bit of the air around you." Polarimon then narrowed her eyes and replied, "Too bad Slothmon doesn't have the power of the air itself... like I DO!!"
All at once, it became clear to Pridemon: the reason why Polarimon wasn't being affected by the sand was because the air itself was holding it back, by an incredibly thin shield that revolved all around Polarimon. Before the Sin Digimon could turn tail and run, Polarimon threw out her arms and yelled, "You dished it out, now you're gonna take it!" In a great force of wind, all of Slothmon's sand flew right back at him and Pridemon.
The queen-like one was already fleeing the scene as she called out, "Slothmon! Retreat! Retreat no-..... Slothmon?..... Slothmon!?" It was too late for him; he went out like a light in a split second. Somehow she managed to find him through that thick cloud of dust, grabbed him by the scruff of his robe collar, and started to fly away. As she did so, Pridemon called back to Polarimon; "This isn't over, Polarimon! Just you wait!!" As she watched them flee, the sun-woman just smirked calmly; "Hmm... Patience truly is a virtue."
"GIGA-CANNONS!"
All at once, they fired at will. And there was ten of them. Ten Machinedramon, and only five heroic Megas; it was too much for the heroes to bear. Those who stood by watched helplessly as the Machinedramon quickly dominated the battlefield. All of the other heroic digimon were in their Ultimate forms, and even they felt helpless.
Each Ultimate hero had aided a Mega ally to attack a Machinedramon with combo attacks. But every time they did this trick, other Machinedramon would negate the attacks with their own giga-cannon blasts. Somehow, they knew just when to strike, just to protect each other. And all the humans could do was just take cover and avoid all of the falling debris that followed each and every blast that drilled through the earth. It all just looked hopeless for them.
Once they found safe havens near each other, Yolei turned to young Cody and frowned; "This is crazy! Ten of them and twelve of us, and we're the one who're out-numbered!" "I know," nodded Cody; "If only our digimon could become Megas, we might have a chance." "Well, why can't they!?" asked Yolei, in her typical panicky voice. It made Cody jump; "Yah! D-don't ask me; I dunno!"
One Machinedramon had a brilliant idea; "This'll take care of them," he whispered to himself. He then made a gesture with his head, like a nod, that the other members of his kind took notice of. It was a signal, all right. They all then lowered their bodies as close to the earth as they could get. As he witnessed this, War Greymon wondered, "What're they doing?" Metal Garurumon nearby shrugged, "Do you think they're re-grouping?"
No, they were not.
They lowered their giga-cannons and aimed them straight at the earth, upon which all of the humans and Ultimates were. War Greymon saw it first; "They're gonna attack the others!" Quickly, the Mega heroes rushed to the ground where they could shield their friends; alas, it was too late.
"GIGA-CANNONS!"
FOOM!!!
Their energy blasts ripped right through the earth, causing a major eruption. And since the Mega heroes were headed straight for the blast, they were hit as well. The humans were already shielding themselves with huge piles of debris, so when they were hit by the attack, they just flew into the air due to the impact. Most of them were caught by their digimon partners, but a few unfortunate ones- Joe, Izzy, Yolei, Sora and Mimi- went skidding and tumbling into even bigger earth pits, and were all knocked unconscious in the process. As for the Ultimates, they were whisked back to their rookie levels.
At least five minutes had gone by since the Machinedramon last attacked their enemies. They were all lined up in a circle, waiting to see if any of the heroes would dare stand up and ask for more pain.
Lying very uncomfortably on his back on top a giant rock, Davis forced his eyes open. His face and clothes were all dirty, which was the same for his friends. But Davis, at the time, was the only one conscious; he winced, "...it.... can't... end like this....... veemon..... Veemon?" His little blue digimon was nearby, and conscious as well; he was pulling himself out of a ditch, coughing and wincing with pain. "Ehh.... ugh...... D-davish?" he muttered weakly; "Davish...?" "I'm up here," signaled his human buddy; Davis only had enough strength to move his head towards where Veemon was. Davis then said, "Hurry... Find the others. We need to.... beat these guys." "Yeah," nodded poor Veemon.
Then he started calling for them: "War Greymon? ....Metal Garurumon? ! Rosemo-cough!on!....." Then a sudden claw grabbed his foot from behind; "DYAH!" jumped Veemon. He then whisked around to see Armadillomon behind him; "I'm sorry," apologized the dusty armadillo. "Heh," sighed Veemon with relief; "it's you... Where's everybody else?" "I dunno," frowned Armadillomon; "I just woke up."
"It's time to end this," growled a nearby Machinedramon. The other Machinedramon were preparing to fire- this time, they would succeed where many other have failed; to kill their enemies once and for all. Davis saw it too, and gasped with newfound strength; "NO!" He then forced himself to sit up, and he called out; "You gu-u-ys! Wherever you are, you've got to wake up! on, they're gonna fire! Wake up!"
Finally a few of the humans have responded by slightly opening their eyes and struggling to move their limbs. Even the badly-wounded Matt, Sora, Izzy and Joe forced themselves to wake up.
And then, the Megas woke up.
"Mmm... What's going on?" growled War Greymon; Some feet away, Metal Garurumon was struggling to his feet, and so was Rosemon nearby. The Machinedramon were watching their every move, and they didn't like it. One of them shouted, "Come, let's do this now! Take them out, one by one!"
Where they were in their own secluded places, the Digi-Keepers somehow realized what was happening to their chosen heroes, and gasped in horror. Now that they were rid of their own little problems, it came clear to them that they were now seriously needed.
"...Do you feel that, sisters?" started Polarimon; Gaiamon answered, "Yes. It's time for us to reveal the ultimate power of the digimon." Oceanamon then asked, "Do you think we're strong enough to do this? I mean, we've just gotten rid of the Sin Digimon." Polarimon answered, "We're needed now more than ever. We have to give it a try, before it's too late." "I agree," Gaiamon nodded. "Alright then," Oceanamon replied; "let's do it. Unleash the energy!"
Then all three of them- sun, tree, and mermaid- fell into a deep trance and began to meditate. As they did so, their powers grew all the stronger, and became like halos of light all around them.
Meanwhile, the Machinedramon were taking this opportunity to channel their own energies, to give the heroes one final "goodbye" blast. As that happened, a small and timid Armadillomon hunched over beside a nervous Veemon, and was praying: "I wish I were a Mega. I wish I were a Mega. I wish I were a Mega..."
Nearby, other Rookies were coming to, and realizing just how much in danger they were. One Machinedramon was beginning to lower his cannons right at little Armadillomon and Veemon, because they were closest to his range.
Panicking, Armadillomon chanted all the louder and faster: "GAH! IwishIwereaMega!IwishIwereaMega!IwishIwereaMega!IwishIwereaMe-"
"GIGA-CANNONS!"
KA-BOOM!!!
Then what happened next, one would say that his or her life flashed before their very eyes. But it was more like a great blast of light. And to everyone's surprise, the light didn't hurt at all. In fact, it was gone after about ten seconds.
Veemon had hidden his face behind his claws, (sort of) ready to greet the inevitable blasts from the giga-cannons. But then, he opened his eyes and blinked. ....He was alive? He looked at himself just to make sure; "...I AM alive! How?.... Armadillomon, look! We're al-AAAAHHHHH!"
Standing next to him was no longer Armadillomon; but a giant beast that was all wooly and savage-looking, complete with a spiked helmet, long tusks, body armor, and two menacing spiked maces on his back. And where two eyes should've been was one big blue one. Veemon was scared stiff, and sweat-dropping like crazy at the sight of this huge monster. But the beast just looked down on him calmly, and smiled. Veemon gulped nervously; "Wh-wh-wh-o... are you?" The big guy simple replied, "I'm Vikemon."
And that's when Veemon realized it: he was Armadillomon's Mega form! All around, humans were waking up, and seeing the strangest creatures.
There was a huge, multi-winged angel whose face was hidden behind a helmet; a large pink/purplish dragon with a feline-like face.
A half-human, half-bird creature with a golden eagle on its right arm.
A prehistoric sea-beast with the same colorings as Gommamon.
And a great, multi-winged golden bird that gave off magnificent light.
All of the humans were jaw-dropped; even those digimon who were already in their Mega forms were shocked and beside themselves. Finally, the seraphim broke the silence: "We did it... We finally did it! We've reached our Mega forms!" Down on Earth, TK blinked a few times in disbelief; ".....P-Patamon? ...Is that you?" The angel then replied, "I am Seraphimon." Then the others made themselves known:
"I'm Magnadramon."
"I'm Valkyrimon."
"Plesiomon!"
"Phoenixmon!"
"Our digimon!" rejoiced Sora, who was near to tears; "they- they all warp-digivolved! I can't believe it!" "Neither can I," added a nearby Kari. Where he was, Tai brushed the dust from his hair, and smiled with the look of hope back in his face; "Alright. I dunno how they did it, but they did it! NOW let's show those Machinedramon!" All the Machinedramon could say was, "Uh-oh."
War Greymon led the attack: "Let's do this! TERRA-FORCE!"
Metal Garurumon: "ICE WOLF BITE!"
Rosemon: "THORN WHIP!"
Gran Kwagamon: "DIMENSION SCISSORS!"
Hercules Kabuterrimon: "MEGA ELECTRO-SHOCKER!"
Phoenixmon: "CRIMSON FLAME!"
Vikemon: "ARCTIC BLIZZARD!"
Plesiomon: "SAD WATER BLAST!"
Valkyrimon: "LIGHTNING ARROW!"
Magnadramon: "DRAGON FIRE!"
Seraphimon: "STRIKE OF THE SEVEN STARS!"
FOOM!!!
And just like that, the enemies were gone.
Each Digi-Keeper at this point was pretty much tuckered out. Gaiamon in her human half sat down and leant against her tree half, and sighed. She then heard the voice of her sister Polarimon; "We did it. We've actually completed their data streams, all in one shot." "Yes," nodded Gaiamon; "now I could use a good rest."
"Don't fall asleep so soon, sisters," warned the voice of Oceanamon; "It won't be long now before we'll be needed again, when the Didi-Destined will realize their full potential." "...yes," Gaiamon muttered; "....It will be a day to remember for all of us.... for better and for worse."
The sound of laughter filled the castle in which the main villains took refuge, but this time the laughter came from Daru. He was in the main hall, along with a few of the Sin Digimon- one of them being Pridemon. He was laughing at her specifically; "....Nobody messes with the Sin Digimon! Weren't those your exact words, Pridemon?" She just crossed her arms and turned away from him smugly.
Nearby was Envymon, who replied with, "Well, at least we now know how to capture the Keepers next time. Right?..." Pridemon's smile then came back to her dark face; "Yes, my sister is right. If we cannot succeed in destruction, we can at least gain knowledge. And knowledge is power. Right, Daru?" Daru just sneered; "I'm the only one with the true power around here, ladies! And in our next round with the heroes, it'll be MY turn!"
He started snickering again, but Pridemon didn't seem to care. As far as she was concerned, Daru was only promoting the one thing that she has always represented: pride.
TO BE CONTINUED