Zero Unit: We have a question for Tagiru this time around. Ahem, "many criticize you for taking all the spotlight during the final battle against Quartzmon, apart from that, how do you feel to be part of this amazing group of superstars? How do you see the other leaders? You see them more as sensei or like friends?"
Tagiru: It's amazing!
Kristy: Ah, he ignored the part about being criticized.
Tagiru: Honestly, for a while, I was just referring to them as my senpai since they're all my seniors in being a hero! They're as awesome, probably more so, as the ones who came to fight Quartzmon with us two years ago! But I've made them my goal because I'm not as experienced as they are yet!
Tai: Well, the respectful way to referring to us is as your senpai but don't forget that we're your friends too.
Sora: That's right. Don't forget to depend on us too rather than just ask for advice.
Tagiru: *Eyes sparkling* I'll definitely do that! I want to hear more stories about you guys. Is there anything that the Digimon show didn't cover about your adventures? And what about the Tamers, what's it like to Xros with your partners? Ooh, and Warriors, what's it like fighting for yourselves? Speaking of which, Marcus, how-?
Yuu: *Slaps hand over friend's mouth* Okay, that's enough.
Jeri: We can answer your questions later, Tagiru. For now, we have to go back behind the fourth wall. Ah, for the viewers, when we pass back through the wall, we forget all about this space. It's only because Zero Unit brings us out here that we're able to talk to you guys.
Tommy: Hold on… Would this be considered breaking the fifth wall?
Zero Unit: Okay, that's enough. Thank you for answering the question, Tagiru. Let's get you guys back to the story.
Tagiru: I'm going to catch up to these other superstars one day! Just you wait and see!
-X-
December 21: Wood Area – 9:55 AM
Yuu and Cody considered themselves lucky knowing that they wouldn't be alone in this but it made them worry for their comrades more. There was also the fact that they had come in here in order to rescue the three human and two Digimon captives in the Wicked Tower which turned out to be a fake. Now they were captives within Sukkakumon.
"I've faced off with one once," Yuu recounted. "He and a Jokermon were luring children into their amusement park so that they could capture them."
Cody had almost forgotten that the older male had gone through an almost magical girl version of a Digimon adventure. In which they faced monsters that were after negative energy from humans and it was up to the Hunters to stop them.
"I thought the Legendary Warriors were one of a kind," Cody pointed out.
The blond nodded, having wondered about this as well. "Yeah, that's what it sounds like. But strangely enough, on our adventures, we actually encountered a couple of the Legendary Warriors. And I don't mean Takuya and his friends. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the Digital World we were on was a chunk from the main world."
That was one theory that could work. After all, Starmon, Beelzemon, and even Greymon have different appearances compared to the ones everyone else has seen. It wasn't so farfetched of an idea for versions of the Warriors who were not, in fact, the Warriors, to exist, right?
"Hey, Cody, we don't mean to interrupt this theorizing session," said Armadillomon, bringing their attention down to their partners.
"But we're starting to get a little hungry," Damemon continued. "Not to mention, we're completely lost! And both those things are not good, not good at all!"
The humans couldn't deny that. But what were they supposed to do? Wander around the trees for an eternity? But according to what the Legendary Warriors had told them, there should be a guardian or some sort of foe to face within this orb.
"If we defeat them, we should advance to the next Area," Cody recalled.
"And there are ten total," said Yuu. "From what we can tell, there are three groups total, us, Takuya, and Keenan. If Takuya is correct, Mercurymon will be lying in wait in the top two Areas, which means there are nine Areas to worry about. Therefore, if we each take out three…"
Cody finished for the General. "We should be able to get out of here and rejoin everyone else."
"That's nice and all, but there's one problem," Armadillomon pointed out. "I don't see any enemies."
He spoke to soon as the ground started shaking underneath them and vines shot out of the ground, binding their limbs to their bodies as they struggled to escape. From the rustling trees, they watched as a Cherrymon, Blossomon, Lillymon, and Lilamon all came out of hiding.
"Welcome to our neck of the woods," Lillymon giggled.
"You're going to have a ball," Lilamon chimed in.
Cody and Yuu were both fast thinkers so even as their enemies spoke, the pair were racking their brains for possibilities of escape. It was easy enough when they saw that Armadillomon was biting into the top vine that held him.
"Lillymon, Lilamon, don't waste your breath on these weaklings," Cherrymon told the flower fairies. "Eliminate them!"
"Yes sir!" Lillymon grinned. "Flower Cannon!"
"You got it!" Lilamon tittered. "Marvel Shot!"
The energy blasts were coming straight at them as Armadillomon freed himself and then clawed through Yuu's binds first. There was no way, even with evolution, that he would be able to block the attacks of two Ultimate Digimon while remaining unscathed. So instead, he was going to depend on Yuu to have a partner that could shield them from danger. Which, lucky for them, he did.
"RookChessmon Reload!"
As soon as the massive chess piece entered the battlefield, he erected a massive brick wall between them and the attacks while Armadillomon worked on freeing the others. "Castle Wall!" The plant Digimon on the other side of the defense could only gape in shock. Yuu was also surprised, because Damemon hadn't returned to his yellow X-Loader as usual.
"It must be because we're in the Digital World!" Damemon realized. "The rules of the hunt don't apply here!"
"So in other words, you could have your whole army out here," said Cody.
Next to Ryouma who had been out of commission until recently, Yuu probably had the smallest army since he wasn't as enthusiastic about the Hunt as Tagiru was. But every now and then, by chance, he would come across a Digimon that he felt needed saving so he wanted to be that person. In the same way Taiki had saved him when he was trapped in a dark place.
"Let's get a few more of you out here," Yuu nodded. "Allomon and SuperStarmon Reload!"
Cody was a little more than surprised to see these two as a part of the Hunter's army. The first because his D-3 identified it as an Armor Digimon and the second because it sounded like a Digimon that Tagiru would definitely want to add to his own collection. But this wasn't the time to be standing around, looking amused.
"Armadillomon, we can't just stand back and watch, right?" Cody called out.
"Right! Let's show them what we can do!" the Rookie nodded.
Damemon started hopping up and down as if he needed to do that in order to get in his partner's line of vision. "Hey, hey! Yuu, don't forget about me!"
"How could I?" Yuu chuckled before raising his X-Loader once more. "Damemon Super Evolve!"
Damemon Super Evolve to… Tsuwamon!" "Armadillomon Digivolve to… Ankylomon!"
Tsuwamon made the first move by producing a web-like substance from his hands. "Digi Ninja Art: Spider Bind!" He had Lilamon wrapped up within seconds, giving her a taste of her own medicine as she was being electrocuted. The ninja Digimon then yanked on the thread, pulling the fairy towards him where he could properly make mincemeat out of her using his sickles. "Mantis Dance!"
Yuu frowned when he noticed that Lilamon wasn't Hunted when he had tried to. "I guess if one rule of the hunt doesn't apply, all of them don't. It's back to how it was in the beginning." Back when they had to get new partners by bonding with them. Still, that appealed to Yuu more than forcing a Digimon to stay inside his X-Loader.
RookChessmon had his arms crossed as he blocked Cherrymon's barrage of cherry bombs. They didn't really hurt the fortress Digimon, they felt more like little bug bites. But like everyone knows, over time, those bites start to sting.
"You're a persistent one, aren't you?" RookChessmon frowned.
"And you're a resilient one," Cherrymon countered. "Let's see you try this on for size! Vine Attack!"
Just like before, vines came flying in at RookChessmon except without the intention of constricting movement. This time, it was to actually do damage to the colossal Digimon but unfortunately for the living tree, RookChessmon was smart enough not to fall for that.
"Rook Gatling!" The gun ports in his arms started spinning wildly as they shot down each vine before they even reached him. "Now, Ankylomon!"
Cherrymon's eyes widened as he realized that a certain spiky Digimon was no longer anywhere to be seen. He noticed the growing shadow on him much too late as Ankylomon came flying down from above, his tail smashing right through Cherrymon's head. "Tail Hammer!"
"That's two down," Cody nodded.
"Vicious Vine!"
Allomon was struck by the vine in the chest by Lillymon and to his surprise, the weapon sprouted vines while embedded in his scaly body. But just like the rest of Yuu's army, Allomon was resilient and he had made a promise to himself to never let his Hunter down. So he grabbed onto the flower Digimon with his strong claws, keeping her immobile.
"H-Hey!" Lillymon whined. "You big brute! Let go! Or at least…" She fluttered her eyelids and looked up at the dinosaur innocently. "…be gentle with me."
Allomon took on a scarlet tinge but he wasn't about to fall for her tactics of seduction. Not when she and her pals endangered the lives of Yuu and his friends. "Dino Burst!" A hot wave of flaming energy terminated Lillymon, leaving just a cloud of data behind.
This left SuperStarmon against Blossomon who was already proving to have the upper hand as he dodged her thorny vines like a pro. He wasn't even attacking yet, he was just making casual banter while dancing around her attacks like he was at a disco.
"So, tell me about yourself," SuperStarmon started. "Any hobbies? Got anyone you like? Come here often?"
Blossomon was getting more and more aggravated with each missed strike. "Stay still, you maggot!"
"Now that's just rude. I've got friends that are maggots, you know."
"Gr… That's it! Spiral Flower!"
Little flowers were thrown at SuperStarmon like they were shuriken except these projectiles could cut through almost anything, no matter how hard. The star-shaped Digimon stopped jumping around and for a moment, his eyes, underneath his sunglasses, seemed to flash.
"Galactica Eyes!" Beams of energy were blasted out and blew up the flowers before they even reached him. "Well, that was kind of easy," he shrugged. "But now that you've attacked me with bloodlust and an intention to kill, you have no complaints if I return the favor, right? Here goes! Halley's Squall!"
Cody was flung back to the time he and his friends were looking for a missing Biyomon for Sora at a western town. Many of their friends had been victims of Starmon's Meteor Squall attack which was enough to leave them in a rather sorry state. This attack was far more powerful than that one though it didn't look much different. But it was obvious that it had enough power and range to have taken down every one of their enemies in one fell swoop.
"Couldn't you have taken that more seriously?" Cody sighed, coming over to the golden star.
"Hey, I took her down, didn't I?" SuperStarmon replied. "Can't you smile a bit more?" He pinched the young brunet's cheeks, trying to make the corners of his lips go upwards. "Come on there, little guy, being stoic all the time will never land you a lover, you know."
Cody slapped the Digimon's hands away from his face, rubbing his sore cheeks. "I'm not going to be looking for a lover any time soon. Especially not with the Digital World in a crisis situation, I don't have time for distractions."
SuperStarmon let out a horrified gasp as a gloved hand came to his chest. "You think love is a distraction? You poor soul… Who hurt you?" He then produced an acoustic guitar from seemingly out of thin air and started playing the beginning notes of a depressing ballad. "Allow me to send your soul off down the river."
"What are you even talking about?" Cody huffed. "Yuu, can you do something about your…" The boy's eyes widened when he saw a spongy hand reaching out for the older boy's back. Yuu hadn't noticed because he was returning his friends into the X-Loader, one by one. "Look out!"
"Yuu!" SuperStarmon gasped.
By then, it was too late; Yuu had been taken right into the floating eye that was behind him. And as for the remaining members in that Area, an eye appeared underneath their feet and before they knew it, they were falling downwards to who knows where.
December 21: Wind Area – 10:11 AM
Risa's hair blew in the wind and when she looked down; she could see the many trees passing by under her. She could've compared this to the time she was paragliding in Hawaii, over the ocean except this was maybe a hundred times more frightening. Probably because she was in the arms of a fire-breathing dragon… being chased by legions of Pteramon!
All of a sudden, BurningGreymon stopped in midair and to Risa's horror, their pursuers had already closed half the distance between them in that time. She was going to ask him why he stopped when he shot downwards. That's when she noticed the massive, oval-shaped Digimon that had been in front of them. It looked a lot like a zeppelin.
"What is that thing?" she screamed.
"Blimpmon," BurningGreymon answered. "Risa, I'm going to have to place you down. Are you okay with that?"
No, she really wasn't. But the teenager knew better than to argue with the person who knew more about Digimon than she did in this situation. "Okay, but don't leave me alone for too long," said Risa. "And this time, be careful!"
"I will," BurningGreymon promised before flying upwards and pointed the weapons on his arms at the Pteramon. "Pyro Barrage!" The beast was able to shoot down several of the flying menaces that were spiraling down towards him. But the real problem was the Blimpmon that was opening up a door under his belly.
"Helium Bomb!"
"That doesn't sound good," BurningGreymon grimaced. But he knew that if he dodged it, the attack would strike Risa on the ground. To avoid that outcome, he was just going to have to take the blast himself. "Wildfire Tsunami!" Coating his entire body in flames and becoming a blazing tornado allowed him to break through the bomb which exploded midair and he continued going until he shot through the zeppelin like a bullet.
From below, Risa witnessed massive explosions and raining debris, she could only imagine that this was a sight that only war veterans and survivors have probably seen. From the blimp, her friend flew straight for the remaining Pteramon and started attacking.
"Is this… what Rika has experienced for the last five years?" she wondered aloud.
Suddenly, from the cover of the trees, a smooth voice reached her ears. "I see… so you're… not a DigiDestined."
"Wh-Who's there?" Risa asked, whipping her head around left and right. "I… I warn you. I may not be a Chosen Child but Takuya will protect me if I'm in danger. And you don't want to face a monster like him." She was certain that the Legendary Warrior would do that, she was just hoping it would be enough to scare this mystery voice away.
The voice chuckled, sounding amused. "Was that supposed to be a threat? I'm not afraid of one of the Legendary Warriors."
"Well…," Risa's pupils darted around, her feet frozen to the ground and her arms trembling by her sides. "You should be! He… He took down several hordes of flaming Digimon all by himself, you know!"
One second, she couldn't figure out where the owner of the voice was at all. In the next second, she felt a chill run down her spine and a shadow standing over her. The blonde looked up and saw a V-shaped, dark armored face looking down on her but before she could even scream, an arm wrapped around her throat, trapping the words in her throat as she struggled to breathe.
"The very first Chosen Children are my target," said the Digimon. "Until I meet them again, I cannot lose."
So this guy was once an enemy of Robert and his team? Who was he exactly?
"Let go of her!" BurningGreymon bellowed from above. Dozens of flaming bullets were sent flying but none of them with the intention of striking the pair since he didn't want to hurt the hostage by mistake. The winged dragon landed in front of them, eyes narrowed on the Digimon as his D-Tector analyzed him.
Digital Analyzer: Darkdramon is known to be the last resort weapon with the Gigastick Lance equipped to his right hand which can rival that of Gallantmon's holy lance. Although this information is mostly part of the rumor mill, it is a known fact that this Digimon has digital anti-matter running through his data stream. Since no other Digimon has been known to be able to handle this kind of energy, this Mega level Digimon is likely to be capable of other unpredictable feats.
"This bloodlust is unbelievable," Agunimon's spirit told his host.
BurningGreymon, for once in his life, actually agreed with his human counterpart. "I've been in that guy's position before. After years of being trapped as a spirit with no physical body, I became hungry for violence and bloodshed. That's why I ended up taking over Shamamon that time. The wrong move could potentially make this guy go ballistic."
Takuya swallowed and since he was the person in control of BurningGreymon, so did the physical body that stood in front of Darkdramon and his hostage. What was he supposed to do? Surrender? In a situation like this, he had to think like one of the strategists. Or at least like Izzy.
"If your enemy is part of the very first, then why target us?" BurningGreymon growled. Stalling seemed like the best option for now.
"Orders from the top," Darkdramon shrugged. "My job is to eliminate all the Chosen Children and their partners that are here in Sukkakumon."
The Legendary Warrior wished he at least knew this guy's history. Maybe he could somehow change his mind about being so hell-bent on revenge. But of course, that didn't seem very likely. "If you have any honor as a warrior, then you'd fight me fair and square. I can tell that you're the type because if you weren't, you'd have killed her by now."
"My job is to eliminate all the Chosen Children."
"So you've said twice now."
"This one is not a Chosen Child."
He's got BurningGreymon there. So in other words, this was a trap. BurningGreymon spun around and blocked a Pteramon's bullets using the weapon equipped to his arm. He then pointed his other arm at the hidden Armor Digimon and fired a barrage of flaming bullets.
However, he didn't have the time to turn back around when he heard Risa yelp and simultaneously shout a warning for him. BurninGreymon could do nothing as he felt an energy blade cut right through his abdomen. It didn't chop him in half but it certainly felt that way as he was put into agonizing pain.
"You shouldn't let your guard down in front of an enemy," Darkdramon smirked.
Usually, a Digimon to take a fatal wound like that would either be destroyed or reduced to one of their previous forms. In BurningGreymon's case, he should've become a human again but instead, he turned black and a Fractal code appeared around his waist.
"Takuya?" Risa said softly, horrorstruck and shaking uncontrollably.
Darkdramon laughed at the vulnerable state that his foe was in. Tossing his hostage aside, he held out his palm and started absorbing the ring of data. "The human and beast spirits of flame, they are mine for the taking now. And once I do, you will be nothing but an ordinary human, once again."
Risa knew that wasn't good news and as she watched the beast spirit float towards the bad guy, her body reacted on its own. The girl flew to her feet and ran forward, jumping into the Fractal code and throwing her arms around the spirit before getting engulfed in flames and shattering the absorption process.
"What?!" Darkdramon blanched.
Takuya fell from where he stood and when he looked up, he saw BurningGreymon standing a few feet away, going crazy like the first day they had met. Flames were shooting out from every part of his body, the forest was being set ablaze, and even Darkdramon hesitated to get close. If it weren't for the fact that fire was his element, the flames licking his skin would've burned it so he was grateful for that at the very least.
"Risa?" he called out. There was a sinking feeling in his stomach as he listened to BurningGreymon's bestial roar. "This isn't good. How am I supposed to tell Rika that her sister got turned into an enraged, fire-breathing dragon?" A better question was, how was he going to turn her back?
"Tch, looks like I'll have to do this again," Darkdramon grumbled. "Terrible Gaze!"
Beams shot out of the creature's eyes and suddenly, BurningGreymon was frozen to the spot, numb from the attack. This stopped the winged beast's goals of razing the forest but this also meant that Darkdramon can now get close.
"That's not good," Takuya muttered as he held up his D-Tector.
"Demon Stab!"
Agunimon jumped in front of the charging Darkdramon, catching the lance under his arm before coating his free hand in flames. "Pyro Punch!" Unfortunately, the attack was blocked by the enemy's free hand and just by squeezing, Agunimon could feel the bones in his fingers threatening to be snapped in half. "Strong grip," the Warrior grunted. "I'm guessing job interviews don't go so well if they shake your hand."
Darkdramon bared his fangs as he flipped his opponent over his head. "Out of my way!"
"Gah!" Agunimon shouted as he crashed into the trees.
Darkdramon continued his advance towards BurningGreymon, who was starting to move again. "Gigastick Lance!" Before getting pierced by the blade like Takuya had, the beast flew upwards and over the dark Digimon's head, landing in front of Agunimon.
"She's let me take control instead of fighting me," BurningGreymon told him.
"So… What does that mean for us?" Agunimon inquired.
Darkdramon was already making a U-turn and in no time, he was directly in front of his opponents. His speed seemed to be increasing with his rage so they were no longer capable of evading his lance. The best they could do was block his blows in hopes that his weapon and applied force wasn't enough to break their armor. But unfortunately, they were still getting the brunt of his attacks and it was getting hard to keep up.
"With such an inexperienced host, I'm weaker than I usually am," BurningGreymon grunted as he blocked an axe kick with his arm. "But it's possible for us to fuse into Aldamon. The only problem is, I'll be taking the girl with me."
"She has a name, you know," Agunimon huffed as he attempted to counterattack with a roundhouse kick, only to fall on his butt. "We may not have a choice, but is it safe to do something like that? Won't we be weaker even if it works?"
If the beast spirit could break away from his foe for even a second, he would've shrugged in response. "Don't know if it's safe. I've never heard of two humans sharing a body in real life. But we don't stand a ghost of a chance against this guy unless we're Aldamon."
"He brings a compelling argument," the spirit of Agunimon pointed out.
The physical body of Agunimon grimaced but he knew they didn't have much of a choice if they wanted to take this guy down. So in the midst of their combative dance, the two spirits of flame joined hands and in a burst of fire and red light, they combined into Aldamon. The new form of the Warrior kicked off of Darkdramon and charged up for his signature attack.
"Let's end this in one move!" Aldamon roared. "Solar Wind Destroyer!"
Darkdramon's eyes gleamed as his fangs seemed to become sharper. "Is that all you've got? Dark Roar!"
The two attacks collided with each other and caused an explosion, covering everything in the vicinity in smoke. Aldamon finally ceased flying backwards and he landed on the ground with a soft thud, seeing that Darkdramon was completely unscathed and angrier than ever. But at the same time, there was an air of arrogance surrounding the android now.
"What's with this guy?" Aldamon muttered.
Darkdramon started chuckling and it evolved into dark laughter. "So, this is one of the powers that destroyed Murmukusmon? Truly pathetic! If that's all it took, then it'll definitely take less than a minute to finish you off!"
"Murmukusmon?"
Takuya flash backed to the haunted house at the Mirage Wolf Amusement Park a couple of weeks ago. Come to think of it, that Digimon was seeking revenge on the very first Digimon as well. And it took the combined forces of MirageGaogamon Burst Mode, GrapLeomon, Angemon, and himself in order to take down that Mega Digimon. Does that mean Darkdramon was in the same class as that guy?
"The Chosen Children really are a joke," Darkdramon smirked. "It's time I ended you. Dark–!"
"Eden's Javelin!"
A beam of holy light suddenly pierced through Darkdramon's side, but it was only enough to crack the armor and interrupt his attack, not enough to break right through him. Darkdramon and Aldamon both turned to the newcomer in the battle and while the former glared in frustration, the latter was just dumbstruck by the angel coming towards them.
"Ophanimon!" Aldamon gasped.
There was an adult human male accompanying the celestial angel. He wore a bandana wrapped around his forehead, his brown hair was split down the middle, and he wore clothes that look like he made them himself while living in the wild. Attached to his belt though, was a digivice model that was completely unfamiliar to the Legendary Warrior.
"One of the United Xros Heart Army's generals?" Darkdramon snarled.
"How'd you guess?" the man muttered as he came to a halt beside Aldamon. "Are you okay, Legendary Warrior?"
Aldamon stood up. "Uh, yeah. But, who are you exactly?"
"We can handle the introductions later," the man replied. "For now, we need to take down this menace."
Darkdramon's narrowed eyes widened when he realized who this particular human was. "I remember you now! You were with the very first Chosen Children several years ago!" The Mega Digimon would've lunged at him if Ophanimon didn't get in the way, blocking his lance with her javelin. "You're Glare Polaris, aren't you?"
"I'm flattered that you remember me," the man, Glare, muttered. "But this doesn't mean I'll go easy on you. Ophanimon!"
Ophanimon shot forward, her wings emitting a bright trail of light as she spun her javelin around, clashing with Darkdramon's lance. The two humanoids danced around each other as their weapons sent sparks flying, one graceful and the other violent in their expressive movements. Aldamon and Glare both watched as the two combatants took to the skies before addressing each other.
"You knew Robert McCoy and the other Monster Makers?" Aldamon inquired.
"I traveled with them for a short time," Glare explained vaguely. "Aside from one other, I was the first human to ever receive a digivice." He held up the white rectangular device attached to his belt and Aldamon took note of the keyhole at the top. "This is a D-Sync, the same model that Rob and his friends have."
Takuya, inside the fused Warrior of Flame, looked around the space inside before his eyes landed on another human being floating around in the data stream. He didn't have to question who it was but he did wonder if she was okay.
"Risa!" he called out as he floated towards her. "BurningGreymon, what happened to her?"
Agunimon's voice answered in his counterpart's stead. "She was his host for a short period of time but that was not her destiny. Her body was not accustomed to that surge of energy and because of that, she has been sapped of a lot of her own. Even as Aldamon, we're being careful to only share our energy with you. But it is draining."
"Does that mean if she stays in here for too long…?"
"She will die."
Takuya bit his lip as he looked down at the unconscious girl's face. She looked almost peaceful but that experience must've been painful for her. "Can we break her out of the fusion?"
"Yes, we would just have to degenerate as we usually do," Agunimon replied. "We should become our individual components in that case."
Just then, BurningGreymon joined in on their conversation, sounding almost guilty and apologetic. A very different tone for him to take on and one that was unfamiliar to his fellow fire elementals. "I'm sorry, Takuya. I hadn't meant to lose control when I did. When I found that a different host had taken over… I…"
"It's okay; it's not your fault," Takuya interrupted. "It's no one's fault. Especially not Risa's. She was just trying to protect you, after all. As a matter of fact, I should probably be thankful for her bravery, even if it was reckless."
"Heh," Agunimon smirked. "Sound like someone else you know?"
Takuya laughed a little. "Oh man, she's only been around me for a day and I've already rubbed off on her?" He paused, a smile still resting on his lips. "But even though she looks like the completely opposite of her punk rock sister, they're a lot more alike than they know."
Glare watched as the Warrior of Flame became surrounded in the light of degeneration, slowly becoming smaller in size until there were just two humans there. The male was down on one knee, keeping the female's head up.
"You want to keep fighting, right?" Glare inquired.
Takuya nodded firmly. "Yeah. You think…?"
"I'll watch over her," the man finished.
"Thank you," said Takuya.
After handing over Risa from one set of arms to another, Takuya took out his D-Tector once more. However, before he could do anything, Glare stopped him, holding out a Digi-Core that was apparently meant for the brunet's device.
"The Ophanimon that you know asked me to give you this," Glare told the younger male. "She said that it was a substitute energy source equal to that of four Legendary Warrior spirits. I'm not quite sure what that means but she said that you'd know."
Takuya took hold of the glowing orb. "The one that I know?" It felt warm and even though the rays that surrounded it were just light, it felt like it tickled his palm. "Thank you, Ophanimon." He held his D-Tector up to the orb and the energy went from the source to the device before his now free hand became surrounded in data rings. "I'll put it to good use! Unity Execute! Unified Spirit Evolution!"
Glare had to cover his eyes with his forearm as the boy became enveloped in a bright red glow; it almost looked like a giant bonfire. It even distracted the two fighters in action above their heads. The angel felt like the scratches she had received from the lance were being healed while the dark one felt like salt had been poured into his wounds.
Risa stirred but she didn't wake as a small smile appeared on her face and a few soft words left her lips. "It's warm."
Takuya thought back to the first time he realized he could produce flames from his human palms. He remembered the terrified feeling he experienced when he burned down that warehouse and when he accidentally harmed his own friends, almost killing them. Fire is a dangerous element and shouldn't be played around with but that didn't mean it was exhilarating at times as well.
Ever since he got his spirits back, Takuya's been afraid to fight to his full potential because he was afraid of hurting someone he cared about again. But just because it was destructive, didn't mean that it couldn't be used to protect.
Against various enemies that he's fought in just the last few months, he's saved people, protected people. And fire, like the sun, gives warmth to all life; it's not just a force to be cautious around. It can be controlled and Takuya was the controller here. The fear of controlling it had completely dissipated at this point and all that the Warrior of Fire could feel was warmth and the same exhilaration he felt that first day in the Digital World.
"EmperorGreymon!"
It was time to use fire to protect the worlds and the people he cared about.
December 21: Ice Area – 10:11 AM
Merukimon's knife was just a meter away from plunging into the teenager's body when it clashed with some other metallic object. Keenan could only stare at the fluttering cape of the Digimon that stood in front of him, using a lance to protect him.
"Gallantmon?" he blinked. No, this knight was different, darker.
Suddenly, a human woman who was maybe in her mid-twenties, showed up beside him, picking him up bridal style and carrying him towards the fallen Falcomon. She had dark skin and blue hair tied back in a ponytail. Her clothes were a bit odd for that of a human but then again, her entire being seemed different compared to the other humans that Keenan has met in his lifetime.
"ChaosGallantmon!" she shouted back. "Your opponent is a speed and power type so stay on the defensive until backup arrives!"
"Understood!" ChaosGallantmon responded like a soldier and she was a general.
The woman, Julia, put the younger human back down into the snow where Falcomon stirred. When the avian awoke, he immediately threw his wings around his partner, saying how grateful he was to find that he was okay.
"My partner can't win this battle on his own," Julia huffed. "We need Ravemon."
Keenan didn't know who this person was or how she knew about him and his partner's Mega evolution. Could he even trust her? Then again, she did just save his body from being impaled by a colossal knife so he had no reason not to trust her. But there was one other problem.
"I can't," Keenan muttered.
Julia's eyebrows stitched and a disapproving frown appeared on her face, but there was also concern laced in her pupils. "What do you mean, you can't?"
"Merukimon… He's…" Keenan was shaking uncontrollably, and not because of the cold. He was so choked up that he couldn't even speak properly, so Falcomon took over.
"Keenan was accidentally abandoned in the Digital World when he was an infant," the bird explained. "If it hadn't been for Merukimon taking care of him, he might not even be alive today. The years, the lessons, and the love that was passed on to my partner… It was because of Merukimon and Frigimon."
The teenager found tears rolling down his cheeks as his shoulders convulsed violently. He tried to wipe away the tears from his freezing face and he realized that it's been a long time since he felt this way. The last time was maybe on the one year anniversary of Marcus leaving them for the Digital World. The people that mattered most in his life sure liked to jump in and out whenever they liked, didn't they? For once, he wanted one of them to stay permanently.
"Come on! I want to show you something!"
Keenan blinked a few times, wondering where that voice had come from. He looked back towards the fight that was happening between the darker version of the Royal Knight and the Olympian. According to rumors, the Olympos XII were equal in strength to that of the Royal Knights but that wasn't actually true. Why would a knight be as strong as a god?
He knew he had to help but…
"Marcus and Falcomon will definitely come back."
It was a girl's voice, one that was really familiar and close to him at that.
"The world might be in a lot of danger again when that time comes."
It was clearer this time.
"If so, you're going to have to stop crying and work hard to protect us, right?"
Four years ago, on the anniversary after Marcus's departure into the Digital World, Keenan had a dream that they were all together. It was him, his first human friend, his digital brother and partner, his snowy mother, and his Olympian father. The boy's real parents were around too as they all had a picnic together. But when the dream shattered, he awoke to tears on his face.
That whole day was spent hiding his face because he didn't want people to worry about him. But then she found him, took his hand, and pulled him into a park. That wasn't her special place; it was in a forest, deeper. She pulled him all the way to a riverbed that was hidden away from the rest of the world.
"I come here to cry alone because I miss them too, you know."
That's what she had told him. The girl was always so tough and acted as if nothing ever fazed her while simultaneously getting the best grades in their entire school. It never occurred to him that she was capable of crying as well.
That's right. The five years he spent in the human world was with her and his real family. Was he supposed to let his mom, dad, Yuka, and especially her down?
"Kristy…," he said to himself. The raging howl of the snowstorm making it sound like a whisper. But Kristy Damon had chosen to even follow his family to Shinjuku because she knew that he would be lonely in an unfamiliar place. It may seem like they don't get along at times, but there was truly no other human closer to him.
"We need to protect her, right?" Falcomon said. "Not just her, our home, the Digital World. And of course, your family and Earth."
It's true, Merukimon and Frigimon will always be important to him, possibly the most important Digimon in his heart aside from his own partner. But they were part of his past; there was a present and a future for him with Kristy and the others. And while he couldn't protect his digital parents, he's been given a chance to protect his real ones.
"What was I thinking? I need to fight," Keenan laughed humorlessly as his grip tightened on his Data Burst Digivice. "Falcomon… It's fighting time!" Julia took an involuntary step back when he was enveloped in a purple DigiSoul. "DNA Charge Overdrive!"
"Falocomon Double Warp Digivolve to… Ravemon!" The humanoid avian shot towards the battle in a burst of light as he drew his katana, joining ChaosGallantmon as the pair parried Merukimon's knife. The Olympian's speed is incomparable to theirs but if there was any Digimon that could compete with him in terms of speed, it was Ravemon.
"Let's combine our attacks!" ChaosGallantmon recommended before accumulating energy into his lance. "Chaos Shot!"
Ravemon spun his sword before pointing it, the Raven King, at the behemoth. "Celestial Blade!"
Merukimon crossed his arms to block the attack but his bellowing grunt of pain was enough evidence to show that he could be damaged by his foes. But even at this level of power, it still wasn't enough. If they were going to defeat this Olympian, they were going to need even more. So it was a good thing that Keenan hadn't put his digivice back yet.
"One more upgrade! Charge… DNA Burst Mode!"
Julia had to say that she felt good about their odds even if they were up against a legendary Digimon. "ChaosGallantmon, don't hold back! Show them why we're the chiefs of the Night Crow faction!"
The dark knight nodded as he gathered energy into his shield, Gorgon. Keenan could figure out that this attack was probably going to be the equivalent of Gallantmon's Shield of the Just attack though this one made even the ground around them rumble.
"Ravemon! Give it everything you've got!" Keenan shouted, not wanting to be left behind. "Let's prove to Merukimon that we can stand on our own two feet!"
Storm clouds gathered above their heads as Ravemon started crackling with electrical energy from head to toe. His purple wings were shimmering with a powerful aura that sent chills down spines which was odd because things actually felt warmer in the Ice Area now because of this weather phenomenon.
As for Merukimon, the tribal warrior shook off the disorientation from the previous attack and with his speed, he would be able to lunge at them and chop them up in seconds. But the pressure that the two Mega level Digimon were emitting was intense, it made even the Olympian freeze up in his tracks as the two attacks were now fully charged. And Keenan wasn't sure if it was his imagination but for a moment, he believed he saw Merukimon smile… at him.
"Judecca Prison!"
"Lightning Thrust!"
Julia pushed Keenan to the ground as the explosion rang out throughout the entire orb, shaking the place as a powdery fog covered them. When it passed, they looked back up to see that Merukimon was gone and in his place was a Digi-Egg.
"He… returned to being an egg?" Keenan gasped. "But how?"
Julia bit the inside of her thumbnail as the pieces came together in her head. "I see, so the Celestial Angels were probably right. The Demon Lords are after the Olympos XII so they can't have any of them dying a permanent death. But if so… why run the risk of sending their only Olympian into a fight?"
"Wait, what are you talking about? Just… who are you?" Keenan asked.
The woman crossed her arms, unsure of how to explain the situation, so instead, she took a different route. "I'll tell you later. Right now, there are people that need saving."
-X-
Whoa, okay, so a lot is happening here. We saw Cody and Yuu for a moment and they seem to be doing fine so that's good news. But who exactly are these two newcomers, Glare and Julia? They're most likely allies and one of them admitted to having traveled with Robert and the gang once upon a time. But doesn't he seem too young to have partaken in those adventures? Well, I guess we can only stay tuned to Digimon: Children of the Future, to find out more!
Guess what guys? I hit 300 reviews in Children of the Present! That is amazing and you have no idea how much it thrills me! So, I plan on putting this story into maximum overdrive! Or at least, that's what I'll try to do. But of course, I'm still waiting on reviews for this story, you guys. You know where to put them. Also, congratulations to those of you graduating this year. See you next time!