Zero Unit: Ever since 2016 began, there has yet to be a day where I can wake up feeling proud to be a human being. Pushing aside the state of events that is the presidential election here in the US, there have been recent tragedies in this last month that plague my heart.
Nene: We would like to take this moment to send our prayers and love to the friends and family of the late Christina Grimmie, who was fatally shot after a concert. May your music and beautiful voice live on for generations to come.
TK: We would like to do the same for the lives lost at the gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
Henry: May these souls rest in peace and may their families find the support they need to get through this difficult time.
Joe: In all honesty, we have no idea if anyone who is connected to these tragedies are reading this. We don't know if anyone who has a connection will ever read this. But it is important that we acknowledge that these events have happened.
Yoshino: In continuation, we would also like to send our love to people who have suffered losses in other countries due to senseless murder or terrorism. Zero does not know what happens outside his social media bubble so we would like to take another moment to show our support to anyone else in the world dealing with something like this.
Kouichi: We wish you all well. Thank you for listening to us if you did and please enjoy this newest installment to Children of the Future.
-X-
December 21: Blizzard Fields - 11:17 AM
Ophanimon lowered herself back down beside her partner, holding an unconscious human boy in her arms. They knew what Sakkakumon's weakness was but the fact was, three years have passed since the last time he had done battle with the Chosen Children. It was likely that the beast had covered his weakness in that amount of time.
"I'll take care of Takuya," Yutaka offered despite being badly injured himself. "I can't fight like the rest of you."
Cody shuffled around in his bag for his first-aid kit as they started trudging away from the Warrior of Steel. It was unnerving to see it towering over them, not moving a muscle. So they took this chance to get as far away as possible to treat the wounded.
Kazu, arms around the sleeping form of BlackToyAgumon, didn't argue or protest when he was told to stay put behind the snow dunes. The usual ecstasy that he exhibited seemed to have dulled somehow. Was it because Suzie was taken away and he couldn't do anything about it?
Yutaka and Cody also stayed behind as well. The former was keeping Risa and Takuya from sinking into the cold whiteness while the latter was taking care of the cuts, scars, and bruises on the older boys. The remaining humans and their partners turned back towards their motionless enemy only to find that he had somehow vanished while their backs were turned to him. That could only be taken as a bad sign.
Armadillomon violently shook his head to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. "I had my eyes on him the whole time but he just seemed to… pop out of existence."
"This isn't good," ChaosGallantmon muttered. "An enemy of his caliber launching a surprise attack would be fatal for us."
One would think that such a wide open space would mean that there was no possible way for such a massive Digimon to hide. But in truth, the perpetual snowstorm was obscuring their view from every direction. If Takuya was awake, he might be able to find their foe in an instant.
"A weak spot in our defenses would usually be up," Glare pointed out before addressing his partner. "Do you think you could check things out for us?"
The angel nodded and took off skywards, leaving behind a trail of faint light but she wasn't gone for long when they heard Sakkakumon's voice from above. "Rumble Ball: Dark Shot!" The whistle of a falling object reached their ears before the sight of the dark explosion hit their eyes. Glare could only gape in shock as his partner dropped to the ground like an electrocuted housefly.
"Ophanimon!" the man gasped, running over to her.
ChaosGallantmon glared into the sky before pointing his shield in that direction. No one was able to stop him as he fired a powerful beam from his weapon, "Judecca Prison!"
"Rumble Ball!" There was no sound of contact so they could only assume that Sakkakumon had absorbed the attack into the same orb on his body where ChaosGallantmon first showcased it. "Oh, you all look a little cold. Here, let me warm you up. Rumble Ball: Pyro Dragons!"
That was the attack they had been most concerned about since it was probably the most powerful one used inside of Sakkakumon. Nine blazing dragons started flying out towards them and if it hadn't been for Cody's quick command, Shakkoumon might not have protected them by absorbing the attack into him
After blowing the whistle on top of his head, the giant clay doll groaned, "Whoa… That is a lot of energy…"
"Is that your greatest trick?" Sakkakumon cackled. "Let me show you mine! Sephirot Crystal!"
Ravemon and Tsuwamon became airborne and quickly used their blades to shield the onlookers from the nine shining gems that came flying at them. One that was cleared up, ChaosGallantmon and Shakkoumon released a combination of their Judecca Prison and Justice Beam attacks. After all, according to Takuya, this was the only way to defeat someone who's copied all of their moves.
Sakkakumon's laughter hit their ears again but this time, it came from their right. He had moved out of the way of the attack and changed positions using the weather conditions to mask his presence. No matter how you looked at it, this battlefield was ideal for a Digimon like him.
"Rumble Ball: Judecca Prison!"
Ravemon used his speed to get in the way of the attack. But after the beating he had taken while inside the beast Digimon, he no longer had the energy to sustain his form, returning to his Rookie state and tumbling towards Keenan's awaiting arms.
"I'm sorry," Falcomon huffed. "That was all I can do."
"It's enough for now," Keenan shushed.
The others remained on their toes as they scanned their surroundings to figure out where the next attack would come from. They were forced to rely on their other senses though since their eyes were tricking them with every movement. The faintest shadow, in the farthest distance, suddenly became some form of Sukkakumon.
Unlike the Warriors from three years ago, none of them were scared of this monster since they had all gotten out of tougher and probably much more terrifying scrapes. But they couldn't deny that this was one of their tougher battles.
Yuu glanced over at the youngest human in their group and noticed that he had finished treating the wounds and was now doing something else with his partner and a fishing line. "Cody? Why did you turn Shakkoumon into Digmon?"
"Sukkakumon hasn't seen any of Digmon's attacks yet," Cody explained.
"But Shakkoumon is stronger than an Armor Digimon, right?" Julia frowned. "And what purpose does the fishing line serve?"
Cody didn't answer as he whispered something to his partner while the rest of the Digimon were doing their best to deflect the volleys of gems, flames, and energy balls that were coming at them from all directions. All of a sudden, Digmon took a place in the center, pointing the drills on his hands in opposite directions.
"Gold Rush!"
Five drills fired in different directions, each one dragging a metallic wire behind them as Digmon began moving his entire body in some crazed dance. When the Armor Digimon stopped, he was suddenly lifted off the ground, as if he was being dragged somewhere, by the line on his left hand.
"Combination attack in that direction! Quick!" Cody ordered.
Tsuwamon, SuperStarmon, and ChaosGallantmon spurred into action as they fired their attacks in said direction. "Scythe Spinner!" "Halley's Squall!" "Chaos Shot!"
The three attacks made an impact on their target just as Digmon yanked on the wire, pulling Sakkakumon into their view. Not only was he damaged from the attack, but he was incapable of twisting his body in the way that he wanted anymore due to Digmon keeping him completely immobile with all five drills tied around him.
"Don't relent!" Cody continued ordering. "Now that he's still, use high-speed physical attacks to break him down!"
"Mantis Dance!" "Demon's Disaster!"
A violent flash of golden armor combined with the whipping blur of a black mantle crashed into the body of the Legendary Warrior, creating cracks and dents into every single orb on his body. Before long, the steel that he was so proud of was shattered and what was left behind was a silhouette of his former self.
"Amazing," Glare gawked. "Just like that… we won…"
Yutaka climbed out from the snowy trench, holding Takuya's D-Tector in his hand. "I sure hope this works even without Takuya. Fractal Code Digitize!"
The data ring seemed to seep into the digivice at a much slower pace than usual though it was definitely working. Hopefully, they wouldn't have to worry about Sakkakumon breaking out in the middle of the process though it seemed like they had damaged him enough to keep him from making any movements that could potentially be too violent.
Abruptly, Sakkakumon's laughter filled the area once more. "So, you're Iori Hida. I hear your friends call you Cody." The group quickly became defensive as they started searching for the owner of the voice, but only Cody kept his eyes on the black beast spirit sluggishly disappearing. "When you were inside me, I could see your memories, your thoughts, and everything else that runs rampant through your mind. I saw your darkness too."
"His darkness?" Yuu frowned.
"Don't be a sore loser," Keenan scoffed. "If you're trying to get into our heads just because Cody-."
"Well, who knows what my reason for saying these things are," Sakkakumon interjected. "But I must say Cody, you have the most interesting mind. I never would've imagined that someone so young could have so much emotional baggage. Your strong sense of justice and tendency to right the things you determine to be wrong… Tell me. Is it a defense mechanism, or are you trying to atone for your crime?"
"Crime?" Digmon huffed. "You don't know what you're talking about!"
Falcomon nodded in agreement. "If there's anyone here that I could never imagine committing a crime, it would be Cody. No offense Keenan."
"None taken, I thought the same thing," his partner replied.
The four chiefs of Digital City took note of how Cody was not actually coming to his own defense like his friends were. At this point in the discussion, Sakkakumon was only one orb left, his head with the mouth on it. And it only seemed to keep speaking.
"It's your choice whether or not to believe me," said the Warrior. "As a matter of fact, Takuya will tell you that I have a record for sweet-talking my foes. But I must ask Cody this one question." The smile that his tone seemed to suggest sounded like it fell here, as if he was finally serious. "Why do you make the same inquiry over and over again despite knowing the answer?"
Everyone had their eyes on Cody now, who hadn't moved a muscle as of yet. "To make sure that I don't ever forget."
"Cody?" Digmon muttered, concerned etched into his features as the last of Sakkakumon vanished.
No one spoke for a long while as they just stood in the cold, trying to keep their shivering and chattering teeth from distracting them from what had just transpired. The first person to break the stagnant atmosphere was Julia, who marched right up to Cody with an unreadable expression on her face.
"When I traveled with Robert and the others, keepings things from others is what got us in trouble," Julia stated. Everyone's protests rang through the air when she grabbed Cody's collar and yanked him into the air. "So if your secret becomes a detriment to our battle against the Demon Lords, I will be sure to end you with my own two hands, you hear me?"
Cody was as stoic as always. "Trust me; what my past holds won't become any kind of opening for betrayal."
"Julia, put the kid down," Glare advised. "I know you don't want to repeat our mistakes from history, but keep in mind that your volatile behavior was also a factor half the time."
The woman did as she was told but didn't look very happy about it.
The strangers explained that there was a caravan waiting for the group in the west, once they got aboard, they would be making a break for Shoutmon's Kingdom Town. But as they were getting ready to leave, they noticed that Kazu hadn't moved from his sullen state. Takuya and Risa were both being carried by ChaosGallantmon who didn't seem to have a Rookie form, like the damaged but able to walk Ophanimon.
"Aren't you coming?" Yutaka inquired.
The Tamer looked down at BlackToyAgumon before shaking his head. "I… want some time on my own."
"It's not a good idea to be separated in the Digital World," said Yuu. "Not to mention the Demon Lords are still at large. You'd be in danger."
Kazu scoffed, as if he didn't believe that. "They wouldn't care about someone like me." He finally looked up again and the ones who knew him, were shocked to find that there wasn't that vibrant gleam in his eyes like there used to be. Dullness was all that reflected. "I'll be fine. I've got my partner with me…"
"At least make a convincing argument," Keenan sighed. "How about this? I'll go with Kazu since I know my way around this area. Besides, there's actually something I wanted to check out in the opposite direction. What do you guys think?"
Ophanimon frowned. "We have orders to retrieve everyone that we can. It's…" She trailed off when her partner raised a hand to interrupt her.
"This is a secondhand story from Robert. Julia and I weren't there at the time," said Glare. "But Shibumi did the same thing because he needed time to think. No one stopped him. And when he came back, he was stronger than ever before, with the confidence to match. So if you two think this is the best course of action for you guys, then we'll trust you."
Cody was reminded of a story that Joe told. Matt needed time to think about his mistakes while Mimi needed to figure out what it was she was brought to the Digital World to do. They ended up going on separate journeys, but returned to the same location. Just like with Shibumi, they had come back stronger and with much more confidence. Hopefully, history would repeat itself a third time for Kazu.
Julia walked over to them and dropped a compass into Keenan's hand. "It points towards the Kingdom Town. When you guys are done with whatever it is you have to do, come back. We're sure your friends will be waiting."
Keenan nodded before looking over to Yuu. "Can you do me a favor and keep Merukimon's egg with you. I'm not sure how safe I'll be able to keep it."
"No problem," Yuu replied. "But… be sure to stay safe yourselves… okay?"
"Not doing that would be not good, not good at all," Damemon added.
Keenan chuckled as he turned his back towards them, heading over to his solemn schoolmate. With that, the group ended up breaking off even further. It was going to be a long journey ahead of them to their separate destinations. But they hoped the other would make it there in one piece.
December 21: Shibuya Wreckage - 9:58 AM
If they were being honest, stepping onto what used to be a bustling city filled with chattering businessmen, laughing children, and gossiping civilians made the group feel sick. It hadn't even been that long ago that this place was known as the most populous in Tokyo. But it became a desolate wasteland thanks to a single Digimon.
Up ahead, seated upon the rubble that had been the train station, were three Digimon sitting with their backs to each other. The one facing the approaching humans looked up when he heard their feet kicking up the chips of concrete.
"Tactimon," growled Psychemon. "Before the Dark Generals came about, this guy was probably Bagramon's top commander. But the other two shouldn't be underestimated either. The one on his left is Laylamon while the jagged, crystal one on the right is Blastmon."
"You mean she's not the same Demon Lord we fought?" Airu frowned.
Ren shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose, unlike the Sovereigns, they're not one of a kind. However, I am willing to bet that she isn't nearly as strong as the actual Demon Lord."
Tactimon slowly stood up and took three slow steps towards the group, making them stand in defensive positions as they watched the sword, taller than he, teeter back and forth in his hand. "I never would've imagined that in three years, there would be so many human children with X-Loaders."
"That's right," Ryouma muttered. "Before the appearance of the Hunters, there were only a total of four people with X-Loaders."
Blastmon grunted. "Who cares about those brats multiplying or whatever. Let's just destroy them so that we can sink our teeth into those Generals."
The humans were about to speak when Tactimon made a slashing arc without even drawing his blade, producing a strong enough air wave to lift them off the ground. They tumbled backwards as Laylamon lifted a perfectly manicured hand and gathered a group of dark clouds, sending black lightning to rain down on them. If it hadn't been for Ryouma's quick thinking, they would've been zapped out of existence.
"Thanks Cerberumon," Ryouma exhaled as the three-headed hellhound let them down.
"Quick, before they attack again," said Ren, holding up his gray X-Loader.
"Psychemon Super Evolve to… Astamon!" "Dracmon Super Evolve to… Yasyamon!" "Opossumon Super Evolve to… Cho-Hakkaimon!"
Blastmon tilted forward and hundreds of crystals from his body towards his enemies like they were bullets. "Diamond Machine Gun!"
Yasyamon and Cho-Hakkaimon jumped forward and used their weapons to shield the humans from getting struck by the impossibly hard substances while Astamon took the long way around in an attempt to strike Tactimon. The general plan was to take out the brains of the group and hopefully, things would all fall apart for them from there.
"Maverick!"
Tactimon raised his weapon and blocked the heavy kick while Laylamon kissed her palm and blew a hazy breath towards Astamon. If the gunman hadn't used the sheathed sword as a kickboard, he might've gotten a full blast of the rancid smoke that was melting the concrete chunks on the ground.
Cho-Hakkaimon stopped spinning her rocket rake since the machine gun seemed to have lost ammunition. "She may not be a Demon Lord, but we still shouldn't let down our guard. The three of these guys together is bad news."
Ryouma held up his green X-Loader to see what information they had on Tactimon and Blastmon since the only knowledge they had was second hand tales from the Generals. Hopefully, this would help them understand what they were up against.
Digital Analyzer: Tactimon is a soldier who wields the peerless blade, Sword of Storms. It is said that sealed within this blade is the power to split a star in two so unsheathing it marks the collapse of a star. Since this is not a weapon that just anyone can possess with all the power that it conceals so that alone should be enough to tell you of the mighty strength that Tactimon demonstrates in battle. Furthermore, he excels in strategy and armies quake in fear when he stands on the battlefield. For him and his allies, victory is almost guaranteed.
Digital Analyzer: Blastmon is a super heavyweight made out of diamond, making his defenses practically impenetrable. Even if one were to break the mineral that he was made of, he would automatically regenerate, replacing it with new crystals. He boasts a number of various techniques and his slow moving form is the epitome of an impregnable fortress.
"So one has brains and power while the other is a wall," Ren grumbled. "How did Taiki and the others take these guys down three years ago?"
"Well if they can do it, so can we," Airu pointed out.
Tactimon stabbed the ground once with his blade. "Is that what you think? Earth Shaker!"
Both Blastmon and Laylamon had smirks playing on their faces as they leapt backwards to avoid the oncoming earthquake. The humans and their partners were unable to keep their balance as it felt like the entire planet was trembling underneath the weapon. To make things worse, the rubble from what used to be the tall buildings started rumbling downwards like an avalanche on a snowy mountain.
"We'll get crushed!" Airu squealed.
"Get the humans out of here!" Astamon commanded.
The Digimon gathered up their respective partners and jumped skywards despite their wobbly stances. Once their previous spots were buried underneath tons of rubble, their foes shot forwards, each one taking on a different pair.
Tactimon jabbed Astamon in the abdomen with the tip of his sword, rocketing them down to the ground. Blastmon broke through the wooden sword that Yasyamon was trying to use as protection using a powerful punch, doing the same thing as his comrade. And Laylamon snatched onto Cho-Hakkaimon's rocket rake, spinning herself around and slamming her perfectly pedicured feet into the pig's head.
Ryouma rolled out of Astamon's tight embrace in time to find Tactimon landing on the ground. It seemed like this was going to be one-on-one matches only. But their enemy was clearly out of their league so there needed to be some way to level the playing field.
"Astamon! Triceramon! Digi-Xros!"
Tactimon sprinted forward with his weapon at the ready, making quick slashes that were hard to keep up with. Using the Triceramon shield that was produced in Astamon's left hand, the humanoid attempted to parry as many blows as possible while firing his gun from his right hand. Unfortunately, Tactimon wasn't only on the offensive, his movements also kept him defensive.
"He's fast!" Astamon grunted. "I'm going to need more than a shield to beat this one!"
Ryouma was a master of making Digimon combinations but he's been out of the hunt for two whole years. The majority of his collection got bored over time and left the X-Loader, looking for better Hunters to employ their skills in battle. So unfortunately for the boy, he didn't have many options for Astamon to fuse with.
"Let's try this one then," Ryouma murmured to himself. "Astamon! Parrotmon! Digi-Xros!"
Tactimon slashed thin air as his opponent sprouted wings and took flight. But the surprise didn't stay on his expression for long as he raised his blade and deflected the hellfire of bullets that came hailing down on him.
Astamon bit his lip in frustration. "This guy doesn't give any openings!"
"You, on the other hand, leave plenty," said Tactimon.
The expert swordsman flipped into the air and grabbed Astamon's head in between his legs. With a drop, he smashed Astamon's skull onto the hard rubble, creating a cracking sound that made Ryouma's stomach lurch.
"Astamon! Are you okay?" the Hunter called out.
"Hmph, if this is all that you are capable of, then this bout will be over in no time," Tactimon scoffed. "I had been hoping for a match worthy of my blade, like OmegaShoutmon had been. But it would appear that a foe like that is one in few."
Ryouma helped his partner back to his feet and once they were both standing firm again, they both had to hold back laughter. Tactimon, if his face could move, frowned.
"Forgive me, Tactimon," Ryouma grinned. "But I'm still rusty when it comes to fights like these. However, I'm sure I'll be able to provide you the kind of match you're looking for. And just so you know, if I win, I plan on adding you to my collection."
The soldier raised a brow at this prospect before holding up his weapon in front of his chest. "How interesting. Let's see if your bite matches your bark, greenhorn."
Ryouma didn't make any comebacks after that as he flipped his X-Loader in his hand and quickly formulated a new plan to back their opponent into a corner. "Let's try something a little underhanded. Astamon! Cerberumon! Digi-Xros!"
Tactimon leapt backwards when Astamon suddenly sped up, shifting his hip as if he was going to land a high kick on the soldier. But to the armored fighter's surprise, Astamon stopped short and his upgrades vanished, becoming replaced with a squid-like tentacles from his back. The tentacles clamped down on Tactimon's sides, keeping him still, while Astamon puffed out his cheeks and exhaled black flames from his mouth.
"I'm not done yet!" Astamon snapped, jamming the barrel of his gun into Tactimon's abdomen. "Ocean's Hellfire!"
Tactimon was blasted away by the blaze and multiple bullets but with a backflip, he remained on his feet, brushing off the debris from his armor. "I see, so you use Cerberumon's superior speed to get up close to me and then switch to MarineDevimon in order to impact me with the most damage possible. You're not bad."
"You're not too shabby yourself," Ryouma shrugged. "But this game isn't over yet."
"No, in fact, I think it's just beginning," Tactimon replied, stabbing the earth twice with his weapon. "Tectonic Tremor!" The land rumbled once more, but not strong enough to be classified as a catastrophic earthquake like last time. Though that might've been preferable as opposed to what happened next.
"What's happening?!" Astamon growled.
Ryouma checked his digivice to find out more information but accidentally dropped the device when a cold hand wrapped around his ankle. From the very ground they stood upon, ghoulish armored spirits popped out with swords and spears as their weapons. The boy couldn't be sure, but it looked like their enemy just summoned a zombie apocalypse.
"I'm sure you've heard," said Tactimon. "But when I lead an army, it means victory is assured."
One-hundred undead warriors charged forwards with their weapons slashing and Ryouma had to do his best not to have his insides spill out onto the battlefield. Astamon jumped out from the middle of a festering ground and landed near his partner, spraying bullets into the crowd.
"There are too many!" the Digimon gasped.
Ryouma scanned the ground for his X-Loader and when he found it about to be stepped on by the foot of a zombie, he tumbled forward and snatched it up. As he rolled onto his back, he slammed both of his feet into the stomach of the undead man, sending him flying backwards.
"Let's get away!" Ryouma huffed. "Astamon! Parrotmon! Digi-Xros!"
As soon as the feathers grew on his back once more, Astamon took flight with his partner in his arms and gunfire raining down like hail. However, despite reaching a height of about thirty feet, they found that they were still within the enemy's range. About a quarter of the resurrected warriors appeared to be trained archers as arrows came flying at them.
"I can't get a clear shot of their general!" Astamon grunted.
Ryouma glanced down at Tactimon slowly reeling back his sword-arm. "Forget that! What is he even doing?!"
"Penetrating Blast!"
Thrusting the blade forward, Tactimon sent a concentrated mass of air into Astamon's right wing, rendering him unable to stay airborne. The pair ended up crash landing into the jagged chunks of concrete, scratching up their skin and clothes as they came to stop several meters away from the zombies.
"Ryouma… Are you... okay?" Astamon coughed.
"Miraculously," the boy nodded. "What about you?"
"If I'm being honest," Astamon muttered, standing up. "I've had better days."
As the two of them stood back up, they watched as the approaching army split into two, allowing Tactimon to make his way through. The soldier appeared to be the one who wanted to finish them off and at this rate, he was going to succeed in doing just that.
"I had heard from the Demon Lords that you and your partner were separated by death once," said Tactimon. "But don't worry, this time, you'll be in hell together!"
"Is this it?" Ryouma murmured.
But Tactimon suddenly froze mid-step, a frown seeming to appear on his mouthless face. "Who are you?"
Ryouma's head jerked around when he heard someone step onto the gravel behind him. Out of all the people he expected to be here, it wasn't the old clock shop owner. "Kuroku?! It's dangerous here! You have to get away!"
"I don't think you're in any position to turn away help," the old man replied. "I do still have a X-Loader, after all."
"Where is your partner?" inquired Astamon.
Kuroku raised his digivice and from a flash of light, a Digimon appeared, though it wasn't Clockmon. The new Digimon had golden armor with a humanoid shape, a rather familiar one to the stunned eyes of the young Hunter and his partner. After all, this Digimon was supposed to have been killed… by them.
"MetallifeKuwagamon," Ryouma breathed.
"It's been a long while, Ryouma," the insect Digimon nodded.
"But what are you doing here?" Astamon asked. "I can't imagine you wanting to help us after we…"
MetallifeKuwagamon looked over to Kuroku before turning back to his former Hunter. "He was able to convince me to give you a second chance by asking me to watch over you these past few months. I saw how you were without Psychemon and the way your treat your partners now. If it is the Ryouma now… I don't think I'll have any qualms with fighting by your side."
Tactimon did not like being ignored, especially not on the battlefield. "Fine, I'll destroy all of you at once!" With an arcing slashing, the very ground seemed to rise as a sharp blade made from air rippled towards them like a tidal wave.
In a golden blur, MetallifeKuwagamon picked up everyone and got them out of harm's way before settling them back down to the ground. Tactimon seemed surprise that any Digimon could possess enough to speed to evade one of his attacks.
"I collected MetallifeKuwagamon's data to repair him," Kuroku explained. "Until seven months ago, he was just a Digi-Egg made from his old data and some new data."
"Thank you, Kuroku," said Ryouma, holding up his X-Loader.
Out of all his partners, Ryouma would say that MetallifeKuwagamon had been the strongest, excluding Astamon of course. The insect was his trump card when it came to battles and for the longest while, the Digimon had been okay with that. Until he noticed how his partner treated the Digimon that were physically weaker.
Unless you were a certain set of seven Digimon, Ryouma would treat his Digimon as if they were all expendable and replaceable. MetallifeKuwagamon, seeing himself as their elder, wanted to protect them so he defied the boy on numerous occasions. Since there had been no change in Ryouma's behavior, the insect ran away but of course, the Hunter did not like that.
It was only now that MetallifeKuwagamon understood the cutthroat attitude to have partly been from Quartzmon's influence.
"Even so… I'm sorry, MetallifeKuwagamon," Ryouma spoke up, his voice cracking. "For the way I treated you and the others."
MetallifeKuwagamon turned to face the boy. "I can't say I forgive you. But I can see how much you've grown. I want to be there for the rest of your growth."
Tactimon ordered his troops to continue advancing as Ryouma wiped away his tears with his raised his digivice. "Astamon! MetallifeKuwagamon! Digi-Xros!"
The gunman was given the other Digimon's radiant armor as well as the weapons that the humanoid insect one carried. So not only did both his defenses and offenses increased exponentially, but his speed was raised dramatically as well. This was proven when a flash passed over Tactimon's eyes and zombies started collapsing left and right, dissolving into sand.
"Xros-Up! Golden Armor Astamon!" the shining Digimon exclaimed as he stood face to face with Tactimon.
The swordsman's been in shock from few battles, one of them was from the time Shoutmon first super evolved. "I see," muttered the strategist. "So this is why the Demon Lords warned me about you. There had been acclamations that you were a genius on the battlefield, both you and your partner, but I had not expected anyone to surprise me. However, you've succeeded in doing that twice now in this one bout."
"I guess that's what you get for underestimating me?" Ryouma shrugged. The smug smirk turned into a wince though when he realized that his shoulder was in a lot of pain from his action. "I also underestimated the damage I took from that fall."
Kuroku placed a hand over the injured shoulder. "You might've dislocated it."
"It's fine," the boy lied. "What's important now is that we get out of this in one piece."
Tactimon and Astamon appeared to be having a stand-off, both foes with their weapons raised as they slowly circled each other, gauging the other's strength through their senses. For the onlookers, it felt rather tense since they couldn't tell who was going to make the first move. But this was probably how all skilled warriors battled each other.
Astamon made the first move by firing homing missiles from his gun, a specialty that had been his fusion partner's. But right before they made an impact on Tactimon, the soldier shot forward, flawlessly evading the lethal attack and simultaneously slashing his weapon down at his foe. However, it was parried by an energy blade, another effect from the Digi-Xros.
"Unbelievable," Tactimon grumbled. "To think that someone could match my blade."
"I'm not done yet!" Astamon smirked, slamming his firearm into his opponent's stomach again. "Homing Hellfire!"
Tactimon knew that even if he were to try to evade such an attack, they would just follow him around the area. So instead, he changed the angle of his weapon and smashed the point into the ground, causing another earthquake. This broke Astamon's balance which gave Tactimon the chance to disarm the partner Digimon of his gun.
The firearm landed in Tactimon's free hand. "Don't you think it's rather unfair to bring something like this to a sword match."
"Heh," Astamon smirked. "I hadn't realized it was that kind of fight."
Tactimon did not seem to find this as humorous as his foe. Though his next action certainly wasn't any laughing matter as he tossed the gun into the air, broke the seal on his blade, and destroyed the weapon in one fluid motion. The firearm dissipated into data particles, floating away with the wind.
"I hope you don't mind," said the tactician. "But I plan on going all out now."
"That's how I like my enemies," Astamon replied, raising his energy blade once more.
Both fighters clashed with their blades sending sparks flying in every direction. Despite the fact that Astamon's weapon was made out of energy, it was being chipped away as if it was made by physical material. Not to mention, even with the upgrades, he was being relentlessly pushed back with every slash and parry.
"That's to be expected from a sword that can split a star in two," Ryouma muttered. The silver-haired boy then turned away from the battle to face Kuroku. "Astamon needs help and I think you can provide him it."
"Eh?" Kuroku blinked. "What can I do?"
The old clock shop owner didn't have any Digimon partners that were suitable for fighting but he did have a X-Loader. In accordance to the rules of the hunt, one X-Loader can fuse together at most two Digimon partners at a time but Akari discovered a loophole to this rule. Simply by having a second X-Loader, one could fuse at most four Digimon at once.
"Golden Armor Astamon! Triceramon! Digi-Xros!"
Just like in his solo form, a dinosaur head appeared in Astamon's free hand, becoming a rock-solid shield. However, just one hit from Tactimon's legendary sword and there was already a very visible crack forming on it.
"A shield is useless against me!" Tactimon stated, making an upward slash with his shining blade. "Star Splitter!"
The shield was shattered into dozens of pieces but since Triceramon wasn't the base for the fusion, he simply returned to Ryouma's X-Loader. Despite that, the injuries he had to sustain from that one slice was enough to put him out o f commission for the rest of the day.
Ryouma looked at the screen to see if his partner was okay. "Triceramon? How are your wounds?"
"I'm alive," the dino answered weakly. "But I don't think I can go another round."
The boy nodded in understanding, telling his partner to take a rest before bringing his attention to another partner of his to see if they could use another fusion instead. "What about you Parrotmon? I know you got your wing injured back there but do you think you can go again?"
"I won't be able to fly but I should still be able provide a power boost," came the bird's reply.
"Okay! Golden Armor Astamon! Parrotmon! Digi-Xros!"
Once again, wings sprouted from Astamon's back though one was clearly in much better shape than the other. Rather than using them to take to the skies though, Astamon produced crackling electricity in his feathers, releasing them in powerful lightning bolts. "Hell's Mjollnir!"
"Is that all you can do?" Tactimon scoffed. The gun-muzzles that rested on his back suddenly flipped around and they were pointed right for the lightning strikes. "Primary Tactic!" He released a barrage of bullets that hit the bolts in midair, several meters away from electrocuting him. Without missing a beat, he gathered much of his energy into his sword and made a downward slash that sent a deadly shockwave right for Astamon's good wing. "Ultimate Tactic!"
"Parrotmon too?" Ryouma gaped.
Astamon still hadn't taken any direct damage so he was still able to go another round as another fusion was given to him. Suddenly gaining two more heads on his shoulders and a increased amount of speed, he lunged forward like a predator.
Tactimon was not impressed as he made five slashes in quick succession, in the shape of a pentagram. "Enlightenment Tachi: Five-Sided Fortification!" Such an attack generated deadly shockwards that blasted Astamon in the reverse direction before he could even get close to his opponent. "Are you done?"
"Not yet!" Astamon huffed, pushing himself back onto his feet. "Ryouma!"
"I know!" his partner shouted.
This time, MarineDevimon's tentacles came out from Astamon's back. "Ocean Devil's Hellfire!" He puffed up his cheeks and spit out a brilliantly blazing flame that engulfed the entire field, including the enemy soldier.
However, Tactimon wasn't even fazed when the waves of fire washed over him. "Hmph, a summer day's felt hotter." Holding up his sword, he made six slashes in the shape of a hexagram which produced a swirling vortex. "Nothingness Tachi: Six-Realm Samsara!" It was a hurricane powerful enough to blow away the flames and blast Astamon backwards, dragging him through dozens of meters of jagged rubble.
"What power…," Astamon groaned.
Tactimon slowly approched the fallen opponent with his blade prepared to finish the job. "The Demon Lords told me that you have a grand total of five Digimon partners aside from Astamon. Triceramon, Parrotmon, Cerberumon, MarineDevimon, and MetallifeKuwaga… Or at least, that's how it should be had I not heard your conversation concerning the bug. In truth, you have one more…" He pivoted on his heel and smashed the hilt of his sword into Clockmon's face, sending him flying. "Right here!"
"No!" Ryouma gasped.
"Did you really think I would fall for your simplistic plan?" Tactimon shook his head. "You really are a greenhorn. I've taken down all your partners."
"Close," Kuroku nodded. "Except that Clockmon isn't one of them."
The machine suddenly flew right back into Kuroku's X-Loader, getting replaced by a DinoBeemon, Ryouma's final partner and the only one who hadn't done anything yet. However, his job was not to attack Tactimon nor was it to confuse or distract him. All he had to do was catch him off guard with his unbelievable speed and yank the sword out of Tactimon's grasp before making his way back to his partner's side.
"The plan is a success!" Ryouma grinned. "Almost every one of your attacks was made with this sword, so without it, you can't possibly win. Astamon, finish him now!"
The golden Digimon was already on it as he used his speed to close the distance between himself and Tactimon in no time. He was putting all of his energy into this final attack of his. "Golden Hell's Blade!" Tactimon didn't even have the time to fire the gun-muzzles on his back as he was cut in two by the energy sword.
"I… lost…," said the soldier quietly. "Actively waiting for me to spend as much of my energy as possible while using my lack of knowledge on your partners, how clever." He turned to face the second human to ever bring him down. "And yet… I feel neither upset nor angered that I lost. It was an honor to face you in battle and it will be just as honorable to fight by your side… greenhorn."
Ryouma nodded, a smile appearing on his face. "Digimon Capture Complete."
"I must say, that was quite a spectacular battle," Kuroku remarked. "Especially since Tactimon broke the seal on his sword."
Psychemon padded over to the humans with an expression of worry on his canine face. It didn't have to do with the capture of their foe since he knew that Ryouma wanted to give Tactimon a second chance at fighting on the right side. No, he had concerns about something else.
"We should help Ren and Airu," Psychemon piped up. "If we had this much trouble here, they'll probably need the assistance."
Before Ryouma could agree, Kuroku stopped them. "Those two will be fine," said the old clock shop owner. "Help has already arrived for them. More importantly, we need someone to check on your shoulder and your partners need rest. Even if you went to them, only DinoBeemon would be in any condition to fight."
Now that it was mentioned again, Ryouma's shoulder started stinging again. "Yeah, you're right," he murmured. "I just hope Ren and Airu are okay."
-X-
It looks like Sakkakumon has been taken care of but the group that did it has seen better days. Not only did they lose Suzie to some psycho vampire but both Kazu and Keenan are going off on their own! Not to mention Cody apparently has some big secret that he's keeping from the others. At least things are going well in the human world considering Ryouma's added a powerful new ally to his fighting roster. But what about Ren and Airu? We can only see what happens next by staying tuned to Digimon: Children of the Future!
I hope you guys enjoyed and I'll see you in the next one. Don't forget to leave a review and have love in your hearts. Thank you for reading!