Zero Unit: I realize I was being childish. So with the new school year in full swing, I want to show a bit more maturity. Thus, I will return to the original intention of these fourth wall breaks! Having the cast answer questions. So here's one, "Do you have any good anime, manga, or cartoon recommendations?"
Davis: Osomatsu-san! It's super popular in Japan and outrageously hilarious!
Jeri: Oh, the five oldest siblings in that show all have parts in my favorite anime, Shirokuma Café! It's so cute! It's all about the daily lives of these animals that coexist with humans. Hiroshi Kamiya happens to play this really silly penguin.
Keenan: I think I prefer watching Kamiya making a fool of himself in Noragami. Season two was incredible and Yato can be pretty ridiculous.
Kouichi: I like his role as Orihara Izaya in Durarara! which is highly suspenseful and full of drama. The specials happen to be really funny.
Akari: Oh, that reminds me! Jun Fukuyama who plays Ichimatsu, Panda, and Kishitani Shinra also plays Koro-sensei in Assassination Classroom. The anime is great and certain scenes are several times more impactful animated but it also happens to leave out a couple of important things from the manga so I highly recommend reading it. For example, Takebayashi's development is in there.
Rika: I love that scene where Takebayashi totally tells off those main building jerks. It is so satisfying.
Mimi: We're forgetting cartoons. I highly recommend Avatar: The Last Airbender because it's got a lot of heart and there are some seriously awesome characters.
Thomas: I happen to like Gravity Falls. It's a great mystery with some amusing moments.
Takuya: Oh, hey, what about The Amazing World of Gumball? I gave it a chance recently and it totally blew away my expectations. Every character gets a role to play and even if they don't, they're given one later on in the series. Not to mention, Penny is like the coolest character. There are also some pretty funny innuendos here and there.
Yoshino: Speaking of Cartoon Network, what about We Bare… Bears… Zero, are you crying?
Zero Unit: *Blubbering* I forgot that you guys are technically a figment of my imagination so anything you guys recommend is something I've already seen. Now I don't have anything new to check out at all. Life really sucks sometimes.
Everyone: You were asking for yourself?!
Shoutmon: Please enjoy today's chapter.
-X-
December 25: Miracle Sea – 1:23 PM
Apollomon stopped so suddenly that he almost threw Koh off of his shoulder. Marsmon actually did throw Taiki off his own when he bumped into his fellow god. The General was thankfully caught by the Tamer who pulled him up. The group of four, now stable, looked back to the scene that was unfolding before them, of two knights clashing, sword against shield against sword.
"What is with this pressure?" Taiki muttered.
"It's being created by the force of their attacks," said Koh. "It's intense."
Shoutmon hopped out of the X-Loader where he was supposed to be healing. "We should help them."
Apollomon held up a hand, stopping the Digimon king from jumping down and into the fray. "This is their fight. Besides, that fusion with everyone still has me feeling weak. That much power drains so much of my energy and we were together for less than a minute."
"It felt like I was going to explode," Marsmon agreed.
Taiki thought back to Kuroku's words from four days ago. After the various Digital Worlds converged into one, Digimon were recalibrated. Fusions were no longer as simple as they once were seeing as the stronger they were, the more energy needed to be expended in order to maintain that form. If not, it could break down in just seconds. Shoutmon and the other Hunters' main partners were used to it, they could keep going for hours, but others were not. So they couldn't just use any Xros just because it seems strong. It was too much of a risk. This time was an exception.
"Koh," Apollomon huffed. "Get off."
"Eh?" his partner blinked.
The Sun God instantaneously shrunk down to the same size as Shoutmon, causing himself and his three riders to plummet towards the water. Thankfully, Marsmon caught them before they made their big splash. It was still a big scare though.
"What was that all about?!" Shoutmon snapped.
"Coronamon's just tired," Koh explained. "For now, let's just watch the Gallantmon fight."
Gallantmon used his shining wings to circle around Duke at top speed, using his two blades to cut and slice. Unfortunately for him, Duke was perceptive, parrying blows with his own blade or blocking them completely with his shield. At some point, the Royal Knight even used his weapons to pull down his airborne foe and then slam a foot into his chest.
"I won't lose that easily." Gallantmon landed on his feet as soon as he was stable, he crossed his blades, when he pulled them apart; several beams of light were fired towards his target.
Duke raised his shield and blocked all the beams easily. "You cannot so easily pierce my supreme sacred armor, lance, and shield. This legendary equipment will push you to your downfall!" Energy began to gather at the center of Aegis, his shield. "Final Elysion!" The pressure suggested that it had at least ten times the power of Shield of the Just.
"Crimson Light!" Both attacks cancelled each other out but not before creating a tower of light when they connected, causing the sea to rumble underneath them. "Unbelievable, so this is the power of the most versatile Royal Knight. Magic, swordplay, power, defense, acrobatics, martial arts, flight, speed, it's hard to believe anyone could defeat him."
"My power is enough to defeat even a god," said Duke.
Shoutmon glanced up at Marsmon. "Is that true?"
"Out of all the Royal Knights, there are few that can match us," Marsmon stated. "Duke is, in fact, one of them. Probably not the Three Kings but Apollomon and I would have more than enough trouble dealing with Duke."
"The Three Kings?" Taiki repeated though there was no time for answer when a flash of lightning brought their attention back to the battlefield.
"Royal Saber!"
Marsmon actually skidded a few feet back from the force of their attacks. "I can barely open my eyes!"
Gallantmon knew that he could easily gain the upper hand if he used more cards but unfortunately, Henry had mentioned other drawbacks of using a Cosmic Card. For one thing, while the card is in play, one mustn't modify their monster any further lest they overload their internal system. Furthermore, if you don't defeat the enemy within the time limit of the card, you'd be forced to return to your base forms.
"Less than three minutes left," Gallantmon huffed. "We can't waste time! Invincible Sword!"
Duke elongated his lance and swung it towards his oncoming opponent. "Sieg Sword!" Gallantmon, being several feet away, could do nothing more than parry with his own weapons. "Don't forget about my shield! Final Elysion!"
Gallantmon's eyes widened as he watched the flash of energy rocket towards him. Quickly, he flew upwards just before the attack struck him. "We can't let up. Royal Saber!"
Duke shrouded himself in his mantle and jumped right through the lightning bolt. Once he was through, he performed a midair somersault in an attempt to do an axe kick right on Gallantmon's skull. But the winged knight was one step ahead as he flew to the side, narrowly avoiding it.
But as Duke fell back towards the water's surface, he pointed Gram, his lance, upwards. The energy blade extended and cut into one of Gallantmon's wings, causing him to lose control and fall as well. As they entered a downward spiral, the pair began swinging their blades, generating waves of light in an attempt to strike the other down but each attack was countered by another until they both landed on the water's surface with grace.
"Two minutes," Gallantmon huffed. "Invincible Sword!"
Duke blocked the blade with his shield and then went on to thrust his sword into the other knight's stomach. But Gallantmon blocked it with his second sword. The pair was at a standstill, glaring each other down. They even tried to bash their skulls into each other but that did nothing more than create an obnoxious metallic sound as well as create powerful shockwaves.
"This is insane," said Shoutmon.
"We need to help him," Taiki resolved. "He can't win on his own."
Koh placed a hand on the other boy's shoulder. "If he needed it, he would've called for it. There's no way he didn't notice us standing here. Let's just trust him."
This stalemate seemed to be going nowhere. Well, that is, until a cracking sound echoed through the air. Duke's eyes were as wide as saucers when he saw a chip fall from his shield and sink down into the sea. And that moment of shock was the opening that Gallantmon needed.
With the spin, Gallantmon kicked Duke in the stomach, sending him flying. Then crossing his blades once more, he shrouded himself in a bright red glow. "Crimson Light!" It expanded outwards, enveloping the area. Marsmon was forced to jump backwards a couple of times to avoid the blast himself.
When the light faded away, Gallantmon saw that his foe had returned to his original form. The Royal Knight was on his back, motionless. The battle was over.
"My sacred shield broke…," Duke huffed. "How?"
Gallantmon hadn't wanted to defeat this Digimon but he didn't have much of a choice. The least he could do was show his respect by kneeling down before him. "You are the superior knight, I am aware of this. Had it not been for my cards, you'd have overwhelmed me easily. If I want to protect this world, I must become stronger. You have shown me this. This time, it was only because of Earth Life, that I heard the magic in the gem of your shield cry for help. Showing me its weak spot. That was all."
Duke's data was starting to disappear. "Protect this world… huh. You know, when we traded blows, I came to the realization that you were telling the truth. But I refused to believe that I had truly fallen at the hands of the Demon Lords. Now that it's come to this, I must ask you a favor."
"What is it?"
At this point, Duke was only a torso, an arm, and a head left. Using his one hand, he reached inside his chest and pulled out two glowing orbs. "Take my place as a Royal Knight."
"What?!" Gallantmon blanched. "I can't do that!"
Duke chuckled. "You have time to think about it." He then became solemn. "There is also something I must confess. Beelzemon had nearly killed me all those years ago. The only reason I came out victorious was because I had one hundred magicians help me seal away his powers. So do not underestimate the Demon Lords. I give you these two to help you."
Gallantmon held out his armored hands as the orbs floated onto his palms. He knew what they were. One held a massive amount of magic power while the other contained the X-Antibody. With that, Duke's data had completely disappeared, with his last wishes still ringing in their ears.
"We never introduced ourselves!" Gallantmon called as the data floated upwards. "We're Takato and Guilmon! And we'll take care of these! And we will beat the Demon Lords! We promise."
Time was up. The Cosmic Card should've lost its effect by now. When the bio-merged Digimon split back to their original parts, the two orbs changed shapes, into new cards. One was called the Medieval Magic card while the other was called the X-Antibody card.
Before Takato could marvel at this, there was a sudden sharp pain in his heart, expanding outwards to overtake the rest of his body. There were needles piercing through his skin from the inside, spiders crawling just below the surface, and knife-like nails trying to claw their way out of his head and stomach. He could do nothing more than to double over in pain.
"Ta… ka… to…," Guilmon groaned, reverting to Gigimon and collapsing.
"Guilmon..." Takato's hand was clutching at his shirt as pain shot through every part of his body, making it hard to stay focused and awake. "It hurts… What's wrong… with me? Don't tell me… these are… the repercussions… of using Earth Life?"
"Takato!" someone called out. It sounded far away.
The Tamer's head was submerged into water but luckily, Taiki and Koh were there to pull him out before he drowned in his unconscious state. Shoutmon was holding up a sleeping Gigimon. Both of them were shaking uncontrollably, like they were stuck inside a terrible nightmare. But it didn't even look like Duke had done that much damage to them, so what happened? Maybe Jeri knew something.
As if on cue, a pirate ship appeared in the distance. The people on board waved to them and Marsmon picked them back up, carrying them towards the vessel. They still had a long way to go before reaching the Kingdom Town.
December 25: Matsuki Bakery – 1:23 PM
Christmas was supposed to be the busiest time of the year for the bakery but there actually weren't that many customers coming around. Word had gotten out that the family that ran the shop had been harboring a red dinosaur just one floor above them so people were frightened. So now, there were several prepared and packaged cakes sitting in the back with no place to go.
"Another one!" Takehiro groaned.
Tai peeked inside the kitchen to find Takato's father on the floor, gripping the wrist of his left hand. Did he burn it? Well, either way, he certainly burned the bread that had been in the oven because the whole place was starting to smell charred and smoky. Yoshie quickly opened the back door to air things out.
"They must be worried about Takato," Agumon remarked.
"Yeah," Tai nodded. There was no point in hiding the Digimon anymore so his partner was just out handing boxes of cakes to the few customers that did come. Loyal patrons and people involved with Digimon that weren't afraid of a fire-breathing, bipedal lizard giving them dessert. "Thank you for your purchase, please come again."
"Can I eat one, Tai?" Agumon asked.
"When we're on break," the brunet sighed.
Tai, like his fellow DigiDestined, were worried about the kids too but the parents were taking it worst of all. Looking back inside, he could see that Takehiro was no longer tending to his burn but rather, he had pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his head in it. The teenager had never seen such a distraught adult before.
"Honey, it's okay," Yoshie told him softly. "Takato will be fine, he has Guilmon."
Takehiro looked up and placed a hand on his wife's face, using his thumb to wipe away tears from her face. "You're just as upset as I am. Let's not pretend."
Tai had to wonder if his own parents behaved like that while he wasn't around. He knew that his mom hadn't been cooking because she's worried about Kari. And his father took the day off yesterday just to lie on the couch and stare at the ceiling. This is the first time they were aware that their own daughter had gone to a dangerous dimension for days without word, after all.
Just then, the door opened and three familiar faces entered. Tai couldn't help smiling a little when he saw them, Matt, Sora, and Joe. They had promised to come visit him during Christmas so that they could spend some time together.
"It's starting to snow outside," said Sora.
"To think that they'd end up missing a white Christmas," Matt chuckled humorlessly.
Joe couldn't help thinking that it was the anniversary of their world tour, when they made several international friends. But even they weren't in the mood to celebrate the holidays as they were working hard to quell public outrage towards Digital World invaders. How could such a joyous time of the year be overshadowed by the recent tragedies?
"So much has happened, huh," the med student sighed. "Four years ago, we were in different countries protecting the world but felt like we were together. Today, we're all in the same city yet it feels like we've completely fallen apart."
"We'll get through this." Sora took their hands in hers and they couldn't help feeling warm. "No matter how scared of the Demon Lords we are, we'll make it. Together."
"Sora, you're shaking," Matt realized.
"Sorry," the redhead murmured, momentarily letting go. "I have to admit… I'm really, really scared of the Demon Lords."
Agumon looked down. "Honestly, so am I."
"Me too," Gomamon added from his partner's digivice.
They were all frightened, whether it was for the friends they couldn't visit right away or for themselves simply because of the threat that the Demon Lords presented. But they could also agree that they were more scared of losing the worlds they called home. They had each other too. So they couldn't say they were alone in this.
"Next year, we'll have a big Christmas party with everyone together," said Tai. "By then, everyone will be able to smile as wide as their faces will let them."
"You sound like your sister," Matt chuckled.
Tai grinned. "That is like the biggest compliment anyone can give me."
December 25: Underground Tunnels – 1:23 PM
For the last few days, the group's been following Cherrymon through the tunnel system underneath the desert. Every so often, they would stumble upon a wide open area where they would take a moment to rest and have a small meal. They had to conserve their provisions so it couldn't be anything grand.
"Data dispersal?" Kouji repeated.
Kenta nodded. "Apparently, Leviamon destroyed Neptunemon several years ago but because he was a god, he didn't disappear completely. As long as Digimon believed in him, he would continue to be reborn. But something went wrong and his data was dispersed, accidentally creating MarineAngemon while the rest drifted through cyberspace. Somehow, some of that data found me when I was born. That's how I'm able to understand my partner and why he was drawn to me immediately."
The Legendary Warrior rubbed his chin as he let this sink into his mind. "So… In a way, you're part Digimon?"
"I guess," said the Tamer. His hand went to his chest, gently touching MarineAngemon in his shirt pocket. "But it feels like we're incomplete. We're still missing some of our data."
It sounded kind of complicated. Kouji had been curious because whenever he would become a Digimon, there were these faint memories floating around in his head that weren't exactly his. They seemed to be from a long time ago, back during the olden ages of the Digital World so he always assumed that they were the memories of AncientGarurumon. So he wondered if it was the same for Kenta when he became Neptunemon. It appeared to be the case.
"So what happens when you are complete?" Kouji asked.
"I don't know," Kenta shrugged. "But I assume it would make it easier to stay in that form and maybe I'd even be a little stronger. After all, we have to make up for losing a member."
True, without Ryo, the group was a little weaker than they were before. But Kouji was confident that they would be able to get through this with a little extra effort. They didn't come here to lose people; they were here to save them.
At the back of the group, Kari was trying to keep her eyes open as she walked. At some point, she started tilting and Gatomon stopped moving, about to shout out her partner's name when someone caught her before she hit the ground. JP slowly lifted her up so that the smaller figure was leaning into his chest.
"Are you okay?" the older teen asked. He pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. "No fever. You had nightmares again? You should've woken me."
The brunette looked down towards a worried Gatomon. "I didn't want to disturb you. Just because I haven't had a good night's sleep in a while doesn't mean you have to do the same."
"Kari…," said Gatomon. "Should we stop so you can rest?"
The girl shook her head. "I don't want to slow down the group. The sooner we get to the Kingdom Town, the better." She vigorously rubbed at her eyes and when she stopped, she saw that JP was in front of her, lowering himself so that they were about the same height. "JP?"
"Get on my back," he told her. "I can carry you and you can take a nap."
Kari was surprised by this kind gesture. Gatomon would make an offer to carry her partner as Nefertimon but since they had to share energy in order for her to evolve, Kari might need to be awake and aware in order to do that. Well, they weren't sure about this theory since they never tried to evolve a Digimon and then fall asleep but Izzy said that's how it theoretically works between partners.
"I don't want to burden you," Kari blushed.
JP laughed at the prospect. "In a judo match, I once lifted my one-hundred twenty kilogram opponent over my shoulder. You're not a burden at all."
When Kari relented and got onto the older teen's back, Gatomon thanked him for taking care of her partner. The girl rested her arms over JP's broad shoulders, pressing her body into his solid but comforting back. Once she got used to the feeling, she was out like a light, breathing softly.
"Just make sure your hands stay on her legs only," Gatomon warned. "If I see then touching her rear, I'll be sure to gouge your eyes out!"
"Graphic," JP murmured.
Ahead of them were the remaining three. Davis was walking in between Rika and Nene, the former silently fuming while the other staggering to keep her balance. It was nerve-wracking to be sandwiched between these moody girls. One was blaming herself for what had happened with Ryo while the other wasn't over the death of one of her partners and the sudden disappearance of another. But remaining mute for too long was not good for the hotheaded Chosen Child.
"Hey, Rika," Davis broached. The Tamer acknowledged him with a glance. "You okay?"
The redhead uncrossed her arms. "Not really, but this isn't really the time to talk about feelings."
"Oh, no, of course not, I was just, um, well, you see."
Veemon shook his head at the way his partner was stumbling over his words. He couldn't imagine it being easy to talk to Rika in the first place, though. Since day one, she's been detached from everyone else. She preferred to spend time with fellow Tamers and her classmates. And her partner might actually be worse! Renamon was just walking forward with her striking blue eyes staring into the distance.
"You're staring at me," remarked the bipedal vixen, still looking only in front.
"E-Eh?!" Veemon blinked. "Oh, well, I didn't mean to." He scratched the back of his head nervously. "I was just wondering, how come you and your partner act so antisocially?"
Davis glared down at the blue dragon. "Veemon!" he hissed. "You can't just ask something like that!"
Despite that, Renamon actually looked down towards the smaller Rookie. "We don't mean to be. We are just people who prefer to be by ourselves. I'm sorry if we come off as cold and off-putting, that was not our intention."
"Yeah," Rika sighed. "Sorry Davis, I just have a lot on my mind."
The brunet nodded, understanding. "You know, it's better not to bottle up your feelings. I'm right here if you need to talk."
Rika couldn't help thinking back to when Ryo had said something similar to her on the day her sister came back into her life. Without even realizing, tears sprang into her eyes and Davis immediately panicked, wondering if he had done something horribly wrong. But Rika wiped them away and calmed him down.
"I'm fine," she sighed. "I just wish I could've talked to that idiot more." Maybe her cold disposition wasn't a very good mindset to have. "Davis, tonight, could you take first watch with me? I'd like to talk to you about some of the things on my mind. I want to make sure my friends know to trust me so I can trust them completely."
Davis wasn't sure where this was coming from but he smiled from ear to ear when she said it. "Of course!" He then turned to look at the other girl. "Now how do I get her to talk?"
Without a word, Rika glided over to Nene and gently squeezed her shoulder to let the General know that she was there. When the idol turned her head, she was greeted by a soft smile. "Mervamon said she will come back for you. So, stay strong until then. You want her to give you a big smile when she sees you again, right?"
Nene sniffed, a small smile gracing her pretty features. "Yeah, you're right. Thank you, Rika."
Davis and Veemon found their jaws hanging as the two girls hugged each other. They then turned to the taller figure beside them to see if she had an explanation for this. Renamon had a bemused smirk when she saw the dumbstruck expressions on theirs.
"This may surprise you, but Rika is a lot more motherly than the other Tamers," said Renamon. "Even Jeri ends up getting taken care of in a parental manner by my partner."
"Seriously?" Davis blinked. He looked back to the girls as they walked arm in arm. "Huh, I guess there really is a lot I don't know about her."
The group continued on in this fashion for a while. Snippets of conversation traveled through the long and dark hallways. A few pauses whenever Kenta ended up tripping and falling on his side. He'd always twist himself in a way that wouldn't crush his napping partner. And at some point, Davis finally noticed that Kari was being carried by the oldest human in their group.
"Improper behavior!" Davis accused.
Gatomon scratched at his exposed ankle, making him yelp in pain. "She's sleeping!" she hissed.
"Yeah, but that really hurt," Davis whimpered.
JP couldn't help rolling his eyes but stopped midway when he felt a sudden change in pressure. It seemed like the Digimon sensed it too as their fur bristled and pupils dilated. From the front, the side of the tunnels exploded as a devilish claw broke through, closing around Kenta and flying away. Looking out of the newly created hole, they could see that the culprit had been Kimeramon, a former foe of Davis and his team. Following right behind him was Kuzuhamon who seemed to look directly at Rika as she flew by.
"What happened?" Kari gasped, jolting awake.
"Bad news," JP grumbled.
"Digi-Armor Energize!" "Veemon Armor Digivolve to… Raidramon! The Storm of Friendship!"
"Digi-Modify! Bio-Merge Activate!" "Renamon Bio-Merge to… Sakuyamon!"
"Execute Fusion Evolution… BeoWolfmon!"
Cherrymon had fallen over; accidentally causing the three HoneyBeemon they were traveling with, to tumble out from within his leaves. JP let Kari back onto the ground and grabbed Nene's shoulder before she could follow suit in the other three. By then, Kenta's rescue team had already been long gone.
"There are other enemies nearby," JP explained. "I don't think the Demon Lords would be stupid enough to send only two Digimon against us."
Kari brushed the sand out of her hair. "He's right. Chances are, they would ambush the end group giving chase, in other words, us."
The idol knew they were right. So Nene took a deep breath and looked down. A General like her, someone who was used to excessive planning and careful evaluation of one's surroundings, almost reacted without thinking. She had to be more careful from then on unless she wanted to get seriously injured.
"So, where are they?" one of the HoneyBeemon buzzed. "I don't see or hear–."
"Look out!"
JP pushed Nene down just as a shadowy blur appeared in front of them. As the girl fell, she witnessed a woman appear in front of the blinding light of the sun, stabbing the silhouette of her savior. Something warm splattered onto Nene's cheeks and dripped down from JP's stomach, staining his jeans. And in her ears, Kari's horrified scream resounded like a foghorn in the dead of the night.
Cherrymon rolled over onto his back and quickly became upright using his roots. "Vine Attack!" By manipulating the vines on his head, he was able to scare away the assailant which turned out to be LadyDevimon. Though there was something different about her.
JP, with his hand over his wound, collapsed. He was losing blood and fast but how does one treat an injury so deep? Kari made an attempt by evolving Gatomon into Angewomon who used her Holy Air technique to slowly heal their fallen comrade.
"JP! JP, are you okay?" Nene cried out.
The Legendary Warrior's eyes were squeezed shut and his breathing was uneven, ragged, quick, and shallow. But even so, he gave her a big smile and a thumbs-up. "I'll be… fine… Just… focus on… beating the bad guys." With one last shaky exhalation, JP became still.
"No!" Kari gasped.
"It's okay," Angewomon quickly said. "He's just unconscious. I was able to seal his wound but unless he gets proper treatment, well..."
The trio of insects and Cherrymon, who had several medicinal herbs on him, promised to look after JP while the others went out to check out the foes they were going to have to face. As they climbed out of the hole, they found three Digimon looking back at them, self-satisfied smiles with beady eyes. Now they knew why that LadyDevimon was different yet so familiar. She was part of the Daemon Corps.
"So, Daemon sent his lackeys after us?" Angewomon scoffed.
"Nice seeing you too, blondie," LadyDevimon leered.
SkullSatamon's bones rattled as he cackled. "Hey, nice job at incapacitating that Legendary Warrior idiot! Throwing himself in the line of attack, what a fool!"
Kari and Nene grinded their teeth, nails digging into their palms, in reaction to seeing the celebratory faces of their opponents. To think that nearly killing their friend gave them so much joy. It made their stomachs churn and their palms hurt.
In the last few days, JP's looked after the group like an older brother. He'd wake up Kari from a bad dream and give her some tea that he boiled over the fireplace. Or he would perform little magic tricks in order to get the saddened Nene to smile. There were times when JP believed no one was looking but people saw the way he would talk to Kenta when the younger boy was homesick. Or mediated the arguments that arose between Davis and Kouji. He was their big brother.
"Unforgivable," Kari grumbled. She then shouted at the Daemon Corps. "Completely unforgivable!"
"We'll make you pay!" Nene nodded, holding up her X-Loader. "Reload! Beelzemon! Sparrowmon!"
Angewomon and LadyDevimon flew around each other in a spiral, firing out beams of light and darkness at each other. At some point, the former fired three Celestial Arrows at the enemy but LadyDevimon hardened her arm and blocked the projectiles. With a toothy grin, the devilish woman unleashed a flurry of bats on the angel.
"Seems you're losing your touch, blondie," LadyDevimon cackled. "How about a touch of evil? Darkness Wave!"
Angewomon spread her arms out like wings, creating a pink light that expanded outwards. "I'd rather get touched by a Raremon. Heaven's Charm!" It eliminated the bats and would've hit LadyDevimon too had she not ducked under it with grace. "What, trying to be an Olympic ice dancer?"
"Oh, darling, you'd understand the idea of looking good while kicking butt if you had any strength at all," LadyDevimon grinned. From her wretched claws, she produced an electrified whip and cracked it down on her foe. "Stun Whip!"
Angewomon caught it, stunning, no pun intended, LadyDevimon. It wriggled around like a living thing, crackling and sizzling against the Chosen Digimon's palm but she didn't even seem to flinch. Rather, she tugged on it with all her might, yanking LadyDevimon down to her level so that they were looking at each other eye to eye.
"Don't underestimate me," Angewomon hissed before performing an elegant roundhouse kick across LadyDevimon's face, sending her crashing down to ground. "Allow me to send you back to where you came from! Celestial Arrow!"
The black-dressed woman was pierced through the heart and she let out one last crowing yell before disappearing in a cloud of data. Angewomon landed at the spot where her foe had been, soon joined by her partner. They were both thinking the same thing.
"Not as strong as Noir," Kari muttered.
"Much weaker," Angewomon confirmed. "This power… it may not be enough. But at least it was for this battle."
Sparrowmon hovered around the massive form that was MarineDevimon, firing lasers at any opening she could find and there were plenty of them. But it didn't seem like the aquatic Digimon felt any of the burning beams searing into his flesh. The most it did was tickle him or at least that's what they could infer from his incessant and annoying laughter.
MarineDevimon puffed up his cheeks and spit out a venomous black ink at the soaring bird. "Dark Deluge!"
Sparrowmon smirked and as if someone had pushed the nitro button inside her mechanism, began accelerating at an insane rate. With a spin, she busted right through the blackness and flew right for MarineDevimon's face. At the last second, she shot skywards.
"I already know your weak spot," Sparrowmon grinned.
MarineDevimon raised a brow. "Gruh?"
"When I fired my lasers, the only time your laughter became broken..." She slowed to a stop and turned around. "...was when I hit your head." Flying down at top speed, it was like MarineDevimon was seeing four of her. "Crash Boom!"
"Nice hit!" Nene cheered when her partner successfully deleted MarineDevimon.
"Feels good to stretch out my wings every now and then," Sparrowmon giggled.
Beelzemon couldn't get a clear shot of the fast-moving SkullSatamon, each one of his cannon-arm blasts eliminating a boulder or creating craters in the sand instead. The pile of bones rattled as he cackled at the expense of his foe's aim. Though it wasn't that that was the problem. It was the fact that SkullSatamon couldn't stay in the same spot for even a millisecond.
"Can't catch me, can you?" SkullSatamon laughed. "But I can still catch you! Nail Bone!"
"Gah!" Beelzemon grunted. But then a smirk appeared on his face as SkullSatamon struggled to pull his staff out of his opponent's grasp. "Just kidding. You know, my cannon is pretty heavy but my free hand isn't. You can probably guess which one is a faster." For a second, he let go and then sunk his hand into SkullSatamon's chest. "Darkness Claw!"
SkullSatamon couldn't move. "Wha-What?! What did you…?"
"All's fair in love and war," Beelzemon shrugged before pointing his firearm at him. "Oblivion Cannon!"
The group converged at one point once each of their foes were confirmed to be deleted. They were tapping their feet, scratching their necks, and shaking their heads. It didn't make any sense for it to be this easy. If there really was an ambush, it would've been harder to defeat them, right? So what was this uneasy feeling crawling up their spines?
"Grenade Storm!"
From the sky, munition dropped on them like rain in a storm. The girls covered their heads as if it would do anything as their partners tried to protect them. But it was like the entire world had been engulfed in sand, gunpowder, heat, and volume. Explosion after explosion rang out and when it was over, Kari and Nene could barely move.
"Angewomon?" Kari groaned. "Where… are you?"
A small voice answered back. "Here…"
A little yellow head with a long, striped tail rolled out from the sand, coughing up bits. The best Kari could do was crawl close enough to wrap her arms around the little creature, holding her close to her chest. As for Nene, at the last second, Beelzemon forced Sparrowmon back into the X-Loader before shielding the General with his own body. He didn't have an In-Training form to revert to, so he remained as he was. Tattered, bruised, burned, and looking much like a victim that managed to survive a dropped nuke.
"No, not again," Nene shook.
"I'm… okay," Beelzemon coughed. "Just… tired…"
Nene threw her arms around her partner's neck and embraced him tightly. "I didn't ask for this. I never asked for anyone, any of you, to protect me. I'm not worth it."
Beelzemon returned the embrace with one hand placed on the small of her back. "Mervamon asked me to do this when she left. But, more importantly, you dream of surpassing your mother one day. In order to do that, you must keep living. Fighting. I won't let anything happen to you until then. Even afterwards, I will still protect you and your dreams." With that, he returned to the X-Loader to heal.
From afar, they could hear something approaching them. It sounded big, sinking deep into the desert sand with each step it took. It probably had four feet and from the low growling noise it made, definitely not friendly. It was probably the thing that sent that last attack on them.
"How could they have survived?!" someone screeched.
Kari weakly opened her eyes. "Arukenimon."
"Vines?" a male voice, presumably Mummymon, joined in. "It's that blasted Cherrymon again, my sweet!"
The two Chosen Children looked to each other before looking up. "Cherrymon?" Thick vines twisted around like a net, covering them. They were burned and torn and as thin as strings but they had been there. Hadn't Marcus told them the story of a Cherrymon that protected the forest with his vines? Or what about what Kenta had said about how he looked out for him? But even if it's only his vines that get attacked, the physical body gets harmed as well.
One of the HoneyBeemon peeked out from the hole and there were tears pooling in his eyes. Directly behind him, little green and brown bits of data floated upwards. This was the ambush.
"The Daemon Corps were just sacrificial pawns to them," Nyaromon squeaked.
On the first night in the Digital World, everyone was on edge. Crying over friends that were gone and beating themselves up for not being able to do more. Gatomon had just been informed that Wizardmon was alive but it made her feel guilty to be happy when everyone else hung their heads and stared at the sand.
"Gatomon," Cherrymon's gentle voice called.
The cat Digimon looked up. "What is it?"
Some vines, balancing a tray of tea slithered close to the kitten. "Could you pass these out to everyone? I'm afraid I might drop a cup."
"You made this for everyone?" Gatomon stared. The chamomile scent was enchanting, making her feel light and warm. "You didn't have to…"
"Oh, but I want to!" Cherrymon chuckled. "Chamomile calms the nerves and I do hope the fragrance is able to put everyone at ease."
How could something with such hollow eyes look so kind? It was almost like the face of the grandfather that would read bedtime stories until you were fast asleep. Or that would dance with you at family gatherings so that you wouldn't feel left out of the adult conversations. He had that kind of face.
"Well, thank you."
Cherrymon pointed at one of the teacups and winked at her. "I also put some catnip in this one just for you."
"The Demon Lords revived them just so they could be tossed away," Kari croaked. "And now, Cherrymon has to unfairly pay for their evils."
Sweat on her forehead, heart beating out of her chest, what felt to be spiders crawling all over her arms, and grains of sand sticking on the back of her neck. Kari pulled her knees to her chest and looked over at JP. He was already fast asleep so he couldn't keep her company like he usually did. That might've been a good thing.
At the moment, it was Cherrymon's turn to take watch. And when he noticed that the brunette had awoken with a start, he moved closer to her. A vine rose up behind her back and rubbed soothing circles around and around, until her quaking subsided.
"Are you okay, dear?" Cherrymon asked. "You look like you were face to face with a Demon Lord."
Kari wrapped her arms around herself. "To me, it was worse than a Demon Lord. With those guys, I don't have much of a personal connection to besides Daemon. But the villains in my dreams… They tried to take me away once before."
"Well, I'll doubt they'll ever succeed no matter how many times they try," Cherrymon stated with a shake of his head, rustling the leaves on top.
"What makes you say that?"
Cherrymon gestured around them and Kari noticed how close Gatomon, Davis, JP, and Rika were all sleeping to her. They had all noticed the lack of sleep she got and they would stay up for as long as they could. Even the others that were farther away seemed to be facing her.
"You all look out for each other," Cherrymon told her. "On the first night, when it was Nene that needed the most comforting. Weren't you all sleeping in a similar position except your position and Nene's were switched? That's what it's like to have friends."
"Yeah," Kari smiled. "That's true."
"And I'm here as well," Cherrymon chuckled. "Despite not knowing you for long, I can promise that I will protect you. Whether it is the enemy from your nightmares or anyone else, I'll make sure that you'll be able to smile the next day."
"This isn't fair," Nene murmured. "We keep losing people. Why… must we keep losing people?"
They were taking a break for lunch and Nene detached herself from the rest of the group. The girl hadn't gotten very far, everyone could still see her. And it wasn't like she was wailing to the heavens or crying a river of a tears. She was just sitting, eating her instant ramen, and humming a song.
"That's beautiful."
A little startled because it wasn't a voice she was familiar with yet, Nene turned around to look at the living tree. Even though the Ultimate Digimon didn't have legs, he appeared to sit down beside her. Unable to use her words because they kept getting caught in her throat, Nene turned back to face forward, slurping her noodles.
"What was it?" Cherrymon inquired.
"It's…," Nene trailed off. She remembered them as her parting words to Etemon and even though it was just a nursery rhyme that everyone learned at a young age, it felt sacred. Like she shouldn't just tell anyone even though almost everyone already knew.
But Cherrymon was undeterred by her lack of an answer. "Could you sing it again? I really liked it."
The idol didn't know why but she complied, this time, singing the actual words instead of humming them. "Kira kira hikaru~."
"Did you know that you smile at the end of that line?" Cherrymon asked. She didn't stop singing. "A smile suits you best." She didn't stop singing. "So… even when something bad happens and you're bawling your eyes out, don't forget that your smile is in there. You can be happy again." She stopped singing. "It's a treasure, you know. The ability to keep smiling even after tragedy."
"My mom died many years ago." Nene didn't know why she was saying this. "She liked to tell me to always keep smiling. But I was a mess on the day of her funeral."
"But could you smile afterwards?"
Images of Taiki, Kiriha, Akari, Zenjirou, and her little brother flashed through her mind along with those of her new friends. "Yes. I have a lot of people counting on me, after all."
The bark around Cherrymon's face crinkled as he smiled. "That's good. It's good to have people that make you smile."
The new trio of enemies finally came into view, two of them looking more human than the behemoth they had brought along with them. It was a quadrupedal dinosaur with mechanical enhancements done to his face. Long, thin cannons protruded from his back, pointed upwards. This was definitely a Mega level Digimon so it was no wonder that it could break through Cherrymon's protection and do enough damage to put both Beelzemon and Angewomon out of commission.
As the vines deteriorated into nothing, Sparrowmon exited the X-Loader, a spiteful glare aimed towards the mechanical reptile. Before she could rocket off towards their enemies though, Nene reached up and grabbed the back end of her partner's wing. A few feet away, Kari was curled up into a ball on her side, hugging Nyaromon and trembling.
"Nene… Let me do this," said the avian.
"I can't lose you too," Nene whispered. "I can't."
"And you won't," Sparrowmon told her. "I can win this."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Because I'm Nene's partner."
-X-
Takato came out victorious only with some help from the other side. But it looks like this other group is in grave danger. Not only did their strongest fighters fly off on another rescue mission, but the ones they left behind are on the brink of death. Can Kari and Nene overcome this hurdle thrown in front of them? Or will Sparrowmon become another casualty of war? Find out on the next Digimon: Children of the Future!
Weird, I've been away from home for school for two weeks now. My mind is teetering between having never left and having everything changed. Well, either way, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and guess what, in a few days, it'll be the first anniversary of when this story was first posted. A whole year of Future, wow. Anyway, leave me a review and thank you, as always, for your support! Au revoir!