ExVeemon: Question number one!
Kiriha: Eh? You're hosting again?
Jeri: Is Zero sick?
ExVeemon: Today's question is, "What is ExVeemon's workout routine? He looks so handsome and rugged!" Why thank you, totally anonymous fan! Well, you see…
Palmon: Poison Ivy! *Yanks ExVeemon out of the way*
Shoutmon: *Puts on the polka-dot bowtie* Sorry about that. No, Zero isn't sick or depressed. He's just exhausted so he asked me to handle it today. ExVeemon was upset that he wasn't chosen so he decided to just butt in on his own. Anyway, we have question concerning Kouichi and the Dark Spores. Whenever it's mentioned, you're the only one who doesn't reach for his neck, why not?
Kouichi: Hm? Ah, well, you see… I guess I'm just not as concerned about it. I mean, everyone else worries about whether or not their Spore is still active but due to my heightened sixth sense, I can tell that it's not. And by that, I mean, I would feel something there if it was still active. But I don't.
Kristy: Well excuse us for feeling nervous about it.
Shoutmon: Next question! And this is for all of us. "How do you guys feel about our successors? The Applimon?"
Thomas: Well, while it says "Digimon Universe," the creators are actually trying to break away from the old brand and make something new. So I think it's best to view it as something different from what we're used to.
Gumdramon: I kind of think it's a rip-off of our season.
Tagiru: Yeah, I mean, linking the Applimon and entering those zones that look a lot like DigiQuartz? If they're trying rebrand, why do something so similar to the previous season? They didn't even take away the "mon" at the end of their names or remove the protagonist's goggles!
Rika: Well, at least his personality is different. He's nowhere near as stupidly reckless as the first two or last four. Not to say that Takato isn't stupid or reckless.
Takuya: Hey! *Pause* Actually, no, that's a fair statement.
Mimi: I'm just really hoping for Eri to be likable and tough. From what we've seen so far, things look good. But her being an idol might be a bit much.
Gumdramon: Yet another thing from our season.
Rika: Her idol persona is also kind of ditzy.
Tai: Come on guys, let's give it a chance. It's still too soon to judge it this hard. Though only two of us are really doing that.
Kari: Tai's right. We should focus on our thing. So, to our lovely readers, we hope you guys enjoy this new chapter!
-X-
?
"Jian! Stop that! Right now!"
At only four years old, Henry Wong was already a menace in his household. Today was particularly bad because he refused to finish everything on his plate so Mayumi decided to withhold his dessert. That only escalated into screaming, fists to the chairs, plates to the floor, disheveled couches, tipped over plants, and torn up pieces of paper.
"My drawings!" Rinchei gasped.
"Mr. Cuddles!" Jaarin yelped.
Mayumi combed her fingers through her hair as she figured out where to start. Sweeping the throw pillow feathers all over the floor? Or picking up the glass shards of the shattered vase? If only Janyu would get home sooner. Henry only ever seemed to listen to him. Speaking of which, the pouty toddler was nowhere to be seen.
"Do either of you know where your brother is?" Mayumi asked.
Jaarin held up her torn-to-shreds teddy bear. It was missing one of its eyes. And an arm. And a leg. And both of its ears. "He is not my brother," she spat coldly. "Just look at what he did!"
"I think he went to his room," Rinchei muttered. He was kneeling in front of his coloring book, every page was ripped out from the spine and littered the ground. Some were in better shape than others but for the most part, nothing could be salvaged. "Jian's really mean."
Mayumi knew that this was hard for everyone in the family. Henry was practically feral with the way he behaved when he was angry. It was fine when he was content. He would just calmly sit in the corner and watch television or draw on the walls. Which can easily be washed off. The boy would even pick up picture books and start silently reading as if he knew what the words on the page meant. But somehow, Mayumi felt that he did know.
But you tell him to do something he doesn't want to, take away something he wants, anything that usually makes a kid throw a tantrum and he explodes.
"I'm home!"
The heavy footsteps of Janyu Wong crossed the threshold and into the dining area. Upon seeing the helter-skelter and the defeated faces of his family, the man let out a deep sigh. Dropping his briefcase, he trudged on over to his youngest son's room.
Henry was lying on his back in bed, staring straight up at the circular light fixture hanging from the ceiling. His hands were folded and resting on his stomach as he patiently waited for his door to click open and his father to walk in. As always, everything inside was immaculate, contradictory to the state of which he left the other room in.
Rubbing his tired eyes, Janyu sat down on the edge of the bed, tilting the mattress over to his side but not enough to have Henry roll in that direction. As a matter of fact, there was no sign that he even noticed his father's presence there. It was like he was fast asleep with his unblinking eyes wide open.
"What happened?" Janyu asked.
"...I got mad," Henry replied.
"I thought we talked about this," Janyu sighed. He leaned in over his son. "When you feel the urge to tip over a chair, just take a moment to breathe. Momentai, remember?"
The boy turned his head over to the side, facing the wall. "I forgot."
Ten seconds of silence passed between them and with a grunt, Janyu stood up. Henry was scooped up from the armpits by his father's large, calloused hands and thrown over his shoulder. The boy was already starting to squirm and struggle and beat his tiny fists against Janyu's broad back. But the older male didn't react as he continued out the door, telling his wife and other kids that he would be back soon.
By the time the car entered the town of Shinjuku, a full hour from home, it was already half past ten. Notoriously known as the busiest and noisiest district in Tokyo, Henry was easily distracted by the bright lights of the city, drunken suits wobbling to the station, teenage girls ignoring curfew, and skater boys smoking in the alleyways. But rather than stopping in one of the more popular spots, Janyu turned the corner into a quiet street.
"Where are we going?" Henry finally asked.
"To see a friend of mine," Janyu replied. "You've met him a few times before."
"Uncle Cho?"
The man parked the vehicle in front of a wooden structure, a dojo. Leading his son inside, the pair watched as an adult Chinese man stood in the middle of the room, eyes closed, palms pressed flat together. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and his hands flew from his chest. Or at least, it appeared that way, the movements were far slower than they actually appeared.
Henry's mouth was agape as he watched the spectacle before him. "That's awesome!"
One graceful movement after the other. Cho's hands and feet moved in what would be considered violent yet there was something elegant, gentle to it, like a ballroom dance. There was also power in the way he attacked the air. A dance that exploded when every limb stretched out to the fullest that they possibly could, reaching for their limits.
"Cho's a master of tai chi, a kind of martial arts," Janyu explained. "It helps him get in touch with his emotions and calm down when he feels frustrated."
Returning to his first position, Cho looked at the pair for the first time. Like walking on ice, the man stepped over towards them. Now that he was this close, Henry realized that the man was even taller than his own father who was the largest man he knew. Well, not anymore.
"Wǎn shàng hǎo," Cho greeted them.
Henry respectfully bowed to him. "Wǎn shàng hǎo."
"Cho, I was wondering if you could give Jian private tai chi lessons," said Janyu, surprising his son. "I'm sure he would enjoy it and he would make an excellent student."
The blue-haired boy violently yanked himself away from his father's hand. "I don't want to! It's so far away!"
Cho stroked his mustache before clapping his hands together, bringing Henry's attention back up to him. "Then how about on the weekends?" Cho offered. "A two-day trial, if you will. If you enjoy my classes, then I'll work out a schedule for you."
Janyu kneeled down and placed both his hands on the young boy's shoulders. "Jian, I know you don't like this but please give it a try. If you still don't want to partake in his classes afterwards, then I won't force you. But I know this will help you control your emotions when you're feeling angry."
Henry looked between the two men before giving them a tiny nod. If it would help him take control then he was willing to give it a shot. So breathing deeply to calm down the rising agitation in his stomach, the first lesson both his father and future sensei gave him, he said, "Okay."
December 25: Worm Line - 1:27 PM
Just breathe. Momentai. You're blowing things way out of proportion. Things don't have to go this way. Please, just stop. Stop! JUST BREATHE GODDAMNIT!
"Crescent Harken!"
The entire area was illuminated by a bright light. The Digimon fleeing the area, the various other fights going on, they all had to pause in order to prevent their eyes from being blinded by the goddess's attack. But as soon as it faded away, so long as they were caught for even a second, they were no longer able to focus. Everything became a wild blur as they started screaming out like a pack of wolves howling at the moon.
"Tch," Sayo scoffed. "This is why I tell Dianamon to hold back her range."
Ken shook off the disorientation from being tackled to the ground. "What did she do exactly?"
All of a sudden, MegaGargomon let out a roar before throwing himself into the forest. He seemed to be knocking himself into the trees, smashing his head into the dirt, and doing everything he can to harm himself. Everyone else who got affected by the light seemed to be doing the same, enemy and ally alike. Well, except for the robotic Gizumon anyway.
Sayo hesitated, but figured there was no point in keeping it a secret. "It's like taking a wild hallucinogenic drug that makes you think your insides are trying to crawl out of you. So you hit your body either with your fists or into other objects in order to force them back in. The longer you're under the influence, the more likely you'll just want to quicken the process by cutting yourself open instead."
Wormmon shuddered. "That's awful!"
The sun came back and the night seemed to blink away into light as the screaming stopped. MegaGargomon returned to his senses as well but not before Dianamon had closed the distance between them and was furiously spinning her weapon like a high-speed windmill. Cutting into the heavily armored Digimon, he was unable to open any of his gunports to counterattack.
"She's kind of scary, isn't she?" Sayo sighed. "As soon as you see her dark side, there's pretty much no hope for survival."
Ken had to admit, watching Dianamon perform such flashy moves without wasting a single one of them sent shivers through the very marrow of his bones. Her speed was phenomenal and that last attack was truly terrifying. But what made it worse was the fact that MegaGargomon seemed to be taking a lot of damage with no chance to get out of the way and take a breather.
"Henry…," Terriermon groaned. "Hang in there…"
The boy was unable to materialize any of his cards, it was difficult just to think about which card he even wanted. "Just… breathe…," he grunted through grit teeth.
In MegaGargomon's eyes, the weapon finally started to slow down. Over time, the bio-merged soldier's eyes became used to the speed of the weapon and once he saw his chance, he gripped it tightly in his giant hand. Pulling backwards on it, Dianamon flew forward, right into MegaGargomon's waiting fist which connected with her gut.
"Oh no!" Wormmon yelped.
"She's not done yet," Ken muttered.
Dianamon had the wind knocked out of her but she didn't let it stop her from twisting backwards and straddling her thighs around MegaGargomon's head. She didn't have the strength to flip him over but that wasn't her plan in the first place. The crescent moons on her legs released an ethereal glow and the behemoth started nodding off.
"He's being put to sleep!" Wormmon gasped.
Sayo crossed her arms. "The Goodnight Sisters lull foes into a deep slumber. MegaGargomon won't be waking up anytime soon."
Flipping back around, Dianamon split her weapon into two separate parts once again and in a crossing motion, she slashed right through MegaGargomon's chest. As the blades intersected and flew apart, so did MegaGargomon, in two parts. At first, Ken was worried that the Tamer was done for, but then he watched the figure of a human teenager and a small bunny drop to the forest underneath.
"So… You were never planning on destroying him?" Ken asked. "Just knocking him out?"
Sayo shook her head. "I still want to put him down, make sure he's not a danger to us. But… that doesn't mean Terriermon should be deleted too. And I'll respect the little guy's wishes... for now. I'm just hoping this will have cooled down that hot head a little." She nodded over to the woods. "We should go looking for him. Hopefully, the fall didn't kill him."
"Oh, right," Ken nodded before following after her. He had to say, he was grateful to her for sparing their lives. But he also reminded himself not to get on her bad side.
December 25: Hermes Caverns - 1:28 PM
The snow on the ledge fell off in clumps as Kazu lost his footing, nearly slipping down into the icy depths below. Luckily for him, Falcomon was there to catch him by the collar of his brown fleece coat. With a relieved sigh and a word of thanks, the boy continued climbing until he was helped onto the plateau by Keenan.
"Well," Keenan huffed. "Here we are."
The Tamer wiped the sweat from his brow. "Uh, okay, but where is here?"
Keenan didn't answer, just pointed his flashlight to the walls of the cave, revealing an intricate mural. Kazu's jaw dropped as he exhaled deeply upon seeing the colorfully carved painting, lightly brushing his fingers over the vaguely familiar image of Merukimon. BlackToyAgumon seemed to be scanning the walls, not in the same way as he could in his higher forms, as if searching for something out of place.
"Are these the twelve Olympians?" Kazu asked.
Keenan nodded. "And that…" He points to the triangle in the center of the circle that each of the god warriors have created. "...is Mount Olympus. Merukimon showed me this wall when I was still really young so I didn't quite understand it. But meeting him again, I felt compelled to come back here."
Falcomon landed between the boys, raising a wing. "Perhaps we can find a clue. These paintings are supposed to detail Merukimon's history, after all."
"Along with the other eleven Olympians."
The machine Rookie plodded around to face them. "Twelve others." He reached up and brushed his hands over a smudge on the wall. The others leaned in close and saw another figure being revealed underneath. "That one is Plutomon."
They remembered hearing about this particular god and even if they hadn't, they could infer plenty from the name. Neither of these boys were very smart but they did know that Pluto was the Roman god of the underworld, the equivalent to the Greek god Hades. Did that make him an embodiment of evil? Not necessarily. Despite what Disney's Hercules conveyed, in actual mythology, Hades was probably the most docile of the gods. Compared to Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, or Aphrodite, he didn't act on personal impulse as much.
Plutomon in particular was not evil, just ruthless. Like Jupitermon, he performed divine judgment over criminal Digimon. However, where his light counterpart gave them a trial, the dark one preferred to destroy all criminals. In his mind, even stealing was a slippery slope into homicide and genocide. Not that he had any room to judge considering he was the reason for the birth of Pride and Wrath.
"If Plutomon is part of this circle…," Keenan muttered. "Then that must mean we need all thirteen in order to bring out Mount Olympus."
Kazu crossed his arms. "Why didn't Apollomon or Dianamon or any of our other Olympian allies tell us this?"
The answer was obvious. The gods were once rulers of the Digital World but over time, Digimon stopped bowing their heads to them. It wasn't like they stopped believing in them, if that happened then the gods would permanently disappear. No, they were simply no longer revered or feared. So over time, the gods simply became a part of their history. And because of that, the gods could no longer remember things about even themselves.
"Merukimon started chronicling his life and the others to make sure he wouldn't completely forget," Keenan explained. "That's the purpose of these paintings."
The paintings were incredibly detailed, it was a surprise to know that someone as huge as Merukimon was able to create them seeing how small they were in comparison to his giant frame. To the far left, there were drawings of the seven Demon Lords. They seemed to move across the wall, laughing maniacally and spewing flames from their fingertips. Only the twins of Gluttony remained motionless.
Kazu tapped the side of his jaw before looking back to the original painting. "Now that I think about it… the gods looked like they were moving as well."
Returning to their initial spot, they found that the Tamer was right. It was slight but they were definitely animated in some way. Keenan clicked off his flashlight and just as he had suspected, the figures glowed in the dark a bit.
"Encryptions," Falcomon pointed out.
Kazu narrowed his eyes and scowled, leaning closer to the seemingly random assortment of chicken scratch. And he thought his handwriting was illegible. "Did a toddler with a very weak grasp of the western alphabet write this?"
Keenan chuckled before shaking his head. "It's just Digi-Code but heavily programmed so that it's hard to read. Though, even if it was decoded, without proper education on the written language, you wouldn't understand any of it."
The boy held out his digivice and started scanning the wall, slowly but surely decoding each word, letter by letter. On the screen, it slowly translated from English into Japanese which was good because both of their grades in the foreign language were below average. But before Kazu could even squeeze in to read, Keenan suddenly reeled back, eyes wide and body shaking.
"What's wrong?" the brunet asked.
"We have to destroy this wall," Keenan stated.
"Eh?!"
Kazu grabbed the other boy's wrist, pulling it down. Or he tried to, Keenan was a lot stronger than his lanky body seemed to imply. "But these paintings are important to Merukimon, right? And that guy was like your father, right?"
"Their locations," Keenan shook. "Those words that continue changing tell the locations of each of the Olympians. If the enemy finds this wall, they'll be able to find each and every single one of them. If we don't destroy this wall then…"
"We can just seal off these caverns," Kazu suggested. "We don't have to destroy this."
Keenan let his hand drop to his side as he stared at the wall. The paintings chronicled the entire life stories of each of the gods. On one side of the wall, Merukimon let Keenan finger paint when he was tiny, making images of himself, Falcomon, Frigimon, and Merukimon, a picture perfect family in its own right.
"In order to protect them, I have to," said Keenan.
Just then, the sound of feet approaching them in the dark caught their attention. A pair of slanted, yellow eyes stared at them, making a hissing noise as the pupils dilated into a thin, black slits. A giant snake? That was certainly unnerving. But Falcomon, who could see in the dark fairly well, recognized the figures as he plodded over to them.
"Mervamon? What are you doing here?" the avian asked. "Nene - well - Kari told us that you had run off with Minervamon."
Keenan turned on his flashlight once more, illuminating the entire cavern as the light bounced off the crystalline ceiling. Minervamon licked her lips as she stepped forward. It seemed as though Mervamon had become submissive, odd considering her explosive personality.
"I brought her here," Minervamon giggled. She skipped along the very edge of the ledge, looking as if she might tilt over and plummet several hundred meters. But stopping right in front of the image of the mountain, she frowned. "So that old fart really has been doing this." She placed her hands on her hips and let out a sigh. "But now he's gone off and died. Twice!"
"Minervamon!" Mervamon snapped.
"Aren't you his friend?" Kazu scowled. "How can you say something like that about him?"
The goddess shrugged, turning on her heel, the long way around, to face the boys. "No one ever said that the gods had to get along. We were born into these positions."
Merukimon never spoke about the other gods very often. Keenan knew about this as a fact. The god barely ever mentioned being an Olympian himself. There were just times when he would sit on his icy throne and make a random, reminiscent remark about the past. They were always so offhanded that everyone had just assumed he was daydreaming out loud.
"So why are you here?" Keenan asked.
"To show Mervamon," she answered. "I need her to be remember our shared past together."
The amazoness warrior turned to face the paintings, following along each drawing with the forked tongue of her scaly snake-arm. She paused in front of a woman, raising a massive broadsword over her head and swinging it around like a helicopter chopper. Beneath her was the figure of a pirate swimming in a sea of gold coins.
"Well?" Minervamon broached.
Her larger self placed a hand over her left breast. "There's a stirring in my chest… and a slight throbbing in my head. Perhaps… I do remember being one with you."
Minervamon let out a squeal. "So does this mean…?"
"However," Mervamon interjected, turning on the smaller Digimon. "That was in the past. Right now, I am Nene's trusted partner and friend. I cannot just abandon that."
Minervamon crossed her arms and glanced at the pair of humans. Her pupils seemed to cross over their entire bodies in one second, as if she had assessed them just like that. "I don't get it," she huffed, twirling a braid in her fingers. "Why ally yourself to these beings?"
BlackToyAgumon narrowed his eyes and Falcomon ruffled his feathers. But their partners kept them controlled, placing hands on their heads.
Mervamon, however, did not have a human to restrain. She took a step forward, her arm hissing wildly and her hand on the hilt of her blade. "What do you mean?"
"Now, now, no need for aggression." As a side comment, she added, "Probably not the best idea to throw out all of my unattractive traits and compile them into one whole separate being." The boys held their breath and bit their tongues but strangely enough, Mervamon didn't seem to react. "Anyway, what I meant was that humans are the main causes of our distress. They've released and created viruses and monsters and even exacted mass genocide on our species. Why partner yourselves to such horrid creatures?"
Falcomon flapped his wings indignantly. "How dare you group all humans together like that!"
"Kazu isn't like that!" BlackToyAgumon yelled. "The first time we met, he took care of me when fellow Digimon turned their backs on me. What you say is nothing more than the words of a discriminatory, superiority-complexed deity!"
Mervamon was wide-eyed but her face relaxed into a rather smug grin. "Honestly, I couldn't have said it better myself."
"If my infamous tantrums were still a part of my personality, I would be halfway through with destroying this place already," Minervamon sighed. She placed her hands on her hips and turned to the boys once more. "Alrighty then! If you two can prove to me that humans are worth protecting, then I'll give up on being one with Mervamon."
"Eh?" the humans blinked.
"You're on!" Falcomon and BlackToyAgumon shouted.
"Wait, we never agreed to this," said Keenan. "And how do we prove that to you, exactly?"
Minervamon placed a hand to her chin, obviously, she had not thought about that. "I know! I'll follow you two around and study."
"That'll take way too long!" Mervamon interjected. "Don't tell me your brains also left that head of yours and entered my body." With a heavy sigh, she turned away. "I'm going to head back to Nene, for all I know, she's in danger right now and needs my help."
The only problem was that Mervamon had been following her other self this entire time. She barely had any idea how they even got here let alone how to get back. Not to mention, her partner was likely to be long gone from the last spot that they were together. Furthermore, there was still the question of what they should do about the paintings.
"How do we seal off this place?" Keenan asked aloud. "It's huge and if we cause a cave in, they can still dig their way inside."
Minervamon raised her broadsword, letting the sharp blade rest harmlessly on her shoulder. "Let's just destroy it. There's no need to get all sentimental."
"No," Mervamon interjected. "This is still something important to your fellow Olympian."
The smaller woman groaned. "Don't tell me, my naivete also got transferred over to you?"
"Perhaps it did," Mervamon stated, standing tall. "But if that means I'm the open-minded one who has given humans a chance, then so be it. I'm happy with Nene. The Chosen Children, the ones you see as worth less than you, I can say for certain that they are something truly special."
Keenan continued from there. "Not just us. There are lots of humans that are kind, loving, and they're worth protecting because we're the ones that will bring about a better tomorrow."
"A better tomorrow?" Minervamon repeated.
It was as if she was writing things down in a mental notepad. Eventually, she started leading them out of the cavern and with a wild swing of their blades, the pair of women sealed the place off. The next step involved Kazu and a Modify card.
"Digi-Modify! Formation Gamma: Freeze Frame Activate!"
An old-fashioned camera materialized above BlackToyAgumon's head, landing in his blocky hands. With a push of a button, a flash went off and a photo slid out from the bottom. Fanning the piece of paper, they saw the image of the toppled over caverns and looking up, the actual place was completely gone.
"Handy trick," Mervamon remarked.
"So long as the card is still in play, it won't come back," Kazu explained. "However, it doesn't work on other Digimon, only field and equipment cards. So don't bother asking me to use it on one of the Demon Lords or something like that."
Keenan looked between the card and the brunet. "You're a lot more skilled than Rika gives you credit for."
"No…," Kazu sighed. "In terms of raw power, I have more than even Henry. But if I were to actually play a game against any of them, I would lose."
BlackToyAgumon looked up at his partner, knowing that that wasn't like Kazu at all. Usually, the Tamer would be bombastically telling people how he would one day take down the former King and Queen. It was uncharacteristic of him to openly admit that his skill level was below theirs.
Stuffing his hands deep into his pockets and burying his chin into the fluffy insides of his jacket, Kazu turned away from the others, refusing to face them. Minervamon didn't quite understand the change in atmosphere while Mervamon was asking Falcomon about what Merukimon was like. Keenan and BlackToyAgumon seemed to be the only ones concerned for the other boy.
"Don't be so pessimistic," Keenan chuckled, placing a hand on his schoolmate's shoulder. "The future is full of surprises. But the ideal one won't come to you if you don't make it happen."
"That's right!" BlackToyAgumon agreed. "We make our own futures. Nothing is set in stone."
Kazu was surprised by how badly these two wanted to cheer him up. But he supposed they had a good point. After all, the odds were completely against them at this point. They've seen the calamitous power that the Demon Lords had. If they gave up, thinking they wouldn't stand a chance no matter what, then the whole multiverse would be lost.
The brunet let out a sigh. "Mom's right, I've been watching too much TV. I have this sudden urge not to give up now."
"That's not totally a bad thing," Keenan smirked.
December 25: Worm Line - 1:30 PM
As soon as the moonlight faded away, Antylamon continued her rapid onslaught of attacks. It was only thanks to Silphymon's superior speed that she was able to avoid getting cleaved in two. Now the real issue was concentrating her Static Shock attacks so that it only hit the Dark Ring. But with such an explosive attack on such a small but fast-moving target, it was difficult to aim properly.
At some point, both axes came down for Silphymon's shoulders, had the blows connected, he would be missing two limbs. But he was fast enough to grab the blades with his hands, letting the sharpened metal sink into his palms. Had he been human, blood would be spurting out but instead, it was red data that sprinkled down his arms.
"She's strong," Silphymon grunted. "But I won't lose!"
Without the strength to push back on the blades, she instead pulled herself up and slammed her feet into Antylamon's chest. They broke away from each other and the warrior immediately produced a ball of hot energy in between her hands. It rocketed forward but the Deva shifted in her position, letting it strike her in the stomach.
Yolei gasped, a hand over her mouth. "Antylamon, she doesn't even care about her own life. So long as that Dark Spiral remains intact."
Antylamon didn't seem to have suffered any damages from the assault though, no burn marks or scratches. Her breathing was normal and she hadn't even doubled over. Rather, it was as if the tissue on her abdomen had hardened and she was suddenly shooting forward.
"Arm Bomber!"
Silphymon enveloped his partner into his feathery arms before taking to the skies, narrowly avoiding getting mowed over by a lariat. Instead, the pair watched as a cluster of trees were toppled over and flattened into the ground. It was a good thing they weren't struck by that.
"Let's try something else," Silphymon muttered, dropping off his partner before gliding forward. "Dual Sonic!"
The rabbit Deva pulled herself out of the wreckage just in time to see the white figure fly towards her. Spinning on her axis so that she became a twister, she sliced through the attack and continued on to slam Silphymon into the ground. "Asipatravana!" As if that wasn't enough, she was about to cut right into Yolei as well.
"Don't think I'm defenseless!" Yolei snapped.
The human girl pulled out two throwing stars from her pouch and tossed them towards the tornado. As she had hoped, the strings attached had gotten tangled up in the Ultimate Digimon but what she had not been expecting was the difference in strength between them. Yanked off from the stone she stood upon, Yolei spun right into the thick trunk of a tall tree. A sickening crunch traveled through the air as she landed in a motionless heap in the dirt.
"Yolei!" Silphymon cried out.
Antylamon stopped spinning and leapt high into the air. Her shadow showed that she was directly on top of Silphymon. "Bunny Blades!"
"Not good," the bird-man grimaced as he rolled out of the way and onto his talons. "Static Force!"
The bunny batted away the energy ball with an axe as she landed, crouching down. Stretching out her flexed legs, she shot forward like a speeding bullet. Twisting her body around, she used her powerful legs to slam into Silphymon's torso, sending him flying backwards.
The voice that had originally given orders to their brainwashed foe called out again. "Excellent, now be sure to finish them off."
Antylamon nodded, raising her hands to air as she loomed over the struggling body of Silphymon. "Bunny-."
A small, black blur flew through the air and struck the side of Antylamon's ear, leaving a tiny crack in the Dark Spiral. In that moment of shock and hesitation, Silphymon shot forward and using her claws, she broke both Spirals, leaving cracked chunks littering the floor.
"Bingo!" a familiar voice cheered.
Yolei stepped out from her hiding spot behind a boulder, holding up MetalKoromon by the wiry tail. It had been their plan for a while now. Even Dianamon's lunar attack worked in their favor.
Since it was quite common recently for enemy Digimon to target the human partners, Yolei decided to use that to their advantage. She had been working on creating her own substitution jutsu. On the Trailmon, she had been working on a simple android that could easily be confused for her if you didn't look too closely. Then she broke it apart into smaller pieces so that it could fit in her backpack.
When Dianamon had illuminated the entire area, Silphymon had been unaffected due to her visor. But with Antylamon being as unstable as she was, they didn't want to run the risk of launching an attack lest they accidentally knocked her in the face. So instead, the bird-man covered Yolei's eyes. Once she got the cue to keep her head down, she immediately assembled her doppelganger.
As for when they implemented this plan. When Silphymon nabbed Yolei, they had already been swapped. The real one remained hidden, crawling towards the unsuspecting MetalKoromon while her partner acted as the distraction. Once that was complete, all Yolei had to do was puppeteer her creation so that it looked real enough to fool their opponents. In the end, it was a huge success.
"Silphymon, take care of this," the bespectacled girl grinned, tossing MetalKoromon into the air.
"With pleasure," Silphymon nodded. With a powerful kick, the small Digimon was deleted along with the core.
"Ugh, my head," Antylamon groaned, shaking her head before looking over to the Chosen Child. "Thank you, Yolei. If it hadn't been for you…"
Yolei stopped her right there. "It's what friends do."
The trio each attempted to take a step towards each other when they realized that they were unable to move their feet. Not only that, but the temperature had suddenly dropped by several degrees. Looking down, they found that they had been frozen to the ground, coated in solid ice.
"Now what?" Silphymon groaned.
"My bitterness is starting to rub off on you," Yolei chuckled before getting serious. "It must be IceDevimon. Rika did warn us that it might be him that wanted Suzie."
Silphymon broke out of the ice with his talons but as soon as he was free, IceDevimon had appeared in front of him. In a blur, the fallen angel punched him directly in the face, making him skid across the ice, getting scratched up by the jagged pieces and spikes. Without a pause for breath, IceDevimon turned Antylamon into a frozen statue.
"I'm afraid I'll have to take my leave now," IceDevimon chuckled darkly. "Thank you for entertaining us."
"Damn," Yolei hissed.
Silphymon quickly produced another ball of hot energy. "Static Shock!"
A portal opened up, rippling the air as IceDevimon kicked the ice sculpture through before following right behind. The energy ball blasted right past as the rip in space closed up. Yolei chipped her way out of the ice with a ninja star, careful not to aim directly on her feet while her partner blankly stared at the space where their friend just stood.
"I could use a little help over here!" she called out.
"Ah, right, sorry Yolei," Silphymon said, floating over to her. "Are you okay?"
"Cold and slightly bruised," she replied. "But in general, feeling pretty good about myself. We were able to destroy the core and we gave Antylamon a run for her money. All we need to do now is find a way to save her, Suzie, and everyone else from the Demon Lords."
The bird-man stood there for a while as his partner used hand warmers to bring feeling back to her feet. With a near silent chuckle, Silphymon whispered to the air, "You really have matured now, haven't you. I'm glad."
"Did you say something?"
"No, nothing. Let's go help the others."
They may have been lucky at avoiding the cursed moonlight but Zephyrmon and Pandamon certainly weren't. In a fit of confused rage, they not only barreled into each other but also smashed their bodies into the trees. Relena was no better, she had been clawing at the skin on her arm just moments ago, as if trying to peel it off.
The three Gizumon used this moment to their advantage and sliced their way past the two Ultimates. Not only did they wound the barricade, but they were already halfway there to the screaming Mako and company. Zephyrmon heard their cries for help and using all the willpower she had, forced herself up and produced a powerful wind to whip around her.
"I have to… protect them," the Warrior of Wind grunted. "Hurricane Gale!"
The Gizumon evaded the attack with relative ease but by then, the moonlight had faded away. So with a single wingbeat, Zephyrmon soared through the air, maneuvering through the woods with incredible expertise. Using her claws, she slammed down one of the Gizumon by hammering the top of its head. Whipping around, she got a roundhouse kick in on the second and slashed her tail through the third.
"She's fast," Pandamon remarked.
"And really strong," Relena nodded.
But the Legendary Warrior wasn't the only one that could pack a punch. She had to twist herself around to avoid the lasers they shot and that left her open for attack. So all three robots surrounded and slammed their metal flaps downward, grounding her.
The ursine Digimon quickly sprinted forward, realizing that he couldn't just stand and watch as he unsheathed his claws. "Animal Nail!" With a leap and a drop, he was able to pin down one of the Gizumon beneath his weight. "Zephyrmon, can you handle two at the same time?"
Smirking underneath her mask, the Warrior sunk her claws into the dirt, lifting herself up into a handstand position. Taking a page from her human spirit's book, she performed a split and started spinning at a rapid speed, repelling the other two. Then, righting herself, she immediately produced red lightning from her hands.
"Plasma Paws!" The ground shook as both Gizumon were blasted into the ground and torn to shreds. "Did that answer your question?"
Pandamon had already finished dismantling his target piece by piece with his razor sharp claws. By the time they were finished turning their enemies into scrap, Relena had joined them. It seemed relatively easy to take down the trio of androids.
"After disarming them once, they're nothing more than cannon fodder," Pandamon explained.
"The real trouble is elsewhere," Zephyrmon remarked. With her heightened sense of hearing, she was able to detect the trouble that their friends were having facing two Dark Generals at the same time. "Unfortunately, there might be more Gizumon nearby so let's just hope the others can deal with it while we protect Mako and the refugees."
Relena nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a good idea."
The three of them took off to join the other passengers from the Trailmon, praying that everyone else would get out of their own predicaments in one piece. As they were running, they noticed a massive green soldier falling towards them. Splitting in two, a pair of small figures plummeted to the ground. Dianamon flew in one direction, following one of the falling lights.
Zephyrmon paused. The sound of the wind whistling as a human body dropped towards the ground reached her ears. Without saying a word, she flew forward, out of Relena's line of sight, ignoring the confused calls from the two she left behind. And above the canopy, Henry landed in her waiting arms.
"This didn't have to happen," she sighed.
For all the time they had spent together, Zoey thought she had the other boy figured out. But when she really thought about it, he was always the listener no matter what group he was in. Where she would dump a bunch needless information on his head, he would just nod along. So, as it would turn out, perhaps no one knew anything about Henry Wong.
-X-
Henry was defeated and two other fights have turned out in our heroes' favor! Still what could possibly be going through Henry's head? And what about the Olympians? And how is Kiriha's group faring against two Dark Generals? Only one way to find out! And that's by staying tuned to Digimon: Children of the Future!
I honestly hate how short these fight scenes are. But at the same time, I've done enough stalling. So, I've made a decision, unless it's supposed to be something important, the fight scenes won't be much more than a quarter of the chapter. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed and for my fellow Americans, have a good Thanksgiving break! Oh, and don't forget to leave a review! And remember, if you have any questions for the group or me, feel free to ask. See ya!