Zero Unit: So I want to apologize for an inconsistency in the last chapter. Yuu should not have been surprised as he was with being unable to Hunt the Deva because he actually discovers that he can't back in chapter 13. For the sake of continuity, I've edited the last chapter so that it includes a small section where it talks about Takuya mentioning that the Digimon in Sakakkumon were fake and that's why they couldn't be hunted.
Cody: In your defense, that was twenty chapters ago. Which was, what? About a year and half ago?
Suzie: Yeah, I'm surprised a reader was even able to catch that.
Dorulumon: Speaking of inconsistencies, you called me a lion multiple times in chapter 5.
Zero Unit: ...You're not a lion?
Dorulumon: I'm a wolf!
Zero Unit: But… the mane!
Yoshino: Moving on, we do have a question, "If you guys met the Appli Drivers, what would you tell them? What is the message from the older generations to the new?"
Rei: Interesting… So this is the fourth wall space.
Astra: We're actually meeting the Chosen Children in the flesh! Do you feel it? Do you not?
Musimon: Yeah, we feel it!
Davis: Whoa! What is, uh, what are they doing here?
Haru: Well, Zero invited us to make sure you guys answer honestly.
Eri: Because if you didn't, I'd have to give you guys an explosive punch!
Rika: Well, I can start. I have to say that I wasn't sure about you guys carrying on the legacy at first. You were all kind of silly, there was never any sense of tension, and I couldn't take any of the bad guys seriously. But I think you all showed a lot of growth and proved yourselves worthy.
Tai: I agree. I think you guys really made the show your own and appealed greatly to the modern era of kids.
Agumon: It was also a lot of fun for me to cameo in your show!
Taiki: I think in general, we're all just really proud to see you guys do as well as you did. And personally speaking, I thought that the last few episodes were really impressive.
Kouji: *Chuckles to himself* It certainly went beyond my expectations.
Jeri: *Going over to Offmon* And I think you're just about the most adorable thing!
Kari: *Joining her* I really couldn't take my eyes off you whenever you were on screen.
Offmon: *Slowly looks up at them, small smile and shining eyes and sparkles* Off~
Jeri & Kari: *Gushes* Awwwwwwww.
Liollmon: Gatomon… help me, I think I'm…
Gatomon: *Smirks* Jealous?
Liollmon: Yeah, that...
Gatchmon: *Sighs* You'll get used to it.
Dokamon: Join us at the end where we'll tell you guys how we feel about our predecessors!
Hackmon: Until then… please enjoy today's chapter.
-X-
January 24: Kingdom Town Market — 11:57 AM
Thanks to her last encounter with the Chosen Children, Kuzuhamon had her magic sealed. She could no longer rely on her vast arsenal of spells aside from the one used to allow her to fly. But even so, she was confident that her martial arts prowess would be enough to defeat the Legendary Warrior of Wind.
As for Kazemon, she knew that while her opponent couldn't use magic, she was still in trouble. Rika had figured that the other sorceress wouldn't give up so easily. The only way they'd be able to get a Digimon as prideful as Kuzuhamon to give up her loyalties to the Demon Lords was to push her as far back into the corner as possible. One would think that losing access to her mana would be enough but as Rika predicted, that was too optimistic an outlook.
The women faced each other. Tuning out the chaos going on around them. Then Kuzuhamon raised her staff, creating a jingle.
Underneath her visor, Kazemon's eyes twitched. There was another jingle, louder this time. But it sounded so close that Kazemon jerked her head to the side to look at it. But with a sudden gasp, she realized her mistake and swiftly ducked below the enemy's roundhouse kick.
Kazemon then took a deep breath and let it out in a strong enough exhale to blow herself backwards and repel Kuzuhamon. In the wind current, she could hear dozens of bells going off at once. At some point during her battle with the Deva, Kuzuhamon placed bells everywhere. It was so that Kazemon, who had such strong hearing, would react every time one of them would ring. The sound resembled that of Kuzuhamon's staff so closely that her mind started playing tricks on her.
"But now that I know your trick," said Kazemon. "You won't be able to get me again."
Kuzuhamon stood back up, lightly dusting herself off. "Oh? Is that what you think?"
The mage tossed her staff to the side and then sprinted forward. Kazemon backhanded the air, generating a powerful wave of wind. But Kuzuhamon flipped right over it and landed gracefully directly in front of the fairy. The two women began throwing punches and kicks at each other that was countered easily by the other.
The pair didn't even realize it when they started taking flight. They pushed each other back before flying right back at each other. Each collision accompanied by the impact of their legs as they tried to drive their heels into their opponent's heads.
Ring! Ring!
Kazemon willed herself not to look. And that was a mistake. Kuzuhamon's fallen staff suddenly flew in and smashed into the side of the Warrior's stomach.
"Gah!" the fairy yelped.
Kuzuhamon caught her weapon and with a flourish, slammed it down on Kazemon's body, sending her down to the ground. "I can beat you without magic."
Kazemon hit the ground, landing on one of her wings. It bent at an unnatural angle and she screamed out in agony. Inside, as a human, it felt like someone slowly tore open her back with a jagged piece of glass, then reached in and removed a front rib. But they did it in way that made the bone catch onto as many of her internal organs as possible. And it was obvious that Kuzuhamon had hit her so that she would fall in that way.
"My… my wing!" she grunted.
The spirit of Kazemon let out a cry. "Zoey!"
Had this been three years ago, during their first adventure, only the spirit would've felt that searing pain. But now even the human host could experience the equivalent on their own body. Even if it was on something like wings or a tail that Zoey did not have. She could feel it.
"Turn into me!" said Zephyrmon. "My wings are fine!"
Biting through the pain, the Legendary Warrior stood back up, wrapping herself up in cocoon. "Slide Evolution: Zephyrmon!" She could still feel the sting but it was better.
As Zephyrmon, her senses were even sharper than before. She could see the thin silver strings that ran through the outskirts of the battlefield. At the end of each one was a bell. Except for one strand which was attached to Kuzuhamon's staff. In other words, letting the Warrior realize the bell trick early on was just a part of the sorceress's strategy.
It irked Zephyrmon to have fallen for such a display. So she took off from the ground without even having to stand up. Flexing her claws, she swiped at Kuzuhamon who slid out of the way though the Warrior was able to cut off a few strands of Kuzuhamon's hair.
"You're pretty fast," Kuzuhamon remarked. She then slammed the point of her heel into Zephyrmon's side, sending the bird lady into a building. "But not fast enough."
"Hurricane Gale!"
The hole that Zephyrmon made became larger as a powerful wind blasted through, rapidly eroding away at the sides. Wind was a unique element in that it was difficult to see it coming. The only sense you could really rely on in order to be able to tell the direction was sound and touch. But of course, by the time you felt the touch, it was too late. Yet Kuzuhamon could see each strand of wind and twisted her body in a way that evaded getting cut by the gale.
Zephyrmon zipped out, her claws crackling with red electricity. "Plasma Paws!"
Kuzuhamon had been training the last few days with some of Laylamon's other servants. For a while, she would instinctively try to put up her magical barriers to protect herself. But now that she was used to fighting without magic, she could easily avoid attacks just by maneuvering her body through the air.
"You're even better than I thought," Kuzuhamon smirked, evading a punch. "I will definitely… make you my Akumako!"
Zephyrmon could hear the bells. But just in case, her pupils darted in the direction to make sure it wasn't another trick. It lowered her reaction time just a bit but it was better than dealing with the consequences of another surprise tactic.
"In your dreams!"
Every time Zephyrmon thought she got a hit in, it was just her claws scraping against the staff. Sparks flew out in every direction as they twisted around each other.
"Tch, how obstinate," said Kuzuhamon.
Zephyrmon tried changing tactics, moving more like a dancer. But it seemed like Kuzuhamon even took this possibility into account. "That's, ugh, my line!"
"Zoey, give me the controls," instructed the beast spirit.
"Eh?"
"You're hurt right now. And what we need is to surprise her."
Kazemon's voice joined in although it sounded weaker than usual. "And you think going wild is the way to do that?"
"Zoey," said Zephyrmon, completely ignoring her counterpart. "Do you trust me?"
To Kuzuhamon's surprise, her foe suddenly stopped her assault and put some distance between them. Before the sorceress could take this moment to catch her breath, the humanoid beast shot back at her. And Kuzuhamon held up her staff to block the claw. She was actually pushed back, the nails just a centimeter away from piercing her face.
Zephyrmon smirked underneath her mask. She suddenly used the staff like a gymnast, swinging through in between the weapon and the Mega, slamming her foot into Kuzuhamon's chin. The mage released her scepter and Zephyrmon slowed her loop before putting as much energy as possible into her claw. Once more, hitting Kuzuhamon's jaw and sending her enemy skywards.
"Gilgamesh Upper!"
"Hold on!" Zoey cried out. "Since when did we have that move?"
If Kazemon was physically able to, she'd pat her partner's back. "Zephyrmon loves to keep secrets."
Kuzuhamon paused, remaining in the sky as she rubbed at the bruise on her once flawless face. It hurt moving her jaw, but her pride stung even worse. Still, the impact wasn't as strong as it would've been had spirit and human host been working together. Although even with Zoey's help, they might not have enough strength to deal a finishing blow.
Zephyrmon scoffed in frustration. "I'm lacking in power."
"But without magic, I might not be able to win either," Kuzuhamon muttered.
"We're at a stalemate," they both stated.
A giggle suddenly passed between Kuzuhamon's lips, putting Zephyrmon on her guard. The sorceress started laughing outright, letting her voice fill in the gaps where the explosions didn't quite cover. Then delicately covering her mouth with a finger, she looked back down at her foe.
"So I can't win on my own, huh?" Kuzuhamon giggled. "Then I guess it's time. Delusion Crow!"
A sudden cawing reached Zephyrmon's ears, burrowing into her canals and into her mind. Her claws flew up to her head, tearing her own hair and feathers out. It wasn't as agonizingly painful as when she was struck by Dianamon's mind-melting moonlight. But that didn't nullify the pounding she felt coming from the inside of her skull.
"Magic?" Zephyrmon gasped. "Could she… urk, be using another source for her spells?"
Kuzuhamon licked her lips. "Heh, wouldn't you like to know? Heavy Beam!"
Zephyrmon tried to deflect the rays coming for her but they impacted her chest directly. She lost control of her flight and hit the ground. But by then, she had it figured out. Kuzuhamon probably thought she was so clever, doing it like this. But her mistake was using that attack.
As soon as the Legendary Warrior got back up, she produced a powerful wind that went around the entire perimeter of the battlefield. "Hurricane Gale!"
Two? Four? No, there were a total of five screams. And Zephyrmon watched a Nohemon, Bucchiemon, Orcamon, Seahomon, and Gargoylemon get blown out of hiding.
Kuzuhamon was actually stunned. "You already figured it out?!"
"How cowardly," Zephyrmon scoffed, standing upright and dusting away at her arm. "I wouldn't have suspected you of all Digimon to do something so low."
Kuzuhamon hadn't wanted to. But her mistress insisted that it would be too dangerous to go it on her own. So she employed five members of her Armored Lovelies to follow. Kuzuhamon made them swear not to interfere unless she gave them explicit permission. That of course, came in the form of calling out attack names and the Lovelies responding. But to be found out made this even more shameful for her.
"Did you hear them?" Kuzuhamon grumbled.
Zephyrmon shook her head. "I'm just good at retaining information. According to Rika, no one can use two continuous spells at the same time. And according to Airu, who's got a Bucchiemon as a partner, Heavy Beam is a move exclusive to that Digimon."
Nohemon bowed before Kuzuhamon. "We are so sorry, milady!"
"We didn't mean to embarrass you!" Gargoylemon added.
Kuzuhamon let out an one-syllable sound that was a cross between annoyance and relief. "It's fine. I'd rather not fight my opponent from the shadows anyway." She then looked over the five faces in turn, noticing that they were awaiting her orders. "Take care of Zephyrmon. I will make her my Akumako, one way or another."
Zephyrmon put a hand to her hip. "Hmph, now you're starting to sound more like a villain."
"Delusion Crow!"
Zephyrmon's claws flew to her ears as she tried to block out the incessant cawing coming from the stuffed crow perched on Nohemon's gloved hand. Seahomon and Bucchiemon both opened fire with their respective beam attacks which Zephyrmon had to block by whipping her tail around. But having turned her back on them, she was caught off guard as a Gargoylemon locked her arms, spinning them both around.
"H-Hey! Let go!" Zephyrmon snapped, struggling in his grasp.
Gargoylemon was really trying hard to keep her still. "Now Orcamon! And hurry! She's stronger than she looks!"
"Ultrasonic Crusher!"
Zephyrmon glared at the sound wave coming at her. She kicked up her legs, creating a wind that not only threw her into the air but deflected the wave. While she was in the sky, she pushed her elbows backwards, digging into either side of her captor. There was a crack, a shout, and a thud as Gargoylemon dropped.
"What?" Orcamon gasped.
"Prism Rainbow!" "Delusion Crow!" "Heavy Beam!"
Zephyrmon surrounded herself in a cyclone that deflected all of their attacks. Then, one by one, each of the Armored Lovelies got sucked into the twister. As each of them came close to Zephyrmon from the inside, she slashed away at them with her claws. Finally, they were spit out of the vortex and they crashed into various spots around the market.
Kuzuhamon was able to keep herself from entering the vaccuum by jamming the end of her staff into the ground. But from the outside, she was forced to watch her subordinates get beaten down so easily. To make it even worse, it felt like Zephyrmon was growing in power. She didn't need magic to sense that much.
"Why?!" Kuzuhamon snarled. "How do you humans continue to get so much stronger by the second?!"
Zephyrmon stopped spinning and crossed her arms, refusing to let her dizziness show on her exterior. "I don't know about the others but in general, us humans get stronger because of our emotions. And right now, I'm feeling pretty mad."
"Mad?"
"This entire fight reminds me of Ranamon," Zephyrmon continued. "You've both thrown away your pride as fighters to resort to underhanded tactics."
The corners of Kuzuhamon's mouth tugged down. "I still have my pride as a warrior! But my magic… how do you expect me to win without my magic?!"
"We… can help you," Seahomon grunted.
"Eh?"
Bucchiemon pulled herself closer to the Mega. "There was another reason why Laylamon asked us to be your attendants."
"If you absorb us," Orcamon huffed. "We'll work the seal out of your datastream."
Kuzuhamon hesitated, looking over the Lovelies. "But then… you'll all disappear."
"We don't care!" Gargoylemon snapped. "So long as we can win for Mistress Laylamon."
Zephyrmon's eyes widened in horror as everything transpired so quickly. With a booming, united cry, the five Armored Lovelies turned into silhouettes, leaving behind Fractal Codes which were all then consumed by the sorceress. The character, "封" (seal), appeared in front of the sorceress and then shattered.
The Legendary Warrior felt lost. What was her next move supposed to be if Sakuyamon's magical seal had been broken? In a desperate act to get a hit in before her chance would escape, she gathered the energy of the air to her core. "Hurricane Gale!"
Time stood still. No wind passed, no buildings blew up, and no monsters roared from overhead. It all slowed so that Kuzuhamon could take as much time as she wanted raising her arm, splaying out her palm, and creating a barrier. Time continued and Zephyrmon watched as her wind bounced right off of the invisible shield, going around and rendering much of everything behind her enemy into ash and dust.
"This time," said Kuzuhamon, "I won't lose to a human."
Zephyrmon swallowed. "I don't plan on losing either."
January 24: GranLocomon Line — 11:17 AM
The influence of the Demon Lords had every citizen in the Digital World hiding in fear. They found strongholds and secret levels in order to keep themselves from being found. The rest were working to protect the world. They were doing their best to keep their fellow Digimon safe and support the Chosen Children.
However, the Trailmon were no longer running, they were shut down at their grand station and buried underground by the station master. So in order to make it to their destination, the settlement that asked for help, the DigiDestined were riding in GranLocomon. One of the few vehicle Digimon that could withstand air raids and enemy attacks. So long as a Demon Lord wasn't directly involved anyway.
"This is a bit weird for me," Takato remarked, chuckling humorlessly.
He was trying to release the tension since there was a lot of it in this armored train cart. After all, it was just a couple of minutes ago that Kouji smelled the gunpowder coming from the Kingdom Town. Taiki tried to reach out to Wisemon through the communication channel but either the connection was faulty or there really had been an attack right after they left.
"Should we go back?" TK had inquired. "This whole thing might've been a diversion."
Kristy nodded agreement. "Even worse, the settlement could be a grounds for a trap. After all, they specifically asked for you, Taiki."
The red General had to admit that it did seem suspicious. And he was probably the biggest threat to the Demon Lords with his ability to combine multiple Digimon into a one-mon army. He also had a knack for combinations and strategizing that would be less than savory to deal with for the enemy. Yet at the same time…
"I can't ignore a problem when it's right in front of me," Taiki told them. "If it turns out that the town was in danger and we go back, I wouldn't know what to do with myself."
Shoutmon chuckled, expecting this answer from his partner. "I am worried about my Kingdom. But at the same time, we aren't the only capable DigiDestined."
"We'll leave things to Nene and the others," said Taiki. "We have our own mission."
The group was confident that the other Chosen would be able to come out victorious. But it didn't really put their minds at ease. So the atmosphere has been stiff and awkward since then. The only sound came from Guilmon emptying out the dining cart. Which consisted of chomping, clanging plates, and shouting chefs.
TK turned around in his seat to look over at the Tamer. "Come to think of it, you never told us about the GranLocomon incident."
"It's not exactly a fun story," said the brunet. "Nor is it my place to tell."
Patamon ruffled his wings. "What, did Rika make you swear never to tell unless she says so?"
"Yes."
"Oh."
The Burgermon chefs were chasing around Guilmon from inside the dining cart, trying to get him to stop gobbling up the ingredients they were going to use for lunch. In the meantime, Spadamon finished connecting their channel over to the settlement. The video feed showed what used to be a rural village, now burned to blackness. There were Tyrannomon and DarkTyrannomon everywhere, breathing their hot flames over any structure that was still standing.
"It only got this bad recently," said Spadamon. "According to the reports, it was only dinosaur Digimon that were attacking until a leader showed up."
Kouji frowned when he saw a bipedal, humanoid Digimon fly across the screen. It was eerily familiar to him. "A leader?" He had a bad feeling about this. "Who?"
Shoutmon had read the reports too, so he knew how bad it was. "Crusadermon."
"Figures," Kouji muttered. "A Royal Knight."
"Which means we'll have a tough fight on our hands," said Taiki. "And as much as I would like to, I think I'll leave Crusadermon to you, Kouji. You know her best. And Takato…"
The Tamer sat up straight. "Give him support, right?"
"So what about us?" asked Kristy.
"There's a chance that Crusadermon isn't the only Royal Knight there," said Shoutmon. "She has, as you know, worked in coalition with Dynasmon in the past."
Taiki glanced back at the video feed. They couldn't really see much aside from the raging flames and the marching dinosaurs. It was a like a scene out of Godzilla. Especially when DarkTyrannomon came close to the feed, opened his intimidating jaws, and burned down the camera, leaving behind only static.
"We also have to assume that there might be someone in control of the dinosaurs," said Taiki.
TK was able to put the rest together. "So our job, aside from clean up, is to be on standby in case another big enemy shows up."
"That's right."
Kristy noticed her partner staring out the window, an incredibly focused expression on the avian's face as he looked out onto the horizon. The brunette got closer, looking past the glass to see if she could see anything. But as far as she could tell, there was nothing of interest.
"What are you looking at?" asked Kristy.
Biyomon tilted his head to the side. "I'm not sure… But whatever it is, it's getting closer."
Everyone tensed up when they heard that. They kept their eyes trained on the horizon and before long, they saw it. Two tiny dots that were speeding up by the second, getting closer and closer to them. The DigiDestined pulled out their digivices in case they had to throw down with these new Digimon but soon, they recognized the terrifying faces of Minervamon and Mervamon.
"Are they… racing each other?" Patamon wondered aloud.
The two Olympians leapt into the air like they were jumping a hurdle on a race track. They made it over GranLocomon in a single bound and continued sprinting towards the Kingdom Town. From the way they were screaming, it was clear that the competition between them was fierce.
Their attention returned to the first window when they heard a tapping. Everyone jumped backwards when they saw Keenan waving at them from the outside. His eyes were barely open and his hair was flying all over the place as he hung on to Crowmon as tightly as possible. They would open the window to let him in but because the cart was armored, they couldn't. So they tried their best to mutely signal him to get in through the door in the kaboose.
"I'm glad this world doesn't have tiny bugs," Keenan huffed after gulping down an entire water bottle.
"Jeez, you really worried me, you know," Kristy chided. "Disappearing like that… I wasn't sure if you were going to come back or not."
Keenan tossed the empty bottle into the trash receptacle in the corner before grinning up at his best human friend. "Worried?"
"Of course," she replied. "For your parents. They lost you once, you know."
Keenan's expression became solemn immediately before he looked away from her. "Did… you talk to them?"
"Yeah," Kristy nodded. "I told them not to worry, of course."
Shoutmon leaned in close to his partner. "I've never seen a situation go from flirtatious to tense so quickly."
Kristy threw him a glare. "Who said we were flirting?!"
It seemed Keenan and Falcomon needed to rest after chasing after the two Goddesses for several miles. Kazu was lagging behind but he insisted on getting there through his own power. As much as they would like to stay and eat lunch with the group, it would be beneficial for them to head straight to the Kingdom Town. After all, they were needed elsewhere.
January 24: Kingdom Town Market — 12:24 PM
Zephyrmon flew through the chains that sprung out at her from all sides. It felt like what an agile burglar would do in order to get through a grid of lasers. But in this case, she wasn't getting any closer to her target. Every time she tried to sink her claws into Kuzuhamon, a new chain would appear in front of her, diverting her in another direction. It wasn't long before she found herself trapped in a ball of metal.
"What's with this?" Zephyrmon gasped. "How do I… What do I…?"
From the outside, Kuzuhamon couldn't keep the smug smile off her face. She threw her staff against the ball and whispered an enchantment.
From the inside, the Legendary Warrior saw the sharp end of the scepter poking in. A ball of white light gathered at the point before bursting forward in the shape of a fox spirit. Zephyrmon covered her face as she felt the heat envelop her. Her feathers were burning and her skin felt like it was melting.
So she tried to push wind outwards from her body, attempting to keep the flames from touching her. But it was too much for her to handle. To make it worse, as she took control of her element, it felt like the breathable air was getting thinner. She'd pass out before getting turned into fried chicken.
She had to think. The only counter to magic, what would that be? She felt like Rika must've taught her something on this kind of combat.
"You can't win against Mega-level magic," said Rika. "It's impossible for you."
Zoey couldn't believe how blunt her classmate could be. Based on the murmuring from the others, they agreed with that sentiment.
Taiki had made a suggestion to the female Tamer to teach the others on how to handle Digimon that used magic, since they were some of the trickiest ones to fight. But aside from those that could reach Mega or at least fusion evolve, all Rika had to say was that there was no way of beating Mega-level magic users.
"Is there really no way of combating them?" asked Zoey.
The redhead put a hand to her chin to think about it. "Not unless you're a Tamer using cards or you're fighting with numbers instead of power."
Kari fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat. "And if it's one on one?"
"Just try your best," Rika shrugged. As she was about to stand up and leave them, another thought occurred to her. "Although…"
Zephyrmon took a deep breath and let the flames cover her body once more. The scorching heat made it hard for her not to scream out. It was loud enough to pass through the chains. When Kuzuhamon heard it, she stopped the fire and cautiously unraveled the sphere. And down dropped the Legendary Warrior, a black-burnt pile of feathers.
"Hmph," Kuzuhamon grinned. A laugh bubbled up her chest and rose out of her lips. "Did you really think you could win?"
Zephyrmon's winged ear twitched when she heard a heel click right near her head. Once she was sure that the sorceress was standing over her, she put all of her remaining energy into one of her claws. And she made a powerful uppercut, aimed for Kuzuhamon's chin.
"Gilgamesh Upper!"
"You can always try to outsmart them."
Kuzuhamon took a step back, narrowly avoiding the sharp nails. But as the Warrior came back up, she twisted her body around and slammed a back kick right into the mage's stomach. The pair were pushed in opposing directions, until they once again stood at a standstill, facing each other. Kuzuhamon still possessed her original grace. But Zephyrmon was slouched over, trying to control her labored breathing.
"Hmph," Kuzuhamon scoffed. "What can you do in your condition?"
Zoey now stood where her beast form did. She knew her opponent was right. The only reason why she was still alive was because she knew Kuzuhamon wanted her to live. You can't exactly have a partner if they're dead. But could Zoey really call this outsmarting the mage?
"You're right," said the blonde. "It's hopeless in my condition."
"So just give up and be my Aku—"
Zoey took a deep breath and expelled it all at once. "Even so!" She took a step and collapsed to her knees. "Even so… I'll keep fighting. Until my very last breath!"
Kuzuhamon was growing tired of the human girl's persistence. So with a flick of her wrist, more chains burst forward, looping around Zoey's body. Her entire body from neck to foot was restricted by metal, suffocating her. And she could feel the ridges digging their way into her skin.
"Intelligent, creative, tough, and resolute," Kuzuhamon listed off. "I just know you'll… hm? Why are you… smiling?"
Zoey looked up. "I can hear him coming."
"Celestial Blade!"
Kuzuhamon quickly raised a barrier over her head as lightning struck down. Judging from the amount of power that was poured into it, not only was it unnatural, but it was produced by a very strong Digimon. Definitely one at the Mega level.
Keenan appeared beside Zoey with a sword. By putting his DigiSoul into the blade, he was able to break his schoolmate free from the chains.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Zoey nodded her head as she tried to push herself up. "Somewhat."
"Ravemon, take her down!" Keenan commanded.
In the meantime, Keenan was getting a first-aid kit from out of his bag to treat Zoey's wounds. Despite having near zero energy, she still wanted to get back into the fight. And he knew having her able to do so would be a big help. Not only had Ravemon expended a lot of energy flying but he was taking on the multiple air raids just moments before coming to Zoey's rescue. So he was too fatigued to even enter Burst Mode anymore.
"I won't lose to anyone anymore!" Kuzuhamon shouted. "Reverse Izuna!"
Ravemon took a step back and held up his blade which he had a backhanded grip on. Swinging it around at high speeds generated a wind which surrounded the weapon. He used this to easily slice through the flaming fox spirit that came towards him before spinning the sword into a normal grip and thrusting it forward. A giant raven made of electricity shot forward from the end, screeching loudly.
Kuzuhamon blocked it with another barrier. As soon as it vanished though, she found Ravemon in front of her, hacking away with his sword. She quickly blocked it with her staff before discreetly tugging on an invisible string. There was a jingle and for just a second, Ravemon's attention was diverted and a heel found its way into his chest as he was flung backwards.
"I almost forgot about those," Zoey murmured.
Keenan glanced around, noticing tiny glints here and there. "So she rigged a bunch of bells around. Pay them no mind, Ravemon!"
"If you do that, she'll just trick you in another way," said Zoey, getting up onto her feet. "I need to help."
Keenan grabbed her wrist. "Your wounds were just sealed. If you move around too much…"
"They'll reopen, I know."
Even so, Zoey was going to stick to what she said. She would fight until her last breath. If it meant saving this world and protecting the smiles of the Digimon around her, then she would do whatever it took. After all, she knew her fellow Warriors would do the same. Actually, Takuya's already done the same, now that she thought about it. They were more alike than either of them cared to admit.
"Kazemon… Zephyrmon…," thought Zoey, "Being inside that ball of chains… reminded me just how much I love the open air."
Kazemon from inside nodded. "So does this mean… you want to try it?"
Zoey breathed in the ash-covered air, loathing the sting it left on her nose. She was reminded of what it felt like when she would just have the car window open, letting the rushing breeze run across her face. She was reminded of what it felt like during school festivals and running across the race track, letting her hair follow behind. And she was reminded of what it was like, leaping off the high dive. Letting it rush over her skin. The wind. That was her element.
"Execute!" Zoey wanted to feel it again. That wind. "Fusion Evolution!"
Keenan's eyes widened. "Whoa!"
Like her previous forms, this one was humanoid. But there were many mechanical additions to her body, from the sleek wings to the tiny airplane on her head. Her body in general appeared very aerodynamic and shiny. Though the strangest thing to appear was a giant pinwheel in her hands. It had a sharpened spear at the end though.
"JetSilphymon!"
Keenan stood up, a twitch tugging at the corner of his mouth. "W-Wait, is the pinwheel supposed to be your weapon?"
The Legendary Warrior looked down at the staff. She did a double take before glancing back at Keenan. "I guess so… Well…" She had to wonder why she and Tommy had such strange weapons in their fusion forms. "It'll have to do."
Digital Analyzer: JetSilphymon is capable of moving so fast that she becomes the wind, invisible to the naked eye. Not only has she inherited the grand power of AncientKazemon as well as obtained some unknown abilities as a cyborg. She flies through the skies like a jet and her pinwheel spear is capable of generating winds that are fifty times more powerful than either of her other forms could.
JetSilphymon's wings whirred to life and Keenan knew he had to get out of the way unless he wanted to get blown away by the backdraft. She took a step forward and vanished. Though she could be heard loud and clear as her wings mimicked the ear-splitting sound of plane turbines.
The noise gave away her position. Even if it hadn't, Kuzuhamon could sense presences no matter how hard they tried to hide them. But neither of those factors meant a thing if she couldn't keep up with her enemy's speed. She held up her polearm to block the spear that she knew was coming, but she was a second too late and felt an incision breaking through her data on her side.
"She's fast," Keenan remarked.
"Faster than me," Ravemon admitted.
Kuzuhamon started making chains again, using the same tactic that had trapped the Warrior before. But not only were they too slow, but JetSilphymon now had the power to break them with her pinwheel. She dashed back and forth, slicing into the mage with every chance she got. And many came her way thanks to her speed.
"Womb Realm Mandala!"
JetSilphymon became visible once again when the forcefield popped up. Even she couldn't avoid the omni-directional barrier. But thanks to her new metallic body, she was able to take the brunt of the pushback much better than normal. Now she wished her other forms had armor as well instead of the scantily clad clothes they usually wore.
"You can't hide forever!" said JetSilphymon.
"That's what you think," Kuzuhamon retorted. With a snap of her fingers, she turned invisible.
JetSilphymon let out a groan. "Me and my big mouth."
Under normal conditions, they would detect invisible enemies with their hearing but it was difficult to discern which was their opponent and what was just a bell. From every direction, a different one jingled. Keenan started running around and plucking them off from where they were hanging and flinging them as far as he could throw them. But he only made it to the second one before hearing his partner yelp.
Ravemon was hit by a staff, causing him to double over. JetSilphymon spun around to look at her comrade but got her legs swept out from underneath her, causing her to fall onto her face. As they both recovered from their respective attacks, they saw a fox spirit coming towards them.
"Not again," Ravemon groaned.
JetSilphymon's pinwheel started spinning. "Leave it to me! Ultra Turbulence!"
All the bells started jingling at once as a sideways tornado burst from the wheel. It was so strong that if JetSilphymon didn't carefully point it upwards, it would surely demolish a large section of the town. Or what was left of that section anyway. Regardless, they were able to hear the grunting of someone trying to move against the whirlwind.
Ravemon took his place beside the Warrior and raised his sword to the sky. "Celestial Blade!"
The clouds swirled angrily overhead before landing a wide-ranged lightning strike in the general area of where they believed Kuzuhamon was. The ground was left in a worse state than before, if that was even possible. Aside from the dug up dirt and fallen buildings, everything was charred black. And yet, they managed to miss their target.
"Where'd she go?" JetSilphymon wondered aloud.
Ravemon clicked his tongue in frustration. "She must've teleported away at the last—Gah!"
JetSilphymon spun around in time to see Kuzuhamon hitting her ally with the jangly side of the scepter. The mage then twirled her weapon around in an attempt to smash it over the cyborg's head. But the Warrior was able to block it with her own polearm just in time. The two women then started trying to get a blow in though each was easily blocked. Even when JetSilphymon tried to throw a jet-powered punch, they were immediately deflected by barriers put up in advance.
Keenan seemed to notice this is as well. "Is Kuzuhamon predicting her movements before she makes them?"
"Is there a mind-reading spell?" Ravemon coughed.
"There is!" JetSilphymon grunted, ducking under a high spin kick. "But it requires intense concentration and for the caster to stand absolutely still!"
"So this is Kuzuhamon's natural ability then," Keenan concluded. "Ravemon!"
The humanoid avian nodded before drawing his blade. In the blink of an eye, he vanished into thin air using his phenomenal speed. Kuzuhamon sensed the presence and immediately blocked the blade with her staff. Her front became exposed to JetSilphymon's high-speed kick which Kuzuhamon was forced to try and block with her knee.
Despite the sorceress's tenacious parrying, she was being back into a corner. Keeping up with just one of her foes was difficult enough due to their steadily accelerating speed. Her movements were becoming more frantic by the second. She could feel cuts and impacts against her shoulders, accumulating to heavy damage. She had to find a way to get them away from her.
"Womb Realm—!"
Ravemon and JetSilphymon pivoted on their heels, mirroring each other perfectly, as they spun into the mage's direct line of sight. Continuing the momentum by maintaining it in their arms, they placed their open palms into Kuzuhamon's bare stomach. They then added extra force by striking their own elbows with their free hands, sending a pulse that pushed Kuzuhamon backwards, right into a crumbling wall.
"I can't keep up!" Kuzuhamon huffed.
She tried to cast another incantation but with her focus on the Digimon, she didn't notice the human running towards her. Keenan scaled the wall without using his hands and looped his fingers into the circle of their enemy's staff. As he landed on the ground, tumbling to break his fall, he hugged the weapon to his chest.
"Can't use high-level magic without this," the boy grinned.
"My staff!"
Kuzuhamon looked up and saw Ravemon sprinting towards her. She couldn't use her ordinary spells so she gathered energy into her closed fist and let it loose in condensed bolt.
"Not this time!" Ravemon front flipped over the blast, landing with grace. In his hands were his scabbard and sword, both in a backhanded grip. At a blinding speed, her pelted his opponent repeatedly with the blunt force of his weapons. Then in a final strike, Ravemon performed an uppercut that sent the beaten sorceress flying skywards.
JetSilphymon had long since been moving at supersonic speeds. Kuzuhamon could sense the presence coming at her from behind. But everything was happening so fast that she wasn't sure whether to take flight, teleport, or put up a barrier. Despite the fact that the latter two options were impossible to do in a split second without her staff. So she was at the mercy of the Legendary Warrior who finally made her presence visible.
"Jet Binter!"
JetSilphymon's cybernetic arms sprung to life as the turbines began spinning at unparalleled speeds. In a pose reminiscent of Superman, she rocketed forward, crashing her body into Kuzuhamon. The two women were in the air once second, and creating a mammoth crater in the ground in the next. Through the dust cloud, they could see a glowing Fractal code.
Keenan let go of the staff, realizing that it was breaking apart into data bits. "Finally…"
"That should be my line," JetSilphymon sighed. "Let the breeze take you to a new life, Fractal Code digitize!"
By the time that the dust had cleared, everyone had returned to their original forms and found refuge in the cellar of what used to be a bar. They could tell because they were surrounded by wooden barrels filled with booze. They carried the bruised and battered body of Vulpemon, the Rookie that had been left in Kuzuhamon's place. She didn't just hold a resemblance to Rika's partner, they were mirror images of each other just with different color palettes.
"The enemy's army won't last for long," Falcomon remarked. "We took out a lot of their battalions on our way to you."
Vulpemon began to stir as Keenan bandaged up her arm. It seemed that the impact of the last attack did some serious damage. She tried to kick him but only winced in pain.
"Easy," said Zoey. "You're in no shape to be fighting now."
Keenan nodded. "Just let me finish putting your arm into the sling. We can have the castle's medics look at it later."
The fox couldn't understand why they were being so kind to her after everything she put them through. She didn't know why they even cared so much that her arm was broken. After all, she could heal herself just by resting. Instead of asking these questions though, she looked over at the Legendary Warrior who was in a worse shape than she. At least, as bad as it could be without broken bones.
"Why not attend to your human friend?" inquired Vulpemon. "She's far more fragile than I am."
Keenan finished up wrapping the bandages. "Actually, she insisted I look at you first."
"Hmph, did you feel bad for being hypocritical back there?" scoffed the Rookie.
"Hypocritical?" Zoey frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Vulpemon narrowed her sharp eyes on the blonde. "You berated me for throwing away my pride but you only beat me because you did the same exact thing! How can you criticize me when you also had the aid of others?"
"I didn't berate you for having allies," Zoey retorted. "There are two things I consider to be throwing away you pride as a fighter. One: taking hostages to use as living shields. And two: disregarding the lives of your allies." She paused here, seeing the realization dawn on Vulpemon. "You not only took credit for their abilities, you absorbed them. Had you fought side by side with them, I wouldn't have said what I did."
The cellar became silent. And while no one verbally acknowledged it, they could tell that the explosions were growing far and few in between. The chaos was dying down.
"Humans are sinful," Vulpemon muttered, as if still trying to salvage her reasoning for siding with the Demon Lords. "It's because of them that…"
Keenan let out a sigh before placing a hand to his chin. "You know, I'm having a hard time seeing the sins as bad things. Too much sure but…"
"I have to agree with you there," Zoey smiled weakly. "After all, our goggle-heads are pretty greedy. Not only do they want to protect everyone they come across, but they want to make sure everyone is happy in the future too. Not that I can say I'm any less greedy in that case."
"That's not greed!" Vulpemon snapped.
"I think it is. It's desire, isn't it?" Falcomon broached.
Keenan nodded sagely. "And pride, I can't think of it as a bad thing to be proud of who you are or an accomplishment of yours."
The more they spoke, the more perplexed Vulpemon felt. How could everything she had witnessed on the human world, on those screens that her mistress left on display, how could these DigiDestined be spinning those types of emotions into good things? It just didn't make any form of logical sense. Yet she was curious to hear what they thought.
"What about lust or gluttony?" she posed. "What positive use could they have?"
Keenan had to take a moment to think about it. "Hunger and sexual desire… simply put, they're things that make you happy every now and then, right? That is, when you appease them. They're simple pleasures in life."
"Although some people need to learn to appease them through the right ways," said Zoey, a little edge in her tone.
"What about wrath?" Vulpemon asked.
The first thing to come to mind was to say that anger is what fueled a person when they see someone else commit a wrong. But that didn't seem like the proper response. After all, weren't wars started that way? One side felt that they were wronged and so they retaliated through violence, using that anger to spur the nation into picking up their firearms and pointing.
"I'll have to get back to you on that," Zoey admitted.
For some reason, she thought back to Henry and the rage he's kept inside. While playing cards with the Tamers, he let his guard down. He talked about how he used to be as a kid, throwing tantrums at the drop of a hat. Momentai wasn't just his catch phrase, it was his personal mantra.
What positive use was there for anger?
Keenan cocked his head to the side, his ear pointed towards the ceiling. "I think it's over. We should go meet with the others."
"I'll get you that answer," Zoey told Vulpemon. "So stay with us… You can observe us humans up close. That way… you can form your own opinion."
"My own opinion?"
"Of humans. Without Laylamon's influence."
The fox stared into the earnest green eyes of the girl. By abandoning the side of her mistress, she could be marked as a traitor. Yet the Demon Lords should understand if she were to return with even stronger convictions for her cause than before. And she was determined to obtain her own answer.
"Okay," Vulpemon nodded. "I'll go with you."
-X-
In a long battle between Zoey and Kuzuhamon, the human was able to come out the victor! With a little help from Keenan and a brand new evolution of course. In the meantime, we also learn what's to come for Taiki's group when they arrive to their destination. But will they be able to take on a Royal Knight and who knows what else? Find out next time on Digimon: Children of the Future!
Sora: I can't believe you actually managed to make this fight into one whole chapter.
Zero Unit: It needed to be. The next chapter is already done and it's the last fight. Thankfully, everything seems to have worked out.
Zoey: I'm just glad it's over. So what do we have next?
Relena: Just our fight remains.
Kouichi: Also, we have a bunch of questions from various people. We're going to answer them the best we can in the oncoming opening skits. But unfortunately, this means we'll have to pare down our guest cameos. Sorry Appli Drivers.
Haru: It's okay, we know you guys are really busy.
Eri: Just be sure to give those Demon Lords an explosive punch for us!
Astra: And just to let you guys know, we think you're all super cool!
Rei: Hmph, good luck.
Hackmon: Rei made crème brûlée for everyone.
Mimi: Oh… those were for everyone?
Palmon: Mimi!
Everyone: Happy holidays everyone, we'll see you next year!