Death's Notes: GREETINGS, READERS. DUE TO RIKA PUTTING EPSILON IN THE HOSPITAL FOR WHAT HE WROTE IN CHAPTER 13, I SHALL BE TAKING OVER FOR HIM UNTIL HE RECOVERS. HAVE A MERRY HOGS…ER…CHRISTMAS. HO HO HO.
Disclaimer: Epsilon doesn't own anything. Digimon belongs to Bandai, Fox, Saban and whoever else owns it. Death and Death of Rats are being borrowed from Terry Pratchett and the Discworld…uh…world.
Ascension – V 2.4
Gennai gave a small sigh as he entered his home. To say the day had been hectic would be an understatement. New arrivals, the return of old friends, battles and conspiracies everywhere. All he wanted was to plop down on the couch but he had promised Zero that he would have a dinner waiting. At least he had an idea of how much to cook if Taichi was anything like his counterpart in this world.
Speaking of counterpart, Tai and Matt had been pretty obsessive with the reborn Digieggs of Agumon and Gabumon. Technically, it was impossible to be reconfigured after being deleted for months but the Digidestined always had a habit of pulling off the impossible. Their track record had proven that fact.
But would the Digimon tamers have such luck? And what of Taichi? Eventually, some price would have to be paid for the victories obtained. Casualties are an inevitable part of battle. The death of Omnimon by Lunarmillenniumon is a key example. But that price was somewhat light, even though Tai and Matt would argue otherwise. Real battles and real wars would have casualties far higher. Gennai decided not to think about this for the time being and started gathering ingredients to prepare dinner.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
A flash of light erupted out of nowhere but Daemon wasn't surprised. In fact, he had been expecting this. "Report, Skullsatamon?" The virus Digimon went down on one knee before his master. "The guard tamers have a unique strength and are resourceful adversaries however I have found a flaw in their structure that we can exploit." Daemon gave a small satisfied nod.
"So which world shall we take over first, master?" asked Marinedevimon. Their master sat in his throne, pondering what to do. The other ultimate Digimon decided to report what he had observed when he was looking around the digital world that they were currently residing in. "I have observed something interesting, master."
Daemon didn't respond until Marinedevimon revealed his observation. "Two powerful holy knights appear to be doing battle against each other." The demon lord narrowed his eyes before summoning an image on the wall before them. After several different pictures, it found one with a white Digimon on one side and a red one on the other.
His eyes fell on the large black Digimon that was lying on the ground. "So a new Digimon has tapped into the powers of darkness. Why would the holy knights be fighting one another instead of working together to eradicate this new creature?" Meanwhile, Skullsatamon was grinning. "This is sweet!! Maybe both holy knights can kill each other!! Marinedevimon…you up for a bet?"
"Name the stakes." Skullsatamon's grin did not leave his face. "Alright. Whoever doesn't win the bet has to continuously hit on Ladydevimon for a month." Marinedevimon thought about this for a while before he shook hands with Skullsatamon, sealing the deal. Daemon chuckled. "I don't know which is more amusing: the upcoming battle or the two of you."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Takato had lived by a few basic rules in his life. Some of those rules applied to real life. Some applied to aspects of his life such as the Digimon card game. One of those rules: viruses should never ever engage in battle against Imperialdramon Paladin Mode. EVER. 'So much for that rule,' thought Gallantmon as he prepared to defend himself. He was going to have to play by a new set of rules while in combat. In the card game, Imperialdramon cuts the power of all opposing virus Digimon in half. Translated here…his armour would be harder for him to crack since Gallantmon is a virus Digimon.
Although he was decent in using two weapons on an enemy, a warrior with Imperialdramon's caliber and skill would give him trouble if his concentration was split on two weapons instead of one. Zero had initiated the fight with a strong attack from the Omega Sword. Gallantmon had been able to block with his staff. His own sword went in to pierce the other Digimon but Zero blocked with his own blade. Taichi just looked on anxiously. 'This is too close!! I should help Zero…but he specifically asked me not to help him. This is a battle that he has to fight on his own.'
The vaccine holy knight decided to back off a bit. This gave Gallantmon a small opportunity to go on the offensive. He swung both weapons, the sword at the head and the staff and the ribcage. Zero ducked the sword swing while he blocked the staff. He then whirled around to knock Gallantmon's sword out of his hand. He swooped down to retrieve it but when he landed on the ground, he had to focus on fighting Zero instead. At least he can concentrate on one weapon now.
He kept blocking Zero's attacks with his staff. The staff had been made out of a strong material and it was flexible so he could do a few tricks. The virus holy knight quickly blocked another attack then did the splits and shot the tip of his staff to hit Zero's stomach. It wasn't a hard blow but it was enough to get him to back off. Gallantmon flipped himself back up while Zero prepared to charge again. 'What the?!?' Zero was mind boggled as Gallantmon grabbed both ends of the staff and begun to bend the weapon. When he released it, it soared toward the other holy knight and hit him.
Zero shook it off but the next hit threw him down on to the ground as Gallantmon kicked his staff straight back to him when it bounced off after the first hit. The virus holy knight leapt in the air to retrieve the staff as it bounced off after the second hit. As he prepared to land, he swung the staff so that its tip would hit Zero on landing. But he had raised his sword to block the attack.
Undaunted, Gallantmon brought his staff back and tried to jam it under Zero so that he can flip him over and attack. It partially worked as Zero flipped over but the vaccine Digimon dashed forward to make a quick attack. Gallantmon barely blocked it time but Zero just leapt up and hit him hard with a strong kick. (DN: ACCORDING TO EPSILON'S NOTES, THIS KICK WOULD BE SIMILAR TO THE KICKS BY GOKU AND TRUNKS IN DRAGON BALL Z 3 ON SUPER NINTENDO)
'I can't take too many hits like that!! Time for a new strategy. Why hasn't Henry changed back yet?!?' The reason is that the normal part of his essence is fighting the darker part for dominance and control. Once one part wins, then the change can take place and the tamer will be separated from his Digimon.
Gallantmon quickly got back up and saw Zero moving towards him. But before he could slash the other Digimon, Gallantmon disappeared. "Huh?!?" The next thing he knew, the other Digimon had knocked away the Omega Sword with a strong attack from his staff. Zero tried to punch him but Gallantmon teleported again and gave a quick hit from behind. 'Hit and run…sneaky.'
Zero had taken a number of small hits until he used his senses to predict where Gallantmon would strike next and blocked the next attack. With a strong kick, Gallantmon lost his staff. "Hand to hand…no weapons." Takato smirked inside his sphere. At least he didn't have to worry too much about the Omega Sword for the moment. "Sounds good to me."
Both holy knights engaged in battle again. Gallantmon kept constantly blocking Zero's kicks and dodging his punches while throwing out some of his own. But blocking and dodging wasn't going to get him anywhere fast. When the next punch came in, he parried it before delivering a kick to the chest. (DN: PARRYING HERE WOULD BE SIMILAR TO THE PARRYING SYSTEM IN THE STREET FIGHTER 3 SERIES AND THE P GROOVE IN CAPCOM VS SNK 2 ARCADE GAME. FOR SOMEONE WHO CONSTANTLY RANTS ABOUT NOT HAVING TIME, HE HAS QUITE A NUMBER OF NOTES ON VIDEO GAMES…) Taichi was amazed as Zero recovered in the air. 'Man!! This is better than all the martial arts movies and pay-per-view fights combined!!'
"I wonder…are you involved in this whole conspiracy or is your judgment just clouded? How can you side with those who fight to deliver evil into the world?" Zero prepared to charge again when he heard a shout come from somewhere else. "Lightning Spear!!" He had to roll over to the side to dodge the attack. 'Another one to fight...I may need Taichi's help in this one after all.' Before he could mentally communicate with his partner, the other Digimon that came out of nowhere started speaking to him.
"You bulwy!! Leave Takato alone!! Just because he's angwy all the time doesn't mean he's evil!!" Gallantmon gave a loud groan at Kerpymon's statement. "Suzie, for the last time…I'm not angry!!! And what are you doing here?!? I thought I told you to stay back where it would be safe!!!" Kerpymon just pointed a small finger at the virus holy knight. "See what I mean?" Gallantmon gave a frustrated growl.
Zero had used this time to retrieve his sword. "If you are a part of this conspiracy, then I must destroy you as well." Gallantmon was disgusted, for lack of a better word. "You would stoop so low as to attack a child?!?" The look on Taichi's face was mirrored by Zero. "How can a little kid be that mega Digimon?!?!?"
"Because that little kid merged with her Digimon partner to become this powerful Digimon before you. She's a Digimon tamer…just like me and just like him." Gallantmon pointed at the fallen Umegagargomon, who had started to glow. Zero shook his head. "I might have bought that story if Taichi wasn't my tamer!!"
"Zero!!" The vaccine Digimon looked behind him to see the glowing Umegagargomon as well. 'Not much time…who knows what can happen!!' He brought his sword and his other arm together to form a cannon. Kerpymon and Gallantmon stiffened when Zero started powering up. "Hyper…" Then he turned around and aimed at Umegagargomon. "…Prominence!!!"
Gallantmon shot forward but Zero had already unleashed the blast. He then quickly teleported in front of his friend and took the blast full force. "AAAARRRGGGHHH!!!!!" As the virus holy knight was blown away, Zero and Taichi saw the glowing Umegagargomon split apart into a human and a small rabbit Digimon. "T-they were telling the truth…my God, what have I done?!?"
While Kerpymon rushed to help her brother along with Taichi, Zero picked up the fallen Gallantmon. "Come on!! Say something!! Anything!!!" A dizzy look came to the virus holy knight. "Uh…did someone get the number of that truck that hit me?" Later, the dizzy feeling was replaced by one of curiosity as Zero bowed his head. "There is no excuse for what I have tried to do. I am at your mercy."
"I have no idea what you just said but next time, can't we just talk about everything instead of fighting? Man…you were more intense than Shadowgallantmon!!" Zero's sadness went away momentarily as he beamed. "I don't know of this Shadowgallantmon character but thank you!! I must say that you're a worthy warrior yourself!!"
"The both of you were awesome!! It was just like a kick butt movie but ten times better!!" exclaimed Taichi as Zero helped Gallantmon stand up. "I think I'm going to have to lie down for a bit." Zero winced as he moved too. "The feeling is mutual. If we were able to deal injuries like that to each other, then that means our strength is roughly equal."
Taichi took a scan. "Nope!! Zero is a bit stronger!! Gallantmon has only 32% of his armour left while Zero has only 37% left!!" crowed the boy. Both holy knight Digimon just stared at him. The boy gave a small blush of embarrassment. "Okay, okay…I'll shut up now." Zero looked at Gallantmon. "So the tamer and the Digimon fight as one? That must be a fascinating experience."
"Fascinating and painful." Both Digimon laughed at that remark but that was shortened when Kerpymon came up with Terriermon and Henry in her arms. Both the human and the Digimon slowly woke up. "So did we miss anything?" asked Terriermon. "Not really. Just a battle between me and him, that's all," replied Gallantmon. He looked at both holy knight Digimon and snapped his fingers. "Damn!! I missed the fight of the century!!"
A beeping came from Henry's D Terminal. He opened it and quickly read the message. "We've got to get going. Our friends are in trouble!!" Zero opened his hand so that his tamer can hop on. "We're coming too!! We made some bad mistakes and we want to make up for them!!" Gallantmon gave a nod of approval before the entire group took off to assist the others.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Boo!!!" Both ultimate Digimon were upset at the fact that neither holy knight had won the battle. "That was so lame!! I want a rematch!!" Skullsatamon was not happy at all. He had wanted to see what would happen if Marinedevimon had tried to consistently hit on Ladydevimon. That would have been funny.
"I guess that means nobody has to hit on Ladydevimon," stated Marinedevimon. Daemon smirked underneath his hood. "On the contrary, the wager was that whoever doesn't win the bet has to continuously hit on Ladydevimon for a month. I would suggest the two of you practice your pick up lines." He left the chamber to make some preparations. Moments later, he heard an unholy shriek of rage as Ladydevimon had started attacking Skullsatamon and Marinedevimon after they had both tried to use a pick up line.
Rika: That's it?!?!?
Death: EPSILON IS STILL RECOVERING THANKS TO YOU. DOCTOR JOE HAS ADVISED HIM TO TAKE IT EASY AND NOT TO WRITE SO MUCH.
Ryo: Nice going, pumpkin.
(Rika tackles Ryo and starts pummeling him)
Death: I'M GOING TO VISIT EPSILON IN THE HOSPITAL. IF YOU WISH TO COME ALONG, THEN GET READY.
Taichi: Wait up!!
[Scene change: hospital]
Takato: Hey!! What are you guys doing here?
(Frontier kids and Zack were inside Epsilon's room. Epsilon is asleep on the bed)
Joe: Keep it down!! He's trying to rest!
Takato: Sorry.
Zack: We're just checking up on him.
(Then a small black rabbit Digimon walks in)
?: Well…looks like I don't get Epsilon's collection of chunky Pocky.
(Sweatdrops all around. Yolei notices a tiny notebook beside Epsilon)
Yolei: What's this? Epsilon's book of random thoughts?
Death: YES. THAT'S WHERE HE RECORDS RANDOM THOUGHTS THAT COULD TURN INTO FANFIC IDEAS.
(Zoe snatches book)
Zoe: Let's see here…the goggle boys sing "What Makes You Different Makes You Beautiful" to their respective girlfriends.
?: Sounds like something that DC would definitely do.
Takuya: Sing a Backstreet Boys song? Hmmmmm…
Zoe: Then there are the girlfriends of the goggle boys recreating… "Lady Marmalade"?!?
?: DC's gonna love this one!! Yoink!!
(The small black rabbit rips the page out and runs out)
Rika: No way am I wearing that skimpy outfit!! Renamon!!
(Terriermon leaps on top of the fox and covers her eyes)
Terriermon: Make a run for it!!
(Black rabbit manages to run off back into the internet and back to DC's computer)
Rika: You…!
(She starts to strangle Terriermon)
JP: Anything with me and Zoe getting together?
Koji: Doubt it.
Zoe: Here's something else…a sequel to "Other Voices" if the novel gets finished.
Zack: Which may never be thanks to her.
(Frontier kids glare at Rika)
Zoe: It's called "Other Visits" and we all go dimension hopping to find Zack's friends. Wow!! Epsilon even wrote in a little scene!!
Davis: Let's see what he put in!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Rika stared at the girl who was in front of them. "Are you sure she's a Digimon? Maybe you're just messed up or something today." The blonde girl looked at the fox Digimon before asking. "I don't suppose you know a guy named Zack?"
"I've trusted my instincts my entire life. They've never let me down. And right now, my instincts are telling me that she is a Digimon! She has that certain scent!! Trust me on this one, Rika." The Digimon Queen gave a nod. "I guess so…hey, maybe her data can make you shape shift into a human. Then I'll have someone worth talking to!!" She took out a card. "Digi Modify! Power Activate!!"
Zoe gasped as Renamon leapt into the air and started to power up her attack. "Diamond Storm!!" She tried to move but her body wouldn't listen. "Zoe!!" She felt someone push her away hard. When she turned back, she saw Takuya getting hit with the attack. Time stopped as he fell to the ground and lay in a growing pool of his own blood. Rika had a shocked look on her face. "My God…"
"TAKUYA!!!" Zack heard the girl scream and ran to the source. "Christ!!" He saw Zoe cradling Takuya. "Takuya!!! Wake up, Takuya!!!" 'Crap…she's getting hysterical.' Zack ran over to his two friends, not noticing the other girl and Renamon. "Zoe!! You have got to calm down!! Panicking will not help him!! We've got to get him to a hospital. I think I saw one a few blocks down there." Zoe just gripped harder on Takuya, trying to make sense of the madness that had just happened. Then she looked at Zack. "Where's the hospital again?!?"
He pointed a finger in a direction. Zoe then took out her Digivice. Rika stiffened. 'She's a tamer too?!?' Zack on the other hand started to panic. "You can't spirit evolve here!! You may attract some unwanted attention!! We are trying to keep a low profile here, remember?!?!?" 'Crap…she has that look in her eyes. And that means nothing is going to stop her…'
"Execute Spirit Evolution!!! Kazemon!!!"
'She just became a Digimon!!' Rika tried to scan her with her Digivice but no data came up. 'Stupid hunk of junk!!' Kazemon had a burning feeling in her heart. She just wanted to blast that bitch and her Digimon to the moon but she had to help Takuya first. The warrior of Wind gently picked up the boy and then scooped up Zack with her other arm. "You'll pay for what you did," stated the Digimon with a venomous tone. Then she flew off with Zack shouting about how this was definitely not a good idea.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
(Epsilon wakes up and snatches the book)
Epsilon: OUT!!!
Terriermon: No fair!! I wanted to see a cat fight between Zoe and Rika!!!
Epsilon: OUT!!! OUT!! OUT!!!
Death: LET US LEAVE NOW WHILE WE'RE STILL IN ONE PIECE.
(Everyone leaves the room while Epsilon collapses back on to the bed)
Epsilon: At least no details of Ascension got leaked out. Stupid BAM…