Author's Notes: I also forgot to mention that the term smeghead belongs to whoever created the science fiction classic "Red Dwarf". But I'm sure a lot of you knew where that term came from but anyways. On with chapter 24!
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon in any form whatsoever. Bandai, Toei and ABC own the rights and all that stuff.
Ascension – V 3.4
As Millenniumon focused on making the preparations for the work coming up ahead, he kept an eye on the events running in the real world. It was a shame that Reapermon had been killed but the new development had enabled him to safely extract the tower in the Eastern Realm. And with the only being who knows how to dismantle the towers having no access to interdimensional transport, he will be able to safely extract the other three towers without much of a problem.
There is still the matter of the one who unlocked the powers in the Dark Spore. The one called Daemon. Millenniumon had not been worried at first when Daemon was running around with his spore. But when he noticed certain traces of code within the demon lord Digimon, his attention had shifted. Now he had to postpone his plans of vengeance and chaos to deal with this growing nuisance.
'Daemon recognizes his weaknesses against those with holy strength on their side and now he has to find some way to overcome them. If he can access the hidden code that lies dormant…then his power level will rise again and he may become as strong as me in my final form. No matter. As soon as I reconstruct my body, my first priority is to delete him at once.' Slowly, the four towers appeared and landed on their predetermined positions.
The dark god Digimon started to focus his energy and began the conversion process. Immediately, the towers burst into data, the very data that he will use to create his new body. He smiled to himself. 'It will take some time before it is fully powered and ready for me to occupy. However time is on my side…'
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Daemon struggled to regain his senses right after he stepped out of that portal. Apparently, he had landed in some sort of forest but he was still in the same digital world as he did not focus on transporting to another dimension. 'That accursed knight and his comrades have set everything back. Now it's going to take more time to fulfill my conquest especially without my minions.' He tore off the rest of his tattered cloak before making plans on what to do next. "Wow, Gomamon!! You actually found it!!" He blinked once as he heard the voice. It came from the opposite direction.
By the edge of the forest was a river, where he saw four rookie Digimon together. "Did you have any doubts, Biyomon? Gatomon is going to be thrilled that we found her tail ring!!" This caught the demon lord Digimon's interest. If he recalled correctly, what made Gatomon a fierce Digimon to be reckoned with was the fact that the tail ring was a strength amplifier. But not even the kitty knew that there was more to that tail ring than meets the eye.
"Actually, it was pure luck that you found that tail ring at all. Your original intention was to go fishing and…" Tentomon trailed off when he saw a giant shadow tower over all four of them. Palmon and Biyomon were shocked at how ugly the Digimon was. "Who is that guy anyway? I haven't seen him around in any area!!" exclaimed the plant Digimon.
A gigantic blast later and all four Digimon were thrown back against several rocks. Tentomon was the first to get up. "That really hurt!! Super Shocker!!" Even after hitting the target, the behemoth still kept coming towards them. "Uh…guys!! A little help here?!?" The other three fought the pain and focused on attacking the Digimon. "Spiral Twister!!" "Poison Ivy!!" "Marching Fishes!!"
"Evil Inferno!!" Daemon single-handedly countered all three attacks with his own. Not only that but he sent the other three Digimon flying off into the distance. He then noticed that the tail ring had been dropped by Gomamon. 'Yes…you will do nicely in finishing my ascension to godhood.' As soon as he touched it, he was forced to pull his hand back as the ring shocked him.
'Accursed holy energy…' He knew that what he was going to do would be most difficult. If he fails in taming the ring, then he would surely disintegrate. However if he succeeds, not only will he get rid of his weakness against holy energy but he will be able to regain the lost powers that had lain dormant since the birth of the first Daemon. Summoning all of his willpower, he grabbed the ring and placed it on his middle finger. Soon, the forest erupted in a burst of light and echoed with his screams of agony.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
When Sakuyamon heard Shadowgallantmon shout in disgust over what Gallantmon was doing, she had expected that the holy knight would be a little unnerved that his dark counterpart had returned to complete his task and load his data. To her surprise, the holy knight had an annoyed look in his eyes. Her surprise grew even bigger when she noticed Megidramon and Gallantmon Crimson Mode flying down towards them. There was only one thing she could do at a time like this.
As Justimon and the Digidestined moved over to where the two red Digimon were landing, they noticed the shaman Digimon yank the holy knight towards her in a rough manner. "Okay, goggle head. Start talking." He gave a nervous laugh. "It's a real funny and long story and I don't think there's enough time to…" Whatever warm and fuzzy feelings that he had shared with her were long gone as she stated her next words in a cold tone. "Make time."
Her interrogation was cut short when Megidramon started to get close to her. Thankfully, the dragon was not able to understand what she had told Gallantmon earlier and so in his mind, they are still mates. Before he got too close, GCM cut in. "I must apologize for all the confusion that we have brought to you and the others. I hope that you can forgive us." Before she could give an answer, he knelt on one knee and gently pressed his forehead against her knuckles. The only thought running through her head at that moment was 'what the hell is going on here?!?'
Gallantmon blinked. "Why are you apologizing? It was blabber mouth up there who blew your cover." As soon as he said that, the dark knight leapt off the ledge and performed a few mid air summersaults before landing heavily on his feet. "I heard that, dork face. I suppose it's good to know that you're starting to develop some balls."
While the two knights started a glaring contest, Davis was the first to voice his thoughts on the situation unfolding before them. "This is really creepy!! Almost like the Twilight Zone or something!!" Ken took this moment to give Ryo a quick warning. "Shadowgallantmon is a powerful force to be reckoned with. You better keep your guard up." Justimon gave a small nod.
Cody studied the situation carefully before making an observation. "Odd…Shadowgallantmon seems to be acting strange. He's not being extremely aggressive or trying to upload Gallantmon's data. What's with that?" GCM got up and answered that question a moment later, diverting his attention from Sakuyamon. "Due to some unusual circumstances, Shadowgallantmon has been reduced from a diabolical and ruthless arch nemesis to an annoying character…"
Both knights stopped glaring at each other with the dark knight now ticked off at the crimson knight's comments and the other holy knight making a statement. "Like Terriermon?" "Hey, I resent that!!" The group looked up to see Taichi, Henry, Terriermon and a worn out Zero, who had changed back to champion form, running up to them. Taichi was the first to speak. "It was lucky that Zero spotted you together from high up and…what in the world?!?" The four just received a shock when noticing Shadowgallantmon, GCM, Gallantmon and Megidramon all assembled with the others.
GCM crossed his arms. "Good. Now that everyone's together, except for Suzie and Gennai, I'll make this brief. During an encounter with Armageddemon outside Gennai's house, Takato activated a new bio-merge program. Quantum Bio-Merge Digivolution. The result of that was that each persona within Takato's essence became a physical entity of its own. There are benefits and drawbacks to this condition. One such drawback, in Megidramon's case, is a smaller size." Regardless of the smaller size, Henry still felt quite uneasy being in front of the dragon Digimon. Shadowgallantmon snorted. "Enough of this chatter. I'm still hungry for Daemon's data and I want to resume the hunt as soon as possible."
Megidramon poked his head up when Daemon was mentioned from the dark knight. He gave a growl, indicating that he was still interested in finding the demon lord and biting his head off. GCM and Gallantmon just stared at them. "I don't believe this…you two actually agreed on something?" Shadowgallantmon rolled his eyes. "Technically, dragon breath didn't say that he agreed. He just remembered what we were doing before seeing her again."
"You were going after Daemon?!? Are you nuts?!? I mean with what's happening and…this is all so insane!!" shouted Henry. GCM understood his friend's concern. "We are already aware of our limitations and weaknesses while in this form. We will deal with Daemon while you should go back to Gennai's house to rest for a while. Once we have rid the digital world of the demon, we will rejoin you and figure out a solution to recombine us into one being if the Sovereigns cannot do something about this problem." Before Sakuyamon could voice an objection to the plan, GCM took a small bow. "I bid thee all farewell until next time."
He then turned to the shaman Digimon. "Do not fret, my lady. I will make every effort to make sure that things turn out all right. However if this is the last time that I am in presence of great beauty, then I shall leave a parting gift." To everyone's surprise, even his three counterparts who have still not figured out what part of Takato he represented, he took Sakuyamon's hand and planted a gentle kiss on it, after willing his face helmet to dematerialize. Shadowgallantmon rolled his eyes. "I should have seen this coming."
After the helmet reappeared, he took off into the air. Moments later, the others flew after him. Now Gallantmon was having an easier time keeping up thanks to Grani. Yolei broke the silence after the four had left. "What was that all about?" Sakuyamon quickly snapped out of her dazed state. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that they are going after Daemon and I'm going to follow them!" But as soon as she finished that sentence, she was struck by a wave of dizziness and pain.
"Rika!! Some-ng's ha-en-ng to th-" The girl could barely hear her partner's warnings as the sensations were getting much worse. A fog had started to form around the area, giving a sense of alarm to the other Digidestined and the tamers. The last thing she noticed before blacking out was the sensation that something was coming out of her.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Let me guess…you are the part that represents the characteristics of a MacDaddy!!" GCM ignored the last statement made by the dark knight. Shadowgallantmon frowned underneath his helmet as Megidramon kept attempting to find the scent. "Perhaps an obnoxious hero type character like in those role playing games or something. Trying to make it with the ladies and delivering justice along the way?" "Give it a rest already," grumbled Gallantmon.
GCM finally gave a reply. "Aren't all knights in fairy tales similar in the fact that they try to deliver justice and protect the innocent? Of course, this does not count evil knights who serve a ruthless warlord or something like that." Shadowgallantmon snorted. "No duh. But technically, the obnoxious hero type knights don't go around being a ladies' man. I mean, where does the fact that you won't strike a lady come from?"
Gallantmon thought about that for a moment. "I remember my mom telling me a series of bedtime stories about a knight who went around doing the types of things that we're doing. He never struck a woman and only restrained her if she was his enemy. He was also a good fighter and was extremely polite. Mom always said that real men should behave like that, with the good manners and all. I think that was what inspired me to draw up a knight figure for Guilmon's mega form. I kept thinking about being that type of character when I grow up since my mom would like that very much."
The dark knight blinked once at this revelation. Then he looked at the crimson knight ahead and started to put the pieces of the puzzle together. "Wait a minute…you are a manifestation of the type of person dork face wanted to be when he grew up. His vision of the character that he would have as a man." GCM looked back at the Shadowgallantmon. "That is correct. I'm surprised that you were able to pick it up so quickly."
"So dork face based what he wanted to become when he grew up on a bedtime story?!? What the hell is wrong with you?!?" The last question was directed at the now stunned holy knight. He just looked at GCM with confusion in his eyes. "Now I'm more lost than ever. What do you mean by being a manifestation of what I want to become when I grew up?"
GCM calmly gave an explanation. "When I was formed, my personality was focused on your last thoughts concerning what type of person you wanted to become when you grow up. Until we have changed back into one being, this is how you will always see yourself as in the future. Once changed back though, my personality will change as you develop new thought patterns. Eventually, when you have passed a certain age…if there is another time that you must quantum bio-merge again, you will be in my place and a childish persona will pose as Gallantmon."
They all heard Megidramon give a small roar and turned to see what had grabbed his attention. "Sheesh…knowing dragon breath, he's probably interested in some insignificant thing…" Shadowgallantmon trailed off when he noticed a small pillar of light coming from a direction. The dragon took a whiff of the air before snarling again. "Daemon…" The other three Digimon just looked at the dragon.
Megidramon tapped his snout twice, his rather primitive way of saying 'the nose knows.' GCM gave a small sigh. "All right. We'll check out the source of that light. Perhaps fate will open a door for us and allow us to vanquish the demon once and for all!!" Shadowgallantmon gave a loud groan. "Would you stop talking like that?!?"
"Hey, look!!" They all noticed four small Digimon, all of them out cold on the ground. Gallantmon narrowed his eyes. "What had happened to all of them?" GCM quickly checked their life signs. "They were all knocked out by a powerful attack of some sort. Possibly Daemon…" He looked up to see a group of Otamamon and Gekomon nearby who were inching closer to see what had happened. "Get these four to the nearest medical facility right away." Before they knew it, the three knights and the dragon took off to the area where the light was coming from.
'That light appears to be completely made out of holy energy. I can feel it in my bones.' The four Digimon tried to get closer but then the entire forest exploded as a result of the amount of energy being concentrated into one place. GCM tried to fan the smoke away as quickly as possible while Gallantmon asked Grani to try and see what was going on as he assumed that the machine had some sort of sensor equipment.
Standing several yards away from the group was a figure. And he was glowing with a type of energy that nobody had experienced before. As the smoke cleared, the group was greeted with a sight that they had never thought possible. The figure had eight demonic wings on his back and wore a black face mask with a white cross. One purple horn, spiked up, was on each side of his head, making him seem like a Viking. The rest of his body had red armour with black plates on his shoulders and various parts of his body. What shocked GCM the most was that Daemon, if this was Daemon, looked like Seraphimon with the red replacing the grey, the black replacing the blue, the angelic features gone and replaced with demonic ones and a star inscribed in a circle placed where the symbol for the Crest of Hope should be. And on his right middle finger was a ring.
"By the great heavens…what is this monstrosity before us?" The figure then examined himself and started to chuckle with excitement. The chuckle turned out into a darker, louder laugh as he raised his arms to feel the new energy pulsing through him. He stopped as he noticed four familiar Digimon standing some distance from him. "Is that really Daemon? What the hell did he do to get a makeover like that?!?" exclaimed Shadowgallantmon.
Before they could further think of an attack plan, they noticed the new Daemon suddenly appeared right in front of them in a burst of speed. He started to crack his knuckles and move his head around in a warm up fashion. "Let's begin round two, shall we?" Megidramon charged forward to attack. Then the three knights joined him a moment later.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
There were no words to describe how Rika was feeling. Actually, the only words that came to mind was hell multiplied by a googolplex. Her body was still tingling but at least the worst part was over. "Renamon?" There was no answer. She slowly got up to her feet with the help of her staff. Then out of the blue, someone crashes into her and forces her back on to the ground.
In her mind, she kept swearing that she was going to kill whoever did this but her body said otherwise. When she tried to get a better look, she was shocked to see herself. Or rather, the Sakuyamon who was dressed in that horrendous outfit and who had less combat power but more magic. Before she could think about this some more, she heard footsteps approaching. Rika gasped as she saw Kuzuhamon step out, with her staff aimed towards her and the other Sakuyamon. "Hold still. It'll only hurt once."
There!! I finally finished this latest chapter in spite of the fact that school is piling up. I'm pretty sure that you guessed what was happening with Rika as soon as I mentioned some things. Hopefully, I can finish up the novel soon so I can focus on a few other projects. Also, I got the Seraphimon image from examining his picture in the Digimon film that YTV showed one weekend. The way the film was presented…good grief. Fox should have just shown the films as Digimon specials on their network when they still had the show. Man, I have got to find a way to get my hands on the other four movies in their original language and stuff. See you on the other side.