Previously on Vengeance: As Cody reaches the finals of the Kendo tournament, the situation grows dire in the Digital World. Backed by Wisemon and the lethally powerful MetalPhantomon, Catrina gains the ultimate upper hand in the battle. The other DigiDestined give their best shot and manage to beat the MetalPhantomon, but have drained their powers at the same time, forcing them to retreat. Cody receives a message from Asuka Laboratory asking for help, and has to forfeit the tournament in order to so. His sacrifice is rewarded as he and Armadillomon achieve the power of Transdigivolution at the nick of time, becoming the mighty Valthrumon. The Titan of ice overpowers Wisemon easily and deletes him.
Beaten and battered, Catrina furiously de-Digivolved back into her Champion form to conserve her energy as she stepped foot on the Velvet Claw. The outcome of the battle she had with the DigiDestined surprised her greatly; she'd thought that arming herself with a powerful sorcerer Digimon who commanded a legion of spectral, pickaxe-wielding menaces would guarantee her victory. Alas, most of the MetalPhantomon were successfully beaten, though Catrina was partially satisfied that in order to beat them, four out of five DigiDestined were placed out of commission for the time being. However she'd expected that Wisemon would give a much more impressive performance. After all, he had beaten the Mega-level Rosemon and the Ultimate-level Doumon seemingly without much effort. To think that powerful as he was, Wisemon couldn't match the brute strength of that titanic warrior Valthrumon was simply preposterous, Catrina thought.
"I wonder what master would think of this. Surely he knows of what had happened. I've wasted a bunch of strong Digimon today…"
Catrina made way to the throne room, where Chaos Specter could be usually found. Looking around the straight, dimly-lit tunnel made out of metallic walls which she was in at the moment, Catrina silently hoped that her master would not be angry with her. The fact that Chaos Specter had NEVER been mad at her before didn't really assure her; once again she'd made a fool out of herself, she thought. Taking a deep breath, the Champion black feline hastened her steps towards the end of the tunnel, which shone with a yellowish hue against the dim lights of the tunnel.
Entering the throne room, it didn't really surprise Catrina to find it void of anyone. It had happened before, and she was left behind numerous times whenever Chaos Specter and his Chaos Generals went out to seize an alternate Digital World dimension. Truth be told, she was slightly relieved that Chaos Specter wasn't there to ask her of what mistakes she'd done in her battle. It gave her more time to think of a clever way to reply to her master's interrogations, which usually would earn her fewer interrogations.
But of course, she couldn't help but wonder as well of her master's whereabouts.
"Hey, computer! Chaos-AI! Where's the master right now?"
"Master Chaos Specter and the three Chaos Generals are pursuing Kimeramon and Machinedramon. They are heading towards the deserts of the eastern quadrant of East Sector."
Catrina merely sighed in relief. She then decided to recuperate, by cleaning herself up and taking some shut-eye. She walked out from the throne room listlessly and wandered through the dark and narrow corridors. Tired, she practically had to drag herself to her room. Her eyes partially closed, she walked at random, already knowing the direction towards all the rooms by heart. There was no way she could lose herself in these corridors. She would just have to turn to her left at the first four-junction and walk straight ahead – her room would be there.
However, by thinking too deeply and having her eyes closed Catrina was too much distracted into remembering her steps. She had unintentionally missed to turn left at the first four-junction and had walked straight ahead the dark corridor. Letting her paw rest on the wall, Catrina wondered whether she was too tired. She thought that she hadn't reached the first four-junction, and continued walking. Within seconds she reached the second four-junction and thinking that it was the first, she turned left, her eyes still closed. She walked straight, ready to reach for the doorknob to her room, when all she felt was…a flat glassy surface.
"Hey!" Catrina opened her eyes wearily and saw that she was standing in front of a large mirror. Her reflections mirrored her shocked face. "A mirror? What happened to my room?"
Catrina was about to turn back, realizing her error, when she noticed something at the side of the mirror. Beside the brass frame of the mirror was…a slight opening. It was as if the mirror was a door, and somebody had left it ajar. Catrina was about to push the mirror to close the opening when curiosity got the better of her, and she tried pulling the mirror. When the mirror didn't budge, she tried sliding the mirror to the side…and amazingly the mirror slid towards the left, revealing a dark hallway behind it.
"Wow! A secret corridor!"
Woes and tiredness forgotten, Catrina was now excited upon her new discovery. She had lived all her life inside the Velvet Claw and had believed that she knew every nook and cranny of the flying fortress. She even knew where the engine room was, and yet here was a corridor leading to who-knows-where. Peering inside, Catrina couldn't see anything at the other end of the corridor except pitch black. Her curiosity roused even higher, Catrina stepped in the dark hallway and slid the mirror close. She was surprised to see that while the other side of the mirror had reflective surface, the side where she was viewing at the moment was simply a transparent glass, not a mirror.
"A trick mirror!" Catrina gasped. "What's it doing here?"
For a while she stood still, debating with herself whether she should just walk out and pretend that she'd never found the secret passage, but naturally being a cat her curiosity got the better of her. To her, the Velvet Claw belonged to Chaos Specter and he must also know about this passageway. Catrina began to wonder of what secrets Chaos Specter could be hiding now. She turned back to face the dark corridor and waited for her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the corridor. Aided by the light coming through the trick mirror, Catrina soon was able to see her way through the metal-walled passage after her eyesight was automatically adjusted to the scanty amount of light.
"Secrets, here I come…"
Catrina walked slowly, utilizing all of her senses to aid her in the dimly lit corridor. She was afraid that the hallway was full of traps waiting for their prey, but to her relief there was none. The corridor grew darker as she advanced, and Catrina was thankful that she wasn't claustrophobic. She then reached a vaulted door, made out of grey and blue metal. There was no doorknob or anything else that could be used to open it. Then she noticed a green flicker of light, followed by red, located somewhere at the side of the door. It was a digital device, with buttons of alphabets and numbers, and a long thin screen above them. She realized that perhaps the door would open only by entering the correct password.
"And this is just great! I don't know what the password is!"
But she was unwilling to give up just easily. There must be something inside the vault, and Catrina wasn't about to just go and forget about it. Her heart thumping, she began to think of several possibilities of what lied in there. She needed to find somebody who was able to hack the device and come up with the password. Reluctantly Catrina walked away, and stepped out of the mirror. She slid the mirror close, and began to think of somebody that fit the bill. It had to be a Digimon based on machinery intelligence.
"Ah! I know the right 'mon for the job!"
Happily she ran off towards the Digimon holding bay, which was where Digimon who were loyal to Chaos Specter were placed. It was the place where she recruited Asuramon and Wisemon, and the perfect place to find the perfect candidate to aid her in her little escapade.
Vengeance
Chapter 34: Time Threat
Several hours earlier
Even as the battle at Asuka City took place, another fierce fight occurred over the far-eastern side of the East Sector of the Digital World. In the midst of the desert plains on that region, a city surrounded by thick metallic fences – dubbed Machine City – was under siege by two Digimon whose minds were under control by one particularly heinous being.
After breaking free of Chaos Specter's clutches, the digital spirit of Milleniumon guided Kimeramon and Machinedramon away from the Velvet Claw and back to the deserts where Milleniumon's castle once stood. In the middle of the journey, they encountered Machine City – home to various machine-type Digimon under the lead of Andromon, who was an ally to the DigiDestined. Seeing this as a perfect opportunity for him to gain some slaves to work for his cause (or data to feed him power), Milleniumon ordered Kimeramon and Machinedramon to attack the city.
With an army of machine-based Digimon at his disposal, Andromon had retaliated but found no ways of defeating his opponents. He had no other option but to contact Asuka City for assistance. Luckily, Piximon was around the lab and had answered his distress call for help. The ultimate-level Digimon trainer then rushed to assist his fellow friend, followed by two ultimate Digimon who Andromon did not recognize, though the android noticed some semblances of one of them to his friend Leomon. The other looked like a female version of Stingmon, the differences merely the fact that this Stingmon-look-alike wore jeweled armor and looked relatively female. No introductions were made as upon arrival, the three cavalries instantly joined the battle. Thanks to their new assistances, the Digimon of Machine City managed to raise the odds against Milleniumon's two lackeys – but their opponents were still the stronger bunch. Andromon then sent another distress signal for more help, but found out from Wizardmon via a transmission that the DigiDestined were too preoccupied with the fight with Wisemon and Catrina. They were on their own.
"Open fire! Give these intruders all you have! Do not hold back!"
Upon Andromon's command, the Mekanorimon and Guardromon sent barrages of missiles towards their looming assailants. Their attacks were joined by sparks of lightning shot by a group of electrical-based Thundermon and their higher evolutions of Mamemon, BigMamemon, MetalMamemon and Giromon. A flock of armor-level Thunderbirdmon took the skies to attack from the air, but was shot down immediately by a strong wave of Heat Viper from Kimeramon. Machinedramon sent a powerful blast of his Infinity Cannon which effortlessly incinerated the attacks sent by the other.
"We need more power!" Andromon said distressfully. He drew back from the battlefield momentarily when his eyes caught a small mechanical insect Digimon coming his way from the center of the city. Recognizing that the newcomer was bringing him some news update, Andromon darted towards it and launched a couple of his Gatling Missiles to deflect an attack from Kimeramon which threatened the life of the young rookie. Kimeramon howled in annoyance and diverted its attention towards GrapLeomon, who caught his attention, while Andromon caught the little 'mon and brought him to safety.
"Oooh! That was too close! Thanks, sir! I am here bringing news for you, Mr. Andromon, sir!" the robotic insect chirped as Andromon put him down.
In the background, explosions ensued; followed by cries and some loud curses from GrapLeomon, in a voice so brash that Andromon had wonder for a moment whether the voice really belonged to the Leomon he had known from before. To him, the lion sounded much more like his rival Ogremon. After making sure that nobody was hurt, Andromon shrugged it off and returned his attention to his young company.
"Good, Kokuwamon. Now tell me, what is the status of the DigiDestined at Asuka City right now?"
The little robot beetle saluted Andromon with reverence. "Yes sir. I have managed to contact two Digimon there. They are Tentomon and Gomamon…and they said that the DigiDestined are pretty much out of commission for the time being. They are battling with Chaos Specter's minions at the moment."
Andromon sighed. "That is very bad news…" He was worried of what would happen to Machine City if Machinedramon and Kimeramon weren't stopped. "It looks like we are on our own," he decided dejectedly. He then turned to look at Kokuwamon, who was looking at him expectedly. "Now you go and take cover, this battlefield is no place for a youngling like you to be around." Kokuwamon immediately protested, and it took Andromon a couple times to persuade Kokuwamon to go, and finally he resorted into ordering the rookie to go to make him obey his command. After Kokuwamon ran off back to the safety, Andromon rejoined his fellow friends and army to continue the battle.
A deafening explosion occurred as he arrived at the battlefield. After the shockwaves and the smokes resulted from the explosion cleared off, Andromon was shocked to see that the buildings there were now in ruins; the metallic floor of the city was now cluttered with remains of what once constituted the proud buildings of Machine City. He could see Piximon, Jewelbeemon and GrapLeomon lying around – all seemed to be unhurt, yet defeated. Their expressions harbored a horrified expression, and they were staring at the sky. Following their eyes, Andromon looked up and let out a loud yell of disbelief. The sight that was presented before him was enough to shake him apart. His eyes widened with horror as he swore upon the ugly sight before him.
He saw Kimeramon and Machinedramon, floating in midair and glowing with faint white lights, absorbing whirlwinds of multicolored data particles. Faint cries of help were heard but before Andromon could identify the voices, the wails dissipated. His eyes darted wildly over the charred ruins of the battlefield and he dropped to his knees when he couldn't see any of his comrades. The Guardromon, Mekanorimon, Thundermon, Mamemon brothers…all of them were gone. Andromon realized what had happened instantly; they had been absorbed by the two abominations that were terrorizing Machine City.
Behind Kimeramon and Machinedramon, the sky grew dark. Lightning zigzagged and thunders boomed as slowly an image formed behind the two Digimon. Their eyes then flashed with krypton-green lights as the image became clearer. The image, harboring what looked like a blackened fusion of Machinedramon and Kimeramon, erupted into millions glowing purple data particles, and the two Digimon absorbed the data. As soon as the last bits of data entered their body, both of them turned into two greenish-white motes of lights that seemed to radiate pure evil. The two motes entwined with each other and a blinding tornado of light erupted. The tornado initiated a sandstorm all over Machine City, burying nearly a quarter of the city with sands. Although it was still bright by the time Andromon, Piximon, GrapLeomon and Jewelbeemon got themselves out from the sands, the sunlight seemed to have been eclipsed. Darkness reigned the once-bright day, and the good guys bore witness to the beginning of what could be called…doomsday.
"Kimeramon….Machinedramon….DNA Digivolve to……MILLENIUMON!"
"Warning! There is a disturbance in the eastern quadrant of the Eastern Sector."
The steady, droning, mechanical-enhanced female voice of Chaos AI snapped Chaos Specter from his observation of the current battle going on at Asuka City. Narrowing his emerald eyes, Chaos Specter turned his attention towards the smaller viewing screen in the throne room, which was currently showing the clash at Machine City. Clouds of thick, grey smoke dominated most of the screen, with buildings being shot down and multiple Digimon firing their signature attacks towards a common goal ensued in the background. The screen displayed everything in mute.
"What in the world? How did those two get there?"
Chaos Specter stood up straightly when he saw Kimeramon and Machinedramon terrorizing the city. Fighting the two of them was three Digimon whom Chaos Specter recognized as the ones from Asuka Laboratory, and the other was Andromon, leader of Machine City. Andromon was seen leading a large team of machine-based Digimon in their fight against Milleniumon's slaves.
Gazing into the screens, he saw how despite the large number, the good Digimon still were not a match to Kimeramon and Machinedramon.
"Fools. Don't they realize what they're playing at?"
An explosion caused by the combination of the two Digimon's attacks temporarily covered the viewing screen with brilliant orange lights. The lights were followed by thick black smokes obscuring Chaos Specter's sight. When the smokes cleared out, he was astounded to see that the place where the battle occurred was reduced to rubbles.
"The Machine City destroyed? What could be his intention in doing so?"
Yet, a series of events that ensued afterwards didn't really surprise him, as he had expected them to do so. Though happening away from under his supervision, it was what he had intended to do with them anyway, so it didn't bother him that much. He even smiled slightly when the two monstrosity of Digimon merged together.
"So, it has finally happened. The event I have been waiting for so long…it's time I take matters in my own hands."
Standing up from his throne, he issued another command to the integrated computer of his flying fortress.
"Chaos AI, ready the Chaos Rings. I have a feeling that I'm going to need them. And alert the Chaos Generals. We're going to Machine City."
Present time
After the battle at Asuka City, all the DigiDestined were worn out. Upon returning to his home, Cody had dropped by at Yolei and TK's place only to find them sleeping already, clothes unchanged and dinner forgotten. Their action baffled their family, and Cody had to give a quick explanation of what happened in the Digital World, keeping out some of the gorier parts lest the parents were worried. He'd then called Kari, Davis and Ken's houses and found that all of them were asleep, or was going to sleep. Cody was lucky to be able to catch Kari before she'd gone to sleep, but from the way she sounded, Cody could see that the DigiDestined of Light was dying to place her head on the pillow more than anything. He bade her goodbye quickly, ate his dinner and cleaned himself up before he himself went to bed.
In the meantime, the older DigiDestined team, comprising of Tai Kamiya, Matt Ishida, Sora Takenouchi, Mimi Tachikawa, Joe Kido and Izzy Izumi, gathered at one local bistro in the middle of the busy city of Odaiba, near the Rainbow Bridge, just to hang out together. It had been a long while since all six of them could sit in one table and talk. There was Mimi, who stayed with her parents at America. She was spending her long summer holidays in Odaiba, and was currently staying at Sora's house since the Tachikawas couldn't make it back home. And there was Matt, who was becoming more and more of a teen icon now that the Teenage Wolves were garnering recognition (especially after the 2002's Christmas invasion saga, where their concert was invaded by a group of wayward Digimon). Joe was seldom seen with the rest of the DigiDestined as he was getting busier than ever, studying to excel and to be able to attend med school. Sora had a part-time job, helping her mother out at her mother's flower shop, and once in a while she'd visit her father. Izzy and Tai however kept themselves most up-to-date in what was currently transpiring at the Digital World; but all the older DigiDestined kept in touch with the world of adventures which all of them had grown so fond of, and of course, with their partner Digimon.
For an hour, they exchanged topics of conversations. Tai was of course, bombarded with inquiries about his new girlfriend, and had no chance of talking about other matters. Izzy briefed everybody of the current matters transpiring in the Digital World, and updated everyone of Cody's new Transdigivolution. Mimi told the team about the American DigiDestined team whom she had befriended, and how she was easily accepted in their circle. She was even looked up as a leader, as she was the most experienced amongst them. Joe told the team about how hard it was for him to balance all the schoolwork he had in order to qualify for med school, but he wouldn't trade it for anything. Matt filled everybody in with the Teenage Wolves' latest progress and future plans, and warned them not to spill the beans to anybody else, while Sora shared some hilarious experiences she'd had when some girls she didn't even know approached her for Matt's autographs. She planned to have Matt sign all the business cards of her mother's flower shop; that way the shop could have some free publicity.
They were about ready to leave the bistro when unbelievably, their Digivices beeped for the first time in a long, long while. Each and every one of them looked at each other with a confused expression. Firstly, did ALL of them carry their Digivices to the bistro? And secondly, what would Gennai want from them?
"What's going on? This has never happened before," Matt wondered confusedly. He cast a look at the shorter teen sitting beside him. "Izzy?"
"I don't have a clue," Izzy admitted. He raked his brain for a possible explanation, and gave the most plausible reason he could think of. "Perhaps it's from Gennai."
Mimi scratched her temple absent-mindedly. "Do you think there's trouble in the Digital World?"
"Maybe," Izzy answered. "My guess is as good as yours, Mimi. Besides, our Digivices can't be used like the Diginizers. Even if there's something happening in the Digital World, the only way we can go there is by using a Diginizer to open a gate, or maybe a D3 and a computer."
"Still, I think we need to check this out," Matt insisted.
"That's fine, but right now we're attracting everyone's attentions." Sora pointed around them as she cupped her Digivice inside her palms. A few of other diners were looking at them oddly.
Mimi waved at the curious diners with a plastered cheerful smile on her face. "Oh, sorry about this, everyone. We've just got a pressing engagement." The other DigiDestined face-faulted, but couldn't help but to admire her ease in tackling a tense situation like this. Indeed, a simple explanation given by her satisfied the diners, and they resumed with their own businesses.
"Nice," Izzy commented.
Tai got up from his seat. "I'll pay the bills, and then we're outta here to check this out. Here, take Koromon…" he reached down the table for Koromon, who was munching some food merrily, and passed it to Matt. The blond smartly held a palm over Koromon's mouth in order to stop the little in-training from protesting. He then went up straight towards the casher.
"I think it's best if we go now," Joe said nervously. "We can wait for Tai outside."
The others nodded and quickly got up. Avoiding everybody's stares, they walked out the door and immediately went to a deserted alley beside the bistro. However, just before they could do anything else, their visions were blinded by a flash of green-white light erupting from their Digivices. It came all of a sudden, enveloping them wholly and muffled their screams with loud, rhythmic vibrations. Closing their eyes, the DigiDestined gradually felt the weights of their bodies becoming lighter. Then, everything became dark to them and nothing more was heard.
When Tai went to look for the other DigiDestined at the alley, all he found was an unconscious Koromon.
"What in the Digital World is happening here?" HolyAngemon turned to Gennai. "How did they just…disappear like that?"
Gennai, who was currently sitting up straight on the medic table where he was lying on a few while ago, had a shocked look embossed on his handsome face. His eyes were wide-opened and transfixed towards the corner where plush round sofas were located. It was where Gomamon and Tentomon loved to laze about during their stay at the laboratory.
"I don't get it either…perhaps, they were teleported to some place else," Gennai said slowly. He quickly got down from the medic table and got dressed, despite his injuries not fully healed yet.
"By who?" HolyAngemon asked again darkly. "I sense an uncanny feeling with this event. Something is not right. First Piximon, GrapLeomon and Jewelbeemon left the laboratory without any prior message. Then right in front of our eyes, Tentomon and Gomamon just blinked out, just like that."
"But why Tentomon and Gomamon? Unless…" Gennai stopped when a sudden thought crossed his mind. Quickly, he went towards the nearest computer and typed some commands onto the computer. The computer buzzed momentarily before a map of File Island flashed on the screen. Gennai observed it and groaned angrily, "…it's what I've thought would happen too. Biyomon, Gabumon and Palmon have vanished from File Island as well. I can't get a trace of their signals."
"It seems to me that they've been kidnapped…by someone, or something. But why would anybody want to kidnap them?" HolyAngemon asked, but continued before Gennai could answer his question. "Wait a minute… All the disappearing Digimon are partner Digimon, right? But… how does that explain the fact that Piximon, GrapLeomon and Jewelbeemon have vanished as well?"
The digital human shrugged. "We don't know that for sure. Maybe they were already gone even before the whole battle at Asuka City started. Perhaps they're just somewhere else…we can locate them using the worldwide scanning. But I don't think they are that far off…perhaps a scan over the Eastern Sector alone would be enough."
Gennai tapped on the keyboard again and the large viewing screen displayed a worldwide map of the Digital World, before zooming towards the east. He then issued a command for the computer to locate Piximon and the other two. The computer immediately beeped and displayed three green dots over the eastern quadrant of the sector.
HolyAngemon was about to comment, but Gennai hushed the archangel. "We're getting a visual."
What he saw on the viewing screen next was enough to make his legs shook. Sweat trailed down his forehead while his eyes were transfixed towards the screen. His mouth was slightly open; there was a horrified expression on Gennai's face. HolyAngemon took a look and flinched.
"I don't believe it!" Gennai roared, his voice shaking. "How did he get there? Forget that…how did he come into being in the first place?"
"My guess is the fact that the Zeed Crystal has long been embedded on Chaos Wargreymon must play a certain factor in this," HolyAngemon said worriedly. "But look…Andromon and our three friends can no longer fight Milleniumon. That demon is too powerful for them."
"What's your plan?"
"I believe this is time for me to go and help." HolyAngemon then glanced up towards the digital clock, and smiled slightly. "We are going to need at least a Mega Digimon to challenge Milleniumon. It's rather unfortunate that I alone cannot advance to my Mega form…but my disciples, I believe, have already done so. The three of them are powerful when combined. And it's our luck right now that they are going to end their meditative cycle."
And as if right on cue, the teleportation platform glowed and three angels materialized there. They looked refreshed, and all were smiling.
"What are you three so happy about?" Gennai demanded. "For your information, we have a really grave situation here."
Piddomon, d'Arcmon and Angemon didn't answer; instead they knelt in front of HolyAngemon. It was an act of reverence, though HolyAngemon never demanded it from his disciples. HolyAngemon quickly beckoned for them to get up, and Gennai's sharp eyes were quick to notice a faint hint of pink on the revered angel's cheeks. The three angelic disciples however stood up and continued talking as if they hadn't notice anything.
Angemon was the first one to talk. "We have successfully achieved it, master."
"We have managed to attain a second Mega form, I believe, although we haven't tested it for sure yet," d'Arcmon continued breathlessly. It was obvious that she was ecstatic. "It's a form that's even bigger than my Phoenixmon form." She let out a slight giggle from it, and while Angemon looked indifferent, Piddomon seemed to be embarrassed by it, judging by the change of color on his pale cheeks into a shade almost similar to his tunic.
HolyAngemon looked at Piddomon questioningly. "That is very good news, I suppose? Do you mind telling me what is on your mind, Piddomon?"
Piddomon was about to speak when Angemon cut him off loudly. "I don't see the reason why Piddomon should be embarrassed by it. After all, his Mega form is very powerful, and has a couple of very devastating attacks."
"Well, as much as I'd love to hear more about it, I'm afraid that we have no time," Gennai said quickly before Piddomon could retort to Angemon's remark. "An abomination known by the name of Milleniumon has returned to our plane, and is currently assaulting the Machine City on the eastern quadrant."
"What about the DigiDestined?" Angemon inquired. "Shouldn't they be notified too?"
Gennai shook his head slowly. "I feel that after what happened today, the DigiDestined need their rest. Our medic table can heal injuries and rejuvenate strength to a certain level, but they will still need to rest the normal way in order to be fit to fight – especially when now they are merged with their partners during fight. Besides…there is something else which has happened. The older DigiDestined…apparently five of them, have disappeared from their home world. And the same were true for their Digimon partners…HolyAngemon and I have just seen Tentomon and Gomamon vanished right in front of our eyes. While we don't know about the culprit behind this act, but judging from Milleniumon's sudden appearance, I say that there's a fair chance to assume that he's the one responsible."
"Then we have no time to lose," d'Arcmon said, and glanced sideways towards Piddomon. "Besides it'll give us the chance to test out Piddomon's Mega form."
Piddomon groaned. "I was afraid you'd say that."
HolyAngemon and his three disciples then took up the pedestal and vanished in a myriad of light. Gennai sighed in relief and was about to slink on the sofa to continue his rest when something on the screen jolted him back to full alertness. He saw Chaos Specter, now flying across the sky in his Velgamon form. Behind him, his three generals were following close. Chaos Piedmon and Chaos Seadramon were seen speeding along Velgamon, while Chaosdramon was left to walk his way across the treacherous deserts of the eastern quadrant.
"I have a pretty good idea of what his intention is right now," Gennai muttered to himself, eyes twinkling.
As Chaos Specter, in his Velgamon form, approached Machine City he could hear a massive explosion coming from the city's direction. Massive ripples of black smokes ensued, soaring towards the darkened sky. The smell of the smokes was suffocating despite the distance, and Chaos Specter realized that he was about to face the very thing that he'd wanted to confront for years. Glancing behind towards Chaos Piedmon, Chaos Seadramon and Chaosdramon who were trailing him from behind, he beckoned for them to move in front of him. The three generals obeyed their master without question.
"Be prepared. Milleniumon isn't a normal Mega Digimon. Never underestimate his power, and have no fear. I'm confident that if we combine our powers together, we are able to bring him down to his knees," Velgamon said confidently. He flapped his large wings and soared higher to have a much more clear view. The view which greeted him made him fazed temporarily before he descended to meet his Chaos Generals. "Milleniumon has just successfully destroyed three-quarters of Machine City."
Chaos Piedmon flew past his buzzard-formed master. "We won't fail you, master. Besides, I'll have the pleasure to teach that traitorous Chaos Wargreymon some lessons."
Velgamon merely grunted in reply. "Do as you wish. I need the three of you to fight him while I direct Chaos AI to launch the Chaos Rings to ensnare our time meddling friend."
"I don't see why we couldn't beat Milleniumon," Chaos Seadramon huffed as he glided above Chaos Piedmon. "After all, we've managed to capture the four Harmonious Ones and they are supposed to be the most powerful Digimon around – they are the guardians of this digital dimension, not to mention. So what's the big deal?"
"Milleniumon's power ranks equal to Azulongmon and the other three guardians," Velgamon snapped, glaring towards the Mega level serpent Digimon. "And he has TWO higher evolutionary forms, which are more powerful than his current form. So don't ever underestimate him."
"But according to the story I've heard, ZeedMilleniumon was beaten by a mere kid no older than the DigiDestined," Chaos Piedmon pointed out. "It was said that the boy trapped ZeedMilleniumon inside a rookie level Digimon." The clown general shook his head in disgust.
Velgamon grunted again, this time sounding more annoyed rather than angry. "Milleniumon was too foolish to bear a soft spot for that boy. However, the boy is not around now; so there's no holding back in fighting Milleniumon. It would be best to prevent Milleniumon from evolving to his stronger forms."
Chaos Piedmon and Chaos Seadramon nodded, and Chaosdramon listened to the conversation with his fullest attention, despite not having the slightest idea of what the conversation was about. Compared to the much more experienced two generals, Chaosdramon felt that he lacked a lot of information. Most of his time was spent at Tyrannovalley, and after he was banished from the valley, Chaos Specter offered him a place in his army. Working under Chaos Piedmon once, Chaosdramon had never thought that the jester would become his equal in the future. After his defeat by Lady Sakuyamon of Tyrannovalley's Ivory Citadel, Chaos Specter found him and after realizing his potential while in Mega form, Chaosdramon was welcomed to fill in the place formerly belonged to Chaos Wargreymon. After some series of hard training, finally Chaosdramon was allowed to take part in the battle against Milleniumon.
"I will do my best to prevent that from happening, master," he finally said with full determination.
Velgamon nodded, but didn't reply. Instead his eyes were transfixed by five pillars of green light that suddenly descended from the cloudy sky. With his excellent sight, he was able to see clearly of what was inside the pillars. He halted, confused.
"It looks like our friend is a step ahead of us. He has captured the senior DigiDestined and their partner Digimon."
Chaos Piedmon had also stopped from going even further; he stooped in mid-air behind a mountain of sands and peered up. "Indeed he has, although he had missed one. That big-haired older brother of the DigiDestined of Light isn't there. And so is his Agumon."
"What would he want with the older DigiDestined?" Chaos Seadramon wondered. "Wouldn't it be better for him for him to capture the younger ones instead? They are much more powerful than their predecessors with their Transdigivolution powers."
Velgamon thought for a while. "No…the younger ones, except for the DigiDestined of Hope and Light, have no part in Milleniumon's first battle with the DigiDestined. The eight senior DigiDestined and a boy named Akiyama are the ones who've beaten him. Perhaps he's looking for revenge." He sneered in his buzzard-like way, revealing his sharp teeth rowed inside his long beak. "While I have no interest in Milleniumon's desire for vengeance, it would be interesting to let Milleniumon finish off eight DigiDestined at one go. It will make my mission a lot easier to achieve."
"But he only has five of them now," Chaosdramon pointed out.
The crimson buzzard Digimon snorted. "Yes, fool…but be patient. If my calculations are correct, another three pairs will join their friends soon enough. Until then, we wait for the right moment. I've waited for hundreds of years, there's no reason why I cannot wait for a few more, if it helps my cause." Velgamon then reverted to his human form of Chaos Specter. Then, with help of Chaos Piedmon's magic, he formed a protective energy dome around the four of them to mask themselves from being detected by Milleniumon.
"One…two…three…four…five…hmm…"
Milleniumon was ecstatic. First he had regained his original form, after years of waiting in silence. He'd dreamt about returning to power ever since a part of him – his dominant part, had been trapped inside the body of a rookie Digimon called Monodramon, no thanks to a certain Ryo Akiyama. It was lucky that he had somehow foreseen an unfortunate event that would befall him, and had created a fallback plan before he left to track down Ryo on the boy's home dimension. Despite some safeguard measures enacted by Ebonwumon and Kuzuhamon to prevent anyone from having contact with the Zeed Crystal – luck had led Chaos Wargreymon to him.
"Chaos Wargreymon was certainly a powerful Digimon, and worthy of being a part of me now. And my Kimeramon half, created by a fusion of an unfortunate rookie Digimon and Devimon's digital DNA, is also a worthy addition. With their powers added to my own, I will be unstoppable!"
He then observed the pillars of light in front of him – containing the unconscious DigiDestined he had captured and their partners. Though he was missing four pairs, having five pairs for the time being was more than an accomplishment for him. His ability to bend time and space enabled him to easily locate the DigiDestined, although in his newly-formed state, his power was limited. He had enough power to make one inter-dimensional capture, and had used it to kidnap the five senior DigiDestined.
"I still am short of four DigiDestined…the one with Wargreymon, MagnaAngemon, Angewomon and Stingmon are still out there…"
Looking back, Milleniumon was reminded of the final battle he had with the eight legendary DigiDestined who were renowned as saviors of the Digital World from the wrath of Devimon, Myotismon, the Dark Masters and Apocalymon. Despite having them captured in his castle, he had missed Agumon…and that had led him to his defeat. A boy named Ryo Akiyama had appeared out of nowhere, and Milleniumon hadn't foreseen this event. The boy owned a Digivice similar to the eight DigiDestined despite not having a partner. With the Digivice, Agumon was temporarily powered up all the way to his Mega form and had successfully beaten all of Milleniumon's henchmen before freeing the other DigiDestined and Digimon. Then all of the Digimon Digivolved into their highest Digivolutionary form before fighting an intense battle with Milleniumon.
Milleniumon remembered everything clearly. How Zudomon, MegaKabuterimon and Garudamon impaled him with their strongest attacks. Despite being only ultimate level Digimon their combined efforts had forced him to fall on his knees. MagnaAngemon then had used the opportunity to strike at him with his powerful holy blade of Excalibur. Milleniumon had wanted to retaliate, but somehow he was immobilized by Lillymon's wreaths of flowers, and Angewomon's holy light. Wargreymon and MetalGarurumon then merged to become Omnimon, and delivered their mighty attacks towards him…deleting him successfully, or so they had thought.
Milleniumon had foreseen events in which he was being defeated by the DigiDestined long before the moment when he had decided to kidnap the eight children of the legend. He had bid for his time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He had left the first batch of DigiDestined alone, seeing how powerful they had become while he, at the time, was a Mega with powers that of an average Mega Digimon.
In order to prevent himself from ever being deleted permanently, he had extracted some of his digital data and had them crystallized. He then had embedded these crystals into the bodies of two of his minions. He had selected the carriers of his crystals carefully, and after doing so he had sent them away into hiding. Nobody knew the identities of these Digimon, and Milleniumon had not bothered to create more than two crystals as he was confident that he could never be defeated twice.
When he was deleted by the eight DigiDestined, in his dying breath he had called up one of the crystal carrier, which had been a Datamon. The data inside the crystal within it was copied, and it Digivolved into a Machinedramon before Milleniumon's digital data took over its body, transforming the Machinedramon into himself.
He'd returned again and that time around, faced Ryo and a young boy named Ken Ichijouji. The two of them only had one ultimate level Digimon at their disposal. Paildramon, a data-type Digimon, could never match his level of powers. Paildramon had taken some serious damages from Milleniumon, but when the dark Digimon attempted to destroy Ryo and Ken once and for all, his attack was somehow rebounded back at him. It was Ken's Digi-Egg of Kindness which had saved them, though at the cost of the Digi-Egg itself. The power of the Digi-Egg then was absorbed by Paildramon, healing his wounds as well as amplifying his powers. Paildramon then was able to conjure a phenomenal attack which successfully beat the injured Milleniumon. For the second time, Milleniumon was defeated.
After firing the dark spores towards Ryo and Ken as a hasty attempt of revenge, Milleniumon immediately activated the second crystal which at that moment, was within a powerful Megadramon. Transforming back into his own body once again, Milleniumon planned his next step carefully. He created the Zeed Crystal, using the same procedures he'd done with the previous two crystals. But instead of having it embedded inside a Digimon, Milleniumon chose to have the crystal hidden as it was. He made the crystal having the ability to select a powerful Digimon to serve as carrier, and while bidding its time, the crystal itself would grow more and more powerful as time passed. Milleniumon then became MoonMilleniumon and pursued Ryo to have battle with him.
"I shall not make the same mistake again. The DigiDestined will meet their doom this day and…and what is this? Somebody's here…"
Milleniumon's sharp senses had picked up the presence of four beings somewhere not far from him. Despite having some interference when he tried to detect the identity of the beings around him, Milleniumon was certain that he was being watched. And he didn't like it.
"Silly magic will not hide you any longer!" Milleniumon aimed his cannons towards up north. "Infinity Cannon!"
The attack instantly was met with yet another powerful blast coming from the opposite direction. The two attacks collided in midair and a massive explosion resulted. While Milleniumon was unaffected by the explosion – he merely had enacted an energy barrier to prevent the explosion from harming his captives – four figures emerged from the smokes. The momentum resulted from the collision of attacks had thrown the four of them several yards back. A black-and-blue MetalSeadramon, a black-and-white Piedmon, a massive crimson Digimon bearing some semblances to Machinedramon and a human were revealed.
"You!" Milleniumon hissed, narrowing his eyes. He stared into the pale eyes of Chaos Specter warily.
Chaos Specter landed on his foot and stood straight with ease. At his back, Chaos Piedmon and Chaos Seadramon hovered in midair while Chaosdramon struggled to get up, having being thrown on his back. Chaos Seadramon glided to Chaosdramon's side and knocked him back up to his feet.
"Me," Chaos Specter said, and smiled maliciously. "I've been wanting to meet you for a long time, Milleniumon."
Milleniumon was unimpressed. "Unfortunately, I do not feel the same way. Yet, I do owe you for providing me with a vessel to ensure my return in this physical plane. Chaos Wargreymon and the Kimeramon you have provided were definitely powerful Digimon."
"It's a pleasure. Now that you've returned...why don't you express your gratitude by joining my side? I could use your talents of bending time and space."
"I do not have any intension to ally myself to the likes of you humans."
"Really?" Chaos Specter said, quirking his eyebrows sarcastically. "Your other half seem to have willingly obliging the orders of a certain boy."
Milleniumon snorted, almost to the point of laughing. "Once Cyberdramon and Ryo Akiyama have attained the ability to Biomerge Digivolve in their home world, the Milleniumon-half inside Cyberdramon was left as a mere memory. I am the true Milleniumon, for now and for eternity."
Chaos Specter sneered. "That's mighty assuring, as I am in need of a true Milleniumon. Your power to transcend time is what I seek. It will be easier for all of us if you just come down with us. I don't wish to fight you unless necessary, and if push comes to shove I have my Chaos Generals to back me up."
"If you are able to beat me, I will have no choice but to oblige. But do not blame me if in the end, you have lost yourself three faithful minions."
"We'll see about that. Generals, attack!"
Chaos Piedmon and Chaos Seadramon immediately glided forward, readying their strongest attack. Chaos Seadramon's snout shimmered with intense blue light, and making a forward flip in midair he unleashed a torrent of freezing beam of ice towards Milleniumon. The ice froze Milleniumon's cannons, and this gave Chaos Piedmon the opportunity to attack. The jester swung his blades with amazing speed, attempting to hurt the mighty Mega Digimon. Chaos Piedmon slashed his swords into Milleniumon's exposed organic body, drawing out blood from the trauma sites. He followed the brutal assault by firing energy balls from his hands to further injure Milleniumon.
All the while, Milleniumon didn't even retaliate and this unnerved Chaos Specter. Looking back, he saw Chaosdramon still standing in standstill.
"What are you doing? Don't just stand there! Make yourself useful and help your fellow generals!"
The hesitating Chaosdramon complied and charged forward, attempting to blast Milleniumon with his Hyper Mugen Cannon. However he halted in midway, seeing that his comrades had efficiently worked together to immobilize Milleniumon. Should he attack, he would only disrupt their teamwork in defeating the manipulator of time.
"What we don't need here is a third wheel," Chaos Piedmon sneered when he saw Chaosdramon approaching.
"We can handle this on our own. Stay out of the way, rookie," Chaos Seadramon added, while firing yet another of his Giga Ice Blast.
Milleniumon's eyes blazed in deep purple light and black aura glimmered from his body. Instantly the ice on his body melted, and the injuries inflicted by Chaos Piedmon on his body was immediately healed. He laughed a piercing laughter which unnerved his opponents.
"Fools! You two have NO chance of defeating me! I can easily manipulate the time and return my body back to health. Your efforts are pointless!"
"Don't underestimate us, Milleniumon," Chaos Piedmon said evenly. "We generals have brought down the great Baihumon with just the two of us working together as a team. And the three of us generals have easily beaten Azulongmon and Ebonwumon. We can bring you down."
To Chaos Piedmon's surprise, Milleniumon merely snorted in disgust. "Easily, you say? I beg to differ." He laughed loudly, before continuing, "According to Chaos Wargreymon's memories, Baihumon had almost ripped off those lanky arms and legs of yours should your human master there didn't interfere with his wheels. And Ebonwumon had placed Chaos Seadramon into a deep sleep and almost had him defeated if it were not for Chaos Wargreymon's timely interference. And do not even think of getting the credit for Azulongmon's capture."
Chaos Piedmon's pale cheek had turned considerably pink upon Milleniumon's disgusted remark. Chaos Seadramon however was unfazed and unleashed his River of Power attack to blast Milleniumon again. Chaosdramon regained his composure and slammed against Milleniumon, dipping his sharp claws inside of Milleniumon.
"I'm gonna make this clean and quick!" he exclaimed loudly, locking his gaze onto Milleniumon. "Hyper Mugen…"
"Oh, save it, you hunk of junk!" Milleniumon snapped and slapped Chaosdramon away with his long arms. Granted, Chaosdramon merely moved back a few steps as his heavy stature made it difficult for him to be thrown away with just mere slaps. Milleniumon however saw Chaosdramon's surprise and fired two beams from his evil yellow eyes towards the mechanical dragon's chest…impaling the dragon Digimon straight through his thick armor.
Seeing Chaosdramon almost being killed by Milleniumon, Chaos Specter blasted a couple of electric bolts from his snake staff onto Milleniumon. This had effectively stalled Milleniumon and Chaos Seadramon was able to slap Chaosdramon out of harm's way.
"Now just sit back and let the big boys handle this." Chaos Seadramon then promptly fired another yellow stream of energy towards Milleniumon.
"Trump Swords!" Chaos Piedmon threw his four swords directly towards Milleniumon's face.
"I tire of this already!" Milleniumon exclaimed. He charged up the cannons mounted on his dark shoulders. "Dimension Destroyer!"
The effect of the attack was immediate. Two black energy balls with sizes as massive as his own stature were thrown towards the Chaos Generals and Chaos Specter. Chaos Piedmon immediately set up a magical barrier to block the two deadly spheres. However the forces that came with them were so strong, Chaos Piedmon was thrown back nearly a mile away. Chaos Seadramon was slammed onto the sands of the deserts, his armor chipped and broken at various parts. Chaosdramon was able to evade the blasts since he was out of harm's way.
In the meantime, Chaos Specter had successfully shielded himself inside a dark violet energy ball. When he reemerged out from the ball, he was no longer in his human form. He was now clad in the dark armor of Duskmon, but had Velgamon's red wings on his back. He made a back flip in midair before landing on the ground impressively.
Milleniumon was surprised with the new form of Chaos Specter. "Who are you?"
Beneath the face armor that covered nearly all his face, Chaos Specter smiled. "You can call me, Veldusmon. And the battle has just begun."
Hidden within the clouds of the night sky from Machine City, a tall figure draped in dark crimson robe was seen hiding behind piles of sands. He was holding a device with his gloved hand, and was pointing it towards the two fighting Digimon. The device, blue in color and bore some semblances to the Digivices, provided the stranger some readings.
"Milleniumon; Mega level, virus type synthetic Digimon. Attacks include Dimension Destroyer and Time Unlimited."
He then pointed the device towards the other Digimon. However, the device didn't function as it had before; all it did was let out a series of beeps.
"No data?" An echo-like voice groaned, sounding as if annoyed rather than surprised. "That's weird. The last time I've gotten that kind of response is when I tried to scan Guilmon."
"I haven't seen Digimon like that before either." The second voice was rougher and mechanical compared to the first's youthful one.
"Well, one thing's for sure; the guy we saw just now has turned into that Digimon. And I thought Biomerging is weird. Here they got human turning into Digimon."
"Perhaps he's a digital human, like your friend Gennai."
"Yeah, maybe," the first voice said, not really sounding satisfied. "Speaking of Gennai, do you think we should go and let him know that we're here?"
"No. It's better that we lie low for now. We'll reveal ourselves when the time is right. I personally don't want Milleniumon to notice that we're here for now."
"Well, whatever you say, buddy. How about now we go to Machine City? From the looks of it, it's gonna be an intense battle between Milleniumon and that unidentified Digimon. We'll be at risk of blowing our cover if we stay here any longer. Milleniumon has just blown up half of the city. Maybe there are casualties who need our help."
After getting the approval of the second voice, the robed figure left the skies, heading towards the ruined city of machine.
After checking out the Digimon holding bay for a Digimon that could aid her, Catrina had finally chosen a Nanomon, which was a female, maroon version of Datamon. The ultimate Digimon claimed to be an expert in anything relating to computers, and when Catrina told her of their mission, Nanomon was more than pleased to aid her.
"Hacking passwords is one of my many specialties!" Nanomon exclaimed gleefully.
Catrina nodded. "Fine. But remember, this mission is only between the two of us. Nobody else, not even the master, should know about this."
"But I vowed allegiance to the master!" Nanomon protested.
"Yes, I know…and I'm his favorite. If you obey me, it'll be like obeying the master too. Besides this is something important. It's for the master too, but I wanna it be a surprise. The master will…uh, definitely be pleased when we are able to solve this mystery. I'm supposed to do this alone, but uh…well, I'm not the expert when it comes to computers. You however fit the bill."
Nanomon thought for a moment. "Well, if you say so, miss. I have to admit that it does feel good to be working together with a fellow feminine Digimon for a change. You don't know how chauvinistic some of the male Digimon are. I really don't get much respect around here."
"Well, we'll show them, won't we?" Catrina was glad to be able to convince Nanomon to join her. "Let's go. The sooner we do this, the better."
Catrina immediately led Nanomon towards the secret mirror and into the dark passage. Upon seeing the digital device, Nanomon immediately got to work. Wires appeared out from her mechanical hands and attached themselves onto the device. She did her work quietly; her eyes glowed in 0s and 1s as she searched for the correct password to make the vault open. Within a couple of minute they heard a clicking sound, and to Catrina's glee, the door started to open.
"Good work, Nanomon! Now let's see what's inside."
The two of them walked inside with anticipation. Even Nanomon was beginning to feel curious as well. They walked into a circular room, dimly lit with neon light from the ceilings. There was a large screen, similar to the one inside the throne room, but smaller. A leather chair was fixed in front of what seemed to be a computer panel – which was pretty basic compared to the higher-end ones inside the throne room. There was only a keyboard, some multicolored buttons and optic drive slots. Beside the control panel was a rack full of CD jewel cases.
"It looks like an archive, in my opinion," Nanomon commented.
Catrina didn't reply. The two of them continued walking towards the control panel, when suddenly a pillar of blue light came out from a small platform. The two of them nearly jumped in surprise when they saw somebody appeared within the pillar of light. It was a human…or perhaps a human-form Digimon, dressed in black bodice and violet outer robe. Black bat wings emerged from the Digimon's back, but it could easily be mistaken as ribbons decorating the apparel. It was a feminine Digimon, and when she turned to face them, they were surprised to see an elegant face radiating dark beauty staring at them with a pair of sharp, dark eyes. Her face was expertly made-up, there was a tint of rouge on her pale cheeks, and her lips were painted pale violet. Several strands of raven hair cascaded at the sides of her face, while most of her hair was held up in a bun by an ornate gold tiara.
"It's a Lilithmon!" Nanomon exclaimed, in a voice of unmistakably fear.
Author's Note:
Well, finally after three months of absence, Vengeance is updated. This chapter marks the beginning of the second season of the series. I'm sorry to keep you guys waiting, but I couldn't find the right time to just sit down and type the next chapter when I was constantly on the move during the summer holidays. But now that holidays are over, I can finally continue writing. I really need to speed up things a bit.
Anyway, to DarkFictionWizard, Dark Qiviut, Zeroslasher, dark672, Yami Vizzini, CustomMagnum, Change in heart, gerjomarty, jack the ripper, "Anonymous reviewer" and Bluesv20, thanks for the wonderful reviews. I'm sorry that I couldn't reply to your reviews for now, but I will do so in the next chapter.
