Ah yes, the audio dramas of Tamers (2018) and the Konaka Special. Those do not correlate to this fic at all. Breaks my continuity when you think about it. I will add a thing or two from it, but the rest will be ignored. For other continuity reasons, Ryo will be one year older than the others (10 for the others in the original). He'll have an important role in the future. So to clarify:
Takato, Henry, Rika, Kazu, Kenta, Jeri: 16
Ryo and Alice: 17
Ai and Mako: 10
Suzie: 13
Oh right, Alice plays a bigger role here now. Send your thanks to Dobermon.
Now that I remember, my warning about messing with certain evolutions still stands. Especially for a certain Chosen. Not that the reboot hadn't already.


Human World 2, 2007, Nonaka Household; 6 Years After D-Reaper, 6 Years After Parasimon/Locomon Incident

"Tamer, adj. (tām'er): one who tames others or makes them submissive," Henry quoted from the dictionary in his hand. To his right, Terriermon was playing pattycake with his "brother", Lopmon, and losing terribly, somehow. To his right, Rika was smirking after he finished speaking. In front of him were Kazu and Kenta, both kneeling in sadness as they grumbled about the situation not being fair.

Kazu whined, "How come she got the answer right? We said the exact thing, Henry!"

Henry rubbed his nose with his free hand, "Kazu, you said that the definition of a tamer was "one that hunts and partners up with a Digimon". That's a complete far cry from what the actual definition was." He turned to Kazu's lackey, "Kenta, you have to admit that you were-."

"Wrong for agreeing with Kazu about this, I know," Kenta admitted, ignoring the hurt look on his best friend's face. "I've gotta learn to stop agreeing with Kazu."

"Kenta, dude," Kazu said with fake tears in his eyes, "Uncool!"

Rika, now annoyed as the two 'bozos' started back up on their antics, asked Henry, "When's Gogglehead going to get here? We've been waiting on him for over 20 minutes and he hasn't even called us!"

Terriermon, deciding to play with her, said, "Somebody missing their boyfriend, huh? I wonder how he'd like for you to saaaaaAAAY-!" Rika had picked him up by the nape midsentence and threw him outside her home.

Henry sighed, "As much as I dislike the fact that you just did that, I won't deny that he asked for it." He sat back on the couch, stroking the top of Lopmon's head. "Also, have you been practicing, Rika? It seems that you actually hit the wall this time."

"DoOoOoOon't EeEeEencourage her, Henryyyyyyy!" Terriermon groaned, stumbling back into the house. "My head really hurts right now."

"Don't give her reason to throw you, Terriermon," his partner chided, "Anyways, I haven't heard from him since earlier. Last I heard, he was making deliveries and picking up Ai and Mako."

Ryo came in, eating a bit of bread Takato had made the Nonakas some time back, "I just got off the phone with Takato. He says that he'll be a bit late since he's making a large delivery to one of Ai and Mako's neighbors." He took another bite of the bread, annoying the read head some more, "Man, this stuff is really good! What did he put in this thing?"

"It was a personal order, Ryo, and how many have you had?" she responded, watching where this conversation was going to go.

"Oh, this is the last one. Sorry about thaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH?!" He was cut off as Rika grabbed his arm and slammed him into the ground, knocking him out.

"I was saving that one for tomorrow, jerk," she remarked, Renamon nonverbally chiding her from a distance.

Jeri, fresh to the party and visibly content with the interactions, laughed at the group's antics. She then sighed, 'When is Takato going to get here? Did he get confused by all the houses and their orders like last time? I sure hope not.'

.

.

Near Ai and Mako's Home, Around the Same Time...

"Gah! Why does everyone in this neighborhood have similar-looking houses?! Each one we're passing looks almost the same as the other and I'm pretty sure we passed that one 4 times already, Guilmon!" Takato grabbed his head, exasperated at all the wrong turns he had taken. Guilmon, none the wiser, kept asking every resident who wasn't terrified of him for directions. While it was helpful, they kept giving him the same directions that the others gave him. Not that he knew, of course.

Hearing footsteps coming towards him, Takato picked his head up from his scooter's handlebars and saw Ai and Mako, standing in front of him with semi-serious looks on their faces. "Oh, hey Ai, Mako. We were looking for you for the last couple of minutes. Guilmon couldn't sniff you guys out cause Impmon's scent was all over the place."

Impmon stepped out from behind a lamppost near Guilmon, "Well that part's not my fault. I gotta walk around sometimes, y'know!"

Ai giggled, "You probably tracked all of Shinjuku with your scent with how much you walk, Impmon!"

Mako poked her in the ribs, "Ai, remember what we came to him for!"

"Oh, yeah! I forgot about that!" Ai exclaimed, digging into her backpack she had. Seeing that it was going to take a bit, Takato gave Guilmon the large order, "Guilmon, take this to the house over there. I'll deal with this in just a moment."

"Okay!" Guilmon cheered, waddling away with the literal boxful of the Matsuki's Specialty Bread. When Takato turned back, his face was met with a rather shocking development.

Another D-Ark in a light purple color.

"Where did you find this, Ai? You guys should know that this is a big thing to hide!" Takato questioned, inspecting the new D-Ark with his own.

"We didn't hide it, Takato! It literally came to us just earlier today. We were gonna tell everyone at the reunion, but here we are." Mako responded, making Takato laugh at the unintended snark.

Impmon joined them, taking the D-Ark from Takato's hands, "I'm with the two on that. We agreed that we wouldn't tell anyone of the new D-Ark until the reunion to make sure everyone knew of it. I was gonna tell Yamaki bout it afterward." He threw his arms into the air, "But ya kinda ruined that with ya taking so long to deliver the damn bread! Who takes 2 hours delivering bread to a house that's literally on the same block as their other order?!"

As soon as he finished saying that, a beeping sound came from the new D-Ark. Takato checked his and saw that a new Digimon had bio-merged not too far from the 4. Seeing this, he spurred into action, snatching back the mysterious D-Ark from Impmon. "Guys, let's go to the Field. It might be a dangerous Digimon, so stay behind Impmon." He turned to said Digimon, seeing that he was the only one that was available at the moment. "You ready, Impmon?"

Impmon only smirked before digivolving to Beelzemon, "Do ya even need ta ask?" Oddly enough, after he whistled for Behemoth, it came roaring down from the same direction the Digimon was with quite a warm seat. The two looked at each other with a serious look on their faces and nodded.

Without skipping another beat, the four left for the Digital Field. Beelzemon with Ai and Mako with him and Takato on his scooter.

Guilmon, now finished with the delivery and feeling that Takato had left, chased after his scent. "Wait up for me!"

.

.

Back at the Nonaka Residence...

Jeri's ears perked at the sound of her D-Ark, which had long gone without sound, suddenly beeping like crazy. Moments later, the other Tamers' D-Arks began to beep and signal the arrival of four Digimon.

Rika didn't have to say much to get everyone going, "Get ready, everyone! This one might take all of us to do."

Jeri stopped her for a moment, "Rika, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, but make it quick. I don't know what we're up against right now and I'd rather not take chances," She admitted, struggling to put on her jacket.

The brunette held up her map, showing three red dots and a yellow dot, "What does this color mean?"

Rika could only display her surprise by falling to the floor.

.

.

Back With Takato and the Others...

"We should be nearing the Digital Field right about...now!" Takato exclaimed, stopping his scooter right as he said it and putting on his goggles, Guilmon right on his tail. Beelzemon stopped right after, allowing his Tamers to get off and behind him, sunglasses on their faces. "You see them anywhere, Beelzemon?"

"I can't see for crap Takato, but I am feeling something strong in there. Something like a...Mega," he grunted, "Ai, Mako. Get behind Behemoth, it'll protect you from this thing."

He, Guilmon, and Takato moved closer, both on high alert for whatever was peering through the Field. Suddenly, a gust of wind shot past them, forcing them to cover their faces from the whipping winds. Then, a pair of *THUD* sounds fell near them, making them cautious of whatever was nearby.

"Alright, ya ugly mugs! Keep ya hands where I can see them and maybe I won't blast you apart!" Beelzemon ordered, hoping to get whatever Digimon in front of him to obey. Unfortunately, it seemed that he pissed off one of them when they stood up quickly, pointing a pair of pistols at him. In-kind, he raised his shotguns at the offended party.

"Who the hell do you think you are to get off on calling ME ugly?! Do you wanna get more holes in you than a knife-wielding moron at a gunfight?!" the feminine Digimon responded, making Beelzemon wince. He knew that insulting female Digimon in the way he just did was bound to piss them off, but didn't feel it until this moment.

Not willing to back down, however, he continued arguing with her, "I'm the guy who's gonna kick your ass, woman! You may be a woman, but I don't back down to anyone, including women!"

"Run that by me again, you bastard!"

"Go to hell!"

"No, you go to hell!"

Silence loomed among them as they got close enough for their barrels to almost touch. BelleStarmon readied her pistols, waiting to put a bullet through Beelzemon's head while said Digimon wanted to clip her in her smartass mouth.

Feeling the pain in her left hand, however, BelleStarmon dropped her left gun, unable to hold her pistol any longer. Beelzemon, upon seeing this, holstered his Berejena shotguns and got to her side. He took off the bandana on his left arm and wrapped it around her hand, much to her surprise.

"Why?" she asked, holstering Rizoma de Loto once he showed her his intent to help.

He merely grunted, "I don't like fighting injured or weak Digimon, lady."

She pushed him off, "I ain't weak, Demon Lord. I certainly ain't injured either." Before she could continue her spiel, she began violently coughing, bringing her down to her knees. Alarmed, Beelzemon grabbed her before she fell any further. "I think I am sick, though."

Taking measure, Beelzemon touched BelleStarmon's forehead and saw that she was burning up badly. "Damn! She's getting hot, too hot for a Digimon like her!" He lifted her bridal style, running over to Behemoth. "Takato, the others are probably about to get here. Tell them to head over to Hypnos ASAP! This one's got a virus in 'er!" He revved up Behemoth as he turned to his Tamers, "Get your bikes and head to Yamaki's place, kiddos. I'd take you with me, but I'd rather not risk it with this gal." They nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation, and ran off to get their bikes.

As soon as he was about to hit the gas, he was pounced on by a smaller Digimon. "Hey, the hell?! What gives?!"

When he pried the Digimon off his head, he saw that it was an Elecmon that was trying to scratch him. "Put Beelko down, you big moron! I won't let you hurt her!"

"Hurt her?! Listen, pipsqueak! 'Beelko', or whatever her flipping name is, has a fever and a messed up leftie. A real nasty one at that! I'm taking her somewhere where they can help her recover from both," he retorted, dropping Elecmon, "I'm not keen on hurting anyone injured or weak."

"How do I know you're not lying to me?" Elecmon fired back, annoying the Demon Lord enough to remember something.

"...Demon Lord's Honor," he answered, holding out a hand. "I put my word and honor as a Demon Lord that I'm saying nothing but the truth, okay?"

Elecmon was conflicted at his words. Could he really trust one of the Seven? The same Seven that scavenged the world and nearly brought about ruin? A tough choice for such a 'young' Digimon.

After what seemed like an eternity, he shook Beelzemon's hand in agreement, "Alright, I'll trust you on this, Beelzemon."

Not long after, a surge ran through his and Beelzemon's arms as a sense of recognition ran through their eyes.

"...Impmon?" Elecmon muttered, his tone deeper than before and...hopeful?

Beelzemon caught his breath, "...Leomon?"

Takato, who's been silent up to this point, shouted, "Leomon?! You're back?!" He ran up to the Rookie-level Digimon and picked him up, "Man, of all the things I expected to see, I didn't think it was going to be you! But," he paused, confusion littering his face, "how are you back, exactly? Beelzemon absorbed your data 6 years ago."

Elecmon responded with a grimace, "I don't exactly know. The last thing I remember is seeing Jeri's face and reaching out to her when she was trapped in some sort of sphere." He tapped his head, trying to remember anything else, but to no avail, "After that, I woke up back in the Digital World as Elecmon. Fast forward sometime later, me and Beelko are here with Grani and Dobermon to-" He gasped, slapping his head for forgetting something important, "RIGHT! YOU! WE NEED ALL OF YOU TO HELP AGAINST A TERRIBLE THREAT!"

Takato quelled him for a moment, "Calm down, Elecmon. If we're gonna stop whatever's threatening the Digital World, and by extension the Human World, we'll need everyone here." As he finished, Guilmon and the other Tamers had arrived at the scene. He turned to them, seemingly knowing what was on their minds, "Everyone, I know you're here for the bio-merged Digimon that just got here, but we have two situations on our hands. One, one of them is badly sick and needs to go to Hypnos. Two, something bad's about to head here, so we really need to go to Yamaki and the Monster Makers for help!" He hopped onto his scooter, Guilmon bounding to his side.

Jeri exclaimed, "But what about Leomon? His last seen spot was here! I have to see him again!"

The gears in Takato's mind slowly ground to give him an answer. Mentally snapping his fingers, he answered, "The Digimon Beelzemon has right now said that he went with a Dobermon and Grani to the Hypnos building. We'll be sure to meet him there!" He scooted a bit forward, "By the way, I'm gonna need your help with this Elecmon. He's worried about his friend, but I can't hold onto him and drive. Mind helping me?"

She gave him no answer but hopped on the scooter. Elecmon took initiative and leaped into her lap, holding on as tight as possible as soon as Takato gunned the gas after Beelzemon. The others then took off after them on their scooters/bikes, their partners keeping up with them.

Calumon, arriving late after them, saw the Digital Field hadn't disappeared and gave chase with the intent of warning them.

.

.


.

.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Hidden Sub-Section, 10 Minutes and Several Cops Later...

BelleStarmon was in an isolated operating theater, with doctors and data analysts by her side. Currently, they managed to stabilize her condition enough to keep her fever down to manageable levels. Beelzemon had yet to dedigivolve back into Impmon, opting to pace back and forth near the windows. Takato and Guilmon had opted to bring snacks to everyone in the room while Elecmon was explaining everything to them. Especially after a rather emotional reunion with Jeri and the rest of the Tamers. With some help, Yamaki managed to contact the Monster Makers and bring them to this meeting. Henry's father, Janyu, chose to stay at the lab to watch over the Digital World for any more biomerge signatures.

"So, what you're saying is that this giant...thing...came out of the sky and started destroying everything in the Digital World?" 'Shibumi' asked Elecmon, who was still sitting in Jeri's lap.

Elecmon nodded, "That's right, Mr. Mizuno. Many Digimon were trying to either defeat it or run away from it, but none of them were fast enough. The only reason we managed to get to the portal in time was because Impmon had left Behemoth in the Digital World after that one Parasimon invasion you guys mentioned. Beelko took care of it when she found it. We could've made our way here on it, but we were bucked off when we got near the portal. She burned her hand when she touched the portal, though."

Gorou hummed, "That would explain the burn marks on her left hand. Still, that leaves only two questions unanswered. How did a portal to the Human World open from the Digital World without the aid of a Sovereign and why is BelleStarmon sick?"

Ryo answered the first question, "It was most likely the DigiGnomes. They mainly act under the Sovereigns' wills, but they may act on their own accord in cases such as this. I'm guessing that it wasn't entirely stable if BelleStarmon and Elecmon needed Grani and Dobermon's help." He looked around, trying to see if either of the two were near, "Have either of you guys seen them?"

'Dolphin' responded, "No, we haven't seen them at all, especially Grani. I assumed that he's still a part of Gallantmon." Hearing the doors to the room open and close, he saw Takato and Guilmon enter with 4 armfuls of food. "Takato," he asked, "Do you recall seeing a Dobermon that might've helped you at any point in time?"

The Tamer's leader thought about it for a moment, "Hmm, not that I can remember." As 'Dolphin's' face became downcast at the lack of an answer, he snapped his fingers, "Wait, I do remember a Dobermon helping us out! He helped us achieve Biomerge Digivolution in the Human World by sacrificing himself into data." He crossed his arms while in thought, "Still, we never found out much about his 'partner'."

"You mean there's another Tamer out there in the world?!" Babel asked, standing up from his chair in shock. How was it that a Tamer had managed to escape their sight, especially during the D-Reaper Crisis?

"Well, yes...and no," Henry answered, turning all eyes on him. "She was more of a companion than anything but they did seem to have a bond between each other. If I recall, I think her name was Alice."

'Dolphin' gasped, covering his mouth, "Alice?"

Rika nodded, "Yeah, her name was Alice. Blonde, blue eyes, looked about Ryo's age, wore gothic lolita." She noticed his expression of shock and asked, "Do you know something about her?"

'Curly' interjected for her friend, "'Dolphin' used to have a granddaughter by the same name. She passed away in a car accident when she was 6 years old." She mulled over something for a moment before asking Rob, "You don't think she was sent to the Digital World before she died, do you Rob?"

Snapping out of his stupor, Rob answered, "I...I'm not sure. The investigators found nothing in the wreck, but they suggest that her body was incinerated to ash. I don't think Digimon have the capability to undo that."

Stretching, Kazu repeated everything that was said, "So, we have no idea what's making BelleStarmon sick, we have Grani on the streets of Shinjuku, a dead-not-dead girl with her dead-not-dead partner on the loose, and, to top it all off, something big and bad threatening the Digital World! How did we go from a friendly reunion to trying to figure out how to save the world?"

A new voice entered the fray, "If I had the exact answer for that, then I would tell you all."

Everyone, especially the Biomerging Tamers, turned their heads to see their "dead-not-dead" girl standing at the doorway. Compared to how she looked 6 years ago, she matured greatly, just being a few inches shorter than Ryo's towering 6'0 height.

Rob took a step forward, "A-Alice? Alice, is that you?"

She nodded, "I've missed you too, grandfather." She was wrapped in his arms, letting the tears lightly stain her black dress.

"How? I mean, not to be rude and all," Rob asked, "but how are you still alive? The accident- the investigators said-!"

Dobermon's voice rang as he entered the room, "If I may, I'll answer that. The Digimon Sovereigns pulled her out of the wreck just mere moments before the explosion with the help of the DigiGnomes."

Takato pounded his fist in his hand, "Of course! I forgot that they could go in this world as well!" When they looked to him for an answer, he replied, "Before we got our partners back from the Digital World, I saw a DigiGnome enter our world and mess around for a bit before stabilizing the portal."

"You would be correct, Takato," the demonic hound remarked, "Going back to what I was saying, the DigiGnomes managed to create a stable enough portal for her to escape in. Unfortunately, the explosion traveled through as well, gravely injuring her."

"Since then, I've been each of the Sovereign's realms to recover from the damage I sustained," Alice finished. "From what I remember, I was more dead than alive until I came back the first time around. After helping Dobermon reach the Human World and give the Tamers," she points towards everyone with D-Arks, "the power they needed to Biomerge, I had to return to the Digital World."

"But why?" her grandfather asked, "Why did you have to go back to the Digital World for 6 more years?" He wanted to know why his thought-to-be-dead grandaughter would return to the battlefield of a world when she was this close to reuniting with her grandfather.

"...You didn't fully recuperate, didn't you Alice?" Ryo asked, already knowing the answer.

She nodded, "Indeed I didn't. My trip to the Human World nearly cost me my life. Had the D-Reaper attacked Shinjuku a year later, I would've made a full recovery at that point. In truth, it should've killed me or made my recovery last for another 6 years. Fortunately, the Sovereigns were able to focus more of their time and efforts in healing my body."

Dobermon then took a Black D-Ark off his collar, bringing it to Alice, "And to help you all out, Dobermon was granted another chance at life by being my partner."

The reunion was cut short when BelleStarmon and every Digimon save for Guilmon, Dobermon, and Beelzemon began spasming violently. Though not as bad as [t̼͎͎̺̭͂̃h̘͎̘̋᷈͐ͥe̶̵ͧ͏͈̓̾ D̼̟̯ͤ̈̿ͮḭ̖͍̺᷈̽̉g͈͍͏᷁ͥ͟͠ḭ̟ͫͨ͗̋͠m̷̂̌͑̓᷉̏o̹͔̝ͧ̽ͦ͡n͎̠͓ͯ̀͘̚ ò̤͈̺ͩ̑͘f̦͈̣᷁ͨ̈̆ W̞̣᷆ͦ̐᷉͝ơ̢᷿̠̰͒ͅr̘̹ͭ̔̑͜ͅl̻̤̠̞̞̔ͮd̺̝̗͕̟̝᷾ 0̢̯͔̣̺͋ͯ1̖ͥ̿ͮ͑͘ͅ], they couldn't stand the pain and fell to the floor, BelleStarmon breaking her bed in her case.

Janyu, or rather 'Tao', came through the doors in a panic, "Shibumi, everyone, I've got grave news about the Digital World!"

'Shibumi' held 'Tao' by his shoulders, "Janyu, what's the matter? Did something go wrong?"

"Shibumi, everything is going wrong! The Digital World is GONE!" 'Tao' exclaimed, "All those Digimon living there are 100% gone. No Digimon, no DigiEggs, no anything! Everything's been wiped out to the tiniest nooks and crannies!"

Guilmon grabbed both Monodromon and Renamon, "Hey, hey, get up now! We can't have you two falling on us before we know what to do!"

Dobermon grunted, "So it's true. It truly is gone." Consoling the affected Digimon, he told the humans, "I was told of a story in my past that should the Digital World be destroyed in some form or fashion, the effects on Digimon in the Human World could be great. It seems it was the truth, though."

Kazu, pulling back up his dedigivolved partner, Kokuwamon, asked, "So why weren't you, Guilmon, and Beelzemon affected?"

Elecmon answered after recovering, "For Beelzemon, it's due to his Demon Lord status. They move around often when the Digital World moves from place to place. As for Guilmon and Dobermon, I'm not 100% sure." He turned to the canine, "Dobermon, do you know why we're not affected?"

Dobermon shook his head, "Not that I know of. But for Guilmon, it may be because of his unique case of being a Digimon created by a child's wish."

Beelzemon, having seemingly ignored the commotion, suddenly roared out in frustration, pulling out his Berejena shotguns and shooting the ceiling several times. "GOD DAMN IT ALL TO HELL! WHY DID THIS HAVE TO OCCUR AGAIN?! DO YOU PEOPLE ABOVE LIKE TORTURING DIGIMON LIKE THIS?!" He fell on his rear, holding up his left hand to stop anyone from helping him up.

"Impmon...what..." Ai asked, a bit afraid of Beelzemon after seeing that display of anger, "...what was that?"

Beelzemon, realizing what he had done in front of everyone, sighed, "I...all of this...it's hard to..." He stammered, breathing in and out before answering, "I know what's been going on. With BelleStarmon and the Digital World."

He stood up, holstering his shotguns, "BelleStarmon is sick, but it's not your average sickness. She's got something that I've despised ever since that bitch, Yggdrasil, released it onto the world." Focusing, he pushed his clawed hand into his chest, disturbing everyone in the room, and pulled out a sphere of 1's and 0's. "This...is a Digicore, the very life essence of us Digimon. A normal Digimon wouldn't be able to do what I just did because it would kill them 93% of the time." Putting it back in his body, he walked over to a computer near the window to the observation theater and booted it up. Typing for a bit, he moved away as a digital X-Ray of BelleStarmon's Digicore showed up. "This..." he stated, pointing at her, "...is the problem she's got."

Lopmon hopped up to the computer, gasping in surprise when he saw what was on the screen. "The X-Virus! I thought this was just a myth!"

"Ya thought wrong, rabbit. Ms. Beelko here has managed to contract one of the few things that don't kill Digimon in combat," he grunted, sitting on a heavy-duty chair. "I should know, considering that my own progenitors were killed by it."

Yamaki, curious as to what Beelzemon was referring to, asked, "What exactly is this 'X-Virus' and 'Yggdrasil' you're speaking of? Is it some kind of weapon made to kill Digimon? And whatever happened to this Yggdrasil after this?"

Beelzemon grabbed a beer can from a pouch he had on him, downing it in one go, "Gaaah, to answer your question, this damn thing was designed by Yggdrasil, a real piece of work in Baihumon's World. She controlled the place with Royal Knights before she got knocked down for good by some angry Greymon from what I've heard. Back to what I was sayin', she designed the virus to kill Digimon in Baihumon's Realm and to move the survivors to a New World. That big furball leashed her real good when he got wind of it, but was too late to stop it from spreading." He sat back up, crushing the can in his hand, "Somehow, a pack of Patamon managed to go through the firewalls between the Sovereign's realms and ended up giving the virus to so many Digimon-like it was Christmas. My...parents...were two victims of it. They told me to run and never look back. Last I heard, they got in a fight with a Diaboromon and all three of them died."

Everyone was silent at the Demon Lord's story. He had never told them of his backstory before entering the Human World, so to hear it now was...depressing and dark.

He stood back up, getting everyone's full attention, "The other thing I was talking about was dis monster causing all this madness. Its name...is Senitmon, if what Daemon told me back then is right." All the Digimon in the room shivered at the drop of the name. "Dis thing here was so dangerous, it took a whole group of Chosen and the Sovereigns to seal it away. No one remembers who they were or how they did it, but they gave everything up to save everyone."

His speech was cut short when a bulged eye Calumon flew through the window of the building, shattering it into tiny shards, and hitting him into the operating theater one floor down. Getting back up, he grabbed Calumon by the scruff of his neck, "What the hell was that, creampuff?! You trying ta kill me or somethin'?!"

Calumon yanked himself from his grip, "Beelzemon, the Digital Field you got the Elecmon and Ms. Beelzemon from is still around and I think something is trying to get through it!"

Rika leaped down from the waiting area into the operating room, "What did you just say Calumon? "The Digital Field is still here"?"

He nodded furiously, "Yeah, and I think I heard something coming out of it!"

"Takato!" she yelled, but he was already at the window, D-Ark in hand.

"I know, Rika," he turned to everyone in the room, "Everyone, get your cards ready and meet up at the bottom floor of the building! Ai, Mako, stay here with Beelzemon. BelleStarmon still hasn't fully recovered yet, so we need someone to protect-"

"I don't need protectin', kid," BelleStarmon groaned, pulling some of the wires off her body. Standing up, she brushed herself off as she picked up her Rizoma de Loto pistols. "So, are we gonna go save a world or what?"

Beelzemon put a hand on her shoulder, "Look, lady, you ain't fully healed yet. Your hand may be alright now, but until the X-Virus is outta your system, you ain't goin' nowhere."

She chuckled, grabbing his hand, "And you look here, Demon Lord. I've fought with this X-Virus in me for quite some time now. Yeah, it's put me down bad at times, but it ain't killed me just yet. Besides, if you're gonna stop me, you're gonna have to try another way."

He quickly pulled back his hand, "Alright, alright! You can help us out, but you're gonna have to stay with me." Pausing, he added, "And away from my partners. I don't know if you can spread the virus to humans, but it's best if we don't find out."

She laughed, "Glad you could see it that way, Beelzemon." She pulled out her pistols, letting her Fly Bullets out to play, "Besides, I'm not gonna let some tykes get sick because of me. I may not look it, but I got a soft spot for 'em."

"You and me both, toots. You and me both," the Demon Lord replied with a grin, pulling out his shotguns.

Seeing this conversation effectively come to a halt, Yamaki threw out the game plan, "Beelzemon, everyone came out of the portal over here, correct?" He pointed at a park on a map he pulled out.

Beelzemon hummed, "Yeah it was somewhere around there. Children's Square, I think." He turned to the group's leader, "Takato, ain't that were we went through after the D-Reaper was beaten?"

"Um, yeah, I think so. Why do you-?" was all Takato said before remembering something, "Wait if that's the case, then that's why it's still opening!" He moved over to the map, circling the rail stations, "We closed this Gate to the Digital World when Parasimon attacked, but we never did properly close this one because it closed up by itself! It's still active for that reason!" He thought about it for a bit longer before snapping his fingers, "That's probably how Leomon was revived! Beelzemon lost Leomon's data after the D-Reaper struck back at him when he tried to free Jeri!"

"Now that we've cleared that up, all we have to do is close up that field, right?" Kenta asked, getting a negative from Ryo and Henry.

Henry went first, "Unfortunately, it's not that simple, Kenta. To close that Digital Field, we'd need to face Senitmon in the first place-" "-and from what Beelzemon's said, this Senitmon is going to be massive. If we're gonna face this thing on even ground, we're gonna have to clear the area entirely. All the people, all the resources; leave nothing unbolted and important here," Ryo added, setting the final conditions for this battle. He turned to Yamaki, "You get all that, Sir?"

"Crystal. Now, let's get up and move out!"

.

.


.

.

1 Hour Later, Tsuda University Sendagaya Campus (Occupied by Hypnos and the JSDF)

"Yamaki, are you sure about following this crackpot idea? I mean, I don't doubt your plan and all, considering the D-Reaper incident, but hearing about a Digimon strong enough to destroy the world is still kind of hard to wrap one's head around," asked Rikushō Satoshi Miyazaki after getting debriefed of Yamaki's plan to lay support on whatever came out of the Digital Field.

"I'm with my colleague here, Mister Yamaki," replied both Kaishō Naofumi Suzuki and Kūshō Ichigo Takeba. Takeba continued, pointing near Chuo and Minato Cities, "Even for you, this seems a bit outrageous. However, I'll withhold my thoughts on this. I'll have my forces centered here and there to provide covering fire for evacuating civilians."

Suzuki added, "I'll have several jets and helicopters in the sky, ready to pepper the place once the civilians are safe."

"And in addition to your men and the children, my men will help evacuate the civilians before leaving the city," Miyazaki finished.

Yamaki nodded in agreement, "These measures should be enough to keep the civilians safe from the conflict here. If anything, this is the bare minimum I could come up with. If we had more time to prepare, this could've been done much quicker. I apologize for putting you all in this tight bind."

Suzuki waved him off, "It's fine, Yamaki. We're trained to move rather quickly in this sort of situation."

Sometime later, Janyu walked into the tent, holding a stack of papers in his hands, "Yamaki, sirs, I have some questions that need answering and some news that you must check out!"

"Ask away, Janyu. We don't have much time as it is."

Fixing his glasses, Janyu asked, "How are the evacuation efforts going?"

Miyazaki held a finger up, holding a phone in his other hand. Laying down the phone, he answered, "80% of the populace has been evacuated, Mr. Wong. The only places left would be those in the lower-income districts, but those are almost done as well."

"Then we have a big problem," Janyu replied as he laid down his papers, giving copies to everyone in the room. "Look at the first page of the stacks I've given all of you. This was the data I had over an hour ago, thanks to Beelzemon's efforts."

"I...see, but what does this have to do with the remaining populace?" Takeba inquired, scratching his mustache ever so lightly.

Janyu then flipped everyone's stack to the next page, "This is what I got more recently, as of 5 minutes ago."

Yamaki flinched once he saw the newer data, "Janyu, this is-!"

Miyazaki cut him off, "The area of the fog has quadrupled in size dramatically, and it's encompassing all the remaining districts!"

Shibumi ran into the tent, "That's not the only problem! The fog has gained additional hazards. It's now incredibly dangerous to be in it for long periods of time under the potential chance of getting an unknown illness!" He pulled out his datapad, showing several samples and examples of people suffering from sudden, random bouts of sickness out of nowhere.

Yamaki's eyes widened, "What about the Children? Have you heard anything from them?"

"Fortunately, it seems that they were immune to the effects of the fog. Last I heard they were in Kabukicho," Janyu replied, hands still jittering. "All those people, though. Unless they had some kind of mask to seal their eyes, nose, and mouth, every single one of them will suffer from this."

Miyazaki immediately put out a plan, "I'll send in every soldier nearby with additional gas masks for the remaining populace on the double. As for us, we'll have to prep up and get out before-!" An explosion rang throughout the area, knocking down everyone standing. "What the hell?! Did something just hit us?!"

Yamaki's phone then rang, to which he answered, "Y-Yamaki here. What's the situation?"

"Yamaki, are you alright? There was a massive explosion at Kabukicho and the Tamers have encountered something...something unnatural! It's not Digimon, it's...oh...oh god!"

"Riley, what is it?!"

"It's an amalgamation of data and flesh! Something like this shouldn't even be possible!" she cried out. "I'm calling for the evacuation of everyone in the building. These things are copying the attacks of other Digimon and using them against anything that moves!"

Yamaki then took a deep breath, "Do what you need to do, Riley. Just make it out safely and make sure the artifact is kept safe from these things." He cut the call there and turned to the others in the room. "We have to get moving, now."

.

.

Kabukicho, Minutes Before the Explosion...

"Okay everybody, follow the big lug of Digi-steel's directions after you put your masks on! Head on to the direction of the University so the military can evacuate you to safety!" Kazu yelled from inside Guardromon's armor. "Once you're there, you can take off your mask if there's no fog! Otherwise, keep it on, and don't cause a panic!"

His D-Ark beeped, making him pull it out to hear what was going on. "Kazu, how are things on your end? Suzie, Ai, and I've almost finished up here and it seems that Ryo and Alice are close as well. The others are still a bit busy, but Beelzemon and BelleStarrmon are helping get the slower folks away faster."

"We're doing well here apart from the stubborn ones, Mako. Kenta's having MarineAngemon help the unmasked people while handing out masks to others," Kazu replied. "I haven't seen anything yet, but I'll be sure to let everyone know."

Another beep emanated from the D-Ark, "This is Ryo and Alice, we've finished up in our area. Does anybody else need assistance from us?"

"Kazu and Kenta need some assistance in Kabukicho's poorer area. Some of the civilians are being...difficult with them. Don't be rough with them, will you?"

"Tell that to Cyberdramon, not me and Alice, heh heh. That won't be an issue, though. This situation's got Cyberdramon very...calm. None of us like it."

Kenta cut in via his D-Ark, "We get it, but we can't really think on that for now. We gotta get these last guys out of here before that monster comes out."

"Got it. We'll be there in a bit," Alice replied before all of them went off.

Kazu clicked his teeth as he hopped out of Guardromon's body. "Guardromon, you see anything around us?"

His partner's eyes shined green for a bit before replying, "Nothing except buildings and the remaining humans, partner! We're in the clear for now." Still, even with his answer, the two had a feeling that they weren't in the clear at all. "The closest human around here is just in that building a block away." With a nod from Kazu, they marched towards a lifeless convenience store.

As soon as they stopped outside of the store, Kazu heard a "LOOK OUT" before being tackled to the ground. Moments after, the store went up in flames as something hit it at high speeds. Guardromon picked up the two humans and dashed into a nearby alleyway. "Thank you for saving my partner, stranger! You got him down just as I noticed that thing come down," Guardromon complimented. "I only wish I had picked up on it quicker."

The young man patted his partner's back, "It's no sweat, buddy. I should've looked more at my surroundings with all this craziness." Turning to their company, he asked, "You alright, sir?"

His savior looked at him and Guardromon before replying, "Have you seen my son, Max? He was also partnered like you two but to a Ganemon. He's not that younger than you, American like me, and-!"

"Woah Woah Woah, hold on! There's more Tamers than our group in Japan?!" Kazu exclaimed, getting the attention of some unwanted visitors. The three turned to see six tripedal beings menacingly moving towards them. "Hold that thought! Guardromon!"

"You got it, Kazu!" Guardromon exclaimed, "Guardian Barrage!" Raising his arms, he fired two Bullet-Bill-Esque missiles from his wrists, impacting the beings. To everyone's surprise, the attack didn't even singe the monsters as they merely screeched back at the machine Digimon

Kazu grunted as he pulled out a card, "Let's let loose on these freaks, Guardromon! Digi-Modify: Raijinmon and Digivolution, Activate!" Once his D-Ark scanned the card, Guardromon shone brightly as he became silver in color and more slender.

"Guardromon, DIGIVOLVE TO...ANDROMON!"

The light died down as Kazu's newly evolved partner stretched his arms out, allowing the "I have five fingers, Kazu, and I'm gonna put all of them to good use! Justice Burst!" He thrust his arms out once more, this time unleashing a powerful electric wave, sending the creatures into submission. "Kazu...these things...they're not Digimon or anything we know of!"

The D-Ark beeped once more, "Hang on there. Did you just say they're not Digimon?!"

"Ryo?!" Kazu exclaimed as he raised his D-Ark, "You heard that?"

"Both, if not all of us heard what went down. Kenta's with us right now after the last of the civilians evacuated," he elaborated. "We'll be coming down in just a moment." As he finished his statement, the sounds of feet hitting the ground filled the area. "Sorry, we took so long. We got sidetracked after we lost contact with you. After we picked up Kenta, we were heading to the convenience store to search for more people when we saw the explosion. It's just now that we picked up on you guys." Turning to Kazu and Andromon's companion, he asked, "I take it that you found someone before we did."

"More like he found us before we found him. He's been looking for his son, who's, get this, a Tamer from America!" Kazu answered, surprising the new arrivals. "Says his kid's partnered up with a Ganemon."

Ryo hummed, "I know what Ganemon looks like, so this shouldn't be too hard to find him." He paused as a thought crossed his mind, "Sir, were there any other Tamers that you saw besides us?"

The father snapped out of his reverie and answered, "Well, I saw a girl partnered with a Pomumon, another girl who was partnered to a Gladimon, a boy partnered with a Pulsemon, and another boy partnered with a Herissmon. My son and Ganemon made small talk with them on our plane trip here."

"Hmm, that would explain the bright attacks I saw below us," Kenta remarked while MarineAngemon healed up the trio. "What do we do about these creatures Guardromon fought?"

Dobermon replied, "Kill them. They're amalgamations of flesh, data, and chained consciousness that serve Senitmon. If not to defeat them then to grant them peace beyond death."

Beeps came from their D-Arks as Takato spoke to them, "Wait. Dobermon, are you telling us that these things Kazu and some of the others are facing are...people and Digimon mixed together?" Everyone could hear the hesitance in his voice. "Isn't there another way to save them?"

"I'm afraid not, Takato. Once Senitmon has bound someone to their service, they lose all sense of self and individuality. The only way to be free is death, if only momentarily," Dobermon replied, the gravity of the situation hitting everyone at once.

"I...I understand. Everyone, do what you have to do. Inform the military to attack these things," Takato replied. "Rika and I will try to find those kids you guys mentioned and give them back up."

Henry's voice crackled to life, "Understood, Takato. Jeri and I'll try to meet up with you two after we get to Ai, Suzie, and Mako. We should rendezvous at the Hypnos Building once everyone's got everyone."

A round of agreements was let out over their D-Arks as they then went silent, mulling over their new objective.

Kazu let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, "Man, this day just keeps turning for the worse, doesn't it? This is really gonna play hell on my mind until the day I say hi to the worms."

"Don't you do that every time you get Rika mad?" Ryo asked, getting a rather surprised reaction from Kazu and laughs from Kenta. "Sorry for making light of the situation, but we can't do much if we dwell on this problem for long."

"No, no, you're right, dude. I can't think on it for now," Kazu replied, his motivation coming back to him. "Let's help these people find peace. Andromon, do it." "Help him out, Cyberdramon." "You too, Dobermon."

"Justice Burst!" "Desolation Claw!" "Schwarz Strahl!"

Alice poked her head out of the alleyway and gave the green light to move, "We may as well head on down to the evacuation center to drop this man off." Before the man could say a word, she reassured him, "Sir, if you're son's a decent Tamer, then I have faith that he found others and is safe. We'll find them and get out together." He could only agree with the girl and got on Cyberdramon's back.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, with Takato and Rika...

"Takatomon, are you okay?" WarGrowlmon asked as he flew over the Kabukicho's streets. He had only heard what had gone down with Kazu and the creatures, and how they were lost causes for now.

Takato looked at his longtime friend and gave him a weak smile, "I'm not sure, Guilmon. I'm told that these monsters we're facing are people that lived here mixed with Digimon. Being forced to...to kill them...I don't know how I can handle that, boy."

Taomon didn't say anything but motioned for her partner to, "Takato, I don't like this at all either. But look at it this way: If we let them live, they'd be in pain until the very end. If I also ended up like them...I'd want you to do the same for me."

The Gogglehead looked at her in shock, "Rika?! W-What are you-?!"

"You heard me, Gogglehead! I'd want you to put me out of the suffering Senitmon would cause me," Rika affirmed as she grabbed his hand, stunning the boy into silence. "If you can make that promise to me, then make it to everyone here. They deserve peace over living dead enslavement."

"I..." he stammered, his head full of alternatives and such, but he couldn't find the words to deny his friend's potential final request. "Alright, Rika. I see your point. I promise to put everyone to rest. Including you." As he finished speaking, he felt his face burn up as she gently squeezed his hands.

WarGrowlmon and Taomon looked at each other and grinned, knowing how deep their partners' relationship really was. "Takatomon," WarGrowlmon chirped, "you've really grown, haven't you?"

Said Tamer shook out of his trance, "H-huh? Oh, well, I guess I have, boy. Thanks-"

"You'd make a good dad like your dad!" his partner continued, making the brunette and the redhead's face flush and sputter out excuses. Taomon added on to WarGrowlmon's egging, "And you a great mother, Rika." Both Digimon began laughing at their expressions, unable to hold them back.

Their joy was cut short as they heard an explosion from below their ride. Their previous embarrassment forgotten, Takato ordered his partner to go down to the battlefield. When they got down there, they were met up by a Rasenmon and a Kazuchimon. "Look, more Tamers, Rasenmon," the Kazuchimon stated, sheathing his blades. "I take it you're here to help us out?"

Rika stepped forward, "Yes, but we also came for another thing. Have you seen another Tamer named Max? We found his father before he was attacked by these amalgamations."

A human leaped off Rasenmon's shoulder, running up to WarGrowlmon, "My father? Is he alright?! Where is he?!"

Taomon took the two humans off WarGrowlmon's body and replied, "He's alright and safe with another group of ours. We're going to all meet up at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. I'd suggest we all move out of here now. There's a massive Digimon about to come out and we need all the civilians evacuated from here."

Takato noticed that Max's Ganemon wasn't here, so he asked, "Where's Ganemon? Your father told us that he'd normally be with you."

Another human, this time a Japanese-looking bluenette like Henry, replied from Kazuchimon's shoulder, "He and a few others took a nasty hit defending us before we could Digivolve our partners. They're in a warehouse with the others being healed by an Angewomon." He shook the more experienced Tamers' hands, "Name's Taiga. Kazuchimon's been my partner ever since your guy's partners came back from the Digital World. I can lead you guys to our temporary hideout."

.

.

Warehouse, Minutes Later...

"Ganemon, how are you feeling!" Max exclaimed upon arriving at the warehouse with the entourage.

Ganemon looked up to his partner, his Zenimon and Kozenimon making sure he didn't overwork himself. "Max, my boy, I'm glad to see you! I'm perfectly fine, but Angewomon's tired herself out from healing all of us. I offered to be healed last while our frontline fighters got healed first." As he finished his sentence, he saw the others come in as well, "And who might you four be?"

"I'm Takato Matsuki," the Gogglehead answered, then pointing towards his longtime friend, "She's Rika Nonaka." He pointed at Guilmon, "My partner Guilmon." And finally pointed at Renamon, "And she's Renamon, Rika's partner." Seeing Ganemon's injuries, he grimaced, "That's a nasty hit you took there, Ganemon. Angewomon's healing won't be enough to fix that."

Max immediately panicked, "Wait, you mean he's gonna-?!"

Rika interrupted him, "No, no, he's not. In fact, he'll make a full recovery once I do this." She held out her D-Ark as it began to emit a bright blue light, "Biomerge Activate!" Everyone save for Takato and Guilmon was taken aback, yelling, "What the heck?!"

Renamon moved forward, merging with Rika's essence, "Renamon, Biomerge to...Sakuyamon!" As the bright light faded, only a golden armored fox warrior stood in Rika and Renamon's place. Taking a few steps forward, she stood before Angewomon before muttering a small chant to her staff, "Mandela of Light."

Angewomon could feel the sudden boost in power, allowing her to fully heal every Digimon in the warehouse with Heaven's Cure. Everyone could feel their exhaustion gone and felt ready for combat once more.

"Now that that's settled, I believe we can head towards a safer location than here," she stated, everyone looming closer to hear her words.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, with Suzie, Ai, and Mako...

"Damn monstas, dey ain't gonna let up anytime soon, are dey?" Beelzemon remarked, knowing the answer already. Seeing another amalgam heading towards the kids, he slugged off the one he was fighting, firing his Berenjena at the unsuspecting amalgam. Fortunately for everyone, the bullets were more than enough to destroy the being, buying the human trio more time.

BelleStarmon only smirked, firing her Rizoma de Loto on the amalgam he punched down, "Beel, you know as well as I do that this ain't slowing down anytime soon!" She grimaced soon after as her left arm strained to keep up with the recoil. Before she could say anything about it, though, she felt a wave of relief wash over everyone nearby. Suddenly, it was as if the pain in her arm was gone. "Well, I'll be damned!"

Antylamon only grunted as he clobbered several amalgams with one another, "That was a Holy Digimon healing someone. Strange, I've never known one to heal from so far away." She pondered on it for a moment when the answer came into his mind, "I think that's what Sakuyamon meant by amplifier all those months ago. That would explain a lot."

Ai, on the other hand, was too busy trying to climb up to the higher ground with some other Tamers the trio had found. Holding onto the D-Ark she found this morning, she had an idea as she moved up the ladder. Pulling out a card, she was about to slash it when she heard Beelzemon and Behemoth hit a car. "IMPMON!" She and her brother cried out, leaping off the building and onto a canvas behind their partner.

Suzie shook her head as they leaped off, "Antylamon, come and help here if you can! Impmon's not doing so good!"

"I-I'll be fine, kids. I still got some fight in me!" the Demon Lord remarked, holstering his left gun, "I'll take them all down!" It was then he realized that his leg was trapped between the car's warped chassis and Behemoth. He could split them apart with his bare hands, but with so many amalgams coming, it'd be a terrible idea.

BelleStarmon, on the other hand, was quickly getting overwhelmed by the incoming amalgams. "I can use a bit of help here right about now!" Upon finishing her sentence, she was sent flying towards a store near the two kids. Standing back up, she saw several creatures meld together with one amalgam, creating a much bigger amalgam. "Uh...guys? We got a problem here!"

Beelzemon was the first to reply, "Shit, they can do that?" Blasting apart his Behemoth and the car, he decided to take it up a notch. "Looks like I gotta step it up as well!" Holding out his right arm, he began to transform. Wings burst out from his back while his right arm was encased in a massive blaster.

"Beelzemon: Blast Mode!"

Aiming his blaster at the amalgam, he shouted for its attention, "HEY UGLY, GET A LOAD OF THIS! CORONA DESTROYER!" A magic circle appeared before his blaster's maw, firing a beam of purple through the creature, killing it.

The Beelzemon-lookalike whistled in approval, "That's mighty impressive, Beezlemon. A girl could get used to the surprises you pull out."

"If you think that's all I've got, then you're gonna be in for a treat, toots," he replied, grinning like a...well, demon. Looking at his wards, he asked, "You kids alright?"

Stepping out from the rubble, Mako responded, "We're fine for now, Impmon. Are you?"

Stretching his body, he answered, "To be honest with ya, kids, I don't think so. I took some nasty hits back there, but I should be fine." Whistling for Behemoth, he continued, "Our best bets ta head on down to Hypnos with every Tamer. After all, you saw what these...things could do now."

Suzie chimed in, "We can't just call them things. They combined into some kind of...I think Henry would say juggernaut here."

"Well, Rika started to call them amalgams, so...could we call these amalganauts and the smaller one's Amalgams?" Mako asked. To his surprise, everyone agreed with him. "Let me send a warning to the others then."

.

.

.

Meanwhile, with Henry and Jeri...

"Hey everyone, it's me, Mako! We just took down a bigger, nastier amalgam!"

Henry was alarmed at the announcement, considering that Suzie was with the siblings, "Is everyone alright! Is Suzie okay?!"

"Don't worry, big brother, I'm fine! We just encountered a lot of amalgams that combined into a bigger one. Mako's been calling them Amalganauts and I think it's a good name. Beelzemon's a bit hurt, so we're all going to go down to Hypnos."

Takato's voice cut in, "We're heading down to Hypnos as well. We found a lot of Tamers in a warehouse fighting the amalgams. Even a couple of goggleheads!"

Sighing in relief, he replied, "Alright, I'll see you guys down there once we find the last Tamer here." Hanging his D-Ark back on his belt, he asked his partner, "Terriermon, any luck on finding anymore people?"

Said rabbit-dog floated down from a streetlamp with a camera in his hands/paws, "I couldn't find anyone else, Henry. Maybe the lovebirds got the rest of them for us!"

"Terriermon, I don't know...for all we know, we may have lost a lot of Tamers to these amalgams that appeared," he replied, tapping his foot as Terriermon gave him the camera.

Seeing how stressed his partner was, Terriermon leaped onto Henry's back, covering his eyes with his ears. "Momentai, Henry. We're all trying our best to save everyone. All we can do is our best and hope that we do get everyone." Patting Henry's head, he continued, "Now shouldn't we go look for your girlfriend?"

"Look for who?" Jeri asked as she and Elecmon turned around the corner. Before the rabbit-dog could say another word, he was muffled by the bluenette, "He's just messing around, Jeri. Nothing to worry about."

An explosion was heard nearby as they saw an Amalganaut burst through the building 2 blocks from them. Its body towered over the surrounding area as rubble was being incorporated into its flesh and data body.

"Henry, I think it's time for MegaGargomon to make his way into the scene," Terriermon remarked, leaping off his shoulder. "Elecmon, try to find someplace for you and Jeri to hide!"

Elecmon, however, wasn't having any of it, "I'm sorry, Terriermon, but we're not gonna do that!" His response surprised both his partner and the other duo.

"You're not?" "We're not?"

"We're Tamers and Digimon, you guys, and we're going up against the one thing that destroyed our homes. Running isn't an option for us anymore." He grit his teeth as tears rolled down his furry face, "I've seen so many die before we could get here! I'm not gonna let that continue here, damn it!"

Jeri, still unsure about his choice, asked, "But Elecmon, what if you die again? You might not get another chance to return!" She was barely holding back her own tears, "I can't bear to stand losing you a second time!"

"Jeri..." Henry muttered, his chest tightening as he saw this exchange go on.

"If I die here, then I want to die knowing that I at least saved as many as I could, Jeri," Elecmon answered, "But I'll be fine so long as you're here with me!"

That seemed to do the trick as Jeri wiped her face clear of tears, "Alright, then I'll fight beside you, Elecmon!" Suddenly, her D-Ark began shining brightly. "Is this-?!" Henry asked as the light consumed the four of them.

"Digivolution Activate!" Jeri exclaimed as Elecmon was enveloped in a yellow egg, "Elecmon, Mega Digivolve to...HeavyLeomon!"

When the new Mega slammed onto the ground, Henry took in a deep look. HeavyLeomon was just as tall as MegaGargomon but even bulkier. A large autocannon rested on his shoulder while a large pile bunker was attached to the right arm. Wheels adorned his heels while a large lion visage was visible across his chest.

"So, how's it look, guys?" HeavyLeomon asked as he inspected himself. Before Henry could answer, the Amalganaut roared in their faces, challenging the mega to a fight. Just as the Amalganaut was close enough to attack, HeavyLeomon's autocannon fired at it, demolishing its body into a hunk of data and flesh.

"I'll answer that in a bit," he replied as 3 more similarly sized Amalganauts charged at them, "once we get this all said and done! Let's do this Terriermon! Biomerge Activate!"

.

.

.

Back to Ryo, Alice, Kazu, and Kenta...

"Man, things got real tough out there within the last few minutes," Kenta remarked, listening in to the fights from his D-Ark. "Already Rika, Henry, and Elecmon evolved to fight these things!"

Kazu was taken aback by Elecmon's name being in the same sentence, "Wait, ELECMON WENT MEGA?! Oh man, now I'm really bugging out now! If only we could also Biomerge as well, we'd be kicking butt and taking names!"

"Fret not, Hirokazu!" "Don't call me that!" "I can assure you that we'll be able to Biomerge soon! All we have to do is accept our fears of being hurt, putting everything on the line to pull through, and believing in our bonds of friendship!" Kokuwamon cheerfully remarked, throwing everyone for a loop.

Alice was the first to snap out of everyone's stupor, "Did...did Andromon basically figure out the secret behind Biomerging without ever Biomerging?" Knowing the answer to her own question, Kokuwamon then replied, "It was easy, Ms. McCoy. I just observed what Takato, Rika, and Henry did six years ago, asked a few questions, and figured it out from there!"

"IF YOU KNEW THE ANSWER TO THAT, THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING ABOUT IT, DUDE?!" Kazu yelled, gripping his hair to the point of pulling it out.

"You never bothered to ask," his partner faithfully answered.

Ryo laughed at their antics, "Hey, he's not wrong, you know! Monodramon and I had to trust in each other completely knowing that we'd get hurt if we became Justimon." Monodramon growled in agreement, making Kenta and Alice laugh at the hilarity of the situation.

Soon enough, Kazu also joined in their laughter, not really angry at his partner about the whole situation, "Alright then! I trust Kokuwamon and our bond 100%! We've been through thin and thick, and ain't nothin gonna stop us here! Not now, not ever!"

An explosion then blew them off their feet as a Colossal Amalgam rose up from under the streets. Ryo was the first to respond, "Time to go Mega, partner! Biomerge Activate!"

"Monodramon, Biomerge to...Justimon!"

As Justimon landed, he was grabbed by the Colossal Amalgam. "Get off me! CRITICAL ARM!" He sliced the fingers off, freeing himself from the beast's grasp. "I could use some help with this thing, guys! It's not gonna be enough with just me attacking!"

"Dobermon?" Alice asked, holding up her D-Ark. Dobermon barked, "Right!" "Digi-Modify: Matrix Digivolution, Activate!"

"Dobermon, MATRIX DIGIVOLVE TO...CERBERUSMON: WEREWOLF MODE!"

When the light died down, Cerberusmon WM immediately went on the offensive, "Hellfire!" The ghoulish flames lapped away at the Colossal's arms, making it an easier target for Justimon. "Thunderclap!" he yelled as his arm morphed once again. He slammed it onto the Colossal's body, sending a massive shockwave throughout its body. Before Justimon could get off the monster, his legs then sank into its flesh. To everyone's horror, it spoke to him,

"A̶̡̘̳̦͐᷉p̥͚᷀͐ͮ͟ͅơ̷᷊̦̖̾͆l̲̬͚᷃᷇͞͝o̠͎͓᷈̊̆̍g̸᷿̖̑ͯͭ͝í̷̪̺̔̿͠ȩ̗͎̺̍̽́s̨̡̜̝᷅̄ͪ,̨̲̞͑̄́͝ Y̶͙͈̣ͨ͌̕ō̰̔̈́̎͐̚u͙͕̗̎͒̎͞n̝̦͂̾ͫ̓͒g͖̲͈̓᷃ͨ͞ R᷊᷅᷆ͦ̌᷀᷆y̛̜̻᷿͂ͧ͌ọ̴̴᷿̺͉̏,̠͎̓ͤ᷀̓͟ b̭̣̗̺́ͦ᷉ṵ̰̍̂᷈ͭ͡t᷿̱ͥ᷄̏͛͡ ̲͌͗͠o̵̖̞̪̐̀᷾u̯᷆̋͟͏̏͋r͕̂̒͏̈́᷃̔ ṃ̟̞̎ͫͩ̚ȃ̷͓̱̤᷅̈́ş̶͚͚ͮ̏͠ṯ̊̐̈́̇͂̚e̶̵̟̖ͮͬ̉r̯͉᷁͊͐᷈͌ r̴̭᷂᷃̍͆͜è̙͒͛ͭ͌᷁q̜̜͇̦͚ͫ̆u̝͓̥᷃̽̈́̂i̤̼̭̋̂ͭ͌r̥̫᷾̆͌̚͡e͕͓͆͋᷾̒͞s̯̭̯̀̍̎͢ y̫̮̏᷀͒᷀͝o̜̹̣᷀᷃᷅͢u̮͍̬᷿᷄͗̌ f̴̢̥̮̼̲̮o̧͔͊̇̌̾᷀r̮᷊ͦ̂ͫͯ͠ H̶̝̐᷁̓̚͢i̢̹͋᷃͆̆ͅs̶͎͖̰͎̝͗ D̫̠̤͂᷅̓̊ā̱̤̖̭̄ͫt̙̯͗͌ͯ̂͒a̘̼̬̮̒ͥ̕ ǎ̪̄͒̾᷁ͫṇ͗ͧ͏͉͇̂d̷͉̦̥ͬ᷉᷇ t̝̺̝ͨ̎ͯ͡h̴̢̲᷿͑᷾͝e̛͈͇͖͔͗̂͊̕ Ȇ̮̰̰͓᷅ͦg̨̙̯͂̊͛ͩg͙̙̙᷾̃̈̌.̸̥̮ͤͦ̔͞."

Ryo could feel his pupils inside the Tamer Ball constrict upon hearing those words. 'That's not possible,' he thought, 'No one should know about Milleniummon and the Digimental!' Struggling to get out of the flesh trap, his panicking increased as he was hyperventilating, "I'm not giving Senitmon 'His' data or the Egg! I gave too much for it and I'm not gonna let that happen again!"

"Į͕̳̞͑᷇᷈ d̵̙͕̰̑́͝o͔͈͍̝̰ͥ᷈ ṉ̯̯ͭ̄͒̒ȏ̫᷊̅ͮ᷇᷇t̴̰̥̄͛̾᷇ ŵ̙̜̥̫ͪ̚ï̻̫̟̽̿͘ş̹̖̟̀͂͊h̰᷀͐̋͊̅͢ ṭ͔̲᷿͇̙͟o̩̬̎ͭ͛ͮ͟ d̶̝̳̺᷀̆̃o͚̮̻᷆ͭ͛ͭ̇ͥ͢͠ t̡̜᷆̉͏̎͌h̳̞͕͋͋ͬ̀i̯̹̎̿᷾͟͟s͔͚͕ͨͤ̏̊,͔͌͆͋᷇͠ͅ b̵᷊́̂̓͏᷅u͙̬̰᷊͗ͩ᷉t̴̰̗͙̃ͭ̽ I̦̹᷂̿̇᷃̉ h̶̡̠̺̃̊̚ą̞̫̖̜̬᷇v͎̮͉̯ͫ̄̃e̼͚̼ͣͤͩ᷇ n͈̪ͩͯ̒ͦ̐o̧͉ͭ͋͋͐̃ c̯᷉̒́ͩ᷾̋h̷̦̽᷆̄̃͗ǫ̲̭͊᷆̀͡i̪̮̖͎̠̎̍c̸͚̯̙̑ͨͣe͉̗͔̐͗ͦ͜.̶͚̼̗ͧ᷃͊͟ G̴ͣ̓͂᷀̽ͅi͖̮̬̯̖̓͢v̢᷂᷊͉̭͋ͮe̅᷆̕͏̢͂̐ m̘᷊̗ͨ̉̍͠e̤̻̳͙͙̼̞ͩ᷉̿ͤ̉̒͟͜ H̜̣̻̠̗͙͊i̵̹̬̫ͬ᷾̍s̸͕̤̱᷁ͤ̊ D͍͛ͬ͂̏͋᷆a᷿̰᷾̈᷃̑͡t̷̢̞᷈̑͐̆a̝͎̍᷄᷉̐̈ á̶̬̭̭᷁̂n̢̨ͣ᷆ͩ᷅᷀d̵͙᷊̏͊̓̚ E̳͕̦᷇᷆̅̒-̗̬͕̓̋᷀᷄"

The beast's speech was cut off by the words "Atomic Ray!" filling the air, followed by a beam that vaporized its upper body and a massive explosion. Feeling the sludge holding him slacken, he crawled out of the slurry before being caught by HiAndromon. "Kazu? You...Biomerged?"

HiAndromon nodded, "Deep breaths, Ryo. Take deep breaths or you'll pass out in there." Taking his advice, Ryo could feel himself relaxing as his vision and balance came back to him. "T-Thanks, Kazu. I needed that."

Kenta, Alice, MarineAngemon, and Cerberusmon WM ran over to assist. "Ryo," Alice called out, "Are you alright? You weren't seriously hurt by that thing, right? We saw you just screaming about an egg and some Digimon's data. That you fought hard for it and wouldn't give it up for anything."

Justimon- no, Ryo- felt his throat tighten as he looked at their faces. They didn't know what he went through years ago. Telling them might change their views on him, wouldn't it? 'NO!' he thought, 'They're my friends who trust me their lives. They wouldn't just leave me after everything that we've been through."

"...it's very complicated," He stated, "And it's better if all of us met up at Hypnos if I'm going to tell you all. Frankly, I'd rather that this never have happened, but with Senitmon somehow knowing of this, it's best that you all know as well."

"Before we do go, at least let MarineAngemon heal you up. You sound like you need it," Kenta stated as MarineAngemon floated towards the Biomerged warrior, flashing him a quick smile. Much to the relief of Justimon's suddenly-strained muscles, he felt more relaxed and healthy. Thanking the tiny Mega, the group of six made their way towards Hypnos.

.

.


.

.

Hypnos, Following HiAndromon's Appearance and the Explosion...

"Okay, so what you're telling us is that you're not from this world-"

Ryo nodded in confirmation.

"-that you're actually from the TV show's world-"

He nodded again.

"-you've saved their world twice-"

Another nod.

"-you stopped some wacko Digimon named Millenniummon-"

He gingerly nods, the name bringing up bad memories.

"-who wanted to be your partner, and technically is now because of Monodramon forcing a DNA Digivolution-"

More nodding.

"-and because you still have the DigiEgg you used to find him back then, Senitmon wants it and made the Amalganauts talk to you."

He nods one last time, "That's everything in a nutshell."

Rika was quiet for a few moments before huffing in disbelief, "If it weren't for the fact that you could back this up with those monsters running around outside, apart from everything all of us went through in the last 6 to 7 years, I'd slap you and call you stupid. And probably call the asylum."

"Wait, you're just gonna buy it like that?" Ryo asked, a bit surprised at her reaction. "All of you are okay with this?"

Suzie spoke up, "Ryo, we've all been friends with one another for 6-7 years and Tamers for just as long. I trust you as the "Digimon King", a mentor, and a friend." Suzie then put her hand on her forehead, "I am a bit disappointed that it took you until a literal world-ending Digimon apocalypse to tell us all of this, though."

"Suzie, to be fair, would you've believed me if I told you all of this on a normal get-together?"

Takato crossed his arms as he drank from his soda, "He's got a point there. I think we would've just thought he went nuts. Still, you should have told us about this at some point." As he crumpled his soda can, he clutched his chest hard, alarming everyone.

"Takatomon! Are you alright?!" Guilmon cried, coming to his creator's side.

He chuckled a little as he coughed, "I'm fine, boy. 's just a...just minor chest pain, that's all. No need to worry." As his breathing settled, he saw Rika, Jeri, and Henry's eyes drilling into his own. "Oh boy, I, uh, need to explain my little episode, don't I?"

"Takato, explain. Now," was their only response.

"Wheeeeeeeew, where do I start? It's not gonna be a pretty thing to explain," he joked as now everyone's eyes were focused on him. "Well, remember two years ago when I was out for two months and I said I was out on an out-of-country trip?"

Kazu raised his hand, "OOH, OOH, I remember! You said that you and your parents were heading out to the US to get some ideas for the bakery! I also told you to get me a Mets cap when you came back, which you didn't get, mind you."

"Yeeeeeaaaaah, I kinda had to lie about that to you all," Takato nervously explained, scratching his nape at their reactions.

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Everyone cried out, shocking all save for Guilmon.

"HOLD ON! Before you guys say anything to me that's probably very deserved, I had a good reason to do so!"

Rika didn't want another excuse, so she grabbed his hoodie's collar and started yelling, "What do you mean, "I had a good reason to"?! What was so big that you had to lie to us about it?! To me, your girlfriend!"

"GIRLFRIEND?!" Everyone cried out, shocking all save for Guilmon and Renamon.

"I had to lie to you guys because I didn't want to get you guys sick like I did," he answered, slowly defusing his girlfriend's anger. "I contracted tuberculosis from one of our former classmates during Golden Week."

The area was silent as Rika set Takato back on the floor. "Woah, I mean Woah. Tuberculosis? I remember that it's pretty nasty to get. But, two months? I remember a friend of my dad's got it once, but he recovered within a month. Why'd you take two?" Jeri said with her anger quelled.

"I was kind of out of it when they explained it to my parents, but Guilmon can explain it," he answered, letting his partner take over as he rested on Guilmon's back.

"From what the doctors said, it was because of two things. They said it was because he was a couch potato, which I found weird because he's not lumpy or tasty like a potato," everyone laughed a little before the saurian continued, "and because his bye-o-leggy was different from everyone else's, whatever that means."

"Bye-o-leggy?" Mako asked.

Henry snapped his fingers, "He means biology, and I think I know what went down!" He grabbed his datapad from his pocket as he typed in a few things, "Normally, a human would take a month to fully recover from being sick with tuberculosis, right? Well, in Takato's case, that's out of the window." He pulled up a diagram of their bodies and a normal human body. "He's not as physically active as Ryo and I are, so his more passive lifestyle hindered his ability to recover faster. Not to mention, WE'RE not fully human; not after our constant exposure to Data Fields and the Digital World. Of course his body couldn't recover as fast!"

Kenta piped up, "That still doesn't explain why he's having chest pains, though."

"That's because his body didn't recover correctly," Alice answered. "Since this data issue wasn't ever an issue, there was no way his body could figure out how to properly recover, leading to his body becoming a bit weaker than before."

"That's right, Alice. I was weaker than before and...I didn't want you guys to think I was getting too lax and weak to keep up," Takato confirmed, not looking at his friends. "My body didn't fully recover, and I don't know if it ever will. I'm more of a hindrance to you guys than hel-"

*SMACK*

The brunette was surprised at the sudden slap she gave him, "Wha-? Rika- I-!?"

"...don't you ever say that about yourself again, Takato," she said, trembling as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. "You are not weak at all! You've been keeping up with us as both our leader and a fighter, even as you were greatly weakened. That says more about you being strong than it does being weak."

Henry spoke, his throat tight at the display of emotions, "She's right, you know. Out of all of us, you've been able to lead us through the darkest times and fight off the worst of the worst. If that doesn't make you the strongest Tamer I've ever seen, I don't know what does."

Takato hiccupped as tears were starting to fall from his eyes, "You guys..."

"Chin up, Chumley! Henry and Rika are right. You're the strongest guy Kenta and I know, and we've known you since forever. Don't let this be the thing that gets to ya!" Kazu remarked, Kenta agreeing with him.

"I may have been a Tamer for longer than all of us, but out of everyone I've ever met, you've been the best damn one I've had the pleasure to call a friend," Ryo stated, putting an arm around Takato. "C'mon guys, let's give him a group hu-"

One of the Tamers they picked up, Taiga, ran into the room, interrupting them, "Sorry to pop in unannounced, but they're here! We've been holding them off, but the Amalganauts are starting to come closer! We're busy trying to protect the people working here and warding off those monsters that we're being strained in people."

Takato got off of his partner's back, springing into action, "Taiga, take me, Henry, Rika, and Ryo to the Hypnos personnel; we'll guide them to the military base nearby. The rest of you go help the other Tamers ward off the Amalgams. Any questions, anyone?" When no one replied, he nodded, "Alright then, lead the way!"

.

.

"Mrs. Yamaki, I brought Takato and his friends here," Taiga announced, grabbing Riley's attention. As the goggleheaded blunette went to continue the fight, Takato realized something, "Wait, Mrs. Yamaki? I thought your surname was Ohtori? Did Mr. Yamaki...?"

Despite the situation they were in, she smiled as she raised her left hand, "He asked me two months ago, and we made it official last month. Ah, our honeymoon in Okinawa was great for those three days."

Rika then asked, "Three days? I thought honeymoons went on for two weeks?"

"Normally, they do. Unfortunately, we had to cut it short because of something we found. Something of digital origin," Riley replied, motioning them to follow her.

The four looked at each other in confusion. Something digital in origin appearing in Okinawa and they weren't told of it? How big of a find could it be?

Riley knocked on the double doors before her, signaling the people behind it to come through. Four personnel stepped out, holding up a latched box. Nodding, they went towards their colleagues to evacuate. "This...is what I found on the beaches of Okinawa," she stated, opening the latched box for them to see.

The four Tamers gazed upon the box's entities, marveling at the relic in question.

It was a fine blade, seemingly made of blue diamonds and crystals. The blade was long and thick, its crossguard full of crystals jutting in several directions but at the user. In place of a chappe, it held a floating blue orb with the symbol of a scale in it. It seemed too outlandish in the hands of a human, yet perfect for one as well.

Ryo whistled as he looked at the blade, "It looks like something Crimson Mode would wield, right Henry?"

"You're right, Ryo. It looks like Gallantmon's sword when he goes Crimson, but that usually goes away when Takato and Guilmon split," Henry agreed, adding his thoughts to it. He tried lifting the sword, but he found that it was too heavy for him to lift. "Ma'am, did you guys have trouble moving this when you found it?"

Riley nodded, "Until we brought it back over here, it was fine to lift, but it felt odd to do so. Almost as if it was letting itself be lifted. As soon as we placed it in the box, anyone who tried to lift it couldn't. When one of our former employees tried taking it by force, his arm was crystallized almost immediately!"

Before anymore could be said, an explosion rocked the side of the building. "What hit us?!" Rika yelled as Renamon helped her up.

Takato ran to the cracked window and pointed, "Look, on the building nearby!" Looking down, the five of them saw an Amalgam heating up another before lobbing them at the buildings. "They're learning and evolving to combat us better!"

"What's the game plan, Gogglehead?"

"First, we need to get Mrs. Yamaki out of here, safe and sound."

"But we need to take this blade with us! There's no telling what Senitmon could be able to do with this," Riley stated.

"Alright, then here's what we do."

.


.

"Ryo and Alice take Mrs. Yamaki towards the base the military has set up down at the university-"

Riley held on to her mask for dear life as Justimon leaped from building to building, not slowing down in the slightest, "Can you take it easy?! It's hard to hold on for dear life if you're jumping around like a madman!"

"Sorry, ma'am! I'm just trying to keep us away from the Amalgams on the streets! They can be pretty nasty if they grab ya!" Justimon replied. Looking around, he asked, "Can you see the university from where we're at right now?"

"Yes, we're just a few buildings away from the others! To your right!"

Grinning, he shouted, "Then let's move!" Taking Riley back into his arms, he leaped back into the air, uncaring of her rather amusing screams as they went towards the camp.

Trailing behind him, Cerberusmon WM and Alice were smirking at the scene Riley was causing thanks to Ryo's actions.

.


.

"-Henry and Jeri fight off the Amalgams on the rooftops while dealing with the big ones-"

"Mega Barrage!" shouted MegaGargomon as all of his armaments opened up. Firing on the big Amalgams, he threw fists and bullets at his enemies, reducing them to bullet-riddled mush. "How are things on your end, HeavyLeomon, Jeri?" he yelled over the gunfire.

HeavyLeomon autocannon's locked onto some Amalgams hiding on the rooftops, "Swimmingly! Hit 'em with a Barrage Sweeper, HeavyLeomon" Jeri replied from on top of a building. Several shots flew across the sky as they hit their respective targets. "That's a few more snipers down, MegaGargomon. Let's go take out some more!"

"Right behind you, friends!"

.


.

"-Mako, Ai, and Suzie speed up the evacuation efforts-"

Mako ran behind a ransacked wall as he slid a card through the D-Ark in his hands, "Digimodify: Offense Plug-In A, Activate!" Beelzemon's body glowed with an aura of power as he fired his Berenjena shotguns even faster. "How's that for a powerup, Beelzemon? Think you can handle the waves?"

"Handle 'em? I'll take them all on! Corona Destroyer!" he shouted, his blaster steaming red as he rapidly unleashed demonic spitfire at the Amalgams, forcing them away from the civilians and personnel.

The young boy only nodded with a grin as he turned to his sister, "Ai, how's it on your end? Everything going alright? And have you found out anything about the new D-Ark?"

"Not yet, but I want to try this!" she answered as she held it up. Pulling a card out from her deck holster, she slid it through the D-Ark, "Digimodify: Alias, Activate!" Once the card slid through, BelleStarmon felt something in her core as she left behind a clone of herself, where it was then devoured by an Amalgam.

BelleStarmon was utterly baffled, "What the hell did I just do? I've never done that before!" As said that, Beelzemon flew down towards her with a wild grin, "Well well well, looks like we's partners to each other and da kids! What Ai just did was give ya a little boost to your powers, thanks to their new handy, dandy D-Ark they got!" Blasting the Amalgam that ate her clone, he wiped the smile off his face as he got serious, "But I'll say it again, toots. Mess with the kids, and I'll blow your goddamn head off. Got it?"

The Demon Lord lookalike only grinned in response, "Got it, 'Beel'. Those kids have grown on me, anyways." Before Beelzemon could fly back into the fight, however, she grabbed him by the arm with a lecherous smile, "You should be assertive like that more often, 'Beel'. The way you put your foot down was...invigorating~." Turning away, she led a few more civilians away, leaving behind a dumbstruck Beelzemon.

Suzie, who was watching the whole ordeal from on top of Antylamon's head, gagged, "Get a room for crying out loud!"

Antylamon only chuckled at his partner's reaction, cutting down two Amalgams that tried to leap at her partner.

.


.

"-Kazu and Kenta will support the building underground so everyone can get out safely-"

"Kenta," HiAndromon calmly called out, getting his friend's attention.

"Yeah?"

"We got stuck with clean-up duty, didn't we?"

Kenta blew some air at his friend, "Well yes, but actually no. You're holding everything up so MarineAngemon can freeze the supports so they're thick enough to stay standing."

HiAndromon looked at him as if he had grown a third head before replying, "Then why do I see some of THOSE behind you?!"

The bespectacled teen snapped his head behind him, seeing several Amalgams slide up to them. In horror, he grabbed a card and shrieked, "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAA! DIGIMODIFY: METALGARURUMON, ACTIVATE! MARINEANGEMON FREEZE THEM ALL BEFORE THEY GRAB MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

MarineAngemon flew from his partner's side as HiAndromon strolled up behind him. Looking at each other, they sighed before snickering at Kenta's sudden misfortune. "Alright then, let's do this, MarineAngemon!"

"Puu!"

.


.

"-and Rika and I will take the Blade to the drop-off point on foot, where Shibumi and the others can deal with it."

"Hah, you know, Gallantmon, hah, that this was a very poorly thought-out plan, right?" Sakuyamon asked as she batted away several Amalgams with her staff, disintegrating them with the staff's own power.

Gallantmon morphed both of his hands into lances as he answered, "Compared to my other plans, Sakuyamon, this one is probably my most thought out plan." Stabbing several Amalgams, he paused his train of thought as he realized what he said, "Did I really just say that my less thought-out plans were better because I didn't think them out fully?"

Sakuyamon chuckled as she powered the Crimson Knight up, "I believe so. How's the Blade looking?"

"Same as when we put it on my back: cold, heavy, and strange," he answered, "Double Lightning Joust!" Aiming his lances in opposite directions, electric bolts shot out and zapped several groups of incoming monstrosities, turning them into ash. As his arms morphed back to normal, he felt the box on his back pulse, "What the heck? Is it moving?"

Taking it off his back, he led Sakuyamon to an abandoned building before opening up the box. "Tell me I'm not seeing things, Sakuyamon. Because right now, I'm seeing this thing glow hard."

"It's not just you," she replied, taking hold of the Blade's handle, "It's brimming with power right now. More than my staff ever has!" She tried to lift it but to no avail, "Try lifting it this time, Gallantmon."

Nodding, he grasped the handle and effortlessly lifted the Blade. "W-Woah, I can feel this thing just humming with power! It's so light I may as well be holding air!" He swung the Blade a few times before seeing a scabbard in the box. "Strange, I don't recall Mrs. Yamaki saying that there was a scabbard with it, do you?"

"I don't either," Sakuyamon confirmed, "but I guess it helps that we don't need the box anymore." Picking up the scabbard, she let Gallantmon slide the Blade into it. Once he let go, she was surprised that the Blade didn't force her down to the ground. "Huh, this thing really is useful," she commented before handing it back to the knight.

As soon as they left the building, an Amalgam of more humanoid proportion leaped at them, knocking Sakuyamon's staff from her hands. Realizing that his lance morphing would take too long, Gallantmon unsheathed the Blade, freezing the Amalgam before shattering it into pieces. "Well...that was something," he remarked as his partner picked her staff off the ground. "We best get moving fast. That thing was different from all the others, more humanlike. If we get more like that, we'll have a bigger problem on our hands."

The fox shaman only nodded as they both began running towards the dropoff point.

.

.

Running between buildings and over rooftops, the duo finally realized that they were lost amongst the Digital Field's fog. "I think we've been running in a circle for the past few minutes, Sakuyamon," Gallantmon stated, breathing hard as he grasped the Blade in his hand. I marked that door with some ice just to make sure we weren't getting lost. So far, that's been the only thing I've seen around here."

"So you're saying that we're stuck here? Well, that's just great. We're in the middle of a doomsday event and we're somehow lost with no way out! Can this day get any worse?" She huffed as she jabbed her staff into the ground. As she did, a man dressed in a shadowy cloak emerged before them. Immediately, they were on alert and battle-ready when the stranger raised his hand.

"Halt. I mean you two no harm," his voice whispered, "I've come to aid you in this battle the only way I can...at the moment."

Gallantmon gripped the Blade in his hand hard, not moving from his spot, "How can we be sure that you're not lying to us right now? That you're not one of Senitmon's Amalgams in disguise?"

"Senitmon? That is not her name, Crimson Knight."

"Then what is? Our friend Beelzemon said that another Demon Lord called it Senitmon. Also, Her? I wasn't aware that Senitmon was female. And who exactly are you?" Sakuyamon asked.

"To answer those questions in reverse, I'm known as the Hero of Balance. 'Senitmon', as you know her by, is indeed female. I should know since I fought her all those ages ago. As for her true name? She's known as Zenithmon," he answered, sending a feeling of cold dread down their spines.

A static crackled across the fog as Henry's voice somehow cut through the anomaly, "'Zenithmon?' Hold on, how old are you?"

"Henry?! You hear you, but how? We tried contacting you guys but this fog won't let us reach you!" Gallantmon shouted, surprised at Henry's sudden "appearance".

"We tried contacting you, but we couldn't get through to you until all of us heard the stranger you two met speak about 'Zenithmon'. Only then did we actually get through, probably thanks to him."

"Indeed. I noticed several presences trying to reach you two so I let them "pass-through", so to say," the stranger confirmed. "To answer your question, Wong," a gasp was heard over the fog, "I am old enough to say that Zenithmon's return is my fault. I thought that sealing her away and draining her of her powers would prevent her return. Unfortunately, it seems that I was wrong. I only wish Ikki was alive to stop her."

"Ikki?" Gallantmon repeated, "What was he to her? Who is he"

"...I'm not sure about his and Zenithmon's connection, but to me, he was my master. He was the one who taught me the ways of Balance," he answered.

Ryo's voice cut in, "Since you know so much about 'Zenithmon', can you tell us what her end goal is? Attacking the Digital World and the Real World is one thing, but deleting the Digital World and turning people into Amalgams is a whole other ballpark."

The man shook his head hearing the second half of Ryo's dialogue, "When I first sealed her away, she was trying to "turn the world into something he would be proud of". Who 'He' was is unknown to me, but she wishes to reconstruct the world into her own image. Back then, she just wanted the Digital World changed when it was once one. Now, she's trying to do the same with the Real Worlds as well."

"Hold on, you're not making any sense! What do you mean by "when the Digital World was once one"? Also, Real "Worlds"? What are you hiding from us!" Sakuyamon growled, holding her staff threateningly.

Gallantmon put his hand on her shoulder, "Easy now, Sakuyamon. He's just given us some idea of what Zenithmon's trying to do. Let's try not to murder him right now and focus on the bigger issue."

"For once, I agree. As for your previous question, now's not the time to discuss it," the "Hero" mentioned, gathering the two Megas' attention, "The sword you wield right now is known as the Blade of Order. It is part of a much more powerful weapon that was once meant to fight Zenithmon. DO NOT, under any circumstance, let her obtain it. Nothing, short of an incredibly powerful being, would be able to stop her if she did."

"Do you know anyone that could if it came down to it?" Kazu asked.

"...I have no clue and would rather not find out."

.

.


.

.

Before the knight and shaman knew it, they were near the drop-off point that Shibumi had discreetly set up.

"W-Woah, that was...something," Gallantmon mumbled, his insides churning from the rather violent movement. "Are you alright, Sakuyamon?"

She held up a hand as she suddenly began retching out whatever Rika ate earlier. "If you're referring to right, blegh, now, then no. If you're talking about what just happened, even less so." She shakily held onto his arm as she held herself up. "Are you alright, though?"

"I am, thanks," Gallantmon replied, waiting for her to finish fixing herself back up.

"Are you guys alright? We cut in for one moment and then we lose you the next! What happened now?" Alice asked as the air suddenly filled itself with screeches and blasts.

Sakuyamon answered back, "We're fine, guys. We just came back from that...place...that we were in. The guy we saw there's gone, but I have a feeling that this won't be the last we see of him." Tapping her staff on the ground, a magic circle appeared beneath them before disappearing. "Gallantmon, they should be just a few blocks away from here. 10 blocks at the most."

Unsheathing the blade and summoning Aegis, he replied, "Let's get a move on, then. I don't think this is gonna be an easy delivery."

As they ran from their position, they heard gunfire and screeching/moaning grow in volume near the drop-off. Upon reaching it, they saw several JSDF soldiers fight off Amalgams of different varieties with hybridized weapons. Nodding at one another, Sakuyamon went off to help the soldiers while Gallantmon raced to get the Blade to Shibumi.

When he got close, he was held at gunpoint by several soldiers defending the place, shouting, "STAY WHERE YOU ARE! IDENTIFY YOURSELF OR WE WILL BE FORCED TO FIRE ON YOU!"

Shibumi came out of the tent, waving his arms wildly before the soldiers, "It's fine! It's fine! He's with us!" With the soldiers lowering their weapons, Shibumi guided Gallantmon near a helicopter that was being prepped for leave, "I'm afraid we're gonna have to cut pleasantries short, Gallantmon. They found us out just a bit ago, and it's only thanks to 'Dolphin' suggesting that we be guarded that we aren't dead yet."

"Then I'll call for other Tamers to assist. They should be done evacuating everyone from Hypnos HQ by now. In the meanwhile, protect the sword, Shibumi. We had a run-in with an...ally...who told us to keep the sword safe until the time is right. Should Zenithmon get her hands on it..." Gallantmon mentioned.

"...she'd be nigh-unstoppable by anyone of us," finished the older man. "The same man approached me about it in a vision before the JSDF guys held you up." Asking for the blade, Gallantmon gave it to the man in the scabbard.

As they walked towards the helicopter, Gallantmon had a sinking feeling about the sudden calmness they were experiencing. "Shibumi, are you getting that feeling as well?" asked the knight.

"Mhm. Something's not right at all. It's way too calm. It's almost as if..." he trailed off as his eyes widened, "GALLANTMON! SHIELD, NOW!"

Thanks to the warning, Gallantmon covered Shibumi and himself as the vehicle exploded before them. Hot metal and fuel splashed onto Gallantmon's armor and cape before he whipped it off, clearing himself of debris and danger. "Are you alright, sir?"

Shibumi coughed a bit before answering, "Lungs full of smoke, but I'll be fine! Still, what just tried to kill us?"

"I have no idea! All I felt was unease and then BOOM!" Gallantmon answered, "Was there anyone else in the helicopter before it blew up?"

A malevolent presence washed over them as the fog started to slowly clear up, revealing buildings that were partially consumed by the Amalgams attacks. Thankfully, the other Tamers, foreign and local, started to arrive at Gallantmon's location, giving them a moment to breathe. "Gallantmon," Justimon asked, "what was that just now? All we felt was a massive wave of... of negativity just before we got here."

His question went unanswered as they heard JSDF soldiers bark orders to an individual, "MA'AM, THIS IS A RESTRICTED AREA. HEAD TOWARDS THE EVACUATION AREA OR WE WILL BE AUTHORIZED TO USE FORCE."

"Oh? And what if I have a few answers for a few individuals here, huh? Would you let me through then?" a woman's voice replied, her tone somehow unnerving even the Biomerged Tamers in their Tamer Balls.

"IF YOU DO NOT TURN AROUND IN THE NEXT FEW SECONDS, WE WILL BE AUTHORIZED TO USE LETHAL FORCE," was her only answer

They heard a sigh before winds suddenly picked up, "Go away. You're annoying." Grunts and yelps of surprise filled the area as soldiers were flung from their positions. Even Shibumi was almost flung had Gallantmon not caught him.

Moving from behind a tent, everyone saw a lady move near them, seemingly unworried about the destruction around them. "Ah, so I am in the right spot! Well, that's a relief this time around."

Clutching her D-Ark, Suzie asked the questions that were on everyone's minds, "What did you do to those men? Who are you?"

"Oh, I just sent them on their way," The woman grinned wildly at them as her right arm shimmered a gauntlet into existence, "As for who I am, I think your leader knows who I am!"

The Shinjuku Tamers all grimaced as she and they said her name in unison.

"Zenithmon!"


I had to rewrite this fucking chapter 4 times because I was unhappy with it turned out the previous times. Needless to say, I'm going to write the big fight ASAP and introduce some filler before the true Chapter 3 comes out. Anyways, enjoy y'all's New Years!