Lilithmon was enjoying her bath with the girls. As it turned out, the baths were very spacious, having room for at least 40 people. And it was even decorated with various plants you would expect in a Japanese Hot Spring. If the girls didn't know any better, they would think they would be somewhere in Japan. There was even a very convincing looking night sky above them, except it was just a ceiling with an illusion of a night sky.
Anyway, Novice gave the girls and their digimon three reasons to dare to get in the same bath with the Demon Lord of Lust who was planning to corrupt the girls for her own amusement.
Unfortunately, she would be unable to do that. "Could you please stop glaring at me," Lilithmon said to the "reason number one" in exasperation, "I am trying to relax here." She says that, but just like with Yang in the last chapter, two parts of her were trying to float.
"I shall do no such thing," said a woman with long golden hair. This woman was also in the bath, but she was still wearing a green helmet with three decorations at the top in the shape of bird, bull and lion head. There was also a long orange tuft of hair coming out of the ornaments. The helmet also had a four pointed golden star at the front that covered the upper part of her face. This is Ophanimon, an Ultimate level angel digimon. "Besides, your master said, and I quote 'Watch her like a hawk'. So that is what I shall do," Ophanimon said, glaring at the demon under her helmet.
The demon lord rolled her eyes at the words. She planned to infect the girls with lust, setting them on a path of debauchery for her own twisted amusement, but with Ophanimon around... that wasn't possible.
"You try anything funny, and we're authorized to kick your ass," said "reason number two" from Ophanimon's right cheerfully. A short woman with green hair that was in two long braids. She was also wearing a snake head-like helmet that covered her eyes. This is Minervamon, a warrior woman digimon, and also Ultimate level.
"So behave yourself, and we can all enjoy this wonderful bath," said reason number three who sank herself neck deep into the water. The woman in question has a purple skin, blonde hair, and what looks to be a purple flowerlike growth on her head that covers her eyes. This is Lotosmon, an Ultimate level Fairy digimon.
These three ladies were all dressed appropriately for the baths, just like Lilithmon and the girls. Except the trio still kept their weapons close at hand, in case the Demon Lord tried anything funny. Besides, Lilithmon hasn't parted with her golden gauntlet either. The girls noting that the gauntlet covered her entire forearm, up to the elbow.
Lilithmon sighed as she once again pushed her breasts down in an attempt to stop them from floating. However, the demoness took a look at Ophanimon's rack, or whatever she could see of it. "You know... It's a shame your body isn't as gifted as mine," Lilithmon said in faux pity, "I could have that fixed, for all of you, and then the four of us could enjoy Novice's-" Lilithmon had to stop herself as she stared down the tip of a very large sword.
"Li-lith-mon," Minervamon said in a sing song voice before taking a more serious tone, "If you finish that sentence, we will take you down right here, right now." The warriors words were emphasized by Ophanimon pointing her golden lance at Lilithmon and Lotosmon doing the same with her staff with a white and black serpent.
To Lilithmon's credit, she only sighed in mild annoyance," You ladies are no fun." And with that, the demon lord used her gauntleted hand to lightly push the weapon away from her before slumping.
The girls weren't sure if they should feel nervous or relieved at one of the Demon Lords that was on par with Daemon being put in her place.
But then... Mimi raised a hand nervously, "Umm... Excuse me." That earned the attention of the four ladies. "...Why won't Novice..." It seemed like whatever Mimi was unable to properly say what she wanted.
It took a moment, but Lilithmon gained an evil smile as she figured out what Mimi wanted to ask... sadly, she couldn't exactly take advantage of this unless she wanted to risk a fight with these three. Sure, she was confident that she could fight them off. But even if she did defeat them, there's no way Novice won't notice, and then it's back to BlackGatomon for her. And that's assuming he won't notice his lair taking damage from a battle between four Ultimates. "Novice believes that you're too young to worry about your figure," Lilithmon replied truthfully, surprising her three "babysitters".
Especially Ophanimon. "Since when was a Demon Lord sincere?"
"Besides, you don't need curves like mine to be lusted after," Lilithmon then said with a wicked smile.
"Ah, there's the rub," Ophanimon thought with a noticeable frown.
"That better be the end of this conversation," Lotosmon said, glaring at the Demon Lord alongside Ophanimon.
Lilithmon made a zipping motion accross her mouth, even though she still lamented at the loss of an opportunity. Still... she had one more card to play. She discreetly built up what little lust she could muster, so she could release it into the water, and make all these fine specimens to see the pleasures of-
"If you don't stop doing that I will push this button," Ophanimon threatened as she had a holographic button in the air with the Kanji for "pure".
"...Annoying prude," Lilithmon grumbled, having several graphic images of what she wanted to do to Ophanimon playing in her head as she abandoned that plan. She didn't want to get Purification Water mixed into the baths. The girls and their digimon probably won't even notice the difference. The three female guardians would probably just feel better. But for Lilithmon... it's like pouring acid on her, and she was pretty fond of her skin. But what she was more annoyed about was the fact that of course Novice had to give the three Ultimates the authorization to use it.
"...Scheming harlot," Ophanimon countered.
"Ophanimon! Language!" Minervamon cried out as she pointed at the girls who looked a little uncomfortable. Unsure if it was because of the threats flying or understanding what Ophanimon just called Lilithmon... Even if the warrior goddess agreed with the angel.
"...I think we should just ignore Lilithmon," Sora suggested, not feeling comfortable about this passive-aggressive conflict... As far as Ultimate digimon go anyway.
"Agreed," Miyako said quickly.
"Agreed," Hikari added in, having submerged herself. The Chosen of Light felt very threatened whenever the Demon Lord glances at her. At least they had three guardian angels to protect them.
"...Agreed," Mimi said with just a little bit of hesitation.
"...Young one, are you feeling insecure about yourself," Ophanimon then asked tenderly, causing Mimi to flinch.
"I..."
"You shouldn't," Lotosmon chimed in "As Lilithmon said-" the fairy digimon shuddered in disgust of agreeing with the Demon Lord digimon, "- you're too young to worry about such things. Besides, it's not like you need to be well endowed to be beautiful, just ask Minervamon over there."
"Thank you, Lotosmon," Minervamon thanked her fellow guardian.
"I'm sure the four of you will find your happy ending when the time is right," Ophanimon added in, addressing all the girls. "But now is a little too soon." That line had to be added.
"Thank you so much," Sora thanked. Earning a smile from Biyomon who was indeed able to swim like a duck.
Speaking of the digimon, Palmon felt like this water was rejuvenating her in ways that normal water doesn't. According to Novice, this water contains minerals and salts that do wonders to your skin. Apparently, it also acted as nourishment for the plant digimon.
Gatomon allowed herself to relax in the presence of three Ultimate level digimon. But she was also grateful for their words. As Hikari's partner, the white feline digimon wanted nothing more than to see her partner happy. And there's nothing Lilithmon could do to ruin their time right now without consequences.
Speaking of the she-devil, she was discreetly making gagging motions at the speech those three killjoys gave to the girls. "Now I can't even prey on their insecurities," Lilithmon grumbled in her head. "The guys would've been so much easier," Was the last thought the Demon Lord had before deciding to make most of this time of R&R.
On the guy's side, Taichi, Yamato, and Daisuke were trying a sauna. But there were a few things that struck them as odd, which was also why the other guys didn't come in. Apparently Novice has a strict rule of "no swimwear or towels in the sauna". These three were the only ones comfortable with the rule. But there was one thing that they didn't understand.
"Ja löylyä!" Novice cheered happily as he threw a ladelful of water on the stove stones which resulted in hot steam washing over everyone. Seriously, the burst of heat made their skin itchy, not that Novice wasn't doing it too. Except it looked like he enjoyed the feeling. "Can you feel the dead skin peeling off of you," Novice asked as he slid his hair back.
"Sure," Yamato said, looking mildly annoyed. Now he was regretting trying what Novice called, Finnish sauna.
"Why couldn't the Finnish use a sauna like Americans," Daisuke complained, earning a blanched look from the Overseer.
"What blasphemy did you just spout," Novice asked, sounding highly offended.
"Whoa, dude! I just think... can't Finnish use the sauna like the people who invented it," Daisuke asked, desperately trying to correct his mistake.
The Overseer gave Daisuke a look which said "Are you an idiot?". "...Daisuke, 'sauna' is a Finnish word," Novice said in deadpan tone.
"WHAT!?" Daisuke asked in shock, with Taichi and Yamato looking surprised at the little tidbit.
"That's right, sauna is such a common thing in Finland that every household has one," Novice explained as if he was telling them common knowledge. And to him, it was common knowledge.
"Okayyy," Taichi drawled out. But then he decided to ask a certain question that's been bugging him a little, "Hey... are you sure that Lilithmon won't try anything weird to the girls?"
Novice sighed at the question, "Taichi, for the last time, Lilithmon isn't dumb enough to try anything with those three around." Novice understands that the Chosen of Courage is worried about his little sister, really he is. But they had gone over this for the umpteenth time. "I can give them a call if you want," Novice said as he made a holographic screen appear, which strangely didn't fog over with the humidity of the sauna.
"...You can do that," Daisuke asked sounding eager.
"Voice only," Novice replied sternly, earning a disappointed sigh from the frizzy hair.
"Ahhem." Was the sound that made Daisuke turn around to stare at a glaring Taichi. The leader of the first generation caught the sigh.
"...Sorry?" Daisuke said unsurely.
"...I'm starting to wonder if I made a mistake naming you the leader," Taichi said, sounding completely serious.
Daisuke eeped.
"Come on, Taichi. He's allowed to dream," Yamato spoke up, saving Daisuke from an overprotective big brother. "So long as he doesn't try anything weird," the Chosen of Friendship added with a playful glare.
"HEY! I would never do that," Daisuke shouted, this time offended.
All the while Novice looked at the exchange in amusement. "Hmm... Eukalyptus... Saunayrtti... vaiko Salmiakki(Eucalyptus... Sauna herb... or Salmiakki)," Novice then thought, wondering if he should add a scent to the next löyly(Throwing water on hot sauna rocks).
After everyone had enjoyed their baths and taken something to eat, everyone was once again gathered into the reading room.
Novice had a thoughtful look as he made the book float before having a stroke of genious. "Lilithmon, how about you read the next chapter," Novice said as the book floated to the surprised Demon Lord next to her.
"Why me," Lilithmon asked, dropping any attempts to flirt with Novice for now... Also, she was finally rid of that Ring and she didn't feel like getting it back on anytime soon.
"I think it's fitting that you would read it," Novice said with a grin.
"...Very well," Lilithmon said as she accepted the book before opening it from the appropriate page.
Envoy of Darkness, Devimon!
"Oh... That's why," Takeru said, finding it funny that the Demon Lord was reading the introduction to Devimon.
Lilithmon scoffed at the title and the title card. "Devimon is a mere foot soldier compared to me," the Demon Lord stated.
No one doubted that.
"Now that we're all the way up here...man, it really sinks in how we're on an island," Pierce mused as he looked over the edge.
Taichi glanced at the scenery shown with a forlorn look. "At that point, we thought that File Island was all there was to the Digital World," The Chosen of Courage revealed, really not wanting to remember the fear they all felt at the thought of there being nothing else.
"Still though...this island really is a nice place," Yang said as she sat down next to him.
"Yeah, hard to believe the gears are causing so much trouble. You wouldn't know from way up here," Veemon nodded in agreement. Currently the six of them were waiting for the rest of their friends to make it up the mountain and join them.
"Hey, I think I see them down there," Jaune said from another part of the area they were in.
A few minutes later, and Jaune was rubbing his shoulder where Gyro had hit him.
Jo looked sheepish at Jaune getting hit, but then again the blonde was just as stupid as Jo was at the time.
"Never do that again, you had us all worried when we woke up." the goggle head said with a sigh.
"Like we were," Sora pointed out with a playful glare.
"...Sorry," Jo apologized again.
"Oh no! It's okay now," Sora said frantically.
"Yeah, I know. Sorry…" Jaune said apologetically.
"Well, the most important thing is that you and Gomamon are okay...but Gyro's right. Please don't do that again," Pyrrha said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
And if one could see into Gyro's mind at the moment, a party was being celebrated at this little interaction between them. However, he quickly focused, since they had more important things to worry about. "Alright, now that everyone is here, let's go. And get ready guys, once we reach the top, there's no telling what might happen."
"...He really wants those two together," Ken muttered.
"Of course," Lilithmon commented with a smile.
At the same time, in another section of the impossibly high mountain…
"These Black Gears are growing concerning, sending Digimon into a frenzy. I must find the cause of this." muttered a humanoid being, who had a lion's head instead of a normal human one, claws at the tip of his fingers and toes, wearing a pair of black pants with a sword hanging off the back of his waist, his mane was a shining yellow color.
"It's Leomon," most of the Child digimon exclaimed happily.
Digimon Analyzer: Leomon
Leomon. Vaccine Type. An Adult Level Beast Man Digimon. Known as the Noble Hero, Leomon is a true heroic warrior who fights for justice. He is a master of the blade with his sword, King of Lions. His special attack is Fist of the Beast King, launching a blast in the shape of a roaring lion's head from his fist.
Leomon continued on his path...until he tensed, sensing a familiar presence. One he knew wasn't friendly. True enough…
"I found you! Leomon!" shouted what could only be described as ogre as he jumped down from a higher area, white hair on his head with two long horns protruding out the side of his skull, his mouth was large and wide open, filled with quite a few large fangs. It seemed the only type of clothing he knew about was belts, as he was even wearing a kilt made of belts, while in his hand he wielded a large bone club.
"And now it's Ogremon," Mimi commented, having a mildly sad look as she remembered how Ogremon turned good... ish.
Digimon Analyzer: Ogremon
Ogremon. Virus Type. An Adult Level Ogre Digimon. Known as the Digimon Hunter, it's said his weapon is the femur of a Digimon he defeated in battle. For all intents and purposes, Ogremon is a bandit of the Digital World, and is surprisingly intelligent compared to what his appearance would make you believe. His special attack is Fist of the Supreme King, launching a shot of formless dark energy from his fist.
"...That's debatable," Taichi commented.
Leomon immediately drew his sword and blocked the club coming from Ogremon, before said ogre jumped away. "Leomon, today we finish this!"
"Stand aside, Ogremon. There are more important matters to attend to than our battle," Leomon growled, though he had no illusions they would be heard.
"Not on your life! Fist of the Supreme King!" Ogremon shouted, launching his signature attack.
"Fist of the Beast King!" Leomon countered with his own move, the two attacks meeting and exploding. "Very well then, if you insist on fighting, I shall oblige!"
"So Ogremon and Leomon met at the mountain," Yamato commented as a new side of their story was shown.
However, before they could continue, a new voice entered the scene. "That's quite enough for now," came the smooth, almost gentlemanly voice, yet it carried an undertone of malice. "From now on you two need to cooperate with each other."
"That voice," Patamon said with a small glare.
"That voice…!" Leomon blinked in alarm.
"Oh an ech-" "Not now!" Takeru and Patamon said in unison, interrupting Veemon.
"Devimon?" Ogremon said, recognizing the owner of the voice.
Out of the shadows of a rock, Devimon emerged, and he was worthy of his name, his body clad in a dark black suit with several belts wrapped around one leg, his thighs, and one of his arms, both of which were rather long, actually reaching down to his ankles. Skulls were emblazoned on his outfit on both of his right knee and his left shoulder while an orange, bat shaped mark was on both his chest and his left foot. His wings were large and leathery, but riddles with tears and holes, two long horns sprouting out the side of his head as his red eyes stared at the two Digimon before him, his lips set in a thin line as his mouth, and grey skin, was exposed.
"So that's your first enemy," Miyako commented, having heard of the evil digimon but never seen him.
"In the grand scheme of things, he's nothing compared to me," Lilithmon commented, allowing her ego to swell a little.
"That's not exactly a fair comparison," Novice shot back, earning a huff from the Demon Lord.
Digimon Analyzer: Devimon
Devimon. Virus Type. An Adult Level Fallen Angel Digimon. Rumored to have once been a shining angel Digimon, Devimon was tempted into the Dark Area, becoming what he is now, the Mark of Evil on his chest being proof of that. Known for his cunning and intelligence, Devimon is no easy adversary. His special attack is Death Claw, extending both of his hands to a higher reach to enforce his will upon those he clutches in them.
Neither combatant seemed particularly impressed by that statement. "Gimme a break, like I'm gonna work with him of all Digimon!" Ogremon snorted. "You better got a damn good reason for saying that."
"...So Ogremon didn't want to work for Devimon at first," Gabumon commented.
"The Chosen Children have arrived," Devimon said simply.
"The Chosen Children!" Leomon gasped in surprise, before his eyes narrowed at Devimon as he held up his blade to fight "Now I see, those Black Gears, you're the one behind them aren't you? You've been trying to use them to kill the children."
Devimon glanced at him, his lips almost quicking into a smirk "Was there ever any doubt? Those children WILL be destroyed if it's the last thing I do."
"...He almost succeeded once," Koshiro commented.
"No, they won't." Leomon growled "Because I'll destroy you first!" he shouted, before lunging at Devimon, bringing his sword down, only for the blade to cleave the stone Devimon had been in front of right in half. However, the demon was nowhere to be seen.
"Fool. Did you really think that would work?" Devimon chuckled, Leomon looking around almost frantically to find him, and didn't notice his hand sneaking out of his shadow. "Now then, Death Claw!" Devimon declared as he grabbed hold of Leomon, the lion roaring in agony as he felt Devimon's evil will seep into him, attempting to turn him into his puppet. His struggles lasted for a few minutes, before finally he slumped forward, and when he raised his head again, his eyes were blank and lifeless, Devimon smirking as he rose up from behind the once good Digimon.
"...So that's how it happened," Agumon was the first to comment about how Leomon got under Devimon's control the first time. The others having winced and giving the controlled lion a sympathetic look.
"It's his fault for having such a weak will," Lilithmon scoffed, earning several glares.
"Lilithmon," Novice said in a warning tone.
"What? It's true," Lilithmon said as if she didn't understand what she did wrong... Which she probably didn't.
"This mountain really does earn its name," Gyro mused, overlooking the island from one of the higher points of the mountain, a pencil and clipboard in hand.
"What are you doing?" Agumon asked as he stood on the tip of his toes to try and get a look.
"Drawing a map of the island, as accurately as I can anyway, who knows, it might be helpful." Gyro said with a shrug.
"I did that too," Taichi said with pride.
"...No one could understand it," Koshiro pointed out, earning a giggle from Sora.
"That doesn't sound like too bad of any idea." Weiss said as she walked up behind him, looking over his shoulder to see that the map looked like a rough sketch at the moment, with several areas marked down as to what they are, which included sections they had yet to visit such as the canyon and the snow filled area of the island, which they had checked and saw it was north.
"That's a lot easier to understand than what Taichi made," Mimi commented with a giggle.
"Hey! As long as I could understand it, it would've been fine," Taichi said defensively.
Yamato shook his head," And what if we had been separated and someone else got a hold of the map?"
Taichi clammed up in embarrassment.
"Yeah, Gyro was the one who designed our weapons for the most part, Azure was the one who actually built them though." Pierce supplied as he walked up to them.
"...Wow," Daisuke commented.
"That explains his drawing skills," Ken commented.
"Still though…" Pyrrha frowned. "It doesn't really seem like there's anything as far as the eye can see. What do we do after we defeat whoever is creating the Black Gears?"
"Well...remember what Waspmon said, about the continents?" Ruby said. "Maybe...if we don't find anything here, we could...try to find something there?"
"At least they already know that there's more to the digital world than we did," Mimi commented, remembering how discouraged they all felt at the thought of there being nothing else.
"Hopefully we'll be ready for them, he did say the Digimon there were tough after all." Yang said with a frown.
"We'll keep you safe! We'll do our best and try to evolve even further so that you won't have to worry." Biyomon said in determination.
This earned curious looks from the others.
"Does this mean that they too get the crests," Takeru asked, earning thoughtful looks from the very good question.
"Spoilers," Novice replied easily, "No matter what I said." That last part was added almost hastily.
Lilithmon chuckled a little and gave her human a quick kiss on the cheek.
"That was new," Novice thought not used to Lilithmon doing something non-graphic. Which in itself was suspicious if you ask him.
"Thanks everyone," Ruby said with a smile to all the Digimon.
However, before they could speak of it any further, they heard the sound of something breaking, and running to the source, they found that a part of the pathway had been destroyed.
"Anybody else not liking the look of this?" Gomamon asked, a grimace on his face.
"I think we all share the sentiment," Jaune sighed. It honestly wasn't a surprise to any of them at this point. However, when they looked to the other side, they noticed a figure walking towards them. A large humanoid lion-like Digimon.
"And here it comes," Gabumon commented in worry.
"Oh hey, it's Leomon." Patamon realised with a smile.
"So cool! We finally get to meet him in person!" Palmon cheered.
"So, is he some kind of celebrity or something?" Nora asked with a raised eyebrow.
"He's the greatest hero on File Island is what he is!" Salamon said with a grin.
"That sounds nice… but have you considered the Black Gear issue?" Blake asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It's not a Black Gear this time," Patamon commented.
The Digimon all paused at that, staring more closely at Leomon to see his posture was more hostile than anything "Oh… right." all of them said together.
As if to confirm that… "Chosen Children...Destroy…" he said.
"Oooh, brainwashed sounding voice. NEVER a good sign," Pierce sighed. It was really telling how bad things were that they'd gotten used to attempts on their lives by now.
"...Okay, I'll never get used to their way of thinking," Jo commented despite getting used to the idea after having a face for the evils that were hunting them.
"Wait, did he say Chosen Children?" Ren pointed out in slight confusion.
"As much as I'd love to figure out what that's supposed to mean, I think we should run for now." Gyro said, the others agreeing before they all turned and ran down one of the many paths of the mountain. Though it was true they were aiming for the top of the mountain, it would be no good if they fought unnecessarily before the real enemy. However, they didn't get far before they were met with another problem.
"Welcome, Chosen Children!" came a new voice as they were met with a green skinned ogre-like Digimon wielding a spiked club and a face only a mother could love.
Despite the situation, the Children and their digimon couldn't help but laugh at Ogremon's description.
Until Tentomon asked a good question, "How come Ogremon started working for Devimon if he didn't like the idea?"
"Isn't it obvious," Lilithmon asked with a tone you would use on a 5-year old... Or someone dumb, "Devimon must've threatened him."
That made everyone widen their eyes.
"...It's true," Koshiro said in thought, "With Leomon under control, Ogremon probably couldn't have fought."
"And even if he had run, Devimon could've sent a Black Gear after him," Yamato added in, now feeling a little sorry for Ogremon being basically forced to be an underling.
"And this would be?" Pyrrha asked in a bit of annoyance.
"That's Ogremon, Leomon's rival, he's kind of a jerk." Gabumon answered, sharing the same sentiment as his partner.
"And of course, we're stuck between a rock and a hard place." Gyro said as he had turned behind, and saw Leomon had easily caught up to them.
"Kinda like we were," Palmon commented.
"Guess we have no choice. We gotta fight them," Agumon frowned.
"Don't push yourselves too much," Ruby whispered.
"She's right. These guys aren't our real target. If needs be, we can run and try again another time," Jaune said as well.
"...If we had known we had someone hunting us sooner, maybe we could've avoided some of the troubles that came our way," Sora commented.
"Right," the Digimon nodded. Any further discussion was cut short, when the two Digimon lunged for the group. At that moment, 9 Digivices glowed brightly.
(Play Brave Heart)
"Agumon, Evolution! Greymon!"
"Gabumon, Evolution! Garurumon!"
"Palmon, Evolution! Togemon!"
"Salamon, Evolution! Gatomon!"
"Wormmon, Evolution! Stingmon!"
"I almost feel sorry for those two," Wormmon commented, since if he remembered right, there were only six digimon capable of evolving around that time with the first generation.
"I feel a little sorry for Leomon," Biyomon commented. A sentiment shared by anyone who wasn't Lilithmon. The Demon Lord rolled her eyes.
Leomon who had been in mid lunge with his sword drawn was forced back as his sword collided with one of Greymon's horns. The brainwashed Digimon growled, leveling his sword at them, not even once backing down even when faced with 5 Adult Level Digimon.
"The problem with mind control, is that the minion doesn't have a sense of self-preservation," Lilithmon commented, before smiling a little, "Which isn't a problem if the opponent is someone who doesn't want to kill them." That last one was said with a giggle.
The way Lilithmon said that made it sound like she was talking from experience, which made the Children feel apprehensive.
"Olisi pitänyt antaa Ophanimonin jäädä,(Should've let Ophanimon stay)" Novice thought, but at least he gave the three the authorization to the surveillance around the lair. Which means they can monitor Lilithmon's activities in this room... If they aren't already.
Likewise, on the other side of the path, Ogremon was also in mid lunge with 4 Child Level Digimon in his way, until…
"Biyomon, Evolution! Birdramon!"
"Tentomon, Evolution! Kabuterimon!"
"Gomamon, Evolution! Ikkakumon!"
"Veemon, Evolution! Veedramon!"
Ogremon was knocked back when he collided against Ikkakumon's horn, causing him to hit the ground with a pained groan, but quickly got back on his feet. Up on a higher part of the mountain, overlooking the fight, Devimon watched the combatants, a slight frown on his face. "So 9 of them have gained the ability to evolve," he mused, before his eyes went to Patamon. "I'll have to deal with the last one before he does, it would be far too dangerous."
"...Did Devimon really consider Angemon that big of a threat," Iori asked, glancing at the others.
"Holy powers are highly effective against Dark digimon," Lilithmon explained simply, before frowning, "Which is also why they're annoying killjoys that reject fun, OPHANIMON!" That last one was shouted towards a surveillance camera which the Demon Lord was sure Ophanimon was using to spy on her.
"Now, now, let's forget her for the moment," Novice explained as he stroked Lilithmon's shoulder in a pacifying manner.
"You're right," Lilithmon sighed as she returned to the book.
Although the girls were wondering if there was a reason Lilithmon wasn't trying to seduce their host right now. She seemed hell bent on it the last time she was in that form... So what changed?
Back with the fight, things were going...very well for the partner Digimon. No matter how powerful their opponents were, the fact remained, they were all of the same level, and THEY had the number advantage, as they quickly put the two opposing Digimon on the defensive with a coordinated barrage of attacks, pinning both down or forcing them to dodge. Leomon was forced to block fireballs and needles, pushing him back, before Gatomon and Stingmon took advantage of this and landed a double kick on his chest, knocking him back. At the same time, Ogremon was...almost comically avoiding a rain of Harpoon Vulcans and Meteor Wings, and with Kabuterimon and Veedramon just waiting for an opening, needless to say he wasn't going to be making any progress anytime soon.
As much as they felt a little sorry for Ogremon for being forced to work, they couldn't stop laughing at the poor digimon from having to do tap dance around the attacks.
However, before any significant blows could be struck...a portion of the mountain suddenly exploded, sending a small avalanche of rocks headed right for the group.
(Song end)
"...Of course it was Devimon!" Taichi and Agumon exclaimed in unison.
"...How could I have been so stupid," Koshiro scolded himself as he palmed his face, "I thought the mountain was just unstable."
"To be fair, you guys didn't know that there was someone gunning for you," Novice said consolingly.
Thankfully, the Digimon were quick to react.
"Fox Fire!"
"Mega Blaster!"
"Mega Flame!"
"V-Breath Arrow!"
The four attacks all collided with the rocks, destroying them into nothing but sand that pelted the group.
They had to cover their eyes from the debris, before looking around when they found that the ledge had suddenly become quiet.
"Their gone." Pierce said in surprise.
"Did they fall?" Veedramon wondered as he looked over the edge, before he and all the other Digimon reverted back to their Child forms.
"...Now that I think about it, they probably just retreated," Yamato commented, the others sharing the thoughts.
"Doubt it. That was way too convenient. The rockslide happening when they were clearly losing," Yang frowned.
"So they must have someone else helping them," Ren nodded.
"Or someone is pulling their strings. Someone like say...whoever is making the Black Gears," Gyro said, eyeing the top of the mountain suspiciously.
Having the Remnantians say that really made the first generation feel stupid. But as Novice said, they didn't know about someone wanting them dead, much less why they would want them dead.
"In any case, we should probably retreat for now, we'll need a plan of attack before trying this again." Ruby pointed out.
"Hopefully we can find our weapons before trying again." Weiss agreed with a sigh.
"...Assuming those weapons simply didn't go with them, that's unlikely," Jo commented.
"Let's start by getting down the mountain. There's another path this way," Nora said, as even she could tell how serious this was.
As the group made their escape, Devimon watched from his vantage point with a frown. "They are stronger than expected. Then again, I suppose it was my mistake thinking those two could win against them when they're all together," he mused. "No matter, now that they've tired themselves out a little, there will be many more chances to destroy them."
"...They're going to face that aren't they," Mimi commented dryly.
"What?" Came out of Miyako.
"...One of our least stellar moments," Biyomon replied.
"I wonder what Leomon meant by Chosen Children?" Ren said as the group had gotten down from the mountain and were currently walking through the surrounding forest.
"I swear, if this is some kind of prophecy thing…" Pierce grumbled, a bit annoyed at the thought.
"Yeah, I mean, it would certainly be cool if we were destined to come here, but it would also be pretty annoying in a way." Gyro said with a sigh.
"Doubly so if that basically means we've had bull's-eyes on our backs the whole time," Jaune sighed. "Though, it was pretty cool how some of the Digimon evolved twice in a single day. They used to only be able to do it once."
"Yeah, it wasn't easy, but we managed," Veemon nodded.
"Guess that means we've gotten stronger," Gomamon said.
"That makes sense. I mean, they HAVE been fighting a lot since we came here," Blake nodded, seeing the logic.
"At any rate, we'd better be even more careful from now on," Pyrrha cautioned. "If we ARE part of some prophecy, there's always someone aiming to prevent it...and if movies are anything to go by, they'll aim to do it by removing us from the equation."
"Typical villains, doing typical things," Novice commented with a grin, which earned him a glare from Lilithmon.
"What's wrong with wanting to do whatever I want," Lilithmon asked in annoyance.
"You hurt others to do it," Hikari replied in slight anger.
"So? It's their fault for being weak," Lilithmon said as if there was nothing wrong with how she did things. Which to her, there wasn't.
"Lilithmon, you should take a que from Belphemon on occasion, and stay quiet," Novice adviced while clutching his digivice.
Lilithmon huffed in defiance, but returned to reading.
"I thought Blake was the morbid one?" Yang said in a half joking tone.
"I'd rather call it...genre savvy," Pyrrha chuckled at the light joke. But then she frowned as she looked towards the Digimon, all of them looking rather worn out. "But more importantly, we should find a place to rest. Everyone looks like they'd need it."
"You don't have to do anything special for us." Tentomon tried to wave off any concerns.
"Nonsense, we'll try to find a nice place for the night, it's starting to get late anyway." and Weiss was having none of it.
"Well, don't look now, but I think we just did." Ruby pointed, and everyone looked past the trees, seeing a mansion within a clearing.
"And there it is," Gomamon said in mild annoyance.
"Well… that's pretty convenient." Jaune said with a blink.
"A little too convenient though." Gyro said, before pulling out his map "And I'm pretty sure I didn't see this place from up top."
"Maybe you just missed it, or thought it was some trees, I mean, the roof is green." Pierce said with a shrug as he indicated the roof.
"...possibly," Gyro sighed.
"But Gyro's right though," Ren said. "It IS kinda too convenient."
"...We should've thought of that," Takeru commented, remembering how he was the least suspicious of the whole thing.
"So what, you're saying that the mansion is a trap," Armadimon commented, earning various nods.
"Then let's keep our guards up," Yang nodded.
"So… sleep with our clothes on then." Nora summed up.
This earned blushes from the girls.
"What's with you girls," Hawkmon asked the two victims.
"Basically." Blake shrugged.
With that said, the group went into the mansion, looking around warily in case of any traps within, so far the only thing of note was the painting of an angel hanging on the wall.
"This place looks deserted." Jaune said as he looked around.
"Maybe it is? I have to admit, I've never heard of this place before, so maybe there isn't a Digimon here." Gomamon said with a shrug.
"Or maybe that place didn't-" "Lilithmon," Novice interrupted in a warning tone, and motioning towards the second generation.
"Oh, right," the Demon Lord said with a shrug as she remembered that some of them didn't know yet.
This action of course, earned a suspicious look from them.
"Just let her read," Palmon said with a sigh.
"The painting is rather beautiful though." Weiss commented as she went up and observed it.
"You know, it's got me curious, are there any angel like Digimon out there?" Gyro asked curiously.
"Yes there are," Daisuke said jokingly, earning a few laughs.
"What's an angel?" Patamon asked.
That earned more laughs out of everyone, including their Patamon.
"A holy being said to watch over people from heaven." Blake answered.
"Oh… maybe." Patamon shrugged, not too sure of the answer.
"Well...do you think that means this place is safe then?" Nora asked. "I mean, aren't angels supposed to be protection from evil and all that?"
"Normally yes, but see...not ALL angels are like that," Gyro frowned. "Still…"
"Fun fact kiddies," Novice piped up suddenly, "Lilithmon here is said to be an Ophanimon who fell into darkness."
"WHAT!?" was the universal reaction. which also earned disbelieving looks.
"I will neither confirm, nor deny that statement," Lilithmon said neutrally, with an underlying threat to whoever dares to question further.
However, before he could say anything else, he was interrupted when Gabumon suddenly spoke up. "Hey, I smell food! In fact...it smells like a feast!"
"Hey, I smell it too!" Agumon grinned.
"Smells really good too!" Wormmon added, and before any of the huntsmen could say anything, the Digimon had already ran to the source of the smell.
Pierce could feel his eyebrow twitch "We're going to have to teach them some self-restraint, aren't we?"
"Not just him," Miyako commented, giving Daisuke a pointed look.
"What?"
"Like I said before," Novice piped up, "It would've been a lot easier to kill you in your sleep than poisoning the food."
"I believe we are." Pyrrha answered with a sigh as they followed after the Digimon.
When they came to the room their partners were in, they found the Digimon sitting before a banquet table...with a full spread of various foods before them...to which the Digimon were already eating their fill.
"Self-restraint lessons...pronto…" the hunters (save Nora) all muttered at the sight of their partners eating from food they didn't even know where it came from.
"...Idiots," Gatomon muttered in annoyance.
"You seemed to like the food Novice provided," Hikari commented with a teasing look.
"...That's because the idiots didn't die when they ate it," Gatomon said defensively.
"This stuff is really good!" Agumon said through a mouthful.
"You should have some!" Veemon said as he held up a chicken leg before biting into it.
The hunters all looked between each other at that, honestly unsure, as this seemed too good to be true. Eventually though, the smells got to them, as well as the sight of the Digimon eating the admittedly good food, and figured if the Digimon were eating it so much and nothing was happening...it should be okay to eat.
"You mean like that," Agumon said teasingly.
"...Shut it," Gatomon grumbled, blushing under her fur.
"...well...okay, I guess I could eat," Pierce sighed.
"Same here," Jaune admitted as he took a seat.
"Let's dig in!" Nora cheered and took a bit out of some roasted meat. "It's good!"
The rest soon followed and all of them found the food to be...delicious. Dare say, it might have been the most delicious thing they'd ever tasted, and despite themselves, they all soon polished up the entire spread.
"I'll admit, this is a pretty sweet deal we got here," Yang admitted after polishing off her last plate.
"But still...it's really suspicious that we found this mansion, then all this food is just sitting here waiting for us like this…" Blake frowned.
"...You guys thought of it at the time, right," Miyako asked, earning several embarrassed/sheepish looks out of first generation. "...Unbelieveable," Miyako muttered as she figured out the answer.
"But it wasn't poisoned or anything, and it tasted great," Ren mused.
"Yes...it's really hard to tell if this is a trap or if we're just that fortunate," Weiss agreed. Even if she had enjoyed the meal, this felt too...convenient.
"The Remnantians are smarter than you kids it seems," Lilithmon said with a small grin.
"...Can you please stop," Jo begged, they were getting embarrassed enough as it is.
"Sure, when it stops being funny," Lilithmon said with a very evil giggle.
"Well, now that we're full, let's take a look around, but be careful, we don't know what could be hiding in here." Gyro said, everyone nodding in agreement as they started exploring the mansion, trying to get a feel for it. So far it seemed...normal...save for the lack of life in it. They even found a good sized bedroom with enough beds for all of them, and a bathroom that had fully working toilets not far from said room.
"...At least we got to bathe in there... Or was the water there also a lie," Mimi questioned, feeling a little worried.
Novice opened his mouth before looking thoughtful, "I actually don't know that."
"Okay...so far this place SEEMS normal," Ruby frowned. Honestly, for some reason all she was finding was only making her even MORE suspicious. An empty mansion in the middle of the woods, but nobody is here? Yet there was a full spread of food...even she knew that was WAY too good to be true, but at the same time, they just COULDN'T seem to find ANYTHING that implied there was foul play at work.
"Even though a bath would be great, I think we can go without it, we had one yesterday after all, so we're still good for now." Gyro said, and even though that meant they would have to endure the smell of sweat, it was tolerable, and much more safe than being literally caught with their pants down.
"Kinda like I caught Novice," Lilithmon said with a smile, which earned her smack accross the back of her head.
"...Which was also the catalyst for me setting up those barriers in the baths," Novice said with a grumble.
"In that case, I suggest we do a perimeter check. Assuming this is real, all this and nobody living in it? I find it hard to believe," Pyrrha suggested. "There might be something else living nearby."
"Good point, if I were a local Digimon, I'd DEFINITELY wanna live here," Nora nodded in agreement.
Honestly, the Children were feeling dumber by the second when the Remnantians pointed out every single thing that was wrong.
"I'll do it," Ren volunteered.
"Not alone you're not. I'm coming along," Jaune said, earning a nod from Ren.
"Holler if anything happens. We'll come running," Yang said.
"Speaking of which...has anyone seen the Digimon? I haven't seen them since we split up to explore the mansion," Blake commented. As if to answer her question, one of the doors opened, and out came Patamon and Salamon...on a work chair with wheels, the two mon looking like they were having a ton of fun right now. "...guess that answers that question."
"...What?" Gatomomn questioned as she was the target of multiple stares. "I don't do something that childish," the white feline said with a growl.
"Oh," Agumon said with a smugh look, "What about that time you were spinning on the chair and had a grand time?"
"I DID NO SUCH THING!" Gatomon shouted, earning lots of laughs out of everyone.
"Yes you did," Hikari said back, earning a look of shocked betrayal from her partner.
Turns out the Digimon had ended up finding a study and a living room that while cozy, also had a window looking to the outside, showing that night was falling. It didn't take long for Ren and Jaune to return, reporting no hostile Digimon in the area...in fact, they didn't find ANY Digimon...and that honestly worried them more. However, they didn't say a word of this to their partners, who seemed to obliviously be enjoying the mansion and its luxuries. Eventually, night fell and the 20 of them were gathered in the bedroom, each of them sharing a bed with their partners.
Once they were in there...Gyro immediately locked the door, while Weiss drew the curtains, but not before making sure there was nobody outside.
"So...I think we can all agree this is bull shit, right?" Pierce said bluntly.
The use of the language made everyone glance at Iori who had the plugs in his ears. Of course, he had taken them off during the bath, during which they were cleaned automatically.
"Swear!" Ruby shouted, apparently on reflex as she then quickly put her hands over her mouth "Sorry. Force of habit."
"Yeah, you can blame our uncle for swearing so much she calls someone out on it each time." Yang said dryly.
"What's an uncle?" Biyomon asked.
"A male sibling of one's parent," Novice said with a small grin, "By the way, fun fact: In Finnish we have two words for uncle, setä and eno. Setä being from the father's side, eno being from mother's side."
"...Okay." was the best comment anyone could make out of that.
"It's a family member." Yang gave her the short answer, earning a nod from her partner.
"We're getting off topic," Jaune sighed. "I think we can all agree this mansion just screams 'trap', right?"
"What are you talking about? This place is great," Gomamon said. "I mean, the food is good, there's lots of fun stuff, and comfy beds too."
"Right...funny how there's such a convenient mansion...but literally nobody else," Blake pointed out.
"She's right. Jaune and I scouted the area earlier...and there are literally no Digimon living nearby here. You would think a mansion this nice would attract some of the local Digimon to live in it, but there's absolutely none," Ren agreed.
"That DOES sound rather odd." Wormmon hummed in thought.
Novice shouldn't take such joy on the looks on the first generation's faces for being dumb enough to fall for such an obvious trap. Still... "These kids grew up in a world where you die if you don't ask the right questions," Novice said consolingly, "Besides, you were tired and miserable."
That speech earned sympathetic looks from the second generation, but it didn't make the first generation feel any better.
"Now that you mention it, it's kind of weird how we couldn't smell anything before coming in here." Agumon realised.
"My roots do feel kind of odd on the floor now that I think about it." Palmon frowned in thought.
"...Palmon," Mimi sounded out.
"...The floor did feel a little odd," Palmon admitted, now feeling ashamed that she didn't think any further.
"But...if this place IS a trap...what do we do?" Patamon asked.
"At this point? Sleep with one eye open if you have to," Gyro sighed. "It'd be nice if we're just being paranoid and it turns out this place is legit...but it's just too perfect to be what it looks like. I've seen this in movies enough times to know how it works. Whoever set this up is waiting for us to be in a false sense of security, and right when we least expect it…" Gyro punctuated the rest by moving a finger across his neck.
"...Like a classic horror movie," Miyako said with a shudder.
"...I wouldn't know, horror and I don't mix," Novice said with a slight shudder as he remembered the movie Grudge, where his sisters said that the ghost sounded like him when he was about to wake up. Sad thing is, Novice knew this to be true.
"Should we even actually sleep then?" Veemon asked with a slightly nervous look.
"We should, because if we just stay awake all night we'll be too tired in the morning to do anything." Pyrrha said simply.
"That's true," Yamato commented.
"But just in case…" Weiss frowned. "Everyone should have their scrolls with them. If ANYONE sees or finds anything suspicious, send a mass call."
"Good idea," Tentomon commented.
"And obviously, we're sleeping with our clothes and armor on like usual, even if they have bathrobes in the closets." Gyro pointed out, everyone nodding in agreement before they all turned in, but slept lightly.
Once again, the girls went red.
"Okay, what's wrong you two," Veemon asked Sora and Mimi.
"They'll tell you later," Novice said with an evil grin.
At first things seemed peaceful...until Gyro was woken up by Agumon.
"Considering how much you all ate, I'm surprised you're the only one who needs to go," Gyro chuckled as he walked his partner to the bathroom, though he had his scroll at the ready. As they walked to the bathroom, the painting of the angel on the first floor rippled, before going dark, as Devimon emerged.
"How can he hide in a picture of an angel," Iori asked.
Lilithmon chuckled at the question, "Because not all that have the image of angels are holy, just alike not all things that depict demons are unholy."
"Some monsters take on a beautiful or harmless form to catch their prey off-guard," Novice added in.
"Hm...they're more cautious than I thought. No matter, they've still fallen for my trap," he said calmly with a slight smirk, knowing things were already in place.
Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Gyro was leaning against one of the sinks while Agumon was sitting in one of the stalls.
"You sure you need to go buddy?" Gyro couldn't help but ask as he listened to Agumon groan and try to… well, it doesn't need to be said.
"No it doesn't." Taichi was the only one to voice what the others were thinking.
"It's really weird, I ate so much, but nothing wants to happen." and then his groaning was cut off as Agumon started farting… a lot "Well, except for that."
"I can hear," Gyro chuckled, idly using his semblance to keep the gas away from him.
After a moment, Agumon sighed as he walked out of the stall "So we-" and he was quickly cut off as the stall next to his burst open.
"And there's Ogremon," Taichi said remembering how he jumped in surprise.
"Dear lord you stink!" Ogremon shouted as he pointed at Agumon.
"...exactly how long WERE you in that stall?" Gyro said. "Cause I have to admit, of all the ways I was expecting to run into you or Leomon again...this was actually not one of them."
"Uh… well about an hour or so I guess." Ogremon answered plainly.
This earned a questioning look directed at Novice who shrugged, "In the anime, Ogremon and Leomon arrived moments before Agumon wanted to go to bathroom."
"Huh. You're surprisingly patient. Almost makes me feel bad for this next one," Gyro chuckled. "Science question: Ever heard of methane?"
"Meta-wha?" Ogremon blinked.
"Guess he hasn't," Koshiro said with a chuckle at Ogremon's confused look.
"It's the stuff that's in farts. And its flammable," Gyro said, before directing the wind he was controlling at Ogremon. "Light'im up!"
"Baby Flame!" Agumon quickly complied as he shot a fireball at Ogremon, and as soon as it made contact with the gas, well…
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH! IT BURNS!" Ogremon shouted as he was rather easily set on fire… and the flame probably wasn't the only thing burning him.
The Children couldn't help it, they burst into laughter at Ogremon's misery. Even though they knew it was wrong.
Gyro and Agumon couldn't suppress the small bout of laughter as they ran out of the bathroom, while Gyro quickly hit the call button on his scroll as they ran. Good thing too, as they didn't get far before they were met with the imposing figure of Leomon. "Chosen Children...destroy…" Leomon said as he advanced towards them.
"You really need a dictionnary… well that or an exorcism." Gyro said, before looking over Leomon's shoulder "Also maybe you should be sure no one is following you."
Unsurprisingly, Leomon didn't pay his words any mind, clearly intending on doing exactly as he keeps threatening to do...only to stop as he promptly felt something hit the back of his head. Hard. And shatter like glass, the large Digimon soon slumping over and falling flat on his face, the broke remains of a vase around him.
Again, the Children laughed at the sneak attack.
"And that's why you should listen when Gyro gives you advice," Pierce chuckled as he and the other hunters and Digimon stepped around Leomon and regrouped with Gyro.
"Guess this place really was a trap," Veemon frowned.
"But if these two were clearly the puppets...who's the puppeteer?" Weiss frowned.
"I must admit...you all exceeded my expectations. I can see why it has been so hard to eliminate all of you," came a new voice, causing all of them to turn to the source, and when they did, all the Digimon froze in fear.
"...okay, you have GOT to be the most obvious bad guy I've ever seen," Gyro couldn't help but say as they beheld the devil-like creature standing on the opposite end of the mansion.
The first generation couldn't help laughing at the almost casual way Gyro said that.
"And you're the biggest nuisances I've had the displeasure of meeting." Devimon said, a clear frown of annoyance on his face.
"We'll take that as a compliment." Yang shot back.
More laughs... Except Taichi remembered a little something that made him worry.
Devimon's frown became more of a snarl "This farce has gone on long enough." he sneered, before snapping his fingers, the mansion shattering away and revealing it had been nothing but an illusion, now nothing more then ruins.
"The mansion was a lie!?" Daisuke and Veemon shouted in unison, earning a laughing fit out of Novice. This action earned nervous looks directed at Lilithmon.
"...I have no idea what he's laughing at," Lilithmon said with a small shake of her head.
And as the illusion ended, the Digimon suddenly fell down.
"Guys?" Ruby said in worry as she checked on Palmon.
"What happened to them," Ken asked in worry, even as Novice was still laughing.
"So hungry… it's like we didn't eat anything all day." Palmon said with a groan.
"But you guys...son of a bitch!" Pierce's eyes widened in realization. "The food was an illusion too, wasn't it? That...okay, I gotta admit that's honestly pretty impressive considering how real it felt," he admitted begrudgingly.
"What else was an illusion," Armadimon asked out of curiosity.
Which made Miyako stiffen as she remembered Sora and Mimi blushing. "Did you girls wear those bathrobes to bed," the Chosen of Purity and Love asked her seniors.
"...Yes," Sora managed to say.
It didn't take a genious to figure out what happened when the illusion shattered.
"At least the beds and blankets were real," Yamato quickly said, as he remembered their rude awakening.
"So you two woke up-" "ÄÄÄPÄPÄPÄPÄPÄPÄPÄ!" Novice interrupted Miyako's question, having gotten over his laughing fit, "We don't need to know. Least of all you!" That last one was added to Lilithmon.
The Demon Lord stared back in confusion, "Why would I want to imagine something I've already seen?"
Novice was about to use the stick when he remembered how she would've seen them already, "...Right."
"Why thank you. I had crafted this illusion just for all of you. You did well to not be taken in so easily," Devimon smirked. "But the time for games is over. Now begone!" with a wave of his hand, all of them save Gyro were blown away, and landed on their beds which had suddenly begun floating, and suddenly they were forced to hang on for dear life as the beds flew around the air over the mansion.
"Aside from Taichi, the rest of us were still in beds when they started flying," Jo commented as he shuddered at the memory.
"...At least we kept our clothes on our beds," Mimi commented, still embarrassed at the memory of waking up with the robes disappearing.
Gyro felt a bit of confusion as he saw his friends all flying around on beds, looking back at the devil like Digimon "I'm not gonna like the answer, but why wasn't I sent on a magical bed ride?"
Devimon's smirk became, well, devilish "Because I had something special planned for the leader."
"...That never sounds good," Taichi said in worry, remembering what he had to face.
At that moment, Gyro's instincts screamed at him, and he ducked, Leomon's sword passing right over his head and cutting off a few strands of hair. Rolling out of the way, he looked up at the brainwashed Digimon and chuckled nervously. "I'd like to ride the bed of death now…" he managed to say before rolling out of the way of another sword strike. Too bad he wasn't looking where he was rolling, as he rolled right off an edge, causing him to fall to the first floor.
The Children gasped a little at Gyro taking such a fall.
"Gyro!" Agumon said in alarm, and despite the utter exhaustion he was feeling, managed to jump down after his partner. "Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine. Gotta love Aura, huh?" Gyro reassured as he got to his feet...then Leomon jumped down after them. "Though I get the feeling he's about to make sure we're both not fine for much longer."
While the Children and their digimon sighed in relief, they were still worried about how Gyro was going to survive.
"I really wish I had more energy to evolve." Agumon frowned as he stepped away from the mind controlled hero.
"Yeah, well, not much time to eat." Gyro answered, before his foot brushed up against a pile of rubble, loosening it just enough for a few stones to move as he glanced at it… and grinned.
"...What did he find," Takeru asked in curiosity, hoping it was something useful.
Just as Leomon brought his sword down, it was blocked by a pair of curved blades.
"Back in action!" Gyro grinned as he used Ascalon to hold off Leomon's sword.
"Gyro's weapons were there," Yamato asked in disbelief.
Although… his grin twitched a bit as he took a moment to look at his weapons, seeing that it was damaged in a few areas, specifically the ones that would allow it to enter its multiple modes. "Okay, not the best...but I can still kick your butt with this," he grimaced slightly, before turning to Agumon. "Agumon, stand back. I got this now," he said with a confident grin.
"...Can Gyro really beat Leomon," Biyomon wondered. She did know what Gyro was capable of against Grimm, but this wasn't a Grimm.
(Play This Will Be The Day)
Gyro shifted the weight a little, and disengaged his swords, allowing Leomon's sword to hit the ground, while he used the momentum to roll out of the way, but immediately he began his counter attack. Using his semblance, he darted forward carried by the wind, and swung his swords at Leomon, the Digimon blocking with his sword, but Gyro didn't lose any momentum, and flipped over him, and managed to land a strike to his back, causing him to growl in pain and stumble forward, though it seemed the attack was unable to do much damage. Leomon growled as he tried to strike again, but Gyro proved to be much more nimble than he was, especially using his semblance to help on that area, while regaining his weapons meant he could now fight in the way he'd been training for for the last few years.
"Wow, Gyro's so cool," Agumon and Veemon gushed in unison, earning an offended look from their respective partners.
"Woah…" Agumon breathed in awe "Gyro's so cool!" he gushed, honestly impressed with how well his best friend was doing.
"Wow, an echo," Gabumon joked, this time earning laughs.
Back with the fight, Gyro was able to more than keep up with Leomon...the only problem was he didn't seem to be doing nearly as much damage as he wanted as things were, and Leomon was hardly slowing down. "As much as I'd like to do this all night, I got friends to save," Gyro smirked as he landed a strong kick to Leomon's face. "So do both of us a favor and stay down!"
"...I don't think that's gonna happen," Taichi commented, remembering that Leomon wasn't a pushover.
Leomon growled, before his fist glowed. "Fist of the Beast King!" he roared as he fired the attack, but Gyro shot into the air using his semblance, and soon came down, swords at the ready.
"Good night!" he smirked as he brought the sword down, Leomon block it, but the force still generated a small shockwave. At that moment, as if in response to his determination, his Digivice began to glow, but instead of Agumon evolving, the light of the Digivice illuminated Leomon, the lion suddenly reeling, backing away. Realizing the light was doing that, Gyro disengaged, and grabbed his Digivice, before pointing it right at Leomon, the intensity growing and right before Gyro and Agumon's eyes, a black phantom of some kind was pushed out of Leomon, before burning away in the light.
(Song end)
The Children, especially Taichi, were relieved at Leomon being released from the evil of Devimon.
Leomon groaned slightly, but when he opened his eyes, they were no longer blank, and now had actual life in them. "The evil has vanished," he said in realization.
"Huh, guess that's another thing we didn't know these things could do," Gyro blinked as he looked at his Digivice.
"And that's not the only thing," Koshiro commented, earning a curious look out of the second generation. "I think it will be revealed later," the Chosen of Knowledge informed them.
At the same time, Devimon saw the whole thing and frowned. "This is bad," he growled, before willing the beds that by now had gotten high enough to start falling, intending to kill all the remaining hunters and their Digimon. However, Leomon acted quickly.
"Fist of the Beast King!" he called out, forcing Devimon to dodge, breaking his concentration, and accidentally sending the beds flying into multiple directions. "Devimon, your evil ends here!" Leomon declared.
"Get him, Leomon!" The Child digimon cheered in unison.
Taichi knew how this ended with him, but he was wondering if things would go differently this time.
Devimon glared at them...before it turned into a smirk. "Do you really think that? No, this is just the beginning. For as we speak, my Black Gears have already taken over File Island!" he declared, and on cue, a violent tremor shook the island, and before the eyes of the hunters and Digimon on the beds, the island cracked, and actually broke apart into various sections, revealing countless Black Gears hidden in the ground itself.
The second generation have heard about this part of their adventure, but hearing about it and seeing it are two different things.
"You have GOT to be kidding…!" Gyro couldn't help but say at the sight of the island literally splitting apart.
Devimon laughed "This island is only the beginning! Soon, the whole Digital World will be beneath my heel!"
"And that was when I learned about there being more to the digital world," Taichi commented.
All the while Lilithmon scoffed at Devimon's supervillain threat, "If you want to try and take over the world, make sure you reach Perfect level first, fool."
All the Children couldn't help but agree as that raised a question in their heads.
Which was voiced by Gatomon, "Even if Devimon had gotten the Black Gears on Server, how was he going to defeat Etemon or Myotismon?"
"...It's possible that Devimon thought he could use the gears to take control of them," Novice supplied, having formed his own theories.
"Well, the gears were able to control Andromon and Monzaemon," Jo added now wondering if that could've happened.
"Not happening!" Gyro growled.
"Yeah, we won't let you do as you please!" Agumon agreed as both stepped forward...only for Leomon to stop them.
"No, you must find your comrades first," he said.
"But…!" Gyro started, only for Ogremon to suddenly come out of seemingly nowhere, and attempt to strike them, if Leomon hadn't stopped him and pushed him away.
"The Chosen Children MUST be united to end the nightmare. Go!" Leomon roared as he used his sword to sever a section of the ground, dropping it and Gyro and Agumon to the ocean, leaving it to drift away on another section of land. "You all are this world's only hope!"
"...So nothing did change," Taichi said with a sad look.
Gyro let out a grunt as he fell on his back, quickly getting back up as he saw Leomon fight against Ogremon, Devimon still present "Dammit! It's two against one for him!"
"Why isn't Ogremon rebelling now," Sora asked, remembering how eager Ogremon was about working for Devimon.
"Probably because he wants to defeat Leomon, now that he's back to his normal self," Novice explained with a sigh.
"Such foolishness," Lilithmon said in annoyance.
"Leomon's actions or Ogremon not rebelling now," Novice asked with a warning look.
"...Yes," Lilithmon replied simply, before returning to the book.
"What can we do?" Agumon asked with a frown.
Gyro grit his teeth, his grip tightening on his blades, he hated feeling so utterly useless! Especially when things finally started to turn in their favor! "LEOMON!"
The last thing they heard before the section of land they'd been on was out of sight was Leomon roaring in pain...
With that, the book shut itself.
"...So... Leomon pushed Taichi away to save him, right," Wormmon asked for confirmation.
"Yes... And I hated feeling so helpless," Taichi replied, remembering how he wanted to do something... Anything to help Leomon.
"It's Leomon's fault for having such a weak will," Lilithmon said again, once again earning glares.
"Shut up!" Mimi shouted angrily, "Could you have resisted Devimon!? Or the Black Gears!?"
Lilithmon smiled at Mimi's question condecendingly, "Been there, done that." That statement earned surprised looks out of everyone.
"I wanted to test what would happen if Lilithmon was infected by Black Gears... So I traveled to a time few hours before you guys showed up and had Lilithmon take the Black Gears Devimon flung at her," Novice explained as he smiled at the face Devimon made as Lilithmon devoured the dark power within them. It was enough to make Devimon a giant, but to one of the Seven Great Demon Lords it hardly made a difference. "After that failure, Devimon tried to use Death Claw upon Lilithmon," Novice then said, motioning towards the said Demon Lord to continue.
"The evil that tried to bend my will was so weak that I barely even felt it," Lilithmon said smugly as she remembered fondly tearing that insolent wretch's arm that dared to touch her. "I would've destroyed him, if Novice hadn't stopped me and used his magic to erase his memories of us before we fell back," Lilithmon finished expaining.
"Wait a second! If you faced Devimon, why didn't you finish him off for us!?" Taichi asked with a look of outrage.
Which earned several glares directed at Novice, the most heated being from Takeru. "You could've stopped all the horrors that would happen, and yet you did NOTHING!?" Takeru shouted, getting up from the couch and moving to punch this guy in the face. Only to be stopped by the barrier around Novice's seat.
"...Takeru, that battle was an important moment for your and everyone else's growth," the Overseer explained calmly, "If I had taken that away, who knows how easily the rest of the evil digimon would've gotten you."
Takeru raised his fist to try and punch Novice in the face, but was stopped by Yamato. "Takeru... as much as I hate it, he's right," Yamato said, already hating himself for agreeing with this.
"Yamato." Takeru sounded out in disbelief.
"Takeru, it all turned all right in the end," Patamon said as he flew to Takeru's shoulder before rubbing his head against his partner's cheek. "I'm still here."
With those words, Takeru calmed down. But he still gave the Overseer one last glare before returning to his seat.
"Would you like a kiss on the cheek," Lilithmon asked kindly, which once again rang alarm bells in Novice's head.
"...Okay, what evil scheme are you cooking up this time," Novice asked, getting seriously uncomfortable about Lilithmon acting kind towards him.
"What do you mean?" the Demon Lord's innocent look did NOT fool her human.
"You're not trying to grope me, kiss me on the lips, or otherwise harrass me. That's not normal," Novice said almost wishing for Lilithmon to act her usual self... almost.
"Oh? I guess I'm just... not in the mood," Lilithmon replied with a shrug which somehow made her breasts jiggle for a moment.
Unfortunately, Novice wouldn't be surprised if that was actually unintentional. "...Alright," But he was still highly suspicious of her.
And he wasn't the only one. The girls also were highly skeptical about Lilithmon suddenly not being in a mood to either harrass or making lewd comments. Especially when she didn't have that Ring anymore.
Lotosmon: Ophanimon, could you stop glaring at the screen, you can't stay that way forever.
Ophanimon:...Watch me.
Lotosmon: *sigh* It's not like the demon can go against her master.
Ophanimon: I shall tone it down once I see that filthy thing as a feline.
Minervamon: Come on Ophanimon, there are so many stuff that Swift doesn't have in his castle!
Ophanimon: I can't...
Lotosmon: *smiles evilly* There's Angel Cake.
Ophanimon:...I suppose a quick bite won't hurt.