Hi, here's chapter 34. Another one that got me frustrated... I don't think the writer's block helped either. Anyway things will be getting interesting very soon. I know some of you have been waiting for a certain someone to make their full reapperence so that will be happening in the next few chapters :)
Invincible Shinji: Thanks, they'll be appearing soon.
Greymon Leader: Yep, you got it right :)
Sweet Cari: But it won't stay that way for long XD
Sync The Dragon Tempest: Thanks :) I never noticed that when I first look XD
Sunheart13: That's okay, thanks for the review! ^^
Digi Yo: The only Digimon I sort of create are the ones that aren't already X Digimon if you know what I mean XD There's a huge list of Digimon on wiki that I choose from.
asdsf: Yeah they'll be making an appearance!
Aldamonburst: Thanks :) The D-Powers were my favourite digivices so I wanted to use them in the story.
Keyblade King 12: Thanks ^^ yeah Dawn's not all bad XD
MageRiyln: Thanks for your reviews :) I'll send you a private message answering your questions for you
Marril96: Thanks for your reviews! I'm glad you're enjoying it, I have been thinking about Arukenimon and Mummymon :)
Baby John: Thanks :) Yeah, BlackWargreymon will be appearing.
ZxturtlexZ: Thank you! Funny enough Andromon appears in this chapter XD
Thanks to everyone else who's read, faved reviewed!
Digimon 2.5 "Digimon Adventure 03"
Episode 34: "Raising Hope"
.:Dragon's Eye Lake, File Island, Digital World:.
Jonathon was sat under the shade of a large tree, his laptop resting in his lap as he went over the map of File Island, marking off where they had already searched. "None in the Geko Swamp… nothing in the Native Forest or Coela Beach… and we've still got a lot of ground to cover..." he mumbled to himself.
"Any news from the others?" MJ called over. She was sat slouched at the edge of the lake, her feet dangling in the cool water. She then smiled as she watched a group of Betamon play in the water across from her.
"I'm just checking now." Jonathon relied as he opened up his message inbox on the screen. "I told them to update me every morning….. Oh, there's a message from Dawn's group."
"What does it say?" Margaret asked as she walked over and knelt down beside him.
Jonathon opened the email and read it aloud. "It says… Found a Spirit Stone yesterday but lost it to the Undead King's army. Found another one last night."
"Well that was brief." Tentomon commented, hovering behind his human partner.
Margaret giggled. "But they're having more luck than we are. At least they've found one."
"Oh wait, there's more." Jonathon added. "P.S Tricia won't stop bugging me until I tell you all she found her crest last night." He closed the message and opened up the next one which was from James. He quickly read it to himself first. "James' group isn't having much luck either. The Undead King's army is also on the Server Continent looking for the Spirit Stones." He said before typing out his reply back.
MJ stood up from the edge of the lake, bare foot, and walked over to the others. "Maybe it's our turn next to run into his army." She said.
"Don't joke." Patamon responded.
Jonathon finished his message and pressed the send button before closing the lid on his laptop and standing up. "We should move on." He said, placing his laptop back in its case and zipping it up. "I've planned our route out for today. We'll finish searching around this area before moving onto Factorial Town. It occurred to me last night that factory might be the perfect place to hide a Spirit Stone."
Gatomon ran over and jumped up onto her partner's shoulder. "Factorial Town; that's where Andromon lives right?"
Jonathon nodded and his put his backpack on. "It's also where my father's Tentomon digivolved to the champion level for the first time." He added.
"Maybe Andromon might be able to help us look. He'll know that factory inside out." Patamon commented.
MJ nodded. "Yeah. It'll certainly make things easier for us."
The group packed up their things and left the lake, walking into the Native Forest to continue their search.
.:Thunder Mountain, File Island, Digital World:.
Buraimon lunged at the wooden training figure, slicing both his swords at its neck and waist. He was in the backyard of the base where members of the Undead King's army frequently trained.
He jumped back and was about to attack again when a Gazimon X emerged from inside the castle and stepped onto the training field.
"Buraimon X!" he hollered. "The boss wants to see you… pronto!"
Buraimon X sighed and placed his swords back in their cases that were strapped to his belt.
Inside, The Undead King was stood in front of the many TV screens that showed footage of the Digital World and earth, but behind the three Hagurumon X that were manning the controls.
There was a knock on the door that broke the Undead King from his thoughts. He turned to look behind him to see Buraimon X walk in.
"You wanted to see me sir."
"Ah Buraimon X." he acknowledged him. "I have a little task for you." He said. He waited until the champion Digimon was beside him before he continued. "Seems you were the only one to make it back alive from the Folder Continent I want you to run a little errand for me."
"What? Did Puteranomon X and Kuwagamon X not return?"
"No. Their signals were lost last night. I can only imagine the DigiDestined were responsible. Which; on that subject brings me to your task. Those brats have an emerald. The one Okuwamon X failed to collect. I only need two more emeralds to move to the next stage of my plan and that emerald will bring me one step closer to that."
"Which child is it, sir?" Buraimon X asked.
One of the Hagurumon X leaned forward and pressed a button on the control panel. On the centre screen, an image of Margaret appeared….
.:Factorial Town, File Island, Digital World:.
"I'm sorry I couldn't help with your quest for the Spirit Stones. Gennai rarely visited the factory and when he did he was with me. I'm almost certain he did not hide one of them here." Andromon explained to the DigiDestined. He was stood in front of the DigiDestined at the main gate to his factory.
"That's okay, thanks anyway Andromon." Jonathon replied.
"If I can be of any help let me know. Your parents are dear friends of mine. I can certainly see you are doing a fine job in their place." The robot Digimon added with a smile.
"Thanks, we will." Margaret smiled.
After saying their goodbyes, the children and Digimon turned and made their way away from the factory and Andromon disappeared back inside.
"Man, a four hour search and we came up with nothing." MJ said with a sigh.
"It was worth a try. We can't leave no stone unturned." Patamon responded.
"If there was a Spirit Stone in that factory, wouldn't we have been alerted to it by our crests? That's what Leomon told us." Margaret said, glancing at Jonathon.
"Not necessarily." Jonathon replied. "The stones react to the relevant crest, so that rules your crest out and if it's the Spirit Stone of Hope then we won't be alerted to its presence as MJ hasn't received her crest yet. The only stone we will be alerted to would be the Spirit Stone of Knowledge."
"That sort of hinders our group then." Tentomon pointed out.
MJ slowed her pace down after Jonathon had spoke. She hadn't really thought about that until now. "Where do you think it'll be…?" she said quietly.
Everyone stopped and turned to face her at the back of the group as she stood there looking at them. "Don't worry I'm sure it'll turn up somewhere." Gatomon said cheerfully.
"But where? I'm the only one without a crest. Dan, James, Fernanda and Katie were practically given theirs whilst you guys all found yours…"
"Gennai worked in mysterious ways. He had different ways of bringing the crests to us. Dawn's was created from her parents crests, mine was temporally lost to the Chessmon army, and Margaret's was formed from her locket." Jonathon explained. "It could be anywhere or appear at any time. But you will find it MJ, when it's the right time."
MJ sighed, looking down at her empty D-Watch. "Well suddenly I don't feel so useful." She mumbled.
"Don't say that." Patamon chirped up. "Just because we can't make it to the ultimate level yet doesn't make us useless."
"You've just got to be a little patient that's all. You kids didn't expect this to be an easy ride did you?" Tentomon added.
MJ smiled slightly. "I guess you're right."
"So, where to next Jonathon?" Margaret asked, turning to face him.
As they continued to walk, Jonathon opened his laptop and brought the map of File Island up on the screen. "Next on the map is… the Overdell Wasteland. It's only five miles in that direction." He said, pointing to the left.
"Only five miles?" MJ questioned. She then sighed. "Something tells me we're gonna need somewhere to sit once we get there…"
.:ShogunGekomon's Castle, Server Continent, Digital World:.
Groups of Gekomon and Otamamon screamed fleeing as another explosion ripped through their castle. They scrambled for the exits before running as fast as they could as far away as possible.
Their master, the enormous ShogunGekomon lay motionless and defeated amongst the rubble.
Another explosion blasted through the downstairs windows, smashing them into tiny pieces. Thundermon X emerged from the smoke as it gradually began to clear, a smug grin plastered across his face as he observed the damage he had caused.
Two Gekomon and an Otamamon whimpered and began to head towards the steps that led down the side of the cliff to the beach. But the two Gazimon X jumped from either side, blocking their way.
"Where do you think you're going?" one snarled as they forced the rookie Digimon back towards the castle.
Otamamon and the two Gekomon staggered back in fear, trembling. As they did, the ground beneath their feet shook as Rhinomon X appeared behind them, his huge figure shadowing them. Trembling even more, the little rookies slowly turned around and looked up.
Rhinomon X snorted, a blast of air escaping from his nostrils. "I won't ask you puny Digimon again… are you hiding an emerald here?" he demanded vigorously. "Either way we'll just destroy this castle until we find what we want."
Otamamon whimpered and hid behind the two Gekomon. "We don't know what you're talking about." One of the green rookie Digimon protested. "The only valuables we have in the castle are our master's singing trophies and his jewels."
Rhinomon X smiled slightly. "Jewels eh?" he then turned around to face the two Gazimon X and the three Betamon X. "You five go and inspect those jewels. You never know these Digimon might be in possession of an emerald and may not know it."
The weaker X Digimon of the group nodded and took off into the remains of the castle.
Rhinomon X turned back around and looked down to see Otamamon and the two Gekomon had disappeared. To his left, the rookie Digimon were scampering into the depths of the bushes.
"They're getting away!" Thundermon X exclaimed angrily about to give chase.
"Let them go. They are no threat to us."
Thundermon X frowned. Just then, there was a beep from their small portable computer signalling they were receiving a call. The X Digimon pulled the computer out from the pocket on his belt before looking at the screen. "It's from base…" he said, looking up.
"Answer it." Rhinomon X demanded.
Thundermon X pressed the green button. The screen glowed as the call was answered and a projected image of Buraimon X protruded out of the computer.
"What do you want?" Rhinomon X growled slightly annoyed. He thought it had been the Undead King calling. "Can't you see we're busy?"
"Have you found another Emerald yet?" Buraimon questioned, getting straight to the point.
"What has it got to do with you? Shouldn't you be out finding one yourself?" Thundermon X spat.
"For your information, I have already brought one back from the Folder Continent, and the Undead King has given me the task of collecting the emerald the DigiDestined currently have in their possession that Okuwamon X failed to get."
"So what is the purpose of this call?" Rhinomon demanded in a grunt.
"The Undead King is growing impatient. He only needs two more emeralds. It shouldn't be too hard for me to retrieve the emerald from those kids." Buraimon replied a little smug. "So that just leaves one more to find, and I must say he's not at all impressed at how long it's taking."
Rhinomon X growled, stomping his foot in anger. "In case it slipped your mind Buraimon X we were the ones who brought the king his first emerald. As far as we know the army searching the oceans have come nowhere close to finding one. Shouldn't you be checking up on them instead of us?"
"I already have Rhinomon X." Buraimon X retorted. "The Undead King has told me to deliver a message to you all. He says whichever group brings him that fourth and final emerald he needs at this moment, he'll reward them greatly."
Rhinomon X and Thundermon X both looked at each other. "What's the reward?" the smaller of the two asked.
"He did not say. But I suggest if you want that reward you better get a move on." Buraimon X said before his projected image disappeared as he hung up from his end.
Thundermon X huffed. "Who is he to boss us around?"
At that moment, the two Gazimon X and three Betamon X emerged from the castle. "No emerald." One of the Betamon X spoke as they walked over.
Rhinomon X grunted. "Right; let's move out."
.:Overdell Wasteland, File Island, Digital World:.
Patamon flew up and searched amongst the foliage of the trees. He flew into one of the holes in the tree trunks and peered inside, but it was empty. He then moved onto the next tree, checking it thoroughly.
Down on the ground, the children searched through the bushes and under rocks. The Overdell was extremely overgrown, which just made the search even harder. The only way through was the gravel path that was leading them through the centre of the wasteland. It had gotten darker, partly because the sun was starting to set but more so that overgrown trees were blocking most of the sunlight out.
MJ removed her hat and wiped some sweat off her brow, a few strands of her blonde hair sticking to her forehead. "Is it me or is this place getting hotter?" she asked, looking over at the others. She glanced at Jonathon who had his laptop open. "I'm surprised your laptop hasn't french-fried by now."
"French-fried?" Gatomon wondered, cocking an eyebrow.
Margaret giggled. "She means over heated Gatomon."
"They've got a point Jonathon." Tentomon said as he flew beside his partner. "We don't want your laptop overheating and breaking otherwise we'll end up lost with no way to determined what ground we've covered… and when we're in the middle of this jungle we don't want that to happen."
"It'll be fine." Jonathon replied. "This laptop survived through the summer heat wave last year so it's capable of functioning through this little bit of humidity."
Margaret picked up a rock but immediately dropped it when insects scattered out from underneath it. She yelped and stepped back.
MJ turned around and upon seeing the look on the Kimura girl's face burst out laughing.
"It's not funny. You know I don't like bugs!" Margaret exclaimed moving away from the rock.
Patamon flew back down from the treetops and landed on top of MJ's head. "Hey guys the sun is starting to set. Shouldn't we start to find somewhere to spend the night?"
"I guess so…" Jonathon sighed as he brought a map of the area up on his screen.
"Something wrong?" Tentomon asked.
"No... It's just… I thought we would have covered more ground than this… according to my schedule we should have moved onto the Tropical Jungle by now." The young boy replied.
"You know schedules never go to plan." Margaret commented.
"You know how much he likes to stick to schedules. You've seen him panic when there's been a last minute change on the school schedules." MJ winked nudging Margaret in the side.
"I was just trying to make it as easy as possible for us….. Oh here." Jonathon paused as he zoomed in on a section of the map. "There's a building not too far from here. If we walk down this path for half a mile and cut through the bushes we should reach it."
.:Overdell Cemetery, File Island, Digital World:.
The sun had just set in the sky and it was almost nightfall. There was rustling as the children and Digimon emerged from the bushes and Jonathon and MJ pushed away some low hanging branches. But they immediately came to a stop when they saw what was in front of them.
"That's where we are spending the night?" Patamon asked from on top of MJ's head, his eyes a little wide.
In front of the DigiDestined was a large graveyard. It was surrounded by an old stone wall with a set of large metal gates directly up ahead. Inside, amongst the misty air they could make out a large church at the back of the cemetery.
Jonathon checked his map. "This is the place. It's the only building around for miles."
Margaret had gone a little quiet, her eyes fixed on what was ahead. She'd never liked graveyards, especially since her father had died. It had been a dull foggy day that day too.
The children and Digimon slowly made their way out from the bushes and walked towards the cemetery. They came to a stop up against the gates and peered through the gap in the railings. The graveyard was overgrown with thick grass and weeds with the odd dead tree drooping in places. There were head stones dotted everywhere poking out from the ground. Some were broken whilst others were completely toppled over.
A gravel path started from the gates and ran up the slight incline to the large church. The building looked run down but there was a faint glow of light escaping from the crack in the door and through the windows.
"Well it looks like someone's home…" Gatomon spoke up.
"Who lives here?" Margaret gulped, clutching onto the gate.
"My father said a group of Bakemon used to live here. But that was years ago. According to him since then it's been deserted." Jonathon replied quietly.
"Maybe they just forgot to turn the lights off?" Tentomon suggested, hovering low beside his partner.
MJ slowly took a hold of the left side of the gate and gradually pressed her weight against it, pushing it open. The gate creaked loudly, sounding as if it hadn't been opened in years.
The children and Digimon entered the graveyard, leaving the gate open behind them. They slowly made their way up the path, huddled close together.
"Why does the Digital World need a graveyard anyway?" MJ asked casually. "I mean, when a Digimon dies they get reborn in Primary Village…. So there's no need for graves is there?"
"You should know the Digital World feeds off data from our world." Jonathon responded beside her. "So random buildings or objects can appear anywhere. My father told me during their time here they came across, phone booths, fridges and famous landmarks."
The DigiDestined reached the end of the path and climbed the three steps up to the church's main doors. They were old and wooden and going slightly mouldy in places.
The remaining light from the sun spilled into the dark room of the church as the huge doors creaked open slightly. MJ was the first to step inside through the small gap.
The room was big and very chilly. There was a large aisle with pews running down either side. The light that had been coming from the room were rows of candles that were attached to the sides of the walls, burning slowly.
"Hello?" MJ spoke, as the rest of the group joined her inside. "Anybody home?" she called, her voice echoing.
Jonathon was the last one to enter, and he shivered a little as he closed the door behind him. "It sure is cold in here."
"I think it's colder in here than it is out there." Tentomon added.
"No wonder, look over there." MJ said, pointing across the room.
On the left hand side near the far corner, there was a large hole in the stone wall, like something or someone had blasted through it. The rubble was scattered everywhere inside and out and weeds had begun to sprout up from underneath, indicating whatever had happened had happened a long time ago.
The group split up across the room as they made their way towards the other end. Margaret and Gatomon slowly walked down the middle aisle. The young girl looked up at the candles, squinting a little as she could have sworn they had eyes and were following her as she passed.
"I don't think anyone here's." MJ spoke up as the group rejoined at the front of the pews. "You think we'll be safe here for the night?"
Jonathon sat down on the front pew and rested his laptop beside him. "It's certainly better than sleeping outside. I know there's that huge hole in the wall but we've got a better chance of not running into any wild Digimon in here."
"Just maybe a few ghosts." Tentomon joked.
Margaret sighed and took a seat behind Jonathon. She slouched back, hugging her knees against her chest. "But it's so cold in here."
MJ unclipped her digivice and looked at the time. It was only quarter to seven. There was still plenty of time before they would be going to sleep. "I'm gonna take a look around." She announced to the others. "You never know, there might be a Spirit Stone hiding somewhere in here." She added with a wink.
Jonathon nodded his response, half paying attention as he began work on their schedule for the next day.
MJ firstly wandered over to the rubble. The wall had been damaged badly and it was lucky the rest of it, as well as the ceiling above, were still standing. She carefully climbed up onto the top and peered outside. All she could see was trees, gravestones and the night sky through the faint mist. The blonde haired girl turned around and jumped down from the pile of debris.
But as she did something caught her eye. In the middle directly opposite the pews and up four stone steps was a large box made from slabs of stone. The box had weird markings engraved on it and a thick layer of dust covered the top.
Curious MJ headed over, walking up the steps. Upon reaching it, she studied the top slab. There were some more markings but she couldn't make them out. MJ took a deep breath and blew most of the dust off, revealing some of the markings. There were a few symbols and writing that she guessed was the Digi Code language.
"What's this?" Patamon chirped up, suddenly appearing beside his human partner.
"…. I'm not sure…" MJ murmured. "Looks like some sort of chest…. I wonder what's inside…"
"Beats me." Patamon replied, resting on top of the box.
MJ glanced behind her. Jonathon was busy on his laptop and Margaret was talking to Gatomon. "There could be a Spirit Stone inside… we should open it and check." She said. Patamon jumped off the box as she grabbed hold of the top and with all her strength she pushed the slab off, leaving enough room to look inside. "Aw man its empty." she groaned peering down. "At least… I think its empty… where's the bottom?" The box seemed to look deeper than physically possible.
"It looks like a bottomless pit." Patamon added, also poking his head inside.
Just then, an echoing spooky laugh could be heard from the bottom of the box.
MJ laughed a little. "Patamon, what're you doing?" she asked.
Patamon lifted his head out of the box and turned to look at his human partner. "That wasn't me."
The laugh then multiplied and became louder and the box began to rumble.
MJ gulped as she and Patamon both backed away, moving back down the steps as the rumbling became fiercer. "Uhhhh… guys…" she said loudly.
The others looked up from their positions and Jonathon rose to his feet first as the laughter grew louder. "What's that noise?" he asked as he and Margaret walked towards MJ.
Suddenly, a stream of Vilemon burst out from the box sending the top slab flying off and filling the room with their evil sniggers as they flew around in every direction possible.
MJ and Margaret both screamed in fright and hugged each other as two of the Vilemon swooped down from above and brushed past either side of them.
Another Vilemon came diving down towards Gatomon, but she reacted quickly by slamming her fist into his face, knocking him out.
Jonathon backed up, ducking as another Vilemon plunged down towards them.
"You're in trouble now." A squeaky voice from behind Jonathon giggled.
The Izumi boy spun round, looking for the owner of the voice. He looked up to see one of the candles, which was a Candlemon, staring down at him. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"By opening that box you've released all the evil that was contained inside. You've awakened Vilemons' master and after being locked up in that box for forty years he's not going to be in a good mood." The Candlemon explained.
In unison, all the Candlemon sniggered before jumping down from their positions on the wall and bouncing out all of the windows, leaving the room in almost complete darkness.
"No, wait-" Jonathon called after them. But he froze when a much deeper laugh could be heard from inside the box.
The children and Digimon slowly turned around to see a devil's trident emerge from the open box. That was followed by a tall dark silhouette. Outside, the mist parted a little allowing some moonlight through the hole in the wall and into the room. The light illuminated the figure, who was Phelesmon. He was a fallen angel Digimon who resembled the devil.
The Vilemon stopped their scattering and flew over to join their master, lining up in rows behind him.
"MJ what did you do?" Margaret whispered, clutching onto the blonde haired girl's arm tightly.
MJ gulped and just stared up at the Digimon in front of them, speechless.
"At last… freedom." Phelesmon spoke. He then noticed the DigiDestined in front of him. "Well, well Vilemon. It seems we have some curious little ones who have stumbled upon our home." He added, grinning slyly.
The Vilemons' sniggers grew louder as they stared at the children and Digimon ravenously.
The children gulped as they took a small step back, their Digimon standing protectively in front of them. "Who is this Digimon?" Margaret asked, barely above a whisper.
"And you know what we do with lost souls, don't we?" Phelesmon continued, glancing behind his left and right to acknowledge his army. But as he glanced to his right, he caught a glimpse of the debris. "My church…" he murmured, his yellow eyes fallen upon the huge gaping hole in the wall. His eyes soon quickly narrowed as he averted his attention back to the DigiDestined. "My church… what have you done to my church?" he demanded, his voice growing louder.
"No, wait we didn't do that!" MJ protested.
"You little vandals!" Phelesmon spat angrily. "You have no idea who I am, do you?! You are going to pay for ruining my church… Vilemon attack!" he commanded, pointing his trident forward.
The Vilemon spilled forward past their master and down towards the DigiDestined about to engulf them…..
TENTOMON DOUBLE DIGIVOLVE TO… JEWELBEEMON!"
"GATOMON DIGIVOLVE TO… KAZEMON!"
"PATAMON DIGIVOLVE TO.. SWANMON!"
The Vilemon were all thrown back as they bounced off JewelBeemon, Kazemon and Swanmon as the newly digivolved Digimon emerged surrounding their partners. Margaret had her eyes closed flinching as she grasped her D-Watch after placing the ring inside moments ago. She slowly opened her eyes to see Kazemon towering over her.
"What do we do?" Swanmon asked, as the Vilemon began to surround them once more. "There must be over a hundred of them."
"They may be champion Digimon but they're weak champions. It shouldn't take much to destroy them." JewelBeemon responded.
"Nightmare Shocker!" one of the Vilemon released a supersonic wave from its mouth, the attack heading for JewelBeemon.
JewelBeemon lunged forward and with a swipe of his spear he broke the on-coming attack. "Spike Buster!" immediately he released a beam of electricity from the tip of his spear, which struck straight through the Vilemon that had attacked him, plus three behind destroying them instantly.
Margaret yelped, jumping behind MJ as a Vilemon fell to the floor beside her and burst into data. "Wait!" she pleaded, looking up. "We didn't vandalise your church! We were just looking for a place to spend the night!"
"Silence!" Phelesmon snapped. "Trespassing in my cemetery is forbidden also. So even if you didn't destroy my church…" he said, pointing his trident at the hole. "I'm not letting you escape either way."
Kazemon karate kicked a Vilemon before spinning around and punching another square in the face. "Hurricane Wave!" Kazemon released long thin tornadoes from her fingertips and fired them in every direction.
The Vilemon scattered everywhere but the attack from the fairy Digimon managed to destroy a handful of them.
"Feather Tornado!" Swanmon created a fierce tornado of razor sharp feathers and directed it straight into a cluster of Vilemon that was heading his way. They wailed and screeched as the feathers sliced through their bodies, annihilating them into a shower of data.
"Nice move Swanmon!" MJ grinned.
JewelBeemon fired another bolt of energy from his spear before spinning around and impaling an on-coming Vilemon who tried sneaking up on him from behind.
As the battle continued, Jonathon ducked behind one of the pews for cover and opened his laptop. MJ and Margaret quickly followed as he began to scan for data on Phelesmon.
"Who is this monster?" Margaret asked.
There was a beep as Phelesmon's information appeared on the screen. "He's Phelesmon." Jonathon began. "He's a ruthless ultimate Digimon who used to rule the Overdell Wasteland with his army of Vilemon. He resides in this church and used to torture any Digimon who entered into the cemetery. But forty years ago a group of magical Digimon, who were sick of his behaviour, managed to imprison him inside that box with the Vilemon."
"If he was that dangerous why was it so easy for me to open that box?" MJ questioned. "There should have been a warning written on there!"
Suddenly, there was a thud as JewelBeemon crashed to the floor in the middle aisle in front of the children. As he hit the stone floor, he immediately turned to a black stone statue.
The girls gasped as Jonathon's eyes widened. "JewelBeemon!" he exclaimed in horror. He looked up to see Phelesmon hovering above the fallen insect Digimon, his trident still pointing downwards.
"Things just took a turn for the worse…" MJ gawped.
"He will go very well with my backyard collection." Phelesmon chuckled. "Now, I need something to decorate my front door… I think you three will do nicely…" he grinned, as he thrust his trident in the children's direction and prepared to fire.
"Hi-ya!" Kazemon lunged forward and swung her right leg up, knocking Phelesmon's trident out of his grasp. She kicked him in the stomach before punching him in the face. She then jumped up and with both legs kicked him again and sent him flying across the room, slamming against the wall.
Phelesmon grunted as he slumped down the floor. A little groggy he looked up to see Kazemon diving down for his trident. "Oh no you don't." he sneered, thrusting his arm outward and firing his Black Statue attack from the palm of his hand.
Kazemon, about to grab the trident, looked up and was immediately hit by the attack.
"No, Kazemon!" Margaret cried as she witnessed her Digimon partner turn to black stone.
Swanmon fired a ball of energy from his beak, destroying two more Vilemon before he spun round. "Kazemon!"
Jonathon gawped silently. "They were our strongest Digimon… what do we do now?"
"Hey we can't give up!" MJ protested. "Swanmon's still in the fight."
"But Swanmon's only a champion Digimon. Phelesmon is an ultimate." Margaret bemoaned.
Phelesmon flew across and scooped his trident back up from the stone floor. "Enough playing around." he ordered his six remaining Vilemon. "Finish off the bird whilst I deal with these little pests." He wasn't facing the DigiDestined, but he could see them out of the corner of his eye. He smirked to himself before he whipped his whole body around. "Black Statue!"
The children ducked and screamed as the attack hit the pew two rows in front of them and bits of wood flew at them from the blast. Straight away, another blast struck the pew they were hiding behind. The attack tore the seat apart, revealing the children crouched behind it.
Phelesmon grinned and pointed his trident at them. "Black Statue!"
Jonathon, Margaret and MJ scrambled to their left towards the other end of the pew. But Phelesmon had fired the attack and Jonathon wasn't quick enough to move out of the way. The black bullet struck his outstretched leg and he collapsed to the floor before turning to stone.
"Jonathon!" Margaret almost screamed as she stumbled back and fell against her soon to be stepsister.
A look of horror swept across MJ's face as she clutched Margaret from behind unable to take her eyes off her friend's stone stance. What had she done? A painful cry from one of the Vilemon snapped her out of her trance. She poked her head out from behind the pew to see Swanmon destroy another Vilemon, now leaving five.
But a Vilemon swooped down from behind him and sunk his teeth into his right wing. Swanmon wailed and sunk down in the air towards the floor. He cringed and with his left wing, tried a swipe at the Vilemon.
Suddenly Phelesmon appeared above the two girls, grasping his trident in both hands.
The girls shrieked and scrambled to their feet, sprinting towards the huge hole in the wall.
Phelesmon chuckled. "There is no point in running. You can't escape… Black Statue!"
"MJ-"
The Takaishi girl, who had climbed up onto the top of the rubble, spun round at the sound of Margaret's voice, only to look down to see her statue form face down at the foot of the pile. "No, Margaret!"
Swanmon karate chopped an on-coming Vilemon with his right wing before turning and soaring through the air towards Phelesmon from behind.
The devil Digimon sensed him coming and waited before spinning around and shooting the champion Digimon with his trident from point blank range.
Swanmon collapsed to the floor, the latest victim of Phelesmon's Black Statue attack.
His human partner stood there frozen. She was the only one left. The only one left to somehow fend off Phelesmon and the four remaining Vilemon….
But MJ was soon brought back to reality when Phelesmon fired a bolt of energy from the three tips of his trident, smashing into the pile of stones. MJ screamed as the rubble beneath her collapsed and she fell to the floor, landing painfully on her back before doing a backwards summersault. She quickly scurried into the corner between the wall and the rubble that was currently shielding her. "What do I do now?"
Phelesmon chuckled as he began to hover towards her, the four Vilemon following behind. "Give up?" he taunted. He fired a bolt of energy from his trident, which smashed part of the debris into smaller pieces.
MJ flinched as a few bits of stone hit her. She remained where she was as she heard the devil Digimon get closer. "I'm never giving up… there's got to be some way of freeing the others…"
As Phelesmon was almost on top of MJ, the stone box he had emerged from began to shudder. It was slow at first before the tremors increased…. And then a bright yellow light exploded out from the depths of the box….
"What?" Phelesmon turned around only to be blinded by the light. "Argh-" he squinted and shielded his eyes with his right arm.
MJ whipped her head around from behind the rubble, but cringed a little as the light initially hurt her eyes. As she strained to see through the bright light, she could make out a small round object rising out from inside the box. "Huh?"
"What's going on?" Phelesmon demanded, still shielding his eyes.
MJ's eyes widened as the light began to fade and it revealed the object's identity. "My crest…." She murmured. Quickly she jumped to her feet. She only had a small amount of time to do this… she sprinted out from behind the rubble and ran up the steps towards the box.
Phelesmon lowered his arm to see the blonde haired girl run past him. He thrust his trident in her direction and moved it along with her, waiting for the right time to fire. "…..Black Statue!"
MJ reached the box just as Phelesmon fired his attack. She leapt forward, stretching her arm out and swiped the crest into her grasp. The bullet just missed her and struck the box turning it black. MJ tripped and fell forward. She flinched as she hit the floor, expecting to be turned into stone. She slowly opened her eyes and smiled to herself as she saw her crest firmly in her right hand.
She rose to her feet and turned to face Phelesmon. She lifted her left arm up and slotted her new crest into her D-Watch. "Get ready Swanmon…" she muttered, giving her partner a quick glance before she released her Digital Ring and placed it inside the slot in her crest…
Swanmon's statue began to crack loudly with rays of light escaping through…..
"SWANMON DIGIVOLVE TO… HIPPOGRIFFOMON!"
The stone statue of Swanmon exploded into pieces and his new ultimate form, Hippogriffomon emerged from inside. He landed on the ground, the stones shuddering from the force as he glared up at devil Digimon.
Phelesmon scoffed. "You couldn't beat me with three Digimon. You still think you can with just one?" he taunted.
Hippogriffomon stretched his wings and rose into the air. "You haven't seen what I'm capable of yet." He warned. "Heat Wave!" he opened his mouth and spat out an extremely high temperature wind.
Phelesmon stood firm, cringing as the wind burned his skin. But the four Vilemon behind were not able to withstand the attack and screamed as they were thrown backwards and their bodies literally melted away.
Hippogriffomon closed his mouth, ending the attack. He lunged forward and flew towards Phelesmon before he had time to counter attack. "Sonic Voice!" He released an ear-splitting screech in the form of a sonic boom.
"Arghh!" Phelesmon cringed before letting out a scream as he dropped his trident to cover both of his ears with his hands.
Hippogriffomon swooped down and stole the trident from beneath him, grasping it in his two front claws. He flew to the opposite side of the room where he hovered in the air above MJ, waiting for Phelesmon to turn his way. Once he did, Hippogriffomon tightened his grip on the trident before quickly snapping it in half.
"No!" Phelesmon roared, outstretching his arm in a hopeless attempt to save his trident. His eyes narrowed and he growled under his breath. "You'll pay for that."
Hippogriffomon simply smiled. "I doubt that."
"Looks like the tables have now turned." A voice spoke from behind him.
MJ smiled as she saw JewelBeemon and Kazemon rise up behind the devil Digimon. She heard Jonathon groan as he emerged from behind the pew before she looked over to see Margaret slowly pushing herself up.
"The Black Statue curse has now been broken." Hippogriffomon stated a little mockingly at Phelesmon. "Now it's time to get a little revenge for all those innocent Digimon you tortured…"
"Spike Buster!"
"Hurricane Wave!"
Phelesmon grunted as JewelBeemon's attack slammed into his back before he cringed when Kazemon's thin tornadoes hit like a thousand shards of glass piercing his body.
Hippogriffomon spread his wings and flew towards the devil Digimon…
Phelesmon cracked one eye open, still flinching. "N-no…."
"Heat Wave!" Hippogriffomon released his attack once more, this time with full force.
The burning wind struck Phelesmon and sent him flying backwards and slamming against the wall. "Ahhhhhh!" his scream echoed throughout the church as his body slowly melted away into nothing…
"Urgh… my head feels a little heavy…" Jonathon mumbled as he walked out from behind the pew and over to the others, rubbing his forehead.
"Is everyone okay?" MJ asked.
"I think so." Margaret replied quietly.
Jonathon nodded. "Just promise next time you won't open anything you're not supposed to. That could have ended much worse." He sighed.
"Hey if I didn't open that box then I wouldn't have found this." MJ responded, holding her D-Watch up to show them.
Margaret smiled. "Your crest."
MJ nodded, grinning. "Yep. I guess you were right Jonathon. They do appear anywhere and at any time."
.:Net Ocean. Digital World:.
In the depths of the Net Ocean, the Undead King's army were scouring the seabed. Like on land, underneath the waters there was a trail of destruction left behind wherever they went.
The group of sea Digimon had split up as some of them could not handle the pressure from the bottom of the ocean Only Tylomon X, Mantaraymon X and Dolphmon X could search the seabed so the others were searching the shallower parts of the seas.
Tylomon X released a torpedo from his mouth. It flew through the water, leaving a stream of bubbles in its path before dipping down and blasting into a small coral. He swan forward and began to search through the remains. He shoved rocks aside and buried into the sand with the blade on the end of his nose.
He only dug for a few seconds before he hit something hard. "Argh… what the-" Tylomon X grunted. But his frustration soon disappeared when he caught a glimpse of something grey, but shiny.
The sea dragon pushed the sand away from the object and a small grin slowly began to appear on his face as he realised what he had just found….
To be continued…