Screams filled Tyrone's ears as he came to. His head was spinning as he lugged his football-trained body on his knees. Normally he'd be able to brush off sudden impacts like this, but his lack of training since leaving the team was beginning to show, and in a digital landscape no less.

His eyes captured broken chairs and glass, hanging light fixtures, bits of binary, and glitching wooden floors. A stark contrast to the bright, upbeat environment, where guests were glued to the screens as scheduled exhibition matches were going on at Omni Stadium.

"Danny, Mitch. You guys good?" Tyrone got himself upright.

His two friends were thrown further away in the café, but he got two thumbs up anyway. They both sat up, Danny, being a slightly thin Asian teen with short, tapered black hair, and Mitch, a husky Caucasian teen with a comb-over on his right side.

"What was that just now?" A frantic voice spoke up, as other patrons of the café began voicing their shock. The look of terrified faces caught Tyrone's attention, further painting the picture.

The sounds outside the café drew his attention, as people were bolting down the street in panic. Moments later another blue light rained down and another deafening explosion ignited, sending Tyrone back ducking in the debris, as more screams filled the air before going dead silent.

He looked up, and about of fourth of the people in the room was gone, replaced by binary code. He grabbed his D-Case and opted to log out.

Logout failed. Please try again later or inform a moderator for further assistance.

"You two stay with whoever's left. I'm gonna check outside." Tyrone ordered his two companions.

"Are you nuts?! That's definitely a Digimon, or worse, a cyber-terrorist!" Danny exclaimed.

"For real, what if you end up like them?" Mitch pointed to what was left of some of the patrons. "We should probably log out before we get hit like that again.

Tyrone pulled his D-Case, flashing the holographic image of Stingmon. "We'll be good. The Moderators will be here soon I bet."

A ferocious roar ripped through the air, shattering any remaining windows in the area, sending the screams to dead silence. Tyrone tensed up but was still determined to move forward.

"What do you expect to do?" A random patron overhearing the conversation snapped. "You're not a moderator or a Royal Knight!"

"He's right, listen to your friends!"

Tyrone ignored them and raced off outside, against the stampeding crowd. He couldn't tell his friends the real reason he was insistent on moving, not that they needed to know. He looked at the message that came to his D-Com a few minutes before the attack:

"Eject while you still can. You don't need to suffer any longer…"

Had he known all this was gonna happen, he would've considered it. In any case, the message came from the same unknown number that sent him the photo of Megan. So, whether it was from her or Morris didn't matter because this was likely his only opportunity to confront her."

His D-Com chimed again mid-sprint and he tapped it. "Danny, I swear if you—"

"Tyrone it's me!" Adam's voice came through the other line.

"Adam? Should've seen this coming."

"You're in Babylon right now?"

A smaller explosion erupted nearby, the force of it knocking him over against the side of a wall. Snickering, Tyrone slid in a small alley between buildings. "What was your first clue?"

"Right, dumb question; anyway, Trojan is behind the attack; and Megan was seen nearby where their Digimon is letting loose."

Tyrone got quiet. "So, she is one of them after all…"

"Can you get to her before the Royal Knights do?"

"You're asking me to help a terrorist."

"But it's Megan! You said it yourself that you'd help if it came down to it!"

"And why can't you come and do—!" Tyrone paused briefly, "…they have it, don't they…?"

"Trevor and I've been banned from Babylon. We can't get back in if we tried."

Tyrone sighed heavily and looked around the corner, getting a better look at the dragon. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks. I owe you."

"Damn right you do." Tyrone hung up and took another deep breath before bolting off…


Chapter 16: The Queen's Wrath


"I hatch Argomon!" The Trojan agent started the match off by hatching a Digi-Egg. A green jellyfish-like Digimon with a purple, pink and yellow eye along with thin feelers materialized on her side.

Argomon (BT2-004)

Color: Green

Level: 2

"I'll continue by digivolving into Tentomon and playing Aruraumon from my hand."

Tentomon overlayed over the jellyfish in the Raising Area, while a discolored Palmon materialized in the Battle Area, sporting paler green coloration and a purple-colored flower on its head compared to the pink variant of its counterpart.

Tentomon (BT1-066)

Color: Green

Level: 3

DP: 2000

Aruraumon (BT3-044)

Color: Green

Level: 3

DP: 5000

MEMORY

0-2 (Turn Change: Carlos)

"5k DP on a two-cost Level 3?" Carlos was surprised at how strong the flower Digimon was.

"Trying to back out already?"

Carlos scoffed, "dream on. I'll knock it down to size soon enough. My move!" he drew before throwing his arm out. "I hatch Tokomon!"

Tokomon materialized in his Raising Area as a result.

Tokomon (ST3-01)

Color: Yellow

Level: 2

"Tokomon digivolves into Patamon, followed up by Reppamon straight into the Battle Area!"

Tokomon subsequently digivolved into the orange and white winged-mammal Digimon, while another Digimon materialized in the Battle Area, this one resembling a masked weasel with tattered whiskers protruding from underneath, as well as a blade-like tail with its own eyes.

Patamon (ST3-04)

Color: Yellow

Level: 3

DP: 1000

Reppamon (BT1-051)

Color: Yellow

Level: 4

DP: 4000

MEMORY

2-1 (Turn Change: Trojan Agent)

The agent drew. "Tentomon moves to the Battle Area, then digivolves into Kabuterimon!"

Tentomon obeyed the command, flying forward while morphing into the larger, blue kabuto beetle.

Kabuterimon (BT1-073)

Color: Green

Level: 4

DP: 5000

MEMORY

1-0

"Then I play Terriermon from my hand."

Alongside Kabuterimon, materialized a white and green rabbit-dog Digimon with a small horn on its head. It waved at Carlos innocently, the latter being slightly amused admittedly.

Terriermon (BT3-046)

Color: Green

Level: 3

DP: 2000

MEMORY

0-3 (Turn Change: Carlos)

"I almost don't wanna kick that thing into the stratosphere." Carlos chuckled.

"I'm sure you're gonna retract that statement shortly.

"Well, you're a different story." Carlos drew. "Patamon moves to the Battle Area!

Patamon flapped its little wings up to Reppamon, the latter of whom was beginning to develop strings of binary around it.

"Reppamon, digivolve into Chirinmon!"

The binary code erupted around Reppamon, as it began to reform into the Level 5 Digimon. A majestic, green armored beast Digimon with wings emerged from where Reppamon stood and geared itself up to fight.

Chirinmon (BT1-058)

Color: Yellow

Level: 5

DP: 7000

MEMORY

3-0

"Let's get started, Chirinmon, Security Attack! With its effect, I gain 3 Memory whenever it—" Carlos had to do a double-take, realizing that the counter above them stood frozen. He snickered. "Ok, real funny. Can't fight fair huh?"

The Trojan agent tilted her head curiously. "What do you mean?"

"The counter!" Carlos pointed. "Chirinmon is supposed to give me plus three for attacking!"

She looked up. "Oh. Yeah, Terriermon puts a stop to that."

Carlos blinked. "What?"

"Terriermon's effect prevents you from gaining memory outside of Tamer effects."

"I'm sorry; what?"

She cleared her throat. "Terriermon, said, no, memory, for, you."

Terriermon meanwhile waved as it glowed with a faint green aura around it.

Carlos rolled his eyes. "Whatever, so what if you cancel my effect, the attack still goes through!"

Chirinmon flapped its wings and dove forward towers the agent as a Security Card blocked the strike, shattering on impact.

Trojan Agent

Security: 5-4

"Security Check: Goblimon with 3000 DP

Chirinmon: 7000 DP

Goblimon: 3000 DP

"I'll end my turn by digivolving Patamon into Gatomon."

Patamon let out a tiny wail as it was empowered enough to digivolve into Gatomon.

Gatomon (BT3-035)

Color: Yellow

Level: 4

DP: 3000

MEMORY

0-2

"By the way, I didn't cancel your effect." The agent corrected him.

"Yes, you did. Chirinmon's effect—"

"Was blocked, not completely canceled out."

Carlos' eyes widened. "That means…"

"That means, that you still leave the other half of the effect intact. Terriermon negates you gaining memory, not losing it.

MEMORY

2-5 (Turn Change: Trojan Agent)

"And with all of that said, I think it's only fitting to punish you for such a blunder." The Trojan Agent smirked as she drew. "To start, I'll play Mimi Tachikawa from my hand."

Mimi materialized in the area, winking as part of her caricature.

Mimi Tachikawa (BT1-089)

Color: Green

MEMORY

5-1

"Now Aruraumon…give your data to bring forth your ally…"

Carlos's hesitated slightly, unsure of what that meant. He turned his attention to Aruraumon who knelt as binary poured from it and transferred over to Kabuterimon.

"Kabuterimon, digivolve into Blossommon!"

The stream of binary finally stopped and the empowered Kabuterimon dug its limbs into the ground and roared as it took on its new shape. From the bug that it was, Kabuterimon was now a large flower-like Digimon with purple and white petals around a large yellow head, and a body of vines, some of which were orange and black with sharp-toothed mouths on the ends of them.

Blossommon (BT3-054)

Color: Green

Level: 5

DP: 7000

Carlos looked up, seeing that the Memory Counter stayed dormant at 1 Memory for his opponent. "You just played a Level 5 for nothing…"

"That's, the power of Digisorption." She stated in response.

"Digi…sorption?"

"By suspending one of my Digimon, Digimon with Digisorption can cut their digivolution costs by a specific number. In this case, Blossommon has Digisorption -3, allowing her cost to be deducted to 0 if I have a Digimon to suspend."

"I see, so it's not without its drawbacks…" Carlos slowly nodded. "High risk, high reward."

"More or less."

"Good to know."

"You know what else is good to know?"

"Enlighten me."

"Kabuterimon's IE effect; +1000 DP for each of your suspended Digimon."

Blossommon: 7000-8000 DP

"I activate Mimi's Effect; since I have a Level 5 Digimon on the field, I'm allowed to suspend her to hatch another Digi-Egg!"

Mimi threw her hands into the air, triggering Argomon to materialize as a result.

"Argomon digivolves into Goblimon as well.

Goblimon subsequently materialized in the battle area, ready to get to work.

Goblimon (BT1-064)

Color: Green

Level: 3

DP: 3000

The Trojan Agent drew and a wide grin crossed her face. "This just keeps adding on, doesn't it?"

Carlos shooed her off. "Yeah yeah, lucky draws are lucky; just get it over with already."

"If you insist…" She flipped the card over. "I play the Option card, Hidden Potential Discovered. During this turn, the next time one of my Digimon digivolves, I can suspend another one of my Digimon to decrease the cost of it down by 5!"

Carlos jerked forward in shock. "Are you kidding me?!"

"Terriermon, suspend and give your energy to Blossommon, to summon the malevolent dragon that is Imperialdramon!"

Blossommon's power erupted, the vines around it gathering around and cocooning it inside. Moments later, like an egg, the contents erupted into the corrupted dragon, as it took off into the night sky and howled, sending those in earshot frozen in place.

Imperialdramon: Dragon Mode (BT3-111)

Color: Green

Level: 6

DP: 12,000

"All of that in one turn…" Carlos stood astounded. He was at a total loss of words at what was happening before him.

"Punishment's not over." The Trojan Agent stated. "With Kabuterimon's boost, I attack Chirinmon! Tentomon's IE effect suspends one of your Digimon with 3000 or less, therefore Gatomon is suspended and adds power to Imperialdramon as a result!"

Imperialdramon: 14,000 DP

Chirinmon: 7000 DP

Chirinmon took off after Imperialdramon, catching the latter's attention. Imperialdramon humored Chirinimon as the beast Digimon called forth lightning from the blended clouds on Imperialdramon. Though initially reacting to the sudden shock, to Chirinmon's surprise, Imperialdramon drew the power into its cannon, and turned it back on Chirinmon, eviscerating it into data. Imperialdramon then turned its focus on Carlos, the latter not expecting that.

"Two things I forgot to mention; The first is Piercing, and the 2nd is its ability to unsuspend if it deletes a Digimon."

Carlos couldn't do anything except brace for impact as the laser rained down on him.

Carlos

Security: 5-4

Liamon appeared in the Security Check, not able to withstand the laser raining down on them.

Imperialdramon: Dragon Mode: 13,000 DP

Liamon: 4000 DP

"Imperialdramon takes out Gatomon, and likewise, piercing triggers as well!"

Imperialdramon: Dragon Mode: 13,000 DP

Gatomon: 3000 DP

Gatomon finally succumbed to the blast, as well as the 2nd security. The blast finally ended, Carlos dropping to his knees in defeat, overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the last minute.

Carlos

Security: 4-3

The Trojan Agent set her hands on her hips. "That's…disappointing. For a Royal Knight, you're not what I expected…"

That struck a nerve. "Bite me…!" Carlos hissed.

"Not on your life." She clicked her tongue.

"Carlos!" Sydney's voice pierced the air, drawing their attention. Melissa and Sydney jumped from their knights as they dematerialized and raced over towards the downed knight.

"Carlos are you alright?!" Sydney slid over to his side to help him up.

"Get off…!" He shrugged her back. "I'm not…done yet!"

"The big scary dragon says otherwise!" Sydney insisted.

"Megan…?" Melissa uttered, getting a good look at the agent. "Megan…that's you, right?"

The Trojan Agent exhaled, pulling her goggles off, revealing the familiar brown eyes underneath.

"Time out! You know this—"

"Carlos zip it!" Melissa snarled. "I'll deal with you later." She turned her attention back to Megan. "Why are you doing all of this?"

"In short, to send a message," Megan answered rather easily.

"That you've been brainwashed by terrorists?!"

"That SAIBA isn't the beacon of hope it's trying to emulate," Megan repeated.

Melissa got quiet. "Why do you sound just like them…?"

"It's nothing personal. But as long as you continue to serve Akiyoshi SAIBA then I have nothing to discuss with you." She turned her attention to Carlos. "Check your security."

"Carlos, don't!" Melissa snapped.

"Security check!"

"Carlos!"

"Security Trigger!" He ignored her completely and played the card. "Ankylomon to the Battle Area!"

The rooftop rumbled, forcing Sydney to back off from Carlos, dragging Melissa back to a nearby rooftop where they were forced to stand and spectate.

"At this point, I don't think he's not going to listen to us," Sydney said with regret. "He gets bullish when things don't go his—"

"That's not my problem." Melissa snapped. "He disobeyed orders to not engage."

"And he's going to pay for it, I know!" Sydney continued to defend him. "But until then, all we can do is hope that he either wins, or she doesn't beat him too badly."

A large, yellow ankylosaur Digimon with a spike ball tail materialized into the Battle Area, roaring to announce its presence.

Ankylomon (BT3-036)

Color: Yellow

Level: 4

DP: 4000

"I'm not out of this fight yet…" He stated, holding his ground still.

Megan slid the handle of her goggles in the mouth of her shirt, so they hung against her chest. "Prove it then. I end my turn."

MEMORY

1-3 (Turn Change: Carlos)

The card materialized over Carlos' D-Case and he ripped it from the top. "I Hatch Nyaromon!"

A small yellow ball-like cat Digimon with a long purple striped tail and big red eyes materialized on Carlos' side.

Nyaromon (BT2-003)

Color: Yellow

"Nyaromon digivolves into Salamon, and Ankylomon into MagnaAngemon!"

Both Digimon took their stances, replacing their less-powerful counterparts in their respected areas.

Salamon (BT3-033)

Color: Yellow

Level: 3

DP: 1000

MagnaAngemon (ST3-08)

Color: Yellow

Level: 5

DP: 7000

MEMORY

3-0

"Transcend, Scarlet Shooter: MagnaAngemon digivolves into Kentaurosmon!"

MagnaAngemon threw its bladed gauntlet into the air, allowing the binary to reform it into the crossbow, before turning the rest of it into Kentaurosmon.

Kentaurosmon (BT3-043)

Color: Yellow

Level: 6

DP: 11,000

Kentaurosmon aimed its crossbow into the sky and aimed. Taking a shot, it quickly flipped and rained down on Megan's Digimon to her surprise, each of them was paralyzed by the light arrows, moving stiffly as a result.

"When Kentaurosmon is digivolved into, up to five of your Digimon get Security Attack -2 until the end of your next turn," Carlos explained.

"So, you delayed me a bit. Not that special." Megan replied, admittedly a bit slighted by the move.

"I'm far from done, sweetheart." Carlos taunted. Megan reactively shivered.

MEMORY

0-3 (Turn Change: Megan)

Megan drew. "Argomon's IE effect; since Imperialdramon unsuspended during my unsuspend phase, I gain +1 Memory."

MEMORY

3-4

"I move Goblimon to the Battle Area, then suspend Mimi to Hatch."

Tanemon appeared as Goblimon skipped forward to join the other Digimon.

Tanemon (BT1-007)

Color: Green

Level: 2

"Goblimon digivolves into Gargomon, then into Rapidmon!"

Goblimon, as the binary code began to come downward, threw its club into the air, and allowed the binary to reform it into a larger, more mature-looking Terriermon, the green on its ears more filled out, along with red markings and a diamond on its forehead. It also had two miniguns for hands, an ammo belt around its body, and denim jeans. Following that, the armor on its hands spread across its entire body, thinning it out and turning it green, becoming a slimmer, armored Digimon by comparison.

Gargomon (BT3-048)

Color: Green

Level: 4

DP: 4000

MEMORY

4-3

Rapidmon (BT3-052)

Color: Green

Level: 5

DP: 6000

MEMORY

3-1

"I'll end my turn by playing Woodmon from my hand."

Woodmon appeared along with Megan's army of Digimon, serving as the sole blocker at present.

Woodmon (BT1-072)

Color: Green

Level: 4

DP: 6000

MEMORY

1-4 (Turn Change: Carlos)

"Feeling scared that you had to play a Blocker?"

"As if."

"Just saying; you're not sounding as tough as you were before Melissa and Sydney showed up. Guess all of that trash talk was you putting up a front, huh?"

Megan didn't respond to that.

Carlos scoffed, "Whatever. To be honest, I can care less at this point. Because the way I see things, there's no better time for a comeback, than right now!" He drew. "Salamon moves to the Battle Area!"

Salamon skipped along to join the larger Kentaurosmon.

"Kentaurosmon, Security Attack! MagnaAngemon's IE Effect minuses 1000 DP from Aruraumon!"

Kentaurousmon aimed its crossbow and grazed Aruraumon as the light arrow shot Megan's Security and broke it.

Megan

Security: 4-3

"Security Check: Woodmon." She responded.

Kentaurosmon: 11,000 DP

Woodmon: 6000 DP

"It only gets better from here. Now that Aruraumon's down to 4000 DP, I can use this: Lightning Paw!"

Megan gritted her teeth, knowing what was about to happen as Kentaurosmon geared up for another shot.

"Up to three of your Level 3, Digimon get -4000 DP. Woodmon, Rapidmon, and Imperialdramon are safe, but not that stupid plant and that mutt."

Megan gritted her teeth harder.

"Off to the stratosphere with you two!" Carlos snapped his fingers to signal Kentaurosmon, and two arrows pierced the rookie Digimon. Binary slowly pulled away from them as their DP dwindled to 0, leading to them both dispersing at the end of it.

MEMORY

4-1

"Salamon will digivolve into Liamon to end my turn for now."

Salamon responded, growing into the lion Digimon. In terms of unique features, it sported two tails, earrings on each ear, and a braided mane.

Liamon (BT1-054)

Color: Yellow

Level: 4

DP: 4000

MEMORY

1-2 (Turn Change: Megan)

Losing two Digimon like that stung, but Megan was more annoyed than hurt at the turn of events. It was fun while it lasted, she thought, but at this point, she felt that she needed to assert her dominance in the situation…

…And prove to this lowly knight that he was in the presence of a queen.

She drew to start. "Mimi sets my Memory to 3 to start. Tanemon then digivolves into Tentomon. Imperialdramon, take out Kentaurosmon."

As Tentomon materialized over Tanemon, Imperialdramon readied itself to take on Kentaurosmon, charging its cannon.

"Make her regret it Kentaurosmon!" Carlos lashed out.

Megan hesitated just as the blast went off. Kentaurosmon, waiting for its imminent demise fired one last arrow, which pierced through the center of the blast. As Kentaurosmon faded into nothing, and Carlos' Security as well, the cannon on Imperialdramon's back ignited, throwing Megan off balance unexpectedly.

Carlos cackled at the sight. "Didn't expect that did you?! When Kentaurosmon's deleted one of your Digimon gets -11,000 DP for the turn!"

Imperialdramon: 12,000-1000DP

Imperialdramon cried out as it crippled from the abrupt pain of its damaged cannon. Megan as well felt disoriented from the close-range blast. Once she got her bearings, she looked over, seeing a mystical-looking warrior Digimon standing next to Carlos.

Carlos

Security: 3-2

"Do it, Mistymon."

Imperialdramon: 1000 DP

Mistymon: 7000 DP

Mistymon vanished from Carlos and appeared floating before the damaged Digimon. With no remorse for it or Megan, Mistymon's sword ignited and in one vertical slash, Imperialdramon erupted in a massive explosion, sending Megan off her feet and into the air, over the edge of the rooftop.

"MEGAN!" Melissa reacted, going into the motion of summoning Gallantmon. However, before she could get the card in her hand, a green blur shot past everyone and dove down for Megan as she fell.

Megan felt her arm nearly pull from the socket, the jolt of pain waking her up in her daze. Realizing she stopped, she looked up, finding Stingmon and Tyrone holding her back from a massive drop below.

"Don't you dare let go of me!" Tyrone hissed at her.

It still took a moment for Megan to process what was happening. Silently she grabbed a firm hold of him and took his aid as Stingmon cradled the both of them and brought them upward back on the roof.

"Why…?" Megan didn't know what to say, what with the shock of seeing Tyrone unexpectedly and the incident itself.

"Beat him first, then we'll talk," Tyrone ordered her. Tyrone turned his attention to Carlos, clearly wishing he were the one playing against him.

"Don't push your luck, punk. I'll come after you once I'm done with her."

"You wish," Megan interjected before Tyrone could reply. "I can only imagine what goes into the recruitment process to become a Royal Knight, but if you're anything to show for it, all they needed are power-hungry idiots like you."

"What would you know, terrorist trash?"

"Much more than you do. So much more. Now then, I suspend Mimi to bring out Tentomon from my Raising Area into the Battle Area."

Tentomon was shifted forward.

"Then I suspend Rapidmon for Digisorption."

Carlos stayed silent.

Megan took a deep breath, internally eager to put Carlos in his place. "Bow."

Carlos was taken aback. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Megan repeated, sterner in tone. "Bow before the queen of the Celestial Forest!" She swiped the card over her D-Case as the area around them erupted. Rapidmon's eyes flashed a bright green, rising upward. Binary surrounded its being, followed by a bright green flash of light that shot skyward into the sky, covering a massive area and illuminating the area in a shade of jade.

"…What's happening?" Sydney was rendered speechless, as was everyone else present. Eventually, the light condensed and began to form the shape of a massive avian-like Digimon, the size of Imperialdramon and every other Digimon on the field paling in comparison. It revealed itself as a massive bird-shaped island, its body made of mountain and rock, with its top side being complete vegetation and forest.

Meanwhile, the binary orb descended back down as the light finally died, slowly crumbling away to reveal a tall, attractive humanoid Digimon, a green and black garment covering her exposed body, whereas her limbs were armed with golden, tree trunk-like armaments. Her shoulders bloomed with purple roses and her face was covered with a unique headpiece, that covered her hair, which flowed with a vibrant pink color along with vines to add to her floral aesthetic.

Ceresmon (BT3-056)

Color: Green

Level: 6

DP: 12,000 DP

MEMORY

3-1

"Digisorption," Megan said.

"Guess that doesn't get old for you huh?"

"Not really, no," Megan replied. She pointed towards Liamon, and Carlos turned, watching in horror as binary was being drawn from his Digimon and into Woodmon.

"When Ceresmon is present in the Battle Area, I'm allowed to suspend your Digimon to use Digisorption."

"This is a joke…!" Carlos snarled.

Blossommon appeared from where Woodmon stood.

"Tentomon digivolves into Woodmon, ending my turn."

MEMORY

1-1 (Turn Change: Carlos)

Carlos drew. "Okay, this ends here. You're not making us Royal Knights into a laughing stock. I hatch Nyaromon and digivolve it into Loillmon!"

A yellow lion cub with a tuff of orange fur on its head materialized in Carlos' raising area. It wore a necklace with a green gem in it.

Liollmon (BT1-050)

Color: Yellow

Level: 3

DP: 4000

"And I cast Holy Flame on Ceresmon! -3 Security Checks on it!"

The pink flames exploded from the card and wrapped themselves around the regal Digimon. The latter of which curiously watched it spiral around her, almost humored by how it moved. Carlos grew irritated by her reaction.

"Don't mock me!"

MEMORY

0-2 (Turn Change: Megan)

Megan drew. "Now that I think about it, I'm beginning to feel bad for this."

Carlos and the others were silent.

"Puppets on the grand stage that is Babylon. And the worst part is you don't realize you're said puppets."

"Will you shut up already?!" Carlos hissed.

Megan paused. "And with that, I retract that statement. I'm gonna make sure you break."

"Bring it."

Megan accepted the challenge. "Mimi sets my Memory to 3, and Argomon's IE effect from Ceresmon gives me +1 as well. I hatch Argomon, digivolve it into Goblimon, and Digivolve Blossommon into MegaGargomon!"

Blossommon cast its tentacles into the air and allowed the binary to reform it into a giant mechanized Digimon. Resembling Terriermon's line, MegaGargomon was a colossal green machine with two rockets mounted on its shoulders with the faces of rabbits and revolver wrists similar to Gargomon.

MegaGargomon (BT3-057)

Color: Green

Level: 6

DP: 11,000

MEMORY

4-0

"When MegaGargomon is digivolved into, one of your Digimon is suspended and stays like that during your next unsuspend phase. Liamon suspends!"

MegaGargomon raised its mechanized hand and fired mini rockets that struck the defenseless Digimon, leaving it disoriented. Despite the impact, Carlos was fixated on Megan.

"And while you have a suspended Digimon, MegaGargomon gains Security Attack +1. MegaGargomon, let him have it, Double Security Attack!"

MegaGargomon geared up, firing its two rockets from its shoulders, the pair spiraling downward towards Carlos. The final two Security intercepted them.

The first rocket broke through.

Carlos

Security: 2-1

"Security Trigger!" Seven Heavens!"

The lasers fired hitting MegaGargomon directly, pushing it back due to the massive power decrease.

MegaGargomon: 11,000-1000 DP

The second rocket, now finally broke through, leaving Carlos wide open.

Carlos

Security: 1-0

With an angered scream, he unleashed the Digimon hidden beneath the card, a silver and red Angemon with three pairs of curved wings and a massive key for a weapon. ClavisAngemon aimed MegaGargomon and fell the massive titan due to the massive power gap.

MegaGargomon: 1000 DP

ClavisAngemon: 10,000 DP

"Ceresmon," Megan began, "burn it all."

"Whoa whoa whoa, what do you mean by burn it down?!" Tyrone interjected as Ceresmon took Megan by the hand.

"You're still here?"

"Hell yes, I am!" He snapped. "You made the users suffer enough as is; quit this while you're ahead!"

Megan stared at Tyrone for a moment and took a deep breath, releasing Ceresmon's hand. "I suspend Mimi to bring Goblimon out. Direct attack."

Goblimon looked at her and eagerly readied its club. Skipping forward with as much excitement, it was abruptly crushed into data unexpectedly by a navy-blue foot.

Craniamon now stood in between Megan and the rest of the knights. Sydney and Melissa took advantage of this to recover Carlos. Quincy jumped from the shoulder of Craniamon, locking eyes with Tyrone.

"Both of you are under arrest," Quincy stated coldly.

"You can very well try," Megan responded, with Ceresmon coming to her aid.

Quincy crossed his arms. "You don't want to test me, little girl."

"Then how about I take a crack at it?" Tyrone stepped up. He turned to Megan, "Don't worry about him, I'll handle it."

Megan didn't know what to say. "I owe you."

"No, you don't. I'm making up for last time. Still have more to go through."

Megan was quiet, nodding afterward. "Thanks."

Ceresmon took Megan's hand again and they glided upward to the island above them. Melissa watched; her chest tight from the stress of what just took place.

"Why did you letting her escape?!" Carlos hissed.

"So I can end up like your sorry self?" Quincy didn't bother to turn around. "Sit there and shut up while I clean up your mess."

Carlos got quiet again, silently regretting his impulsive move as the seconds went by. Quincy meanwhile exhaled and walked up to the teen. "I don't even know where to begin with you, especially.

"Got plenty of time to discuss it back at the precinct, right officer?"

"Real smart." Quincy grabbed Tyrone's arm. "Let's go, you moron."


Akiyoshi found himself enamored by the duel between Megan and Carlos, appreciating the overwhelming strength of Morris' creation. Truly Trojan spectacularly made their mark and is pushing his desired narrative in a way that only makes him excited for more.

But then the door to his office crashed open, drawing his attention. Michael stood in the doorway; anger traced on his face. Akiyoshi took a moment to process the man who had the audacity to kick his door down unannounced, but being that it was Michael, he'd let it go. He more or less expected this after all.

"What was that?!" Michael stomped into the room.

"That was Trojan making a statement."

"Trojan should not have appeared so soon! We were supposed to allow the knights to stabilize their roles in Babylon before Trojan struck!"

"So you believe that news of Trojan defeating the Royal Knights is going to bring bad press upon the company then?"

"With mass account hacks and the knights being embarrassed like that?! Bad press is the least of my worries!"

"Then simply don't worry about it."

Michael was taken aback. "Don't—do you hear yourself?!"

"Watch your tone, Mr. McKnight." Akiyoshi cut his humored demeanor and grew serious instantly.

Michael reactively straightened up. "All I'm saying…is that Trojan appearing so abruptly just when the Royal Knights are recovering from obtaining Omnimon is going to overwhelm them. We can't let them falter this early on."

"I left Morris to his own devices. He took it upon himself to attack Babylon and cause mass chaos. Now, it's your turn; what are you going to have your knight do in response?"

Michael stood quiet for a moment. "How is cannibalizing ourselves going to push us on top of the cybernetic food chain?"

"I'll worry about that. You continue to support the knights and ensure that they take this defeat and do something about it. Because I can almost guarantee that Morris isn't going to give them a chance to breathe."

Michael, realizing that it was futile to push ahead with this conversation, took it as is and left the room. Akiyoshi smirked, tapping against the keyboard and bringing up a diagram of a human body along with vital signs.

"What other surprises will you have in store for me I wonder…?"


Adam's attention stayed glued on his screen ever since he got off the phone with Tyrone. Those caught in the chaos found places to hide and proceeded to Livestream everything that happened. People also caught glimpses of the bright lights from above, as well as images of Digimon clashing in the sky.

They weren't the best quality, and lots of clips were seconds of footage as Babylonian mods didn't hesitate to scoop up any remnants and force eject them for their safety. Even now, it was hard to find any actual footage without it being annoying clickbait.

It bugged him that he didn't know anything. Of all the stress he's been through regarding Megan, he'd kill for some sort of—

His phone began to ring, pulling his attention. Without looking at the ID he answered it. "Any updates on Layla's end?"

"…it's been a little while since we last spoke, Mr. Russo." Morris's voice spoke on the other end, freezing Adam in place.

"Mr. Morris…?" Adam's voice grew shaky.

"Indeed. I'm glad I was able to—"

"Where's Megan?! What do you have her doing in Babylon?!" Adam's exclamation packed as much venom as he could muster spontaneously. The added stress that he's endured aided in this to some degree as well.

"…Momentarily I will be sending you a URL to your D-Case. Use your D-Com to access it."

The phone hung up afterward. Adam had to hold himself back from throwing the phone at the wall, opting instead to walk over to his dresser to collect the D-Com. Powering it on, he connected it to his D-Case, immediately getting the banned message before him.

"How does he expect me to get into Babylon like this…?"

As if on cue the notification popped up. He closed out the message and went to access the link that was sent.

WARNING: THIS SITE MAY CONTAIN MALWARE OR OTHER MALICIOUS SOFTWARE THAT MAY NEGATIVELY AFFECT YOUR DEVICES. DO YOU WISH TO CONTINUE?

Adam almost wanted to laugh. He's already been banned from Babylon, so what does he have to lose at this point? With that logic, he clicked "yes" and awaited the device to follow up.

ACCESS GRANTED

CONNECTING…

CONNECTING…

CONNECTION ESTABLISHED

STANDING BY…


When Adam opened his eyes, he found himself in a dim-lit laboratory. Zeroes and ones floated in the air, signifying that he was somewhere in the Netspace; which means that Morris' link worked.

Trevor materialized nearby, as well as Emily and Layla behind him. They each took note of their surroundings and turned to see Adam staring.

"He got you guys too, huh?"

"What's going on?" Emily asked. "Layla sent me the link and told me to access it."

"Same." Trevor crossed his arms. "By the way, when were you going to mention that you got Tyrone involved? I thought he didn't know anything?"

"Water under the bridge." Adam dismissed. "Anyway, what did Morris drag us into?"

A sudden clap activated the lights in the room, blinding the four teens briefly. As Adam's eyes adjusted, he turned to the source of the sound, and he felt his heart slow to a crawl.

"Megan…?"

Megan, still dressed in her Trojan uniform smiled as she stood in the doorway to the room. Before anyone else could react, Trevor bolted towards her, nearly knocking her off her feet.

"Whoa…um…?" Megan was clearly flustered, not expecting the embrace.

"I'm sorry!" Trevor began to cry. "For everything! Had I not said what I did, none of this would've happened!"

Megan stood quiet, opting to embrace the boy and nuzzle her head in his chest. "I missed you too…"

Layla, ever observant, leaned over to Emily. "So… she's Megan…?"

Emily looked over to Layla, noticing a slight discomfort in her expression. "Yup."

Layla nodded. "Good to know."

After Trevor allowed her to pull back, she took the opportunity to latch onto Adam who likewise was emotional. She told herself she'd get to Emily, but for the moment she wanted to be with the two idiots who meant the world to her first. Likewise, for Adam, his desperate attempt at rescuing Megan hit a huge milestone, one that gave him a sense of comfort and solace amongst the hysteria.

Of course, however, this brought on plenty of questions…

"So, what did I miss since I've been…"

"Running around as a Trojan Agent?" Trevor finished the sentence, moving away from the emotional moment and back to business.

"…yeah. I can explain."

"Explain? You plunged all of Babylon into chaos! And you nearly stomped out one of the Royal Knights!"

"Okay, I can explain!" She reiterated. "Jeez, it's been like two minutes and already you want to give me a lecture."

"Megan this isn't a joke. Since you've been gone, we've been through all kinds of hell trying to—"

"Why do you make it sound like I intended on being kidnapped!"

"You know what I meant!"

"Kinda don't, actually! Maybe for once if you'd just listen to me maybe I can—"

"HEY!" Emily got in between the two and pushed them back. "No arguing." She turned to Megan. "Hi, by the way."

Megan hugged Emily too, the latter feeling her skin crawl by the shock of it all. Megan realized quickly that Emily was uncomfortable and quickly detached herself. "My bad."

Emily cleared her throat, her cheeks returning to their normal color. "Anyway, I'd like to introduce you to—"

"Layla, right?" Megan asked as if she recognized her.

Layla shied away slightly, before giving a nod. "Pleasure to finally meet you."

Megan smiled. "Likewise. Morris told me all about you."

"And Trevor, the same," Layla responded.

Megan's eyes shifted slightly towards Trevor and the boy felt his skin crawl.

"It wasn't anything bad I swear!"

Layla hid her giggling smirk, implying that statement was intentional. Emily smirked a bit as well.

"Better not be. I can always tell her all the embarrassing things you've said and done when we were kids after all."

"You know I'd kill you."

Megan smirked, getting close to Trevor. "Really~?"

Trevor took a step back, not realizing that his cheeks were giving themselves away again. "I hate you…"

"Love you too." Megan winked.

"Stop that!"

Megan began to crack up at Trevor's defensive nature. "Glad that hasn't changed in the last month."

"Ahem," Layla cleared her throat, clearly feeling uncomfortable. "Where's Morris? And why did he bring us here?"

Megan looked over and nodded, "It would be better for him to explain it, actually."

On cue, Morris materialized in the middle of the room before everyone. He took note of the five teenagers one by one, his grin growing wider as he took attendance.

"Glad to see you all have made it!" He stated, throwing his arms up in unusual excitement. "This place is a personal server I've been managed within the Netspace. Don't have a name for it yet so if you would like to come up with one, Mr. Russo I'll be more than happy to look into it."

Adam gritted his teeth and walked up to him. "After everything you've done…what's SAIBA up to?!"

"Something much direr than what I could've ever predicted if we're being honest."

"Like what?"

"An Army of Saibatars," Megan stated.

The room got quiet and all focus was directed towards her.

"How…?"

"I know everything." Megan crossed her arms. "I know about Diaboromon, I know about Millenniummon, and I know about Axel—what he was, and…what happened to him."

A light bulb clicked in Adam's head. "Guys, remember that conversation we had before? About the Tamer Cards and how they were based on us?"

"Yeah?" Emily somewhat recalling that conversation.

Adam turned back to Megan. "When that Digimon was attacking Babylon before and hacking everyone's accounts so that they couldn't get back in…"

Megan nodded. "SAIBA is gathering user data and activity to create Saibatars. I attacked Babylon in an attempt to lessen the user data they could gather. But the knights interfered before I could finish."

"Even though you caused so much chaos and likely traumatized all those people?!" Trevor exclaimed. "You could've thought up of a better way than siding with terrorists!"

"Tell me how's the fight going on your end, hm? Oh yeah…that's why you're here, isn't it? Because you screwed up and lost Omnimon!"

Trevor got quiet, knowing he couldn't argue. "It still doesn't make it right."

"Of course, it doesn't, I'm not an idiot. But what choice did we have? The longer SAIBA keeps the users dumb the easier it is for them to gather all the data they need. Not to mention the Royal Knights are running around like puppets on strings, not knowing what they're aiding.

"Tell me about it." Adam crossed his arms. "When they captured Omnimon, they claimed that they were just following orders. Apparently, we were nothing but reckless kids having a power we had no business with."

"And now it's a power that we now possess." Morris re-entered the conversation by snapping his fingers and revealing the holographic card.

The teens were naturally shocked at the sight of Omnimon's data before them.

"Millenniummon has remained dormant since Machinedramon and Kimeramon fused. I've been keeping an eye on its development, and one thing I've come to discover is that it's lacking a significant amount of data to account for its massive size. In theory, I imagine that Akiyoshi's goal is to use Millenniummon to exert his dominance over the cybernetic landscape."

"And what? Use Omnimon to power it up like a battery?!" Adam asked, jumping to that conclusion.

"As a matter of fact, he gave it to me to allow me to use it as I see fit. That man's moves remain unpredictable each step, but the fact remains that goals are absolute dominance." He closed his hand, dispersing the image. "Which is why I come to all with a proposition…"

"Absolutely not." Trevor countered. "We're not joining Trojan."

"There's a difference between joining and aiding me in taking it back," Morris explained. "As of right now, now that I've gathered what I could from SAIBA and their intentions with my son's legacy, I have no use for them. Therefore, I request the aid of you Beta Testers to help me bring down SAIBA Enterprise once and for all. Doing so, we'll save potentially millions of users both now and in the future and prevent Akiyoshi Saiba from obtaining his goal."

The teens stood quiet, looking back at one another, not knowing what to say. Trevor turned around, shocked at their hesitancy. "Are you guys seriously going to trust him? After everything, he's done to us?"

"I will." Layla was the first to step up. "If it means bringing my father down then I'm in."

"Same." Emily followed. "As much as I loathe the thought, in retrospect, the Digimon are all I have left of Ivan. So to preserve their well-being I'll join."

"And to keep me out of trouble, right?" Layla smiled.

"And to keep you out of trouble." Emily nodded.

Trevor looked over to Adam. "I know you want to say yes."

"You want my input?"

"Might as well."

"Melissa."

Trevor stood to process that. Joining Morris and gaining the power to confront the Knights on equal footing could give them the chance to make them realize the actual situation at hand after all…

"Okay." Trevor surrendered. "Fine, I'm in then too," he turned to Morris. "If this goes south at any point though…"

"Don't worry…" Megan put her hand on his shoulder. "Mr. Morris isn't the type to go back on his word. Not when he was our teacher, and not now. I trust him."

Trevor took another moment to process that. "Fine. Then I'll trust you then."

"Good enough."

"Excellent." Mr. Morris clapped, before walking over to one of the computers. "Now that that's settled, first thing's first…" he pressed a button and several holographic screens projected all around the room. Displayed on each of them was a catalog of all the cards within the game, the ones they recognized already, as well as plenty of unfamiliar ones."

"Since I've returned to SAIBA, I have been granted access to SAIBA's card database. In addition, I've also taken the liberty of creating a few of them myself, such as Ceresmon for example, and the Digimon with the Digisorption ability. With that said, I'm sure you all will find something that will prove to be useful in your upcoming battles against the Royal Knights…"

The teens split up and after a few minutes stood enamored at the screens, silently formulating strategies in their head. Adam especially, as he scrolled stopped short at a yellow card. Agumon was depicted on it, however, what made it unique was the red braces on its claws. It wasn't the same Agumon from his childhood, he reminded himself. However, the curiosity got the better of him as he selected the card, and in turn, the digivolution line expanded from it.

"GeoGreymon…RizeGreymon…ShineGreymon…" he read them one by one, struck by the variations of Greymon that were completely unfamiliar to him.

"Coming up with ideas already?" Emily walked up, noticing Adam's long stare at the screen.

"Uh…yeah. Though I actually don't know anything about Yellow, I might bug you for help."

"That's no problem, just let me know..." Emily nodded.

Adam noticed she looked like she wanted to say more. "Something wrong…?"

"I'm sorry…for going off on you before." She said, feeling the weight come off. "I was frustrated with everything and I…"

"No, you're right. I should've appreciated what you guys did for us. I shouldn't have said what I did either."

"Layla had to remind me that your impulses saved the both of us before. And…yeah." Emily exhaled, flustered as she tried to formulate words. "I was hoping you were going to be at school today because I had this all prepped in my head and…bottom line is I'm sorry. For what happened to Agumon…and for what I said."

"You're fine, Emily. I can tell you were worried about me."

Emily was taken aback. "What do you mean by that?"

Adam blinked. "I mean…why else would you get so…I'm sorry I read that completely wrong!"

Emily's cheeks flared. "This stays between us."

"Cool." Adam agreed, his cheeks also red as well.

While overhearing the pair, Layla kept her thoughts to herself, all the while she felt the slight discomfort in her own chest, turning slightly to see Megan standing nearby Trevor as well. She reminded herself to keep her focus; the downfall of her father and SAIBA Enterprise is the only goal she needed to have in mind.

As a member of Trojan... that was her duty then, and that was her duty now…