"Hey Adam! You're friend's here to pick you up!" Lucas's voice climbed the staircase, just barely breaching the door separating Adam's bedroom from the outside.
Adam in the meantime, still trying to pick out a shirt for the day, looked at the clock. "Trevor's never this early what they heck?"
"Hurry up!"
"Yeah, I'm coming!" Adam snapped. He resorted to grabbing a t-shirt hanging on the back of his gaming chair as well as a hoodie to hide the fact he wore it already. He took a shower so to him it wasn't as dirty as it likely was, but you never know.
Checking himself for last minute items, he realized he forgot his deck case and turned back to swipe it from his desk. Since building the new deck, he's been eager to get as much practice with it as possible, all things considered. Maybe with it now he can get back at Tyrone for last time, he thought.
"Okay, I'm good, let's head…out…" Adam reached the bottom of the stairs, growing quiet as the person he was expecting to wait for him wasn't said person.
Instead, Megan stood before him.
"Did you always take this long to get ready?" She crossed her arms.
Adam was quiet, trying to process whether this was another mind game on Melissa's part.
Megan noticed Adam's slight discomfort and relaxed her arms. "You, okay?"
"Yeah! Just…didn't expect to see you."
"Yeah well, figured I'd give Trevor a break. Plus, it's been a while since it's just been us two, you know? Gotta catch up a bit."
"Fair point…" Adam still felt skeptical about all this.
"You two are gonna be late you know." Lucas called from the kitchen, overhearing the two go back and forth.
"Same goes for you!" Adam countered him. He turned back to Megan, "Let's go before we miss the train."
Megan nodded, opening the door. As Adam began to walk, he caught the slight curve on Megan's face.
"By the way…"
"Don't even start!" Adam halted her thought process.
"Doesn't feel good, does it?" Megan grinned. "~Adam and Emily sitting in a tree~!"
"What are you?! Five?!"
Megan cackled as Adam stormed out the front door.
"It's good to be back…"
Chapter 18: The King's Pride
"By the way, I was wondering…"
"For the third time, Emily and I are just friends…" Adam responded, leaning over the tracks to see if the train was any closer.
"Yeah, I'm not focused on that this second." Megan stated. "I was curious about that Layla girl."
"What about her?"
"You haven't been noticing the subtle looks she's given me since I came back?"
"Granted you are with you-know-what, so trust is gonna be somethings that's earned.
"I mean when I'm around Trevor…"
Adam took a moment. "…yeah, I guess that would make sense."
"You were trying to avoid this, weren't you?"
"I mean…with everything on our plate, do we really have time for love triangles and stuff?"
"Exactly my point. If she has issues with me regarding Trevor, I'd appreciate it if she came to me rather than give me the stink eye behind my back."
"In that case maybe that's more of a conversation that Emily needs to hear. She and Layla are best friends and everything, and you know how blunt Emily can be."
"Yeah, but I'm trying to handle this without Trevor being on my case. Can't shake the feeling he'd send a Grizzlymon towards me if I end up in striking distance to her.
Adam crossed his arms. "…so…you're jealous then?"
Megan shook her head. "Surprisingly not, actually."
"You're lying."
"No, I'm actually serious. Remember, I know what happened with you guys…" Her voice trailed, leading to a pause. Adam could pick up on the underlying meaning of that statement, prompting him to change topics.
"Speaking of which, what did happen to you? You get kidnapped, your family goes radio silent and now you're on your way to school like nothing's happened."
"It's a long, complicated story." She admitted.
The pair could hear the whistle of the subway approach them from the end of the tunnel as the light peered the corner.
"We got a twenty-minute train ride to school." Adam pointed out.
Taking that into consideration, Megan nodded. "Alright fair enough. Stop me if things get confusing alright?"
[Digi-Citadel, Babylon…]
Quincy threw his arms over the digital balcony and took in the artificial sunrise out in the distance. His distractions hung over him like a bad habit, Tyrone's involvement complicating his stance on things. He couldn't just wrap his head around why his brother had to be so hard-headed and do everything opposite of intended: Study, play football, and most importantly, stay out of trouble. Even if he decided to play Digimon, at the very least it was keeping him on a path that wouldn't lead into becoming what their father was: a lying two-faced piece of trash who chose the easy way out of a situation he created.
Maybe it was because of what Tyrone told him that made this stick as long as it has; about how he lied to him and his mother about what his "job" really was. Again, not that it mattered in the long-term. As long as he did what he needed to, and Tyrone kept his nose where it needed to be, then things could progress as intended.
"Fancy meeting you here this morning…" Melissa's voice called out as the young woman materialized from behind.
Quincy turned around, watching his leader come join him on the balcony. "You're up early. Something special happened?"
Melissa asked. "Why do you ask?"
"Because for one thing, you in a surprisingly good mood all things considered." Quincy pointed out.
Melissa smiled, "Yeah well, a day off can do wonders for someone's mental health after all."
Quincy smirked, "I take it you're referencing your little rendezvous with Merlo the other night?"
Melissa reacted, not expecting that. "It's nothing like that! We're just friends!"
"For now, at least." Quincy chuckled.
"Honest. Trust me, if we weren't tied up with keeping Babylon safe, I wouldn't mind giving a relationship a shot. But at the moment, I just got way too much on my plate to focus on anything else. Speaking of which, thanks for that report. I was able to go over it on my down time."
"Believe me, it was a pain to get through." Quincy admitted.
"Any reason?"
Quincy took a moment to ponder his next few words. "That idiot just so happened to be my younger brother. I'm sure you can relate."
Melissa's happy mood mellowed out from that statement. She turned back towards the sunrise and pondered her own choice of words. "How do you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Manage younger siblings?"
"You mean those Beta Testers…"
"Might as well throw that Trojan Agent into the mix as well." She turned and leaned back on the railing, her long hair draping along the side. "I don't get it. Back when I was still the community manager, I had zero issue with them. And ever since Trojan began their attacks on Babylon during the Beta phase, my relationships with them were becoming more strained as time went on. Am I wrong for wanting to keep them safe?"
"Absolutely not." Quincy answered. "Beta Testers or not, we're the adults in the equation, not them. We know teenagers are stupid because we've done all of that before. We've seen more of the world than them, so we have all the more hindsight."
"I had a feeling you were going to say that…"
"You were expecting a different answer?"
"Well, no…" she sat up. "Ben told me that I should just try having an honest conversation with them. Outside of all of this."
"Sometimes talking doesn't work."
"But sometimes it does. Or at least that's what my heart keeps telling me…"
"Yet there's a reason why our brains are in our heads and not our chests. Decisions based on emotion never end well." Quincy stated. "That goes double for us as Knights—soldiers of Babylon."
Melissa bit the side of her lip. "You said before that kid was your brother, right?"
"What about him?"
"Have you ever tried having a one-on-one conversation with him?"
Quincy took a minute and realized he couldn't truthfully answer that.
"Not saying I don't trust what you're saying, but the more I think about it, the more I'm beginning to lean on this having more than one answer."
"Not every situation is the same." Quincy countered her.
"Exactly. No situation is the same, as is the answers to said situation." Melissa took a deep breath. "I guess, don't dwell on it too much."
Quincy nodded, almost reluctant to do so. Melissa gave him a small smile. "Come with to the morning debrief?"
"You go on." Quincy replied. "I'll be there before it starts."
"Don't take too long." Melissa said, walking back from where she came, slowly dissipating with each step.
From there, Quincy was left on the balcony, having a new way of looking at his current situation. Whether or not he would adhere to it was a different matter in of itself. But at the behest of his superior, he would at least entertain the concept…
As the doors to the subway car opened at their stop, Adam and Megan mixed themselves into the commuting crowd as they proceeded to make their way to the exits. All the while, Adam was still trying to piece together what he just heard.
"Okay so let's see if I got all of that: Morris did hold you hostage in the beginning, only to release you after we dealt with Piedmon."
"Yup." She confirmed as she began to climb the staircase.
"And in pure SAIBA fashion, this was all covered up." Adam followed behind.
"Two for two."
"And the reason you're helping Morris despite the circumstances, is not because your family was threatened or anything, but because you feel sorry for the man and what he's been through."
Megan stopped as she reached the surface and turned around. "It's obviously much deeper than that."
"But that's the basic gist of it. Also in retrospect, I don't see what Morris gets out of saving Babylon users from being cloned into Saibatars, considering that he was very much willing to nuke everything with Millenniummon."
"That was before we learned something that SAIBA's keeping under wraps."
"Namely?"
"He wouldn't tell me the specifics, but apparently that's what SAIBA's using to keep a grip on him. Morris wants to take control of Trojan to defeat SAIBA and retrieve whatever they have on him."
The pair crossed the street and began making their way down the street towards their school, "From experience, SAIBA's probably knows that Morris is sneaking around like this."
"Which is why he had to do some outreach before he finally turned coat and we set Babylon up in smokes. Why did you think it took so long before we reappeared?"
"That's fair…but in any case, what explains your family being MIA?"
"Morris assured me that this benefactor of his is keeping them protected. In return they needed to keep silent about me and my activity."
"Okay, I'm gonna stop you right there and say this sounds really sketchy, especially by your standards."
"I agree with you."
"So then why go through with it?"
"The same reason why you're going through with it. I wasn't about to go up against SAIBA over a conspiracy theory, not to mention with the severe lack of resources we had. Now that we know exactly what their intentions are, as well have the tools to do something about it, all of that's changed."
"And you're sure you're doing this out of the kindness of your heart?"
Megan was getting frustrated trying to explain herself at this point. Adam also realized he may have crossed a potential line, pausing his thought for a moment.
"We all have our reasons for going up against SAIBA, right? You and Trevor want to get your partners back as well as get Melissa to see SAIBA for what it really is, Emily and Layla likely have their reasons as well. Mine is helping the man whose been the closest thing to a father since mine died…"
He definitely crossed it.
"Sorry…I didn't mean to…" Adam attempted to apologize.
"It's fine. Honestly, I don't blame you guys for being skeptical about it. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't holding onto a tiny bit of skepticism. Regardless, I'm willing to put faith in him. And if it helps you guys, put faith in me for my decision."
Adam took a moment, reminded by Trevor's words about trusting Megan when the proposition was first presented to them. "I can do that."
Megan smiled and gave him a hug. "That's all I ask for."
Adam returned it, the idea that his friend was safe and sound in the real world finally sinking in. He kept his composure to not make it awkward.
"Hey Adam!" Trevor's voice called from the opposite direction.
Megan pulled back, her trademark smirk curling around the side of her lips the moment she locked eyes on her prey. "Guess who's back?!"
Adam stifled his laughter, thinking of all the ways to tease Trevor this one seemed oddly forced on her part for some reason.
In a cartoonish fashion, Megan skipped down towards Trevor and embraced the teen, giggling in excitement. In a way it was wholesome, especially since Trevor didn't resist, but instead returned the embrace.
"It's one thing to hug in cyberspace but nothing beats a real one." Megan said, tightly gripping Trevor.
Trevor couldn't help but smile at the sound of that. "This is real then…"
"Mhmm. I'm really back…"
Trevor took another moment to process that, before feeling tears well up in his eyes. "I'm sorry…"
"About what?" Megan shrugged as she released him. "We've been through this already, haven't we?"
Trevor wiped his eyes. "Not just what I said…for ignoring you when you needed me. For being scared out of my mind when you went missing. For not doing more!"
Megan went speechless at this point, realizing what he was referring to; the missed messages of apologies she left him when they fought. It's what drove her to develop so much animosity towards him for a moment. What caused her feelings to motivate her actions to such a degree.
Megan didn't know how to respond. Knowing that she was potentially a burden on his conscience left a sinking feeling in her stomach. She took a moment to collect herself and hold back her emotions before she responded.
"How about we talk after school? Just us two?" Megan suggested.
Trevor's eyes were turning red at this point. It was rare for him to get so emotional like this, as per the whispers of the developing spectators. He gave her a nod and with that she and Trevor began to make their way into the school building.
Emily finally walked up, just barely catching what was happening. "Was that Megan just now?"
Adam turned, acknowledging the girl. "Yeah…she's back and already setting the precedence for how the next week's gonna be like."
Emily crossed her arms. "I can see that happening."
Adam pulled against the strap of his bag, leading her into the front of the school. "Anyway, what's going on with you?"
"Aside from tutoring both you and Layla on how to use Yellow in your decks, Homework. Had I known my weekend was gonna be so busy I would've planned ahead. Now I have to go home and throw together a whole research paper for Hawkwood's History class."
"Yikes…" Adam felt bad for her. "That's true. This whole last week was spent wondering what happened to Megan and if we were ever gonna see her again. Now this week we're training and plotting to take down SAIBA."
"Shh!" Emily shushed him almost immediately. Adam realized his folly and mentally kicked himself, hoping no one heard that.
"Sorry, I was talking to Megan about that and I kinda forgot that…yeah."
"I'll get on her case once she gets Trevor situated." Emily assured. "Actually, now that I think about it, whatever happened to Tyrone?"
Adam stopped. "Crap!"
"Wait; did you really forget that he played a part in helping Megan escape?"
"Stop talking please! I know I screwed up!"
"Yeah, you kinda did!"
"Don't worry about me," A locker door closed, revealing Tyrone's stature on the other side of the door. "The Royal Knights left me off with a warning."
Adam and Emily took note of their Senior and were relieved to see him, all things considered.
"Listen dude, I really owe you one." Adam thanked him. "Megan would've been in serious trouble had you not—"
"Help me defeat the Black Knight." Tyrone said flatly.
Adam and Emily paused for a second to allow the request process.
"He's your what?!" Megan exclaimed, loud enough for the group to nearly lose hearing.
Tyrone dragged the four teens out into the bleacher area during their lunch period, like he did Adam before in order to explain what happened to him after he was captured by the Royal Knights. It was here that Tyrone revealed that Quincy was his older brother, as well as the user of Craniamon, the designated Black Knight.
"Maybe dial back the tone?" Emily suggested.
"That jerk nearly squashed us with that behemoth of a knight!" Megan attempted to explain herself.
"And you were trying to nuke Babylon." Tyrone countered.
"I wasn't nuking anything! I was saving lives."
"Didn't seem like it."
"Okay you know what?"
"Guys!" Trevor got in between them. "Argue later, please!" he turned to Tyrone. "Continue with what you were saying."
"Right, so. Bottom line is, my brother is one of the Royal Knights and what with everything going on, it doesn't take a genius to know something's up." He turned to Megan.
"Look, I told you to back out to avoid getting hurt and you didn't listen to me." Megan defended herself.
"I wasn't about to fail twice." He countered. "Losing you once was bad enough."
Megan hesitated, those words quieting whatever argument she was forming. Trevor took note of her abrupt silence.
"Morris likely knows that Quincy is your brother." Adam explained. "If he was using you as bait to disrupt the Knights that would explain the messages."
"But back when Morris dueled against me, he used a deck Tyrone made. That would mean Morris has been eyeing Tyrone for much longer than the Knights have been around."
"I didn't make that deck. It was an old one my brother gave me after I took part in some event SAIBA held when I was a kid. Said he tried to re-create it the best he could remember."
The group collectively looked at him.
"Out of curiosity, what kind of event was this?" Adam having an eerie feeling that this was leading to a particular topic.
Tyrone leaned back. "Some Digimon thing SAIBA was holding. They gave me a deck to use and put me up against some kid using a Black deck, which is weird because Black and Purple just came out didn't—"
"Was his name Ivan?!" Emily exclaimed.
Tyrone, jumped slightly from the outburst. "I don't remember it was like years ago."
"Dude…that was the Beta Test event." Adam said.
"…and?"
"Wait, you didn't know that was a Beta Testing event? Or even the accident from five years ago?"
"About the accident? We were long gone before that happened."
The teens grew silent.
"I think we just found out why Morris has been keeping an eye on you…" Adam concluded.
[Omni Stadium, Babylon…]
Quincy found himself leaning over yet another balcony, this time the one over the stands in one of the empty battlefields inside Omni Stadium. With the afternoon now setting in, more users were beginning to log in and several of them didn't hesitate to fill the stadium for local match ups with other users. The day ultimately proved quiet, and with Melissa's words lingering in his mind, he found himself responding to Tyrone's request to meet him at the stadium. Naturally if such an emergency rose up, he intended to leave and deal with it, despite Melissa assuring that she and the other two could handle it. This left Quincy awaiting his brother to log in and humor whatever the reason he called him there.
Quincy's ear twitched as he heard the football player's stomps down the hollow hallway, echoing a similar aesthetic to a real-life sports stadium.
"You're late." Quincy lightly scolded.
"Had to stay behind and discuss something with my coach."
A bit of warmth filled Quincy. "You're going to start playing again?"
Tyrone shook his head. "I decided to formally retire."
And said warmth was quickly frozen over, taking Quincy aback. "You did what?!"
"I decided that there's other important things than football."
"Tyrone, do you realize what you've done?! You just threw away a guaranteed scholarship! For what?!"
"Are you that dense?" Tyrone crossed his arms. His D-Brace and D-Case was strapped to his arm, catching the corner of Quincy's eye.
"You didn't…" Quincy was seconds from seething.
"You and me. Right now."
"Tyrone, log out. Now."
"Beat me first."
Quincy moved up closer to him, "Tyrone, I swear—!"
"You swear, what?!" Tyrone snarled, stopping Quincy in his tracks. "Why did you lie to Mom and me? Why did you become a Royal Knight?!"
"I told you already, that's—"
"Did you know…?" Tyrone cut him off.
Quincy took a deep breath, holding his anger back. "Know what?"
"That I was one of them? A Beta Tester."
"Of course, you dolt, I took you to the stupid event in the first place!"
"That's not what I'm taking about!"
"Then what?"
"I'm talking about what happened to them! What SAIBA's done and is doing! Did you know about that?!"
Quincy grew quiet. "I have no idea what you're talking about…"
Tyrone scoffed. "And there you go, lying again. Now I'm really gonna demolish you."
Quincy was trying his best to keep his cool but as the seconds dragged the harder it became. He moved to mute his D-Com, following it by taking his blazer off, revealing his muscled arms underneath. "Fine, I'll bite. You want to be an idiot and stick your nose in places you have no business being in, then I'll make you regret it."
"Give it your best shot."
Tyrone turned towards the staircase and began to walk down, Tyrone following him to the arena floor below. They both, armed with their D-Braces took the opposing sides from one another.
"DIGI-GATE: OPEN!"
"Not gonna lie, I'm still trying to wrap my head around him being our missing Beta Tester." Adam leaned on the back of the virtual chair as he, Trevor and Layla sat and watched the livestream of what was taking place in Omni Stadium.
Rather than be in Morris' server as before, the trio were back in Layla's private server, which, by comparison traded the lab-like aesthetic for a more clubhouse theme.
"I guess that would explain why he knew how to play the game that one time. Goes to show that he knew how to handle any situation that challenged his dominance at Norbert High." Trevor added.
"I clearly missed something, so would anyone like to fill me in?" Layla asked as she approached the pair.
"Tyrone is the Green Beta Tester." Megan chimed in, materializing in the server.
Layla tilted her head. "How did you…?"
"Trevor gave her the invite link." Adam answered.
"Dude!" Trevor snapped.
"…Of course, he did…" Layla muttered to herself.
Megan wasn't ignorant and picked up on Layla's subtle discomfort. "Actually, Morris gave it to me. Said that he didn't want to intrude in what little privacy we have and would contact us when necessary."
It was a half-truth. Morris did say that he would call them when he needed them, but she wasn't about to kick another beehive this early. One situation at a time.
"It's not a problem." Layla smiled. "If anything, this might give me the chance to get to know you, formally speaking."
"That's…actually true." Megan thought about it for a second and saw the opportunity present itself. She glanced over to Trevor, who didn't seem to flinch. "How about…Friday? After school?"
Layla blinked. "I…"
"We can bring Emily along! It'll be a whole girl's day afternoon! Speaking of which where is she?"
"Research paper." Adam answered. "Told us to keep her updated."
Megan smirked. "Of course, you'd know where she'd be."
"Ah-ah! Don't start!" Adam waved his finger towards her.
Megan threw her hands up. "In any case, what do you think? Friday sounds good?"
Layla didn't give it any initial thought was was even more in a bind now, not knowing how to respond. "I'll—"
"DarkTyrannomon moves to the Battle Area!" Tyrone's voice came through the livestream, cutting Layla off and drawing their attention. They turned to the screen, seeing the black t-rex Digimon march forward against a disfigured pink mouse and a ToyAgumon residing in Quincy's Breeding Area.
"Think he's gonna be, okay?" Megan asked, looking over to the screen.
"He has a Digimon that's built like a steamroller. And hits like one too."
Megan stifled her laughter. "Looks like Babylon has them after all."
Both Layla and Trevor turned to her.
"It's an inside joke, don't worry about it." Megan assured.
"DarkTyrannomon Digivolves into Garudamon!" Tyrone swiped the card over his D-Case as the black T-rex roared, the binary code creating wings on its back, which was followed up by it being converted from the savage dinosaur to the toned avian Digimon.
Garudamon (BT1-022)
Color: Red
Level: 5
DP: 7000
"Bebydomon's IE effect; since Garudamon has the piercing ability, it gains +2000 DP!
Garudamon: 7000-9000 DP
MEMORY
2-1 (Turn Change: Quincy)
Quincy drew. "ToyAgumon moves to the Battle Area, then digivolves into Tankmon."
He swiped the card over his D-Brace, causing ToyAgumon to react. Along with the binary code, the building-block Digimon broke apart and rebuilt itself into a camo-skinned reptilian Digimon with the lower body of a tank and armaments of one as well, covering its hands and its head in tank artillery
Tankmon (BT3-067)
Color: Black
Level: 4
DP: 6000
MEMORY
1-0
"Tankmon inherits ToyAgumon's IE effect, gaining Reboot. Thanks to that, it also gets Kapurimon's +1000DP bonus as well."
Tankmon: 6000-7000 DP
"I'll finish my turn by playing Gotsumon from my hand for 3 Memory." He said, summoning the small golem Digimon.
Gotsumon (BT2-054)
Color: Black
Level: 3
DP: 3000
MEMORY
0-3 (Turn Change: Tyrone)
"That's right…Black is big on defense, isn't it?" Tyrone said, considering it. He smirked, "Like that will stop me."
"I encourage you to back that up." Quincy said.
Tyrone took him up on that. "I hatch Minomon!"
Minomon appeared, materializing in Tyrone's breeding Area,
Minomon (BT3-004)
Color: Green
Level: 2
"Minomon digivolves into Agumon, then into Stingmon."
The small bagworm Digimon reacted to the binary code and reformed into Agumon briefly before becoming the full-fledged bug warrior.
Agumon (BT2-043)
Color: Green
Level: 3
DP: 1000
Stingmon (BT3-050)
Color: Green
Level: 4
DP: 5000
MEMORY
3-2
"Agumon's IE effect boosts Stingmon by +1000 DP." Tyrone stated as Stingmon flashed green briefly
Stingmon: 5000-6000 DP
"Garudamon Security Attack!" Tyrone commanded, the Avian Digimon launching skyward to set itself up for a landing kick. Its talon lit ablaze as it carried itself downward towards the materialized Security Card. Gotsumon shied away from the erupting power of the impact, with the security shattering. Garudamon came back and awaited the results of its attack.
Quincy
Security: 5-4
A small dinosaur Digimon dressed in camo and army gear materialized, taking note of the much larger avian Digimon. Intimidated, it aimed its rifle, only for Garudamon to punch the air in response, a small fire bird putting the terrified Digimon out of its misery.
Garudamon: 9000 DP
Commandramon: 3000 DP
"I end my turn by playing the tamer Taiga from my hand." Tyrone swiped the card, allowing Taiga to materialize along with the Digimon present.
Taiga (BT2-088)
Color: Green
MEMORY
2-1 (Turn Change: Quincy)
Quincy drew. "I hatch Kapurimon."
Kapurimon materialized, bouncing in place, excited to have been played.
Kapurimon (BT2-005)
Color: Black
Level: 2
"It's going to digivolve into ToyAgumon, then into a second Tankmon."
Subsequently, Kapurimon warped digivolved into the tank Digimon patiently awaiting its deployment into the Battle Area.
ToyAgumon (BT2-055)
Color: Black
Level: 3
DP: 1000
MEMORY
1-0
"Like the other one, Tankmon gets Reboot and +1000 DP during my turn from it thanks to the IE effects of the Digimon under it.
Tankmon: 6000-7000 DP
"I'll end my turn by playing the Tamer Joe Kido." Quincy finished, as a lanky boy with glasses, a sweater-vest and khakis materialized in his Battle Area.
Joe Kido (BT3-095)
Color: Black
MEMORY
0-2 (Turn Change: Tyrone)
"Not liking the pressure on you huh?" Tyrone taunted.
"Worry about yourself more. It's your move." Quincy shot back.
Tyrone cackled, "Don't have to tell me twice! From here on I'm gonna wreck shop!" He drew. "Stingmon, you're up! To the Battle Area!"
Stingmon took its position, awaiting further orders.
"Garudamon, Security Attack!"
Garudamon flexed its muscles, igniting itself in fire and launching a blazing firebird that took to the air and came down on Quincy's security. Quincy waited patiently, Gotsumon once again held back from defending.
Quincy
Security: 4-3
As the security broke and digital fire encircled him, Quincy looked towards Tyrone and the latter felt his heart skip.
"Security check!" Quincy's voice boomed, as a silver blur shot from the small circle of fire and into the sky.
Tyrone's gaze shot up as a muscular silver ape-like Digimon wearing sunglasses revealed itself. Garudamon took up the challenge and dove forward, igniting itself once again. The Ape snickered and with a forceful kick, extinguished the flames and sent Garudamon soaring back down to the earth, barely missing Tyrone as binary exploded behind him.
Garudamon: 9000 DP
MetalEtemon: 10,000 DP
Tyrone was left somewhat astounded by the unexpected maneuver, while Quincy stood, awaiting his follow-up.
"There better be more to that bravado." Quincy told him.
Tyrone looked back, gritting his teeth as he drew a pair of cards from his hand. "…Rise beast of ancient times… Assert your dominance over the land that was once your kingdom…!"
A similarly angered Stingmon stood defiant as wind began to stir around it. A massive wave of binary spiraled around it moments later, as Tyrone revealed the pair of cards.
"I suspend Taiga in order to have Stingmon digivolves into MetalTyrannomon…and then into RustTyrannomon!"
The mass of binary overtook Stingmon and reformed it straight into the massive, rusted machine T-Rex, unleashing a roar that shook the stadium, though Quincy continued to stay unflinching.
MetalTyrannomon (BT2-046)
Color: Green
Level: 5
DP: 6000
MEMORY
2-1
RustTyrannomon (BT2-051)
Color: Green
Level: 6
DP: 11,000 DP
MEMORY
1-3 (Turn Change: Quincy)
"Any sign of him?" Melissa asked Carlos as he made his way down the hollow stadium hallway.
"Still nothing…" Carlos lazily replied. "I don't know why you're so concerned. Forgot he's built like a house?"
"It's unusual for him to go radio silent like this. Sorry for being concerned for my team."
"Oh, come on, you know what I mean. Whatever he's doing I'm sure whoever's putting him through it is regretting their decision already."
"With things the way they are now, assuming he's alright isn't enough."
Carlos rolled his eyes. "Look we're not like those Beta Testers alright? We don't need a chaperone to—"
"If I, were you, I'd choose those next few words wisely…" Melissa's tone took a sharp turn.
Rather than be surprised by her abrupt reaction, Carlos gave a small smirk. "My bad. I'll let you know if I run into him."
"Appreciate it." Melissa hung up with the venom still laced in her voice. Carlos stuffed his hands in his pocket as the outside light met the mouth of the hallway. As he reached the outside, his eyes caught the shine of the light reflecting on MetalEtemon who hovered in the sky. Carlos just barely caught the careening meteor that was Garudamon.
"There better me more to that bravado!"
Quincy's voice echoed. Carlos upon hearing it grinned. "So that's where you were hiding…" Carlos walked up to the balcony and took note of Tyrone as he went into the motion of summoning RustTyrannomon. Carlos pondered the thought of intervening and alerting Melissa, but instead he turned his D-Com to mute.
He needed a break from all the searching after all…
"Joe grants me an additional Memory for having a Blocker on my field at the start of my turn."
MEMORY
3-4
Quincy drew. Tankmon moves to the Battle Area. Then, I digivolve my other Tankmon into Giromon."
Tankmon, upon taking up the binary, condensed into a small ball-like Digimon with two long horns and a devilish face. Its muscular right arm carried a chainsaw while its thin left arm held in it a red mine.
Giromon (BT3-068)
Color: Black
Level: 5
DP: 7000
MEMORY
4-1
"So much for that." Quincy drew. "Ascend, Obsidian Gatekeeper…Giromon digivolves into Craniamon!"
A wave of black energy exploded from Giromon, sending harsh winds outward. RustTyrannomon's titanic body was enough to block most of it, keeping Tyrone steady. He watched as Giromon's eyes lit up a bright red as it slowly rose upward. When it finally stopped, binary code began to form underneath it, surrounding the head and building the body beneath it. Giromon's form finally reconfigured so that it resembled the head of Craniamon.
Craniamon (BT3-075)
Color: Black
Level: 6
DP: 12,000
MEMORY
1-3 (Turn Change: Tyrone)
"Craniamon gains the IE effects of both ToyAgumon and Kapurimon, gaining +1000 DP and Reboot, during my turn, whereas Giromon grants +1000 DP during your turn thanks to its IE effect.
Craniamon: 12,000-13,000 DP
Tyrone gritted his teeth. A 13,000 DP blocker was going to be a pain to get over, as well as deal with. Especially being that it had reboot, it would be practically impossible to get rid of it.
"What's the matter? What happened to all that talk about beating me, huh?" Quincy demanded.
Tyrone continued to remain silent. "It's my move…" He drew. "I hatch Minomon and Digivolve it into Wormmon."
Wormmon materialized in his Breeding Area, the anxious little bug Digimon finding itself overwhelmed by the stature that Craniamon exerted.
Wormmon (BT3-047)
Color: Green
Level: 3
DP: 1000
"I'll end by playing Ken Ichijoji from my hand…"
Ken followed Wormmon's appearance, taking a stance next to Taiga.
Ken Ichijoji (BT3-094)
Color: Green
MEMORY
3-1 (Turn Change: Quincy)
Quincy was growing impatient. "Well?!"
"I don't have an answer!" Tyrone exclaimed.
"Of course, you don't! Because once again your stubbornness has gotten you in a situation you can't get yourself out of!"
Tyrone fought the urge to accept his brother's harsh words as fact. He hated this feeling. Of feeling weak, helpless. As someone whose worked hard to achieve what he has, to show dominance in a crowd of his peers, he ended up being a victim to his ego. A fragile part of him that would give way if he as so much turned the other way. It happened when his father walked out on his family. It happened when Trevor and Adam beat him in this game back-to-back. It happened when Megan was kidnapped before his eyes. And it's happening now with his brother…
In reality, he was a small, helpless person under the guise of six feet of muscle and overconfidence. And he hated it.
Quincy didn't waste time, drawing his next card. "Joe grants me an extra memory for having a Blocker in play.
MEMORY
1-2
Craniamon, Security Attack!"
Craniamon summoned its massive twin-handed lance and began to twirl it above its head, stirring up a black tornado around it. It was cast towards Tyrone, who snapped back into it as it came upon him. The Security Card appeared and held it back, breaking to bits in its attempt to shield.
Tyrone
Security: 5-4
"Security Check…" Tyrone checked the card and his eyes lit up. "Security Trigger: Flower Cannon! All of your Digimon except the blockers suspend! Tankmon, and Chuumon suspend!"
The golden beam pierced the hurricane hitting the two non-blockers, paralyzing them where they stood.
Quincy swiped another card over his D-Brace. "I play a second Joe Kido from my hand."
Joe materialized beside his counterpart, adding to the memory boosters.
MEMORY
2-0
"Finally, Tankmon digivolves into Andromon to end my turn."
Tankmon in response evolved into the android-esque Digimon, awaiting its orders to defend Quincy.
Andromon (BT2-061)
Color: Black
Level: 5
DP: 7000
MEMORY
0-3 (Turn Change: Tyrone)
"A lucky trigger isn't going to change anything." Quincy noted.
Tyrone began cracking up, "Since when was luck ever on my side…?" He looked up at Quincy who continued to hold onto his stoic expression. "Everything that's happened in the last month and a half has been nothing but bad luck…"
"Why do you continue to be so stubborn?" Quincy asked him.
"Because you self-righteous blockhead…" Tyrone began. "I'm trying to get you to see what's right in front of you."
Quincy's eyes narrowed. "What's right in front of me is a brat who is grating on my nerves."
"Look harder." Tyrone drew. "Wormmon moves to the Battle Area, then it's gonna digivolve into Tyrannomon!"
The small worm Digimon reformed into the larger red t-rex. It roared, causing Tyrone's D-Brace to beam out three rectangles before it.
Tyrannomon (BT2-044)
Color: Green
Level: 4
DP: 4000
MEMORY
3-1
"When Tyrannomon is digivolved into, I reveal the top three cards of my deck. I can add one Level 5 Digimon as well as a green Tamer from among them."
The cards revealed themselves, being MetalTyrannomon, Breakdramon and Taiga.
"MetalTyrannomon and Taiga are added to my hand." He said retrieving two of the rectangles as the third returned to his brace. "I digivolve Tyrannomon into MetalTyrannomon, suspending Taiga to regain a Memory as well."
The red T-rex roared as the binary came down, doubling its size, changing its scaly body white while creating cybernetic armaments on its body.
MEMORY
1-0
"And finally… raise your pride-filled blade toward the sky as you pierce the very being of your enemies…!"
The viewers across all platforms were left leaning forward, not expecting Tyrone to have a tertiary ace in his deck. With force, he swiped the card, igniting MetalTyrannomon in a beam of light. The one big T-Red grew smaller and more humanoid in stature, though bug elements were clearly evident in its silhouette.
"MetalTyrannomon, digivolve into BanchoStingmon!" Tyrone exclaimed as the new Digimon cut through the light with its sharp stinger gauntlet.
A fiery-red bug humanoid with wild lavender hair, dressed as a Japanese-style delinquent stood before Quincy and Craniamon, dwarfed by the giant by comparison.
BanchoStingmon (BT3-058)
Color: Green
Level: 6
DP: 9000
MEMORY
0-3 (Turn Change: Quincy)
Quincy stared at the newest Digimon on Tyrone's side, all the while contemplating everything said up to this point. "A Digimon born through the pride and bravado of someone in way over their head…"
"Maybe so, but despite that its gonna help me beat some sense into you sure enough."
"I wonder about that…" Quincy said. "Just what is it that you want me to see so badly that you're willing to be so reckless?"
"Like I said, I learned there was more to that Beta Test than just going to test the game out. And if you don't know about it, then that means SAIBA's hiding that on purpose."
Carlos who was sitting a way's away raised his brow.
Melissa's words came back to him, reminding that talking may be an option. Rather than continue to berate him, he crossed his arms and gave into the suggestion, "I'll humor it."
Tyrone was a little surprised by his willingness to listen but refused to pass up the opportunity. "That explosion that happened during the test? That was Trojan trying to keep SAIBA from recording the data from the Beta Testers. SAIBA intends on using it to create an army of AI in order to take over the world through Babylon and the Digimon. Trojan attempted to destroy Babylon, but Adam and the others used Omnimon to put a stop to it. When they learned what SAIBA intentions were, they tried to keep Omnimon from them only for you Royal Knights to steal it back!"
"And assuming all of that is true, why side with Trojan?"
"Because Trojan's attack the other day, as well as what they plan now, is to bring down SAIBA in order to keep them from obtaining their goal. Trojan started out as an asset for for them to act like they're the good guys, but we're taking it to show the world the real SAIBA for what it is!"
"You realize you're admitting to me, a Royal Knight, that you, are a Cyberterrorist…" Quincy warned.
"I do." Tyrone said confidently.
Quincy relaxed his arms and sighed. "Then there's nothing else for us to discuss."
Tyrone felt the disappointment settle in him, but he swallowed it and braced for whatever was to come this turn. Quincy drew and reaffirmed his stance.
"The two Joe's each give a Memory for having a blocker on the field."
MEMORY
3-5
"Andromon digivolves into HiAndromon." Quincy swiped as Andromon embraced the digivolution The binary caused its armor to turn black, as well as cover the fleshy parts of its being until it seemed completely robotic. The shoulder pads on its right and left sides of the armor stood out, becoming more advanced looking and becoming blue and red in color, respectively.
HiAndromon (BT2-064)
Color: Black
Leve: 6
DP: 12,000
MEMORY
5-3
"And then I play the Option Beast Cyclone!" Quincy announced.
MEMORY
3-0
"HiAndromon, Gotsumon and Craniamon, because they either have 'Blocker' or 'Reboot' each gain Security Attack +1!"
Tyrone gritted his teeth, not liking what was to come.
"You got your chance to talk." Quincy stated. "And now its time for you to go home…" He threw his hand outward, directing his Digimon to launch. "HiAndromon!"
Sparks flickered on each of HiAndromon's shoulder pads, causing electricity to conjure overhead. Generating into a volatile ball of energy it grabbed a hold of it and blasted it forward. Two Security appeared before Tyrone and took the brunt of the attack.
The first revealed itself as Scrap Claw, its lack of Security Effect rendering it useless. The second was the red MetalTyrannomon.
"Don't forget HiAndromon's IE effects give it +1000 DP!"
HiAndromon: 13,000 DP
MetalTyrannomon: 10,000 DP
The atomic blast erased MetalTyrannomon, despite its attempt at defense. Tyrone still stood resilient.
Tyrone
Security: 4-2
"That all you got?!"
"Of course not. Craniamon!"
Craniamon now stepped up and twirled its heavy-handed weapon, weaponizing the winds to deal even more damage towards Tyrone. Once again, two Security materialized to shield from the onslaught, Tyrone seeing his chances of victory dwindling before him with each passing moment.
The first one revealed was Tentomon.
Craniamon: 13,000 DP
Tentomon: 3000 DP
Tentomon appeared but was quickly swept by the winds. The Second card then revealed itself.
Flower Cannon.
Chuumon was the only victim of Flower Cannon, being that HiAndromon was already suspended and both Craniamon and Gotsumon were blockers.
Tyrone
Security: 2-0
A massive beatdown in one turn left Tyrone with no way of coming back from this. Quincy took a deep breath, ready to end this. "Gotsumon direct—"
"I can't wait to see this blow back in your face…" Tyrone cut him off. He smirked, looking over to his right, drawing Quincy's gaze as well.
Carlos, who at this point had his feet propped on the chair waved.
Quincy feeling a second headache coming momentarily gave the sole spectator his attention. "How long have you been sitting there."
"Long enough to hear some interesting things. But don't mind me, finish up, we'll talk afterward."
Quincy exhaled, having enough between the both of them. "I end my turn."
Tyrone was taken aback. "Wha—why?!"
"So, I can use Craniamon next turn to finish you off." Quincy said without hesitation. This was happening as HiAndromon and Craniamon unsuspended thanks to their Reboots.
MEMORY
0-3 (Turn Change: Tyrone)
Tyrone understood the symbolic gesture behind that. What better way to show his stance except using the very representation of his stubbornness? Being that this was his last turn, he figured he had nothing to lose.
Tyrone drew. "In that case, I'll put everything in BanchoStingmon and RustTyrannomon. My 'stubbornness' versus your denseness! Which one's going to come out on top?! BanchoStingmon, Attack Chuumon!"
"Craniamon blocks!" Quincy quickly countered. He had zero intention of letting Tyrone cause him any damage.
BanchoStingmon flew into the air and threw its right arm back, the bladed stinger glowing a bright, violent pink. Chuumon, defenseless, panicked as BanchoStingmon came down on it. Craniamon, as ordered stepped in and blocked the stinger with its massive shield, causing an ensuing power clash between the two forces.
BanchoStingmon: 9,000 DP
Craniamon: 13,000 DP
Akiyoshi in the meantime watched in his office, this spectacle before him. Two of his knights have discovered the wolf in sheep's clothing has been under their nose the entire time. With a grin, he opened a separate window, displaying the codework to the specific stadium and the programs running with in it. With a slight backspace and a press of the enter-key, he sat back and awaited the events to unfold…
"Give it up!" Quincy demanded.
"Not until you listen to me…!" Tyrone countered.
As the two opposing sides resisted one another, a crack suddenly marked Craniamon's shield, catching Quincy and Craniamon both off guard.
"GO!" Tyrone exclaimed.
BanchoStingmon began to glow a bright green as more cracks began appearing on the shield.
BanchoStingmon: 9,000-16,000 DP
The Shield shattered completely, and the stinger pierced Craniamon's impenetrable armor, to the shock of everyone watching. As the power struggle ended, the sight of BanchoStingmon victorious over the titan left everyone in sheer bewilderment.
Quincy's three remaining Security suddenly appeared, causing him to react and shield himself.
Craniamon exploded like a bomb, eradicating the three security, and sending both Tyrone and Quincy flying back by the overwhelming power of the blast. Smoke filled the arena causing those watching to wait anxiously at the result of the unexpected security checks…
As the smoke cleared and dust settled, Clockmon, a puppet-like Digimon with the lower body of a clock, Giromon and Etemon, a non-metal version of its earlier counterpart, laid unconscious from the blast, fizzling away along with the remains of Craniamon.
Quincy
Security: 3-0
Tyrone pushed himself up, working to get his bearings. BanchoStingmon's effect wasn't supposed to go off just then… The timing of its ability was already passed the second Craniamon blocked so…how did it go off anyway…?
He heard Quincy grunt as he rose up. "Should've known you'd try to cheat…"
Those words hit Tyrone in a way he didn't expect. Gritting his teeth, he got on his feet and looked towards his brother who was still working on standing straight. "Yeah, shame on me." He detached his D-Case from the brace, causing RustTyrannomon to fade away. "I forfeit."
Quincy was taken aback. "What?"
"If SAIBA's gonna twist things to paint a false narrative then I don't want part of it. Hard enough for you to see things my way, I don't need them sticking their nose in it too."
"Tyrone that's enough!"
Tyrone took a moment to think of his next words. He settled on a simple statement.
"Yeah. It is enough."
With that Tyrone opened his Menu, taking one last look at Carlos before logging out.
Carlos couldn't help but smirk, taking mental notes on everything. He stood up and made his way over to Quincy who was able to balance himself.
"Makes me glad I don't have a younger sibling to deal with." Carlos said walking up. "Little jerks are becoming more of a handful by the day."
"Shut up." Quincy responded, clearly annoyed.
"What? I'm just saying…" Carlos looked over to where Tyrone was standing. "Makes you wonder if what he said was the truth, or some crap he's being led to believe. Would make other puzzle pieces fit in places in my opinion, but who am I to say anything…?"
Quincy threw his blazer back on, and proceeded to log out, leaving Carlos in the hollow stadium. He smirked, unmuting his D-Com.
"Hey! any word from Quincy?" Melissa asked.
Carlos pondered the idea for a moment before answering.
"Nope, still haven't seen him…"
