Leaving Melissa in the care of the AEGIS agents, both Adam and Ben bolted out into the lobby of the building and outside, where they watched as Digimon appeared one by one in the streets of Cisco City. With each thundercrack, another digital being came forth. Citizens in the area were stirred in a panic, running for their lives as the ferocious Digimon made their mark.
"What's going on…?" Why are there Digimon here?!"
"Millenniummon," Ben explained. "Something happened in Babylon where this pillar of light erupted underground near the Digi-Citadel. As soon as Millenniumon was played, that's when the Digimon began to appear in the city. In other words, we deal with Millenniummon, and that should, in turn, send them back. At least…that's the only theory I can come up with."
Adam was lost at the sight of Tyrannomon chasing people down, Kabuterimon and Kuwagamon tackling one another above them, and a Leomon roundhouse kicking a Vilemon out of the sky. Adam saw a crying little girl hiding behind Leomon and rushed to pull her to safety, afterward checking to see if she was hurt.
"Thank you…!" She sniffled.
It took Adam a moment that the gratitude wasn't directed towards him, but Leomon. Adam looked up at the Lion Digimon, who nodded before leaping off to attack other Digimon that were seemingly persecuting others. Seeing this, gave Adam some assurance that not all the Digimon who are sprouting up are intent on causing chaos.
"What's happening in the sky?!" A voice off in the distance exclaimed, drawing the attention of those in earshot.
Adam likewise looked up, seeing what looked to be a lightning bolt frozen in place, hanging over SAIBA Enterprise. Moments passed, and the lightning proceeded to branch, like cracks in glass.
"ADAM!" Ben shouted as he raced over to where he was. Adam handed the little girl to Ben, while the latter caught his breath. "Summon ShineGreymon."
Adam blinked. "What?"
"Trust me!" Ben insisted. "Act like this is Babylon!"
Adam took a moment to contemplate that, opening his deck case and pulling the specific card out. He rested it on his D-Brace and the device in turn generated a pillar of binary that to his surprise, reshaped itself in the form of ShineGreymon.
"It worked…" Adam said.
"Buy me as much time as possible to get things ready," Ben said. "AEGIS is going to shut down Babylon's servers to trap Millenniummon in Babylon."
"Trap it?" Adam repeated.
"We lost Omnimon, so our chances of outright destroying it are much lower. The best-case scenario is if we get everyone out of Babylon and imprison Millenniummon inside. If the server goes down, then its influence shouldn't be able to encroach on this side."
Adam took a moment to consider that. "What about the Digimon…?"
Ben kept quiet, knowing the only available wouldn't be a good one. Adam didn't need an answer as his silence spoke for him. He looked at ShineGreymon, at which the latter nodded towards him, willing to accept the necessary sacrifice if it really had to come down to it.
"How much time do we have?"
"Just focus on subduing it. I'll give you the heads up when we're ready."
Adam nodded. ShineGreymon lowered its hand to help Adam onto its shoulder, the teen taking a firm grip.
"Good luck Adam." Ben nodded to him.
"Likewise. Oh, and one more thing." Adam turned back.
"Hm?"
"Let Melissa know she owes me a real match when she wakes up," Adam said. On that note, ShineGreymon expanded its wings and took off into the sky, as the cracks between worlds grew into a sizable opening.
Ben, as well as cowering bystanders, watched as the pair jettisoned skyward, growing smaller and smaller until they faded into the lighting itself. Ben sighed, turning to see Melissa be loaded into the back of an AEGIS-decaled ambulance. With nothing else to expect out here, he tapped the side of his D-Com and began to make his way back inside.
"What's your status, Quincy?"
Chapter 24: The Beta Testers Part 1
"It's Adam!" Megan pointed out to the delight of the teens and Morris.
With Akiyoshi defeated, the teens found themselves at the mercy of the god-like being that was Millenniummon. With its unexpected ability to tear a hole in the real world, they were willing to accept that this was the end until Adam appeared at the nick of time.
Ben appeared on a screen that suddenly popped up before them. "Sorry for the delay; Is everyone alright?!"
"I assume you have something to do with Mr. Russo's sudden appearance?" Morris said as he kept focused on the pair in the sky."
"It looks like Millenniummon's influence is seeping into the real world," Ben explained. "This allowed us to take a shortcut back into Babylon."
"How is it possible that Millenniummon can do something like that?" Emily asked Morris.
"It wouldn't surprise me if Akiyoshi or Michael modified Millenniummon's code to enact similar properties to that of a Cyber Drive." Morris hypothesized. "Something like that combined with a beast of that magnitude could arguably rip a hole in time and space."
"And what's the worst-case scenario?" Tyrone asked.
"The fracture becomes so wide that both the real world and the Netspace become one reality."
Megan's eyes went wide as Akiyoshi's words reverberated in her head. "Does this mean that we're still on the path to SAIBA's future?"
"So in the end…it didn't matter whether my father won against Morris or not…" Layla's voice dropped to a whisper. "That future is still set to happen…"
"Don't count us out yet! There's still one more thing we can try!" Ben reassured them. "Listen closely because Adam's gonna need you all for this…"
Adam took note of the beast whose hissed with deep bass. Back when Axel returned his missing memories, he remembered seeing a mysterious figure amongst the stirring flames just before passing out and waking up in the hospital. The way that Millenniummon studied him, made it seem as though it also sensed a familiar aspect out of him.
"Ready ShineGreymon?" Adam asked his Digimon. ShineGreymon answered him by summoning a gold and red double-edge sword before it. Arming itself, the pair dove towards Millenniummon.
The Aura swooped in and swiped the pair back as they went in to strike, and then proceeded to dive forward to counter. A red beam cut it off, being fired by RustTyrannomon off in the distance.
"Now!" Trevor ordered.
Adam looked up, seeing Magnadramon in the process of summoning cyan-blue digital gates all around it. Neither of them needed to think twice before getting as far away as possible, as beams spilled down from each of them, beaming the distracted Millenniummon, forcing it to unleash the unruly howl.
"Layla!" Emily exclaimed as Layla and MetalGarurumon boomed past them with the latter's golden wing blades extended. It spiraled around the beams until it got close to its chest, using the blades to slash it with all of its might. As a result, the pair was sprayed with a geyser's worth of binary, forcing them back in response. Emily swooped in and caught the pair, rendering them safe for the moment.
"Now's our chance!" Adam said as ShineGreymon went in for a second attempt. With its blade lighting up in a bright, digital fire, The dragon Digimon dove forward once again and came down on the beast in its wound, forcing it to crash down toward the earth, the shockwave and impact destroying the surrounding buildings in a considerable distance.
Megan and Ceresmon finally came down within striking distance, with Ceresmon's smaller form using the island's resources to conjure vines large enough to tie the beast down. Millenniummon, like the berserk animal it was, angrily fought and resisted, but it appeared that the more it struggled, the tighter the vines became.
"That ought to do it," Adam said, feeling Millenniummon's breathing slow down. ShineGreymon stood, contemplating leaving its blade impaled in the beast while the others came down to them. Adam took note of them as they each descended one by one.
"Took you long enough," Tyrone called out to him. "Were you waiting to be introduced or what?"
What would've been an opportune time to crack a joke ended up with an awkward pause. "Long story. Anyway, what did I miss?"
"Mr. Morris managed to defeat my father in a match," Layla began, afterward, Millenniummon started talking, and…" she looked up towards the sky. "…That happened."
"Guess we can assume that it's the same outside in the real world?" Emily asked.
Adam nodded. "One minute there's a freak thunderstorm, next thing Digimon start popping up all over the neighborhood."
"Akiyoshi claimed that SAIBA's true goal was to use Millenniummon to rip a hole between the real world and cyberspace, to combine it into one reality," Trevor explained.
"Did Ben explain to you the plan?" Adam asked.
"What plan?"
"About trapping Millenniummon here while Babylon gets shut down."
"'Shut down?'" Megan repeated. "Why don't I like the sound of that?"
"What she said, can't we just kill this thing and be done with it?" Tyrone asked.
"That was the plan…" Adam said, turning to Trevor. "Until somebody lost Omnimon…"
Trevor picked up on Adam's tone and rolled his eyes. "Okay cool. Blame me for the world ending, got it."
"Just saying, Omnimon has the power to kill this thing. How did you manage to screw up this badly?"
"This coming from the one who lost him the first time?" Trevor snapped. "Had Morris not had the chance to get it back for us, Omnimon would've stayed gone!"
"Okay you two," Emily, ever being the mediator, got in between them. "Can we not point fingers at this second? We got enough on our hands as is."
"Emily's right," Megan added. "Explain what you mean. What happens if Babylon gets shut down?"
"Simply put, Millenniummon is trapped. If he's trapped, then the rip should close hopefully."
"And the Digimon?" Trevor asked.
Adam didn't say anything in response, leading Trevor to quickly understand the result. "They'll be forced prisoner alongside it…right?"
Adam hesitated, pained to have the concept settle in his mind. "…if only you kept Omnimon then—"
"What would it have mattered?!" Trevor grabbed his collar. "Omnimon lost to three of the four Royal Knights! Two of which, plus a 3rd one we knew nothing about, is inside this thing! Not to mention all of the users that were eaten before us…!"
That last revelation, felt like a weight dropped in Adam's stomach. Trevor could see the sudden shift in confusion, fear, and regret developing in Adam's face. It forced him to let go and step back.
"…Even if we did have Omnimon…this was how it'd end."
"…end…"
The group froze in place as Millenniummon's aura suddenly erupted above them, bursting from the wound left on its chest. ShineGreymon reacted, forcing its blade out of the beast to block the strike.
"Move it!" Trevor exclaimed as he flipped around.
"End…" The Aura hissed as golden tendrils sprouted from all over its body. Each of them dove towards the group, giving little to no time to avoid them. Adam immediately heard the screams of everyone, causing him to divert his attention from ShineGreymon's struggle over to them. The Aura roared as it pulled the captives closer to Adam and proceeded to reach over them, trapping them in its underside.
"What's going on?!" Adam exclaimed as he saw the dome around them closing in on them. He felt a forceful tug on his legs, forcing him to react by looking. Even more, tendrils were wrapping around him like golden snakes, forcing him to sink into the beast.
"End…" Millenniummon's voice continued to echo, over and over again.
As he struggled, he watched as the others likewise were also fighting it. As he tried to reach out to them, his vision slowly became blurrier until things went completely black…
"End…"
"End…
"…end…"
"…end my…"
"…end my turn…!"
"Yo!"
Adam's eyes snapped wide open, jumping awake as his eyes met a dim-lit ceiling, along with the exciting roar of hundreds of people hitting his senses like a truck.
"Yo, you good?" Tyrone asked, realizing that he scared the boy with his outburst.
"Yeah…" He said, between deep breaths. His hand ran itself through his brown hair as he tried to make sense of what was happening. "Was…was I asleep?"
"I don't know," Tyrone responded, tossing an M&M into the air. "Too busy watching the match to notice."
"Match…?" Adam blinked, turning over. Blue lights capturing his vision, his breath was taken away as he watched as Imperialdramon fire its laser down on the security card of the player on the other side of the room.
The crowd roared as Trevor threw his hand out. "MetalGarurumon, finish it, Direct Attack!"
MetalGarurumon howled and fired a barrage of virtual missiles covering his opponent's area in smoke as they went off.
"AND OUR CHAMP STANDS TALL!" The announcer exclaimed as his face appeared all over the stadium. "REMAINING YOUR REIGNING CHAMP, TREVOR MCKNIGHT!"
Trevor threw his fist up in the air, throwing the crowd into a frenzy of cheers and stomping. Adam continued to stare, as it all slowly came back to him.
"That's right…the tournament." He uttered. "The finals were today…"
"Must've been a good sleep if you forgot that quick." Tyrone noted, filling his mouth with more of the chocolate candy."
"Yeah…I mean you see one victory; you see all of them." Adam admitted as he stood. "We should probably grab him before his ego swells."
Tyrone smirked as he joined him. "He owes me for sitting through that onslaught though."
"Really?" Adam asked humored as they came out to Omni Stadium's lobby. "What are you going to make him do?"
"Got a game coming up Friday. Need support so I can prove to my brother that I'm staying out of trouble."
"Ah." Adam understood, beginning to walk in the direction of the locker rooms. "They're letting him come home for a bit?"
"He's had to pull some teeth in the process but yeah, they let it go through finally. It's been a minute since I heard from him too so it'll be nice to have him around for a little while." Tyrone explained.
"Did you plan on what comes next after High School?" Adam asked.
"Quincy expects me to land a scholarship and to ride through college on it. Might just humor him and do it."
"Why not?"
"What about you?" Tyrone slowed up.
"Graduation is two years away, I'm not thinking—"
"Not about that," Tyrone said, crossing his arms. "I mean about the 'other thing."
Adam paused, realizing what he was referring to. "Look, for the tenth time, Emily and I are cool. I don't see her like that, and clearly, she doesn't see me like that either. Especially with that Ivan kid stalking her."
"Jealous." Tyrone coughed.
"I'm not!"
"Okay look man, joke's aside, don't pass your one shot up because you're chickening out."
"How can I be chickening out if there's nothing to chicken out for?"
Tyrone rolled his eyes, the pair approaching the locker room where Trevor was walking out. Gabumon walked out beside him and it was it who took notice of the pair.
"Nice work out there," Adam commented as they came up to him.
Trevor took note of the two boys and smirked. "You expected anything less?"
"If I may interject," Gabumon began, "you did find yourself in a potentially detrimental situation that nearly costed you. Or did you forget that in all of your hubris?"
Adam stifled his laughter. "He got you."
"I won, didn't I?" Trevor defended. "Jeez, two nagging parents are enough, thanks."
The other two laughed for a moment at Trevor's embarrassment, at which point Trevor received a notification. The laughter quieted for a moment as Trevor opened the notification. "Huh, it's from Layla."
"Whoa-wait a minute!" Adam was taken aback. "'Layla' as in Layla Saiba?"
Trevor looked at him confused. "Yeah…? I am the champ after all. You get to meet people like that."
"Apparently," Tyrone whistled.
"Hey, Layla, what's up?" Trevor said with a small smile as the raven-haired girl appeared on the holographic screen.
"Trevor!" Layla replied, excited to see him. "I just saw your match! You were awesome as always!"
Trevor chuckled as his cheeks turned pink. "Appreciate it as always."
Layla smiled, "Of course that's not why I messaged you. My father wants to celebrate you defending your title. You free this evening?"
Trevor blinked. "Wait, your dad?"
Layla's enthusiasm lowered. "Is it a bad time?"
"No! no-no-no it's just…I-I mean, yes! I mean no—to it being a bad time, yes—to coming over!" He looked over noticing both Adam and Tyrone gesturing to invite them along. "Uh…mind if my friends come along?"
"Yeah, totally! Think Megan would wanna drop by too?"
"I'll text her and let her know."
"Awesome, see you all then!"
Layla hung up, with Tyrone approaching Trevor right afterward.
"What's up?"
"You can't have both, man, pick one." He stated.
"Wha—Layla and I are friends! And Megan already shot me down and told me to focus on my career as a Pro Tamer, or did you guys forget that?"
"I don't." Adam meekly raised his hand.
"That was rhetorical you jerk." Trevor snapped.
Tyrone groaned. "I refuse to leave Norbert High with you two ruining my legacy with your ineptitude to not have girlfriends; especially hot, rich Riverbed Academy girls!"
"To be fair, I'm surprised you even know what that word means…" Trevor countered.
"My point! Is that I'm not leaving my kingdom in the hands of you two. Not until you grow backbones and take a leap of courage."
"To be fair, the Cisco City Department of Education will kick you out if you refuse to graduate." Adam pointed out.
Tyrone, growing frustrated with the two backed off and logged out. Adam and Trevor looked at one another and busted out laughing as they went and made their way outside of the stadium. The pair looked outward, taking in the scene of Babylon before them, a bustling cyber city similar to their home of Cisco City. Both humans and Digimon walked to and fro between one another, peacefully and without conflict.
"Crazy to think how much could happen in five years…" Trevor noted. "Went from being two ten-year-old brats who hated each other's guts, to fifteen-year-old bros for life...and all of this."
Adam nodded. "Crazy to think that we helped build this. Everything has led up to this…moment."
Trevor turned to Adam, only to meet his fist as a result. Trevor flew to the ground, while Adam pulled his hand back. He looked around, noticing that the people around played ignorant to the fact that Trevor was punched, continuing with their day as was.
"Like I thought…" Adam said, looking back at Trevor who laid knocked out. He didn't even punch him so hard, Either he's really sensitive or it was something else.
"So…you can see through the illusion?" Akiyoshi's voice said as it spoke behind Adam.
"I thought for a moment that I somehow blocked out the memory of five years ago," Adam turned around, seeing SAIBA's CEO approach him. "Only to understand that in this world, it never happened in the first place. For the record, I only punched him because I was still annoyed about him losing Omnimon. Since it's an illusion, he won't know about it."
Akiyoshi chuckled. "This is a pocket dimension I created. All those that I absorbed are brought into worlds that emulate their desires; an eternal dream—an…idealistic future…"
"You created…?" Adam questioned. "You're Millenniummon, aren't you?"
Akiyoshi, with a small smile, nodded, confirming the theory.
"No offense, I don't see the appeal, to be honest," Adam said. "Especially knowing that no matter what happens here, it doesn't erase what's happening outside."
"Hence why you're fighting to stay in control?"
"I'm fighting to prevent SAIBA from manipulating anyone else's lives," Adam said, holding up his D-Brace. "The amount of your victims ends with us!"
Millenniummon paused for a moment, "Then what?"
Adam paused. "What do you mean?"
"Do you believe stopping me will rewrite a future already set in stone?"
Adam stood quiet.
"I am destruction. I cannot be destroyed, not at my level of growth. From what I can comprehend from Akiyoshi Saiba's data, any decision, any action, any deviation from what's to happen will be adapted to fit what's to come. The idealistic future that he fought for is, for all intents and purposes, inevitable."
The way he calmly explained it, made Adam all the more uneasy. It was almost sickening how he phrased it.
"You and I are participants, albeit unwilling, to enact this future, Adam Russo. It would be logical for you to embrace the world I've created for you until you are deemed necessary." Millenniummon continued. "Your friends are allowing themselves to delve into their deepest desires, as you should as well."
"That's not happening. It's one thing to live with a past I can't change, it's another entirely to be stuck with a future out of my control as well."
"I'm offering you mercy…"
"You're offering me a lie."
Millenniummon retracted its offer with a facial expression to match. "Very well then…" Its eyes flashed crimson as he flexed, unleashing a wave of black binary code that shattered the illusionary world before Adam in a quick blast of power. When the teen lowered his arms, he found himself surrounded by darkness. Gone was Trevor, Babylon, and Akiyoshi himself. Adam found himself alone in the darkness, though his guard remained up, ready for anything that may come his way.
A low bestial snarl bounced about in the darkness, with Adam being able to find the direction of it after a moment of frantic searching. A small ball of light made itself available for him, allowing him to look at the source. He paused and took steps back gazing in horror at what he was starting at.
Gazing upward, he could see the users and Digimon all captured within cocoon-like pods that hugged against the muscle-like walls that slowly grew visible as the new source of light allowed. Akiyoshi's sat beneath it all, his upper torso noticeably built, and grafted into the muscle wall, all but his head assimilated. His eyes opened, revealing their deep red color and he smiled, revealing a monstrous row of teeth.
Adam refused to let that intimidate him, though he nearly lost it when six pods forced themselves out of the walls, revealing Trevor, Megan, Emily, Layla, Morris, and Tyrone in each of them.
"Let them go!" Adam demanded.
"You… who deny the future, who denies…the end…" Millenniummon's otherworldly tone flowed through Akiyoshi as each of Adam's friends was taken back into the walls. "…embrace destruction…as your future…"
Adam readied himself, his D-Brace whirling to life for one final fight to decide everything. With a deep breath, he spoke out to signify the leap of courage he was taking.
"DIGI-GATE: OPEN!"
Emily typed away on her computer, curled up underneath one of the trees of Saiba Manor, lost in the world of her imagination. While her hands glided, and her fingers danced along with the keyboard, she was oblivious to the young boy who steadily crept behind her.
As his dark hands gently wrapped around the three, a sly smirk curled on his face, giving in to the urge to act.
"BOO!" He jumped from around the tree and scared the girl to the point that her laptop flew from her lap and landed beside her.
"IVAN!" She screamed at him, the latter of which was also on the ground rolling about in success.
Ivan was the same coffee-colored complexion as his father Morris, and the spitting image of him as well. Whereas his father had specks of grey in his hair, Ivan's was a deep black done up with small, relaxed dreads, typical for a teen who cared about style. His attire was rather monochromatic, between the black jacket, white t-shirt, and gray jeans, the only hint of color being the red Nike logo on his equally monochromatic sneakers. A pair of chains dangled from both sides of his pants as well, an aesthetic choice he claimed was symbolic of the machines he was proud to use as a Black user.
"Jerk!" Emily sat up, dusting herself off before grabbing her laptop. "What do you want?"
"Nothing. Layla's butler kicked me out of the kitchen and Layla's getting ready for the guest to show up."
"So, you're bored then?" she asked, disinterested in his plight.
"So, I'm bored. What are you up to?" he got up as well and leaned over to see what was on her laptop. "Oooh, whatcha writing?"
"Noneya." She said as she continued. She noticed he was leaning in closer and scooted away.
Ivan sat down, taking her avoidance as an invitation. He knew very well why she moved, but it was more fun to him to bug her some more; as if she would object.
"Remember how when we were younger and I would tell you and Layla about all the ideas for the Digimon I would come up with?"
"Mhmm."
"Remember how you used to help with that?"
Emily stopped. "What's your point?"
"I'm so glad you asked!" he scooted closer to her with glee.
She flinched, but she remained where she sat.
"Okay, so imagine this: Two Digimon, One's a sword…and the other, a shield…"
"Okay…?"
"And they grow up to become a knight…"
"…right."
"A knight with the strongest sword…and strongest shield."
"Why go through all the trouble to create something like this?"
Ivan smiled, "because, with the strongest sword, and shield, there's no one who can stop me from protecting my queen." He smiled at Emily, causing her to react with her cheeks turning bright red in embarrassment.
"I told you a thousand times to stop doing that its creepy!" She snapped at him.
"But it gets a reaction out of you, so no." Ivan grinned.
"…I hate you," Emily said, still shying away.
"Can't say the same," Ivan replied, contrastingly calm.
Emily's heart skipped as she looked towards him. A lump in her throat developed and her heart began to race the longer she stared into his eyes.
"What are you two up to, hm?" Layla strolled by, startling the both of them.
"Nothing!" Ivan scrambled. "Just talking…"
"…Layla please get rid of him so I can finish my homework in peace?"
"Yes ma'am!" Layla winked. She turned her attention to Ivan and proceeded to take him by the collar. "Come on, I need a tough guy like you to help me carry some things out to the grill.
Ivan groaned. "Fine…"
Emily watched as the pair departed, freely able to sigh relief. She looked up into the sky, feeling herself growing slightly warm internally.
Grateful for the friends she's been able to keep all this time.
"Turuiemon, Security Attack!" Adam ordered as the rabbit Digimon skipped about before taking off into the air and setting itself up for a landing kick. "Salamon's IE effect minuses 1000 DP from Vilemon!"
Vilemon: 6000-5000
Millenniummon countered, "Vilemon still blocks the attack!"
Turuiemon: 6000 DP
Vilemon: 5000 DP
Vilemon appeared, in between Turuiemon's kick and Millenniummon, catching its foot. Using its flexibility, Turuiemon allowed gravity to have it fall back and fling Vilemon upward, allowing it to flip after it and slash it in the air with its bladed weapon right afterward.
"Tsukaimon's IE effect from Vilemon gains me 1 Memory as a result of being deleted."
MEMORY
1-0
"I end my turn by playing the 2-cost TK Takaishi from my hand." Adam finished as the tamer materialized on his side, near the Hawkmon who waited patiently to be deployed to the Battle Area.
TK Takaishi (ST3-12)
Color: Yellow
MEMORY
0-2 (Turn Change: Millenniummon)
Millenniummon drew. "Shamanmon moves to the Battle Area, then digivolves into Meramon!"
Shamanmon conjured in his hand a ball of fire as it walked forward, becoming encased in flames until it became the fire humanoid Digimon.
Meramon (BT3-083)
Color: Purple
Level: 4
DP: 5000
MEMORY
2-1
"I then play the Option Card, Darkness Claw, to boost Meramon's DP by 3000 DP.
Meramon flexed its arms, the flames becoming feral-like, radiating with dark energy as well
Meramon: 5000-8000 DP
"Meramon attacks Turuiemon!"
Meramon: 8000 DP
Turuiemon: 6000 DP
Meramon, embracing the power boost, roared and charged ahead towards its target. Turuiemon managed to defend itself long enough, but Meramon's heat, as well as its aggression, became too much for Turuiemon, causing it to be impaled by the claw in a moment of carelessness. It dispersed into binary to Adam's dismay.
Millenniummon smirked. "I end my turn by digivolving Meramon into Arukenimon."
Arukenimon (BT3-086)
Color: Purple
Level: 5
DP: 6000
MEMORY
0-3 (Turn Change: Adam)
Adam drew, adding the card to his hand and playing another. "I play the four-cost TK Takaishi from my hand! Using his effect, I can look at my security and retrieve one card from it. If it's a Yellow card, then I'm allowed to recover +1."
MEMORY
3-1 (Turn Change: Millenniummon)
Adam took the five security cards and quickly scanned them: Volcanic Flare, RizeGreymon, Aquillamon, Agumon, and Monodramon. There was no Gaia Force to bail him out in a tight spot, nor any TKs to aid him if he gets ShineGreymon out."
"I retrieve RizeGreymon," Adam revealed. "Since it's a Yellow Digimon, I recover +1 card from the top of my deck. After that, I end my turn."
Millenniummon drew the next card. "I hatch DemiMeramon, who then digivolves into Tsukaimon."
Tsukaimon materialized on Millenniummon's side, holding its snide expression for Adam to notice.
DemiMeramon (BT3-006)
Color: Purple
Level: 2
Tsukaimon (BT3-079)
Color: Purple
Level: 3
DP: 3000
"I attack your security with Arukenimon. I then activate its effect: by paying 3 Memory, I can delete it to bring out MaloMyotismon from my hand!"
To Adam's shock, the massive white beast Digimon materialized before him, adding onto the intimidating factor by devouring Arukenimon and the sources it was played with. Adam could literally feel the darkness emanating from it, as the latter took in his sense of fear.
MaloMyotismon (BT3-092)
Color: Purple
Level: 6
DP: 12,000
MEMORY
1-2 (Turn Change: Adam)
Millenniummon likewise savored the moment, knowing that the true hell set to unleash, was merely momentary…
"Thanks for the last-minute ride Dad," Megan said as the car proceeded to cross Fresco Bridge, the connection between Cisco City and Riverbed.
"Anytime Rose Bud." The older man said. He was an older black man, balding, with most of his hair amounting to unshaven shadow, but well-built due to his career as a firefighter. "What's the special occasion that you're heading all the way out here on a Saturday afternoon?"
Megan shrugged. "Trevor called me and said to come along to a party he was invited to."
Her father took a moment to process that. "…really?"
"Dad, I know that look. I told you, Trevor and I are just friends, we both established that."
"And I established the fact that you are a fifteen-year-old girl who's at the age where hormones laugh at statements like that."
Megan sighed. "Can you please trust me for once?"
"I do."
"And him?"
"I trust him to know his place. Does that count?"
"Dad, seriously, you've known Trevor and his family for years."
"And I've known Adam's family since we moved to Cisco City, and I don't trust him either."
"Seriously, now you're just being unreasonable."
"Comes with the package, sweetheart."
"Can I return it?"
"And lose your only chance to get home?"
"God invented Ubers for a reason, right?"
"Unless you have 'Uber money', then I'm the only Uber you're gonna see until your eighteen."
Megan rolled her eyes, realizing this was a losing battle no matter how she looked at it. As they passed through the gentrified area, the sight of a familiar bakery caught her attention. "Juno's! Dad, it's still here!"
Megan's father looked over, making note of it. "Well, how about that? Could go for some apple pie now that I think about it."
"We gotta tell Mom about it when we get a chance. Plus, Tyler and Tiana would love it there too I bet."
"Right…your mom was pregnant with them when we moved. So they never got to experience it."
"Are you working next weekend? We can see if Nana's free and we can go visit her and bring pie along."
"I like the way you think." Her father smirked. "Remind me later on tonight."
Megan smiled. "Deal."
Several more minutes of sightseeing and the two arrived at the manor. Megan got out of the car and closed the door, leaning into the window. "Love you Dad."
"Love you more Rose Bud."
Megan pulled back and waved him off as her father began to make the drive back to Cisco City. An odd sense of longing came over her, making her stare longer than she intended.
"Yo Megan!" Tyrone's voice called out to her, making her turn.
"Didn't think you would get an invite." She said, crossing her arms, impressed.
"I have my connections."
"Is he named Trevor?"
Tyrone smirked, causing the latter to do as well as they made their way into the gates of the manor, where Layla, Emily, and Ivan waited for them. Layla, after a moment, noticed the missing faces.
"Trevor isn't with you?" Layla asked.
Megan looked at Tyrone. "I left Babylon right after the match. Don't know where he or Adam ended up."
"They'll be here soon enough," Ivan said. He took a moment to stare at Tyrone. "We've…met before, right?"
"Tyrone's a fellow Beta Tester." Emily pointed out.
"Oh, pfft duh. Hate that I just now realized that. What's up, dude?" Ivan held his hand out.
Tyrone reached for it, hesitating for a moment.
"Something wrong?"
Tyrone cleared his throat. "I'm good…just feeling a bit of a headache all of the sudden."
"Too much time in Babylon will do that to a person," Ivan admitted.
"It's high-key hot out here, can we maybe head inside if that's cool with everyone?" Megan suggested.
The group didn't argue with that, all beginning to make their way inside.
DarkTyrannomon as well as GeoGreymon joined in the fight, with Adam attempting to brace himself what was likely to come.
DarkTyrannomon (BT1-009)
Color: Red
Level: 4
DP: 6000
GeoGreymon (BT2-035)
Color: Yellow
Level: 4
DP: 4000
MEMORY
1-0
0-4 (Turn Change: Millenniummon)
Millenniummon drew. "Baleful rage and immortal steel fuse to become the ultimate Transdimensional Beast! MaloMyotismon digivolves into Millenniummon!"
Adam braced for it as the white beast rose from the ground, and allowed the walls to lash out and take hold of it, drawing it in. A shadow-like version of the golden aura came down on the Akiyoshi puppet, as Millenniummon grinned in triumph, the two mimicking the beast itself.
Millenniummon (BT2-083)
Color: White
Level: 7
DP: 13,000
MEMORY
4-2 (Turn Change: Adam)
"Through Millenniummon's effect, DarkTyrannomon is sent to the bottom of your deck, with its sources sent to the trash…"
The shadow figure dove forward and slashed DarkTyrannomon, causing it to dissipate before Adam, leaving GeoGreymon the sole Digimon in the Battle Area.
"Even so…" Adam said, feeling his fear getting worse. "I'm not going to give up…!" he drew. "TK sets my Memory to 3!"
MEMORY
2-3
"GeoGreymon, Digivolve into RizeGreymon!" Adam exclaimed.
GeoGreymon roared, as binary surrounded it, arming it with red armor and wings, as well as the revolver-like rifle on its arm.
RizeGreymon (BT2-038)
Color: Yellow
Level: 5
DP: 7000
MEMORY
3-0
"When I digivolve my Digimon into RizeGreymon, I can play one yellow tamer from my hand! With it, I play another two-cost TK."
The third TK now arrived on Adam's side, the triplets all ready to provide their aid.
"And then to end, Hawkmon, sorry to keep you waiting for bud, Digivolve into Aquillamon!"
Hawkmon, finally having its moment to shine, embraced the splash of binary as it transformed into the horned eagle Digimon.
Aquilamon (BT3-012)
Color: Red
Level: 4
DP: 5000
MEMORY
0-2 (Turn Change: Millenniummon)
"You continue this unnecessary bravado…your desperation to survive is as admirable as is delicious…"
Adam shivered. "Gross."
Millenniummon drew. "Tsukaimon moves to the Battle Area, then digivolves into Devimon."
Tsukaimon spiraled upward, as binary surrounded it, turning it into Devimon.
Devimon (BT2-074)
Color: Purple
Level: 4
DP: 4000
MEMORY
2-0
"Millenniummon, Security Attack…!" Millenniummon unleashed its shadow aura to dive forward towards Adam. Adam couldn't help but wince and shut his eyes when the impact hit. He opened them, shocked to see Agumon attempting to hold back the aura, along with the support the TKs were giving it.
Millenniummon: 13,000 DP
Agumon: 3000+4000=7000 DP
Even with the boost, Agumon was only able to last as long as it took for Adam to watch its gesture, being able to turn to him before being deleted. It was at that moment that Adam felt memory of his resurface…
"If this… if this is really it…know that I'm glad I met you. While short, it was fun."
"Why…?"
"Why what?"
"Why am I so impulsive…? I used to get on Trevor for being so reckless all the time, so why am I doing the same?"
"I think it's because your honest… Your actions are motivated by a willingness to protect everyone. Every time you acted it was for someone's benefit outside of your own. Megan…Emily…me…even Trevor when you think about it."
"Because you guys are my friends…But still…"
"Emily and Layla are here because of you, you know. Babylon is safe because you cared enough to step up. You came to Babylon, every day to search for Megan, you fought against Tyrone for the same reason…all because you care enough about your friends to act."
"But look where it got us!"
"And? I'm still here. With you. If it means anything, I don't think your impulsive…just courageous…"
Adam
Security: 5-4
"…right. Agumon believed in me until the end. He called it courage…" Adam reached for his chest and felt his heart racing. He was scared, there was no doubt. But…also excited? He thought about it. Facing off against Axel, searching for Megan against Trevor's wishes, risking Omnimon against the Knights…and even diving into Babylon to take down Millenniummon earlier…all of that required courage."
And each event, scary as it was, was just as thrilling in a weird sort of way. Like this moment. What made this moment feel like this…?
Millenniummon picked up on Adam's mood shift, which was ever so subtle. "Devimon Security Attack!"
Devimon licked its lips and held one finger out, firing a purple laser from its pointer claw that took out a second Security.
Adam
Security: 4-3
The Security flew towards Adam, with the teen reaching out for it. Like Tyrone mentioned earlier, it was time to take one final leap of courage.
"Security Trigger!" Adam countered, binary beginning to float before him, igniting into a spiral of flames. "Volcanic Flare!"
The spiral of flames fired back at Devimon, overtaking the devil Digimon with little ease, burning it away into binary. Tsukaimon's IE effect triggered pushing the counter back to 1.
MEMORY
0-1
Millenniummon, not acknowledging the event as a setback, revived Arukenimon with Necrophobia and passed the turn back over to Adam with 4 Memory in tow.
MEMORY
1-4 (Turn Change: Adam)
"It's over, Millenniummon," Adam stated.
Millenniummon didn't acknowledge such a statement. "each moment you present one more reason to devour you."
Adam smirked, drawing. "Don't mind if I add one more reason then." He looked at the card and his smirk turned into a confident smile. "Harness the power of the sun as you're born anew…!"
Binary appeared around Adam's hand, sparking into a white-hot flame, to Millenniummon's curiosity. Adam raised his hand into the air, as the same binary came down onto RizeGreymon.
"RizeGreymon…DIGIVOLVE!"
Adam slammed the card onto the D-Brace, causing the flames to explode all around them in stark contrast to Millenniummon's shadow. The silhouette of ShineGreymon formed from the white energy as it embraced RizeGreymon and began to materialize. Each second that passed, the white flames began to encroach on the surrounding area, causing the puppet to look around and begin to realize that something was clearly different all of the sudden.
ShineGreymon (BT2-041)
Color: Yellow
Level: 6
DP: 12,000
"What…is this…power…?" Millenniummon said, implying a sense of stress in its voice.
"This is ShineGreymon…" Adam stated. "When ShineGreymon is digivolved into, all of my Yellow Tamers are suspended, causing your Digimon to take -4000 DP for each one!"
Millenniummon froze hearing that, realizing what that meant. "You can't…"
"All three TKs suspend, dealing -12,000 DP to you!"
The three TKs empowered ShineGreymon, who stood gathering the white flames from their surroundings into a massive Gaia Force-like ball of energy. Condensing it, ShineGreymon threw it directly at the Akiyoshi Puppet, the ball going into its body like everything preceding it.
In a display of horrifying catharsis, Millenniummon howled as the white energy ignited the puppet, burning its way from the inside out.
Millenniummon: 13,000 DP-1,000 DP
"Now's our chance!" Adam exclaimed. "Due to the IE effects of my Digimon, When Shine attacks, since I have three yellow tamers in place, RizeGreymon grants Security Attack +1, while GeoGreymon -2000 from one of your Digimon!"
"…You…can't…grahhhhh!" Millenniumon hissed as ShineGreymon readied its sword.
"The future isn't set in stone, just as you aren't indestructible. My friends and I will prove it by taking one courageous step forward. Toward a future of infinite possibilities! SHINE GREYMON: SECURITY ATTACK!"
ShineGreymon's sword swirled about with the white flames taking the opportunity to dive forward. The Akiyoshi puppet could only watch helplessly as Shine slashed through both of the security that attempted to protect it, as well as itself.
The cut was clean.
And after a moment, reality set in, the area surrounding them erupting in an explosion of white…
Ben continued to work, typing through the wall after all of the security in an attempt to gain access into Babylon's servers internally. Millenniummon's unexpected gesture trapping the teens within the golden dome it formed on its chest only piled on the anxiety he had to put up with.
"Agent Merlo!" Quincy's voice boomed, slightly startling Ben who was so deep in thought.
"What's up? Got something?"
"I was able to eject as many stragglers found within the rubble on this end," Quincy explained. "I don't know what's happening, but things have been quiet for the last few minutes."
"I wish I knew what was happening myself. The Beta Testers managed to pin Millenniummon down, but it pulled some weird trick, and from what I can tell it has them trapped. I've been trying to reach them but the signal's jam—wait…what's that?"
"there's a white light shining in the—"
"Quincy eject right now!" Ben exclaimed.
"But what about—"
Ben didn't hesitate, quickly typing in the code and forcing Quincy to materialize in the room where he was. Quincy collapsed on the floor, having his whole equilibrium rocked.
"What the hell was that?!" Quincy barked, breaking from his stoic, respectful demeanor for a moment.
"I'm sorry, but I didn't need you caught up in whatever—"
BOOM!
A quick flash of light and a loud explosion later, the room shook as if a bomb went off outside the window. The pair looked outward, were innocent bystanders stood gazing at the sky above them.
All of whom were left astounded by what they saw…
