Digimon Adventure Tamers
Chapter 20
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon
(Play The Biggest Dreamer: TV Size)
(Play Digimon Tamers: Aban)
The god of the Dark World, Dagomon, brought Kari to his realm in an attempt to make her his bride so he could command an army of being with the powers of light and darkness. Fortunately, the Digidestined and the Digimon Tamers came to her rescue, and learned that Ken Ichijouji's dark D-3 and the Control Spires originated in the Dark World. What else is there about Dagomon's realm?
(Play Digimon Tamers: Subtitle)
Aquilamon and Ankylomon of the Sky and Earth
"So the Control Spires…they're from the Dark World? And they're also disrupting the barriers?" Izzy sat in his bedroom with Tai, Takato, Davis and Henry, the sun setting down in Odaiba. A few hours had passed after the rescue team returned from the Dark World with Kari and Jeri, and Henry had finished explaining everything.
(Play Digimon Tamers: Blue Card)
"They are," Henry said with a nod. "It's just like how it was in the TV show. I didn't want to say anything about them yet, because…"
"I understand," Izzy returned the nod. "Different timeline, different events…still, this is a very serious matter. The longer those Control Spires stay up in the Digital World, the longer the barriers will break down…"
"And if they're broken down enough, then Dagomon will come out of his world, drown us all, and take Kari for himself!" Tentomon said worriedly. "This is horrible!"
"Still, this worries me a little bit," said Tai. "From what you said Henry, Dagomon said Matt and Sora almost ended up there as well?"
"From what he said, yes," replied Henry. "It'd be a little complicated to explain, but we can meet up with Matt and Sora tomorrow and compare notes."
"But now we need to think about what to do next," said Takato. "Dagomon said this is just the beginning, so chances are he's going to strike back…but when he'll do that is unknown."
"Then we need to take out Dagomon before he becomes a bigger threat than he is now," said Tai. "I know we also have to deal with Millenniummon, but considering there's so many of us here, we can split up. Plus, we also have the means to get into the Dark World and fight Dagomon. Some of us can go to the Dark World and the rest of us can stay here and fight Millenniummon…"
"Tai, slow down for a minute!" said Izzy. "I don't think we should do anything else involving Dagomon right now."
"What are you saying, Izzy?!" Tai yelled at the red-haired computer genius. "This Dagomon sounds like he's really bad news, and if we don't confront him soon, this could get out of hand…"
"I know that, Tai!" Izzy interrupted Tai. "I think I know how dangerous Dagomon sounds, but we can't engage an enemy we know next to nothing about."
"As much as I want to tear Dagomon apart myself," Davis looked down at the floor as he spoke, "I have to agree with Izzy. Dagomon may be an Ultimate, but he was able to resist four Mega level attacks when we fought him, and one of those attacks was Imperialdramon's Mega Crusher. I've seen that attack in action before; it's incredibly destructive and it's often rare for someone to survive that attack. Something tells me this is a situation where we'd need everybody to fight him."
"Plus, we don't even know how big of an army Dagomon has," said Henry. "He may have more of those Dark Ones than what he had at the beach."
"And what's more, if we opened up a portal to the Dark World, it wouldn't stay open for long for all of us to go through. It greatly drains Beelzemon of his energy and he reverts to his In-Training level almost immediately," voiced Izzy. "We may have to think of another way to enter the Dark World if it's necessary."
"True," said Henry. "I think our main priority right now should be to destroy the Control Spires in the Digital World first and take care of Millenniummon before we turn our attention to Dagomon and the Dark World."
"He's right," said Takato. "Millenniummon is probably using the base Ken used to occupy when he was the Digimon Emperor. There, he can monitor all of the enslaved Digimon, he can rebuild any Control Spires we take down…"
"…and he probably has Ryo and Calumon held there," said Guilmon.
"Let's not forget he can use Calumon to Digivolve Digimon now," said Terriermon. "We've got a lot of work ahead of us, Henry."
"I agree Terriermon," said Henry.
"So do I," Izzy chimed in, showing his computer screen to everybody. The screen was on the grid map of the Digital World, and a number of black squares appeared, more than the white squares. "Millenniummon has been planting Control Spires like crazy, and I suspect some of the areas he's taken are ones we freed before from Ken."
(Play Digimon Adventure: Hirogaru Fuan)
"The more Spires he makes, the more our world's in danger of being overrun by Dagomon!" gasped Agumon. "We have to wreck them all!"
"We have to do more than that," said Davis. "We have to find Millenniummon's base and destroy it so no more Control Spires can be built. We also should see if we can find the remaining Digimentals. They could help us out greatly."
"Do you guys have an idea where the remaining Digimentals could be?" Tentomon asked Takato and Henry.
"Well, the Digimental of Reliability is somewhere at an oil rig, and the Digimental of Sincerity is near Digitamamon's restaurant," said Takato. "We can't really say for sure what oil rig the Digimental of Reliability is at. And as for the Digimental of Miracles," he gestured to Davis's Crest underneath his shirt, "well…it's in Millenniummon's base, being used as a power source."
"You're kidding!" gasped Davis. "Now we really need to find Millenniummon's base!"
"What about the Digimentals of Kindness and Destiny?" asked Izzy.
"Well…the Digimental of Destiny was seen in the show, but it was a little…convoluted to say the least," Henry said after a few moments of thinking, "and as for the Digimental of Kindness, it was created for the card game and video games, and it was in a CD drama, but it was never really shown in the anime, so we don't really know where the other two Digimentals are."
"I see…okay, okay…we'll have to work with what we've got then," Izzy said, typing on his computer. "Now that the situation has become more serious than before, I suggest the next trip to the Digital World, we split up into groups. Our priorities…"
"Find Millenniummon's base," said Tai.
"Rescue Ryo and Calumon," added Davis.
"Destroy as many Control Spires as possible," continued Takato.
"And find the remaining Digimentals," said Henry.
"And find a way to the Dark World so we can finish off Dagomon!" finished Veemon.
"Then if that's all we need to discuss, let's meet here tomorrow to start the new plan," said Izzy, getting nods from everybody. Once everybody had left his room, Izzy turned his attention back to his computer and began typing away on the map, looking up the locations of every oil rig in the Digital World, as well as the location of Digitamamon's restaurant.
(Play Digimon Adventure: Digital Scratch ~Koshiro no Theme~)
"You know Izzy, the Tamers have really been a big help to us ever since they came here," voiced Tentomon. "They know a whole bunch of stuff that we know next to nothing about!"
"Well, they come from a Digital World with different laws of physics than ours," said Izzy, a thoughtful look on his face. "Although I have wondered if there are things in our Digital World that are the same as what's in theirs. And I'm also curious about these data streams and levels. There's so much I still don't know about…" Ever since first entering the Digital World four years ago, Izzy had taken every opportunity he had to study it and the Digimon. Every time he found something new, it always led to new questions that he wanted to know the answers to. And ever since learning of another dimension with its own Digital World, questions had been swimming in his head like mad.
"Well, isn't that the fun part of not knowing something Izzy?" asked Tentomon. "It gives you a chance to learn and find new things!"
"True," Izzy said with a nod. "Maybe someday, I'll learn more about the Tamers' world, but for now…" the red-haired boy continued his typing, his eyes sweeping for the map. Hopefully, he could find Millenniummon's base somewhere on here…but where could it possibly be?
Several miles from Izzy's apartment building, Yolei sat on the floor of her living room on her knees, a pillow hugged to her chest and Hawkmon sitting next to her, acting like a stuffed toy. Her attention was fixated on the TV, which was currently airing one of her favorite soap operas. She had invited Kazu to watch it with her, but he turned down the offer, saying he didn't see the appeal of soap operas at all, opting instead to take Kokuwamon into Yolei's room and play a computer game.
As she watched the soap opera, she was enamored with the story of the leading female being in love with someone, only to find out that he wasn't who she thought he was, finding out that he was being involved with drug dealing. Feeling betrayed, the girl slapped her former lover in the face, breaking up with him harshly before storming out. As she watched, Yolei felt she could sympathize with the girl. The inheritor of Love had believed Ken Ichijouji was all that, but she felt betrayed and hurt when she learned he was the Digimon Emperor. And then she had learned that Ken was being controlled by Millenniummon, and he had lost a sibling beforehand. Yolei couldn't help but feel sad for Ken now, wondering what she could do to help…
And then her thoughts on Ken and her soap opera were suddenly interrupted by the soap opera suddenly changing to a news report. Blinking in surprise, Yolei turned around to see her father had changed the channel. The lavender-haired girl looked irate. She never liked it when somebody interrupted her show, even if it was her own family.
(Play Digimon Adventure 02: Konran ~ Shutsugeki ~ Fuan)
"Dad! I was watching that!" Mr. Inoue blinked in surprise at Yolei's yell and looked down at her confused.
"Yolei, what are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be heading to bed by now?"
"Dad, you know my soap operas are on every night around this time!" Yolei stood up and took the remote out of his hand. "Did you not see me sitting there?"
"Oh!" Yolei's dad said in realization, seeing the time on the clock. "Sorry Yolei, I guess I didn't see you there, and I guess I forgot about your soaps…" the middle-aged man walked off, not seeing Yolei's angry face.
'Typical. Everybody treats me like I'm invisible in this house…'
"AWK!" Yolei gasped and turned around at the pained sound, her eyes widening when she saw her older brother Mantarou had stumbled on Hawkmon, the latter letting out a squawk of surprise. From the way her brother was, it was clear to Yolei that Mantarou was walking backwards when he had tripped Hawkmon. Yolei quickly ran over and grabbed her partner, who was trying hard to not move.
"Geez, Yolei!" Mantarou griped, standing back up and picking up the towel and hairdryer he dropped when he fell. "You really need to watch where you put your toys!"
"And you need to watch where you're going!" Yolei retorted.
"Yolei, Mantarou! Be nice!" Yolei's father called from the kitchen. Yolei merely sighed as she prepared to change the channel back to her soap, but her attention was caught by a news report that was playing right now.
"It has been a month since the boy genius from Tamachi, Ken Ichijouji," the screen showed an image of Ken, "disappeared suddenly from his apartment in Tamachi, and he has not yet been found. The police, believing he's in trouble, continue their search…"
'Yeah, he's in trouble,' Yolei thought sadly, 'but police won't be able to do anything about this…'
"Hey, squirt! I'm talking to you!" Yolei blinked and looked up at her brother. "What's the deal with that bird toy of yours?" He motioned to the limp Hawkmon in her arms. "One day you're carrying a small pink ball with wings, now you've got that…thing. What happened to your other one?"
"Oh! Um…" Yolei wondered what to say. "It…burst a seam and a friend of mine skilled with sewing thread has been fixing him up."
"Okay, so what is that toy anyway?" Chizuru, who walked in moments ago when he heard Mantarou's yell, motioned to Hawkmon. "I could have sworn I heard it yell as Mantarou tripped over it." Yolei's eyes widened a little, and Hawkmon's as well.
"It's…one of these toys…that make noise when you squeeze them!" Yolei came up with an answer. "If you squeeze it, then it makes noise! Mantarou must have triggered it when he tripped on it."
"Okay…" Chizuru looked over to the TV. "So why are you watching the news? Don't you usually watch your soap operas around this time of night?"
"Yeah, Dad changed the channel on accident…" Yolei flipped back to her soap, relieved to see that it was on a commercial that was ending. Once her soap ended, Yolei turned off the TV and began walking to her room with Hawkmon in her arms when she heard the door open and saw her mother and older sister Momoe enter the apartment, the latter sneezing into a tissue.
"Oh, Yolei! Good, there you are," Mrs. Inoue said, walking over to her daughter. "I need you to work the store tomorrow. Momoe's cold got a little worse today, Chizuru's working on some music, and Mantarou's got college classes."
"Tomorrow?" asked Yolei, surprised at her mother's request. "Um…I'm not sure I can do that Mom. I have something important to do tomorrow."
"And that is?"
"Computer club again," said Yolei. It wasn't very truthful, but what she did usually everyday involved computers in a way.
"Seriously?" asked Mrs. Inoue. "It seems like you have computer club every day, even on weekends. That can't really be what you're doing. What's going on here?"
"Well…it's…you wouldn't understand."
"I think I would understand if you were being truthful Yolei. What's going on? You're away for long periods of time, you have a huge tab on the store, and you spend a lot of time in your room. We hardly see you at all anymore."
"You hardly see me, period," Yolei countered, walking into her room, her mother surprised at her words.
"Arrggh…" Yolei groaned as she flopped on her bed, Kazu turning around in his chair at the groan.
(Play Digimon Tamers: Akogare 2)
"You got family issues, I see…"
"Yeah, thanks for being observant," Yolei replied sarcastically. "Do you have any idea how stressful and irritating it is, to be in a huge family and be seen as the oddball? Just because I'm a computer geek girl compared to Momoe, who's smart, Chizuru, who knows all kinds of stuff with music and works with Matt's band, and Mantarou, who's in college right now! I mean, geez! What's so wrong about being a computer geek? Japan is a technologically-based society!"
"Hey, there's nothing wrong with that!" said Kazu. "I happen to be a bit of a technology nerd myself! When you have a Digimon partner whose every form is robot-based, you get fascinated with robotics after a while."
"If you're interested in technology Yolei, I wouldn't mind letting you look me over," Kokuwamon offered, popping open a panel on his arm, showing the wires inside.
"No thanks. Not interested," Yolei sighed. "Yeah, Japan is a technological society, but everything I do related to computers is just…similar to what everybody else does with them." She let out another long sigh. "Man, this is getting to me Kazu. There's so many of us fighting Millenniummon, I don't know where I belong. I thought being a Digidestined would make me different from my other siblings, but I feel like I haven't done anything really special to make me stand out. I'm just…there, like I am in my family."
"Yeah, you may be just there for now, but lighten up!" Kazu said with a reassuring smile. "Soon, you'll be able to stand out and be a Digidestined in your own right. Besides, I'm sure your family loves you. They may give you a hard time, but they know you exist and they love you all the same."
"That sounds like your mother Kazu," said Kokuwamon. "She always says being a Tamer will be your future!"
"She's joking when she says that," Kazu said with a sigh. "Anyway, we should get some sleep." The visor-wearing boy picked up Kokuwamon and walked out the bedroom, leaving Yolei to her thoughts.
'Man…ever since I've become a Digidestined, nothing's changed. I'm still just some background character. Maybe I'm not doing enough.' Her face then became one of determination. 'Well, tomorrow, I'm going to step up! I'm going to give it all, 110%!'
"You know Kazu, I can't help but notice you and Yolei are similar in a way," stated Kokuwamon as Kazu climbed into bed. "You both feel inferior and wish to better yourselves, though you're stubborn to admit it and you do crazy things to draw attention to yourselves." Kazu sighed as he looked at his robot partner.
"Sometimes, I wish you couldn't read me so well like a book. But yeah, I have noticed that from Yolei. Let's just hope she doesn't do something rash…"
"Like we did?" Kokuwamon asked worriedly. Kazu sighed heavily, knowing what his partner was implying.
"Yeah…like we did. Anyway…good night." And with that, Kazu rolled on his side and went to sleep, ready for another big day tomorrow in the Digital World.
The next day after school ended, those that could met up at Matt's band's warehouse. Meeting up were Davis, Kari, TK, Yolei, Cody, Takato, Henry, Rika, Suzie, Kazu, Kenta, Jeri, Ai, Mako, Tai and Izzy.
(Play Digimon Adventure 02: Mita Koto no Nai Yatsura ga Arawareta!)
"All right, thanks for coming guys," Tai said to the group. "As you know, the events yesterday have led to new developments, which means we have to step up our game."
"Our new objective is to not only destroy every Control Spire we see, but to find Millenniummon's base as well," Davis continued. "So that means we'll have to start splitting up into groups. Once we find Millenniummon's base, we'll be able to destroy it and rescue our friends. We destroy the base, no more Control Spires will be made…"
"And then our only problem will have to be Dagomon," voiced Takato.
"But what if Dagomon attacks again?" asked Kenta. "What can we possibly do then?"
"We've been thinking it over, and it would be best if we train Impmon," said Henry. "Opening portals to the Dark World is a new thing for him and it drains him immediately, but the stronger we help him become, as well as analyzing his power levels, the more he'll be able to open portals."
"That way, the next time Dagomon attacks when we're least expecting it, Beelzemon will be able to open portals without losing energy like crazy, and he'll also help us in battle."
"Yeah, that'd be a big help," Yaamon said from his place in Ai's arms. "I don't really like being in this form at all. I can't hold things properly, I can't walk…it's annoying…and humiliating!"
"Welcome to the club," Salamon muttered, having Digivolved from Nyaromon last night after eating dinner Kari's mother made.
"From here on out, I think it would be best if we split up into different groups in the Digital World," said Davis. "We'll be able to free more sectors, and it can increase our chances in finding the base." While Davis sounded confident about finding Millenniummon's base, as well as rescuing Ryo and retrieving the Digimental with his Crest on it, he wasn't so sure yet how they would be able to get Millenniummon out of Ken's body without hurting Ken so much. Perhaps if he tried using his Crest…
"So where should we go today, and what should the groups be?" asked Cody.
"Well, Tai and I are going to stay here," said Izzy. "Ai and Mako will stay behind as well so we can look of Yaamon…and we also need to talk with Matt and Sora…"
"So that makes twelve of us going to the Digital World," said Yolei, doing the math in her head.
"Then we'll split into three groups of four," said Davis. "I'll lead one group and Takato will lead a second group…"
(Play Digimon Adventure 02: Dancin' in the Sky ~Miyako no Theme~)
"I want to lead a group of my own!" Yolei said quickly, getting eyes on her. "Let me lead a group!"
"You, Yolei?" Davis asked, looking slightly skeptical.
"I got a bad feeling about this," Rika muttered, but Yolei ignored the comment and continued speaking.
"Come on Davis, with everything that's going on, everybody's been doing their own part, but I feel like I haven't done much. Please, let me lead a group! I want to do my best for the team!"
"Well…if you're that serious…I don't really see why not," Davis said after a moment of hesitation. "Okay, so my group will be Henry, Rika and TK, Takato's group will be Kari, Kenta and Jeri…"
"And I'll take Kazu, Suzie and Cody!" Yolei finished, walking over to Izzy's computer and holding up her D-3. "All right, let's go now! Digital Gate, Open!"
"Hang on, Yolei!" Hawkmon called, flying up to Yolei in time to be sucked into the Digital Gate with her.
"Oh, boy," Kazu said, running over to the gate. "We better make sure she doesn't do something crazy." A flash of light engulfed Kazu and Kokuwamon, who entered the Digital World. Suzie and Cody weren't far behind with their partners.
"Are you sure this is a good idea to let Yolei be a leader?" Veemon asked, looking up to Davis.
"Well, she looked like she really meant it when she said she wanted to lead, and I couldn't really argue with her when she's like that. Plus, Cody will be able to keep her in line."
"Let's hope so," Rika said with a sigh before going through the Digital Gate with her group. If anything happened on Yolei's watch, it would be on her, and hopefully she would be able to learn from whatever mistakes she could possibly make.
Yolei's group landed in a forest where the trees provided much shade, several beams of sunlight shining out from the leaves.
"This actually feels very nice," said Suzie, enjoying the coolness of the air around her. Lopmon nodded in agreement, as well as Kazu, Cody and their Digimon. Their team leader, however, was staring intently at something in the distance.
"Enjoy the shade later, troops! Our target is several miles from here!" Yolei pointed to what she saw in the distance, and the group looked up to notice a Control Spire towering over a small village. "Everybody, follow me!" Yolei ran to the Control Spire, everybody staring at her in stunned disbelief.
"What is with her today?" asked Armadillomon.
"I'm not sure, but most of last night, she was talking in her sleep about being determined and doing her best…" Hawkmon trailed off.
"Good grief," Kazu sighed. "Somebody's going to need a straight head on. Let's follow her and make sure nothing happens." Hawkmon nodded and quickly took flight after Yolei, Cody and Suzie followed. As the group ran towards the Control Spire, a Dark Ring popped out from behind a tree, watching the children intently.
From his base, Millenniummon watched the small group of children run with amusement in his eyes.
"Finally, they come…excellent. Now I can finally try out my new plaything," the evil Digimon turned around in his chair and smirked at the imprisoned Calumon, who had a look of fear on his face as Millenniummon approached him. Whatever this mean Digimon wanted with him, it would obviously not be good for him at all.
"All right Beelzemon, are you ready?" asked Izzy. The Demon Lord Digimon stood in the middle of the warehouse with Ai and Mako by his side. Izzy had his computer open and it was analyzing Beelzemon's levels.
"Yeah, I guess so…" Beelzemon sighed, wondering what the point of all of this was.
(Play Digimon Adventure 02: Iku zo! Digital World)
"Okay then, on my mark…3…2…1…GO!" Beelzemon raised his arms and strained again like yesterday. Another pained yell was let out as a purple light appeared in front of him and split open to reveal the Dark World.
"Timer on!" said Izzy, pressing a button on his computer. Beelzemon groaned and strained, but he could feel his energy leaving fast like yesterday. The portal began closing rapidly until it was a small floating light that hovered for a moment before sputtering out. Beelzemon let out a gasp as he flopped on his back and changed back into Yaamon.
"Darn it…again with this…"
"Hmm…" Izzy hummed to himself as he looked at the time. "The time the portal stayed open was about as long as the last portal stayed open before closing. It was open for about thirty seconds."
"So, we need to find a way to get the portal to stay open longer," said Tai.
"Hey, not that it's good that we have a way to get to the Dark World again if necessary, but even if I'm able to keep it open without dropping dead, how do we know if I can close it?" Yaamon asked skeptically. "What's to stop a Dark One from sneaking through it when we're not looking?"
"We'll have to worry about that once you get strong enough to keep it open without reverting instantly to In-Training level," answered Izzy. "That should be all for today's test. We'll come back to this tomorrow."
"Tests won't be enough to make me stronger, Einstein," replied Yaamon. "I need to be out there on the battlefield, fighting alongside the others. It's the only way I'll be able to become stronger to help you guys out."
"You should also eat as well," Agumon offered some fruit salad to Yaamon. "You'll be able to keep up your strength as well like that."
"If you say so," Yaamon jumped up and began eating out of the bowl.
"Do you have more fruit salad?" asked Ai. Izzy nodded and motioned to the fruit he had brought along for the meeting. The twins walked over and began eating as well. Izzy smiled at the two little kids eating before he went back to the scans he got of Beelzemon. The power levels were high, especially higher when he opened the portal to the Dark World. But he also noticed that it wasn't the upper limits of Beelzemon's power.
(Play Digimon Adventure: Iya na Yokan)
'I wonder…could Beelzemon become stronger than he usually is? And could the same be said for our Digimon as well?'
"Hey, Izzy!" The red-haired boy looked up from his work to see Matt and Sora walk into the warehouse with Biyomon and Gabumon next to them. "You said you wanted to see us?"
"Yeah, I did," said Izzy. "I was hoping for Kari to be here, but I wrote down what she told me before she left. I think we need to talk."
"Sure Izzy. About what?" Sora asked, sitting down with Matt as Gabumon and Biyomon went to join the twins and the other Digimon in eating fruit salad.
"It's about what happened to you guys four years ago right before our last fight with Piedmon," Tai answered, pulling up a chair as well. Matt froze slightly, as did Sora. Shortly after returning home from defeating Apocalymon, Matt had told Tai what he had experienced in a dark cave that made him realize the true meaning of friendship, and Sora had told him that she suffered something similar when she was filled with doubt over finding everybody else in time. Neither of them liked talking about it much, as it brought up unpleasant memories.
"What about them?" Matt asked apprehensively.
"Well, you might want to hear us out first," said Izzy. "This is something you weren't told yesterday when we were being told about the Dark World…"
"There it is! Right ahead!" Yolei declared. Her group peeked out from the bushes to see the Control Spire fifty yards from them. Unfortunately, attacking the Spire would not be easy, as they noticed. Several Digimon walked around the Spire, all wearing brainwashing devices. The Digimon they noticed were a Digimon that looked like Birdramon, but with black feathers, a yellow-furred Digimon that looked like a gorilla, a small Digimon wearing a Kendo outfit and holding a shinai, a reptile-like tail trailing behind him, and a red, yellow and green Digimon that looked like Agumon built out of Lego bricks. The Birdramon lookalike and the gorilla-looking Digimon wore Dark Spirals, while the Lego Agumon and the Kendo reptile wore Dark Rings.
"All right, what have we got here?" Yolei looked over to Kazu and Suzie. "Talk to me. Who are those Digimon?" The two Tamers pulled out their D-Arcs for analysis, Kazu scanning the reptile and bird, and Suzie scanning the gorilla and Lego Digimon.
(Play Digimon Tamers: Shutsugen)
"Kotemon. Rookie level Reptile Digimon, Data attribute. He's skilled in the ways of Kendo, and has a strong sense of justice despite having a timid personality. His special attacks are Fire Men, setting his shinai on fire and striking the opponent's head, and Thunder Kote, charging his shinai with electricity before striking the opponent's arm.
"Sabirdramon. Champion level Giant Bird Digimon, Vaccine attribute. A variant of Birdramon covered in black flames that attacks to a ferocious degree. His special attack is Black Saber, striking the enemy with his talons."
"Apemon. Champion level Beast Man Digimon, Vaccine attribute. His golden fur makes him a legendary Digimon able to ride on clouds. His special attacks are Metallic Fur, where he shoots his hairs after hardening them like metal, and Mega Bone Stick, where he attacks with the bone on his back."
"ToyAgumon. Rookie level Puppet type Digimon, Vaccine attribute. With an appearance like Agumon, his entire body is made up of plastic bricks. He has a playful side, but falls apart easily if he's afraid. His special attack is firing a toy-shaped missile from his mouth, Toy Flame."
"So we have three Vaccine attributes and one Data attribute," said Kazu. "Kokuwamon and I can handle the Kotemon. Guardromon is a Virus attribute…"
"Wait a minute, let me think for a moment!" Yolei interrupted Kazu. "Okay, so we have two Dark Rings that can power down easily if we destroy the Control Spire, but it won't be enough to stop the Dark Spirals…okay, here's the plan. Cody and I will swap D-Terminals, and we'll take on the Champion Digimon. Kazu, Suzie, you'll destroy the Dark Rings on the Rookies, and you'll take down the Control Spire."
"That sounds like an idea," said Armadillomon. "What do you think, Cody?"
"Well…" Cody looked at the Digimon again, and the Control Spire. "It could work…"
"All right, then my plan is good to go!" Yolei said instantly. "Cody, give me your D-Terminal!"
"Yolei, hang on," said Cody, who gave his D-Terminal to Yolei and took the girl's. "I said it could work, but there's no telling if they're the only Digimon around here."
"Hey, we can take them down!" Yolei said with an air of optimism. "Whatever Millenniummon throws at us, they're no match for us!"
"Don't get overconfident," said Lopmon. "That could certainly lead to your downfall."
"Oh, who says I'm overconfident? I'm just confident!" Yolei said with a scoff. "Let's get them!"
"This could end very badly…" Suzie whispered to Kazu, who could only nod in worry as he pulled out a Digimon card with Suzie.
(Play Digimon: Break Up!)
"DIGI-MODIFY! DIGIVOLUTION ACTIVATE!"
"DIGI-ARMOR ENERGIZE!"
"KOKUWAMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…GUARDROMON!"
"LOPMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…TURUIEMON!"
"HAWKMON ARMOR DIGIVOLVE TOOO…FLYBEEMON!"
"ARMADILLOMON ARMOR DIGIVOLVE TOOO…PTERAMON!"
The bushes were blown apart as Guardromon took flight with Flybeemon, a red insect Digimon with a black helmet, and Pteramon, while Turuiemon charged at ToyAgumon.
"Go, Digidestined!" Yolei cheered out as Flybeemon flew for Apemon.
"LIGHTNING STING!" A blast of electricity flew from Flybeemon's tail and struck Apemon, forcing him to step back. The golden furred Digimon roared at the insect Digimon. "METALLIC FUR!" The hairs on his head hardened up and he fired them at Flybeemon, but the insect Digimon managed to expertly dodge the flying hairs and aimed his stinger at Apemon again.
"NEEDLE STINGER!" The stinger flew out of his thorax, but Apemon was prepared and pulled out his bone club, smacking the stinger away and leaping up at Flybeemon.
"MEGA BONE STICK!" Apemon roared, swinging his club down hard. The club struck Flybeemon and sent him down, but he regained his composure and flew up, smacking Apemon with his claws. The beast Digimon fell from the strike, but he stood back up and slammed his club in the ground, summoning a cloud that appeared underneath his feet and lifted him off the ground. Apemon flew at Flybeemon again to strike, but Flybeemon was able to prepare his Lightning Sting attack again, blasting Apemon in the chest and leaving him sprawled on the ground.
"MISSILE STORM!" Pteramon's missiles soared down from the sky and blasted the ground Sabirdramon was standing on. The black-flamed bird screeched at the dinosaur, spreading his wings and taking flight. Sabirdramon flew at a fast speed and rammed into Pteramon's wing, nearly knocking him out of the sky. But Pteramon regained himself and flew at Sabirdramon, his beak extending slightly.
"BEAK PIERCE!"
"BLACK SABER!" Sabirdramon flew down at Pteramon, his talons shining in the light. Both the beak and the talons struck, causing a clanging sound like metal hitting metal, and the two Digimon were forced back. Screeching again, Sabirdramon crossed his wings and released a barrage of black feathers that Pteramon guessed was a variant of Birdramon's Meteor Wing attack.
"MISSILE STORM!" The projectiles flew again and hit the feathers, creating a smokescreen from the explosions.
"BEAK PIERCE!" Taking advantage of the smoke, Pteramon flew for the Dark Spiral on Sabirdramon's leg. The beak struck it, but it left only a scratch.
'I'm going to need something stronger,' he thought. 'If I was Digmon…'
"TOY FLAME!" ToyAgumon's flame attack soared at Turuiemon, but the experienced Champion level Digimon dodged the attack and leapt up, kicking the puppet Digimon aside. Nearby, Kotemon charged for Guardromon, his shinai igniting in fire.
"FIRE MEN!" The shinai struck Guardromon on the head, but the machine Digimon was barely affected by the attack, and simply grabbed the shinai while staring at the reptile Digimon.
"I apologize for what I am about to do to you," Guardromon said, pulling back his arm, "but I'm afraid you are not being yourself." The machine Digimon thrust his arm forward and struck Kotemon in the face, sending him flying on his back.
"There we go!" Yolei yelled excitedly. "Now destroy that Control Spire!"
"Roger that!" Guardromon replied while Turuiemon nodded and Flybeemon and Pteramon continued their aerial battle with Apemon and Sabirdramon. Guardromon and Turuiemon began heading to the Control Spire to destroy it, when the sky above suddenly flashed a red light, catching everybody's attention.
(Play Digimon Tamers: Digital Field)
"What the…what is that light?!" asked Cody.
"I don't know," said Suzie, "but let's just hope it's something good for us!"
"Hang on a minute…" Kazu said with narrowed eyes. "I think I've seen that light before…" The light suddenly erupted and split into four beams, striking the controlled Digimon.
"What…what is this?!" Pteramon asked in bewilderment, watching Sabirdramon's form twist and change, along with Apemon, ToyAgumon and Kotemon. The lights suddenly faded and four new Digimon stood in place. Sabirdramon was now Parrotmon, a giant green parrot-like Digimon with wings and sharp talons. Apemon had landed on the ground and became Mammothmon, a brown-furred mammoth Digimon with metal on his trunk and head, bearing a yellow symbol that looked like an eye. Kotemon had grown to become Musyamon, a red-armored Digimon that looked like a shogun warrior wielding a large metal sword. And ToyAgumon has shrunk to become Thundermon, a small ball-shaped purple Digimon with a lightning bolt between his eyes.
(Play Digimon Adventure: Arata no Teki)
"They all Digivolved!" gasped Yolei. "But how?!"
"Calumon…" said Kazu. "Millenniummon must be using Calumon's power to Digivolve them!"
"It's just as we suspected," Suzie said with narrowed eyes. "Millenniummon is stepping up his game as well!"
"Then so will we!" said Yolei, refusing to back down from the new challenge. "Push forward! Destroy the Rings and Spirals, and the Spire!"
"LIGHTNING STING!" Flybeemon's attack flew at Mammothmon, but the giant Digimon swatted the lightning away with his trunk before lifting his head up. With a roar of "TUSK CRUSHER!", the tusks flew like missiles and exploded near Flybeemon. The insect Digimon spiraled out of the sky, but managed to turn himself around and land on his feet, staring up at the rampaging Ultimate level.
"MISSILE STORM!" Pteramon's missiles flew forward again, but Parrotmon was prepared this time for the attack.
"SONIC DESTROYER!" Flapping his wings, Parrotmon released a shock wave that blasted the missiles in midair and forced Pteramon back several feet.
"MJOLNIR THUNDER!" Electricity crackled between the red feathers on Parrotmon's head before firing at Pteramon. The dinosaur Digimon yelled in pain from attack and dropped to the ground, groaning from the electricity that hit him.
"Pteramon, hang in there!" Cody said, running over to his partner.
"Guardromon, let's switch enemies!" Turuiemon ran towards Musyamon, her clawed gauntlets dropping down to combat the samurai's sword.
"Very well!" said Guardromon, looking around for Thundermon. "But how do I find someone so small…UGH!" The machine Digimon took a step back when he felt something hit his chest hard. Looking down, he saw Thundermon pounding away on his chest before flying back and charging up a ball of electricity in his hands.
"THUNDER BALL!" The ball shot forward and struck Guardromon in the chest, sending him off the ground.
"Guardromon, hang on!" Kazu quickly pulled out several Digimon cards and looked over them. "There has to be a card that can be of us…"
"Kazu, look out!" yelled Cody. The visor-wearing boy looked up and let out a yell as he saw Mammothmon charging for him while ignoring Flybeemon's attacks, which were bouncing off his back.
(Play Digimon Tamers: Tamer Action)
"Good gravy!" Kazu jumped off to the side and rolled on the ground, barely avoiding Mammothmon's giant feet. "What was that about?!"
"NINJA CLAW!" Turuiemon's claws clashed with Musyamon's sword and the rabbit-woman pushed with all of her strength, but Musyamon was for more stronger physically as he pushed Turuiemon back and kicked her in the chest.
"Turuiemon, hang on! I'll give you a sword of your own!" Suzie called out, and quickly looked through her cards to find a sword card. She was so fixated on her cards, she failed to notice Musyamon charge for her, his sword glowing bright blue.
"Suzie, get out of the way!" Fortunately, Cody saw the attack coming and ran forward, pushing Suzie to the ground as Musyamon brought his sword down with a yell of "SHOGUN SWORD!" While Suzie was able to avoid the blade, Cody was not so lucky as he felt the sword slice his leg open.
"Gyy—aghh!" Cody yelled as he felt the blood flow out of his cut and on his leg, which he held in pain.
"Cody!" yelled Pteramon. "Hang on, I'm coming!"
"MJOLNIR THUNDER!" The lightning blast from Parrotmon struck Pteramon in the back again, and Thundermon rammed his small body in the dinosaur's beak, disorienting him and reverting him back to Armadillomon, who fell out of the sky and landed next to Cody.
"Come on, you guys!" Yolei yelled to Cody and Armadillomon. "I know it hurts, but you can walk it off! You're tough!"
"Yolei, please!" Flybeemon said to his partner. "I don't think either of them can fight in this condition!"
"That's unacceptable!" Yolei said angrily. "I'm not letting any of my team go down that easy! Plow right through them and head for that Control Spire!"
"GRENADE DESTROYER!" Guardromon fired his missiles again, but the projectiles simply bounced off Mammothmon, who smacked the robot Digimon aside with his trunk. Turuiemon continued attempting to battle Muysamon, but was knocked around by Thundermon, and Parrotmon was now fighting Flybeemon in the sky above.
"What are you doing?!" Yolei yelled to the fighting Digimon. "You're making an embarrassment of us!" She turned over to Kazu and Suzie. "Can't you Tamers use your cards?!"
"We're trying, but Thundermon is preventing us from using them!" said Kazu. The small Digimon had changed targets and was now pelting the ground surrounding Kazu and Suzie with his Thunder Ball attack, making it difficult for them to use Digimon cards.
(Play Digimon Adventure: Tatakai no Toki)
"Gah!" Yolei screamed, grabbing the red beret on her head and tossing it on the ground. This is not how she imagined things would go for her. "Forget the Digimon then! Aim for the Control Spire and destroy it! We'll only have to worry about Mammothmon and Parrotmon if we do that!"
"Yolei, are you sure about that?" asked Flybeemon. The insect Digimon was quite worried about Yolei's sporadic mood.
"Of course I'm sure!" said Yolei. "This is the big time! We're going in full throttle!"
"But we need a plan if we want to…GYAH!" Turuiemon started to talk, but was slashed in the chest by Musyamon and kicked into Guardromon. The robot Digimon managed to grab Turuiemon, but this left him vulnerable to Parrotmon's Sonic Destroyer, which sent him flying into a tree.
"Yolei, they're picking us off one by one!" said Cody, clutching his still-bleeding leg. "We need to get out of here while we still can!"
"Where can we run to?!" asked Yolei. "They have our exits blocked. The only way to win this is by going forward!"
"Yolei, think about what you're doing!" begged Flybeemon, having enough of Yolei's attitude. "You're going to get us killed like this with your reckless behavior!"
"W…what?!" Yolei asked in bewilderment at her partner's words. "But…"
"FREEZING BREATH!" Mammothmon roared as his trunk released a blast of cold air that froze Flybeemon's wings solid.
"Gaah!" Flybeemon could only yell in pain as Mammothmon smacked in him in the back with his trunk, shattering his frozen wings and reverting him to Hawkmon. The red-feathered Digimon collapsed to the ground, his back aching in pain.
"Hawkmon!" Yolei cried out, running over to her partner. "Come on Hawkmon, get up! We can't go down like this!"
"Y…Yolei…" Hawkmon moaned.
"THUNDER BALL!"
"SHOGUN SWORD!"
Thundermon's electric attack struck the ground again and Kazu and Suzie were sent flying, their D-Arks rolling out of their hands as they landed hard on the ground, while Musyamon's attack knocked Guardromon and Turuiemon down again. As Yolei watched the battle, the fire that had been burning in her moments before was suddenly snuffed out, and she looked around to see Kazu and Suzie groaning from their injuried, Cody tending to both Armadillomon and his own leg, and the four Digimon heading for them. Now she could only feel fear.
"We…we need help!" Cody groaned, pulling out his D-Terminal and typing a message as fast as he could.
(Play Digimon: SLASH!)
"RAPID FIRE!" Rapidmon's missiles soared through the sky and blew up two Control Spires in the area Davis's group was in. Upon entering the area, they had come face-to-face with two Champion Digimon, Vilemon, a small demon Digimon with a giant mouth and wings, and Kokatorimon, a white bird Digimon incapable of flight and capable of turning Digimon to stone. The two Digimon were backed up by an Ultimate level Digimon: BigMamemon, who was a giant version of Mamemon. Angemon battle the Vilemon while Renamon engaged Kokatorimon in battle, leaving Paildramon to deal with BigMamemon and Rapidmon with the Control Spires in the area.
"BIG SMILEY BOMB!" The red energy ball flew at Paildramon, who was knocked back by the attack, but retaliated immediately with his Cable Catcher, snaring up BigMamemon and slamming him into the ground several times before firing his Desperado Blaster, kicking up pebbles and pelting the Dark Spiral, which shattered from the overwhelming bullets.
"NIGHTMARE SHOCK!" Vilemon screeched as an energy wave flew out at Angemon, but the angel Digimon spun his staff to block the attack before pulling his fist back.
"HEAVEN'S KNUCKLE!" The golden beam slammed into Vilemon and sent him crashing through several trees, while also shattering the Dark Ring on his arm.
"PETRA-FIRE!" Green lasers fired from Kokatorimon's eyes and flew at Renamon, but thanks to a speed card from Rika, the kitsune Digimon was able to dodge the petrifying attack before ramming into the bird Dgimon with a headbutt, disorienting him.
"DIAMOND STORM!" The sharp leaves were released and tore into Kokatorimon, giving him sizeable cuts and destroying the Dark Ring. The white bird fell to the ground, hurt and unconscious, but alive.
"Don't you think you were a little rough on him?" TK asked Renamon as he checked on Kokatorimon.
"Maybe, but I don't really care how rough we are, just as long as they're alive," Rika answered. "We're done holding back. Millenniummon obviously means business. Besides, you're one to talk about being too rough. I saw you blast that Vilemon through twelve trees with that one attack. Are you sure that he isn't dead?"
"He isn't," Angemon walked over and dropped the unconscious Vilemon next to Kokatorimon. "He will be out of it for a while though." The sounds of explosions around them indicated Rapidmon was continuing to destroy Control Spires around the area. As he watched the destruction of the Spires, Davis couldn't help but have a feeling build up in his chest. The Digimon they fought, and the way the Spires were being built…this was definitely not like Millenniummon.
"Something's not right about this at all," Davis finally said, getting his group's attention.
"What do you mean, something's not right?" Rapidmon asked as he landed. "We took out those guys easily!"
(Play Digimon Adventure 02: Shizuka na Fuan)
"That's the problem," said Davis. "I figured Millenniummon would have a huge number of Digimon at every area, but there were only three Digimon, and one of them was an Ultimate level. I think Millenniummon is planning something big, and he's saving all of the Digimon he's enslaved so far for that plan. This also reminds me of when we last fought Millenniummon. Everything seemed easy for us fighting his goons, but when we fought him himself, he floored us entirely."
"But the question is, what exactly is he planning?" asked TK. "And how do we get him out of Ken's body?"
"…I don't know," Davis said dejectedly, fingering his Crest. "Maybe this could help in some way…" The sound of beeping filled the air, and Davis and TK noticed it was coming from their D-Terminals.
"What is it?" asked Rika. TK opened his D-Terminal first, and his eyes widened at the message.
"It's from Cody. Yolei's group was fighting two Rookies and two Champions until some red light turned the Rookies into Champions and Champions into Ultimates!"
"Red light?!" Renamon asked in shock as Henry and Rika looked at each other.
"Rika, you don't think…?!"
"Calumon," Rika said with a grim nod. "He must have found out how to use Calumon's power to Digivolve captured Digimon."
"Damn it…this must have been what he was planning," said Davis. "But why didn't he Digivolve the Digimon here?"
"I'm not sure, but we have to get to where Yolei's team is now," said TK. "They're being overwhelmed and Cody's hurt badly! And Kazu and Suzie are hurt as well!"
"Suzie!" Henry gasped in shock. "Rapidmon, we need to get over there!"
"Don't have to tell me twice!" Rapidmon said, picking up Henry in his arms and taking flight. Angemon picked up TK and Rika in his arms and flew after Rapidmon, Paildramon following with Renamon and Davis in his arms.
'Suzie, please be safe…' Henry thought to himself.
(Play Digimon Tamers: Panic)
"GRENADE DESTROYER!" Guardromon's missiles soared for the Control Spire, but Mammothmon's Freezing Breath froze the projectiles in midair and the missiles dropped to the ground, shattering to small ice crystals.
"Oh, dear…" Guardromon muttered as he looked up at Mammothmon's massive figure. The mammoth raised his trunk to strike Guardromon, but the machine Digimon ignited his jets and flew away from the trunk, but he was knocked back down instantly by Parrotmon.
"Damn it…Guardromon, hang on…" Kazu reached for his D-Ark, but it was kicked away by Musyamon, who raised his sword in the air to strike down the visor-wearing boy.
"Leave him alone!" Suzie yelled, grabbing a tree branch and smacking it on Musyamon's leg. The branch merely broke in two and Musyamon glared down at Suzie's defiant face. The samurai warrior merely grunted as he raised his foot and kicked Suzie in the chest, sending her skidding across the ground.
"Suzie!" Turuiemon yelled for her partner. "I'm coming!"
"THUNDER BALL!" Thundermon's attack slammed into Turuiemon's face, sending her off her feet and into a tree.
"Yolei…we can't hold out much longer," Cody grunted, dragging himself over to the older girl, who was staring at the battle in shock. "We have to retreat now."
"But…we can't…" Yolei muttered. "We…I…didn't give it all…"
"Yolei, I do not think this is a time to be stubborn!" Hawkmon advised, watching Parrotmon barrel down towards them.
"Prepare to perish for my master!" Musyamon stated boldly to Kazu, raising his sword to behead the Tamer. Kazu merely looked at him with a defiant look in his eyes.
"I don't think so…we're not done yet…!"
'This…this can't end like this!' Yolei thought as she closed her eyes tightly to avoid seeing Parrotmon come closer.
'If only Armadillomon could Digivolve to another form…!' Cody thought desperately, clutching his D-3. As Parrotmon came closer, two bright lights suddenly flashed from Yolei and Cody, and they engulfed Hawkmon and Armadillomon, who could feel themselves changing.
(Play Digimon Adventure tri: Brave Heart)
"HAWKMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…AQUILAMON!"
"ARMADILLOMON DIGIVOLVE TOOO…ANKYLOMON!"
Yolei gasped as she felt a massive clawed foot wrap itself around her body and she felt herself leave the ground. Opening her eyes and looking up, she was astonished to see that she was being held by a giant bird that looked like Hawkmon, but with horns sticking out of his head. The sound of loud footsteps below made her look down to see Cody being held by a giant yellow Digimon that looked like the Ankylosaur, with sharp spikes all over his body, and a spiked ball at the end of his tail. It looked like a giant version of Armadillomon.
"H…Hawkmon?" she asked the Digimon apprehensively. "Is that you?"
"Armadillomon!" Cody gasped in astonishment. "You…you Digivolved!"
"It is me, Yolei," Hawkmon said, his voice deeper than usual. "I have Digivolved to my Champion level, Aquilamon!"
"And you can call me Ankylomon, Cody!" replied Armadillomon.
"Hawkmon and Armadillomon Digivolved to Champion already?!" Kazu asked in surprise. "Wow, things really are being thrown out of whack now…" a cocky grin suddenly appeared on his face, despite the seriousness of the situation he was in. "…and I like it!"
"BLAST LASER!" Aquilamon opened his beak and ring-shaped energy beams flew out, hitting Parrotmon in the eye. The giant bird screeched in pain from the attack and swung his arms around like crazy, nearly grazing Aquilamon.
"Yolei, hang on!" said the giant eagle Digimon. "This is going to be a bumpy flight!"
"Even more so than when you're Halsemon?!" Yolei asked rhetorically as Aquilamon wove through Parrotmon's talons. Down below, Mammothmon let out a trumpeting sound with his trunk as he charged for Ankylomon and Cody.
"Hang on Cody!" Ankylomon said, placing his partner on the ground before standing over him. Mammothmon raised his feet up and brought them down on Ankylomon's back, but the dinosaur Digimon stood his ground, the spikes on his back offering protection. Mammothmon roared in pain as he felt the skin of his feet cut open by Ankylomon's spikes, and he backed away. Sensing the new Digimon before him was a threat, Musyamon charged forward with his sword held high, ready to strike Ankylomon, who noticed Musyamon approaching and swung his massive tail to attack.
"TAIL HAMMER!" The spiked ball crashed into Musyamon's chest, sending the samurai warrior flying off his feet. Musyamon began falling, but his fall was accelerated when Guardromon dropped down on him from above. The two Digimon crashed into the ground, with Musyamon disoriented.
"WARNING LASER!" Guardromon's eyes glowed red before releasing a concentrated laser beam that hit the Dark Ring and broke it, freeing Musyamon.
"Finally, a Dark Ring has been broken today!" Ankylomon sighed before feeling a hard punch in the face. Looking up he saw Thundermon still moving at a fast speed, performing attacks at Kazu and Suzie to prevent them from using cards.
"Damn it! He's too fast for us to use our cards!" Suzie yelled as she dodged another attack from Thundermon. Above, Aquilamon continued dodging Parrotmon's claws, his eyes fixed on the Dark Spiral.
"I got it now! GLIDE HORN!" Aquilamon's horns grew slightly as he charged for Parrotmon's Dark Spiral, but the green bird Digimon managed to catch Aquilamon with his one good eye and swung his arm around, smacking Aquilamon out of the sky. Yolei screamed as she fell to the ground below. Luckily for her, the ground wasn't far below, so she only had a bruise or two from landing on her side.
"Ow…" Yolei moaned as Aquilamon landed right next to her. "This isn't what I had wanted to happen at all!"
"Well, we can't always have everything go our way!" a familiar voice rang out. Yolei looked up to see Rapidmon appearing out of thin air, blasting Parrotmon with his Rapid Fire before landing on the ground, his eyes catching Thundermon still attacking Suzie and Kazu.
"Hey, bowling ball!" Rapidmon yelled, catching Thundermon's attention. "Pick on someone your own type!" Thundermon charged for Rapidmon and began delivering fast punches. Unfortunately, Rapidmon was much faster than Thundermon, and the green cyborg dog delivered a flurry of punches and kicks that disoriented the small mutant Digimon before firing his Tri-Beam. The green triangle slammed into Thundermon and sent him crashing to the ground, breaking his Dark Ring in the process.
"How's that feel, you little jerk?" Suzie asked the unconscious Thundermon as Henry jumped off Rapidmon's back and ran over to his sister and Kazu.
"Suzie, are you all right?" The blue-haired boy dropped down on one knee and looked over his sister. "You look banged up…"
"So do you when Rapidmon gets hit with attacks!" Suzie retorted, annoyed at Henry's protectiveness. It was acceptable when she was five years old and immature, but she was now nine years old and had matured. "I'm all right Henry, geez!"
"I just want to make sure it's nothing serious," Henry said softly. "Come on Suzie, let me look you over."
"Fine," Suzie sighed and let Henry look her over for any serious injuries that Thundermon may have inflicted on her.
"Gee Henry, nice to know you care about me!" Kazu said sarcastically as he clutched his bruised arm.
"Yes, very nice!" said Guardromon, picking up on his partner's sarcasm.
"Oh, quit whining, we're right here!" Rika sighed, walking out of the bushes with Renamon. The red-haired girl sat Kazu down on a rock and began to look over his injuries. In the sky Paildramon had joined Aquilamon in battling Parrotmon, the two Digimon coming with a plan.
"All right Aquilamon, here we go! CABLE CATCHER!" The wires flew out and wrapped around Parrotmon's body, pinning his arms to the side. "Get the Spiral now!"
"GLIDE HORN!" Aquilamon flew down again, with his horns stretching out and glowing red. The horns rammed into the Dark Spiral, which cracked from the strength of the attack. "BLAST LASER!" Aquilamon flew up again and fired his ring beams, which hit the Spiral and finally broke it. Paildramon unwrapped his wires around Parrotmon and let him fall to the ground, where Mammothmon continued his attempts to pound Ankylomon in the dirt.
"Cody, if you have an idea that can work, I would be glad to hear it!" the dinosaur Digimon grunted while dodging Mammothmon's trunk. Still gripping his bleeding leg, Cody looked up at the mammoth's head, seeing that he had no eyes, but the yellow markings on his head resembled an eye.
'I wonder…'
"Ankylomon, charge forward and hit the yellow eye symbol with your Tail Hammer! That should get him off-balance enough for us to get the Dark Spiral!"
"Okay, but I'll need a distraction!"
"One distraction coming up!" Angemon declared, flying overhead. "HEAVEN'S KNUCKLE!" The golden beam hit the ground in front of Mammothmon, making the massive beast turn his attention to the airborne Digimon.
"Now's your chance Ankylomon!" called TK. "Get the Dark Spiral!"
"All right! TAIL HAMMER!" Ankylomon charged forward and leapt up, ramming his iron ball in Mammothmon's eye glyph. As Cody suspected, the glyph acted as Mammothmon's eye, and hitting it with a spiked ball caused the ancient beast great pain. Capitalizing on Mammothmon's pain, Ankylomon swung his tail around and slammed it into the Dark Spiral, the impact shattering the Dark Spiral to pieces.
"Now for the Control Spire!" yelled Davis. "Get it, Paildramon!"
"STING STRIKE!" Paildramon flew down straight for the Control Spire, his spikes going through the tower and bringing the black tower down like a mighty oak tree. Above in the sky, Yolei watched the Spire's destruction with a look that bordered on sour.
'Again with this…why can't anything ever go right for me?!'
(Play Digimon Tamers: Kyodai Kuukan)
"Hmm…well, that was certainly entertaining," Millenniummon said with a chuckle as he watched the battle from his monitor room. "And just as I thought, the machine works." The mad Digimon turned to a machine that Calumon was in. Multiple wires were attached to the small Digimon's body, channeling his energy through them and powering the machine, which allowed any Digimon he desired to Digivolve. "I'd say today was a good day, wouldn't you say Calumon?"
"This hurts…" Calumon moaned in the machine. Whatever Millenniummon was doing to him, it wasn't fun at all and it was giving him great pain. "This hurts so much…"
"The pain won't last long," Millenniummon said, looking up at the screen. "This will only be for a few days…" His fingers flew across the keyboard, bringing up several Digimon he had captured. These specific Digimon were machine and cyborg-type Digimon that he hoped would Digivolve into one of the Digimon he was seeking. As for the other Digimon, his computers were scanning the waters of the Digital World slowly and carefully, as if searching for something important…and they were.
"It could be a few days before they find it…" Millenniummon muttered. "In the meantime…" He turned his attention back to the monitors, showing a clearly frustrated Yolei. He grinned evilly at the screen.
"I think I'll have some fun with the new kids…"
"All right, so tell me what went down that day," Izzy said to Matt. "I know this is something that you may not like to talk about Matt, but I think we should know. What happened four years ago before Sora found you and Joe?"
Matt sighed heavily as he looked down at the floor, thinking about that day. Being trapped in his own misery and darkness was a terrible day in his life, just as bad as the day he was tricked into fighting Tai. This was a subject that was hard for him to talk about. Though he told Joe and TK a little of what happened, the only ones that really knew what went down were himself and Gabumon. Could he truly be able to tell Tai and Izzy what he felt that day in the cave?
Next to him, Sora was also hesitant as well. She knew that day as well, and it was a little hard for her to talk about as well.
"Matt." The blond-haired boy raised his head upon feeling a hand on his leg, and looked down to see Gabumon looking up at him with a warm reassuring smile. "It's all right to tell them. Don't keep it bottled up. Just remember what we talked about."
"Yeah, Sora!" Biyomon climbed up on her partner's lap to look at her. "You don't have to keep this sort of stuff hidden from your friends."
"You're right…" Matt said with a small smile.
"We should tell them," added Sora, hugging Biyomon close to her.
(Play Digimon Adventure: Namida no Yukue)
"It was shortly after Puppetmon was defeated," Matt started his story. "I was still wandering the Digital World searching for myself and wondering where I belonged. Eventually I ended up in a cave with Gabumon. I used to think that my only role in the group was protecting TK, but he had grown up fast and he had everybody else. I didn't know what my role was. I thought after all the crap I pulled, I didn't deserve to be around everybody. I wanted to be alone…but my loneliness and depression was trapping me in an aura of darkness and I was drowning in it." The bearer of Friendship breathed deeply before continuing. "But Gabumon was able to pull me through and I realized I wasn't alone and I never wanted to be alone, and that I was needed and valued by my friends and family. Shortly after I got pulled out of the cave, Joe found me and then we found TK near a hole that he said Sora fell into."
"Tai had sent me and TK to find the others while he and WarGreymon fought Piedmon," Sora began her story now, realizing Matt was done with his. "I kept saying to myself that I had to find everybody in time so I could get back and help Tai, but my doubts of making it back in time were eating away at me deep down and it caused me to fall in an aura of darkness as well. But Matt and Joe were able to pull me out, and I realized I didn't have to put all the stress and responsibility on myself, especially when I couldn't handle it, and that I had others to help me shoulder it as well."
"I see…" Izzy said as he typed down what his friends said. "…when I talked to Kari yesterday about the Dark Ocean, she said she wanted to try and become stronger on her own, but she always doubted if she could be as strong as Tai and Davis, since she always relied on them more than she did any of us. I think Kari's negative emotions were much stronger than Matt and Sora's, so it's possible that they, as well as Dagomon's desire to make her his bride, was what caused her to be pulled into the Dark Ocean."
"To think you guys were that close to ending up there four years ago like Kari did yesterday…" Tai said to his to best friends with worry in his voice. "I can't help but wonder what would have happened had you not been pulled out of there."
"Piedmon would have slaughtered us and nothing would have stopped him then," Izzy said gravelly. "I guess it's a good thing that didn't happen."
"Still, this is bad," said Sora. "What's not to say that Dagomon will try to strike again? The Control Spires are breaking down the barriers, and he could try and pull Kari back to his world. What do we do then?"
(Play Digimon Adventure: Kyoufu no Ashiato)
"We wait," said Impmon, getting everybody to look at him. The small demon had a look on his face as if he was thinking about what to say next. "From what Takato and the others told us yesterday, Dagomon made a mistake bringing Kari to his world, and he also said Dagomon would be waiting for the next opportunity to strike again."
"And that could possibly be once the Control Spires break down the barriers enough for Dagomon to get through and enter the Digital World," Izzy said with a frown of worry. "And we can't exactly go to the Dark World and fight Dagomon without knowing how powerful he truly is. If he was able to resist the attacks of four Mega level Digimon at the Ultimate level, then he could have the potential to Digivolve to Mega level as well…and he could be just as powerful as Apocalymon if he does, maybe stronger than Apocalymon." Everybody shared Izzy's look of worry, realizing how serious this situation sounded.
"So I guess it's agreed that Millenniummon and the Control Spires are our main priority right now, and once we take care of them, Dagomon and the Dark Ocean is next," said Tai. Everybody nodded, knowing that defeating Millenniummon and getting Ryo, Calumon and Ken back was important right now. Izzy's computer began beeping, and the red-haired boy looked down to see the Digital Gate being opened.
"Guys, you might want to step back. Takato's group is coming through." The group backed away from the computer on the floor, and moments later Takato, Jeri, Kari and Kenta flew out of the screen with their Digimon partners, falling in a pile on the floor.
"Oh…that was not how I wanted to come out of there…" Kenta groaned as he stood back up with the others.
"Welcome back guys," said Tai, helping Kari and Takato up. "So, how did your search go?"
"We found no sign of anything remotely to a hidden base in our areas," said Gatomon. "We did destroy all the Control Spires that we saw though, and freed more Digimon."
"Have the other groups come back yet?" asked Kari.
"No, they haven't," said Izzy, looking at the clock that read 4:30. "They should be back soon."
"So Millenniummon used Calumon's power to Digivolve the Digimon you encountered," said Henry. The two groups sat in the forest clearing where Davis's group was tending to the injuries Yolei's group sustained during their fight.
"Yes, I recognized that light anywhere," said Lopmon. "Our fears have been realized regarding Calumon."
"It was brutal," said Cody. "Those Digivolutions caught us completely off-guard and we didn't know how to combat this new, unexpected threat. If it wasn't for Armadillomon and Hawkmon Digivolving to stall Parrotmon and the other Digimon, I highly doubt you would have made it in time."
"Why didn't you guys fall back?" asked Rika. "If those Digimon were giving you a hard time, then you could have retreated and called us. Then we could meet up with you and think of a new plan."
"That's what I had in mind," said Kazu, "but Yolei, our leader, had different ideas." The visor-wearing boy looked over at the lavender-haired girl with narrowed eyes, making everybody else look over at her.
"Yolei, what is Kazu saying?" asked Davis. Yolei hesitated under Davis's stern gaze, but stood her ground.
"I…I had the team keep fighting even after the Digimon Digivolved," she answered. "I told them to keep fighting towards the Control Spire…"
"Did it ever occur to you to retreat if it was difficult for you?!" Rika scolded. "Cody nearly got his leg chopped off and Kazu and Suzie are banged up because you decided to be stubborn!"
(Play Digimon Tamers: Ruki no Theme)
"Stubborn?!" Yolei yelled, looking at Rika with a sharp glare. "I remember you telling me how dangerous and serious this situation is! If we retreated, then Millenniummon would have won! I refuse to back down and be called a coward! I was doing what was right for the team! We should never give up!"
"You weren't doing what was right for the team, you were doing all of this just for yourself!" Kazu yelled suddenly, getting everybody to look at him in surprise. The visor-wearing Tamer looked over at Yolei with a light glare.
"Did you think I didn't notice the way you were acting today? You instantly leaped up and asked to lead a group. You insisted we only go through with only your ideas, and you didn't bother listening to our ideas and suggestions. And you didn't order a retreat when things got bad for us, and we were getting hurt! You didn't think at all Yolei, you just acted! And you didn't act at all for any of us, you just acted for yourself!"
"No, I didn't!"
"Yes, you did!" Kazu countered Yolei's argument. "I can tell the type of person that you are Yolei. You're a person who's part of a large group and you want to play your part as well to your best, but you're frustrated and jealous over everybody else having better luck or more attention than you. So you act all out and do things like this just so you can get attention. Well congratulations Yolei. You got the attention you wanted by being selfish and uncaring about everything and everybody around you." Yolei was absolutely stunned at Kazu's words, as well as everybody else, though Suzie, Rika and Henry seemed to have some sort of look on their face that suggested they were remembering something. Kazu turned around and walked away from Yolei before turning back to give her one last look and saying, "I hope you're happy."
"Yolei…?" Hawkmon asked, looking at his partner sadly. Yolei could only look down at the ground in anger and sadness.
"That was a little too far Kazu," Cody scolded lightly. "I agree, what Yolei did was rash and impulsive, but you could have told her a different way."
"Yolei, I agree with what Kazu said, though I wouldn't be that harsh. You just need to be honest with yourself and with us about what you're doing…" Davis started, walking over to Yolei, but the inheritor of Love pushed his hand away from her shoulder.
"Leave me alone!" she snapped, running out of the clearing and into the forest.
"Yolei, come back! Wait for me!" Hawkmon called out, flying after Yolei.
"I know what I said was harsh," Kazu sighed after a moment of silence. "But she needs to understand how delicate this situation is."
"You sound like you're speaking from experience," Cody noted, making Kazu sigh and close his eyes with an expression of pain.
"I'd…rather not talk about it right now." Cody and Davis looked over to the other Tamers in their group, and from the looks of Rika, Henry and Suzie, they knew what Kazu was talking about but were staying quiet for Kazu.
(Play Digimon Adventure 02: Seijaku)
"Yolei, come back!" Hawkmon called, flying after his partner.
"Not now Hawkmon," Yolei said, her voice heavy with emotion. Kazu's words had struck a chord in her. He had called her selfish and that she did everything today just for herself. She had tried to defend herself and her actions, but she couldn't seem to be able to. The question was…why?
As Yolei headed back to the Digital Gate to return home, Millenniummon watched from the distance, an evil smirk on his face.
"Yes…she will definitely be fun to break…"
A flash of light covered the warehouse room, and everybody inside was greeted with the sight of Yolei and Hawkmon, the former looking sad and the latter looking worried.
"Yolei, you're back already…" Sora started to say, but trailed off when she saw the bruises and small cuts on the younger girl's body. "What happened to you?!"
"And where are the rest of your group?" asked Izzy.
"They'll be back eventually," Yolei said, her voice devoid of emotion. "I'm going home." The glasses-wearing girl walked out of the warehouse, leaving everybody confused at the absence of Yolei's usually-bubbly personality.
"Geez, what happened with her?" asked Impmon. Izzy's computer screen flashed again, and the rest of Yolei's group came out with Davis's group, Henry supporting Cody.
"Good grief!" Tai gasped, looking at the injuries on Cody, Kazu and Suzie. "What happened to you guys?"
"And why did Yolei look sad?" asked Ai.
"It's a long story," Davis said with a sigh. "Where's Yolei? Did she come through already?"
"She did, and she said she was going home," said Biyomon. Kazu sighed heavily and began heading for the door with Kokuwamon.
"Kazu, where are you going?" asked Izzy. "You look like you need those injuries looked at…"
"I'll be fine," Kazu said, waving his hand. "I'm going to catch up with Yolei. I need to talk with her more." Once Kazu and Kokuwamon were gone, Matt turned back to the others and asked, "Okay, what happened today?"
"You might want to sit down guys, and you also might want to call Joe so he can look at Cody's leg," answered TK. Sora nodded and began calling Joe while everybody sat down so Suzie and Cody could explain everything that happened today.
Yolei walked around Odaiba for an hour before heading home. Throughout that time, she couldn't stop getting Kazu's words out of her head. She wanted to do her best for the team. That's why she took charge today and refused to retreat. The others would have done that…would they?
But then she thought about what she said to herself last night. She had called herself a background character, unable to stand out from the other Digidestined. To everybody, she was just another Digidestined, but she knew she could be more. She just wanted to do what she could. That didn't make her selfish…did it?
'I was just doing what I thought was right…wasn't I?' she thought as she entered her apartment.
"I'm home!"
"Finally, about time!" Yolei heard her mother say, walking into the hallway with an annoyed look on her face. "Where were you today? I asked you last night to help with the store, it was just me and your father!"
"I'm sure you were able to handle it yourself," Yolei said. She didn't mean to snap, but after what Kazu said to her, she was not in the mood for this right now. "I told you, I had something important to do today!"
"Yolei, I'm sure you could have put off computer club for one day," sighed Mrs. Inoue. "It's not as important as helping your family…"
"It is important!" Yolei snapped, her anger boiling up. "Being with my friends makes me who I am, gives me something to do!"
"Yolei, please calm down," said Mrs. Inoue. "I'm not yelling at you, so I don't think you need to yell. I know you like being with your friends and playing with computers, but it's also important that you help out your family."
"I do help you out!" yelled Yolei. "The problem is you barely notice anything I do around here! It's always Mantarou this, Chizuru that, Momoe this! What about me?! When have I ever felt like a part of this family? I'm barely acknowledged, and when I am you just see me as a geeky girl obsessed with soap operas and computers! You treat me like I'm invisible!"
"Honey, take it easy," Mr. Inoue walked over and calmly placed a shoulder on her youngest child's shoulder. "We don't treat you like invisible, we just…you just seem different…"
(Play Digimon Adventure: Yuugure)
"Different?!" Yolei yelled, her eyes beginning to water in anger. "I'll let you know different is good! I'd rather be some computer geek girl than be something like my siblings! Why can't you love me for who I am and show me the attention I want?! Am I the unfavorite here?!"
"Yolei, don't think of yourself like that!" Mrs. Inoue scolded softly. "We don't think of you like that. I know we don't pay as much attention to you as your other siblings, but don't think you're not loved in this family!"
"Well, when was the last time you ever showed it?!" Yolei yelled, leaving a stunned silence. The lavender-haired girl glared at her stunned parents before storming to her room. "I'm going to bed."
"It's…it's only six!" Mr. Inoue called, regaining himself.
"I don't care," Yolei snapped bitterly, not noticing Hawkmon running up to her.
"Yolei, please! I think you should listen…" The bird Digimon was cut off when the door slammed in his face, followed by the sound of the lock clicking, leaving the room in silence again.
"Yolei…" Hawkmon sighed before turning to her parents, who were both staring at him in surprise. The bird Digimon's eyes suddenly widened as he realized he had just shown himself to the couple unintentionally.
"Oh my…um, hello there!"
"What the…who…who are you?!" Mrs. Inoue asked in complete surprise.
"Are you a little person in a costume?" Mr. Inoue asked curiously, bending down and pulling on Hawkmon's face, getting a pained reaction.
"Ow! Sir, I must ask you to respect my personal space!" Hawkmon said as he backed away from Yolei's father. The door to the apartment opened again, and Kazu walked in with Kokuwamon by his side.
"Hey, I'm…back…" the Tamer trailed off when he noticed Yolei's parents staring at Hawkmon in utter bewilderment. "Huh. I guess you know about him now." Yolei's parents turned around to look at Kazu with Mrs. Inoue asking, "What are you talking about? Do you know…something about this?"
"Yes, he does," Kokuwamon answered, stepping forward to be seen. "Since you now know about Digimon, allow me to introduce myself. I am Kokuwamon, loyal partner to Kazu Shioda."
"Digi…mon?" Mr. Inoue asked in confusion. Kazu sighed, realizing there was much to be explained.
"I'll tell you everything, but I think we should get Yolei first. Where is she?"
"She locked herself in her room," said Mrs. Inoue worriedly. "She's really upset."
"Oh, boy…" Kazu took off his hat and ran his hand through his hair. "All right, then I'll tell you everything myself."
"Perhaps we should explain as well," voiced Kokuwamon.
"Yes," Hawkmon said with a nod.
"Okay," Kazu pulled out a chair from the dining table and sat down in it. "So, it all starts like this…"
"Damn it all…" Yolei muttered as she sat in front of her computer, surfing the web as her fingers flew across the keyboard. The lavender-haired girl had changed into her sleepwear of yellow t-shirt and green-striped shorts, and she had attempted to go to sleep, but as she was still steaming over Kazu's words, as well as what she said to her parents, she had been unable to sleep properly.
"Stupid…stupid siblings!" she grumbled, pushing away from the computer and standing up, walking out on the balcony. She felt a slight chill as her bare feet touched the concrete, but she ignored it and looked out at the city. She was so fixated on the sight of Odaiba, she didn't notice her computer screen lighting up like a Christmas tree, nor did she hear someone coming up from behind her.
Yolei fumed as she leaned on the balcony. She didn't mean to lash out like that towards her parents, but it frustrated her to no end that it was often about her own siblings and she was ignored, and she felt like it was the same in the Digidestined.
"It's not fair…I'm smarter than most of them…I can do just as well, maybe even better! I just wish I was the only child in my family. I wish I could show my talents somehow…" Before she could continue talking, an arm suddenly wrapped around her waist, trapping her arms to her sides and another hand flew up to her face, pushing a cloth over her mouth and nose. The lavender-haired girl struggled in the arms of whoever was behind her, but the grip was as tight as iron. She also couldn't help but wonder how someone got into her room when her door was locked.
(Play Digimon Adventure: Taiketsu)
"MMPH!" Yolei screamed through the cloth and she could taste and smell a liquid on the cloth. Her eyes widened when she realized what was going on. She had seen this on her soap operas. She was being drugged with chloroform. Someone was kidnapping her!
Yolei struggled and screamed, but she felt consciousness slip away. Soon, her eyes closed and her body went limp. Satisfied that she was out cold, Millenniummon placed Yolei down on the ground.
"Come now Miyako…I think we should have a nice talk…" The time-bending Digimon chuckled as he walked over to Yolei's closet and looked through it, eventually finding several long scarves. Smiling as he knew they would be enough, Millenniummon walked back over to Yolei and turned her on her stomach, tying her wrists and ankles tightly with two of the scarves before sitting her up and tying a third one around her mouth. After testing the knots to make sure Yolei wouldn't be able to free herself, Millenniummon picked up Yolei and draped her over his shoulder. Walking over to the computer, he raised his hand towards the screen. The limb glowed purple and the screen lit up again, sucking up Millenniummon and his captive.
(Play Days -Aijou to Nichijou- TV Size)
END CHAPTER 20
A quick notice: Starting from here on out, these updates will start to become a little less frequent. I wrote a lot of chapters in advance, but this is where the chapters will start to slow down a little bit. But don't worry. This story is not abandoned or forgotten by a long shot. I'm still writing, and with any luck, I should have the next chapter up by next week. My apologies, but I can be a little scatterbrained and easily distracted from time to time.
In the next chapter, Yolei sees first-hand the horror that is Millenniummon, and Kazu comes to help her as we learn about the incident in Kazu's past that has been mentioned the last few chapters.