But digimon had escaped to the Real World.
And brought back the power of digivolution.
And laid his servants low. Even his most recent acquisition had been beaten, the fall of one of the partnered digimon only a minor victory to him.
"Chaos. This chaos is...unacceptable."
-
Digimon tamers 31
'Battle Azulongmon'
--
The two figures, one small, the other massive, looked down at the battered form of Impmon. "Well, he caused quite a mess, didn't he? Still, he was, in many ways, the prototype." The massive figure's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps..."
"No," the smaller figure replied. "I think there's still a role he can play. that is, if you're serious about-"
"I am. The problem is coded into this world, Goro Mizuno. You of all people should know that." Goro Mizuno, alias Shibumi, Monster Maker and semi-corporeal prisoner in this digital world, nodded sadly. "You could not have known, my friend."
"But this fate we created for you-"
"We created this fate together. But two things are certain. You and the digimon who have partners must flee this world with the Catalyst. And..." The massive figure's voice caught, even with the full knowledge of what had to be done.
"And this world must die."
-
Snarling, Sakuyamon brought her staff down on Azulongmon's tail, forcing it open and allowing Valkyrimon to get clear. "You OK?"
"Yes!"
"Good! Now get clear, I...WE owe this beast." Energy built up, then lanced out, carving furrows in the dragon's back. Abruptly, she pulled back, not following up her attack.
Mainly because Saint Gargomon had that honour, flying up and behind Azulongmon, weapon ports opening and launching rockets and missiles at Azulongmon's injured back. The dragon roared in agony as the attack struck. He shot forward, twisting around and trying to bring his wickedly fanged mouth to bear against Saint Gargomon. He winced again as Ancient Garurumon shot past, blades slicing into Azulongmon's neck. Reddish-black miasma seeped out of the suddenly frost-encrusted wound, sending a fresh wave of pain through the massive dragon's body.
"Jeri!" Valkyrimon flew over to Ancient Garurumon.
"Hey," Jeri's voice said, at odds with the menacing figure of the mega level ice digimon. Ancient Garurumon glanced at Azulongmon. "For Guilmon and Takato," she whispered, flying at the dragon.
Drawing her sword, Valkyrimon nodded, following. The two struck opposite sides of Azulongmon's serpentine body, blades cutting deeply into the guardian's corrupted body. Roaring, Azulongmon twisted around, forcing the two back; this left him open for a counter from Saint Gargomon, two giant missiles slamming into him, scarring the beast and putting one of his eyes out.
From the ground, Isao Akiyama grimaced a bit, watching the battle. "We created this place, and this situation. Now we're sending children to fight off our mistakes," he whispered. Ryo, staring up at Valkyrimon as she danced around several energy blasts, didn't hear him.
Cyberdramon stirred, pushing himself up. "Azulongmon..." he groaned.
"Seems to be well in hand," Ryo's father remarked. "Rest. You're not strong enough-"
"What?" Cyberdramon growled, turning on the former Hypnos commander. A bright blue energy leash from Ryo's D-arc stopped his next words.
"Don't threaten my father," Ryo growled.
"Ryo," Isao said. For a second, nothing happened. With a sudden shock of fear, Isao saw how the Tamers must have seen him when he was leading Hypnos; barely controlled rage and a need to control, regardless of the consequences. "Ryo, let Cyberdramon go."
Ryo looked up, startled. "But he-"
"No. Ryo, you're going to a place I was at not too long ago. What I did...Don't follow my example, Ryo. Now let. Cyberdramon. Go." Reluctantly, the energy leash vanished. He glared at Cyberdramon. "You put me through a nightmare for two years, Cyberdramon, you and that Impmon you dragged along." He didn't flinch as Cyberdramon growled at him, ignoring Ryo's sudden terrified look. "I hunted digimon, did things to them that would make you scream, Cyberdramon. And what I did to Hitomi Motomiya...I won't blame you for what I did. I will blame you for what you let me become. I will blame you for not helping Ryo to come home. For not letting me know he was alright. And if you ever cause my son to suffer again, to drive him to become like I was when I called myself Yamaki, I will find you and I will destroy you."
Human and digimon stared at each other. Cyberdramon flinched first.
--Tokyo
Kazu came to, thoughts about the condition of his partner second in his mind. The first thing that came into his head was the question of when the army had started deploying tanks that looked like Monochromon with tank treads.
Oh, he thought, that's right. Kenta evolved him. No, Matrix evolved him...This led Kazu to the horrific realization that Kenta had managed to evolve his partner to the Ultimate level before he had. And he knew darn well that Aero V-Dramon Zero would have mopped the floor with these losers. "That is so unfair."
"Speak for yourself," V-dramon said, elbowing some debris out of his way. "I could use a bit of help right now. As long as he doesn't slip a tread or nothin'." Lasermon swiveled around, blew a raspberry at the blue and white digimon, then returned his focus to the oncoming red glop.
Kenta, still a bit stunned at being the proud owner of a heavily armoured and armed Ultimate level digimon, checked his partner's data with his D-Arc. "Okay, Lasermon...Ultimate level, cool, special attacks include Razor Horn, Gatling Cannon and Armageddon Cannon."
"So? You want I should take 'em down all personal like, or just hose 'em from here?" Lasermon grinned, feeling a rush of power.
"We're in downtown Tokyo, and those things can melt digimon. I think we need a gentler touch...?" Kenta looked around; Reilly and Janyu were just starting to recover, the red ooze having retreated once the building had collapsed. He spotted the faint glow of a force field that Rukario had thrown up, now dying away, allowing the pokemon to join the battle. Neither he nor Kotemon did, however. Both wanted to see what Lasermon was capable of.
"Aww, come on, Kenta! I can cut loose and...Oh, right. Collateral damage."
"You remember my speech, oh good. Try that Gatling cannon thing. Just keep it short range, okay?"
"You're the boss," Lasermon answered, cannon on his back humming as he fired a barrage of energy blasts with spectaularly unimpressive results. The blob grumbled, then advanced. "Okay, plan 2?"
--Digital World
Ages ago, as digimon measure time, Azulongmon had been regarded as one of the wisest of the Sovereign Digimon, and one of the most elegant, his slow, sure movements and careful, considered words drawing respect from even the harshest of his detractors, few that there were.
Then the corruption had set in, so slow and insidious that even the dragon's eyes had missed it. The true tragedy was that, while Azulongmon's form and knowledge were kept, his spirit and personality were erased, leaving him little more than a puppet for the one that had been dubbed the 'True' Sovereign.
The puppet, however, still remembered rage. And that is what he felt as these interlopers, these -deviants- continued to harass him, to strike him, and to hurt him. And he wanted to hurt them back. His one good eye scanned the area, found three comparatively weak opponents on the ground.
His remaining muscles flexed suddenly, forcing Valkyrimon and Sakuyamon back. His head shot up, then down, hurling a bolt of lightning at the spot were Isao Akiyama was staring down Cyberdramon, Ryo only a few feet away.
From their hiding place, Lillymon, holding Calumon tightly, got up, starting to rush towards the trio; Guardromon was only just making his way to his feet. Neither was close enough. Isao and Ryo looked up at the oncoming blast. Isao's words burning in his mind, Cyberdramon spun around, took one look at Ryo, then flew.
Straight at the bolt.
There was a horrible blast, followed an instant later by an almost bestial yell of anguish. Everything stopped; the Tamers up fighting Azulongmon looked at the explosion, stunned. Azulongmon watched the aura from the blast dissipate, leaving a huge dust cloud.
And a battered, maimed Cyberdramon shooting right at him, remaining arm stretched out, shooting at Azulongmon's still-open maw. Yell trailing off, he managed to punch through Azulongmon's upper jaw, releasing a geyser of pent up energy.
From her vantage point, Hitomi watched with a strange sense of deja vu. Then she saw Cyberdramon falling, and rushed to try and help; Ancient Garurumon joined her. Saint Gargomon and Sakuyamon decided to finish off Azulongmon.
"BURST SHOT!"
"VAJRA MANDALA!"
What parts of Azulongmon weren't torn apart by the countless missiles that erupted from Saint Gargomon's body were vaporized by the mystical attack Sakuyamon called down. Ryo didn't see any of that, however, his eyes locked on the descending Valkyrimon. He ran over, unable to speak, pain clear from his expression, and stopped at Valkyrimon's feet as she he'd a small blue and black digiegg in her arms.
--Tokyo
Janyu helped Kazu up as the red blob advanced on them. Kazu winced as he put pressure on his foot. When had he hurt his ankle like that? Must have been when the building fell on him, he decided. There was more humming noises; Lasermon's Gatling Cannon was firing again, with even less result than before. If anything, the attack seemed to be making the blob stronger. And, judging from what Kenta was saying, his partner couldn't cut loose, either. "Hey, Zero, you still there?"
"Not getting rid of me that easily," V-Dramon grunted as he hurled another large chunk of masonry at the blob. How come we can't hurt that thing?"
"Rukario and Kotemon aren't fully digimon; they have some biological attributes," Janyu explained. At Kazu's blank look, he rephrased it. "This substance isn't able to absorb biological matter the way it can with...Lasermon's...attacks." Janyu regarded the armoured digimon a bit uneasily. "Kenta, pull back!"
"No," Lasermon suddenly snapped. "We can take this creep. Maybe we can overload it or something! I just need a clear shot."
Kenta was about to say something to his partner, but lost the train of thought. A plan came to him, but it would require careful timing on both their parts. "Lasermon, get ready!"
"Huh? But...Oh, I get it," Lasermon grinned. "Cover me!" Lasermon's treads spit asphalt, pulling back.
"I don't," Reilly sighed. "Rukario?"
"I think I know. Dino Humon, now! STEEL PULSE!"
The large warrior shrugged. "Magnum Blade!" The two attacks tore across the ground and slammed into the blob, injuring it. Dismissing Lasermon, the blob advanced on the two new attackers.
Kenta grabbed a card. "Digi-modify! Digmon activate!"
"Goin' LOW!" Lasermon shouted, his horn transforming into a powerful drill, allowing him to tunnel underground. Kenta watched as his partner vanished from sight, tracking his progress with his D-arc. When the arrow on his digivice lined up with the blob's location, he screamed 'NOW,' as loud as he could, and took out several more cards.
There was a muffled sound that no one could understand. Then a massive beam of energy erupted fro the ground, right where the blob was. It vanished from sight, completely enveloped in Lasermon's attack.
"Shouldn't that be feeding it?" Kazu looked at Janyu, a bit worried.
"He's trying to overload it," Reilly said, understanding his plan. Kenta didn't answer, using every recovery card he had in his deck in order to help Lasermon continue the attack. "If he can keep it up long enough...it'll either dissipate or the explosion will wipe out everything in a five block radius."
"Zero, we need some cover!" Kazu waved to a mostly intact slab of brick and mortar, which the muscular digimon picked up and held in front of the humans. Rukario leaped up on top of the wall, getting a small snarl from Zero as he tried to balance the wall with the new weight on it. For the pokemon's part, Rukario just knelt, eyes focused on the column of energy.
"Kenta, you can stop. It's gone," Rukario said after a few seconds.
Kenta collapsed, mentally drained. A minute later, an equally exhausted Metal Agumon clambered out of the hole he had melted through the road. "Dude, that totally rocked," the metallic digimon gasped, lying face down. "But I could use a nap now. And some food. Music. But definitely food. And a nap. Did I mention food?"
--Digital World
The group quietly made its way through the desert. On the one hand, the last fo the evil sovereigns (according to Gabumon's information) had been defeated. The northern guardian, if he was out there, had not chosen to show himself. they had Calumon back, and even managed to rescue Ryo's father.
But, now that the adrenaline rush of battle had faded, they also had to deal with two very significant losses. Isao led his son, who was still devastated by Cyberdramon's sacrifice, and still clutched his partner's digiegg. Everyone else had managed to tune out the faint hiss from Ryo's D-arc, the small window showing only static now.
Henry and Jeri tended to Takato, who still had yet to recover from Megidramon's death at Beelzemon's hands. Takato's 'bad' arm, which still caused him a great amount of pain if given the slightest touch, had been carefully bound to his side so it wouldn't move around too much.
Finally, it was Isao who spoke. "Do we have a plan to get home? I think...I think Takato needs more help that we can give him here."
Henry glanced at him. "Head back to the top level, and wait. Dad said that he had some sort of transit in mind, more reliable than those blue energy beams that we've been dodging."
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen any," Eevee said.
"Nor have I," Renamon agreed, though she sounded a bit distracted. Rika noted it, but decided to take it up with her later.
"Well, we need a lift, just say the word. Henry and I can carry everyone up as Saint Gargomon in one trip." Terriermon managed to look a little pleased with himself.
"Hmph. I still say one of you is overcompensating for something." Rika glanced at Terriermon.
A few feet ahead of them, Calumon sat on top of Unown, the two floating slowly ahead. "It's kind of weird, not being one anymore," the small digimon said. "I kind of miss it." Unown made an indescribable noise that sounded like agreement. "Yeah, it is like there's an empty spot in me now." Lowering his voice, he whispered "I wonder if that's why Takato won't wake up. Because he's got an empty spot in him now, where Guilmon used to be."
Unown warbled something. "Huh? It's not empty?"
--
"They're near. And they've suffered a great deal. Mizuno, they'll trust you more than me. Please, bring them here? There is much they must know, and I sense..."
The semi-spectral human glanced at last Sovereign. "What is it?"
"The D-Reaper. It's starting to move.
--
For the nth time, Terriermon fought down the urge to ask Henry if they were there yet. Even he knew that such questions might get him torn apart. "This isn't exactly how I pictured us coming back," he finally commented, a bit sadly. Henry nodded absently. "When we get back, I think I could use a nice long nap, Henry. I don't think I want to fight again for a while."
"Me neither. I-" Henry stopped. "Did you...?"
"With these ears? You bet I heard something." Eevee and Renamon had already tensed up, both of their human partners ready for one more battle.
"I don't detect a digimon," Guardromon said, looking around. I think...there!"
A form shimmered into appearance, one that Isao recognized immediately. "Goro Mizuno," he whispered.
"Finally, I caught up to you. There's-" That was as far as he got before Isao took three steps towards him, pulled back, and slugged the computer programmer in the face. Mizuno flew back a few feet, landing on his back.
"That's for what you put us through," Isao snarled.
"Funny way to greet the guy who's going to help get you home." Mizuno slowly got to his feet, hand massaging the side of his head. "I see your captivity hasn't diminished your physical strength." He looked over the group, saw Ryo holding a digiegg, Takato being dragged on an improvised stretcher by Jeri and Guardromon. Frowning, he nodded slowly. "I see. And I think I might have some answers. Please, come with me."
"Where to?" Rika looked suspiciously at Mizuno. "This better not be another-"
"No need to fear from little old me," Mizuno said. "Henry will vouch for me, right? How is Janyu doing?"
"Just fine...?" Henry replied a bit uncertainly.
"Wow. Your dad knew everyone."
"Terriermon, not now."
--Tokyo
"Well, for what it's worth, not a bad job, you two. Especially you, Kenta," Reilly sighed. "But don't go getting any ideas." In one corner of the Hypnos control room, Metal Agumon sat munching happily away on a small pile of food, Zero trying to sneak around the larger digimon to get what he considered his 'fair share'.
"You had us worried, son," Kenta's father said. "Running off like that isn't like you."
"You, on the other hand," Kazu's father leaned a bit menacingly over his own son. "I do hope you have a good explanation for this."
"They were going to attack this place. If Hypnos falls, then the others can't get back from the Digital World. And..." Kazu stumbled a bit, not sure how to continue.
"And we had to do something. It doesn't feel right to sit back," Kenta added.
"Way to tell 'em," Metal Agumon called. "Don't forget about Hi-"
"NOT NOW!"
Kazu looked at Kenta, then grinned. "Ahh, trying to score some points, eh? Dude." He clapped Kenta on the shoulder. "Didn't know you had it in you."
"Kenta, is there a girl? You're a bit young for dating."
"It's not like that!"
Kenta's parents looked at each other. "Oh, he must mean that girl from the television. Well, she is nice enough."
"No, he's too young to start a relationship. Unless it's some sort of alien mind control."
"Oh, Kenta! My baby's being turned into a mind slave of an alien invader!"
Reilly felt a familiar headache coming on. "No, it's not like that."
"Someone shoot me now," Kenta whispered, glaring at Kazu.
Having managed to ignore everything, Talli looked up from her console. "Reilly? Porygon has gone to the digital world. He should be getting the children soon."
--Digital World
To the group, the dark cave seemed a depressingly cliche way to go. "Rika," Renamon whispered. "There is something powerful here. It may be-"
"It is," Gabumon answered. "Mizuno, this is the lair of Ebonwumon, is it not?"
"We're being led to the home of the last of the Sovereign," Jeri gasped.
"If this is a trap, he'll have to deal with me!" Lillymon glowered at Mizuno's back.
"With all of us," Eevee added.
"There is no need to be afraid, humans and digimon," a voice thundered.
The darkness was banished instantly, everyone blinded for a second. When they could see again, a massive two-headed turtle confronted them. "I welcome you, my children."
Calumon hopped off of Unown, the small pokemon having stopped and was now trembling slightly. "Hi dad," he chirped, throwing everyone there for a second.
"Calumon," Ebonwumon thundered. With a small shock, everyone realized that both heads were speaking at once, adding a strange echoing quality to the digimon's voice. "I am glad you are unharmed. But there is little time remaining. Already, I sense your friends in the Real World are sending a means for you to return. That is good."
"We have Calumon," Isao interjected. "I was freed. We've suffered enough for your little war."
"And for that I can only offer an apology. When I helped create your digimon, I-"
"Wait...you created us?" Terriermon looked between Ebonwumon and Henry."
"Yes," Ebonwumon replied. "While we wait for the end, I must tell you how it began..."
To be continued!