"Those bumbling fools," muttered a dark, raspy voice. "They've finally arrived, after all these times."
Inside a dimly lit hall, a tall skeletal figure was eyeing a ripple of air which hovered at its eye level. The ripple was bordered with deep purple smokes, and was showing two Digimon walking side by side. The scenery panned out, revealing the surroundings of the two Digimon. They were at an arid region, where the ground was bare, cracked and dark grey in color. The sky was covered with thick, dark clouds. Thunderclaps echoed within the clouds from time to time. Where the clouds were absent, the sky was revealed to be crimson in color.
"Shutumon and Sorcerymon," said the ghastly being with a satisfied hum, "the only two of my many faithful minions who weren't entombed yet. Blundering as they are, they are nothing but loyal; and loyal minions shall be greatly rewarded by SkullSatamon."
The Digimon was a statuesque yet grotesque being, with tattered demonic wings and a black skull. Crimson bones made up his upper body and extremities and leather black pants covered his lower extremities. He wore metallic gloves and boots and wielded a staff with one end was shaped like a red pincer, while the other crafted to resemble a red claw clutching a yellow orb. A long loincloth was secured by a leather belt around the monster's small waist, tattered, unwashed and had a brownish-black hue.
This Digimon was known as SkullSatamon, an ultimate-level demonic Digimon.
"They are here, outside the Horror Hall. Yet they cannot come in, no thanks to Grademon's shield. It looks like I shall have to go and greet them personally," SkullSatamon muttered disdainfully. "But no matter, while I find the means to escape the shield that is surrounding my sanctuary, these two shall be sufficient in resurrecting my other entombed soldiers. Shutumon possesses the necessary wit, and Sorcerymon some satisfactory magical skills. They will be able to carry out my plan to enact vengeance against the forces of good that I so despise. Grademon's effort of peace shall go to waste when I am able to escape this prison!"
SkullSatamon waved his skeletal hand towards the ripple of air, and instantly the dark smokes surrounding the ripple began to swirl around it, until the ripple vanished, swallowed by the smokes which then dissipated in thin air. The demon walked briskly towards a doorway, intending on welcoming his returning servants.
In the meantime, Shutumon and Sorcerymon were walking together nervously into a dark region where they recognized as the domain of their master. After three centuries, they had received the order to return to him, and they were more than happy to comply.
"This is it," Sorcerymon said anxiously. "Shadow Realm. It's been quite a while since we've been here, right Shutumon?"
"If by a while, you mean three hundred years, then you got that right," Shutumon replied. The tanned bird-woman eyed their surroundings. "This place hasn't changed at all."
A loud thunder caused both of them to flinch before they remembered that thunderclaps were usual occurrence in Shadow Realm. They eased themselves up and increased their paces, searching for their master's bastion. The Shadow Realm was a volatile region – the ground was slightly cracked, there were no plants or vegetations in sights. Despite the thunder, it was fairly obvious that there had been no rain in this area for a rather long period of time. The air was stale, somewhat suffocating and uncomfortable. The combinations of all of these factors were more than enough to steer any sane Digimon away. But of course, if asked to any of these Digimon, the factors combined didn't scare them as much as the fact that the region belonged to SkullSatamon. Despite it was a common knowledge that SkullSatamon was imprisoned within his abode, not many Digimon were brave enough to venture here. Even the strong and able would think twice before entering Shadow Realm.
"This place really gives me the creeps," Sorcerymon complained as he looked around. The pale wizard frowned as he came across a puddle of water, which made him stop. He decided to check out his reflection. Within the puddle, he saw a young-looking humanoid Digimon with green eyes, dark yellow hair and a white wizard hat staring back at him.
Shutumon saw what her companion was doing, and groaned. "Sorcerymon, stop admiring your own reflection; really, there's nothing interesting to see. Move aside, pure beauty coming through!" The bird-woman pushed the wizard aside and smiled admiringly at her reflection, which showed a gorgeous scantily-clad woman with heavenly blue eyes and hair with the color of the sky. Shutumon frowned when she saw some marks on her face and body, courtesy of the recent battle he had with Fairymon. But as she was about to complain, she saw something else which was not to her liking.
"Hey Shutumon…since when do you have yellow pointed teeth?" Sorcerymon inquired, peering over the puddle. He pointed towards the row of yellow teeth on the reflection. "Eww…don't you brush? Eh….." The wizard then gazed at Shutumon, and saw that Shutumon still had her pink mouth-cover on. Yet the reflection of hers showed a Shutumon, grinning uncharacteristically. It caused the beautiful Shutumon to look rather comical. Then the reflection changed again and slowly, Shutumon's hair turned grey and her firm facial skin began to sag.
"What in the Digital World?" Shutumon yelped in disgust as she jumped back, surprised by the reflection. "That is so NOT me!"
"A granny-Shutumon?" Sorcerymon said slowly, torn between feeling amused and scared at the same time. "What's happening?"
"TEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE!"
Shutumon's reflection changed again, this time to a completely different being. It looked like a ragged piece of white cloth, with black button eyes and an opened mouth with yellow pointed teeth. It was a ghost, and it was laughing maniacally upon seeing the reactions of Shutumon and Sorcerymon. The puddle then began to ripple as slowly, the ghostly figure which was shown on it rose from the surface of the puddle, until finally the puddle of water vanished and a ghostly Digimon materialized in front of Shutumon and Sorcerymon.
"Tee-hee hee hee hee hee hee!" the ghost cackled loudly. "Tee hee hee! TEE HEE HEE! TEE HEE HEEEEEEEEE!"
"BAKEMON!" Shutumon cried out shrilly in repulse and frustration, recognizing the ghost at once. Her earlier surprise was immediately replaced by sheer revolt. Her anger got the best of her as she recalled what the ghost had shown her. She was reminded instantly of the insults Fairymon had thrown to her during their battle. Her brows knitted furiously as she thrust both her arms forward, directly towards the giggling Bakemon. "Why you piece of digital trash! I'll show you who's going to have the last laugh! Wind of Pain!"
"TEE HEE HEE—AAAAAAAHHH!"
Shutumon's Wind of Pain attack was delivered at close proximity and thus, the Bakemon received the attack's full power and wasn't able to defend itself. Within split seconds, the Bakemon exploded into bits of purple data; its shrill cry was left echoing the bare region as Shutumon snorted in satisfaction while wiping her hands against each other. Her eyes glinted in satisfaction.
"Note to self: never piss off Shutumon, especially when she's already pissed off to begin with," Sorcerymon said slowly, wide-eyed. "You know; you didn't have to delete that Bakemon."
"Humph," Shutumon merely snorted back. "That freak deserved it."
"No, really," Sorcerymon said worriedly, "Because as I recall, this place has loads of them freaks."
No sooner after Sorcerymon had finished his sentence, multiple cackles could be heard coming from their surroundings. The air around them rippled as one by one, a Bakemon materialized until there were about a dozen of them. All of them were laughing, but their eyes reflected anything except amusement. Nauseating rotting smells were emitted from the Bakemon, causing both Shutumon and Sorcerymon to become green in the face, out of fear and the desire to retch their guts out. The Bakemon bared their yellow teeth and from the floating cloths that were their bodies, bluish gangrenous claws shot out, ready to strike at their two adversaries at any moment notice.
Other than out of fear of SkullSatamon and the harsh conditions of the Shadow Realm, the other factor which drove Digimon miles away from this area was because the area was infested with Bakemon – ghost Digimon which would play a practical joke on any comers to the area before fighting them. Alone, a Bakemon was not really a threat to an experienced Champion Digimon, which was why Shutumon was able to easily delete a Bakemon. However, combined together they could even bring an ultimate Digimon down to its knees.
Yet, there was one ultimate Digimon which the Bakemon had respect for, and this particular ultimate had the safeties of their adversaries in mind.
"ENOUGH OF THIS! BAKEMON, DO NOT HARM THEM. SORCERYMON, SHUTUMON, PROCEED TO THE HORROR HALL NOW. I HAVE WAITED LONG ENOUGH!"
A thunderous roar coming from an unseen force was enough to cause the Bakemon to halt. They gave Shutumon and Sorcerymon grudging looks as they began to back away.
Shutumon had a smug look on her face as she waved a hand towards the Bakemon. "You heard the master, now SHOO!"
"Yeah! Go away already!" Sorcerymon joined in.
The Bakemon stuck out their tongues before they vanished in thin air. Shutumon and Sorcerymon exhaled simultaneously, relieved. Shutumon immediately flapped her wings and began lifting herself off the ground, followed by Sorcerymon who, with a wave of his magical staff, began chanting his levitation spell. Together they flew towards the direction of their master's domain, which as seconds passed by, began to come in view - an atrocious castle in the middle of a bottomless crater.
The Horror Hall was a gigantic, blackened skull situated on the tip of a rocky projection which jutted out from the never-ending abyss around it. Two towers shot out from behind the skull and from the skull's open mouth a fleet of wide staircases made of sturdy green stones were built. The end of the last piece of stone slab was joined to a stone bridge connecting the castle and the ground across the chasm. A transparent silvery barrier seemed to surround the crater.
And on the bridge, stood SkullSatamon. The sight of the demonic Digimon caused Shutumon and Sorcerymon to immediately drop to their knees as soon as their feet touched the ground.
"Master!" both chanted, their voices contained elatedness and reverence at once towards the ultimate Digimon.
"Rise, both of you," SkullSatamon commanded with a wave of his skeletal hand. He watched them from about a meter away from the shiny silvery barrier.
The two Digimon obeyed SkullSatamon and rose to their feet. They then made way to step onto the bridge, not fully aware of the presence of the barrier as their attentions were only fixated on their master. However as their feet were about to step onto the stony bridge, the barrier flashed brightly and repelled both champion Digimon, sending them flying several meters backward.
"As I've expected," SkullSatamon said disinterestedly. "After three millenniums, Grademon's barrier is as strong as it was before."
"Master," Shutumon said breathlessly as she got back on her feet and examined the barrier curiously. "What happened?"
"Grademon's barrier; during the final battle while I proved to be stronger than that bronzed warrior, Grademon managed to seal me into eternal imprisonment before he was deleted. This barrier is strong enough to contain me inside my Horror Hall, preventing me to take one step outside, and also shielded any Digimon from coming inside. These past three centuries I've been gathering strength to nullify the barrier, but alas my power is still not strong enough to destroy the barrier. I shall remain here, but not for long. The time will come when I gain my highest Digivolutionary form and that will be the day when the Digital World shall once again taste my wrath. But for now, I afraid that I shall need help from the two of you to carry out my cause."
"We'll be happy to help, master!" Sorcerymon and Shutumon declared altogether.
SkullSatamon nodded, pleased. "Now, listen up. First I shall need you to free one of my entombed generals. He is essential to my plan. And here is his location."
SkullSatamon waved his staff and purple smokes came out from the yellow orb within the clutch of the red claw. A map was formed within the smokes, marking necessary location for the aforementioned general. Sorcerymon and Shutumon paid close attention as SkullSatamon began giving his instructions.
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WIRA DIGITAL
Chapter 04 – Darkness Awakening
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It was Saturday and the first day of the meetings of clubs and societies at the school attended by the DigiWira. Over one side of the school's assembly hall, a group of cadets in white shirts and black pants were seen observing a senior member of the cadets giving out basic instructions; Adam was seen in the middle of the crowd. Over the other side of the assembly hall a group of girls – one of them Gayathri – wearing green shirts and blue skirts were sitting in a circle and seemed to be practicing some basic knots. The badminton court beside the assembly hall was occupied by a large group of students in white Tae-Kwan-Do uniforms practicing some beginner moves, guided by a couple of instructors. One instructor was a tall man, and the other was Liu Ying, who looked like she was assisting the younger students while the man focused more on the elder ones.
All over the school, various crowds could be seen gathering together, for the first three hours of the day, beginning at eight in the morning, it was the meetings for the uniformed cadets and the martial arts societies, and the next two hours of the day would be allocated for the clubs meetings. The school bell rang at exactly eleven in the morning, signing the end of the first half of the day. The uniformed crowds began to disperse about, heading to classrooms or science laboratories where clubs meetings would be held.
Adam waved goodbye to his fellow St John Ambulance cadets before waiting for Gayathri and Liu Ying, who were excusing themselves from their own fellow friends.
"How's your day?" Adam asked as soon as his two fellow DigiWira joined him.
"Not bad. The Tae-Kwan-Do club seems to be getting rather popular this year," Liu Ying answered promptly with a small smile. "Hopefully no more students will sign-up or we'll need to take the assembly hall from you two." The willowy girl said this with a wink, indicating that she was joking.
"Not a chance," Gayathri shot back with a brilliant smile. "The Girl Guides and St John Ambulance members put together are almost double the amount of all your Tae-Kwan-Do members."
The three DigiWira laughed at their morning banter. "So, shall we go to the computer class now?" Adam asked. Liu Ying nodded, but Gayathri seemed to be distracted. She was looking around, as if searching for someone.
"Wait a sec," the brown-skinned girl said. "I've promised someone that I'd meet him here at eleven."
"Him?" Liu Ying asked with a quirked eyebrow. Adam smirked.
"Oh please…it's NOT like that. It's my new neighbor," Gayathri quickly said, but there was no mistaking that a blush was beginning to creep on her cheeks. "His family just moved in to the house near mine's yesterday. He's our age and will be attending this school. I told him that we'd be having the first clubs and societies meetings today and he should come too, just to have a look around the school and maybe register his name in those he's interested to be in. I don't know where he….hey wait, that's him! Manny, over here!"
Seeing Gayathri waving to someone who seemed to be coming behind them, Adam and Liu Ying quickly turned around and saw a tall and built teenager with brown complexion, short cropped black hair, wearing the normal secondary school male uniform. A black bag was slung on his back. He seemed glad to have set sights on Gayathri, and was approaching them. Adam noted instantly that this boy was even taller than Liu Ying, who was already taller than him. Adam and Gayathri's heads seemed to reach just past his shoulders.
"Hi," Manny said shyly, extending his hands towards Adam first. "I'm Emmanuel…but you can call me Manny. Everyone does. I just moved in here yesterday."
Adam shook Manny's hand instantly and smiled. Upon hearing Manny's accent Adam was curious to know where the other boy came from. "Well, it's nice to meet you Manny. I'm Adam. Welcome to Subang. I think you'll like it here. Where're you from?"
"Kota Kinabalu, Sabah," the tall teen replied as he shook Liu Ying's hand as the fair girl introduced herself.
"Ah, I thought he sounds like Anding," Liu Ying said to Gayathri.
Gayathri nodded and looked at Manny. "So, have you got a good look-around at this school? What do you think?"
"This school is almost twice as large as my old school back at Sabah," Manny answered as he gazed at the school buildings, "and nicer too. I liked the murals and the fountain near the gate. We didn't have those back at my old school. They're beautiful, really. I think I'm going to like it here."
"Glad to hear it, Manny," Gayathri said, smiling widely. "So, have you decided on what uniformed unit that you wanted to join?"
Manny nodded with a small smile. "Yeah…back home I was a member of the Ninjutsu society, and I'm glad that here they have it here too. I managed to talk to the instructor and he said I could come to their next meeting."
"Ah, another martial arts practitioner," Liu Ying said approvingly. "Looks like we have something in common. I'm in Tae-Kwan-Do." Liu Ying couldn't help but to feel slightly amused upon seeing Gayathri's smile faded a little, forming a little scowl. Manny and Adam however both didn't notice it.
"Yeah, I know. A black belt…you must be really good," Manny commented with a smile, pointing towards the black belt strapped around Liu Ying's waist. "I'm still somewhat a beginner."
A sound like someone's clearing her throat was heard, diverting Manny, Adam and Liu Ying's attentions on Gayathri. The petite girl smiled while giving Liu Ying a quick affronted glare before turning to face Adam and Manny. "OK…I think Mr. Chan's not going to let us in the computer club if we don't go there now," she said sweetly. "So we better go."
Adam looked at his watch. "Gayathri's right. It's already five minutes after eleven. We better go. Manny, are you coming with us to the Computer Club?"
"Oh, yes. Gayathri told me about it last night and she got me interested. Anyway I like to tinker around with the hardware, and fooling around with the graphic software and maintaining my own personal website."
"You have your own website? I'm learning how to make my own site too. I'm just starting however. Think you could give some pointers of how to make a great site?"
"It's no problem. I'll be happy to help."
As the two boys begun to get engrossed in computer talks as they made way towards the computer classroom, Gayathri inched closer to Liu Ying.
"What was that all about?" she whispered to Liu Ying. "'We have something in common?'" she asked, mimicking Liu Ying's words to Manny earlier.
Liu Ying chuckled. "Relax, Gayathri. I'm not planning on stealing your boyfriend," she said in a low voice.
"Oh, in that case, that's ok….HEY! He's not my boyfriend!" Gayathri gasped, and immediately covered her mouth lest the boys heard her. Luckily they were discussing something about 'Flash' and didn't seem to take notice of her sudden outburst.
"Gotcha," Liu Ying said with a smirk, winking at her blushing friend. "Now come on, we're gonna be late."
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"Did you notice that there are a lot of girls joining the computer club?" Adam whispered to Liu Ying as the computer teacher, Mr. Jackie Chan, was briefing the other students of the club's plan. They were taking the furthermost backseats as the four of them had come in late. Adam was sitting between Liu Ying and Gayathri, and their new friend Manny was seating at Gayathri's right.
"Yes," Liu Ying replied back with a low voice as she scanned the attendances. "There seems to be almost a two-to-one ratio between the girls and guys."
"Well, Jack…Mr. Chan is rather popular with the girls here," Gayathri reminded them, casting a quick glance towards Manny, who seemed to be focusing his attention towards the teacher.
Amongst the DigiWira, the computer teacher had asked them to call him by his name, Jackie, but when they were with other students they were to address him formally.
"Well, seeing that we have twenty computers in our computer lab, two students shall share one computer," Mr. Chan instructed. The students voiced out their agreements and began to disperse, occupying the available computers. "We'll be learning Word today, but I'm not going to just teach you the basic stuffs. No. That'll be boring, as I'm sure that you all have already known how to type, right?"
This was met with a chorused laughter from the students. The computer teacher then cleared his throat to regain the students' attentions.
"I will be teaching you to unleash Word's fullest potentials. You will learn how to make tables to organize data, making charts and graphs for your presentations and future school works, and how to make your document look presentable by using the bullets and numbering functions. Okay, I'll give you five minutes to choose your partner and then we may begin with our first lesson."
"Hey, I think I'm going to be partnered with Manny," Adam said to Liu Ying with a grin, and got up from his seat to ask the new boy.
Liu Ying however pulled Adam back to his seat. "Oh no, you don't. You're going with me." Then she gave a conspirational smile as she leaned closer to the boy and whispered, "I so happen to notice that our fellow DigiWira there likes Manny, so let's give them some chance to get to know each other a little bit better."
"Oh…" Adam said. Then he looked at Liu Ying with a slightly baffled look. "How do you know?"
"Trust me, I know," Liu Ying replied with a smile as she observed Manny and Gayathri, who were both silent. She then got up and waved at her fellow DigiWira and their new friend. "Um, guys? Adam and I will be partners and take that computer over there. So…see you," she said. "Adam, come on."
As the bearers of the White and Yellow DigiSpheres began to occupy one of the available computers, Gayathri took a deep breath and turned to Manny. But as she was about to speak, Manny blurted out his request first.
"Um…I guess I'll be your partner, if it's all right with you…" he said slowly.
Gayathri beamed instantly. "Sure. I'll be your partner. C'mon, let's take that PC over there before anyone else take it."
Thirty minutes passed and the students were working with their first assignment diligently, following the instructions Jackie had given as the instructor walked around the air-conditioned room, helping out the students who needed his assistance, recognizing those who really needed his help or those who just wanted him to pay more attention to them. He cast a quick glance towards the three DigiWira, and saw that Gayathri was seating beside a boy he didn't recognize, while Adam was with Liu Ying. They however seemed to be the last students in the classroom who would need his help; Jackie had an ulterior motive in inviting them to join the club.
It was the only time where he could gather the three DigiWira together; as he had planned to ask the three of them to spend a few moment after the club meeting was over to get to know Adam and discussed all things that were Digimon.
His train of thoughts was interrupted when the closed door of the classroom flung open and someone stepped in. Everyone looked up and recognized the tall teenaged male who was at the door by reputation. There was only one student in the school who had messy dishwater-blonde hair. He was dressed in an oversized red sleeveless shirt and knee-length black Bermudas, and was casually holding a basketball against his left waist. He was flushed and trails of sweat hung by the tips of his hair and trailed down the sides of his face. A smug expression was plastered on his face.
"Computer club, right?" he asked with a rather cocky voice, not bothering to greet Jackie at all. "Cool, this place is air-conned."
"Can I help you, J.D.?" Jackie inquired politely, frowning a little upon setting sight on the school's renowned troublemaker.
"I'm in," J.D. Kamaruzzaman said with a lopsided grin as he wiped the sweats on his face with his forearm. "I'm joining the club."
"You're one hour late," Jackie pointed towards the clock hanging on the wall. "And you're not in your school uniform or in any other uniforms."
"I'm in my basketball uniform," J.D. replied back with a grin.
"Not funny," Jackie said evenly and crossed his arms against his chest.
J.D. stepped inside the classroom and closed the door. "Look, I've said just now that I'm joining the computer club. School's rule – a student must choose to join at least two different clubs and societies. I'm already in the basketball team, and given my way I'd choose soccer or squash but it seems that you can choose one sport, one club and one society. So I figured rather than joining those boring uniformed geeks I'd join the computer club. At least I'd get to surf the net for free and play computer games."
"The computer club is open to any student, but I should remind you that it's not just about computer games and internet," Jackie said sternly.
The brash teen merely shrugged. "Well, whatever. I'm up for some learning anyway."
Jackie nodded curtly and scanned the whole classroom. All the computers were already occupied, with the exception of his own computer.
"I'll take that computer," J.D. said and pointed to Jackie's computer.
"Out of the question, J.D.," Jackie snapped. "Pull a chair and join any of the pairs. Next time, however, do try to come on time and at least wear the school's t-shirt."
"Gotcha," J.D. said with a thumbs-up. He placed his basketball near the door and began looking around for, deciding on which pair to join.
All the students observed the whole commotion with interest. Some of the girls began to make space and looked at the handsome blonde, hoping that the boy would decide to join them. J.D. however didn't pay them any attention. He walked slowly from one computer table to another, but no one knew what he was actually looking for.
"Who's that?" Manny asked slowly at Gayathri.
"Ugh. That's J.D. – school's troublemaker, and he's only in Form 3. To think that he'll be here for the next three more years…" Gayathri replied, rolling her eyes. "Well you wouldn't want to cross his way though; he's not the one who's afraid to get into trouble. Now I suggest we don't pay him any attention and continue working on our assignment, with hope that he'll choose other pairs to bother."
"Right," Manny agreed.
J.D. was searching for any familiar faces when his hazel eyes set sight upon not one, but two familiar faces. They however seemed to have resumed their work, perhaps assuming that J.D. wouldn't choose to join them. Smirking slightly, J.D. decided to prove them wrong.
"Hey, Tardy Boy, Prefect Girl, remember me?" he asked and placed his chair near Adam and Liu Ying.
The two DigiWira looked up and saw J.D. grinning at them. Adam frowned, while Liu Ying glared at the older boy.
"Well…um, it's Adam," Adam said, his cheeks reddened slightly upon the nickname J.D. had given him.
"Planning on being tardy again this Monday?" J.D. asked Adam as he sat down on his chair. "So what are you guys doing?"
"What are you doing?" Liu Ying snapped irritably. "You can't just waltz in here like some royal prince and decide to join us without even asking whether it's ok with us!"
"HE said to join any pairs, and I chose you two. Take it to him if you're not satisfied, but I'm staying," J.D. pointed towards Jackie and smiled. "Besides…" he flung an arm around Adam's shoulder, "I don't see him complaining. So there."
Liu Ying shot a look at Adam, wanting the boy to say something to drive J.D. away, but Adam knew J.D.'s reputation and didn't want to get on his bad side. Despite his uncomfortable-ness with J.D., at least the older boy was being, or pretending to be, friendly with both of them. He sighed in defeat.
"Um…we're doing tables now," he muttered. "And how to manipulate the functions of the…."
"Yeah, yeah, well…continue whatever you guys are doing," J.D. said dismissively and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning comfortably against the back of the chair. "I'll just sit here and look while enjoying the cool air-conditioning. Then after you guys are finished, let me know, 'cause I want to check my e-mail for a sec."
Adam merely nodded, while Liu Ying snorted in disgust.
"Poor those two…" Gayathri said from her computer and shook her head.
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In the Digital World, it was a perfect day. The blue sky was cloudless, the sun shone brightly and the air was only slightly breezy.
For a flock of avian Digimon, it was an excellent day for flight training. A Birdramon was seen instructing a group of younglings on the methods of flight. Her pupils were mainly the avian rookie level Digimon such as the Biyomon, the Hawkmon and the Falcomon, one Penguinmon, three young armor-level Swanmon, two champion-level Vilemon, and a smaller group of Patamon and their purple-furred cousins Tsukaimon. It was known in this part of the Digital World that Birdramon was the best flight instructor as all of her pupils would end up being able to fly, or somehow Digivolve into flight-able Digimon.
Right now, they were practicing at the Green Meadow as the lush field was spacious enough to conduct the flight class. Besides it was a normal occurrence for the Digimon of the village nearby that Birdramon would require the field every Saturday morning for practice.
"All right there… steady, easy does it," she instructed towards a group of Biyomon. "Flap your wings, right, that's it. Excellent."
The four Biyomon followed their teacher's instructions and flapped their wings. Amongst the avian-types, the Biyomon types and Penguinmon required their teacher's attention. They looked at the sky with envy as they saw the five Hawkmon and three Falcomon flying merrily together, able to lift themselves up ten meters from the ground. The Vilemon and the Swanmon were also flying, with the older Vilemon assisting the Swanmon, careful to assist them whenever the Swanmon lost their concentrations. The Patamon and the Tsukaimon however focused more on gliding; their flying abilities were not on par with the others so they focused more on learning how to assert little energy while being aloft.
The sole Penguinmon was very grumpy. He couldn't even lift up his body, and his wings were too small to support his plump body. He had been practicing diligently for the whole week, yet despite his efforts he wasn't as fortunate as the Biyomon – who had practiced less, but now were able to lift themselves up three meters from the ground.
"Oh man, I can never do this," he huffed and slumped onto the ground in frustration. "I give up!"
Birdramon quickly beckoned for the Hawkmon and the Falcomon to assist the Biyomon while she went to console Penguinmon.
"There, there, Penguinmon, I'm certain that one day you'll be able to fly," she said gently. "Don't beat yourselves up. A lot of Digimon I know couldn't fly when they were rookies, yet when they Digivolved to champion level they were some of the best fliers in the Digital World."
"But I'm a marine type, teacher," Penguinmon groaned. "I can never Digivolve into those flying types. It's now or never."
Birdramon remained silent, what the rookie Digimon had said was true. To her knowledge the Penguinmon species usually would Digivolve into marine type champions. It shouldn't be any different for this Penguinmon. Though she wanted to console her pupil, she didn't want to lie and Penguinmon was smart enough to know whether she was speaking the truth or was simply trying to comfort him. She had tried it before and Penguinmon had immediately seen it.
Suddenly a loud earsplitting screech was heard coming from the sky. Birdramon's head shot up, observing the sun above. Squinting her eyes slightly she could make out a massive figure of a bird heading towards them, looking as if it was coming directly from the sun from the way it had positioned itself directly in front of the brilliant near-afternoon sun. Birdramon immediately sensed trouble and her suspicion was proved when she saw a pink energy spark from the incoming intruder.
"Take cover, everyone!" she screamed, and spread her massive wings apart. She took off instantly, and hovered about ten meters from the ground to give her pupils some protection while they were escaping. "Go to the village, now!"
"Blast Rings!"
Two pink ring-shaped beams shot out from the avian intruder. Seeing that her pupils would be in danger of being deleted if they were hit by the attack, Birdramon decided that she needed to counter the attack with one of her own.
"Fire Flap!"
By flapping her wings furiously, streams of fire were generated and the attack engulfed the pink beams that came from the intruder. The flames instantly neutralized the rings, much to Birdramon's relief. She watched as her pupils had nearly made it to safety, they would need just a couple more minutes. However Birdramon could've sworn that somebody was missing from the flock. However she didn't have the time to be certain as a much larger avian Digimon descended from the sky. It was an eagle-like Digimon, with brown feathers, a pair of fearsome-looking talons and an equally dangerous pair of black horns growing out from its head. The Digimon's blue eyes had a malicious glint and Birdramon saw that those blue eyes were not that of normal Digimon. Her sharp eyes were able to notice a faint red glow emitting out from them.
"Aquilamon," Birdramon spat out angrily, recognizing the name of this Digimon, but not the Digimon itself.
The Aquilamon didn't reply. He merely had a look-around and his attention was fixed towards Birdramon's pupils. He began to turn his back against Birdramon.
Birdramon immediately saw Aquilamon's intention and was forced to attack in order to buy some more time for her students to seek refuge. She intercepted Aquilamon from the sky and decided to tackle Aquilamon with an even more powerful flaming attack than her previous ones.
"Meteor Wing!"
Aquilamon was halted by a torrent of powerful flames and was forced to stop his intention. He glared at Birdramon angrily and decided to finish her once and for all with one single attack. His eyes glinted as he darted towards Birdramon with an unimaginable speed. His horns sparked with yellow aura.
"Grand Horn!"
With the attack name spoken out loud, Aquilamon rammed his head onto Birdramon's chest full-force, and successfully pierced both of Birdramon's wings with his sharp horns. He proceeded by kicking Birdramon with his talons. Birdramon didn't expect the large Aquilamon to possess a lightning speed and fell prey to Aquilamon's brutal attacks, with no means to fight back. Her wings were injured and were no longer able to support her in midair. As the wings limped Birdramon crashed onto the ground.
"So long, Birdramon!" Aquilamon declared victoriously. Pink energy sparked from his eyes as he descended closer to the writhing firebird.
Birdramon's eyes widened; but not because she was about to receive the full blast of Aquilamon's incoming attack, but due to the fact that a familiar, rotund blue-feathered Digimon had jumped out from behind a nearby rock and was running towards her while flapping his wings furiously and with full determination. Birdramon gasped when she saw the little Digimon slowly lifted himself off the ground as he was about to reach the unaware Aquilamon.
"Hey, ugly!" Penguinmon shouted as he landed on top of Aquilamon's back. Before the giant eagle could turn around, Penguinmon decided to attack first. "Endless Slaps!"
Aquilamon screeched angrily as Penguinmon delivered slaps with his wings onto Aquilamon's heads. As a champion Digimon he barely felt Penguinmon's attacks but he was surprised and annoyed. With a sharp flick of his head however he managed to knock Penguinmon down to the ground, causing the rookie to land on his head and was instantly knocked out unconscious.
"You've got spunk, kid…" Aquilamon groaned as he took a good look at the fallen rookie. "But, ah….you're the one I've been sent to retrieve."
Birdramon was shocked to hear what Aquilamon had just said. "What do you mean?" she demanded weakly. "Don't you dare take him away!"
The giant brown eagle snorted superiorly. "Feh. You're in no position to fight me, Birdramon. But this is your lucky day, I was only sent to pick this little runt. Kid's got guts, I see why the general wants him," Aquilamon said. He descended slowly and picked the KO-ed Penguinmon with one of his talon. "I've found one, now to look for the other. See you, wouldn't want to be you!" With a loud screech Aquilamon flapped his gigantic wings and soared towards the sky. Within a matter of minute, he was no more than a speck of dust from where the injured Birdramon was.
xxx
xxx
Aquilamon flew with top-speed towards a deserted rock quarry about a few miles away from the Green Meadow. On top of the highest rock hill there, three figures were seen standing. The eagle made a beeline towards them and halted when the three Digimon were only a few meters away from him. They were Shutumon and Sorcerymon, and standing in the middle of them was a humanoid Digimon with black feathery wings erupting from its back. The Digimon wore purple body armor and beige pants, its calves and forearms were also protected with light armors the same color as the body armor. The Digimon had avian qualities in form of its lower extremities, where talons replaced its feet, and it was wearing a purple helmet crafted similar to a crow's head and beak. Its brown eyes eyed Aquilamon. There was a sinister aura emanating from the Digimon, who stood as tall as Shutumon, but appeared more menacing with the twin swords it was carrying in its hands.
"I've brought you Penguinmon, just as you've ordered, general," Aquilamon said and lowered the unconscious rookie in front of the avian-humanoid Digimon.
The Digimon nodded in approval upon inspecting the Penguinmon. It looked up at Aquilamon and addressed the champion eagle with an authorative, masculine voice.
"Good work, Aquilamon, but what of the other one? Did you find him yet?"
"I'm sorry, but no, general; he was no where in sight," Aquilamon answered with reverence. "I'll go back right now and search for him."
"There is no rush, but see to it that you have retrieved him by the end of the day. The Master does not like to wait for too long," the Digimon said.
"Yes, general. I'll bring the other one by the end of the day."
"See that you will. We shall be waiting for your arrival. Now go."
xxx
xxx
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
"Hey, what's that beeping sound?" J.D. asked Adam and Liu Ying, as the beeping sounds seemed to be coming from their pockets. The same sound, but fainter, was heard coming from the table where Gayathri and Manny were occupying.
"Uh, an SMS?" Adam quickly said before Liu Ying could retort to the older teen.
J.D. raised an eyebrow skeptically. "That's not the sound of an SMS alert," he pointed out. "I should know. I've used different cell phones, and none of them made sound like that."
"Well, weare using a new brand, one you might not have heard off…" Adam said, but Liu Ying immediately cut him off.
"And you know what, it's really none of your business," she said with a glare.
J.D. smirked as the school bell rang. "Alright, I could take a hint. But see you two next week," he winked at Liu Ying as he got up. Adam saw this and frowned, baffled.
As the tall blonde left, Adam looked at Liu Ying oddly as the girl groaned irritably. "Good riddance!" she breathed out.
"What was that all about?" Adam asked curiously.
"What?"
"Well, I don't know, maybe I was seeing things, but didn't J.D. just wink at you before he left?"
Liu Ying snorted dismissively. "Really?" she said, and took out her D-Terminal. She looked down at the screen. "I didn't notice anything, so it might be just you. Anyway, we're needed…"
"You don't have to tell that to me, Liu Ying," Adam said with a smile. "Mine's beeped too. But maybe we should wait until the others leave the computer room."
The two of them then watched as the other students began to clear out from the classroom, with Jackie calling out instructions for their home assignments. The computer instructor's azure eyes however were transfixed on the DigiWira as he talked to the other students. He had heard the alert as well and was trying to make the students clear out the classroom as soon as possible without appearing as if he wanted to get rid of them all too quickly.
In the meantime, Gayathri was having a tough time of her own. She didn't want to leave Manny alone, but she had a bigger obligation to comply.
"So, uh…I'm planning to buy some reference books and stationeries after this, and I was wondering whether you could show me where the nearest bookshop from our housing area is?" Manny inquired. "I want to get prepared for Monday's class."
"Oh, sure thing Manny, there's this Big Bookshop – yup, that's the bookstore's name, corny, I know – but they do sell what you're planning to buy," Gayathri replied with a smile.
"That's great. Uh…can we go there straightaway after we've put our bags at our homes?" the Sabahan boy inquired again.
Gayathri's smile faltered a little. "I'd love to….but you see I need to remain at the computer classroom with Adam and Liu Ying. See, we're senior members and Mr. Chan would like to brief us about….uh, our special project…" she trailed off, hoping that Manny didn't decide to ask even further. Then she added quickly, fearing that the boy might be thinking that she was not interested in helping him. "But tell you what? I'll give you a call as soon as I'm done, and then we can go to the bookstore to get your stuff. What do you say?"
Manny nodded. "Ok then," he said, and got up. "Guess I should get going too. I think my mom's already waiting for me."
"See you later," Gayathri said, waving her hand as she watched Manny exited the classroom.
Jackie opened the door to his office and instantly, three Digimon could be seen, eating chocolates and some banana fritters. Tanemon had her mouth slightly smeared by the chocolate as Patamon watched with mild disapproval. Shaomon was enjoying the banana fritters, which had become his favorite food.
"Alright you guys, wrap it up. It's show time," Adam said with a smile. The three DigiWira assembled in front of Jackie's computer as the Digimon went to their respective DigiWira partners.
"Ok, let's get this over with," Gayathri said resolutely. "Because… I've got a date," she said happily.
"So now you're agreeing that Manny is your boyfriend?" Liu Ying asked her friend slyly.
"Oh, speak for yourself. You must be blind to not notice that J.D. hitting on you," Gayathri shot back with a smile of her own.
Liu Ying's fair cheeks colored a little, and she cleared her throat. "He did not! Well…if he did, then I'm so not interested!"
Adam shook his head and pointed his D3 Digivice towards the computer screen. "DIGIPORT OPEN!"
xxx
xxx
"This time, it's this big eagle Digimon. I saw him attacking Birdramon, the flight instructor," Agumon reported.
The DigiWira, now in their Digital World uniforms, listened intently as Agumon, a rookie level tyrannosaurus rex miniature, was explaining the current threat. Agumon had become TobuCatmon's eyes and ears of events transpiring outside the Forest Sanctum ever since Gayathri and Adam were appointed as DigiWira, as TobuCatmon was the Forest Sanctum's protector. There wasn't any rule governed that TobuCatmon was to stay inside the sanctum always, but the mentor of the DigiWira was at his best while inside the stronghold. The last time he had gone out from the sanctum was to aid Liu Ying in finding her Digimon partner, nearly half a year back.
"He was about to finish off Birdramon when a Penguinmon, one of her students, attacked the eagle from behind. That eagle got distracted and for some reason, abandoned Birdramon after seeing Penguinmon. He took Penguinmon and just flew off."
"That is strange," TobuCatmon said, frowning. "Why would Aquilamon spare Birdramon when she was at his mercy? What could be so interesting about this Penguinmon?"
"I don't know. I've asked Birdramon when she was treated by the Green Meadow Village healer. She said that Penguinmon didn't really have anything special to merit being kidnapped. Yet Aquilamon had mentioned that it's Penguinmon he was sent to retrieve, and that a certain general wants him," Agumon continued.
"General?" Adam inquired. He scratched his head. "Last time, it was a 'Master'. TobuCatmon, do you think they are both one same Digimon?"
TobuCatmon thought about the question. "No. I'm certain that they are two different beings. This is bad."
"What is bad?" Liu Ying asked. Then she remembered TobuCatmon's reaction when they revealed about the master. "Ok. Yesterday you freaked out when we told you about this 'Master'. Now you're acting the same when Agumon mentioned this general. I think you owe us an explanation. You've said yesterday that you needed to think about this before telling us."
"I did think about this," TobuCatmon said. "And last night I felt a terrible presence. A great evil has escaped."
"Um…I'm a little lost here," Gayathri said sheepishly.
"I shall explain, Gayathri," the champion mentor assured the girl. He took a deep breath and beckoned for the DigiWira and their partners to sit down on the rattan mat which was spread on the floor of the sanctum. The DigiWira and their partners formed a circle and TobuCatmon took his place in the center of the circle.
"Three hundred years ago there was an intense battle between the forces of good and evil. The good was led by Grademon, while the evil was represented by SkullSatamon. SkullSatamon had command over a large number of powerful Digimon, while Grademon was almost on his own. He did have allies but they were no match for the forces of evil. One by one, the forces of light fell until Grademon was the only one that was left.
"By sheer strength alone Grademon couldn't hope to defeat SkullSatamon, his generals and minions, but he did manage to fight off some of the lower-ranked ones. SkullSatamon knew this and was planning to drain Grademon of all his strength by sending out his generals and minions to fight him. However Grademon had a strategy and employed unexpected magical trickery and successfully sealed the generals and a few of the minions by encasing them in stone tombs. This led him to the final battle between Grademon and SkullSatamon, right at SkullSatamon's domain – the Shadow Realm.
"The battle took place for one whole day and still the victor of the battle couldn't be determined. Employing the aids of magical DigiSpheres, Grademon was equipped with additional elemental powers to enhance his own. Despite the enhancements Grademon still wasn't able to defeat SkullSatamon, and slowly his powers were depleting. Calling out his last remaining strength Grademon forced SkullSatamon into his castle and erected an impenetrable barrier around SkullSatamon's castle. The barrier is said to be able to block any Digimon from passing through. Thus the Digital World was saved from an evil menace."
The DigiWira were astounded upon hearing the story. They didn't expect the story to be that deep.
"So our DigiSpheres have played a part in sealing this evil…SkullSatamon in his own place?" Adam said in disbelief, after a moment of silence.
TobuCatmon seemed to hesitate for a moment before nodding. "Yes. Yes, they had played their parts."
"Whatever happened to Grademon?" Patamon asked.
TobuCatmon frowned, as if trying to recall something. "Strangely, from that point the facts have always been rather hazy. Some said that Grademon had perished in order to erect the barrier around SkullSatamon's castle. Some said that he had vanished. Others speculated that he might be just around us. But one thing was known was that his DigiSpheres remained – the Forest Sanctum had been the place where Grademon and his allies resided three hundred years ago. With Grademon gone, Digimon were chosen to become its protector. By becoming the protector of this sanctum the chosen Digimon also would become the guardians of Grademon's DigiSpheres, guarding them until they are again needed to combat SkullSatamon's evil. And yes, now that they have chosen their wielders, it's apparent that SkullSatamon's evil is about to be unleashed once again."
"Woah," Floramon said, shuddering. "This is big."
"This is rather unexpected," Labramon agreed.
"I have always afraid that this moment would come, and my fear heightened when the White DigiSphere finally chose its wielder," TobuCatmon said slowly. "Dark time lays ahead, DigiWira. I fear that from this moment on, your enemies will become much more menacing that what you have faced previously. However by working together as a team I am certain that you will able to beat SkullSatamon."
"So it's obvious that SkullSatamon is this so called 'Master'," Liu Ying said. She looked at TobuCatmon. "And you've said earlier that you've sensed an evil presence escaped. So this Master has finally able to penetrate the barrier Grademon had placed around his castle, right?"
"No, not really," TobuCatmon said. "Not yet, anyway. SkullSatamon's evil is far greater than what I've felt last night. No…I think this evil aura belonged to one of his general. However, this general is far more powerful than any of your Digimon. I sincerely hoped that you will not face him at this time, your Digimon partners still lack the necessary powers to beat this general."
"Exactly how powerful is this general?" Adam inquired.
"Grademon, SkullSatamon and all of SkullSatamon's were known to be ultimate-level Digimon," TobuCatmon answered. "Ultimate-level is a level above champion and armor forms, and is very, very powerful. One ultimate Digimon is said to be able to outclass five champion Digimon, or more, depending on the Digimon's own strength. Grademon and SkullSatamon were at the pinnacle of their ultimate forms and the generals were known to be powerful Ultimates themselves. So should you meet the general, I do advise extreme caution."
"Or, we can try to make our partners reach their ultimate forms," Adam suggested.
TobuCatmon shook his head. "I'm afraid it's not that simple, Adam. Ultimate forms are very difficult to reach."
"But not in our case," Liu Ying said with a mysterious smile, "Because we are after all, the DigiWira."
"Gee, I didn't know you're this robust, Liu Ying," Gayathri commented.
"I'm not. It's just that, I've conversed with the DigiDestined team from other parts of the world occasionally. According to rank, the most powerful team of all are said to be the Japanese team, from Odaiba. Their Digimon partners are all able to reach ultimate levels with additional helps from…crests, or DNA-Digivolution," Liu Ying explained breathlessly. "And we have our DigiSpheres – Grademon's DigiSpheres. The Digivices alone can prompt our partners to Digivolve to champion level, what if the DigiSpheres are the keys needed to unlock their ultimate forms?"
TobuCatmon's expression brightened considerably. "That is indeed plausible. I didn't think of that. Good thinking, Liu Ying. So all we have to do is to figure out a way to unlock the DigiSpheres' potentials."
"Which could be a problem," Gayathri pointed out. "Exactly how are we going to do that?"
"All in due time, I hope," their mentor responded hopefully.
"So what are we going to do now?" Adam asked.
Agumon cleared his throat. "Aquilamon has mentioned another thing before he left with Penguinmon – Penguinmon was only one out of two Digimon he was sent to retrieve. Another Digimon is currently in danger of being kidnapped. The only problem is that we have no idea who's it going to be."
"Well, I think we need to stop this Aquilamon before he strikes again," Adam said. "We find him, demand from him the location of Penguinmon, and if it needs to be done…we battle Aquilamon."
"One more problem," Gayathri said. "Exactly, where is this Aquilamon?"
"According to Birdramon, Aquilamon seemed to be attracted towards rookie Digimon. When she was battling Aquilamon, he was fixing his attentions on Birdramon's pupils, who were mostly rookie Digimon with the exception of few – but they are small and can be mistaken as rookies as well," Agumon said. "What I have in mind is dangerous…but you guys are the only chance we've got now to lure Aquilamon out in the open."
"Oh? What's your plan?" Adam asked curiously.
"Live bait."
xxx
xxx
"So, what exactly do we have to do again?" Labramon asked grumpily. "A small concert? Is that really necessary?"
"Well, I like it," Floramon said happily.
Over at Green Meadow, several Digimon were helping the DigiWira partners on their current mission, which Agumon had dubbed as Operation: Attract Aquilamon. The three DigiWira partners would create noises to draw Aquilamon out in the open. Floramon however had added in her own two cents in the planning – rather than just noises why not elaborate it into a mini concert as she already had a song in mind.
"Oh please, please, let's do this right. If we want to attract this big bird out in the open, what better way to do it than organizing a mini concert? Everyone loves concerts and songs. This Aquilamon shouldn't be any different," Floramon suggested hopefully. "Besides, with my nice vocals I'm sure any guy would be a sucker to it."
Labramon groaned. "Fine, as long as YOU alone do the singing."
Floramon jumped happily. "Ok! The lyrics are already set – I got it from that cartoon Gayathri downloaded from the internet. It's JEM or something, but it's really cool. I just changed the lyrics a little to match myself. But I will need you and Patamon as background vocals. Don't worry; you two will only have to sing 'Come on, come on'. That's all."
"Come on, come on?" Patamon asked, amused. "That's all, I hope?"
"That's all. We don't even have to rehearse. I'll make a signal with my left arm, like this…" Floramon raised her left hand and spread out her 'fingers' widely. "See? That's all."
"Well, fine!" Labramon huffed. "But nothing more."
A female Ogremon came to the three DigiWira partners, holding a stereo set complete with large speakers towards the makeshift stage, and three microphones.
"You've asked for upbeat tempo music, so I got you this music that I use for my aerobic class," Ogremon said. "Check it out."
The ogress placed the stereo down and pressed the play button. Floramon smiled upon hearing the cheerful music being played.
"It's perfect, Ogremon! Thanks!" she said bubbly.
Ogremon beamed happily. "No problem, hon. I'm more than happy to help. Oh and by the way, I've placed a blank tape inside one of the cassette slots. When you play your songs, can you press the record button as well? I'd like it if I can make a copy of your song for my aerobic class."
"Sure thing."
From a nearby forest, the three DigiWira and Agumon observed as their partners and several villagers prepared a makeshift stage for Floramon to perform. They hid themselves as not to tip off Aquilamon that it was all actually a trap to lure him out. The DigiWira sweatdropped upon seeing the elaborateness of the Floramon's plan.
"Well, it's this or Agumon's simple screaming matches between the three of them," Gayathri reasoned.
Thirty-minutes later the stage was set and Floramon took her position on the stage, striking a pose for her new Ogremon friend who was taking her pictures. Patamon and Labramon each held a smaller microphone and stood behind the flower-reptile. They then waited for everyone to clear out and Patamon pressed the play button on the CD player. The funky, cheerful music blared out loudly from the speakers and Floramon began her song after reminding her comrades of the signal she would give them.
"Yes, yes, start with it already, Floramon!" Labramon groaned.
"Ok. Here we go. One, two, three, go!"
x
Me and my friends are DigiWira partners!
Floramon! That is my name!
Exciting adventure, fashion and fame,
Once you're a partner you're never the same,
Come on, come on,
And be a DigiWira partner,
Floramon! That is my name!
x
As Floramon energetically began repeating the verses of her song, Labramon shot Patamon an incredulous look.
"She can't be serious!" she whispered at Patamon. "Adventure, fashion and fame?"
Patamon grinned. "It's her song. Anyway I kinda like it…it's catchy. Oh look, that's our cue…"
"COME ON, COME ON!"
"I do not know how much I can take this anymore…" Labramon groaned, and sweatdropped as Floramon began repeating the song for a third time.
"Hey, there's changes in the words," Patamon noted.
x
Me and my friends are DigiWira partners!
Floramon! That is my name!
Truly outrageous,
With my human partner Gayathri,
We have glamour, fashion and fame!
x
"Well, I hope she continues with this verse," Labramon said irritably. "At least we do not have to contribute."
"Don't be such a spoilsport, Labramon," Patamon chided.
"You are supposed to be the oldest among us three, please don't tell me that you actually like doing this?" the Labrador asked incredulously.
The orange-furred guinea pig shrugged. "Hey, like I've said, it's a catchy song. Oh, she's repeating the first verse. Better get ready for our cue."
"GAH!"
x
Me and my friends are DigiWira partners!
Floramon! Floramon's my name!
Exciting adventure, fashion and fame,
Once you're a partner you're never the same,
Come on, come on,
And be a DigiWira partner,
Floramon, Floramon's my name!
x
The music continued, but a loud screech halted Floramon from continuing with the song. All three partners looked up and saw a massive eagle appearing against the bright sun. Knowing that their plan had worked and Aquilamon had arrived, they abandoned the stage and began their fighting stances. Three beams of white, yellow and pink shot out from the forest and enveloped Patamon, Labramon and Floramon, transforming them into Sagittarimon, Youkomon and Fairymon.
"Now this is more like it," Youkomon muttered.
Aquilamon halted when he saw the three champion Digimon. While flying over the sky earlier he had heard a commotion and had decided to check it out. From afar he saw three rookies singing in the middle of the deserted Green Meadow, and was intrigued. He didn't expect that the trio of rookies had the ability to become champions.
"Bah! You're not the ones I'm looking for!" he spat out and turned around, preparing to leave. However he was intercepted by a roaring dragon scepter, which transformed back into Youkomon.
"You are not leaving until you tell us where you have taken the Penguinmon you kidnapped earlier this morning," the blue-furred fox demanded.
"You'll never find that little runt! He's a part of the general's plan!" Aquilamon replied grandly. "So you're the partners of the DigiWira. This is interesting. The general would be pleased with me if I'm able to finish off the three of you before finding the other rookie he wants. Prepare yourselves!"
"Um, hello? Three of us and one of you!" Fairymon said.
"Oh please…" Aquilamon snorted as his eyes glowed pink. "Blast Rings!"
"Woah!"
All three Digimon moved out of the way as two ring-shaped beams shot out from the great eagle's eyes. Fairymon flew at Aquilamon's eye level and generated a pink hurricane from her hands. Aquilamon was taken aback by the strong tornado and temporarily lost his balance. Taking advantage of Aquilamon's disconcertment Youkomon shot out nine fireballs from her tails, and the fireballs burnt the tips of Aquilamon's tail and wings. The eagle screeched in pain and retaliated by blasting his pink rings towards the two Digimon, but failed to hit the intended targets as he was also distracted by his burning wings. The beams however shot straight towards the forest, and screams were heard as the beams blasted the trees there.
Four figures ran out from the forest, and one of them instantly caught Aquilamon's attention.
"Meteor Gallop!"
However before he could take any action, Sagittarimon was heading his way with an attack. Aquilamon quickly flapped his massive wings, extinguishing the flames at the same time as he energized his horns with power. Then he flew towards Sagittarimon and rammed his horns on the centaur's body…only to find out that Sagittarimon's armor was too tough for his horns to break through. The giant bird yelped in pain as he was blasted by meteors erupting from Sagittarimon's hooves. The eagle tumbled on the ground, defeated by the three Digimon.
"Now, be smart, and tell us the location of that Penguinmon you've taken from Birdramon," Sagittarimon said.
Aquilamon groaned as he tried to stand on his talons. He was severely injured from Sagittarimon and Youkomon's attacks. It was obvious that he was no match for their prowess. And escaping would be impossible with him cornered on three sides by the three DigiWira partners.
"I…alright," he said dejectedly. "I'll tell, but in one condition. You'll let me escape after this."
Sagittarimon narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but decided that Aquilamon was injured and was no longer a threat to them. "Very well, it's a deal."
"Deal. Ok…this morning I took the Penguinmon to ….AAAAHHHH!"
To the three Digimon's surprise, the blades of two lithe swords suddenly burst out from Aquilamon's chest. The bird screeched in pain as black and purple smokes erupted from the tip of the swords and suffocated the giant bird. Aquilamon's eyes rolled back as his body disintegrated into data bits right in front of the three partners' eyes.
"What's going on?" Fairymon shrieked in surprise. "We didn't even lay a finger on him!"
"It was not our doing," Youkomon said grimly, her eyes narrowed watching as Aquilamon gave a bloodcurdling scream as he exploded into data particles. Her furs stood, sensing a menacing presence somewhere around the area. She immediately scanned the area, but couldn't find anybody.
The swords that killed Aquilamon also disintegrated after their prey was no longer existed.
Before everyone could process what just happened, a black energy orb zipped down from the sky and streaked past the partners, streaking towards the DigiWira and Agumon. Agumon attempted to defend the DigiWira by releasing a fireball from his snout, but the small orb flame was not enough to counter the orb. The orb surrounded Agumon after knocking all three DigiWira away at the same time, sending them tumbling on the grassy field. It then grew bigger and trapped Agumon.
"What's going on?" Gayathri cried, frightened of the sudden turn of events.
In a blink of the eyes, the orb which entrapped Agumon vanished in a puff of black and purple smokes, leaving the DigiWira and their partners speechless.
xxx
xxx
"It happened so fast, we didn't even know how or by whom Agumon was captured," Adam related the whole event to TobuCatmon.
"This is indeed strange and unexpected," TobuCatmon agreed, frowning as he processed the recent news he was hearing.
"What would the dark forces want with Agumon and Penguinmon?" Patamon wondered.
TobuCatmon remained silent, seemingly lost in his own world. He looked absolutely troubled. Something clicked on his mind. There was a hidden agenda behind the kidnapping of these two rookie Digimon. TobuCatmon saw the pattern instantly. He wasn't sure, but there was no other explanation that would sound as plausible as the one he'd come up with. Yet, there was no use troubling the DigiWira anymore than they had been.
"I believe we'll find out about that soon," he said finally, answering Patamon's question. "There's nothing we could do about this for the time being, except hoping that wherever they are, Agumon and Penguinmon are safe. Return to your world DigiWira, and get ample rest. I won't lie to you…the situation is getting more precarious. You and your partners really need to be well-rested, well-fed and on alert. There's no telling when the next time you will be summoned."
The DigiWira murmured their agreement and picked up their respective partners. Using the digital port they were all transported back to their home world, leaving TobuCatmon on his own.
TobuCatmon flew down onto the floor and pushed the rattan mat aside. Below the mat, etched on the floor was a large circle, with a pentagram drawn inside of the circle. Each of the five points ended with a circle, and they were chalked with different colors. They were white, yellow, pink, blue and red.
"Penguinmon is a marine Digimon…and Agumon is a fire-type," TobuCatmon said softly, his eyes watching intently the blue and red circles. "Could it be…after so long?"
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: I apologize for the long delay for my three stories. Although I've said that I would update Vengeance first, but the newest chapter proved to be rather difficult to write and I have been absent for quite a while, so I've decided that I would start updating with the currently-lighter Wira Digital series, which is easier to write at the moment. I can't promise when will the next update will be ready or which story will be updated next, but I will finish what I have started. Only time will tell. I really hope that I could update often during the summer holidays, as I now have my own laptop, compared to last year.