The Puaka Generals leaned against the stone thrones of the main hall of the Blackmoore Bastion, blanketed by the shadows. Both marveled upon the sights of red, yellow, pink and blue energy spheres that were coalescing around them. Those spheres occasionally let out wisps of ghostly energy which the two Puaka Generals basked with glee.
"Everything's going according to the plan," Phelesmon noted, watching the wisps with a greedy look in his yellow eyes.
"Luck seems to be at our side," Mephistomon agreed.
They were currently draining the powers of the four captured Wira Digital via the candles they had set up. Those candles were representatives of the four Wira Digital themselves, and by burning them the candles would leech out the powers from the four Wira Digital. As the Wira Digital drew their powers from their Digivices and DigiSpheres, the candles had been the perfect means to completely drain the powers from them. The DigiSpheres would reject any attempt to capture their powers, but as they fueled the power for the Wira Digital, indirectly their powers were also sapped. The Digivices however were the easiest to corrupt.
"Three more hours to go," Mephistomon said gleefully.
"And the best part is, the DigiWira of Light and the Saintly Siblings are both out of our way," Phelesmon said. "No need for us to worry about their power of light!"
The two generals cackled with content and satisfaction, remembering how they had fooled the DigiWira of Light, manipulating him at his weakest in order to gain the other DigiSpheres. Nobody had seen that coming. It was a perfectly executed plan.
However, no matter how perfect a plan was, if one looked close enough there was bound to be a flaw.
As for the Puaka Generals, the flaw took form of a magnificent sight of a white knight with eight wings, gliding against the midnight sky in white radiance. He swooped down upon the dome shaped bastion and flapped his wings once before making the final touchdown. Calmly the angelic knight looked up at the Blackmoore Bastion, and the light that was radiating from his body and wings enlightened his face with skin completely contrasting the sleek dark-brown hair that framed his face. His hair extended to an inch below his collarbones and was pulled into a half-ponytail. White triangular facemask with silver linings covered the upper half of his face, and wing miniatures protruded from the sides of the manteau.
This angel-like being was none other than Aldiyamon, with some differences. His earlier form was the result of a corrupted Digital Access Digivolution, fueled by fury. But now, he had achieved his true form and looked even more impressive. Standing at 7-feet tall, he was lightly armored in white leather all over his body. Steel plates contoured to perfection shielded the upper half of his torso. Over his shoulders were mounted silver metallic wings, with the wings folded vertically behind his arms. The armors that padded his arms were steel-colored, but offered the durability akin to normal clothes. Silver bracelets with digital runes inscribed on them adorned his wrists where the armors ended. The belt around his waist was dark gray with a golden eight-pointed star was affixed on the center. Knee guards with amethyst jewel protected his knees, and were in continuation with his metallic silver boots. Shining from his back were four pairs of heavenly wings of silver hue. Nested safely on his arms were Salamon and Gatomon.
"We're here," Aldiyamon said, looking down at the two Rookies he was carrying with a smile. "You two stay out here, and out of trouble, alright?"
"OK!!" the two Digimon chirped obediently, and leaped down from Aldiyamon's arms. They scampered away to a safe distance, hiding behind a large rock.
Aldiyamon nodded; satisfied to see that the Rookies would be safe where they were at. "Now to make a grand entrance."
The wings on his shoulders shone bright gold as the wings on his back glimmered with white and silver. The metal wings dismounted his shoulders as an apparition of a white firebird burst fourth from Aldiyamon. The metal wings then coated the firebird's own wings as it blazed with energized power.
"Solaris Firebird!!"
The firebird screeched and flew towards the bastion. It slammed against the wall of the bastion and caused a massive explosion as it burst through the wall. Aldiyamon smirked when he heard confounded gasps from inside, followed by cries of disbelief. Confidently he walked inside the opened gap and saw that the firebird of light was screeching wildly, shining the dark hall with the harsh light of day. He then smiled upon seeing the surprised visages of Mephistomon and Phelesmon. The firebird shrieked again with eyes blazing white and charged towards the flabbergasted Puaka Generals, not allowing them any chance to fight back as it slashed both generals with its sharp metallic wings.
The Puaka Generals hissed in pain before generating dark energy orbs and launched them towards the white firebird, effectively forcing it to hover away. They set their eyes upon the angelic knight, and despite having slightly different appearance, Aldiyamon was instantly recognizable.
"YOU!!" Mephistomon roared. His chest harbored a straight gash as a result of the firebird's slash. Liquid trickled down his body from the wound.
"It can't be! You're supposed to be DEAD!" Phelesmon shouted. A diagonal slash was evident on his abdomen and chest. "How did you…?"
With a wave of his hand, Aldiyamon allowed the firebird to recede as his eight wings were giving enough light to illuminate the hall. The metal wings returned to his shoulders. He suppressed a grin upon seeing the Puaka Generals practically flinching at the lights generated from his wings.
"You can't get rid of me that easily," he said coolly.
"Really?" Mephistomon sneered. He raised his arms upwards and generated a black energy sphere. "It doesn't matter, I suppose, because we'll just finish you off NOW!! Death Cloud!!"
Phelesmon thrust his red trident forward. "Black Statue!!"
The two attacks coalesced together and fused to become a powerful crackling black orb of darkness. With a loud snarl, the generals sent the combined attacks to drown Aldiyamon with darkness, to purge the angel from his light. They laughed upon seeing Aldiyamon being slammed by the orb wholly; basking in the darkness that once again dominated the hall of their bastion. For a moment there was silence, and no trace of Aldiyamon. It looked like the Puaka Generals had defeated Aldiyamon.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!" the Puaka Generals cackled.
"I should've known that angel-boy's merely all talk!" Mephistomon said triumphantly.
Suddenly the hall shone brighter than ever before. The shadows were washed with white radiance. A glittering silver orb of light was seen, and from it Aldiyamon emerged unscathed. His mouth was quirked in a way that suggested mild amusement.
"WHAT??!!" Mephistomon shouted. His voice quivered upon seeing Aldiyamon. The angelic knight's radiance was killing him. His body felt blistered by the light. He hissed and attempted in vain to suppress the searing pain he was experiencing. Unfortunately, the only thing he was not immune with was the sacred light that now blazed upon him. He pointed his fist towards Aldiyamon, and opened his fingers wide, releasing ribbons of black energy towards the angelic knight.
"Deistic Guard," Aldiyamon said calmly. The metallic wings on his shoulders flung wide and folded in front of his body, forming a protective shield which shone with silver aura. Then, the aura radiated and took form of an orb of silver light around Aldiyamon. The black lasers slammed upon it and were reflected away, grazing the pillars of the dark hall instead. The pillars shook; their sturdiness disrupted. The metallic wings then reverted back to their original position, with their wielder unharmed. "Any more bright ideas?" Aldiyamon asked lightly, smirking at the pun he had unintentionally put in.
"This can't be!" Phelesmon said disbelievingly. His whole body felt as if it was being burned by the light emitted by Aldiyamon. His skin was formerly dark scarlet; now it looked like he was being cooked red hot. He raised his arms to shield his eyes from being blinded. As a result his smooth arms felt like they were about to melt. Aldiyamon seemed to take notice of him, and generated the firebird aura about him once again, but never let the shining apparition attack. Despite that, the blinding light that was released from the bird and the angel were severe enough for the weaker of the Puaka Generals to handle. Phelesmon let out a scream.
Aldiyamon stared at Mephistomon silently, noticing that while the satyr was also flinching in pain he was the more resilient of the two. The angel's mouth set thin as he thought of what Mephistomon had done to him. This was the demon who had impersonated his brother for his own gain. Mephistomon had marred his good memories of his older brother. Not only that, he had used Adam to gain possession of his friends' Digivices and DigiSpheres. And now his friends were in their hands. His act was unforgivable.
'Your miserable existence ends today, Mephistomon! For Abang Zad, for my friends…I'll finish you off if it's the last thing I'll do!'
The angelic knight's right hand was now balled into a shaking fist. The fist exploded with bright white light as he raised it towards the ceiling.
"Radiant Faith!!!!" Aldiyamon shouted, and teleported towards Mephistomon before delivering a powerful punch against the satyr's belly. Everything happened so fast Mephistomon had no way to evade the punch. When Aldiyamon's fist connected with Mephistomon's body, a burst of glorious white light showered the dark beast and Mephistomon let out a pained howl. He took a few steps back, but Aldiyamon was not in the mood to spare him. Aldiyamon pulled back both hands, energizing them with more light before thrusting them forcefully against the satyr's chest, showering him with blinding light once more.
With a loud, pained howl the dark beast was plunged towards the wall, crashing his way through it into another chamber beyond it. Some of the bricks that had made up the wall fell upon Mephistomon, causing him to whimper.
Aldiyamon then turned sharply towards Phelesmon, staring at the scarlet devil with spite. The Digimon half within him – Patamon –harbored a grudge against the scarlet devil, and Adam agreed with him.
'You helped him. You're no better than Mephistomon! You'll suffer the same fate as your fellow general.'
"Radiant Faith!!!" With a thunderous growl Aldiyamon delivered a powerful kick over the devil's gutter. From his metallic boots showers of white light sparked forth and Phelesmon shrieked, agonized. Aldiyamon took flight and slammed his feet over the devil's chest, causing him to choke out dark liquid which evaporated before they could stain Aldiyamon's shining boots. Phelesmon was sent flying towards the prone, unmoving body of Mephistomon.
Grim satisfaction filled Aldiyamon's heart as he watched the quivering bodies of the Puaka Generals. He felt no mercy towards them. They were evil and they deserved to be destroyed.
"Solaris Firebird!!"
Aldiyamon watched as the firebird of light burned and sliced the two Puaka Generals with its sacred flames and sharp wings. Amidst their agonized cries, Aldiyamon could only feel content. He felt that he had cleaned his late brother's name.
'No one messes with my family…' he thought silently. 'My late brother was the best brother I could've ever wished for; he didn't deserve you foul beings marring his good name. This is the least I could do back to repay him.'
The hall blazed with white light as Aldiyamon turned around to look for a way out from the hall. He needed to look for the captured DigiWira. Looking back, he saw his white firebird still scorching the Puaka Generals brutally. He had no doubt that the firebird of light would do its job well against the light-phobia Puaka Generals.
His metallic wings rematerialized on his shoulders, Aldiyamon set forth looking for his friends.
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WIRA DIGITAL
Chapter 34 – White Light, Part II
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Gayathri watched anxiously at the empty hallway from the classroom. She was hiding behind a partially closed window, and peered through it in anticipation. Her heart leaped when she saw Dina appearing at the hallway. A look of mild confusion was evident on the girl's demure face. She tossed a stray hair behind her ear and leaned against the hall, as if anticipating for someone's arrival. On her hand was a paper.
'Any moment now…' She grinned to herself. From the corner of her eyes, she then saw a dark-haired boy walking towards the hallway. He too, was holding a paper in his hand. 'Adam's here.'
Adam walked in a leisure pace, not appearing to be in rush although there was a look of anticipation on his face. He then froze and blush crept on his cheeks upon noticing Dina at the hallway.
'Don't just stand there, Adam! Talk to her,' Gayathri urged silently. 'Same goes for you too, girl. Poor boy's speechless whenever he sees you! Talk!'
"Uhh…hi…" Both Adam and Dina said at once. Then they blinked, and clammed up instantly.
"Umm…I didn't expect to actually see you here," Adam said with a bashful tone, after a couple of silent minutes passed.
Dina showed Adam the paper she was holding. She looked confused. "Uhh…why's that? I thought you want to see me here?"
Adam blinked in surprise. He raised his hand, and Dina's eyes widened upon seeing it. "According to your letter, you asked me to be here…exactly 10 minutes after school clears out."
Gayathri sweatdropped. 'Uh-oh…this isn't going to be good…'
"But I didn't send you any letter. Y-You're the one who sent this to me…" Dina said, flabbergasted. She was blushing furiously. Her fair cheeks were now deep pink.
"Uh…no I didn't…" Adam said. Then he looked up. "Wait…who actually gives you that letter?"
"Gaya…" A suspicious look crossed Dina's face.
"She gives me 'your' letter too," Adam said, finally seeing things a whole lot clearer. Dina nodded.
"I think I'm beginning to see where this is going."
"It's a set-up," Adam murmured, blushing even more.
'Oh no! They've discovered the truth! I'm a goner!'
Gayathri froze when suddenly both Adam and Dina vanished. The corridors and the hallways soon followed and Gayathri saw herself sitting beside an empty table amidst a full classroom. Her panicked face turned gloomy, and a tear trickled down her dark cheek. She choked out a sob.
'I could have never set Adam and Dina up like that, because Adam's no more...'
xxx
Liu Ying saw Adam sitting forlornly beside the lake at Green Meadow, watching the setting sun as he threw pebbles into the lake. He appeared to be in a desolate mood, and Liu Ying couldn't blame him. However, she hoped that what she now had in mind would be a success. Grasping a worn diary close to her chest, Liu Ying stepped towards the oblivious Adam quietly.
"Adam?" she called softly. The boy glanced at her, and she gulped upon seeing that Adam's cheeks were stained with tears. "Do you mind if I join you?"
Adam considered her request quietly before nodding. He moved slightly from the flat stone he was sitting on, giving Liu Ying room to sit. Then he turned back his attention to the calm surface of the water, watching the reflection of the sun against the reflected red horizon. Liu Ying took her place, and placed the journal she'd taken with her on her thighs. She waited for Adam to break the silence, and found out that she didn't need to wait long for it.
"When I lost my parents and Abang Zad, I felt like my heart being ripped apart to pieces. I still am…" Adam said, his tone sounded sad. He looked at Liu Ying with desolate eyes. "Out of all DigiWira, I knew you'd understand me the most. How did you cope, Liu Ying? How did you cope with your father's passing?"
Liu Ying exhaled softly and handed Adam the journal she'd taken along with her. "Read the first page, Adam."
Confused, Adam opened the cover and saw a small paragraph with neat, child-like handwriting. He read them softly.
'Dear Papa;
I'm sorry for waiting so long to write to you. The truth is…I'm still coping without you being here with me. Grandpa says that I should write to you everyday, as if you're alive. At first I didn't see the point. But after one month of not having you with us, I started forgetting all the bad things about you. I'm afraid that I'll forget all the good things about you too. So I decided to follow Grandpa's advice.
I really miss you, Papa. We all miss you. Meng cries every night because you're not there to tuck him in. Mama cries whenever she thought I or Meng aren't around.
Grandpa says that he'll live with us so that there's someone who could take care of us. Grandpa is strong for us, but sometimes I saw a tear coming out from his eyes when he was at the garden. He misses you too.
Everyone misses you, Papa. I miss you teaching me difficult Math equation. I miss you eating dinner with us. I miss you watching cartoon with me, although you always fell asleep five half-way. I miss washing the car with you. I miss massaging your shoulders and your head when you came back home tired. I miss you scolding me whenever I messed up.
I need to go now, Papa. Mama is calling – she wants me to help her preparing dinner. I promise I'll write again soon.
Love, Ying'
Liu Ying saw a tear escaped Adam's eyes – he could feel the pain that was conveyed in the writing. She suddenly felt her eyes tearing up too. She wanted to comfort her friend, but it was she who ended up crying as well.
Suddenly she gasped, when Adam faded away from her sight. Her shoulders sagged when she was reminded that Adam was no longer alive.
'I could've never comforted Adam like that, because Adam…Adam…sacrifices himself for us…'
xxx
"Manny! Wait up!"
Manny glanced behind him and smiled upon seeing Adam struggling to catch up with him. The other boy's face was sweating profusely – his dark bangs plastered on his face and he was panting for breath. Adam slumped on the concrete path they were walking on and took a generous gulp of water from the plastic bottle he was carrying. Then he offered the water to Manny, who politely declined it as he had his own water canteen.
"Tired already?" Manny asked Adam.
Adam let out an exaggerated sigh. "You never told me that climbing Mount Kinabalu is going to be this tiring!"
"We've only been walking for two hours," Manny pointed out. "And we're just climbing the lowest peak. The highest peak would require skillful rock-climbers."
"Oh…but still, how long would it take for us to reach the top of the lowest peak?"
"Probably about an hour or so; depends on our stamina…" Manny saw a group of people arriving. "There's my uncle and the group he's tour-guiding. We better get moving too if we want to reach the top by noon."
He then gasped when he saw Adam disappearing in wisps of fogs. Then he remembered – there was no way that he could've brought Adam along with him on his hiking trip.
'Adam's gone…'
xxx
"You never told me really – why did you target me a lot when you were the Red ShadoWira?" Adam asked JD bluntly. "Did you hate me that much then?"
JD froze, and the basketball he was balancing on his finger slipped and bounced upon the court's floor. He turned to face the younger boy, who was waiting for an answer. They were in a middle of a basketball game – with JD coaching Adam on the game. Apparently, that had triggered a memory to Adam; their last basketball lesson had been during the time when JD was still evil.
"I never hated you," JD said quickly. "That was the spell's doing."
"Well, every spell must have its trigger…" Adam's voice trailed off.
"Uhh…let's take a seat while I figure this one out, ok?"
Adam nodded. The blond teen beckoned for the bench and they both sat down. He tried figuring out an answer for Adam's question. Of course, he could've said that he chose Adam over Liu Ying because Adam was the more gullible DigiWira, but that might offend the boy. He could've said that he thought that their situations were almost the same, and then he felt like smacking himself on the head for the lack of sensitiveness. Adam's parents and brother were dead, while his were just distant. There was a whole LOT of difference there. And of course, he couldn't tell them that he was simply drawn to Adam because the boy had first reached out to him – by sending him that birthday message. That would set off a wrong kind of impression.
It didn't really make a lot of sense, JD thought. Why did he target Adam a lot? When he was the Red ShadoWira, he seemed to hate this boy for no good reason. Whatever did Adam do to him anyway – the boy had been nothing but nice, if not just civil, to him. Liu Ying had loathed him back then – it would be more logical if he attacked the DigiWira girl instead.
Wait…didn't Manny target Gayathri because he liked her?
Ha, ha, ha…very nice, Josh. That wasn't it. That certainly was not it. That much he was sure about. Something did draw him to Adam, but nothing like that kind of thing.
He did feel a kinship with the boy. He had seen Adam brooding about. He had learned about Adam's past from Hakim. Somewhere along the line, JD felt like he could relate to the boy. And at one point, he did feel pity for Adam. He himself wasn't close with his older brother and older sister. He'd thought…if he were to have a younger brother or sister, he wouldn't treat them the same way Jade and Jas were treating him now. Granted, they weren't bad siblings…but they weren't any good either.
Judging by how Adam was devastated with the loss of his brother and parents, JD figured that Adam had been very close with his brother. Since Adam was living with his sister, he assumed that they were close as well for his sister to be willing to become his guardian.
That was the kind of closeness JD longed to have with his siblings.
He felt a little bit jealous there. Jealous. Pity. Kinship.
Weird combinations. But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.
Manny's adoration for Gayathri turned to exploitation.
JD's pity and mild jealousy turned to extreme hatred. That hatred led to him manipulating Adam's longing for a brother figure to his advantage. And it had worked.
That blasted Karatenmon's abhorrence spell.
And…there was something else. There was something else he had thought when he first befriended Adam, spell or no spell. That feeling became more prominent when they were in the Dark Ocean. It was as if they had been friends for a long time, and JD knew that it couldn't be true. He had no friends that lasted that long, and he'd known Adam for less than a month. Yet he felt like he had known the boy for much longer than that. And something made him felt a little…protective…when he was around Adam.
It was really odd.
JD's eyes widened suddenly when Adam began to flicker out of existence right before him. Adam's body faded into nothingness.
Then he remembered. Adam was already dead. He'd never have the chance to really explain himself.
'I wish I have a real answer to your question, Adam. But even if I do, you're not around to hear about it any longer…'
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Aldiyamon felt a sense of eeriness when he found a large, locked metal door at the bastion's underground basement. It was just too bad that his real mode did not possess the terrifying combustion power that his darkened mode possessed, as that ability could be handy in times like this. Still, Aldiyamon supposed that he shouldn't complain – it was the radiance that came with his real mode that had enabled him an easy victory against those treacherous Puaka Generals.
"It's locked," Aldiyamon said, after trying the large metallic knob. He took a couple of steps back. "Let's see if I can't fix that…"
"Radiant Faith!!" The white angel punched the door – only to make another huge dent. "Oww…" The angelic knight grimaced in disdain as he shook the hand he'd used to punch the door. 'I can drive away the Puaka Generals but can't open a simple door? Hmm…let's try another attack…'
"Solaris Firebird!!"
A focused amount of energy was slammed against the door and a loud creak was heard before the door shook wild. Then it was flung inside and crashed over the wall across the entrance. 'Wait a minute…shouldn't I just TELEPORT inside?' He grimaced again. 'No good…I don't know how it looks inside. I need to see where I'm going before teleporting…oh never mind…'
Aldiyamon walked down the stone stairs and was met with a very dark chamber. Four almost used-up candles were flickering at a pedestal at the center of the spherical chamber – they'd be gone in a couple of minutes or so judging from the accumulated waxes. Then he saw the Digivices and the DigiSpheres – and as he went lower into the dungeon the lights radiating from his wings washed upon four sickly figures, and Aldiyamon gasped.
Satriamon, Samudramon, Xianamon and Puspamon were all chained to the walls, and they were all unconscious. What made Aldiyamon even more shocked was the total lack of color on them. They were all in shades of gray; the only thing that had the remotest resemblance of color was the rusty metal chains that were used on them, and the sickly green hue emitted from the chains. Aldiyamon quickly rushed to the nearest figure – Satriamon.
"Satriamon…" He knelt in front of the dragon knight and shook his shoulders.
Satriamon looked up slowly and Aldiyamon saw his eyes focusing on him with so much effort. "Who…are…you?" he croaked.
Aldiyamon was taken aback – Satriamon didn't recognize him? "I…"
"Candles…" Satriamon groaned, interrupting Aldiyamon instantly. He sounded very weak. In fact he appeared to be muttering that to himself more than to Aldiyamon. "Stop…from…burning…all…out." His head hung limp once again; Satriamon was unconscious.
"Stop the candles from burning all out?" Aldiyamon repeated to himself. He rose from the floor and strode towards the candles. There he saw the four candles even clearer, and felt something ominous radiating from them. The Digivices were placed in front of the candles, and to Aldiyamon's horror all four Digivices were cracked – like his had been before its upgrade into the Juara Digivice. The DigiSpheres were all gray instead of red, yellow, pink and blue.
'Oh no…what should I do?'
Not knowing what to do, Aldiyamon trusted his instincts and took out his Juara Digivice. 'Ophanimon used her power of light and the Ivory Gem to restore my Digivice…maybe I can use my power of light and my Juara Digivice to do the same. God I hope this works….'
His Juara Digivice glowed with the power of the White DigiSphere, which had been stored inside of it instead of the D-terminal. He raised the Juara Digivice up and the device poured out four beams of light towards the candles, instantly restoring them to an unused condition before they burst into data particles and swirled around the four Wira Digital. The candles' data were absorbed by the Wira Digital's bodies and their colors were restored.
'It's working! Thank God.'
Beams of white light were emitted towards the four Digivices and DigiSpheres and they floated in midair. The DigiSpheres' colors returned and the four broken Digivices transformed into newer Digivices which were colored deep red, dark yellow, pink and dark blue. All of them had golden accents similar to Aldiyamon's Juara Digivices. Aldiyamon realized that his friends' Digivices also had been upgraded into Juara Digivices.
The Digivices then absorbed the DigiSpheres and flew towards their owners, jolting them back into consciousness. Disconcerted murmurs were heard from the restrained Wira Digital, but they soon realized their current predicament. All of them tugged on the chains with low guttural growls coming out from them.
"RAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!!!" Satriamon roared and flames burst forth from his body. With one powerful yank, the chains that were restraining him burst into data particles.
Xianamon grunted and her whole body glimmered with bright yellow aura. "Diamond World Mandala!!" she yelled, and waves of indigo and yellow burst out from her body, destroying the chains without much effort.
"Jelita Shocker!!" Puspamon surrounded herself with tulip flowers that generated from the flower she wore on her chest, and zapped the chains with hot magenta laser beams. The chains were immediately broken and combusted into data particles.
And finally, Samudramon shouted thunderously and summoned thunderbolts to destroy the chains that were holding him to the wall. He then transformed his fish caudal tail back into legs and stood up with a regal pose, his shining trident grasped in his hand.
Aldiyamon stared with awe and admiration at his friends' display of prowess. Then, one by one he felt their gazes fixated upon him. His heart sank; they looked like they didn't know him. Mild resentment arose within his heart, but that instantly evaporated when he realized that they must have thought that he was still dead. They wouldn't have any idea that he was alive and well.
Before he could explain everything, the whole dungeon shook wildly. The ceilings and the walls cracked and large stones that once constituted the ceilings began to rain upon them. His heart skipped a beat when he heard an ungodly laughter echoing the surrounding. He immediately suspected the worse.
"Hang on!" Aldiyamon said, and surrounded all five of them together with swirls of white and gold.
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"YOU THINK YOU CAN BEAT US, HUH?!!!" roared a fearsome dark centaur as he trampled the Blackmoore Bastion with his legs. The castle shook but was not destroyed…yet.
The demonic beast was massive; his height was nearly twice the Blackmoore Bastion, and he had a permanent screaming voice which sounded dual-like, deep, echoic and downright menacing. His upper half body was similar to a man, with a white ram head and horns. His arms were long and ended with arrow-like fingers. His lower quadrupled body was covered with thick purple fur and black ram horns grew at the sides of waist. At his crotch, barely covered by the purple furs, was a large red-lipped mouth. On his horseback was a pair of great dirty brown wings. His pale legs ended with dark purple talons.
"I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!!" the beast screamed again as he kicked the bastion, causing it to shake horribly. "YOUR EFFORT IS FUTILE! I'LL DESTROY THE BLACKMOORE BASTION AND KILL YOU ALONG WITH YOUR FRIENDS, HAHAHAHAHAHAAH!!!"
The demon beast flapped his great wings and took to the dark skies. "BLACK REQUIEM!!" The beast then generated a massive crackling orb of dark purple energy from the mouth on his crotch and blasted it towards the stronghold. The dark castle exploded and the four spires tumbled onto the ground with a sickening crash. That earned a maniacal giggle from the beast.
"BLACK REQUIEM!!" he shouted again, and blasted another purple orb onto the domed structure.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAH!! THERE'S NO WAY THAT MEDDLESOME ANGEL CAN ESCAPE NOW!!" he laughed again, seeing the mass of ruins of the formerly forbidding bastion of darkness. "WITH THIS MIGHTY BODY, I WILL BE THE SUPREME RULER OF THE DIGITAL WORLD!!"
Suddenly, a sphere of white glittering orb burst forth from the ruins of the Blackmoore Bastion. It rose towards the sky at the beast's eye level before the lights faded. Inside the orb stood Aldiyamon at the center, with Satriamon, Xianamon, Puspamon and Samudramon surrounding him. Satriamon immediately engulfed himself with flames to stay afloat, while Samudramon generated a pillar of water to remain at the same level as his flying comrades. Xianamon used her telekinetic to stay airborne, while Puspamon and Aldiyamon both flapped their wings.
"THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE!! HOW CAN YOU ALL BE ALIVE?!"
"So that we could send you to whatever that's considered hell around here!" Satriamon spat and zoomed towards the beast.
"FOOL!! INSOLENT INSECTS! YOU THINK YOU MEASLY BEINGS CAN STOP ME!" the beast roared. "I AM GULFMON! I AM A MEGA DIGIMON ACHIEVED FROM THE DNA-DIGIVOLUTION OF THE TWO PUAKA GENERALS, AIDED WITH THOSE PRECIOUS POWERS OF YOUR DIGISPHERES AND DIGIVICES! EVEN THOUGH YOU'VE REGAINED YOUR POWER SOMEHOW, IT'S TOO LATE! HAHAHAHAHAH! TOO LATE!! THE PUAKA GENERALS HAVE ASCENDED TO PERFECTION IN THIS GREAT ONE BODY!" He cackled maniacally once again. "NOTHING CAN STOP ME NOW! NOTHING!!!"
Gulfmon saw Satriamon incoming and released a wave of powerful scream from his normal mouth. Satriamon was pushed back by the strong gust of wind and was sent tumbling heads-over-heels. He however was balanced telekinetically by Xianamon.
"We need strategy to beat him," Xianamon admonished. "Charging without a plan will get you killed."
"NO STRATEGY WILL BE ABLE TO HELP YOU, FOR I AM INVINCIBLE!!" Gulfmon boomed. "DEAD SCREAM!!"
"Solaris Firebird!!"
Aldiyamon sent out his white firebird to counter the gales of screams that were hurled towards Satriamon and Xianamon. It managed to hold back against the attack momentarily, enough for the two Wira Digital to get away before the firebird was overpowered by the scream. The shockwave was blasted onto all five Wira Digital and made them lost their balance. Aldiyamon flapped his wings and was the first who regained his composure. Xianamon and Puspamon were next, thanks to their powers, before finally the non-flight capable Satriamon and Samudramon were kept afloat by Xianamon's telekinesis and Puspamon's wind power.
Aldiyamon flew close to Satriamon and Samudramon. "You two…I'll get you near Gulfmon enough for you to injure him physically."
"Don't tell me what to do!" Satriamon snapped – he hadn't realized that the white angel was actually Adam, for he would never snap at Adam that way.
Aldiyamon winced at the harsh tone of Satriamon. He wondered why the dragon man seemed to be so harsh at him, because the last time Adam checked; he and JD were in good terms, after their misadventures at the Dark Ocean. He had no idea that none of the Wira Digital knew who he was – that thought didn't cross his mind at all. In fact, he thought that he looked pretty much the same that he didn't think of introducing himself anymore.
The saintly knight didn't even realize that at the moment, all his friends were grieving at his apparent loss. And thus, Aldiyamon wondered what exactly he had done to earn Satriamon's foul mood towards him.
Truthfully, Satriamon was beginning to dislike the stranger for he reminded him greatly of the friend they had lost. The white angel was like Adam and Patamon's merged form – the dark angel Aldiyamon. And not to mention that this white angel also possessed the power of teleportation. It was too much for Satriamon…for JD, to bear. But he realized that the white angel had a point. "Fine, we'll do it your way!" he barked, not looking at the white knightly angel one bit.
Aldiyamon sighed and turned to the merman Wira Digital. "Samudramon?"
"I'll do it." Samudramon peered towards the mysterious white angel closer. There were similarities to this white angel and the dark angel Aldiyamon…but they were so minimal. This angel was radiating with power and benevolence, with feathery wings and no sword. The dark angel Aldiyamon was malevolent and cruel, but had come to his senses towards the end and had sacrificed himself to protect all of them. Samudramon didn't know what to think. For a brief moment, he thought that, perhaps…against all odds, that Adam and Patamon were still alive. That thought was immediately quenched when he was painfully reminded of Aldiyamon's sacrifice. Both Aldiyamon and VenomDevimon were gone. He had heard them exploded, and both of them were nowhere in sight thereafter. Immediately Samudramon's mouth set thin and he determinedly stared off at Gulfmon with his trident grasped tight.
Aldiyamon looked up towards the floating female Wira Digital. "Xianamon, Puspamon, follow me. We're attacking Gulfmon together!" With the order issued Aldiyamon waved his arms towards Samudramon and Satriamon, surrounding them with swirls of brilliant whites and gold. A blink of the eye later they materialized right in front of Gulfmon.
"Dragonforce Striker!!" Satriamon slashed his gauntlet with the projection of a fiery dragon clawing onto Gulfmon's left front leg. A sickening sound of something being ripped apart was heard. A wound was form, and dark liquid spattered out from it.
"Double-Edged Thunderblades!!" Samudramon spun his raging thunder-blades upon Gulfmon's right front leg. Digital blood flowed out from the laceration after a loud crack.
Gulfmon stumbled right after Aldiyamon teleported both Satriamon and Samudramon towards a safe distance over the sky. Cursing, he realized that he could not stand up any longer – Satriamon and Samudramon not only had injured him, but they had taken one step further.
They had broken the bones of his legs.
Puspamon flew forward and surrounded Gulfmon's upper body, generating multiple tulips that showered upon dark beast.
"Jelita Shocker!!" Dozens of hot magenta lasers fired through Gulfmon's body in multiple directions. It was only because Gulfmon was a Mega Digimon that he was not severely affected by it. But the attack did injure him.
"Diamond World Mandala!!" Xianamon generated a circular rune beneath Gulfmon which let out waves of sapphire and gold, followed by thousands of glittering diamonds that tore through Gulfmon's whole body at about the same time Puspamon's Jelita Shocker was taking effect.
"Radiant Faith!!" Aldiyamon plummeted from the sky and delivered a punch in the air, letting out a burst of white light which slammed upon Gulfmon's chest. That elicited a pained shriek from Gulfmon and seemed to generate the most profound response from the demonic centaur.
"AHHHHHH!! THE LIGHT!!! IT BUUUUURRRNNNNSSS!!!"
Seeing Aldiyamon's strategy working, the other Wira Digital had no qualms in following his lead. However deep in their hearts, they were still pained because this mysterious white angel reminded them so greatly of the friends they had lost recently. They channeled their pains into one common goal: to destroy Gulfmon once and for all in order to avenge their friends' death. With that set in mind they roared and channeled as much energy as they could for their next attacks.
And Aldiyamon had no idea that his friends were paining so greatly.
"Shadow Flame Helix!!"
"Deep Ocean Submerge!!"
"Hibiscus Hurricane!!
"Gaia Retaliation!!"
Orange dragon and black serpent coiled around Gulfmon's body, burning him severely. Then waves of high pressurized water blast struck Gulfmon from underneath, plunging him onto his back. Xianamon lifted the ruins of the Blackmoore Bastion and merged them with Puspamon's hurricane, and together they slammed their attacks upon Gulfmon. The demonic centaur screamed as he was lambasted with one attack after another…but the four grieved Wira Digital were not finished yet. They charged up their powers and sent out the third wave.
"Flaming Torch!!" Satriamon turned himself into a meteor-like being and propelled himself onto Gulfmon's injured torso. He managed to tear through Gulfmon's right shoulder and down all over his bestial back, leaving a trail of flames that burned upon the Mega Digimon.
"Cosmic Thunderstrike!!" Samudramon summoned thunderbolts from the high heavens and electrocuted the fallen centaur's body all over, ignoring the demon's shrieks.
"Jade Needles!!" Xianamon showered the fallen centaur with poisonous needles to weaken him.
"Sprite Scream!!" Puspamon fluttered close to Gulfmon's ears and screamed her lungs out, causing Gulfmon to lose his orientation for a brief moment. Gulfmon fell on his sides, unable to move.
The dragon-knight, the merman, the sorceress and the fairy Wira Digital then retreated several meters away, and their bodies burst with red, blue, yellow and pink aura. With a loud determined yell they charged again towards Gulfmon. Seeing them coming, Gulfmon raised his humanoid body up and spewed forth torrents of dark energy spheres towards them, but the Wira Digital evaded them. They loomed over the dark beast and delivered their attacks simultaneously.
"Dragonforce Striker!!" Satriamon's gauntlet released a mighty orange dragon of flames which shot towards Gulfmon with a deafening roar and claws ready to strike.
"Double-Edged Thunderblades!!" From Samudramon's spinning trident, a dragon made out of electric-blue lightning bolt was released, joining Satriamon's flaming dragon.
"Diamond World Mandala!!" The waves of indigo and golden released from Xianamon's fly whisk transformed into glowing apparitions of foxes which sailed along the dragons.
"Jelita Shocker!!" And finally the tulips from Puspamon merged to form an image of a glittering sprite which flew alongside the foxes and the dragons.
The apparitions coalesced into one before forming a mighty beam of bronze light which slammed squarely onto Gulfmon's torso. A loud explosion ensued and the bestial demon was sent sailing in midair before crashing onto the paddock. A deep, massive crater was formed and Gulfmon lay sprawled within it. Smokes erupted from his severely battered body. The Mega Digimon was weakened a great deal from the combination of the four Wira Digital's attacks.
Aldiyamon stared in shock at his friends – finally realizing what were fueling his friends into a crazed frenzy of attack. He had NEVER seen them attacking an enemy like this. He saw that his four friends were growing tired, but it didn't look like they were finished still.
'They are still grieved …could it be that they haven't realized that I'm alive?' Aldiyamon approached the other Wira Digital, but before he could talk the four Wira Digital charged once more towards Gulfmon.
"Dark Rage!!" Satriamon sent out dark energy from his free hand to sap the power from Gulfmon.
"Divine Rain!!" Whatever energy that remained in Gulfmon was then absorbed by Samudramon's rain.
"Magical Stasis!!" Xianamon froze Gulfmon in place, but noticed that Gulfmon was still able to move, albeit somewhat lagged.
"Dream Rose Mirage!!" Drawing Gulfmon's attention, Puspamon entranced him with a deadly mirage of roses and thorns.
Gulfmon screamed as he felt his power being drained, half of his body frozen and now he was seeing a black rose with thorny vines swirling around him. He shrieked and trashed about within the crater, but didn't do much damage as Xianamon had partially immobilized him in place.
"Come on, guys! Let's give him another!!" Satriamon shouted, but then his knees buckled. He was followed immediately by Samudramon, Xianamon and Puspamon. Usually they would not have been weakened like this – but they had given their all in each attack, which sapped their own powers in order to ensure that each of their attempts would inflict serious and grave injuries upon the Mega Digimon. "GAAHHH!! NOT YET!! We still…"
"Everyone…" Aldiyamon flew down towards them. "It's ok. I'll…"
"What the HELL did you mean by ok? It's NOT ok!" Satriamon snarled, and everyone saw how the white angel flinched. "Our friend's dead because of that fXXking beast! DON'T YOU TELL US IT'S OK!! BECAUSE IT'S SURE AS HELL NOT!!" Satriamon's knees buckled and he collapsed onto the ground, drained. He snarled angrily and thumped his fist onto the ground. The other Wira Digital all collapsed on the ground, looking weak and dejected.
Aldiyamon sighed, and was about to explain when Gulfmon roared loudly. The demonic centaur had risen from the crater and he looked absolutely enraged. Aldiyamon spun quickly from the other Wira Digital and took flight.
"You've caused enough grief already, Gulfmon," he said solemnly, hovering in front of Gulfmon. Aldiyamon twisted his right palm upwards, and a sword materialized on his hand. It was a glittering violet blade affixed on a silver hilt and holder. A golden eight-pointed star was embedded on the hilt, giving rise to a silver arrow-shaped projection that lined the middle of the blade. The arrowhead became the sword's pointed tip and the blunt side of it continued downwards with the purple blade. The sword radiated with white aura and spiraled with golden energy.
"I personally have a score to settle with you," Aldiyamon said, and made one vertical slash in front of him. "Heavenstar Gladius!!"
A dimensional rip was formed from the midair slash, and a golden pillar of energy which extended to the high heavens burst forth. Its width expanded three times its original size. The pillar then exploded and showered Gulfmon with golden and white waves of pure light. Gulfmon shrieked with agonized pain and was pushed all the way towards the rubbles of his ruined bastion.
"Wow…" Samudramon said in amazement.
"He's still alive!" Puspamon gasped, seeing that Gulfmon was still undeleted.
"Gulfmon is far stronger than any Digimon that we have faced before," Xianamon said. Her eyes darted towards the still unidentified white knightly angel. "But…so is that Digimon…" She couldn't shake off a sense of familiarity which was radiating from the angel. Something about his aura was proverbial. 'It can't be him…can it?'
Satriamon stared at the heavenly Digimon. 'Who is he…?'
Aldiyamon stared at Gulfmon with amazement. The Mega Digimon had been at the receiving end of the five Wira Digital's attacks but still he was standing. For Aldiyamon, the Heavenstar Gladius was his strongest technique and still Gulfmon was not deleted. He was aware that as an Ultimate Digimon, he was still outmatched compared to Gulfmon. His friends were drained off their powers it was a wonder how they still retained their fused forms, but they couldn't help him any more.
Aldiyamon took a deep breath as inspiration struck him from out of nowhere. He was no longer thinking…he was willing the power to do the job for him. He only hoped that he would be able to finish off Gulfmon. 'Give me strength…let me beat Gulfmon once and for all…'
Aldiyamon's eight wings blazed with golden aura. He pointed his sword forward, and his left palm was held erect. The metallic wings on his shoulders spread out the same way as his feathery wings. From beneath his visor, his eyes flashed gold. His body radiated with white light which took form of a blazing firebird.
'Solaris Firebird…Deistic Guard…Radiant Faith…Heavenstar Gladius…'
"FINAL PURIFICATION!!"
First his left palm let out a beam of bluish-white light. Then the sword shot out spiraling waves of silver and white. The metallic wings followed, letting out golden energy waves before finally Aldiyamon's whole body burst forth with pure white energy waves. His heavenly wings let out a shower of feathers that spiraled around the energy waves Aldiyamon was letting out. All the energy waves slammed onto Gulfmon which such ferocity and power that sent the demonic beast crashing onto the ground.
Gulfmon shrieked a deafening, thunderous cry as the blast of pure light burned through his very being, burning him like the harshest light of day. He felt data separating from his body. Something inside him was going to explode…
"AAAAIIIIIEIEEEEEEEGGGHHHH!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"
The strong white light nearly blinded the other Wira Digital. They had to cover their eyes completely as they heard the sound of combusted data. Gulfmon's scream died out and the light began to recede…but it was still so bright. The four Wira Digital found that they had devolved into their composite selves while being bathed with the white light.
For JD, he was reminded of his experience at the Dark Ocean. He had seen a shining phantom appearing behind Adam and Sagittarimon, and it had let out the same kind of attack which successfully repelled Dragomon away, right before he lost his consciousness and ended up back at the Digital World without much explanation.
'It's him…that's the attack I saw being used against Dragomon at the Dark Ocean. Who is he...?'
They began to lower their arms after feeling that the light was no longer harsh for the eyes. Still, they couldn't see much; the light was no longer blinding them as it was receding. It was like watching a setting sun.
Then, two silhouettes appeared. Amidst the brilliant whiteness their profiles could not be discerned. Their profiles became clearer in gradual pace as they approached the DigiWira.
One of them was clearly human and the other looked like a small flying creature. The light then dimmed as the silhouettes became clearer; the two figures seemed to have absorbed all the light to give themselves a soft white glow, which illuminated their features. The four DigiWira saw a familiar boy in a white DigiWira uniform with black boots and belt. Dark hair fluttered softly against the boy's fair face and gray eyes sparkled with merriness upon meeting their astonished black, brown, russet and hazel irises. They looked at the boy's warm, smiling face and froze upon hearing his voice.
"Hi everyone…I... tried to explain but…"
A shriek was heard and Gayathri was the first who had launched herself towards the boy, sobbing and cheering at the same time. Then she realized what she was doing and backed off, but grabbed the boy's hands and pressing them firmly, as if trying to determine whether the boy was real or not. She was crying uncontrollably, but it was clear that she was very happy.
"Adam…oh, Adam…it's really YOU!"
Liu Ying and Manny immediately joined Gayathri and each flung an arm around Adam's shoulders. They both tried to restrain their tears but failed miserably – but this time it was the tears of happiness. All four of them were laughing and sans Adam, were also letting out tears of joy as they bombarded Adam with many questions. Patamon received similar treatments from the other four elated Rookie Digimon, who was passing him around like he was a new toy.
"How is this possible?" Manny grasped Adam's shoulders firmly, as if making sure that Adam was solid, not a ghost. His eyes were damp but he was smiling widely. "We saw you disappearing with VenomDevimon…oops, sorry!" Upon seeing Adam's slight wince he instantly let go, realizing that he had pressed Adam's shoulder a little bit too hard in his elatedness. Adam smiled back forgivingly.
"We thought you're dead!" Liu Ying said, before Adam could answer Manny's question. She smiled warmly at the boy as she held his hands together, and shook her head, sending small teardrops over the ground and the hands. "You have no idea how good it is to see you now!"
"I miss you guys too," Adam said, beaming.
"Did you two get reconfigured?" Labramon asked, and shook her head as she released Patamon. "But it's too quick…and Adam is a human. I…I really do not understand…" The Rookie Labrador was trying so hard to process all the information in her logical mind.
"Who cares?" Floramon laughed happily, taking Patamon from Labramon. Her blue eyes shone with tears, mirroring her human partner's reaction. "They're here! That's all that matters." She passed the Rookie mammal to Penguinmon, amidst Patamon's gleeful protest.
"Hey, hey….watch it, I was just reborn…" he squealed as Penguinmon grabbed him with his stout wings.
"Flower-power's right," Penguinmon concurred as he passed Patamon to Agumon. "Good to see you, bat-pig!"
Agumon nodded as Patamon squirmed to break free from his claws. "This is amazing…miraculous, even…"
Gayathri beamed as she took notice of a change in their resurrected friend. "Your uniform's changed! I love it. They really look good on you!"
Amidst all the questions, Adam noticed that one person didn't come to join their happy reunion. He tried looking up amidst Gayathri's curly hair for JD, and saw the teen looking at him with a frozen unreadable expression. Gently he excused himself from Gayathri, Liu Ying and Manny and tentatively walked towards JD. He wondered whether JD wanted to yell at him for not telling them sooner that he was still alive – he certainly looked like he was going to. The blonde's eyes were staring at him dangerously and his mouth set thin. His chest rose up and down in steady rapid phase. Adam gulped and wondered whether it was a wise decision for him to approach JD. Weighing the pros and cons in his head, Adam decided that if JD wanted to pummel him he'd just teleport away to safety.
And so, he stopped about a meter away from JD.
"Please don't be mad at me for not telling you about me being alive sooner. I was going to tell but…you seemed so angry at me…"
Adam was cut off when he was unexpectedly pulled into a fierce one-armed embrace from the taller teen. Stunned, he clammed up until JD pulled away. His eyes were still blazing towards Adam's, but now Adam could also detect a hint of…dampness?
"Don't scare us like that anymore!" JD said hoarsely, and with a blink a small teardrop escaped his eyes.
Out of all DigiWira, Adam didn't expect to see the tough, yet cool, JD, shed tears upon seeing him. "JD, you're crying…"
"No, I'm not!" JD snapped, sounding pretty much as his usual self once again. "I've got this damn dust in my eye, that's all!"
'Now that is more like him…' Adam thought, grinning.
This earned roundhouse laughter from the whole team. Adam looked around and saw that none of his four teammates had their eyes dry, and that caused him to blink rapidly as well. Words couldn't describe how he was really touched of their concerns over him. 'I love you guys…' he thought fondly.
They then saw two bundles of energy speeding towards them. They were Salamon and Gatomon.
"Adam! Adam! Adam! Adam!" The two Rookies sped exuberantly towards Adam and launched themselves onto the boy, nearly causing him to fall if JD wasn't quick enough to steady him.
"Hey! Back off! He's my partner!" Patamon whined. He immediately soared above Adam and nestled on his favorite spot – Adam's head.
"Share!" Salamon said, sticking out his tongue as he snuggled on Adam's left arm.
"Yeah! Share!" Gatomon said, and let out a hiss. Adam sweatdropped as he allowed the white Egyptian kitten to climb all the way till his shoulder and let her sat there.
"Whoa! Who are these little tykes?" JD asked.
"A puppy and a kitten! They're so CUTE!!" Gayathri cooed.
"Salamon and Gatomon…new friends," Adam said simply, and let out a yawn. He smiled upon meeting their questioning gazes. "I don't know about you guys, but I haven't slept for more than twenty four hours. Why don't we head back to the Forest Sanctum, and…" He looked up at the dark night sky, remembering that the Lost Mountain would be gone by now. His face softened as Ophanimon, d'Arcmon, and even Rosemon, crossed his minds. The time on his watch showed that it was 2am at night. "…go home…I've got some stories to tell…"
"I'm too bushed to even go back home! Why don't we just camp out at the sanctum?" JD asked. "Besides it's in the middle of night…"
"What of our families? Won't they get worried?" Manny asked, immediately noticing that Adam's face adopting a slightly forlorn expression. He realized the unintentional folly of his sentence and looked at Adam apologetically.
The gray-eyed DigiWira wiped his sad expression quickly. This was a happy moment and Adam didn't want to think about the losses he had experienced now. He smiled. "Umm, no need to worry about that. All of your parents know about this already, and the principal, too. Jackie had to tell them everything when you all were captured. And…speaking of Jackie, there's something interesting that you'll find out about him soon. But we better get back first."
"How are we going to go back?" Liu Ying asked. "Unless your teleportation power has expanded…I don't think you can take us all in one go."
Adam grinned. "After all that has happened, I think I can do that at least."
He spread out his arms, and from his body spirals of golden and white orbs burst forth. They rapidly expanded to all the DigiWira and the Digimon, enveloping them wholly. Within less than five seconds all of them vanished from the destroyed grounds of the Blackmoore Bastion.
xxx
xxx
"So, my precious little white light is still alive after all," SkullSatamon muttered, after watching the whole battle from the projection Sorcerymon was generating from his staff. He found himself to be in a really good mood now, and chuckled in amusement upon watching the flabbergasted reactions from Sorcerymon and Shutumon upon seeing the defeat of Gulfmon.
"I can't…believe it…" Shutumon said.
"That little runt and that Patamon of his…they've beaten the Puaka Generals!" Sorcerymon gasped. He was reminded of his encounter with Adam and Sagittarimon inside the forest near Wizardmon's house, during that time when his abhorrence spell caused Gayathri and Fairymon to attack Liu Ying and Youkomon. The boy hadn't been too strong then; if it weren't for Wizardmon's meddling interference Sorcerymon would have beaten them.
"As I suspected from the heirs of the White DigiSphere," SkullSatamon said, uncaring of the fact that the Puaka Generals were beaten. "They do have the powers that can rival Grademon's. I've seen Grademon using the same technique against me…merging his attacks into one powerful blow." He was reminded of the battle that happened three centuries ago, prior to his eternal imprisonment. "It is a pity though; that Aldiyamon no longer seem to possess that terrifying combustion power that his darkened mode has…the combustion power can easily destroy the barrier surrounding my Horror Hall. But no matter…"
SkullSatamon looked down inside the obsidian orb that was confined within his decaying ribcage. He noticed no change on the level of the yellow hue since the defeat of the Dryad General. "Hmm…"
"But Master, the Puaka Generals are…were…two of the strongest generals you ever had!" Sorcerymon pointed out.
SkullSatamon nodded. "They a…were…but they also had strayed from my cause, as they had demonstrated upon reaching their Mega level again. Hadn't those children destroyed him, I would have seen to it personally that the two of them were killed off. They were not loyal to me wholly, like Karatenmon and Lilamon had been. They weren't true to me like the rest of the Darkshadow Brethren were. They even betrayed their coven for their own cause. I suspected that the only reason why those two still followed my orders because I held their powers here…" SkullSatamon tapped his forehead and chuckled sadistically. The crimson bat mark tattooed on his skull glimmered faintly once.
"Master, let US battle the DigiWira now!" Shutumon requested. "We've once reached our Ultimate levels with the help of the Puaka Generals…if you will be so kind to-"
"Your time will come, Shutumon, Sorcerymon, but it will not be now," SkullSatamon cut in. His dark orbital sockets glowed crimson. "For now, we will let the esteemed Darkshadow Brethren to attack the DigiWira. Free their leader first, and have him report to me."
"The leader of the Darkshadow Brethren?" Sorcerymon said in awe. "Isn't he-"
"That's all," SkullSatamon said with a dismissive tone which hinted the finality of the conversation. The two Champion Digimon caught it and retreated from the Horror Hall.
xxx
xxx
It would be no difference for Adam to remain in the Digital World or to go back home, as he had no one waiting over him back home. However, it was JD who'd been the vocal one in voicing out his intention to spend the night at the Forest Sanctum – mainly to get Adam to gauge stories about how exactly he'd been alive. The others took some convincing before realizing that it wouldn't make much difference. They had met Jackie too, and were surprised to learn that Jackie was actually their guardian from the Digital World and that he was a digital human instead of real human. But in their tiredness they had taken the information by stride, and not to mention that their main focus was Adam.
Jackie had promised that he would be discussing with the principal so that they could have another day off, and that special arrangement could be made for them to recover the missed days.
And now, all of them were sleeping. TobuCatmon had arranged for the girls to sleep on a couple of makeshift hammocks behind the walls of the sanctum, while the boys would sleep on a rattan mat spread over the marble floor of the sanctum. Within an hour, all of them were asleep peacefully, save for one boy.
Adam found it ironic that he was the one who was not able to get a shuteye, while the others sounded like they had already drifted off in dreamland. He could hear Manny's soft exhales from behind him – Adam was lying on his side and his back was facing Manny. He could hear Penguinmon's snores, and the sound of Agumon's claws clunking the marble floor whenever he shifted position. Despite their earlier disputes, Patamon, Salamon and Gatomon were now huddled close to each other – Gatomon had adamantly refused to part with Salamon just because she was a girl. And if Adam opened his eyes he could see JD lying on his back beside him.
Things that had happened to him these past few days came back to him. His sister's accident, the Puaka Generals' deception, his and Patamon's transformation into Aldiyamon Fury Mode (it was a name Adam had thought for himself, as he remembered how furious he had been when he discovered the Puaka Generals' deceptions), their 'deaths', Adam's encounter with Grademon who had helped him facing his inner demons, their revivals, Adam's journey to the Lost Mountain and his meetings with Ophanimon, d'Arcmon and Rosemon, and finally the transformation into the real Aldiyamon and their victory against the Puaka Generals.
Now that everything was over, one important thing came back to mind.
His sister was still in coma. There was no indication of when she would wake up. He hadn't visited his sister for three days, but he had done so for since day one of his sister's hospitalization. Every time he went to the hospital, Dr. Abu would just tell him the same thing. He wanted to think positively, but still…
What if his sister never woke up? What if she was doomed to remain in a coma?
Adam would be alone. Sure, he had relatives. He had uncles and aunts, cousins, grandparents…but his immediate family members would be all gone.
His whole body shivered again and an involuntary sob escaped. He clamped his mouth quickly, not wanting to wake up his friends. But tears began to flow out more freely and sooner or later JD and Manny would wake up. He immediately grabbed his white jacket – which he'd used as pillow – and teleported out from the sanctum. He didn't go far – just by the lake at the Green Meadow outside the sanctum. There he sat at a flat rock and convinced that he was alone, he let it all out.
He had his head buried in his thighs for so long, even after his sobs had receded. Hearing footsteps, he immediately glanced up and saw the other four DigiWira standing by.
"How…how long have you been here?" Adam asked, wide-eyed and flabbergasted as he immediately wiped out all the tear stains on his cheek.
The four DigiWira looked at each other, unsure of how to respond. Gayathri elbowed Manny, Manny poked Liu Ying, and Liu Ying gave JD a slight shove.
"Long enough," JD finally said.
"I'm sorry you had to see that," Adam said. His eyes were looking down.
"Why?" Gayathri asked, her own voice quivering. "There's nothing to be ashamed of. You've been through a lot. If it were me, I'd have cried a whole lot more…" She went to sit beside Adam and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Nobody will look down on you if you cry about this one."
"From the looks of it, you've been suppressing it for a long time," JD said and took a sit at Adam's other side. "It must've sucks…"
Liu Ying sat on the smaller stone, in front of the flat stone where Adam, JD and Gayathri were seating on currently. Manny sat on another stone in front of Adam. They were now forming a circle, with Manny and Liu Ying facing Adam.
"If you need to get something off your chest, we'll listen," Manny said quietly. "That much we can do…if not more."
"Manny's right," Liu Ying said. She was reminded of her dream about showing Adam her private journal which she dedicated to her late father. She made a point to show Adam the journal soon as a way to help Adam deal with the pain. Out of all the DigiWira, Liu Ying was the only other member who had also lost a family. But she still had her mother and brother, and grandfather. Adam had lost everyone except his sister, and was at the verge of losing her as well if things turned out bad…Liu Ying silently prayed that that would never happen.
"Remember what you've told me when we fought Lynxmon?" Liu Ying asked, gazing at Adam. "You told me that I wasn't alone. Now I'm telling you that you're not alone in this one."
Adam looked at his teammates' faces one by one. "I'm really scared…" he admitted softly. His voice was like a frightened child's. "I'm really scared."
Nobody had the answer to that. No one dared to say 'everything will turn up alright' because nobody had the power to see the future. They were scared that if they said just that, and the opposite thing happened, then Adam would end up even more devastated than he already was. They didn't want to give him false hope.
For a long quiet minute, everyone was silent. Then JD came up with a sincere, perfect, and only reply. He slung an arm around Adam's shoulders and grasped it firmly, his eyes staring at the distance thoughtfully.
"We'll think of something."
xxx
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It was now nearing sunrise and everything was silent at the ruins of the Blackmoore Bastion. What once had been a domed stronghold was no more than a pile of rubbles now after the titanic battle between Gulfmon and the Wira Digital. Small wisps of smoke could still be seen from the ruins, marking the fact that the battle had happened not too long before.
A small pebble rolled down the pile of stones. Then another and another pebble rolled down following a big onyx stone stirring about. Something seemed to be moving in from underneath. The black stone then was pushed away and a shaking, purple-gloved arm emerged. The arm pushed aside another stone, and a yellow vulpine creature crawled out. The fox, Renamon, looked absolutely battered and beaten. His tufts of white fur that grew on his chest were stained with purple blood. Ugly lacerations could be seen all over his body. Renamon crawled weakly towards another stirring stone where a purple bat-like wing shot out from a narrow space between two stones. Renamon pushed the stone away and Tsukaimon was revealed.
"Curse that DigiWira of Light…" Renamon muttered hoarsely. "Curse that Aldiyamon and the other brats…"
The two Rookies slumped onto a stone, unwittingly causing it to shake due to the sudden weights. The stone gave way and the Rookies were sent tumbling down the pile of stones. They didn't even have the energy to yell. The two rolled off onto the ground when a shadow loomed before them.
Renamon opened his eyes weakly. In his moment of weakness, his eyes registered a face obscured by the shadows caused by the massive sets of wings the face-owner had. The rising sun illuminated the being's face. Renamon knew this Digimon well, and shivered.
"The…Hellion…General!" he said before fatigue seized him wholly and he slumped down.
The one referred as the Hellion General chuckled darkly. "The Puaka Generals…you two disappoint me. The thought of two former members of the esteemed Darkshadow Brethren defeated by a bunch of children is really insulting to villains of our caliber." He shook his head and bent down, picking both Renamon and Tsukaimon up and secured each of them against each side of his body. "Fortunately, I still have use for you. The Master has deemed you as failures, but I still think that you two can redeem yourselves soon…with my aid."
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Author's Notes:
To those who wonder, basically the real Aldiyamon is similar to the corrupted one with his colors and his facemask being the differences.
The next general is revealed to be the Hellion General, but he's not the only one. The Puaka Generals are still alive. And…there will be four other generals making their debut soon alongside this Hellion General character.
This chapter marks the closing of the Puaka Generals arc, and the beginning of the Invasion arc.
The swear word by Satriamon has been 'bleeped' as I've been made known that there are young readers reading the story. But it's still there to emphasis the mood, only bleeped so that it can't be said that there's a properly-spelled-out major swear word in this chapter.
Check out Aldiyamon's picture which I've drawn and uploaded, the link is there at my profile. I'm entering Digital Dive Forum's Design a Royal Knight contest, and Aldiyamon's up as a Royal Knight. The art isn't the best though because I'm not so good with drawing, but do check out the drawing if you have the time.