SkullSatamon hummed as he listened to Mystimon and Jetsilphymon, watching them with his lifeless eyes across the thin barrier which separated him from the rest of the Digital World. He could see them clearly, he could listen to them well, but he could not pass through the barrier. This was the curse Grademon had evoked upon him three hundred years ago, and until this time there was yet a solution for him to break free. The barrier however, was not indestructible, but a greater power than the evoker would be required in order to shatter the barrier. And unfortunately, during the battle Grademon had been at his highest-achieved level of Digivolution; finding a Digimon who would be on par with Grademon would be a problem.
Or so it had seemed, until today, when his two harbingers had arrived with their weekly report. SkullSatamon had instructed them to stay close to the seven Darkshadow Brethren generals, and report whatever the generals were planning to him. He had been surprised upon hearing Lucemon's latest exploit involved transporting three DigiWira and their partners to the past, and had been angry when he realized that one of the DigiWira had been Adam. What was the Hellion General thinking, transporting Adam to the past where SkullSatamon would not be able to get to him? However, Lucemon had been instructed to not kill Adam, SkullSatamon trusted that the angelic demon would know well to heed his order. In fact, he was actually glad that Lucemon had been trounced, and the DigiWira were brought back to the present time by their mentor's own brand of magic.
So far, one of two ways out he had to escape the imprisonment was by Adam's teleportation power. During their first, and by far the only encounter, Adam was not able to teleport SkullSatamon out of the barrier, but SkullSatamon believed that this was more because of the fact that Adam was inexperienced with his power. Should the boy become more powerful, his teleportation power would also evolve, a fact once proven during the brief appearance of Aldiyamon Fury Mode – the darker form of the regular Aldiyamon. This dark-digivolved Wira Digital proved to be terrifyingly powerful, with his teleportation power evolved to a level where it could actually combust anything, or anyone, that dared to cross him. It was rather unfortunate that this form had never been called upon again; if Aldiyamon Fury Mode was reawakened the angel would be even stronger than he had been before. SkullSatamon could not even recall himself or Grademon being that powerful when they first digivolved into Ultimate levels – Aldiyamon Fury Mode was already as strong as a Mega Digimon during his first, and only, appearance. The skeletal dark master could not fathom what kind of power the dark angel would be able to have if he was given more time to polish his skills.
None of his Generals, not even Lucemon who was the leader of all his generals, were strong enough to break the barrier Grademon had placed around his Horror Hall. Grademon had been a level beyond Mega when he evoked the barrier charm, a power greater than a Mega would be required to break it. And the barrier had been cast with a very intricate spell; only one power stronger than a Mega could break the barrier, not several joined powers. The Darkshadow Brethren, sans the Puaka Generals, had tried combining their powers to break it, but their attempts had failed.
"Wait," SkullSatamon said, stopping Mystimon and Jetsilphymon instantly just by uttering that one single word. "You mentioned that the Hellion General is finally ready to call upon the power of seven evils that have once taken over the Digital World several millennia ago?"
"Well, what we know is that Lucemon is going to use that Obsidian Gem of his to make the other Darkshadow Brethren generals Mega Digivolve," Mystimon supplied breathlessly, his head lowered, not daring to meet the gaze of his master. However he could feel his master twitched slightly; apparently SkullSatamon too was taken aback by this news. Then he felt as if a pair of eyeless sockets peering over him, and the fine hairs on his neck stood up. He dared not to meet his master's gaze, especially when all he had left to say was, "I regretfully do not know of what forms they are going to take when they have digivolved."
"You don't know, or you have not been staying there long enough to know?" There was nothing malevolent in this statement; it sounded more like a chiding rather than a complete scolding. "No matter," SkullSatamon said, sounding somewhat pleasantly surprised at the same time. He, in fact, was grinning, showing his set of decaying teeth. The sight of it caused Jetsilphymon to flinch, but SkullSatamon ignored it. To react to such a trivial reaction was far beneath a dark master of his caliber. "This is, in fact, excellent news you've brought me," he reiterated, and his left decaying hand went over his rotting ribcage, where inside it was a deep jet black orb, with about one fifth of it filled with yellow light. He hummed again softly, before placing the hand right by his sides. "Excellent news indeed."
His servants were left dumbfounded even more by his sudden change of mood. SkullSatamon however was not in the mood to explain further. After all, what evil overlord would take the time to explain what he was going to do to mere servants? He would keep what he had in mind at where it should be – in his mind. Nobody else needed to know. So far, only Grademon had realized what he was up to all these times, and Grademon was no longer walking the grounds of the Digital World, nor was he flying the air or swim in the depths of the Digital World. He could rest easy, knowing that his secret was safe.
'If the seven Darkshadow Brethren generals are all going to become Mega Digimon, then I might not need Adam anymore,' he mused silently. 'Then again, does this mean I have to root for the Wira Digital instead of my own generals?' He chuckled softly and turned away from his servants, heading back to his Horror Hall. "That's all," he said dismissively, gesturing for the two astounded Ultimates to leave the grounds of the Shadow Realm. "Come back whenever you have something big to report."
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WIRA DIGITAL
Chapter 51 – After Sunset
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Adam smiled to no one in particular, his eyes set on two figures that were just several meters before him, with their backs facing him. Along the tarred walkways within the park located before the majestic Petronas Twin Towers – buildings hailed as the tallest twin towers in the world – Adam observed the man in black work shirt and khakis pushing a wheelchair where a woman in pale green was sitting on. Their conversations were muffled, Adam could not hear what they were talking about, but that could be attributed to the sounds of kids yelling ecstatically from the playground nearby, or the sounds of fountains ready for their nightly display. It was approaching evening, and elsewhere the mild traffic sounds were almost ignorable. The sun was peeking behind several skyscrapers around the Kuala Lumpur City Center park, its light reflected by the glassy surfaces of some buildings and more prominently the windows of the eighty-eight storey Twin Towers. The sky was now a tint of blue and magenta, with thin clouds stretched all across the heavens, with dots of black moving about – birds, ready to return to their nests for the day.
Looking at his watch briefly, Adam realized that by this time, his Uncle and Aunt, and JD, would be on their way here to the shopping complex built at the base of the Twin Towers, placed strategically in the middle of the two towers. On Saturday night, the Suria KLCC mall was bound to be very busy. Smiling again, Adam could not shake off the elatedness he was feeling as he reflected the events taking place just this morning.
When he had dropped in to visit his sister at the hospital in the morning, he was instead greeted with good news. Alisha was set to be released, after almost two months of intensive therapy at the hospital. She was not able to walk much yet, but the broken bones on her legs were healing nicely and in another month or so she would be able to start walking again. The bones of her ribs had healed, and her arms which were the least injured, were able to work again. The IT Corporation where Alisha worked had offered her the position where she could do her work from home until she was ready to go back to the office, and Dr. Abu had arranged for a physical therapist to work with her at the comfort of her house. For Adam, he could not be happier; his sister would come home, and Adam would be able to stay with her again, after almost two months staying with his relatives. While he enjoyed staying with his uncle, aunt and especially with his cousin brother JD, Alisha was his remaining direct family and only sibling, and he loved her dearly. He could foresee that it would not be as easy a time he had had with his relatives, but he was eager nonetheless.
The only thing that was faltering his excitement was, 'I wonder how Josh is going to take this?'
It had been a week since their return from the 1500s, and throughout it Adam had noticed that there was a slight change in his cousin brother. JD seemed to look somewhat troubled whenever he thought that nobody would notice. At times during school, Adam would find JD brooding about at the isolated corners of the school grounds. However that did not change his attitude towards the other DigiWira; he still liked to tease them a lot, effectively annoying Gayathri and Liu Ying at times or sometimes even Dina and Belinda when they joined the DigiWira. However, Adam noticed that there seemed to be a strain between JD and Manny. It didn't however looked like they were fighting – JD and Manny would simply exchange quiet looks, and JD's expression would falter and Manny would look like someone had just shouted at him for not getting a job done, almost to the point of sadness, at times. When they talked to each other, the two boys sounded fine, but for Adam he thought that their exchanges seemed somewhat…fake? He did not know what to make out of this. He had not confided this to Liu Ying or Gayathri yet; perhaps he would, if by the following week the two former ShadoWira still acted the same way.
He couldn't, however, shake off the feeling that JD was hiding something from him. After all, he had spent quite a long time doing so himself, so Adam thought that he was experienced enough to detect easily when other people were hiding problems from him. He had tried coaxing JD about this a couple of times, but at both attempts his cousin would just brush off what Adam was thinking as silly or that Adam had quite an imagination, sometimes at the point of relentlessly teasing him again that Adam would just decide that it would be best to drop the subject altogether, as it would be the only way for JD to stop with what he had said to be his favorite pastime – playfully torturing Adam. And without the Saintly Siblings – both seemed to have taken a liking for Alisha and Dr. Abu that they had opted to stay at Alisha's ward instead of with Adam – Adam no longer had the advantage of escaping JD as he had done once before. He would drop the subject whenever JD insisted that Adam was only imagining things, but Adam knew better. Something was off, and JD was doing a spectacular job hiding it. 'I don't know what it is,' Adam thought pensively; he didn't like the notion of having his cousin brother being so secretive to him. 'But I'm going to find out.'
"Adam."
The soft call from his sister snapped Adam out of his reverie. He saw that Alisha and Dr. Abu now were looking at him, and their expressions were mirrored by the kitten and puppy sitting on Alisha's lap. "Yeah?" he said, approaching them somewhat awkwardly. Throughout the whole afternoon, he was beginning to suspect that there was more to his sister and the doctor other than just a patient and her doctor. For instance, a doctor would not be taking his patient out for a date now, would he? The two adults had been rather ambiguous when they told Adam to come along with them to KLCC with them this morning, and right now he felt like he was chaperoning the two older ones, which was, to him, pretty strange. He gave them a smile, and wondered what they would want to talk about with him.
"Why don't we sit down over there?" Dr. Abu beckoned for an empty bench not far from them, and pushed Alisha's wheelchair towards it. Adam nodded and followed them, before he and the doctor sat down, facing Alisha who remained on her wheelchair.
For a while, Adam waited, but neither his sister nor the doctor spoke up, but they were giving each other looks which reminded Adam of how Manny and Gayathri would be doing from time to time since they became an item. He blinked, realizing suddenly what was going on with the two adults. 'Oh! Oh…so that's what going on here…' He strained himself from smiling, instead asking with a solemn voice, "Uh…is there anything you want to ask me?" Adam readied himself for a declaration, and couldn't help but to feel happy for his sister.
"Adam, I don't know whether you know about this or not, but Dr. Abu and I actually go way back," Alisha began with a smile. She had told JD about this, but as she had also asked him to keep this to himself, perhaps Adam did not know about this just yet. "From university, actually – both of us attended University Malaya. When I entered my first year there, he was already a final year student of the medical faculty." She paused, watching her younger brother's expression carefully.
"Okay…" Adam nodded, wondering when they would just get to the point. It was not as if he was not expecting it already. Nobody had told him; he had seen all the signs by himself whenever he dropped by the hospital to visit his sister.
Alisha smiled again, this time at Dr. Abu. "We met at the university library. It was my first time, and the library was so big and expansive, I got lost. Then I bumped into him," she said with a small laugh, which was shared by both Dr. Abu and the somewhat-impatient-for-declaration Adam, although he hid it well. "He showed me around the library and we became friends. The next day he took me around the university compound to familiarize myself with the faculties, and the day after that…" She chuckled again, and Dr. Abu blushed. "I discovered that Abang Abu flunked a test…he was supposed to be studying for those two days, but instead he helped me out."
"It wasn't a big test and I managed to get a re-sit for it," Dr. Abu quickly said with a sheepish grin. "Luckily the professor knew me well and he was pretty lenient to not let the flunk grade affect my records."
"Of course. He wouldn't want a Dean's List student to have a bad record," Alisha pointed out with another chuckle.
Adam however was not really listening. He had caught a slight slip-up from his sister. Hadn't she been calling the doctor as Dr. Abu previously, and Adam then heard her shifting to the more affectionate Abang Abu. Could it be because of their five-year age gap, or something else altogether? Inwardly he grinned; this was perhaps the beginning of the declaration he was waiting for.
"We continued to become friends," this time it was Dr. Abu who continued the story. "For almost two months, until I was ready to ask your sister out. But then…"
"The accident took place." Alisha cast a long look at the setting sun. "I lost all desire to pursue any relationship, or anything that I thought would distract me from getting my degree. So I declined, without even telling why," she said, and something told Adam that she sounded somewhat regretful about it. "I ended up graduating one semester early, with double degrees, and with my professors' recommendations I managed to get a spot as an IT system analyst at the company I was working for now," she said. "Too set on finishing my studies I totally ignored Abang Abu and eventually lost touch with him after he graduated."
"I was busy with my housemanship training, but now I've passed that and advanced to a medical officer before I crossed path with you and your sister again." Dr. Abu placed a hand on Adam's shoulder, and his words reminded Adam of that fateful day when his sister was involved with a serious car accident. "From you I learned the real reason why Lisha cut off my attempt on asking her out. Before that day when I met you at the hospital, I really had no idea why, until you told me everything, Adam."
Adam nodded, remembering that day well. It was perhaps his second worst nightmare – the first being the day he had lost his parents and brother. He gave them a wistful smile, urging them to continue by saying, "And now…?" He couldn't stand it anymore – out with the declaration already, he thought.
"And now…" Dr. Abu gave Adam a long look. "I would like to ask your permission, Adam, for me to marry your sister."
"HUH?" Adam froze, before doing a double-take. He had seriously not been expecting that! Relationship, yes. Marriage? Talk about fast. Quickly gathering himself back, he stared at the young man's face in disbelief, shifting it back and forth between him and his sister. "M-m-marry? Now?"
"Uhh, not now," Dr. Abu said, blinking back his surprise at Adam's response. He shared a look with Alisha, who added, "We're thinking maybe two or three months from now, when I can at least stand properly and walk without wheelchair." Alisha's face grew solemn as she looked deep into Adam's gray irises. "But of course, I'll only agree to this if you're okay with this too, Adam."
"Huh? I mean…of course!" Adam sputtered. "I'm just surprised that you're asking for my permission, that's all."
"Of course we'll have to ask for your permission," Alisha said, grasping her brother's hands fondly. "You're the only direct male family member I have, and by right, you're the one who can give me away in hands of marriage. Our father's passed away, Zad has passed away too, and so have our grandfathers. We still have Pak Long but he's back at our kampong, and Uncle Johan is not really directly-related to us, although he is family."
"Oh…" Adam didn't know what to think or say. His eyes darted to the doctor and he assessed the man up and down with scrutiny. Instantly reminded of Dr. Abu's kindness to him when he was distressed about his sister's condition, Adam saw no reason of objecting to this. He liked Dr. Abu and thought that Dr. Abu would definitely be a perfect match for his sister. They looked like a match made in heaven. His sister would be in good hands. But if they were to marry… "Where would this leave me?" Adam found himself asking, out of insecurity.
"What do you mean?" Alisha and Dr. Abu both asked sharply, evidently surprised at the inquiry.
"I would have thought…since you're going to marry and become newlyweds…and they say two's a company, three's a…" Adam could not finish his words, for Dr. Abu's chuckles had interrupted him. Some of the passersby glanced their way due to the doctor's laugh, and Adam pouted, without the intention of wanting to do so. Why was the doctor laughing? It wasn't funny at all.
"Adam, Adam…" Dr. Abu said finally. "When I'm asking your sister's hand in marriage, I know perfectly well that she won't agree to this if I were to choose only her and not you as well. And believe me, I'm perfectly happy to have you too. There's no reason for you to worry at all. In fact…do you know that I am an only child?" he added with a smile, giving Adam a long look. "It'll be great to have a little brother who can double-up as a free live-in babysitter for our children…ouch!" Alisha had turned red at the last comment and had pinched his arm, while Adam sweatdropped. But then the three of them shared a laugh; it was the first time Adam saw the doctor joking. Then the doctor's face turned solemn as he said, "But I meant what I've said, you don't have anything to worry about. You strike me as a good lad, who wouldn't want you to be their brother?"
Adam was stunned at the doctor's words, and surges of emotion began to well up, but he controlled it so well that all he had let out was a blush, and a warm smile. His voice however, seemed to have been kept locked deep inside his throat.
"I think Congratulations is due!" Patamon's voice rang out from Adam's Digivice.
"What is marriage?" Salamon pondered, looking at Dr. Abu, then at Alisha, his gaze then shifted to Adam before finally landing his twin sister Gatomon. "Won't anybody tell me?"
"You silly puppy," Gatomon huffed. "Didn't you watch enough TV already to know what marriage is? It's….well….uhh…." The white Egyptian kitten scrunched her adorable face as she searched for a correct definition. "It's a way to legalize mating between humans!" she declared, and instantly all three humans sweatdropped, while Dr. Abu and Alisha turned deep crimson at Gatomon's comment.
"Oh…" Salamon said in wonder. "Wow Gatomon, you're so smart!"
"Don't I know it?" Gatomon returned proudly, her tail swishing back and forth, happy to hear her twin brother's compliment.
"That's one way to put it…" Alisha muttered.
"I'll say," Abu said, before looking back at Adam. "So, Adam….what do you say?"
"Of course," Adam said ecstatically as he grinned at his sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law. He was happy to see that his sister had found the man she wanted to be with – it would mean that they would have a family once again. It would definitely be great, Adam thought, to have Dr. Abu as a brother-in-law to him, and a husband to his sister – the doctor looked like someone who could guide them with many things in life. For Adam and Alisha both, having lost their parents and brother, Dr. Abu's inclusion in their small family would be an invaluable addition for them to have a new start in their life again – after the accident. "Sure. Definitely. Without a doubt. But…" Adam scratched his hand as he looked at the two adults. "I thought that there's a special kind of traditional ceremony for this kind of thing, where…I dunno…the guy's family members or relatives would come to meet the girl's family and….well, talk things out, before the two families agreed and the guy and the girl are considered engaged? Umm…this is considered as an engagement, right?"
"Well…" Alisha said, smilingly. "It's kind of an unofficial engagement, and yes, there's a special kind of ceremony for this, but then…with my condition, and you're being the only direct family I have…"
"Actually, we've talked about it too," Abu said as he rubbed his nape, grinning at Adam somewhat sheepishly. "We've decided…the engagement part will be this one, unofficially done, in front of you. The marriage part will be done ceremoniously, of course. I take it you don't have anything against this?"
Adam smiled, shook his head, and shrugged. "No problems with that. When exactly do you want to get married?" he asked.
"Well…why don't you pick a date, Adam?" Alisha said with a tender smile. "You get to take part in this too, so you get to choose the wedding date."
"Would immediately be too soon?" Abu asked jokingly, again showing a side of him which he so rarely showed, given his serious profession. "I'll have to take you two back at my parents' house some time. They have been badgering me to get married before I reach thirty, and I'll turn twenty-eight in a couple of months. They'll be so ecstatic when they know about this for sure."
Adam took the information in, already making mental calculations. "If Kak Lisha's going to be fully healed in a couple of months, and Dr. Abu…"
"Ahem," Abu interrupted Adam, his grin never faltered. "If I'm going to marry your Kak Lisha, it's only appropriate if you call me big brother."
Adam blinked. "Oh…ok. If Abang Abu is going to have his birthday also in two months time…" Adam's voice trailed off as his eyes widened, as another important date crossed his mind. "Kak Lisha's going to turn twenty-three in two months as well! Why not…choose a time between your birthdays? That way you can have three occasions to celebrate every year in July."
"July does sound good," Alisha murmured. It was now the seventh day of May; they would have roughly two months to prepare. "Of course, if it's going to be a simple wedding…"
"Simple is what I'd like," Abu said, but then he let out a grin which indicated that he was having doubts, "but my folks are always telling me that since I'm an only child, my wedding is going to be huge."
"So that means I'll have to be fully healed," Alisha decided, staring at her long skirt, which obscured the plastered-and-bandaged legs of hers.
"How about…"
Adam didn't have the chance to finish what he was going to say, as suddenly, the earth rumbled as sparks of black lights burst forth from the air all around the large park. This caused uproar from the other people, as the sparks hovered close to the Twin Towers, concentrating towards the middle before they became a circular doorway of blackness.
"What's going on?" Adam gasped, and immediately looked out for his sister and her boyfriend. Abu was steadying himself as well as the wheelchair where Alisha was sitting, but the quakes suddenly ceased. Salamon and Gatomon looked thoroughly disturbed; Gatomon's eyes were slanted as her furs stood up, similar to a cat's way of responding when it encountered a threat. Salamon too, reacted with a way akin to a dog; he was growling softly. The two Digimon's eyes were staring towards the black gateway.
"Digimon, Adam!" Patamon said in panic. "I can sense it…lots of them…"
For a moment nothing came forth; but then avian shrieks were heard as a flock of Velgemon flew out from the portal, one after another. The buzzards wasted no time in circling the skyscrapers around the park, their shrieks induced panic from the hundreds of people in the park. Adam counted that there were at least twenty Velgemon flying around, and quickly looked around him. Nobody but his sister and soon-to-be brother in law were around, and they knew of his secret. Immediately Adam took out his Digivice, allowed Patamon out, and began their transformation sequence.
Digital Access Digivolution, HAAAAA!!
"Whoa…." Abu and Alisha stared as Adam and Patamon transformed into motes of white radiance, coalesced together in midair before joining as one bigger orb of light. The orb spun and a man in a fetal position appeared within it, before he flexed his body up and eight shining wings spread out from his back. White armor enveloped his body, followed by steel plates over the torso, steel boots around the foot, and thin guards coating his arms. Metallic wings were mounted on his shoulder as a silver-white visor materialized over his face. Dark sleek hair fluttered against the wind as a silver sword appeared on his right hand; the man then raised the sword towards the sky and let out a shower of bright white orbs of light which completed the intricate details of his newly-digivolved form, before he called out his name.
Aldiyamon!
"Yaay! Go Aldiyamon!" Gatomon and Salamon cheered.
"Adam…" This was the first time Alisha witnessed her younger brother's transformation into the Wira Digital of Light, and she couldn't help but feel very proud of him. A smile graced her beautiful face; she knew there and then, watching the angelic knight before her, that everything would be fine. She had heard of the Wira Digital's exploits, and all had been good except for one incident which led Adam to be hospitalized, but then again, the two Rookies sitting on her thighs had somehow healed him back to perfect health.
Abu in the meantime was perplexed beyond belief; while he knew of Adam and the other four DigiWira being the famous heroes of their country and the Digital World, he had just taken the information with stride, not really wanting to think much about it for it was beyond unbelievable. Now, staring at the knight floating before them, taller than most humans with his seven-foot stature, with twinkles of light shimmering from his very being, armed with an impressive-looking sword, shielded by the metallic wings, and with wings that looked formidable yet graceful at the same time, he felt a swell in his heart. 'This is my future brother-in-law…?' he thought with awe and amazement. 'Looking at him this up-close…he is amazing!'
"Kak Lisha, Abang Abu, stay safe," Aldiyamon said with his resonance, slightly echoic, voice which sounded like a matured version of Adam's still-boyish voice. The shrieks of the Velgemon grew wilder; they had obviously seen him, with the lights radiating about him. He had no doubt that other people too had seen him, but hoped that they had not seen his preliminary forms.
"No, Adam…it's you who should stay safe," Alisha said softly. "Take care."
Aldiyamon nodded and shot towards the sky, hearing the people gasping at the sight of him. The Wira Digital, by this time, were quite well-known figures and some were starting to cheer for him. The angelic knight however ignored the cheers, and sailed as fast as he could towards the nearest flock of Velgemon. The buzzards caught sight of the radiant hero and circled around him. Charging his Radiant Faith quickly, Aldiyamon punched a stream of white light towards one Velgemon, deleting it with ease. Five Velgemon retaliated by firing lasers upon him, but Aldiyamon teleported out of the lasers' paths, causing the lasers to burn through the Velgemon instead. The dark saurian buzzards however were not deleted – their lasers had singed only their wings and they were durable enough to withstand their own attacks.
Aldiyamon reappeared behind the five Velgemon, and with his sword in tow he charged towards them. The blade of his Heavenstar Gladius glimmered bright silver as Aldiyamon slashed it against one incoming Velgemon, and again towards the Velgemon who tried clawing his wings. Three Velgemon had been deleted, but seventeen remained and three were currently charging at him. Quickly the Wira Digital of Light created a pillar of light by slashing his sword in midair, and it slammed against the buzzards, destroying them. The cheers grew louder and Aldiyamon raised his sword as fifteen Velgemon all simultaneously fired their lasers upon him. Quickly he generated his Deistic Guard, but realized the folly of his plan quickly when the defensive sphere reflected the lasers haphazardly everywhere. Sounds of glass shattering were heard as several lasers shot towards the windows of the Twin Towers. Rumbling was heard; several other lasers had slammed upon the telecommunications tower right beside the Twin Towers. Vaporized sounds hinted Aldiyamon that some lasers had harmlessly connected with the waters from the fountain in front of the Suria KLCC shopping mall's entrance. People shrieked as some lasers missed them by an inch or nearly sliced their bodies into half, and Aldiyamon quickly teleported them away, locking in the shopping mall as the point of refuge. He lowered his shield and his sword was the first to catch on the lasers, and out of surprise Aldiyamon had let go of it, and it was flung towards a place near where Aldiyamon had came from.
"Oh no," Aldiyamon gasped softly. His eyes trailed up, seeing that some of the buildings around them had caught fire due to the Velgemon's lasers. Blares of police cars and fire-engines echoed from the roads – he saw the police barricading the park from the people, some of them ushering the people who were still inside the park to safety. For a while he wondered of Alisha and Abu, hoping that they were safe. "I have to end this quickly," he decided.
Seeing that Aldiyamon was now without his sword, the Velgemon's shrieks became louder as they all plummeted towards the knight, murderous intent glinted from their shining crimson eyes. Not wanting to endanger the lives of the innocent citizens or damaging the buildings any more than the battle had caused, Aldiyamon soared towards the sky as fast as he could, luring the Velgemon to follow him. When they reached the level where no other buildings except the top-most level of the Twin Towers were visible, Aldiyamon halted, spun around and called out the Final Purification, blasting the incoming Velgemon with streams of white light generated from his very being, with bluish white orbs and feathers coalescing around the lasers. Aldiyamon focused the Mega-class technique on a group of three Velgemon first, successfully destroying them before moving towards a second group of three, deleting them without much difficulty, and moved on towards the remaining nine Velgemon. Intent on finishing the battle as soon as possible, Aldiyamon roared and exerted even more power, and the beams of light he was generating burst forth with renewed vigor, slamming against the Velgemon forcefully, one by one ripping them apart into data particles.
"What's going on here?" Aldiyamon panted heavily, beginning to feel fatigued after destroying fifteen Ultimates. His eyes darted towards the circular portal, which remained where it was, hovering silently. His breaths began to steady, Aldiyamon however felt that the worse had yet to come. 'Do the others know about this?' He soon realized that even if the others had been made known about this, it would take them a while to reach the battle site. He was on his own for now.
A simper was heard, coming from the black portal. A second chuckle, dark and menacing as the first, soon followed. Aldiyamon could not see anybody else, but realized that he was right; the worse had yet to come. He could not help but to feel that these laughs sounded familiar.
"A Wira Digital, alone?" a silky voice, the one Aldiyamon had heard first, asked. There was a mocking tone laced underneath the calm way the addresser was talking, and hearing it Aldiyamon gasped softly.
'Impossible…'
"Good," the second voice added, a crotchety voice far contrasting the first speaker. Compared to the first one, this voice sounded somewhat ill-tempered. "Perfect timing!"
Aldiyamon recognized the voices now – how could he forget about them? Adam's life was once terrorized by them, in the cruelest deception ever. He thought that they were done for. How is this possible, he thought silently, his heart thumping so wildly that he could almost feel them probing through the steel breastplate protecting his torso.
"Surprise, angel-boy." With the calm remark, two figures stepped out from the portal. A great dark satyr and a scarlet demon wielding a pitchfork – they were the Wira Digital of Light's greatest enemies. Upon the sight of the two demonic creatures, petrified shrieks were heard and about three people, those with weaker spirits, had fainted. Some screamed out all sorts of proclamations damning the two creatures, which Mephistomon and Phelesmon paid no heed. They could just finish those ignorant, annoying mortals anytime they wanted, but for now, they were saving all their powers on Aldiyamon. They had been beaten once by Aldiyamon and the other Wira Digital; they would not take any chances.
"YOU?!" Aldiyamon shouted, his whole body shivering as his suspicion was proven true. "Puaka Generals! How did you…?"
"In the flesh," Mephistomon said coolly. His whole body was coated with a black aura, made prominent once the black portal moved towards the sky, right above the tips of the Twin Towers. The same was true for Phelesmon, and the black aura coating him was even more apparent due to his blazing red complexion. The Puaka Generals stood side by side, their faces reflecting the mirth they were feeling upon observing Aldiyamon's surprised reaction. "As for your inquiry, let's just say," Mephistomon said, as he flexed and extended his fingers, sounding somewhat bored, but his eyes glinted with feverish dark aura, "you're just not that strong enough to beat us."
"Why ask? Did you miss us?" Phelesmon said mockingly. He then pointed his pitchfork towards Aldiyamon, growling, "Because we sure don't miss you! Black Statue!"
Shocked of the suddenness of the attack, but at the same time knowing that he couldn't raise his Deistic Guard in fear of having Phelesmon's attack reflected upon the buildings around them again, Aldiyamon quickly teleported the black thunderbolt out from his path, purified it with his power of light, and deflected it back towards Phelesmon. The white thunderbolt slammed upon the red devil, but to his surprise the white bolt shattered upon contact while Phelesmon was unharmed. For a while Phelesmon was blanketed with black aura before it reverted back to its original form, layering the edges of his body with a thin coat of black light.
"That attack won't work against us anymore," Phelesmon said, and fired again his Black Statue. "On the other hand, I wonder how much of my attacks you could take before your power wears out, hmm?"
"Let's test him altogether," Mephistomon said, and raised his hand forward. "Death Cloud!"
The thunderous black cloud and the black thunderbolt merged together to form a surge of black energy heading towards the radiant knight. Aldiyamon was not fast enough, and was blasted by it so thoroughly that he let out a scream of pain. It sent him plummeting towards the park and the Puaka Generals' victorious laugh ensued.
"Revenge is indeed a best dish served cold," Mephistomon said, emphasizing on his last word as his voice too became far chilling than before. "You've caused us much grief, Aldiyamon, and now you're going to pay for it, in multifold. Death Cloud!"
"What about the grief you've caused me?" Aldiyamon screamed, and while still prone on the ground he cried out in retaliation, "Final Purification!"
The blast of holy light instantly drowned the black clouds and slammed against Mephistomon soundly; the dark Ultimate had barely able to cross his arms against his chest to protect himself. The stream of white radiance pushed him back and Mephistomon tried his best to resist it. Then, with a loud guttural roar he shook off the attack completely, and smirked at Aldiyamon's shocked face. The black aura coating his body did the same thing which Phelesmon's had demonstrated earlier; Mephistomon was far protected from the power of light with it than he had been during their previous battle with Aldiyamon. He then wiped both hands, as if removing dirt from them and let out a sinister chuckle.
"Oh, but this is deliciously marvelous!" Mephistomon said. "Even your Mega-class attack doesn't work against us! What luck! What good luck! We have hoped that the protection Lucemon bestowed upon us would protect us against some of your weaker attacks that correspond to your level, but we've apparently underestimated the Hellion General's prowess."
Aldiyamon drew his breath in sharply as Mephistomon and Phelesmon both held out their hands simultaneously. Black electricity crackled around their hands as they charged an attack which seemed like a final one, in order to finish him off once and for all. For a moment, Aldiyamon did not know what he could do. He had lost his sword and his Final Purification – his strongest attack – did not work.
"Hope you'll rot at wherever you're going to end up at, Aldiyamon!" Phelesmon roared.
A whooshing sound was heard from a distance and the Puaka Generals cried in shock as something silver and sharp slammed upon their hands from out of nowhere. A deafening clang ensued as the intrusive object – a familiar sword – made contact with the metallic bracelets they wore around their wrists. The shining blade had successfully sliced a portion of their skins before heading back to where it had came from, and by glancing sideways the demons saw two diminutive creatures – a white kitten and a beige puppy – leaped towards the air and caught the spinning sword together, the kitten by grabbing the blunt edges of the sword with its front paws and the puppy by biting the sword's hilt.
"What is this?" Mephistomon said incredulously. "More Digimon? How ridiculous….ahh, I know of you two. The Saintly Siblings. The stench from your lights is still recognizable." The satyr said it all with an extreme distaste in his mouth, evidence from the way his mouth quirked and his eyes flashed in hatred.
"Hmm," Phelesmon said, and pointed his pitchfork towards the two Rookies. "So they have survived too? No matter, they will not see the light of day again! Black…"
Salamon and Gatomon did not reply to the Puaka Generals. Instead, they were now rushing towards where Aldiyamon was lying as fast as their legs could take them, the Heavenstar Gladius now balanced by Gatomon's paws with Salamon still having the sword's hilt in his mouth for he was running on all fours. They did not seem to realize that Phelesmon was now targeting them – they still had quite a distance to go before they could reach the weakened Aldiyamon.
"Oh no!" Aldiyamon saw what Phelesmon was about to do, and attempted to teleport the Saintly Siblings out of harm's way before he was struck by black stream of light. The attack electrocuted Aldiyamon severely – the steel armor he wore further conducted the electrical bolts. Any normal human would not survive the attack, but Aldiyamon was able to shake it off with his power of light before successfully grounding the thunderbolt towards the soft soil where he was lying on. Blood trickled out from the corner of his mouth, indicating that he was internally injured.
"Oh no, you don't!" Mephistomon said with glee, and nodded towards Phelesmon. "Do it."
"…STATUES!"
Two great black thunderbolts shot towards Gatomon and Salamon, approaching them with lightning speed. Aldiyamon gasped in horror as the thunderbolts made contact with the two Rookies and an explosion soon ensued. Smokes, stones and debris went flying everywhere, and the Heavenstar Gladius landed on the grassy ground, its blade sunk halfway into the earth, but Aldiyamon did not care for it. A tear streaked down his cheek; the two Rookies had sacrificed their lives to get his sword back to him. If only he had been quick enough to save them, he thought sorrowfully. Memories pertaining to the two Rookies crossed his mind in a flash – they were hatched right before Adam and had stayed with him, and had helped ease his sorrow when his sister was still in her comatose state. They were like Adam and Patamon's younger siblings in more than one way, and now they were gone, just so that Aldiyamon could continue fighting.
Watching the smokes still not subsiding, Aldiyamon's sorrow began to turn to anger, especially with the Puaka Generals' laughter emanating from the background, made more terrible by the fact that their laughter was the only thing Aldiyamon could hear in his mind right now. But then, from within the smokes, Aldiyamon saw shadows of two figures, both bigger and taller than the two siblings had been. Then the Puaka Generals' laughter died down in a blink of the eye, as if somebody had pressed a mute button on a remote controller, when the silhouettes became more prominent. Aldiyamon blinked; he could have sworn that he had caught blinks of light violet and pink lights from the smokes, but it was hard to tell. Then a flash of white light erupted, washing out the smokes completely, and Aldiyamon and the Puaka Generals were left speechless of the figures that were within the smokes.
The two figures were the complete antithesis for the Puaka Generals, and resembled Aldiyamon in many ways. One of them, clearly male, was a strapping man with burnish blonde hair wearing a white suit under black steel chest armor. His left arm was flexed up, and a purple shield was affixed on it – the shield was currently radiating with the purple light Aldiyamon thought he had seen earlier. This man was also an angelic knight, proven easily with the four pair of silver wings which grew out of his back which resembled Aldiyamon's wings, and the similarities ended with his manteau shaped the same way as Aldiyamon's, but his was a shade of lavender while Aldiyamon's was silver-white. Golden-colored ribbon with ancient digital runes inscriptions was crisscrossed over his body and formed an arch over his head. He lowered his shield and cast a look at Aldiyamon, offering him a gracious smile.
Beside the male angel was his slimmer female counterpart, dressed somewhat scantily in white leather suit which covered her left leg while leaving the right one bare, also exposing her shoulders and toned abdomen. Golden wing-shaped clasps were worn over her bosom and her gloved left hand held a white bow. Her face was masked by a steel mask with jewels studded over it and white wings decorating the sides of the steel mask. Her long shining blonde hair fluttered against the wind, and so were her eight pure white wings and her pink ribbons. Similar to the male angel, the ribbons also formed an arch above her head and the feathery lower ends billowed softly over the grounds – something seemed to be keeping the ribbons from touching the grounds. She was radiating with soft pink light and her mouth was quirked in a haughty-like smile as she met Aldiyamon's gaze.
"We're back…" the male angel said, inspecting his form. His voice was courteous, yet laced with nobleness and power.
"…to our Ultimate forms!" the female angel finished, her voice glossy, strong and feminine at the same time.
"And I remembered everything…" the male said, sounding a little confused, but it was hard to tell for his expression did not falter. "Angewomon, what about you?"
The one referred to as Angewomon nodded curtly. "I remember," she said; now shooting a glare towards the Puaka Generals. Though her eyes were obscured by her mask, the glare was made apparent from the way her lips were set thin. "Three centuries ago, they've beaten us, and changed us into those dreaded fallen angels LadyDevimon and NeoDevimon, and made us their decoys against the heirs of Grademon. Unforgivable. Come, MagnaAngemon, talk and reminiscing later, we have work to do."
Angewomon soared towards the sky and generated an arrow of light from her left hand, and affixed it on the string of her white bow. "Hear this, Puaka Generals! You'll be judged for your dark and heinous crimes today! Celestial Arrow!" The arrow of light streaked towards Mephistomon and Phelesmon, and pierced their shoulders. Dark liquid oozed out from their shoulders, and Angewomon smirked as she threw her head back towards MagnaAngemon, who had soared above her. "Do it, brother!"
MagnaAngemon nodded and a purple blade was extended out from the bracelet he wore on his right wrist. "Gate of Destiny!" Using the blade, MagnaAngemon drew a circle of light and instantly a gateway was formed. A world of nothingness appeared within the gateway as a gust of wind blew out from it and towards the two Puaka Generals, wrapping their invisible hands around the generals before pulling them it like vacuum. The nearby trees swayed towards the gateway as well, the wind from the gate seemed to be pulling them in as well. Mephistomon and Phelesmon struggled their hardest to avoid being pulled in by the gate, but the angel did not look bothered at all. With a wave of his bladed hand the Gate of Destiny was instead pushed nearer to the Puaka Generals. "You should know by now," MagnaAngemon proclaimed, his voice gentle but forceful at the same time as he continued, "if dear Aldiyamon is not able to beat you two today, we, the Saintly Siblings, will do the task for him! Never will the Real World and the Digital World be tarnished by your malignant presences again!"
"Try as you might, you can't make us surrender that easily!" Phelesmon roared.
"Wanna bet?" Angewomon said, fluttering behind the Puaka Generals, her words etched with venom. She then emitted sparkles of pink glitters which washed upon the two Puaka Generals, and smirked upon seeing them froze in place as she clasped her hands together. A cross made out of pink light materialized before her hands, and with a loud grunt she threw her arms sideways. The cross of light remained, and Angewomon exclaimed grandly, "Heaven's Charm!"
The blast of holy energy slammed upon Mephistomon and Phelesmon and had actually lifted them off their feet, and they were sent sailing towards the gaping gateway that MagnaAngemon had generated. From a quite safe distance, Aldiyamon watched with absolute awe for the Saintly Siblings. Never had he thought that Salamon and Gatomon were this powerful, how fluidly and effortlessly they were making the Puaka Generals fall under their power. He struggled to stand up, and had actually needed his sword to balance himself, for he was feeling rather weak. This day was the first day ever he had exerted the Final Purification more than he had done before, and he was very surprised to see that he still retaining his Wira Digital form. He shook those thoughts off, his eyes now watching as the Puaka Generals slowly floating towards the wide-open gateway, his heart thumping in wild anticipation. However, he did not anticipate Mephistomon's laughter to come, and was perplexed. What kind of person would laugh upon meeting death?
"Sorry to say, I have no intention of getting myself killed so easily!" Mephistomon announced, as his eyes glowed red. The black glow which was coating his body emanated even darker, and at that very same time Phelesmon too reacted the same way. A soft sound of a shattering glass was heard and once more the Puaka Generals were able to move. Then with a slick gesture of his hand Mephistomon shot out ribbons of black energy towards MagnaAngemon's gate. The ribbons clasped the corners of the gate, and with another forceful flick of his arm the ribbons constricted the gate, before it was destroyed in showers of data particles. "See what I mean?" he asked silkily.
MagnaAngemon threw back his fist, before pushing it forward, exclaiming heatedly, "Hand of Fate!"
Mephistomon actually held his hand forward as the stream of silver-lavender light from MagnaAngemon's fist was pushed against it. He let out a simper before crushing the stream of light effortlessly, no longer bearing the pain of having to counter an attack based of light. Another stream of light came his way and struck his chest, but still Mephistomon was not fazed. He merely rubbed the part of his chest slammed by the attack, and chuckled, "That actually feels a bit sore," he commented lightly, as if remarking about the weather, "but ignorable, at best. However I have to give you credit, for it is on par with Aldiyamon's Radiant Faith fist attack, I have to say. Fortunately though, were he to strike me with it I can ignore it as I have done with yours."
"Let's see if you can take this on again. It injured you before; it'll do so again no doubt!" Angewomon exclaimed, her voice more erratic than her twin as she fired her Celestial Arrow.
With a guttural growl Phelesmon charged towards the incoming arrow and struck it with his pitchfork. For a while it looked like the two attacks were evenly matched, before the pitchfork emitted a black thunderbolt which destroyed the arrow of light. "We were just taken off-guard that time around," Phelesmon said. "Don't think too highly of yourselves." He pointed his pitchfork towards the female saint, and shot out two black thunderbolts towards her, watching with a sadistic grin as the thunderbolts circled Angewomon, confusing her while neutralizing her attempt of countering them before they shot upon her, electrocuting her so severely that Angewomon was sent plummeting towards a tree, crashing upon it.
"Angewomon!" MagnaAngemon's voice became dangerously high as he pointed his blade towards the Puaka Generals. "You…if you harm her…"
"Oh, why don't you join your precious sister instead? Black Sabbath!!" Mephistomon generated a pool of pale blue substance, which looked like mercury from the way it was reflecting the lights. Eerie haunting moans were heard as several dark spirits rose from the pool and hovered around Mephistomon, before with a whip-like gesture by the satyr the spirits charged towards MagnaAngemon, moaning as they approached the grand angel. One of them destroyed by MagnaAngemon's blade strike, the other spirits were quick to seize his arms, body, legs and even wings, pulling him towards the sky, not stopping with their chilling moans at all. A glint sparked from Mephistomon's dark eyes, and the spirits all exploded, injuring MagnaAngemon along with them. The angel was thrown towards the ground, right next to Angewomon who was just beginning to get back up on her feet.
"I wonder…" Mephistomon said, lowering himself down so that he floated not too far from where Aldiyamon, MagnaAngemon and Angewomon were at. His gaze was fixed on the Saintly Siblings. "How did you manage to regain your true forms so quickly? And your memories too? Aldiyamon's return, I can understand….but you…oh, can this be true?" A grin formed on the dark demon's face. "Reformatted regular Digimon don't gain the memory of their previous lives as easily as reformatted partner Digimon…so the perfectly suitable explanation is…"
Mephistomon left his sentence hanging as he flew towards a distance, and shortly later, a terrified feminine scream was heard, followed by a gasp from a man. Mephistomon returned, and to Aldiyamon and the Saintly Siblings' shock he returned with Alisha and Abu, each held by one hand. The two humans were obviously struggling, but with Mephistomon being bigger they had no chance to escape his grasps. His hand alone was big enough to enclose their entire body. The general laughed loudly, and this was followed by Phelesmon.
Angewomon looked like she was going to strike at the Puaka Generals, but MagnaAngemon restrained her hand; there was no telling what the evil duo would do to Alisha and Abu if they acted brashly.
"They've become partners!" Phelesmon said. "Partners to these two, no doubt! They're the only humans foolish enough not to run from this park." A grin spread from his face as he shot a look at Aldiyamon. "And…isn't this the woman who is the elder sister to the guy you impersonated, Mephistomon? What was his name again? Aizad?" Phelesmon roared in laughter.
"Let them go!" Aldiyamon shouted angrily and charged towards Mephistomon, sword ready to strike.
"Ah, ah, ah….not so fast, angel-boy," Mephistomon said calmly. "Can't you see that I have two human shields with me now? They are the most potent shield I have against you three. And come to think of it…" Aldiyamon halted in midair, unsure of what to do. The great satyr chuckled as he turned his right fist around slightly and examined Alisha's face. "Yes, Phelesmon, I believe this is her. You wouldn't by any chance…" There was a dark inviting tone in Mephistomon's voice, before to everyone's surprise his face shifted to that of a human male; tanned, dark-haired, brown eyes. "Recognize me?" He smirked, and the handsome face he was donning contorted evilly as he saw the colors on Alisha's face drained, and Aldiyamon's roar could be heard echoing.
"You leave her out of this!" Aldiyamon shouted, not daring to move at the same time in fear of causing Mephistomon to do the unthinkable. "Don't you dare wear Abang Zad's face! You…you're not worthy!" His voice began to waver; he knew that it was Mephistomon who was donning the expression of Adam's late brother, but he could not help in feeling weakened by it as well.
As for Alisha, she was momentarily mesmerized by the face of her deceased brother, but upon hearing Aldiyamon's enraged scream she snapped out of it, having heard of the story about the Puaka Generals' vicious deceptions on Adam. She had made peace with her brother and parents' deaths long ago, but seeing Aizad's face had awakened the sorrow she had felt when coming to terms of their departure two years before. She was rendered speechless, and a tear escaped her right eye. The imitation Mephistomon had made was uncannily precise.
Abu stared at the face, not recognizing it, but he knew of Alisha and Adam's history and felt angry as well. These demons…they had stepped so low in breaking Alisha and Aldiyamon. His heart ached when he saw Alisha crying, but knew that there was nothing he could do while being restrained by Mephistomon.
Mephistomon, donning the face of Aizad Ariff, cackled spitefully towards his enemies. The human face he wore contorted horribly as he laughed, before he reverted back to his original look. "What are you going to do now, weaklings? Aldiyamon, surely you are not thinking of invoking your Dark Digital Accessed form once again?" The way Mephistomon said it; it was as if he was actually luring Aldiyamon to do just that. "You are now a being of light, you can't harm us for we are now immune with all that is holy, sacred and pure. Why not let your anger take over you, and become the dark Aldiyamon, fueled with fury. Only that way can you beat us, I think," he added with a confident grin.
Aldiyamon however knew better than to heed Mephistomon's advice. He had done that mistake once; he would not do so again. Aldiyamon Fury Mode was a treacherous being and must never be unleashed ever again.
"Don't listen to him, Aldiyamon!" MagnaAngemon urged and flew up towards the Wira Digital. His memory of Aldiyamon Fury Mode had returned, and having faced it himself while he was NeoDevimon, he knew well how dangerous the darkened Aldiyamon could be. "You are better as you are right now. Don't let his words fool you." MagnaAngemon's voice was comforting; even if Aldiyamon had decided to pursue his darker form again, he might be swayed by the other angel's persuasion.
Angewomon silently followed her twin brother. "We still have another trick up our sleeves, we're not beaten yet," she said, shooting a venomous glare towards the Puaka Generals. "I'm warning you, Puaka Generals. Let go of our human partners right now, or…"
"Or what?" Phelesmon demanded. "Nothing you can come up with will be able to stop us!"
"Oh, I won't bet on that," Angewomon retorted. "Don't you remember that our fallen angel forms could DNA Digivolve into one Mega Digimon? Who's to say that they developed that ability on their own?"
The confident looks on Mephistomon and Phelesmon faltered a little. Seeing this was enough to convince the Saintly Siblings to pursue with what Angewomon had in mind.
"That is right," MagnaAngemon said, and laid a comforting hand on Aldiyamon's arm. "Aldiyamon, we'll save Kak Lisha and Abang Abu, don't worry. Leave those Puaka Generals to us."
"It's high time we settle a debt that is long due between them and us," Angewomon said, her voice intense. The female angel began glowing with myriad of silver and pink lights, and similarly her twin brother glimmered in hues of silver and lavender. The glows became brighter, more concentrated, before transforming into two motes of pink and lavender, soaring towards the air while emitting a buzzing sound, their voices echoed over the dusk sky as they initiated their DNA Digivolution sequence.
"Angewomon…"
"MagnaAngemon…"
"…DNA Digivolve to…"
xxx
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Author's Notes:
Finally we get to see the Saintly Siblings in action, and with the hints I have dropped all over the chapter you might know what's going to happen next. Sorry if the siblings' appearance is so sudden; a few scenes with them in any previous chapters were all cut out from the final releases, although I did try at least include some snippets of them from time to time. I had JD mentioning to Manny that the siblings are staying with Alisha during the Movie arc, and now their roles have evolved into something bigger.