Medieval Gallantmon watched with dread as Persiamon was enveloped in a purple digivolution cocoon. Immediately he launched towards the cocoon, hoping to stop Persiamon from fully digivolving into her Mega form. Thrusting his axe-bladed lance into the cocoon, he was surprised to hear a loud clang coming from inside the cocoon. Then seven dark energy hearts slammed upon him, corroding his armor like acid whilst sending him plummeting towards the sanctum's marbled floor. The floor cracked and the force from the attack had caused him to be driven in the middle of the large crack.
She's strong! Medieval Gallantmon searched for his lance, and gasped upon spotting it. He'd released his weapon after the sudden assault, and it had destroyed the table and the TV set. Without the TV the DigiWira couldn't make it to the sanctum. He struggled to get out from the crack, before a wild cackle was heard.
The cocoon had ceased, revealing a dark woman in Persiamon's place. Her only prominent feature within the darkness of the night was her bone-white complexion, eerily making her appear like a wraith. However, Medieval Gallantmon knew exactly what form Persiamon would achieve, since the Darkshadow Brethren were now utilizing the powers of the seven evils that had walked the grounds of Digital World eons ago. There was only one female member of the Seven Great Demon Lords.
"Lilithmon," he growled, now back to his feet.
"He knows how to play," cackled Lilithmon, her voice strong and clear. The way she spoke, the way her eyes widened as she spoke, and the way she moved her head about – she seemed to be constantly mocking her opponent. Sneering, she added, "Most would stand and watch like dumb fools, but you…you actually tried to attack me, trying to prevent me from digivolving!"
Her very being emitted violet aura, now allowing Medieval Gallantmon to see her features with clarity.
Lilithmon's face harbored traces of a former beauty, now looking wild with her shadowy eyes that were constantly wide, prominent cheekbones that contrasted her sunken cheeks, and a constant sneer on her purple lips. She had demonic horns sprouted from the sides of her head, which could easily be mistaken as part of the tiara she had to hold her ebony hair up in a bun. Demonic wings sprouted from her back. Dressed in a black corset and skintight leggings, with flowing purple sleeves and skirt, she projected a dangerous aura; one that shouldn't be trifled with. She was checking her long, dark-painted fingernails, but gazed in disdain upon seeing that her left hand had mutated into a golden hideous claw. Then, she shrugged uncaringly.
Medieval Gallantmon picked up his lance. He fumbled with it at first, before closing his hands around the middle shaft of the lance.
Lilithmon cackled, apparently noting his sluggishness.
He noticed her mocking him, and growled, "I'm warning you, Lilithmon…get out of this place, or I will be forced –"
"Oh please," she cut in. "One look at you, and I know that despite your powers, you're vastly inexperienced."
With a snarl, Medieval Gallantmon charged. He swung the pollaxe-half of his lance upon the demoness. She parried the blow, cackling, and caught the lance with her claw before pulling it towards her. He pulled the weapon back, but her hold on it was surprisingly strong. She then placed her other hand under her pursed lips, and blew out purple mist towards the knight, whispering,
"Phantom Pain."
"Mist?" he said incredulously, not bothering to move away from the mist.
"Wait for it. Three, two, one…."
He screamed; the edges of his pearly armor melted ever so slightly, letting out wisps of purple smokes. The mists had corroded his armor.
"There," said Lilithmon, smirking. "How about a second helping? Serpent Shadow Sutra!"
She flustered him even further by unleashing energy ribbons, similar in fashion in how she'd executed her Sekhmet Shadow Sutra while she was Persiamon. Now, this attack had evolved; the now-purple ribbons harbored the heads of cobras, hissing wildly as they snaked toward the knight. The ribbons then magically merged into one giant purple cobra which bore its fangs as it loomed over the diminutive-by-comparison Medieval Gallantmon. It opened its mouth, threatening to consume him if it wasn't stopped soon.
Medieval Gallantmon thrust his lance to stop the energy cobra from snapping its mouth shut, and in return the lance pierced through the mouth. Hissing wildly the cobra evaporated into thin air.
Lilithmon seemed unfazed. "Interesting. Perhaps I have underestimated you." With one rapid flick of her hand, ribbons flowed out again. This time around, they didn't shift into cobras but immediately wrapped around Medieval Gallantmon's lance. She attempted to seize the lance, but Medieval Gallantmon's grasp on it was strong.
"No way am I going to let you take my lance!"
"You don't exactly have a choice here," said Lilithmon, and yanked the lance out of the knight's grasp. "There. Toy's gone. Now let's play this game my way." She raised her hideous claw, smiling wildly as she gazed upon it. Her eyes turned blood red and an apparition of an eye rippled behind her. The claw began to shine with black and purple aura.
"I'm done playing," snapped Medieval Gallantmon, and was about to charge when the eye behind Lilithmon became more opaque. It was scarlet, and to his surprise, it blinked. And somehow, seeing this eye didn't bode well with him. The eye was very unusual, round like a dartboard, the pupil redder and slanted like a cat's. Lilithmon had been a deadly opponent so far, but he had never felt afraid of her as he was now. She'd managed to seize his weapon, which was now lying too far away for him to reach. If he wanted to retrieve it he would have to go past her, and it wasn't like she was going to allow him to do so easily.
"Too bad," said Lilithmon. "I'm just about to start!" The eye behind her released streaks of electricity upon her claw, and it shone with red aura. She jumped, and launched the claw towards Medieval Gallantmon. "Nazar Nail!"
Without my lance, there's only one way to get around this, thought Medieval Gallantmon grimly. He flexed his body and arms, and golden flames erupted around him. The flames coalesced upward before forming a fiery wyvern, with great flaming wings and long serpentine tail."Rage of Wyvern!" The dragon image opened its maw and disgorged streams of flames towards the incoming demoness.
Lilithmon pulled back, smirking. The flames hit an empty spot instead. "So you do have other means to attack without the lance."
"That and more," spat Medieval Gallantmon. The fiery wyvern remained standing behind Medieval Gallantmon.
"Darkness Love!" She placed a hand over her mouth and blew a kiss at him. As she swung her hand away from her mouth, several violet hearts made out purely from energy flew out from her mouth and tore through the dragon, slamming upon Medieval Gallantmon squarely on his body. The hearts clearly possessed corrosive effects as they began to work in corroding his armor.
Medieval Gallantmon screamed again. He made the wyvern release streams of flames upon him which destroyed the energy hearts, but also damaged his own armor and cape in return. Nevertheless, the corrosion effect was stopped and he was able to heave relieved breaths. Not too long after, sharp pains erupted from where the hearts had struck him. It was twice he'd been at the receiving end of the energy hearts, and he knew that underneath his armor, he was injured. His knees began to buckle.
"Oh, you've reached the peak of your oh-so-glorious power up," laughed Lilithmon. "It's too bad; I'm just getting warmed up."
Goaded, with a loud snarl he charged towards Lilithmon, appearing to want to strike at her empty-handed. She readied herself to intercept his attack, but Medieval Gallantmon had other thing planned. Before reaching her he rolled sideways, grabbed his lance, and with a roar he slashed the jaded tip of the weapon upon Lilithmon, catching her by surprise.
Nevertheless, she successfully blocked it with her claw and pushed it down. "Didn't we just do this?"
"Not this one," grunted Medieval Gallantmon, eyes glinting. "Final Crest!"
Eyes widened, Lilithmon was blasted point-blanc with a thunderous energy blast from the jaded tip of her foe's lance. It slammed her straight on the torso, sending her flying. Before she managed to gather herself she saw Medieval Gallantmon used the same attack again, and once more she was blasted away against a pillar. Another blast, and she managed to roll away just in time – the blast caught the pillar instead and sent it tumbling down. The attack suddenly ceased; Lilithmon saw Medieval Gallantmon looking frazzled upon having destroyed a part of the Forest Sanctum, and smirked. She now saw an opening to retaliate. Quickly she wiped the blood that trickled from the side of her mouth with her sleeves, got back up on her feet and flapped her wings, sending her airborne.
"Looks like the guardian of the sanctum is destroying the sanctum himself," she mocked. "Why not let me help you?"
"No! Not the sanctum!"
"Oh hush, no need to be shy..."
She unleashed torrents of Darkness Love towards one of the remaining three marble pillars of the sanctum, sending it crashing over the artificial fountain. That agitated Medieval Gallantmon even more, and he charged upon her, attempting to stop her by slashing and hacking the energy hearts that came his way. His movements, while had little traces of skill and more likely fueled by rage, hinted Lilithmon of his inexperience. Shrugging him off, she simply flew away towards another pillar. This time she energized her Nazar Nail claw and made one clean strike upon it. A diagonal violet line appeared before it, before the upper half of the pillar slid down and crashed upon the other pillar.
"There! All done!" cackled Lilithmon.
"You…you…" Speechless, Medieval Gallantmon simply drew out one hand and released a jet of red lightning towards her. He saw the demoness caught the lightning based attack with her claw, not bothering to move her claw until he was forced to withdraw the attack. The remnant of the lightning entered Lilithmon's claw, forming a sphere.
With a grin, Lilithmon crushed the sphere effortlessly and blew the data remnants of her hand. "Now, play time is over."
"You're not getting away with this! Final Crest!" Seeing that Lilithmon had a difficulty in countering this attack, Medieval Gallantmon used it against her. He however, didn't take into account that he'd simply caught her unaware when he used this technique the first and second time around.
Lilithmon used her claw and hand both to intercept this attack, and slowly made her way towards Medieval Gallantmon, all the while chuckling darkly. Her foe was powerful, but she could sense his power dwindling. He had mentioned that his power stemmed from the sanctum. She suspected that with the sanctum partially destroyed the power within it was dying as well. Medieval Gallantmon had been more powerful earlier; his weakened state could be attributed either because he was injured or his power supply was waning. Either way, it benefited her. Smiling, she exerted some of her own dark power into her claw and hand, causing Medieval Gallantmon's attack to be deflected haphazardly around the sanctum.
"Medieval Gallantmon's destroying the Forest Sanctum, HA HA HA HA HA!!" she mocked the knight.
"No!" Medieval Gallantmon stopped attacking, and realized a little bit too late that he'd just given his enemy the opening. Before long, he was blasted with her energy hearts once again, sending him flying towards the destroyed fountain. His body slammed upon the sun staff and wrecked it before he crashed over the fountain.
Lilithmon walked towards the fallen Medieval Gallantmon.
"Looks like its time to wrap up our play session, hmm?" she asked with a mock-soothing voice.
"I'm not beaten yet!"
"Yes, I think so too, since," Lilithmon grinned, "you've been a wonderful help for me in destroying this place. I didn't even break a nail in getting down and dirty!"
Medieval Gallantmon was disgusted. His hand gripped his lance tight; the only mistake he hadn't repeated – he'd managed to still maintain hold of his weapon. However, his enemy saw it and stepped on the lance, preventing him from raising it to attack her. He growled, she grinned.
Lilithmon made one sweeping look around the sanctum, and carelessly sent energy hearts across her shoulder repeatedly. As silly as her action might seemed to be, the effect was disastrous. The energy hearts were like bombs that exploded upon contact. Explosions were heard in the background, but her attention was fixed solely on Medieval Gallantmon who began to glow with faint golden aura. His lance combusted into data particles and in a swirl of light he devolved back into TobuCatmon, following the complete destruction of the sanctum.
"There! Play time's ended!" cackled Lilithmon, and extended her hand. A jeweled sphere rolled out from her sleeve. "No point in wasting precious data, hmm?"
TobuCatmon's eyes widened. "What are you…"
"Shh. Just watch." The sphere glowed, and rapidly absorbed the dispersed data particles from his devolution.
"What did you do?!"
"Like I've said, no point in wasting precious data. I might be able to use this later."
"Don't bet on it!" shouted TobuCatmon. "I saw what D'Arcmon's data did to the Majin General."
"Oh, that," snickered Lilithmon. "Whoever says I want to use your Mega's data for myself?" She cast a look towards the cocooned Agumon.
TobuCatmon followed her gaze, and realized what she was intending to do. "No! You can't…you mustn't!"
"And who's gonna stop me?" said Lilithmon, drawing her hand over her lips. "Certainly not you, especially when you…will be dead."
She's going to kill me, realized TobuCatmon. I can't beat her. I have to try to escape! If I just sit here and resign to my fate…'
"Flying Phoenix!"
Lilithmon yelled; he had just sailed past her in form of a golden firebird, and slashed his way out using the sharp appendages that were coated with the firebird's wings. Blood poured out from Lilithmon's shoulder, and in retaliation the dark woman spewed out corrosive mists upon him. He gained speed, becoming too fast for the mist to catch him. He had gotten out of the sanctum, now above the trees that obscured the sanctum from the world outside.
"Darkness Love!"
Looking back, he saw the hearts flew past the mists and were gaining on him. Thinking fast, he averted his course, outmaneuvered the hearts, causing the hearts to slam and explode against each other.
I'm safe for now, he thought, streaking towards Green Meadow. His heart leaped; from the distance he saw a familiar visage of a white-clad angel.Aldiyamon!
All of a sudden, something slammed upon him. He'd let go of his guard for one second, upon seeing Aldiyamon, and Lilithmon had used it to attack him with her corrosive energy hearts. He let out a pained shriek and lost his firebird form. His vision blurry; he saw Lilithmon chasing him, a wild look etched on her face. He had lost too much energy, and was slowly falling.
A flash of white light and TobuCatmon found himself pressed so close to a person's chest that he could hear the person's rapid heartbeats. Red shirt. Black jacket. He looked up. "JD!"
"Hang in there, TobuCatmon," said JD.
TobuCatmon weakly nodded, watching as Aldiyamon shifted into his Juara Mode and began firing shots of light arrows to counter Lilithmon's Darkness Love. The hearts were destroyed by the light arrows, and one of the arrow pierced Lilithmon's shoulder. His heart swelled with satisfaction. Aldiyamon blasted a stream of white radiance, and Lilithmon was forced to seek the protection of the sanctum she'd destroyed.
Only seconds later, she burst out from the trees, Agumon pressed close to her side. Cackling with glee, she unleashed the energy serpent upon Aldiyamon. Aldiyamon was pushed back, and Lilithmon attacked with her energy hearts to further fluster Aldiyamon before speeding away, her form blending with the darkness of the night.
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WIRA DIGITAL
Chapter 61 – Wave Goodbye
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JD knelt down and gazed upon the severely injured TobuCatmon with pity.
A bright flash of light illuminated from behind JD, giving him a good look of TobuCatmon's injuries. He swore softly upon seeing how extensive those injuries was.
There was a nasty cut across TobuCatmon's chest, and a wound stretching from his right front paw towards the cut on his chest. His face was bruised and lots of lost patches of hair could be seen on his self. Every time he coughed, he spewed out blood. He could barely open his eyes. His breaths were ragged and he spoke with a way that showed that it was costing him a lot just to do so.
"Josh, how's...how's TobuCatmon?" Adam asked, somewhat breathlessly from behind him, the lights that had been from Aldiyamon's dedigivolution rapidly dying down.
"Not good," he muttered, inclining his head slightly to see his cousin's fearful gaze on their wounded mentor.
TobuCatmon weakly fixed his eyes on the cousins. "Adam, JD…You're here. How…how did you know?" Violently he coughed out dark liquid that smelled a lot like real blood. The liquid smeared JD's uniform jacket, but the blond teen didn't seem to care.
"I woke up and Agumon was missing," answered JD with gritted teeth. "Someone had used my Digivice to open a Digiport. I thought it was that blasted bitch Persiamon, but that woman…" He had only seen from afar, not recognizing the dark woman that had been chasing TobuCatmon as the latter made his escape.
"That was Persiamon," wheezed TobuCatmon. "She has digivolved… to Lilithmon. Another demon lord."
"What…?"
"And she…has Agumon too." TobuCatmon coughed out more blood.
"But why…?" JD stopped, realizing exactly what was going on. She must have somehow heard Agumon wanting to take the curse in my place! That blasted bitch!
A rush of anger erupted within him, and he was slightly shaking. He couldn't believe it. He knew something was off with that black cat. The only way for Persiamon to have a way inside the Forest Sanctum was via the Digiport. The only way she'd manage to get inside his house without noticing was by disguise, and that black cat was the only thing he could think of that matched her. Nobody had told him that; being evil once, he was familiar with how the villains worked. Karatenmon had taught him too well, he thought at times.
Lucemon was able to fool the men of Malacca back in the 1500s by disguise, that bitch can probably do the same thing. They are in the same washed-up clan.
"We should've teleported to the sanctum," said Adam quietly. "We could've reached you in time…"
"It's not your fault, Adam," wheezed TobuCatmon. "You did what you thought was best. Lilithmon is very powerful. I digivolved to Mega-" He coughed out blood again, and tried to clear his throat. "But even I couldn't stop her. She was very strong."
"I'm sorry," said Adam, tear-stricken, for it was apparent that TobuCatmon's condition would only worsen.
"Don't be, Adam." TobuCatmon sounded serene. He gazed upon the boy and his partner who was floating behind him. "Adam, how did you know to come here?"
"I-" Adam paused.
JD looked up and stared at his cousin. He was wondering the same thing too. If TobuCatmon hadn't been able to alert them, and JD only went to the Digital World to look for Agumon, how did Adam know to come to the Digital World when his help was needed? It couldn't be a coincident – Adam and Patamon had even arrived just a few seconds after him, via the nearest TV set.
"I…I don't know," he finally admitted. "It's just…I felt something's wrong. I don't know how…"
TobuCatmon coughed again. Weak, he raised one paw, and JD grabbed it.
"Hang in there, TobuCatmon."
"I've been attacked relentlessly," TobuCatmon choked out. "My injuries are fatal. I can feel it."
"No, that's not true." Adam shot up on his feet. "I'm gonna see whether there's any healing potion left. You're going to-"
"It's no use, Adam," said TobuCatmon, halting the boy from proceeding. "Lilithmon has destroyed everything. Nothing is salvageable." A tear streaked out from his left eye, followed by the right, and he hiccupped. "I'm supposed to be the protector of the Forest Sanctum, but I've failed. I…I…even took part in destroying the sanctum…"
"I'm sure it's for self-defense, TobuCatmon," assured Patamon. "Don't be too hard on yourself."
"I've failed," repeated TobuCatmon as his body shimmered. His legs were the first to decompose into golden data particles.
"No!" Adam gasped, and held on to his mentor's paw. "TobuCatmon, please…don't go…don't die…"
"Adam," said TobuCatmon. "Take care, my boy. I'm happy… to see you, this one last time."
JD saw another tear escaping Adam's eyes. TobuCatmon now shifted his gaze to Patamon.
"Patamon, I wish you and your fellow partners luck," the cat now whispered. "Out of all the five partners, you have the most experience. Guide your fellow partners in my place. I've always thought that I'd be around to do it…but… how unfortunate…"
"I will," said Patamon. "Don't worry."
"Save Agumon," implored TobuCatmon.
"That goes without saying."
"Agumon…he has been a wonderful friend to me," said TobuCatmon. "He was my eyes and ears for a while, since I couldn't leave Forest Sanctum. I regret…not being able…to tell him that."
"I'll tell him that for you," promised Patamon.
All the while, JD had been watching TobuCatmon's condition grew graver. He had so much to say to TobuCatmon. He'd yet to apologize to TobuCatmon for how Satriamon had roughed him up, back when he was under Karatenmon's spell. He hadn't gotten the chance to really say how much he appreciated TobuCatmon trying to look for a way to lift the curse laid on him by Persiamon. He knew how worried TobuCatmon was. TobuCatmon was the one he'd turned to first when he'd discovered the tattoo on his chest. He really wanted to say something, anything…but he found that his throat had constricted, overwhelmed by shocked and sadness.
Everything had happened too fast. He'd never thought that of all people, TobuCatmon – their mentor – would be gone too. Hadn't the mentor always remain with the pupils?
He saw TobuCatmon gazing up at him; only his head, upper body and front paws remained.
"JD, I pray that you'll find the solution-" The cat coughed again, now more severe than before. The coughs continued as his front paws decomposing. "JD…good luck…"
"TobuCatmon, I…" He found his voice back. But seeing TobuCatmon decomposing on his lap, anger swelled inside of him. "TobuCatmon, I'll avenge you," swore JD, gently wiping the blood out of the dying cat's mouth. His hand shook in silent fury as he did so. "I'll get Agumon back, and I don't know when, I don't know how…but before I die, I swear I'll kill that bitch myself!"
"Give my love to the others. I'm happy to have met all of you."
With that said, TobuCatmon combusted into data particles, his data soared towards the sky. The golden data sparkled like stars against the dark night, before the soft winds picked up and scattered the data around the area.
"No…" JD gasped. Beside him, Adam was stifling his sobs, and Patamon wasn't doing any better.
His body trembled with fury, and with a roar he thumped his fist onto the ground.
The ground exploded, soundly sending stones and dirt all over them. JD let out another howl and punched again, now seeing his fist glowing with dark crimson aura. A zapping sound was heard tingling in his ears. The second punch had widened the crack that resulted from the first one, but his anger hadn't been quenched. He punched again and again, barely noticing that no pain came from all the punching, nor that his fist wasn't injured. He just didn't care.
He'd lost count on just how many punches had he abused onto the ground before the strange crimson glow dissipated. He was exhausted, and with his anger finally subdued he felt all the sorrow in him threatening to come out. No! he thought. His cousin was here. He mustn't lose control.
From the back, a pair of thin arms suddenly was wrapped around his torso.
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Adam and Patamon had been watching the sudden manifestation of power in JD.
They saw JD howling in fury, and before he knew it his eyes sparked with black light, before changing to crimson flare. From his eyes two streaks of light jolted out, him apparently unaware of it, and the light jolts wrapped around his right fist just as JD was going to punch the ground in sorrow and anger. His fist emitted a strong beam of dark crimson blast that tore a hole onto the ground.
The ground cracked, spewed up dirt and stones, before a thin crevice was formed. Adam jumped away from his raging cousin. He teleported the fallen debris away where they wouldn't harm any of them. He kept on doing so for as long as JD kept punching the ground. The crevice widened with every punch, radiating all around the meadow. The earth actually shook with the punches inflicted on them - though nothing like an earthquake, but still noticeable.
After a long five minutes, approximately, the light in JD's fist died down. Adam saw him kneeling down, heaving his breaths slowly. Tentatively he approached JD. "Josh?"
No reply. When he was close enough to him, Adam saw him trembling. He looked at Patamon. Patamon nodded.
"He needs it," the Digimon whispered. "Especially from you."
Adam nodded. He could sense what JD was feeling. He didn't know how he could do that. It was the same way how he'd been jolted up from his deep sleep, sensing danger and trepidation from out of nowhere. Something had told him to go to the Digital World, and he'd heeded it. Now that he thought of it, it wasn't actually the first time he had encountered this strange phenomenon. As Aldiyamon, he had felt a sudden rush of sorrow from Puspamon, back during that fateful day when Bel and D'Arcmon were murdered by Astamon.
Now, he was picking up anger from JD. He could actually feel JD's rage flowing in him. The emotion was so intense that Adam was forced to take a few deep breaths – the emotion was not his, but it was threatening to consume him too. Taking slow deep breaths seemed to be effective in controlling the invading emotion. Relieved, Adam knelt behind his cousin.
Then, he draped his arms around his cousin's body to comfort him. JD's heart was beating wildly against his hands, and Adam suppressed his gasp when waves of mixed emotions flowed inside him – anger, sadness, fear, hurt, frustration were those that he could figure out. Those feelings were further emphasized by two damp drops on his hand. He resisted the urge to pull away; the emotions raged within him but he released them, by letting his own tears flow out freely, unrestrained. His cousin was shivering, and a low growl was heard. Adam feared that if he let go JD would act brashly, so he held on as firm as he could muster. He had no doubt that if his cousin wanted to, he could've easily brush him off without much effort. But JD wasn't resisting at all.
The emotions he sensed from JD made him realize that JD was in need for comforting, far more than Adam himself.
JD had always been the strong one for Adam. That night, it was Adam's turn.
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Lucemon opened his eyes, just as Persiamon entered the dark hall of the Onyx Pyramid. The Virago General seemed injured – she was bleeding. Quite an unusual sight, he thought, for few could match her prowess. Satriamon from the Wira Digital team had been a notable adversary against her, but he'd required assistance from another Wira Digital then. He read her mind without bothering to ask; he had always done so, and they knew it. Even if they were against it, there was nothing they could do about it. He smirked upon thinking about his advantage, as images of Lilithmon versus Medieval Gallantmon entered his mind, ending with Lilithmon's parting blow towards TobuCatmon.
"You've killed the mentor," said Lucemon, picking up several after-images by casting his mind power towards the battle scene. "And your battle with him while he was a Mega was impressive. Really, you are by far the one who's fully in control of your Mega form. Doumon requires lots of meditation, Astamon and Shawujinmon require trainings, but you…"
"Oh well, I'm strong enough now. I could've beaten him in my Ultimate form but I supposed I wanted an exercise of sorts, and Medieval Gallantmon looked strong, at first glance."
"Understandable," nodded Lucemon, closing his mind web so that he could focus on the conversation at hand. "Medieval Gallantmon is a subspecies of a member of the Royal Knights, who have been instrumental in defeating the Seven Great Demon Lords. It's only natural if you're wary of his power and digivolve to Mega yourself."
"For the record, I didn't freak out," Persiamon pointed out.
"I've never said you did," said Lucemon. "And, I suppose congratulations is due, since you've gotten rid of TobuCatmon."
"Did I really? I wasn't sure. Had no time to really make sure, but…"
"He's dead. I sensed it."
"Oh. Then, yay me! Anyway," Persiamon gestured towards the cocoon she was holding, "I've also got Agumon. He was going to ruin my plan. I have to break them up."
Lucemon considered her plan. His eyes fell on the cocoon. "Shouldn't you just kill him and be done with it? Oh, wait, don't tell me…" He read her thoughts again and smiled. "Your lust of evil is certainly unique, yet terrifying. And I'm quite impressed of your control of your Mega form. But are you sure that you're totally in control to perform what you're intending to do?"
"Really, can't you just be like normal Digimon and ask me what I'm planning rather than reading my mind?" snapped Persiamon.
Her outburst amused him. "It's easier that way," he stated. "But alright. Since I'm not reading your mind, care to answer my earlier inquiry?"
"Of course. I won't want to do it if I'm not sure. I however, will need your help. Your psychic power, specifically. Heard you managed to suppress the angel girl Astamon absorbed?"
Lucemon shrugged. "It wasn't too difficult."
Persiamon's look was conspiratorial. "Can you do it on the real owner of the body instead, letting the absorbed data become dominant?"
"That is a bit complicated, but it can be done," said Lucemon. "And speaking about psychic power, did you know that tonight, by causing tonight's mayhems, you've awakened not one, but two forms of psychic powers?"
While casting his mind web as far as the Green Meadow region earlier, his psychic power recognized other variants of itself. Lucemon sensed that these other variants of his power weren't as strong as his own. Not yet, he reminded himself. Their powers had the potential to grow, to expand, making them powerful opponents in future. Psychic powers are like wildcards, thought Lucemon; they need to be controlled properly. Usually it's done subconsciously, but it might be interesting to see their control just…slipped.
"I didn't. Why? Are they as strong as yours?" asked Persiamon.
"Not quite," Lucemon smirked evilly. An idea crossed his mind. "However, I might be able to have some fun with them. One of them, in particular."
"So long it's not the blond one."
"Oh, don't worry. I actually have the dark-haired one in mind."
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"Adam."
"Hmm…?"
"It's almost dawn," informed JD. "Unless you're planning on ditching school..."
Adam's reply was almost automatic, it amused him. "I can't do that! I missed school quite a few times already!" His eyes fluttered open, and he looked around him in surprise. A look of dawning understanding replaced the surprise, and he sighed, subdued. JD couldn't blame him – by now Adam must have remembered back of what had happened the previous night.
"Hey. Morning, sleepyhead."
In return, Adam gave him a small smile. "Hi, Josh."
"I'd say delayed reaction, but that would be stating the obvious," said JD, referring to how Adam had reacted upon waking up.
The smile was gone. Adam sighed. "I was hoping that it was all a bad dream."
"Yeah," said JD. "I hoped for the same thing too."
"What time is it?" asked Adam.
"Close to six. No rush. We can see the sunrise before going back."
Adam nodded. He settled back, leaning against the boulder, and looked straight ahead towards the horizon in silence.
"Hey, listen," started JD. "I didn't get to say thanks last night."
He was referring to how his cousin had comforted him when he was at the verge of losing it. He had lost Agumon and TobuCatmon was dead, both in the span of one night. Though Agumon wasn't confirmed to have been deleted, but Persiamon had kidnapped him. He hated to think of what that manipulative general would do to Agumon. He didn't even know how to save his partner. They weren't as powerful as the generals, not yet anyway, with only Aldiyamon achieving Mega level. Invading the Onyx Pyramid now would be suicide.
It had been late, but both of them and Patamon had gone back to the destroyed sanctum. The place, once beautiful with its marbled floor and pillars, artificial fountain where the sound of water provided a soothing effect, and the hammock and TV that made it homely – it had been wrecked beyond repair. The pillars all had fallen, one wassliced. The TV and the sun staff were no longer usable. The medicinal potions had been the victims of the destruction. The floor was cracked all over. They had then worked quietly in cleaning up the mess at the sanctum – he'd used this as an opportunity to vent, while Adam used his power to remove the bigger mess that JD couldn't clean up. It had taken them about an hour before the sanctum was cleaned up, but even so, it wasn't the same sanctum they were familiar with. An aura of despair hung over the place. Not one of them could bear being in there so they all went outside.
Adam was the one who had gotten tired, and JD had suggested that they camped out there for the night. The night was clear, and he could provide the fire they needed to keep themselves warm. But apart from all that, JD simply didn't want to return to an empty room. His cousin's presence was comforting, and despite himself, he found that it gave him a sense of peace. So he'd asked Adam to stay, and to his relief Adam didn't refuse, probably out of tiredness, physically and emotionally. The boy had gone to sleep just after several minutes sitting with his back pressed against the boulder by the lake. JD had taken another hour before he dozed off, and throughout that hour he had spent thinking about what had taken place that night.
"You don't have to," said Adam. "You're always the one comforting me when I was sad."
"That's the thing." He smiled lightly. "Talk about role-reversal."
"You can't always be the strong one forever," said Adam, smiling back. "How are you holding up? It must be terrible for you."
JD didn't reply. What his cousin had just said had struck a chord in his heart. When I die, next week…are you strong enough to move on? He saw Adam blinking and frowning at him, and thought that it was odd. It was as if he had heard him saying that in his mind, which was impossible. Avoiding Adam's thoughtful look, he stared towards the horizon, where the sky was slowly becoming brighter. It would be sunrise very soon.
"We'll do what we can to save Agumon." Adam gazed at JD for a moment. "I've tried summoning Agumon, last night. Unfortunately it didn't work. But…" The boy frowned, and cast a long look towards the dark horizon. "I think he's still alive. I don't know how to explain it…but he's out there. Somewhere."
"Thanks." He squeezed Adam's shoulder. "Sorry. I totally forgot that out of all people, you knew how it was like, losing a partner."
He waited for a response, but Adam didn't seem to hear him. He had a dazed look on his face, unblinking. He snapped his finger, and Adam blinked. JD jerked his eyebrows up, and Adam looked away. He saw the boy looking at the crevice that stretched across the meadow that was visible by the naked eye in the scanty amount of light. He knew immediately what Adam was going to ask.
"What's up with last night? I mean, the way you punched the ground…" Adam glanced back to JD; his expression was that of wonder. "No normal people could do that."
JD frowned. "I'm not sure. But I remembered feeling so angry. Like I wanted to kill Persiamon there and then if I could." He stopped, trying to picture what had taken place the previous night.
"And…?"
"Then I was seeing red all of a sudden, before feeling my hand shaking with power. Next thing I knew I punched the ground. I didn't realize that it was making the ground crack."
Adam stared at him, wide-eyed. "What do you think that was about? I mean…you weren't able to do that before."
JD shrugged. "My guess, it's my new power."
"New power…" Adam let the words left their taste in his mouth. JD thought he saw Adam at the verge of saying something, but seemed to change his mind from the way he clamped his mouth. "I wish TobuCatmon's here," he finally continued. "He'd know what is going on."
Silence. JD leaned back against the boulder, and for a moment he was reminded of their deceased mentor. That made him sad.
"I never knew that he could digivolve to Mega," he said quietly.
Adam gazed at him. "Neither do I, or any of us," he responded. "We do know that he was supposedly stronger within the sanctum's area."
"It's just…" A bad memory crossed his mind. "Do you know that when I was evil, Agumon and I – as Satriamon – had battled him?"
"Yeah, we know. TobuCatmon never blamed you."
"That time, he could've just become Mega and trash us that day," said JD. "But instead, he just let us bully him into submission, before we captured him."
"I think," said Adam, frowning a little, as if trying to remember something. "He'd always believed that you two would come back to the side of good. Maybe that's why. In the end, you and Agumon joined us. I think for TobuCatmon, that's all that matters. That you two left the side of evil."
"I never really got the chance to apologize for that," said JD. He frowned, shaking his head. "No. I did have a chance. It just…never came up."
"I know one thing," assured Adam, squeezing his shoulder, "He never blamed you. Not one bit. You should've seen how worried he was when you and Agumon got stuck at the Dark Ocean. He almost pleaded for me to go and save you two." He smiled grimly. "As you know, I didn't really like you much that time."
"One of my least favorite moments," murmured JD, clasping his cousin's hand firmly.
Adam abruptly pulled his hand back. "Sorry for bringing that back up."
"What?" JD gazed at the smaller boy, somewhat surprised of his reaction. "Why are you apologizing for?"
"It's just…nothing." Adam cast his gaze away, looking a bit troubled. JD decided not to push it. Apologizing for the littlest kind of mistake was something that had seemingly been ingrained in the boy's system – no matter how much JD told him not to, Adam would always do it nonetheless. That boy sometimes was polite to a fault.
Several seconds passed, as the early morning breeze blew upon their faces. It was refreshing. Patamon stirred, but still hadn't woken up. It wasn't sunrise yet; the two DigiWira sat together in companionable silence, mutually deciding that they'd return after daybreak.
Sunrise ensued. For a moment they admired it, but for JD, every new day meant that it would be less one day for him. Agumon's presumably gone, TobuCatmon's gone, and pretty soon, I'll be gone too…damn you, Persiamon. Damn you.
"We've better get going," he muttered after a while. "We still have to break the news to the others."
Adam's shoulders sagged. "I hate to be the one doing it. They'll be heartbroken when they find out."
"We'll do it together. C'mon." JD laid one hand on Adam's shoulder, a casual gesture of affection for him. Then he saw his cousin tensed.
What's up with him?
xxx
xxx
He had contemplated in telling JD about his new power, when JD mentioned that the power he'd displayed the previous night was probably a new power. But he'd stopped himself, remembering the strange bouts of pain JD had occasionally, during battle whenever he was Satriamon. When Satriamon was seemingly strained, the pain would erupt. But JD would always avoid telling him about the pain, usually dismissing it as the result of his workout or that he was strained. Half the times JD used those excuses, it had seemed believable to Adam, but he knew as well that JD was hiding something.
New power. Adam thought that it made perfect sense. He was too focused on teleportation being his main power, he'd forgotten that there was a possibility that the element of light of his DigiSphere could give him another power. So that makes me having teleportation, summoning, purifying, and now feelings-sensing? He grunted inwardly. Another inactive power.
But perhaps, with this power he could get a better outlook of what his dark and brooding cousin was feeling.
Every time when they made contact, that strange jumble of negative emotions would flow within him. When he'd managed to separate anger from the rest of the emotion, he'd found that his cousin was feeling sad and dread at the same time. There was something JD was not telling him. He had even left no clues of his current wellbeing.
As JD turned to face him, Adam dared to look into his eyes. JD's hand was on his shoulder again, and Adam tensed upon seeing his cousin's hazel eyes. Despite experiencing the wave of emotions again, Adam realized that he didn't need his power of emotion-sensing to know what JD was thinking.
He would just have to look into his eyes. Deeply. Those eyes had lost their mischievous twinkles. They now looked despaired.
Some time ago, Adam was the one who had mastered the art of veiling his sorrow, by suppressing them and thrusting them at the back of his mind. He'd done that so flawlessly that even by looking into his eyes in a casual manner, most people wouldn't be able to detect what he was feeling. And people were saying that just by looking in the eyes one would know what the other was feeling. He had fooled everyone, even his sister to a certain degree. Now, looking at JD, he thought that his cousin wasn't really as good as he had been when it came to hiding his emotions.
How did I miss those? Josh is obviously unhappy about something, long before today.
Following JD from the back, he let in the traces of feelings radiating from JD, analyzing them without making contact. If he could feel those without even touching his cousin, then those feelings must be strong enough. Once more, he'd gotten anger and sorrow.
Even if you're not telling, Josh…I'm going to find out what's really bothering you.
xxx
xxx
It had sounded so important, and their expressions were so grave when he saw them earlier during recess time. Manny kept this in mind as he walked briskly towards the park near their school that afternoon, after school had let out. Liu Ying had taken a head start; she'd said that she'd return with drinks for all four of them, as it was a particularly warm afternoon. In fact, Liu Ying had even offered to meet at her house, which was just opposite the park, but both JD and Adam had declined.
If the cousins didn't call them up for a meeting, Manny would have. He wanted to tell them about Opie, that the Digimon was actually Valkyrimon, and about Falcomon's intrusion the previous night in order to retrieve Opie back.
He saw the cousins were already there, at the edge of the park, and they saw him. He waved at them. Only Adam waved back, and it was done half-heartedly. Manny thought that both looked oddly downcast. He wondered what could be wrong.
"Liu Ying says that she'll come with some drinks for us," informed Manny, once he was with them.
The cousins nodded. Said girl soon came, with four plastic cups and a jug of lemonade. She beckoned towards a wooden table under a tree. It was a shady spot, perfect for conversation.
"So," said Liu Ying, as the boys gulped down their drinks. "You said that it's urgent."
Manny noted JD and Adam sharing a long look, before facing them.
"It's TobuCatmon," said Adam with a low tone. He gazed upon at Manny and Liu Ying, eyes shining. "He's… dead."
Manny gasped. Liu Ying choked on her drink. Both stared at their team leader.
"What?" they asked simultaneously, eyes widened in disbelief.
"He's killed," growled JD, his tone furious, "by that no-good, conniving bitch Persiamon!"
Liu Ying gasped, her hand held before her mouth.
"How…how's that possible?" asked Manny.
JD's face darkened. "Last night, Persiamon invaded Forest Sanctum. TobuCatmon went to Mega form to stop her, but that bitch's also got her own Mega form. TobuCatmon didn't stand a chance and attempted escape, but Lilithmon – her Mega form – sent a fatal attack his way. We came over too late; Aldiyamon managed to only drive her away. He died before us."
It took a while for JD's explanation to sink in. Manny found that his throat was somehow constricted, making him unable to speak. Liu Ying was clasping and unclasping the plastic cup she was holding.
"That can't be true!" exclaimed Liu Ying, aghast. "Forest Sanctum is protected by a force-field that prevents evil from crossing it. It's impossible for Persiamon to invade the sanctum. The force-field would prevent her from doing so."
"She didn't go through the force-field," said JD. "That bitch disguised herself as a stupid cat to weasel her way in my house. She won Bibik's trust, and Bibik took her in." He paused; the crease between his brows deepened with his frown. "When it was night and all of us were asleep, she used my Digivice to gain entrance to the sanctum. She even kidnapped Agumon..."
"Agumon? Why?" gasped Manny. As if it wasn't bad enough that TobuCatmon was killed.
JD gave him a dark look, as if saying you know why. The same look was shot towards Liu Ying. With Adam having his head hung down and that he was sitting beside JD, Manny saw that JD had taken that opportunity to give them that meaningful look. Instantly, he knew. They both knew what Agumon had wanted to do, should the cure for the curse was not found. They couldn't speculate about the reason of the kidnapping right now, but deep down, he knew that JD knew, and Liu Ying would know too.
"It was horrible," said Adam. "The sanctum was a mess. Josh and I, and Patamon, went there after TobuCatmon…we tried fixing it up, but it just isn't Forest Sanctum anymore. Nothing was spared…everything was destroyed." He was pressing the sides of his head, while JD looked at him oddly.
"I can't believe it," said Liu Ying, still shocked. Her breaths became ragged. She stood up abruptly. "I want to go to Forest Sanctum. Right now." Her grasp of the plastic glass slipped and she spilled the lemonade on the ground. Looking more and more stricken, she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. "I want to see it with my own eyes. The sanctum, or what's left of it."
JD stood up as well. "C'mon. Let's all go."
"Wait," said Manny. "Does Jackie know?"
"We've told him this morning," said Adam. "He's taken a leave from work to investigate. He should be there by now."
"What about Gayathri?"
"I don't know whether we should tell her or not today. She'll be back tomorrow. Manny, what do you think?"
Manny's shoulders sagged. "I don't know, too. She sounded better when I called her last night, and that she can't wait to come back here tomorrow." He sighed. "I'd hate to spoil her last day of vacation. Maybe we should wait till she gets back here. This news…it's better if it's told face-to-face, don't you think?"
"I agree," said Liu Ying. "But she'll be heartbroken when she finds out. She and I, we're the earliest two. We were close to him."
"I wish I'd gotten to know him better," said JD bitterly. Beside him, Adam nodded.
Manny silently agreed. Since he and JD joined the team, everything had happened in a very fast pace; Lilamon's attempted foray on the sanctum, the Puaka Generals' dark deception on Adam and the whole team, the invasion of the Darkshadow Brethren to their world. They had never really got the chance to get acquainted with their feline mentor. And now, they wouldn't be able to.
"We better get going if we want to go to the sanctum," Adam reminded.
They parted ways, back to their houses where they'd use their home computers to Digiport to the Digital World.
xxx
xxx
Manny didn't pick up his cell phone. Gayathri thought that it was strange. She could think of three reasons why her boyfriend wouldn't pick up the phone.
This time of day, he could be sleeping. She had caught him sleeping a couple of times, so she'd learned not to call him. A sleepy Manny wasn't someone she could talk too on the phone, no matter how amusing he could be when he was still half-sleeping while answering the phone. He might also be in the bathroom. Or the third reason: he could be in the Digital World.
She was bored. Willis and his parents had gone to Kuala Lumpur to get to the airport. And Anding was the one driving them there, since her family and his had gotten acquainted over breakfast. Their driver had needed to make a quick stop at his college to retrieve some assignments, and her father had suggested to Willis's stepfather that perhaps Anding could drive them to the airport. That way Anding could earn some extra pocket money, and the Johnson family would be assured that they'd be taken to the airport in good hands. Anding had agreed readily, hence his absence today.
She and Willis had promised to keep in touch once Willis returned to America. She was looking forward to tell her fellow DigiWira about Willis. They had traded stories over dinner the previous night, and Willis had commented that he hadn't have what he'd termed as out of the world adventures as they had – his most intense fight was when he and the Japanese DigiDestined team teamed up to stop his virus-infected partner Chocomon. After that life was relatively calm for him.
Gayathri had responded by saying that she'd trade anything for calm, though she wouldn't trade anything for her friendship with the other DigiWira, and her current relationship with Manny. At least she wouldn't have lost Bel.
Bel, she thought fondly, watching the hotel's indoor artificial fountain whilst using her parent's laptop. We'll continue fighting…I'll continue for you. I miss you, girl, but I'm okay now.
She had begun typing her new private journal prior to her first attempt in calling Manny, as Liu Ying had suggested – it was what she'd done, and still doing every now and then, whenever she missed her late father. Gayathri had started writing to 'Bel' – the name she'd given for her private journal – since the previous night, after her dinner with Willis. She'd save it in her flash drive, and would continue writing it in her own personal computer back home.
Liu Ying was right. This is rather therapeutic…
xxx
xxx
"I can't believe that TobuCatmon's gone," whispered Liu Ying, wiping her reddened eyes as she stepped out of the forest surrounding the sanctum. She gave one forlorn look back towards the forests, sighing. "I've always thought…he'd be here until the end. Until we've won."
"I feel the same way," said Manny, glumly. "We're on our own now."
Jackie, now joining them, sighed. "This has never happened with the other teams. You guys really have it rough."
"Obviously," snorted JD, "since we get a pack of bastards and one bloody bitch as our enemies."
Adam merely gazed at his friends from the back, walking side-by-side with Dina. Patamon and Lalamon were following them from behind.
He'd called her earlier, wondering whether she'd like to come too. The girl had agreed: now partnered to Lalamon, she was also part of the team. He had also informed his sister and Abu about TobuCatmon's death. They'd really wanted to join, but Abu's shift wouldn't end until next day's morning, while his sister had to meet up with someone regarding her freelance work.
He'd caught glimpses of sorrow from practically everyone, but Adam now realized that his new ability was enhanced by touch, and if the emotions were strong enough. For instance, JD's anger – just being around him Adam could perceive his anger. He could understand why his cousin was so angry, and suspected that he'd continue be feeling it for as long as Agumon was still in captive. Back at school, the only feeling he'd picked up was relieved exuberance whenever the bell rung: that had been pretty intense, considering in his class alone there were thirty-three pupils, not counting him and Gayathri who was absent, and all of them were simultaneously happy whenever the bell for recess or end of school rung.
He'd gotten weird vibes from his fellow DigiWira when they met at the park prior to coming here. He couldn't make out what they were, but it was as if they all knew something that he didn't. He could distinguish anger and sadness, the dominant feelings he was getting from them now, but there was also…something else. Anxiety. Towards me. How odd.
"I don't remember the ground being cracked," noted Liu Ying, gazing at the crevice.
"I did that," admitted JD. "Last night."
"How?"
"Watch." With a low growl JD energized his right fist with dark crimson aura. Then with a yell, he punched the ground, causing explosion of debris to ensue.
Debris rained over them. Liu Ying immediately raised her telekinetic shield, assisted by Adam who teleported the bigger debris away. JD saw this, and let out an awkward, apologetic smile.
"Sorry."
"What was that?" Jackie exclaimed, surprised.
"Not sure. New power maybe," said JD, shrugging.
"Anger-energized punch," clarified Adam. The look JD gave him in return was almost appreciative. The others however, still looked confused.
"You mean you created that by feeling angry?" asked Jackie.
"Pretty much. It was how it came to being last night. I was pissed like hell, and it happened. I didn't even realize what was going on until the anger's gone." JD gave the digital man a long look. "I was hoping you could explain it for me."
Silence. Jackie seemed to be thinking, from the way he was rubbing his chin. The DigiWira waited for his answer in anticipation.
After several seconds passed, Adam started counting in his head. One. Two. Three. Four.
"I have a guess," said Jackie finally. "It seems to me that you've gained a pure psionic-like power. You're able to channel your emotion – in this case, your anger – into a focused beam of energy out of your hand. Psycho-blast, perhaps, is a right term for this."
"Hey! I'm no psycho!" JD said, affronted.
"Psycho here means psychic-related, or mind-related," explained Jackie. "Not crazy, as you've clearly suspected."
"Hmph. You could be a bit more specific."
"My apologies."
JD shrugged.
Adam watched the exchange with interest. Jackie seemed knowledgeable enough about their special abilities. He wondered whether he should ask him about his new power to sense emotion. He was rather surprised when Jackie mentioned JD's new power stemmed from emotion. That meant that both his and his cousin's new powers were emotion-based. He could detect other people's emotions, while JD was able to manipulate emotions to generate an offensive technique.
"You guys are becoming stronger than us," complained Penguinmon. "Why don't we get these powers? I'd like for some of that thunder power Manny's got."
"What would you need that for?" asked Labramon. "You've already got your attacks."
"Oh, I dunno. Maybe zap Opie's butt when he's least expecting it."
"Penguinmon!" admonished Manny.
"Opie?" asked Adam. "Who's Opie?"
"Oh, you weren't with us that time," said Manny. He looked a little bit troubled, Adam noted. "I've told JD and Liu Ying that a Digimon that looked a lot like Penguinmon had come to our house last weekend. Debbie took a liking at him, and called him Opie, since he had amnesia then and didn't have a clue of who he was. Opie stands for Orange Penguinmon."
"Wow. That's…creative."
"Had amnesia?" Liu Ying questioned.
Manny sighed. "That's what I've been wanting to tell you today, but never got the chance too. You see, last night, a Digimon called Falcomon invaded our house, and claimed that he and Opie were actually the Avian Shines. Falcomon was Valdurmon, and Opie…he was Valkyrimon."
A round of surprised gasp ensued.
"What the hell?" JD exclaimed. "Valkyrimon?"
"Valkyrimon? I thought we've beaten that guy," said Adam.
"That's what I thought," said Manny. "However, it seems that Valkyrimon was only reduced back to Rookie form. The last attack you two gave him must have knocked him pretty hard on the head, for he'd lost his memories. Which was why, he refused to go with Falcomon. Said that he didn't know what Falcomon was talking about. That ticked Falcomon off, and he knocked Opie over the wall so hard that he became unconscious. Penguinmon and I managed to force Falcomon to go away. Then Opie woke up…memories regained."
"I don't think I like the sound of this," said Liu Ying, frowning.
"No, no. It's alright, actually. Opie remembered being Valkyrimon, but apparently he had a change of heart. He'd become friends with Debbie, and was grateful for us in taking him in when he was injured. That was what made him wanting to stay with us instead of leaving with Falcomon. Apart than getting a roof to live under and free foods, I suppose. Given my way, I'd make him leave, but Debbie really is attached to him already, and I didn't have the heart to deny her. We decided to give him the benefit of the doubt."
"Hmph! You decided," snorted Penguinmon. "I don't trust him."
Adam took a few seconds to process this information. "Do you have a reason not to believe Opie, Penguinmon?"
"He's Valkyrimon! An Avian Shine! An enemy! He wasn't even hoodwinked, like us back when we were under Karatenmon!" wailed Penguinmon. "Isn't it obvious?"
"But," reasoned Adam, "maybe you ought to give him a chance? After all he did say he's reformed."
"Ha! You're one to talk! I seem to remember you being so mistrusting to your cousin when all of us thought that he'd become good! And now you're telling me to be like, hey Opie, though you're once evil and nearly had our heads but I'm willing to forget all that and believe you right this instant?"
Adam's cheeks colored. He was rendered speechless.
"And as I recall," drawled Penguinmon, "you weren't so trusting to us, either, at first."
"Penguinmon! Enough!" Manny looked at Adam apologetically.
JD stepped in. "Hey, I didn't blame him for not being so trusting. Hell, even I wouldn't be so trusting to me back then, after what I've put him through. I was an ass. Gotta say I deserved it."
"Hmph. You're just siding with your cousin."
"And what's wrong with that?" Penguinmon was about to retort, but JD cut in again, "And one word about this from you again, and I'll make roast bird out of you. Clear?"
"Crystal," said Penguinmon, eyes narrowed. "No need to get so defensive, I was just saying. Sheesh. Keep your shirt on."
JD responded by generating a flicker of flame.
"Penguinmon, stop picking fights," said Manny in a severe tone. Penguinmon flinched. "Opie's promised to protect Debbie and the family from any harm, did you forget? I think that's reason enough for us to give him that benefit of the doubt." Penguinmon nodded weakly. "And, I think you owe Adam something?"
"Huh?" blinked Adam. Owe me what?
"Yeah, yeah I know," said Penguinmon. "Sorry, Adam."
Oh, that. "It's alright."
Silence. The air suddenly felt heavier, and the atmosphere tensed.
All of a sudden, an explosion ensued. A stream of thunderous blue energy blasted towards the edge of the Green Meadow far north, and caused the earth to shook. Smokes resulted and the plants there caught fire instantly. Thick smokes ensued.
Several Digimon emerged from the smokes; half a dozen of Duskmon and Velgemon each, and a taller knight donning grey armor and a flowing cerulean cape. The dark knight was wielding a jousting lance and a circular shield. The Velgemon screeched and took flight, while the Duskmon flanked the dark knight, as they marched towards the DigiWira.
"Digimon attack!" Jackie exclaimed.
"Shit! This day has gone from bad to worse!" swore JD.
Adam was inclined to agree, too. Without Agumon, they were down one fighter. He took out his Digivice. "Let's do it."