Faith: A confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. A belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.
Virtue: Moral excellence; integrity of character; purity of soul; performance of duty
"Wow... that was..." TK found that he was drawing a blank for the right word after hearing the story that was supposed to be him and his friends' future. He was amused, saddened, annoyed, happy, and all sorts of different emotions upon finding out what supposedly would happen 25 years after their battle with MaloMyotismon. "Well, I'll tell you something, it sounds like they were making things up and just hoping they'd work. I'm not sure why as it sounds like everything else was decently accurate, but their 'epilogue' was nowhere near on the spot."
"Really?" Takato and Canem's eyes were full of hope, and two of them were latching onto his every word.
"Well, for instance, Sora may not be as big of a tomboy as she used to be, but she doesn't know much about fashion. In fact, she's actually a fitness instructor right now at a gym that she's also currently the manager of." TK explained.
"Really?" Takato and Canem said at the same time, before looking at each other and laughing. TK chuckled at the two. For two guys who barely met, they were incredibly similar to each other.
"What else?" They asked, once again at the same time. Takeru felt like he was entertaining a couple of kids, but he didn't mind. He began to regale them with more of the true story about his friends.
- Elsewhere -
"Well, Tai isn't an ambassador, or even in any sort of training to be one. He is, however, in college on a Soccer scholarship. He's majoring in Physical Therapy." Hikari was explaining to a curious Rika, who'd just realized herself that her two companions were from the Digimon show she'd loved as a child. It was actually embarrassing that they'd spent a week together before and Rika hadn't noticed, though they were recovering from wounds, both physical and emotional, and learning about things like the Couno and Dominus, so it was somewhat understandable.
"That makes a lot more sense. Why Physical Therapy, though?" Rika asked. Hikari and Davis were, just as TK was doing as well a few blocks away, informing Rika about what was really going on in their world to someone who'd been, well, misinformed. Apparently Rika's dimension had a rather large Digimon fanbase, and that fanbase revolved around a show that was somehow based on the lives of Hikari, Davis, and the rest of their teammates and their Digimon adventures.
"He had a lot of friends get injured playing soccer and wanted to be the kind of guy who could help them," Davis explained. "I'm planning on going into Physical Therapy Assisting, for similar reasons."
"Only because you realized to be exactly like Tai you'd need at least a Masters degree!" Kari teased her goggle-wearing friend. Davis rolled his eyes playfully, still smiling away. He definitely thought Tai was a great guy, but he no longer idolized him the way he used to. However, very few would deny that the two were similar, so it was no surprise they picked a similar field to want to work in.
Rika chuckled lightly and double-checked the map they were using to try and find either their teammates or another Fusion Warrior. A dot showing a Warrior was nearby, so they had decided to go for that one. Davis had originally tried to lead the group, but as they tended to see the same areas over and over…. Well, they decided walking in circles was not exactly productive and Rika took over.
"Are we there yet?" Davis asked. His stomach let out a loud rumble. Hikari giggled a bit and poked him.
"You obviously got Veemon's appetite!" She joked. Davis, too hungry to be offended, just nodded.
"Well we had to camp out in the park last night, and I'm starving!" Davis pat his stomach to emphasize that it needed to be filled.
Rika sighed and pointed at a red dot right next to their blue ones.
"We're right next to a new Tamer… I mean Warrior," Rika said. "And Davis, Vigil should've given you some rations. Eat those if you're that hungry!"
Davis's eyes lit up. "Thanks! I forgot." With that he grabbed some rations out of the pack he wore, and began devouring them. Rika and Hikari sighed.
"Are we there yet?" Hikari asked.
- Canem's Apartment -
"Wow, that's so great to know," Canem leaned back. "I mean, it's great to know that you're all real as well, but in a way you all were kind of real to me. When I saw how it supposedly ended, that was pretty harsh to fans like me."
Takato nodded in agreement, a very absolute and powerful agreement. TK chuckled.
"Well I'd like to tell you about more of us, but we are on a mission," TK stated, starting to get more business-mannered.
"So...what're you two doing here?" Canem asked, trying to focus on the topic at hand.
"Well we came here to find our friends who were captured and to stop a Digimon named Dominus," Takeru began explaining.
- Elsewhere -
"The Warrior should be near here," Rika said. The only person nearby was a woman dressed up in a beautiful, yet very simple, blue and white dress. She had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes, but she seemed too dainty to be any sort of fighter.
{Rika, don't be so quick to judge.} Renamon's voice said. Rika, having learned to listen to Renamon's wisdom long ago, flushed a bit as she realized she was judging a book by it's cover.
"Maybe she's inside a building?" Davis suggested, having come to a similar conclusion that Rika had originally had about this woman. Rika hesitated, but Hikari continued looking at the woman. The Digidestined of Light took a step forward and aimed her Digivice at the woman. A picture of a small Digimon covered in ice appeared on the Couno's screen.
"Glaciamon," Hikari stated. The woman looked at her with a questioning expression.
"You knew Glaciamon?" She asked, she noticed the Couno on Hikari's wrist. "A Fusion Warrior?"
"You're a Warrior?" Rika asked, some doubt still in her voice. It didn't help her ego when she felt Renamon smirking. The woman nodded her head.
"My name's Julia," She said in her beautiful voice. Davis practically drooled, but Rika's elbow in his stomach stopped him.
"I'm Rika," Rika said. "This is Davis." She pointed at the man who was grimacing while rubbing the spot where Rika's blow had hit him.
"I'm Hikari," Hikari said. Julia nodded at them.
"What are you doing here?" She asked. Hikari began explaining the situation to her.
- Canem's Apartment -
"That's horrible!" Canem was horrified, to the point where he didn't even know how to respond. "Dominus is that powerful?"
"He's somehow got a massive army, and while it has it's lower leveled Digimon, most of them are Ultimates, Megas, and beyond that," Takato explained. "Even Gallantmon Crimson Mode couldn't handle it all."
"Neither could Omegamon or Imperialdramon," TK lamented.
"Well, what are we supposed to do here?" Canem asked.
"We'll have to find our friends first," TK pointed out, changing the subject. He pressed a button on the Couno and the large map appeared.
"Looks like they're closer now," Takato said, studying his own. "They're probably only about five minutes from here."
Canem stood up. "Then lets go!"
- Elsewhere -
"That's quite a tale," Julia commented. The other Digidestined nodded in unison.
"But you do realize that I'll have to test you?" She asked. Davis, Hikari, and Rika looked at her with confusion.
"Don't worry!" Julia laughed. "I'll just randomly choose a blue dot on my map, whoever is closest to my finger will have to duel with me."
"Count me out!" Davis said. "I won't fight someone on my own team." Rika and Hikari nodded in agreement.
"Oh its just play fighting," Julia said. She zoomed her map in to give the blue dots more space and closed her eyes, twirling her finger around before stabbing it into the map. "Looks like I fight..."
"Hikari!" A male voice from behind them called out. Hikari turned around. TK, Takato, and a man she'd not seen before were running at her.
"Rika!" Takato shouted.
"Davis!" The stranger shouted, as if he just felt left out and wanted to shout a name. Still, Davis was pleased to at least be acknowledged and waved.
As everyone looked at them, Julia turned around and pointed at one of the males running at them; the new one.
"We'll be dueling," She stated matter-of-factly. The new guy looked at her, confused.
"Um...am I missing something?" He asked, turning his back on Julia to face TK. Before even a shrug could be given, Canem whirled around and caught a long ice spear that had been aimed at his heart. Everyone gaped, not just at his reflexes, but at the fact Julia had attacked him from behind, and with a blow that could've killed him.
"Well that wasn't very nice," Canem said, twirling the spear in his hands so fast it was a blur, then he held it in a guarded position. Julia smirked at him.
"Good, you have skills!" She commented. "Now fight me!"
Canem raised an eyebrow at her. "Um...I don't really like to fight girls."
Julia shrugged. "Then you'd better be good at dodging."
The other Digidestined made a move to interrupt the fight, but a glowing, almost-transparent, pink wall appeared and separated them.
"What the...?" TK said, banging on the barrier. A voice, one that wasn't their Digimon partners, rang in their heads.
"When challenged to a duel, no one else must interfere," It said. "But if you feel the need to battle, try this!"
After that a large Digimon appeared, a Metal Tyrannomon.
"He felt so upset yesterday after you beat his brother, I decided to grant him the chance for revenge," the voice continued. "Have fun!"
A fierce battle was now raging.
Canem leaped over a thrown spear, blocked another, and then grabbed the next. He twirled both of the spears so fast they blurred and blocked all the spears Julia had thrown at him.
"I really don't want to fight you!" He shouted. Julia smirked again her eyes flashed red.
"That will be a problem for you then," She replied, summoning more spears. Canem growled in frustration as he was forced to leap back
{Canem! Something's wrong with this woman!} Caligomon exclaimed.
No, really? Canem asked sarcastically as he beat another spear aside.
{I'm serious! Try to feel out her energy, it's like it's being muffled. It's there, but very faint. With how faint it feels she shouldn't be able to do more than sleep.} Caligomon explained.
Crap! Is she possessed or something? Canem asked after confirming what his partner had said. He flipped a couple of times, dodging another rain of spears followed him.
At least that explains her attacking me out of nowhere, Canem thought. But how do I help her?
{You're gonna have to wait it out or knock her out, she'll have to run out of energy before the person controlling her will be forced to let her go.} Caligomon said. Canem kicked some spears to the side and sighed.
How long will it take? Canem asked.
{I don't know. I suspect that you'll have to start attacking though, I doubt you can hold on as long as her while only dodging. You're losing energy much faster than she is.} Caligomon pointed out. Canem did a side-flip over another ice spear. He didn't know what to do, but he couldn't bring himself to attack her, especially if she was possessed.
Any other ideas? He asked.
{You have to Digivolve.} Guilmon said in Takatos head.
TK flapped his wings and dodged another fire blast. Hikari already lay out of the fighting zone, unconscious after a failed lightning paw. Apparently the Digimon knew her as the one who'd put his brother to sleep since he had attacked her first. All the Warriors attacks were useless. Even though they were stronger than a normal rookie, an Ultimate was far more than they could take. Davis rolled while Rika leaped over another attack from the large Digimon.
Takato let out a scream of frustration that let loose a Pyrosphere, which didn't seem to even affect the Ultimate. This is hopeless! How can I Digi- He stopped as Davis got hit in full, sending him flying hard at Rika. They both fell and lay unconscious. TK flew and grabbed them, but was hit before he could take them away. He was thrown, while holding tightly to his teammates, into the invisible barrier and slid down with his eyes closed.
Takato looked around at the fallen around him, gaining a second wind from his desire to protect them. He shot a Pyrosphere at the Ultimate, but it still did very little other than draw its attention. Takato looked at Canem again; who'd now had a spear graze his side, leaving a deep gash. The attacked area now bled freely and Canem had to place a hand on his wound, which slowed him down.
Canem! Takato mentally cried out, not noticing a blue glow surrounding him.
Canem held his hand over his cut, doing his best to stifle the flow of blood. More spears were coming at him, and he had too little energy to dodge much longer. Another grazed his leg, his arm, and the side of his face. The best he could do was stop her attacks from being fatal, but completely dodging them was out. He knew he should have attacked, but this woman seemed so familiar to him. She wasn't herself now, and he had a hard time bringing himself to attack her due to that, but he also had a strong urge to protect her that conflicted harshly with his survival instincts. He would save her… somehow. Determination gave him another boost of energy, though part of him knew it was futile.
{Canem!} A voice that was not Caligomon's rang in his head. It was Takato's. Too tired to truly comprehend what was happening, Canem responded.
Takato? Canem asked. He looked over to his new friend, who in turn met his gaze. Takato seemed to be glowing a bit, and Canem could actually feel Takato's heart beating. He didn't notice a white glow surrounding his body as he reached a hand out towards Takato, feeling a strong, virtuous power coming from him.
It was almost as if...
Takato felt another heart beating in his chest, and he somehow knew it had to be Canem's. He reached out a hand towards Canem as he began to glow with a blue aura. He felt a strong, faith-based power coming from Canem.
It was almost as if….
They were one. They looked at each other, their auras glowing stronger. Their eyes locked. The spears thrown at Canem froze in the air and Metal Tyrannomon's claw froze in mid-swipe a few inches from Takato's head.
"Dual..." Canem started, a white aura surrounded him and began growing.
"Fusion..." Takato said, a blue one surrounded him and followed suit.
"Activate!" They both yelled. A golden light shot from Canem and a silver from Takato, the invisible barrier shattered as the beams met. The light produced as they combined forced Julia to cover her eyes, a dark red aura surrounded her before being disintegrated as she collapsed. The Metal Tyrannomon roared in pain and fired off several blasts into the light, but no explosions could be heard. The fallen Digidestined's wounds were healed as the light bathed them and they opened their eyes. Julia managed to pull herself up, watching where Canem had been with a worried expression.
The light died down and a person stood there. It was neither Takato nor Canem, it was a strange combination of both. They had long brown hair, reaching a little past their shoulders. A silver sword was held in their left hand, shining with an inner light. A crimson and white shield with a hazard symbol with a cross in the middle engraved on it was worn on his right. They wore a silver-colored knight's armor, which had feather markings on the sides of his helmet, arms, and legs.
"I am Paladin, Blessed Mode. I am the Guardian Knight of Faith and Virtue," Paladin said in a soft but firm voice. He floated down in front of the Metal Tyrannomon and held his sword in a guarded posture.
"Giga flame!" Metal Tyrannomon yelled a giant fireball formed in his mouth. Julia's eyes widened.
"Run!" She tried yelling, but she could barely whisper. The other Warriors stared in horror while Paladin stood perfectly.
The blast hit Paladin at point blank range, causing the Digidestined to gasp, but when the smoke cleared he still stood there without a scratch.
"My shield and armor of Faith protects me," Paladin said. "And my blade of Virtue strikes down those with evil in their hearts." With that said Paladin sliced at Metal Tyrannomon, cutting through it like a knife through water. Metal Tyrannomon shattered into thousands of particles, and then flew away. Paladin looked at his fallen friends, then a white glow surrounded him. When it faded Takato and Canem stood there. Canem fell to his knees from exhaustion and Takato soon followed.
A shadow fell over Canem and he looked up. Julia stood there, tears rolling down her face.
"Um...hi?" Canem didn't know what else to say. Julia responded by hugging him in a way that was filled with worry, affection, gratitude, and various other emotions that usually leads to the person being hugged to fall on the floor. As a matter of fact this style of hug is often referred to as "glomping."
"It was so horrible, yesterday something grabbed me while I was walking home from school, and when I woke up... I was under someone else's control," She sobbed. "I had to watch but I couldn't do anything! I'm so sorry!"
Canem looked nervous and confused, but still managed to figure out that she needed comfort and he patted her back awkwardly.
A set of feet appeared within Takatos vision and he looked up to see Rika. "Gogglehead, don't ever worry me like that again! At least use your shield next time! Do you now how hard it would be to tell Jeri when we rescue her that you had died because you decided not to block the giant attack aimed at your face?"
Takato laughed nervously. "Sorry Rika."
TK watched the exchanges of his teammates while deep in thought.
Human fusion? TK thought to himself. I'd thought they'd have to be at least a champion to do that kind of thing.
{It's 'cause of the Human in them.} Patamon's voice said. {Humans can break the rules, which I think is one of the reasons we fused with you. Normally two rookies couldn't make a powerful fighter like that.}
Hm... so it's like DNA digivolving, but how were they able to take out an Ultimate?
{I think it's the same logic. We're more powerful now than a regular Rookie; so two Warriors combined might be stronger than an Ultimate. Besides, he seemed to be a mode-changed Digimon, which means he was likely at least above a regular Champion.}
You're probably right. I wonder what else we'll find out.
"TK?" Hikari asked, she'd crawled next to him and was now laying her head on his shoulder. "Let's go home."
"Okay," TK said, wrapping his arm around her. They stayed there, finding comfort in each others presence.
Davis was going over the fight in his mind. "I wish I could do that fusion, but Ken's not here to fuse with me! I feel so useless!"
{Maybe you can fuse with someone here Davis!} Veemon said. Davis smiled at Veemon's optimism.
Maybe...I just wish I weren't so alone right now. Davis thought, watching all the other Warriors having someone to talk to.
A shooting star flew across the sky.