Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
Valor: The qualities of a hero or heroine; exceptional or heroic courage when facing danger (especially in battle)
Hope: To cherish a desire of good, or of something welcome, with expectation of obtaining it or belief that it is obtainable.
Canem cracked open his eyes open as he felt his arm being lifted. Someone was holding his limb and there seemed to be a bowl of something nearby that he was too tired to identify. Squinting, he realized it was Davis. What was he doing here?
{Hurry Davis} Veemon urged Davis. Canem, not hearing Veemon's voice, still opened his eyes a bit more and realized there was liquid in the bowl.
"Don't worry," Davis said quietly, sounding to Canem like he was talking to himself. "I've done this to Tai before. I got chased around for a while afterwards, but I still managed pulled off the 'hand in warm water' trick." Canem bolted up when he realized what was going on. Davis leaped back in surprise, and dropped the bowl of warm water, spilling it all over his bed.
Canem groaned. "I let you stay in my apartment and this is how you thank me?"
Davis grinned with a boyish mischievousness and a little bit of sheepishness at the same time. TK walked in and looked at them questioningly, but when he saw the wet parts on Canems bed he couldn't stop a smile.
"Did you wet the bed Canem?" TK joked. Canem looked frantic.
"No I didn't, Davis dropped warm water on me!" He protested. TK nodded in a very exaggerated manner, as if he was saying "Oh sure, I completely believe you…" Davis laughed as Canem frantically tried to prove to TK that it was just water on the bed.
The Caligomon in him sighed. The realms were all done for.
- In Julia's Apartment -
Hikari and Julia sat comfortably on some wooden chairs with cushions on them, part of an expensive dining room set as the table between them was made of the same type of wood. While they talked, giggled, and shared stories, Rika slept peacefully on an inflatable bed in the next room. The topic of their talks eventually drifted to their experiences the previous day.
"So Dominus was controlling you," Hikari said. "That must have been awful!"
Julia nodded solemnly. "It was. But being possessed on it's own was nothing compared to being forced to attack Can-you guys."
"You were gonna say Canem huh?" Hikari grinned. Julia found a fun spot on the floor to look at.
"N-no!" She tried to protest.
"I think someone has a crush!" Hikari joked. Julia continued looking at the floor.
"It's just...he didn't even try to hurt me," She said. "I kept attacking and attacking, but he didn't do anything back."
"Well I don't know Canem very well, but he seems like a pretty good guy," Hikari said. "Even if he is a bit...weird."
"He's always been like that though," Julia laughed. Hikari raised an eyebrow.
"We knew each other as children," The blond-haired woman explained. "We didn't know each other very well, but we went to the same school until I was about eight and my family moved. He was the class clown and always wanted attention, even if it was only the negative kind. It's been about ten years since then, but yesterday when I saw him... well it was pretty easy for me to recognize him. "
Rika walked in the room, yawning. "Thanks for letting us use your apartment Julia."
"Oh it's no problem at all, I only moved here about a month ago, so I'm sorry about the unpacked boxes," Julia said apologetically. "However, it is really rather convenient that Canem is only a few floors up."
Rika nodded and sat down with them. "So, Julia has a crush on Canem?" Julia blushed heavily and Kari giggled.
- Canem's Apartment -
Canem followed Davis, Takeru, and Takato outside his apartment, locking the door behind him. They walked to the elevator and pressed the button for Julia's floor.
"That was a messed up trick," Canem said. Davis and Takeru laughed.
"Why do you think our fused body was Paladin, Blessed Mode?" Takato asked out of the blue. Takeru and Davis stopped laughing and looked at him questioningly.
"I remember when I was a child, I read about a holy knight who managed to beat a dark sorcerer and saved the world. He's what they called a Paladin, a knight that could call upon Holiness to help him," Canem explained. "I really admired them."
"That's weird," Davis commented. "I wonder what I'll be when I digivolve."
"MegaGassermon?" Takeru guessed. "I mean the gas you pass at night. Whew!" Takeru held his nose. Everyone laughed lightly as the elevator dinged and they all walked out. They were blissfully unaware of the presence that was nearby, watching them.
A cloaked figure wearing a black cloak that wrapped around him stood on top of the apartment building. He smiled to himself and jumped off, closing himself into a ball and hitting the ground hard enough to make the apartment complex shake.
"Fusion Warriors, let's see you fight one of your own," The man laughed. "Come to me before I destroy this place!"
Canem quickly leaped off the balcony with Takato following. Takeru picked up Davis and flew him down. The door to Julia's apartment opened and, upon seeing the men all rushing to the ground, the women did the same.
Canem and Takato landed first, right in front of the man wearing black.
"Who're you?" Canem asked. The man cocked his head to the side. His eyes lit up from beneath his hood and several numbers streamed across them.
"Canem: uses Caligomon DDNA," the man said. "Already has a partner."
"What's going on?" Takato asked. The man switched his gaze to Takato.
"Takato: uses Guilmon DDNA," He stated. "Already has a partner."
Takeru and Davis landed next. The man looked at them, and then grinned.
"Takeru: uses Patamon DDNA. No partner.
Davis: uses Veemon DDNA. No partner," He said.
"Prepare to be destroyed." The man reached back his arms, and when he slammed them together a gust of wind threw them back. The women had just landed and Hikari caught Takeru while Rika caught Davis.
"Who are you?" Hikari asked. The man merely smiled at her.
"I am a servant of Dominus," He said. "I must prevent the fusion of those who haven't yet."
"You ready Takato?" Canem asked. Takato nodded. Before either could do anything, a giant shadow appeared behind them. They turned to look, it was a Digimon no one recognized. He wore a full set of black armor, minus a helmet, but no weapon that would be typical of any kind of knight was present. Golden, arcane markings glowed brightly as they shifted and moved across his armor and the man's eyes glowed red. His long black hair matched well with his dark olive skin, but the snarl on his face took away any handsomeness that might have originally been there. Takato aimed his Digivice at the Digimon.
"Nox, Virus type, Ultimate level. No other information is known about him other than that," Takato read. "Wait...why isn't his name Noxmon?" Canem didn't hear, only got an angry look on his face.
"Nox," Canem practically spit the name. "The opposite of that legendary Paladin."
"Ah, you know of me, little knight?" Nox seemed happy. "Good! But unfortunately I am only allowed to fight you, not your fusion partner."
With that said he flicked his fingers and a red force-shield separated Canem from the rest of the Digidestined.
"Canem!" Julia yelled, pounding on the wall. Canem didn't hear her, only focusing on Nox.
Takato grabbed her and leaped as high as he could, dodging what seemed to be hundreds of rocks flying at them.
"Julia! We're going to need your help, focus!" He said. Julia nodded and focused on the mysterious stranger.
"Impressive, but it's now six against one," The stranger said. "I'll need more power. Darkness Digivolution Activate!"
A black aura surrounded the man, and when it died down a Digimon stood there. The Digimon was huge, looking like an-
"Ankylomon!" The monster shouted. "But I'm not done yet!" A red aura appeared this time, and when it died down a giant Digimon that looked as though it were made of both clay and steel appeared. Almost everyone there had seen this Digimon before, when it was with angelic wings and colored both silver and gold. However, now it was bathed in the color black with it's wings red and tattered.
"Dark Shakkoumon!" The new Digimon announced itself. Takeru's eyes widened as he fully registered just whom it was they were fighting.
"Cody!" TK shouted. Davis and Hikari's eyes widened in recognition. The Digimon laughed.
"You finally recognized me!" He said. "But lets see how well you fight against me! Black Kachina Bomb!"
Hundreds of razor sharp saucers appeared, flying at them. They all did their best to dodge, but they knew it was hopeless. They were trapped within a wall and Cody could keep firing at them.
"Snap out of it Cody!" Takeru shouted. "Air Bombs!"
He threw the bombs made of condensed air at Cody, but they bounced off harmlessly. Davis launched himself at Cody, but his flurry of V-Strikes did nothing. Julia threw her spears, but they couldn't pierce its thick skin. Everyone else's attack had the same effect. Cody merely laughed, then fired off a huge beam, one that sent them all crashing into the walls. He'd been absorbing the energy of their attacks, and then fired them back. It was that specific ability that made Shakkoumon so powerful and able to take on even Mega-level Digimon. The situation began to look more and more hopeless, but Takeru wiped some blood from his mouth and flapped his wings again. He wasn't going to let a person he thought of as a little brother be controlled by Dominus.
Canem and Nox circled each other, neither moving to attack.
"Let's get this started," Nox said.
At that Nox lunged at Canem, who jumped over him. However, Nox grabbed Canem's foot and, with great strength, slammed him towards the ground. Reacting with reflexes that made Caligomon proud, Canem let fly an Arrowhead Barrage, which caused Nox to let go of him in order to dodge it. Canem flew at a wall and managed to get there feet first, pushing off of it to land softly into a fighting stance.
"That was pretty good, for a Rookie," Nox laughed. His dodge of Canem's counterattack hadn't been fully successful as a golden, energy-based arrowhead had burrowed into one of his eye sockets. Nox chuckled again as he tore it out. The large gash healed almost instantly. "This will be fun."
Takeru was slammed against the wall again, sliding down. Struggling to breath after getting the wind knocked from him, he slowly stood back up. All the others besides him and Davis were unconscious; Cody had kept him and Davis conscious specifically to play with them. Takeru flew at Cody, using his Body Slam to ram into Cody. Unfortunately, Cody saw this and batted him aside.
"You don't know when to give up do you?" Cody asked. Davis had regained his senses and was now struggling up along with Takeru.
"I don't leave my friends behind," Davis and Takeru said at the same time. Davis lunged at Cody again while Takeru tried to slam him. The two would die before they gave up on Cody, or any of the others Dominus had captured.
Canem slid down from the wall and coughed a few times. Nox had been holding back, merely toying with him. Being an Ultimate gave him a huge advantage over Canem, one he couldn't even hope to match without Takato.
"Giving up already little knight?" Nox taunted. Canem got to his knees, and then pushed himself up. His eyes flashed gold, causing Nox to look surprised.
"I'm not giving up," He said in a voice not his own. He threw himself at Nox with renewed energy.
Davis lay next to Takeru, neither able to move.
"Aw, big brothers!" Cody taunted. "Come on and play!"
"Cody..." Takeru said. Davis tried to get up again, but he couldn't even move his arms. Maybe it was over. Too bad he had to die alone.
{Takeru is one of your friends!} Veemon's voice shouted. {Believe in yourself and in your friends, then you can do anything.}
It's true Davis, A voice entered his head.
Tk? Davis asked mentally.
Yeah, Takeru's voice responded.
I think it's time we became friends.
A little late isn't it?
Not if it'll save those we care for.
I meant that I thought we were already friends.
Davis shut his eyes as memories hit him. Takeru had always considered him a friend, but between always competing with him and his immaturity, he'd been too thickheaded to realize it. Takeru was the kind of guy who made Davis feel extremely competitive with, he was so good at almost everything. However, part of the reason he was so competitive was because he was so close to the fellow Digidestined. He sighed, feeling a bit of a weight fly off into the distance as he fully accepted his role as Takeru's friend. It didn't mean he wouldn't still view him as a rival though.
Alright, it's time to fuse!
Let's do this!
Dark Shakkuomon stopped his attack in surprise when he saw his enemies were both glowing. Davis a light silver-blue, and Takeru a strong emerald. His eyes widened as he realized what they were doing, he needed to stop them.
"Black Kachina Bomb!" He fired his attack at the two, but it stopped in midair, then disintegrated. Davis and Takeru floated in the air, silver-blue meeting emerald.
Canem lay on the verge of unconsciousness, it was over for him. His now golden eyes started closing, until they picked up a red and blue light. He could make out Davis and Takeru in the glow when suddenly the light expanded everywhere, giving him energy and healing his wounds. He stood up, much to Nox's surprise.
"I see that light has healed you," Nox said. "Oh well, I guess I'll just have to beat you again."
But that light had given him something else, he knew what to do now. A golden aura appeared around him, and when it died down Paladin stood there. This was not the same Paladin brought around by his fusion the other day, but he was still the knight of Faith. He held a sword in his left hand that had a pale blade to it and carried a shield with a cross on it on his other hand.
"W-what?" Nox yelled. "But what about your fusion partner?"
Canem pointed to where Takato stood, now wearing the armor of a red dragon, Growlmon. "I don't need to fuse to go to Champion anymore. I may not be as powerful as when he and I fused in this form, but I can fight you now! Bring it!"
Nox paused and tilted his head to the side, as if listening to someone. After a few seconds hee smirked at Paladin. "Not yet, we'll finish at a later time."
With that said he disappeared in a flash of red light.
"We'll meet again."
The light that Davis and Takeru had emitted started to die down, ExVeemon and Angemon stood where it had been. All around them people had their DDNA digivolved. Rika into Kyubimon, Takato into Growlmon, Kari stayed as Gatomon but gained the Holy Tail Ring, and Julia into Titaniamon.
Takato now wore a red leather-type of jacket armor on his upper-body that had the Hazard sign on the back of it. He wore red pants with white stripes on them and he had black bindings on his arms and legs with golden digi-code glowing from them. His hands had metal gauntlets in the shape of claws, and his hair was completely white. His eyes had a feral look to them and his teeth were now far sharper.
Rika stood about the same height, wearing a shinto-based rope with red and white stitched on it that wrapped around her arms, almost like a snake, and tying into a bow at the center of her back. She also had seven small tails hung around her waist, almost as if they were accessories. Her clothes were now a yellow and white shirt and blue jeans.
Davis was wearing blue, long-sleeved, leather jacket with a white shirt underneath that had a giant silver 'X' on the chest plate. His pants looked like blue jeans, but were made out of the same sturdy armor his jacket was. Like Takato, his eyes were more reptillian now and he had very sharp teeth. He also wore blue leather gloves.
Takeru wore a metal helmet on his head, covering his eyes. He wore a white shirt and white pants that seemed to glow with holy energy. A blue ribbon-like cloth wrapped around his body. Takeru held the Angel's staff with hands that were now covered with metal gloves. Instead of two orange, bat-like wings, they were now six, white, and feathered.
Hikari looked similar to how she did before, but a Holy Tail Ring was now on both of her hands. Where Gatomon had originally only large Holy Tail Right, Hikari wore two smaller Holy Bracelets, one on each wrist. Her outfit was now a white shirt with a pink stripe across it and a pink pair of pants. Hikari felt power flowing from her new accessories and knew how Gatomon must have felt when she'd lost her Holy Tail Ring, the power change was very significant.
Julia was now using Titaniamons DDNA, wearing a beautifully intricate blue and white dress and a golden crown. A set of large fairy wings allowed her to fly in the air.
Cody looked nervous, well as nervous as he could in his Ultimate form. "I see you are stronger now, but do you really think a few Champions can hurt me?"
Takeru walked up to Cody. "It's time to bring you back Cody."
Davis followed suit. "We do this because we care about you."
Takeru and Davis once again glowed their own colors
"Dual Fusion Activate!" They shouted. Their auras combined and a new being stood there now. A mix of Takeru's blonde hair and Davis's brown eyes appeared as the glow died down. The Human\Digimon had silver, white, and blue armor and a long silver and gold spear carried in his right hand. His six silver wings were metallic but looked as though they were feathers.
"I am the Angelic Dragon Knight of Valor and Hope, my name is Dragoon," A voice made of the combination of TK and Davis's voices rang out. Cody launched his attack at them, but it didn't even reach Takeru\Davis.
"Holy Purification!" They shouted. A white aura surrounded their hands, and then a white beam flew at Cody, completely covering him. When the light disappeared, it was Cody in his human form standing there. He looked at them with a sad smile on his face.
"I'm sorry," He said, before fainting. Dragoon ran up to him, wrapping their arms around him.
Give him to me, A voice said in their heads.
A portal appeared in front of them and Vigil walked out of it.
"He'll die soon if I don't fix what Dominus has done to him," He said. Everyone looked confused.
"But we purified him," Dragoon said. Vigil shook his head.
"You can purify the evil Dominus put in him, but everything else he did to Cody is still there," Vigil said. "Medications, serums, things to help control Cody. Since these things are not from this world I need to take him back to the Guardian Headquarters, then I can completely heal him."
Dragoon placed the sleeping Cody in Vigil's arms. Vigil nodded to them, then walked back through the portal.
Paladin walked up to them, just before being glomped by Titania. Vigil's head poked back out of the portal.
"Coming?" He asked. The Digidestined exchanged glances before nodded and following. When they stepped through the portal it was not the Greek Style the Heart and Soul Warriors had seen before, but a beach. They noticed Vigil sitting on the sand in a swimsuit, his wings weren't visible.
"Vigil, what's going on?" Takeru asked.
"Dominus is able to control almost anything with at least some DDNA in them," Vigil explained. "I doubt that Cody will be the last one sent after you, and I'm trying to find a way to protect you from the controlling effect."
"You can do that?" Julia asked, unsure who this man even was. Vigil nodded.
"I'm going to try, but I can't make any guarantee's," He said. Vigil snapped his fingers and their Couno changed into more of a bracer than a watch, completely covering their wrist up to the elbow.
"I don't know how well this will work, but until I can get more information it's the best I can do with the data I've gotten from your fights," Vigil explained sheepishly. "You'll also be able to go to, or even maintain if you wish, Champion Level without requiring as much Divinity Power."
"Divinity Power?" Takeru and Davis asked. Vigil nodded.
"Everyone one of you has something special about them, something that grants holy powers to you," He explained. "For Canem it's his faith. Takato has virtue, Takeru is Hope, Davis has valor, and so on. When Canem and Takato fused they became Paladin, the Divine Knight of Faith and Virtue and was able to rid the area of evil. When Davis and Takeru fused they became Dragoon, the Angelic Knight of Valor and Hope. When hearts, minds, and bodies are in a certain state, Divinity Power can be summoned, which let everyone around Digivolve."
"Not when we did," Takato pointed out. Canem nodded in agreement.
"That would be because you two were Rookies going to Champions," Vigil said. "You gave enough Divinity to heal everyone, but not to Digivolve them. However, because of your Divinity usage the first time, you further opened what we might call a gate. After that it became more easy to use, which is probably why TK and Davis were able to summon so much more today"
"There was another thing I noticed," Takato said. "Why were we Paladin and not Paladinmon?"
"Ah, a good question," Vigil complimented. "It's because you're human. Humans don't need a 'mon' in their name, just like you're Takato and not Takatomon."
Guilmon laughed in Takato's head, causing the Tamer to smile.
"Does that mean that Nox is a human as well?" Canem asked, a bit of anger in his voice. Vigil shrugged.
"I'm not sure," He said a bit sheepishly. "He could be a Digimon and just imitating hybrids, he could be a hybrid, or he even could be a being we don't know of. There's a lot out there we'll be surprised by."
"And Julia, consider yourself lucky," Vigil said, looking at the blonde. Julia raised her eyebrows in confusion.
"Dominus could've done a lot worse than just possess you," He explained. "Who knows what he's done to the others."
Everyone's expression became very sullen.
"Don't fret guys," Vigil grinned. "Cody will be fine. He's the first step you've taken to rescuing your friends. I have trust in you, you do the same." After that was said, the hybrids found themselves back at the apartment complex that Julia and Canem lived at. The fight had been trapped within those pink walls that kept appearing, so the damage to the apartment was nonexistent, but for some reason it seemed like no one had noticed the fight as no people were around at all.
"This is gonna be a weird adventure," Davis commented. The other Fusion Warriors just nodded their heads in agreement.