Chapter 7: Regroup & Aura
A pair of gloves? What could be so significant about a pair of gloves? To Ash, those gloves seem to be the key in defeating Arukenimon and Mummymon...and whoever that last guy was. The blond was blank in thought. She thought the injury to his head made him think in some sort of riddle. "Ash?" she tried to call. "What are you talking about? What gloves?" It didn't really dawn on Pikachu for the moment but that's when he remembered what Ash may have been mentioning.
"Of course!" he voiced. "Sir Aaron's Gloves of Aura which are at the Tree of Beginning." A special type of gloves. No wonder Ash seemed to think about gloves at a time where Yukio and the Digimon had kidnapped children. However, the plan couldn't commence without Ken who was in Mexico City around the Aztec ruins. It was something about a Dark Spore treatment. "But Ash, why do you need those gloves? You know how powerful your aura is, right? You knocked Mummymon for a loop when you infused it into that snowball." The blond bit her fingernails. All of this was so much, so fast that she couldn't keep up or understand. Suddenly, the phone rang. She picked up the receiver.
"Takashi residence. Nancy here." Pause in silence... "So it's true, Hiroaki?" … "Yeah, I have a boy claiming to be there." … "TK's where? With your dad in Paris? Isn't Matt with him?" That Ash was swift to answer.
"Actually, Tai is with him," he pointed out. "Matt's in Mexico with Ken." Hearing that, Nancy had the information but wondered how the heck he knew.
"Were you with them when they chose where?" Ash bobbed a nod.
"I was with Davis in New York. But how do you know Matt and TK so much? Were you an older sister to them?" Older...sister? Nancy hung up the phone, ready to confront Ash.
"Do I look that young?" Ash huffed a nervous chuckle. "I'm actually their mother." The one who gave birth to them? That made sense too.
"Sorry I asked."
"Don't worry about it." Ash sighed, flustered at how that spiraled. "Now, these gloves that once belonged to this Sir Aaron...this is, of course, back where you're from, right?" Back to that subject...
"You see, back hundreds of years ago, there was a war between two factions. In the middle of the chaos was the Cameran Palace where the factions would meet. Sir Aaron wasn't a member of either faction. Instead, he had the title of Aura Guardian. He and his Pokémon, Lucario, had gone ahead to find a way to end the war and the source would be the largest tree that was seen from the palace: The Tree of Beginning. However, Aaron trapped Lucario in the sapphire jewel on his staff so that he would save Lucario for a later time as he sacrificed himself to help revive the life of the tree. Hundreds of years passed when I won the Cameran Tournament and was crowned to watch the ball later that day. And that's when Lucario reemerged, thinking I was his late master. He told me that he thought I was him due to the level of aura that I had no clue about. Then again, I did have Wizardmon in me at the time so the power had to have spiked enough for Lucario to think I was super powerful. All of us had gone to the Tree of Beginning when a wild Mew had taken Pikachu and Meowth there. It was then that we realized that Mew was actually so ill, it would die. Lucario and I used our auras to restore Mew's health but I was shoved aside to where Lucario sacrificed himself. It does haunt me to this day that Lucario sacrificed himself instead of having me help."
What a way to go. Nancy realized that Ash witnessed more moments of horrid than she could anticipate. "I'm sorry you had to go through so much." The fact that Ash had this aura sounded like he needed those gloves in order to invoke the aura within him. "So these gloves you were mentioning...you need them to bring out the aura that's 'buried,' right?" Ash nodded, confirming Nancy's guess. "But how are you going to get there? You're stuck in Odaiba." True.
"I guess we need to wait until the others get back." Easier said than done...unless you look out the window. Imperialdramon's back, landing in the same park where they departed for that worldwide ratification. "Maybe now would be a good time to keep my mouth closed." Ash got to his feet but Nancy wanted him to settle.
"Oh no you don't. You're still injured." Ash grumbled at being denied but had to understand her concern. Before long, TK entered the door. Boy, won't he be surprised. He opened the door with his eyes closed.
'Man, I don't like the fact that Davis sent Ash back through the DigiWorld,' he thought. 'At least I would've introduced him to Catherine. She would be a more interesting match than Kari or Yolei.'
"Hey, TK," Ash teased. Hearing his voice, TK turned and spotted Ash, just removing his bandages.
"Ash? I thought you gone back." Ash huffed a chuckle before he got serious with what happened.
"You see, it boiled down like this." TK listened intently to Ash's brief story of his encounter with Arukenimon and Mummymon and how he needed to get to the Tree of Beginning. For TK, it was serious business. "...And that's that." It was troubling.
"BlackWarGreymon seems to want to find a true meaning on Earth rather than the DigiWorld. This is a problem. But I'm not sure an ancient pair of gloves will do much."
"Not alone, per say." A nod told TK that Ash had more than a pair of gloves ready to fit his sleeve. TK was quick to plot a plan.
"I'll e-mail any Digidestined with a winged Digimon that can take you there. I'm sure one will guide you to the Tree of Beginning to retrieve the Aura Gloves. Meantime, head straight home and start packing. Once this is done, I'm sure either Kari or Yolei will get you to Sinnoh." That made Ash uneasy. He cringed at the thought of one of the two girls who've gone lovesick on him, more frustrating when you count Mimi. "I take it you'd like a male to escort you?" Ash shook a denial to that.
"If you...if you had to choose between Kari or Yolei or Mimi..." The concerning crack in Ash's fear dawned on TK. He began to understand why Ash left Earth from New York in the first place.
"Mimi, too? Ash, don't get the wrong idea." Ash was curious to know of TK's piece. "I'm rather envious of you. I mean, if I was a female, I'd go after you myself." Ash jumped in a bit of fear, thinking how TK could be a girl and he...or she in his mind would envelop Ash.
"Am I that attractive? How do you know it's me and not Pikachu they're after?" Pikachu didn't appreciate being placed on the same ship as Ash.
"Hey, hey!" he shouted. "The subject is you, not me!" Are you sure, Pikachu? Poor Ash couldn't fathom the fact that he had multiple admirers in the possibility.
"Hey, if LadyDevimon drilled that hole some time prior to like during the first trip some time ago," TK compared. "Look, you should be fortunate that you've got people here who would like to take you in." Ash knew but still felt as if he didn't really belong with them.
"I'm a trainer, TK," he tried to deny. TK believed that it wasn't a big deal.
"So?" That's his reply? One tiny word?
"All I'm good for is battle with my Pokémon, not loving people. And me with a Digidestined would be like water and oil. There's no way we'd match and one would hold back the other whether it's gym battles, contests to keeping the digital world in check. It won't work." That would explain why Ash was hesitant about falling for someone in this world. Now TK saw the light of the situation.
"Now you make sense. I thought it was fear but it's actually doubt and now I understand." Even Patamon had to believe Ash's saying.
"I never thought a complication involving one's personality was the reason of your unwillingness to say that you love Kari or Yolei," he realized. "Though Mimi is a tricky one to figure out." Patamon, you're not helping.
"While I do get it, that's not really a problem. We've got more than enough Digidestined to battle this threat and perhaps you've already done enough damage to benefit us." Ash nodded, almost surrendering to the thought of aiding the Digidestined further than needed. "So, I'll send you home to get prepared for the Tree of Beginning as well as Sinnoh."
"Thanks," Ash acknowledged. It would take a few minutes to set up the portal. The gate was open.
"I hope you'll be ready. This will be no cakewalk from here to there and back and then further there." TK, could you repeat that? He forwarded his D-3. "Digiport Open!" A flash on the screen prompted Ash to vanish. With Ash gone, hopefully back to Pallet, TK began to ask around for escort service to aid Ash. Yolei got the message. Kari got the message. Sora, Izzy and Davis as well. So, who'll join Ash over to the Tree of Beginning? Ash was back in Pallet Town, finally. As he began to pack up for the double trip, Kari, Yolei, Mimi, Izzy and the Digimon emerged from the tunnel. For Mimi and Izzy, this was their first time in the Pokémon World.
"So, this is the Pokémon World," Mimi, coming from New York City, NY, USA, awed.
"Prodigious!" Izzy huffed. "Just imagine the studies of Pokémon and the relations to Digimon that I can research. And maybe..." Maybe what? 'What if there could be ways of mating along the two categories of creatures. A hybrid of Pokémon/Digimon creatures may invoke new and unique traits that could expand the natures infinitely.' An experimentation of uniting a Pokémon and Digimon? Someone stop him before anything ugly becomes an attention-getter. Even Yolei believed that Izzy wanted to try mixing a Pokémon and Digimon for some sort of new species.
"If you're going to experiment on mating rituals between Pokémon and Digimon, can that be saved until after we take care of this problem?" Yolei grumbled. Poor Izzy was found out. All he could do was scratch the back of his head.
"I'm rather curious about this whole Tree of Beginning business," Gatomon meowed. "Is that the birthplace of Pokémon?" Not a bad question. Even Kari was wondering about where Pokémon stem from.
"I think Gatomon's onto something," she backed her cat Digimon. "Being born in the Tree of Beginning seems to be plausible for the beginning of life, right?" Thinking caps on, Izzy, Mimi and Yolei had a moment to wonder about the possibility of starting life in this named tree.
"We can wonder about what the Tree contains," Tentomon buzzed. "What TK did say was that it's also the grave site of this Sir Aaron. We can only assume the worst when we get there." Izzy agreed. Now was the time to rendezvous with Ash.
"Well, let's get into town and find Ash," Izzy suggested. The group confirmed before rushing into town. Kari and Yolei led the way, knowing the streets of Pallet Town better than the others. They arrived at Ash's house when the door opened. However, it wasn't Ash. He was shorter, wearing glasses and a green polo t-shirt. That made Kari and Yolei gasp.
"Max?" they wondered. Max? The new raven-haired boy shot a look of surprise to the group of Digidestined that came to see Ash. He did recognize the two young females.
"Kari, Yolei!" he cheered as he hopped over to meet them. "Man, it's been a while." To the two, it had been.
"That's for sure," Yolei giggled. Kari noticed something wrong. Maybe it was something in the past.
"Where's May?" she questioned. May?
"She's setting herself in New Bark Town, getting ready to begin her next journey to be top coordinator." This May... Max seemed to know what Kari was asking about.
"Older sister's in Johto, I see." Ah, that would be it. "Why didn't you go with her?" There had to be a reason for the brother not to support the sibling.
"Well, actually, I was on my way back home to Petalburg City in the Hoenn Region so I had to see Ash once more before I did. I'm gonna help my dad with Gym preparations." Someone's a big boy now. "What about you?" It's a little more serious with the Digidestined.
"We're going to take Ash to the Tree of Beginning to retrieve Sir Aaron's gloves," Mimi notified. Max gulped. That could mean that he's been there.
"A situation where he needs someone's gloves?" Izzy nodded. "Great. Since he's not here..." Where could he have been?
"Prof. Oak's lab?" Hawkmon guessed. Maybe.
"Let's go see," Yolei pointed. The group managed to reach Oak's white house with the windmills. There, Ash was at the gate, walking out with Pikachu. What business did he have? He was also wearing new clothes: a black travel vest which had a yellow stripe around the stomach. Pikachu heard the charging group with Max.
("They're here!") he announced. Pikachu removed his collar once more. Ash turned, face flushed seeing the three girls who...the only way it would be tougher on him if there were more girls who liked him also joining the festivities. It's just the way the stories were going.
"Ash, what's this about you going to get Sir Aaron's gloves?" Max questioned Ash's motive. Ash and Max were good buddies from Ash's reaction for him to face the music.
"I need to release the power to help these guys," he explained. The aura power that he tried to use. "You saw me bring it out at the Tree of Beginning. I need those gloves." Max realized but didn't want Ash to get further involved with Digidestined work, even if his life depended on it.
"You saw from those Time Flowers. Sir Aaron's aura was sapped curing Mew as well as Lucario's. They died trying to help. Just imagine if they were used to do harm, you'll drain the aura faster than Pikachu's Thunderbolt." Max was overly concerned about Ash but the evidence seemed to point onto the past and the results of over exhausting one's aura. Ash? Not too worried about it.
"Max... keep in mind that I'm not alone in this battle. We will conquer this threat." No, he's got the Digidestined as backup. Still, the fears of Ash dying from using his aura kept Max from wanting to keep Ash's health in check.
"Of course it can be conquered, but your life is more important than a mission that can be handled by the Digidestined." Ash had a way to tell Max that everything was in good hands.
"I know what the Time Flowers contained. The reason they lost their lives were because they exhausted their aura individually. I still have Pikachu who can be an impressive asset. And heck, Kari's a trainer with her Butterfree." Yeah, whatever happened to Butterfree? Kari brought out a red/white ball and released Butterfree from the confines.
"Butterfree, why don't you spend some time with Ash's Pokémon?" she offered. Butterfree agreed before flying off. Ash was back with the talking.
"I understand that you're worried about me, but I'm worried about all the kids who were kidnapped by Arukenimon and Mummymon. They need the most help and I don't want to know what'll happen to them if we don't hurry and get back to Odaiba." That's how serious Ash wanted to help solve this. "I let those kids down, even with BlackWarGreymon by my side. I want to redeem myself." It finally dawned on Max. Redemption...
"Ash is a real honest person when it comes to crises like this," Mimi offered her say. "And knows what to do when on the moment's notice. That's why I...we fell in love for him." Kari and Yolei bobbed nods, expressing reddening cheeks. Finally, Max agreed. He got the report of what needed to be done.
"Then let me come, too," he decided. The Digidestined and Ash were surprised. Max wanting to help? "I can help get to the center of the Tree of Beginning." A tour guide approach... Mimi agreed.
"Very well, but you'll be riding on Lillymon." Palmon's Ultimate Form?
"Whenever you're ready guys," Palmon geared. The flashes of the devices brightened the area. The Digimon began to transform. "Palmon digivolve to...Togemon!" Champion Level Togemon made a brief appearance. "Togemon digivolve to...Lillymon!" Now, Lillymon came out.
"Tentomon digivolve to...Kabuterimon!" Tentomon buzzed. From the glow, Tentomon was a lot bigger and bluer...and pretty nasty-looking. It appeared to be a giant fly with half of the limbs and wearing a hard light brown helmet.
"Hawkmon digivolve to...Aquillamon!" sounded off Hawkmon. Aquillamon entered the scene. Gatomon was last.
"Digi-armor Energize!" Kari shouted. This was different.
"Gatomon armor digivolve to...Nefertimon, the angel of light!" Gatomon called out. She was no longer a cat but a giant white winged sphinx with gold cuffs around the hooves. Once landing, Lillymon knelt to Max's level.
"Well, Max, what do you think of little old me, now?" she cooed. From his awing expression... captivated.
"First time seeing you," Max gulped, trying not to "fall on his face." "I don't know what to say." Lillymon giggled before...interactions with Digimon and humans seemed to be in a rather stunning study. Lillymon gave Max a kiss. Forget waking up and smelling the roses when you're wearing some on your lips.
"Lillymon!" Mimi roared.
"What? Can't I enjoy someone who shares the cuteness like Ash? Besides, you did admit it yourself." Ouch.
"Well, we should get going if these kids need to be rescued," Kabuterimon acknowledged. The group agreed. Izzy, Yolei, Max and Kari boarded their rides as Mimi and Pikachu hopped on Kabuterimon. Ash had a choice: Nefertimon or Aquillamon? Kari or Yolei? Ash hopped onto Aquillamon. Kari became rather devastated. It was as if she wanted him to ride with her.
"Let's go," Nefertimon told Kari. The fliers lifted off, heading north to find the Tree of Beginning. So far, it was smooth sailing, nothing to hamper their trip. That was about to be short lived. Out of nowhere, a helicopter raced in after the fliers. The black helicopter had a red "R" on the nose. Ash looked back and saw the chopper, realizing that trouble's here.
"Not them!" he shouted. "Not now!" Inside the cockpit were two adults in white uniforms with red "R's" on their chests and black arm-length gloves and boots. They were also joined by a white cat with a coin on it's forehead. One was a woman with blood red hair slicked back to appear like a wave, donned in a mid-drift shirt and skirt. The other was a male with a basic schoolboy's cut with a not-so-basic blue hair color, dressed with a long-sleeved shirt and pants.
"Listen, is that the twerp's voice I hear?" the redhead teased.
"It sounded like him, pretty loud and clear," the blue-haired acknowledged. This was an interesting mockery they were performing.
"On the wind..."
"Pass the stars..."
"In your ears!" the cat sneered.
"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace," continued the redhead.
"Dashing hope and bringing fear in its place," added the blue-haired.
"A rose by any name is just as sweet..."
"When everything's worse, our work is complete!"
"Jessie!"
"James!
"And Meowth, that's a name!" the cat identified itself.
"Putting the do-gooders in their place," Jessie started.
"We're Team Rocket," James named themselves.
"And we're in your face," Meowth finished. Just what Ash needed. He gritted the appearance of Team Rocket and seemed rather annoyed by what they just mentioned.
"Where did you guys get that motto, a cereal box?" he scorned loudly. Jessie got a bit ticked from the criticized comment.
"Hey, we needed a new motto for the new quest for your Pikachu!" she yelled. Did you really need a motto? Honestly!
"Besides, we can take Pikachu as well as these rare creatures!" James promised. Ash needed to shake Team Rocket off their tails and soon. The helicopter had a rocket which became unveiled from the bottom of the vehicle. Quickly, he turned to Kari.
"Kari, you think you can disable the propellers?" he requested. Sensing that Ash had an idea, Kari bobbed a nod.
"Leave it to me!" she grinned. Nefertimon dipped and slowed down to get beneath the underbelly of the helicopter. James saw the move, knowing that they were in trouble. Nefertimon eyed the rotating propellers, her target locked.
"Rosetta Stone!" it chanted as a pink light illuminated. Out shot a stone tablet, fired directly at the spinning blades. Direct hit! KABOOM! The contact ruptured the blades, already feigning on the controls. Jessie fought but with three of the four blades totaled, it was useless. The helicopter was going down.
"They made it look too easy!" Meowth realized too late. Let's hit the bottom. BLAM! The helicopter crashed and the Rockets flew out.
"Of course we were in over our heads!" James whined. "They weren't Pokémon to begin with!" Some people fail for obvious reasons. James explained that willfully.
"Leave it to Jessie to come up with a way to go overboard and underachieved." Both cat and man glared at Jessie who got a bit frightened.
"Like you guys could've warned me about what they had in store!" she defended. They continued to soar out of sight.
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they screamed in unison. Bye! Now it was smooth sailing for the Digidestined, Ash and Max. Kari and Nefertimon returned, receiving fives from Ash and Yolei for a job well done.
"Nice one!" Ash cheered. It didn't take long until they spotted a giant rocky tree, hundred times larger than the trees below it. "There it is! The Tree of Beginning!" They've arrived. Once landing, the Digimon reverted back to their training forms. With that, they entered the small cavern below the giant tree. Through the tunnel, the group prepared for somethings that could complicate the mission.
"I can only wonder what we'll find in here," Mimi wondered. Wait no longer. They were inside the tree. Inside looked like paradise. Pokémon were strewn throughout the giant area of different sizes, shapes and types, almost as if there was eternal peace. Maybe it was eternal peace.
"My gosh!" Yolei gasped. "I can't believe the tree has all these Pokémon in such an isolated area and in absolute serenity." A real awe inspiring sight.
"This way!" Max shouted as he ran up the tunnel. The rest followed pursuit...except for Mimi. Something was rubbing her leg. It was a small pink four-legged creature with a horn on its forehead and buck teeth. Why was it nuzzling on Mimi's leg?
"Can I help you, little guy?" she asked. All the little guy wanted seemed to be a pickup. No, not a truck! Mimi picked the creature up, cradling it near her chest. "I do need to help my friends. You can come along if you want." The creature just wanted to feel a warm body. That or it saw Mimi for something unusual. Mimi was trailing as the rest pursue the gloves worn by Sir Aaron. Izzy took notice that the tree bark was solid as a rock, not hollow.
"I get it," he figured. "The Tree of Beginning isn't a tree but a rock formation to represent a tree." So this tree of epic sizes wasn't wood but rock? That could explain why it's been up for so many years. Soon enough, the team reached an open sky portion where there were a series of branches acting like a mix of a broken bridge and a platform jumper's paradise. Mario? Mario! We found your new play set where you can practice with Luigi!
"We need to be careful crossing the limbs to get to the other side," Ash stated the obvious. "Not only are we walking on narrow branches, winds will try to gust us off." That...wasn't obvious.
"Tentomon and I can get to the other side with ease," Hawkmon noted. "We can escort the other Digimon to the other side." Game plan... Yolei nodded. Hawkmon carried Gatomon as Tentomon helped Palmon across. Just as they made it to the other side, a massive blast of wind blew out from below. Everyone ducked to avoid the enormous winds. It subsided after a few seconds.
"Ash, I hate to correct you," Kari murmured. "But gusts are not that strong." How "strong" are gusts suppose to be?
"I'd estimate that to an F-2 tornado's wind speed," Izzy studied. F-2? That's strong. Mario, forget the invitation. Stick to kicking Bowser's tail and protecting Peach. Now's the time. Ash and Kari began to cross, Max and Mimi behind. They hurried to try and pass before another blast of wind knocked them far away. That's when Ash noticed the creature in Mimi's arms.
"What the heck are you doing with a Nidoran?" he questioned. Mimi had no time to answer at this point.
"Later," she scolded. "First, we cross." Ash put the wonder to the side for the moment and aided Mimi across. Izzy and Pikachu began to show some concern. Ash and Kari could be struck with another blast of wind.
"They can't stay out there for too long," Izzy advised. Ash turned to Kari, ready to move. They began to crawl to the other side, hoping that the next gust doesn't catch them. Ash made it across but it was too late for Kari. Another blasting shot of wind tagged her from behind, propelling toward Ash. Kari was too close for Ash to evade. BOOM! The wind smacked Kari into Ash, sending them further back to the wall. Ash was still recovering from his bout with Yukio. Who knows what injuries the impact could worsen. Ash dug his feet into the rocky floor. The force looked to be too much. That's when Ash was slowing to a stop with a pinkish light emanating on him and Kari. Ash and Kari were okay but by who or what? Ash and Kari turned to see a pinkish cat with a long tail glowing a pink light.
"Mew?" he gasped. The floating cat giggled. Ash and Kari sighed a relieving tone, knowing that Mew spared them from serious harm. The rest of the Digidestined hurried over to the other side with little difficulty. As soon as Yolei reached, she hugged Ash.
"I was so worried for a second," she cried a bit. Ash patted her in the back to tell her noting had gone wrong.
"Okay, Yolei." Everyone across, the group proceeded onward toward their destination, Mew joining. Finally, they reached the largest area in the Tree of Beginning. The core.
"This is it?" Izzy wondered.
"This is it," Max acknowledged. "The tree's center." The group gazed inside the confines of the core, noticing two bulges of crystal. Were they Sir Aaron and Lucario? Nothing was inside of them. Ash scanned around to see a pair of black arm-length gloves with a large blue oval on each, knuckle up.
"This is it," Ash claimed. "These are the gloves." The gloves of Sir Aaron. Mew began to act defensive, swiping the gloves from Ash. "Mew?" Mew replaced the gloves onto the larger pile of crystal, goading Ash to re-retrieve it. Once he snagged the gloves, the crystal began to shine. Ash was so stunned that he was easily consumed by the growing light.
"Ash!" Kari and Yolei shouted in fear. The light formed a dome, Ash being shielded from anyone else. Inside, Ash was met by two figures. One was a raven-haired man in snazzy black and blue royal clothing as he held a staff with a sapphire diamond on top. The other was a blue jackal-like creature looked to be about Ash's height, but had spikes embedded on its wrists and chest. Ash was captivated.
"S-Sir Aaron? Lucario?" That's the legendary Sir Aaron? Who'd have thought?
"So, you are the new line of aura possessors, are you not?" Aaron observed. "Lucario advised me about this information when he crystallized." By crystallized, did he mean died?
"I-I am. Though, I'm unaware of what my aura is for." Aaron placed a hand on Ash and closed his eyes. A few seconds later, Aaron removed his hand. He was showing a grinning smug. Was something funny?
"Yours is unique in more abilities than I or Lucario would've imagined. Your aura is Mirror." Mirror? "Mirror works in two unique fashions, reflect and copy. Reflect allows you to redirect an attack back to the sender while copy allows you to study and emulate the move used on the sender." Reflect and copy...they could be of use.
"Ash," Lucario called. "I assume that you wanted to borrow Sir Aaron's gloves. The truth is that your aura is far stronger and more flexible than Sir Aaron or myself." Could this mean that Ash didn't need the gloves after all?
"But how can I use my aura if I can't bring it out myself," Ash wondered. Aaron scoffed at Ash's concern.
"I could tell you, but that's an issue you need to handle on your own," he replied. "I learned the same way. When the moment comes can tell the out coming truth." The out coming truth? What does that mean? In a flash, everything was gone...except for Ash and Mew. Kari, Mimi and Yolei ran over to Ash who remained stationary. He also had his eyes closed...and his instincts kicked in.
'I sense the three girls approaching me. They're worried...and after that light show, I don't particularly blame them.' Kari reached out, Ash sensing it. 'Kari's reaching out. Try not to react.' Kari clasped her hand onto the raven-haired trainer. No flinch... Then, he opened his eyes. Time.
"Ash?" Kari called so worried about the issue. Finally, Ash opened his eyes.
"Well, guys?" Everyone wondered what he had in mind as he turned around. "Ready to go cleanse this virus?" Ash sounded ready. Sound of determination stoked the rest to gear up for the battle against Arukenimon and Mummymon, as well as Yukio.
"Ready when you are," Yolei pumped. On that note, the group vacated the tree, Odaiba bound. They would need to hurry. Back in Odaiba, Davis, Ken, Cody and their Digimon had confronted a female having what appeared to be a headache. The pain in her head was so immense, she bellowed a blood curdling scream.
"My head!" the girl yelled. "What's...happening to me?" By the way, she was glowing a crimson red. This was not good. She released her head and her eyes lost their shine.
"Does anyone notice the glow on her?" Veemon wondered.
"Never mind the glow," Davis pointed out. "Check out the action in her hair." Wormmon saw a red plant bulb popping from the top of her head.
"The Dark Spore is sprouting!" he warned. That's bad news. Before the boys could react, the flower blossomed.
"Talk about a full bloom," Armadillomon murmured. That's when a familiar laugh echoed the park they were in. Yukio had arrived.
"Oh no, it's Oikawa!" Cody jumped in defense as he unsheathed a wooden sword. Not far from Yukio were the two Digimon, Arukenimon and Mummymon.
"His fan club's here too," Davis spotted. "What do they want?" In hindsight, it would be the girl with the flower on her head.
"I'd give you three guesses and they all point to her," Wormmon replied. To Davis and Ken, this was unacceptable.
"No way," Ken growled as he brought out his D-3. Davis too.
"Right," he agreed. Veemon and Wormmon were going to transform once more.
"Wormmon digivolve to...Stingmon!" Wormmon chanted. Wormmon got back to Stingmon formation.
"Veemon digivolve to...Ex-Veemon!" Veemon shouted as he became Ex-Veemon once more. "Ex-Veemon..."
"Stingmon..." All together now...
"DNA digivolve to...Paildramon!" they called upon and united...to become Paildramon. Already, it fired it's clawed cables at the other Digimon. Mummymon swatted the cables away from them while Yukio turned his attention to the girl.
"Now, if you'll excuse me," he muttered before he and the girl faced each other and Yukio placed a hand on the flower, a dark mist emitting out of her and into him. Wasn't that dangerous to do?
"Get your filthy hands off Noriko!" Cody snarled. He raised in, the rounded sword cocked.
"You're not going anywhere!" Mummymon jumped in and flung the Snake Bandage. The wraps snagged but it wasn't Cody it got. It wrapped Ash. Talk about timing.
"Miss me?" he mocked. Duration or accuracy? Best guess on duration. Mummymon tried to reel Ash in. One smile told someone that Ash was doing the reckless. One good yank and Ash was sent flying. He flew passed the Digimon and right at Yukio...or so it seemed. Ash tackled Noriko from Yukio. They tumbled for a few seconds before resting and Ash getting up by the time Max arrived. "Max, watch this girl."
"You got it," he agreed. The boys were glad to have someone keeping her protected.
"Noriko's safe," Ken sighed. Don't relax yet.
"Terra Destroyer!" sounded...BlackWarGreymon? A giant red orb rained down and nailed the Digimon. Arukenimon and Mummymon were knocked down. BlackWarGreymon landed just as Izzy and the girls made it as well.
"Well, now," Yukio scoffed. "Round two, I take it?" BlackWarGreymon watched as the dark mist emanated bigger out of him. "So, what to do with the so-called trainer who interferes?" That's when another BlackWayGreymon showed up...only this was more vibrant in the color department. Orange arms and legs, red hair, the shinier armor...
"WarGreymon, you made it!" Paildramon recognized.
"Yeah and just in time," he repsonded. BlackWarGreymon and Yukio faced off.
"So, that's your game," he murmured. "You desire power to replace loneliness. If this what grants you happiness, you're living in a dream." Loneliness? Yukio was lonely? Yukio tried not to listen to BlackWarGreymon's convincing truth. It made Ash think.
'Loneliness?' he pondered in thought. 'Is that what made this guy snap? To prove the power of isolation?' He began to activate his aura. That's when Ash saw a figure, one larger than Yukio. The purple figure had a fowl beak that haunted a ghost. 'What the heck? There's an evil being inside that man. I gotta warn the others.' Ash ran up to and sided by BlackWarGreymon. "You were right, Yukio isn't human. Someone or something's controlling him." The Digidestined and Digimon were shocked.
"I figured as much. But how were you-"
"Needed some intense advice." Gotcha...
"Intense advice, you say? How about...THIS?" Yukio fired a black beam at Ash. Was Ash ready for it? BlackWarGreymon didn't think so? He jumped in front, getting the full blast of the contact.
"BlackWarGreymon!" Ash, WarGreymon and Paildramon shouted. WarGreymon and Ash got to BlackWarGreymon, heavily damaged from the impact left on its chest.
"You were fools to think that I was a weak and lonely person. My desire wasn't power but to return to my home. To return to the DigiWorld!" Return? Yukio was from the DigiWorld? Yukio began to walk off. BlackWarGreymon was very weakened from the damage it endured.
"I don't have much time left," he groaned. "The control spires are shattering inside. I have to stop that evil Digimon from returning to the DigiWorld." A virus with a good heart.
"That's enough, BlackWarGreymon," Kari pleaded. "You need to preserve your strength!" BlackWarGreymon knew his fate was worse than this.
"No, that's what I'm offering to all of you." It gave one final look to Ash. "Ash, we're all aware that you're not a Digidestined, but you do belong in the DigiWorld much more than...him! " The knees were buckling. This was it. "I need to seal the Hightonview Terrace Gateway." WarGreymon did not want him to go.
"Don't do it!" he cried out.
"I must!" With that, he leaped to the sky, a plume of purple smoke billowing from the wound. Suddenly, he disintegrated. Particles of his body scattered all over Odaiba. That's it. BlackWarGreymon was no more.
"He always wanted to do something fulfilling in his life," Ken groaned, feeling as if it was a friend that he hadn't seen in years only to be reunited before dying.
"He protected Ash," Kari mumbled, saddened at the loss of BlackWarGreymon as well. Ash was so close when BlackWarGreymon took the fatal "bullet" for him. He was sad...and angered. He punched the ground.
"Why?" he whimpered. "WHY!" His scream could be heard from the park out to Tokyo. It was upsetting. BlackWarGreymon forfeited his life to atone for whatever he did to the Digidestined. With Yukio wanting a "return trip," it may be impossible with BlackWarGreymon's seal. What about the rest? What about Sinnoh? What about the other children?
TO BE CONTINUED...