Hey, sorry for the uber late update, been dealing with large amounts of emotional stuff and stuff and my Year 11 exams and stuff so I haven't had much time for updates. So you guys better enjoy it, cause it's the last of the character introducing chapters, meaning it's almost time for the main plot! Oh, and also, I may or may not have accidentally called Ryuga Leo in a few previous chapters, sorry for the confusion, working on a Medabots story and Leo's a similar character so I was too busy thinking of awesome explosions and super scenes there… My bad… Plus mislabelling Chapter 6 as Chapter 7… Eish, bad day for me…
Now with the awesome powers of rock music, adventure, artistry and a bit of romance;
This is the Real Deal presents:
This is Spirit! Ghosts of the Past!
The REAL Chapter 7: Double Hearts, Double Xros
"It was the weirdest thing," Emily said, trying her best to ignore the irritating throng of shoppers. "It all felt so real, I didn't even know I was still asleep!"
"Hmm… Explain it again Emily, I'm still trying to understand this," Lexi said. "You're telling me that you were transported to a foggy wasteland, and a digimon was there trying to kill you…"
"And then some guy came and punched it in in the face?" Allison finished off animatedly. The shopping mall was filled with bustling people all running about their daily affairs, all deep in their own affairs in conversations, with people ranging from little children with their parents to young couples to bag laden teenagers. They fit into the last category, though they were a few years short of the mark.
"Yeah, it sounds crazy I know, but I'm telling you it was all real!"
"Then how come you don't have the bruise from scraping your knees?" Lexi pointed out. Emily resisted the urge to check them again.
"I did have it! They just healed really quickly that's all, the sting was still there, my pyjamas were still ripped…"
"Maybe you pulled them somehow in your sleep?" Allison suggested. "I know I'm always tossing and turning everywhere in my sleep, my parents say I have WAAY too much energy, but I don't think I have TOO much energy it's just that they have too little energy and they aren't exactly used to it and…" Allison paused to take a deep breath of air. "Maybe-its-just-that-once-I-get-riled-up-about-something-I-don't-stop-talking-about-it-do-I-have-too-much-energy?" Emily's head pounded inside her head as she tried struggled trying to process the torrent of words that had just assailed her ears.
"Either way that's not important," Lexi said, trying her best to ignore Allison. "In any case we've got to take a break, just stop thinking of any parallel worlds, or giant lizards, or anything like that! Let's just relax for a bit, go shopping, do normal things!" Emily refrained from asking what normal things were, normally she'd be in her room working on her fan fiction, or at least playing Persona 4. "So, I suggest we take a trip to the food court first, who's with me?"
"I second that idea!" Allison added. "There was also a cool piece of fancy jewellery I saw earlier… Hey Lexi, your mom has loads of money right? Maybe you could get me something as a favour? Come on, you're like my big sister!" She nudged her in the ribs playfully with her elbow as Lexi pushed it away laughing.
"Okay, okay, we'll see if we can get something for all of us!" she said. "Then what after that?" Emily pointed at herself questioningly as they all turned to her for her opinion.
"Well… I'm not sure," Emily mumbled.
"Come on, stop being so shy!" Allison yelled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "We don't bite… much… Handle might have turned me into a vampire/werewolf hybrid… A werepyre! Wouldn't that be awesome?"
"Fine, well, we could visit the arcade here…"
"The arcade?" Lexi asked questioningly.
"Well… Yeah I guess, it's not as good as the one downtown me and Sam usually go to but…" Suddenly Emily realised her fatal error. Normal girls don't go to arcades all the time do they? Not unless they were gamers or tomboys at least… Lexi simply laughed.
"Yeah sure, why not? It's been a while since I've been there anyway."
"Heh? You go to the arcade a lot?" Emily asked.
"Well not a lot but sometimes when I get bored. My mom thinks it's un-ladylike so I don't go that much."
"What, you thought we dressed up and had tea parties just because we go shopping sometimes?" Allison asked in surprise. "You need to get out more, you always shut yourself off in your room, learn more about people. The media can't all be believed for how girls act you know, you should know…"
"You're talking like you know me so well," Emily grumbled in annoyance as she walked ahead to the food court. "And besides, I didn't think that, you're probably more of a boy than Sam…" Allison looked at Lexi with a confused expression.
"What did I say? Did I hit a nerve?" Allison asked. Lexi shook her head.
"And people say I can be blunt…" she chastised. "Can't you tell? Emily's not exactly the most social person normally."
"Yeah, I know, I just mentioned it didn't I?"
"She gets sensitive about that topic. It's not like she doesn't like going out, she probably just doesn't make friends very easily. That comment was probably like telling her she has no friends."
"That's a thought, does she?"
"Allison!"
"Oh, sorry. I upset her didn't I?"
"Yes, you did! You should apologise to her!"
"I know, I know, I'll just go do that…" Allison hesitated for a moment like she was deciding on something she was already doing, then jogged after Emily. Lexi walked after them at a leisurely pace, humming a tune to herself. The soft padding of tiny footsteps sounded to her right. She looked down to see what looked like a brown puppy with abnormally large almost anime like blue eyes staring up at her, strolling next to her peacefully. A golden collar was around its neck and it almost looked unnaturally cute.
"Gatomon?" she asked, startled. "What're you doing here? And why are you in your rookie form?"
"I wanted to tag along, it's boring back at home," she replied. "All of the other neighbourhood cats are out doing their own thing right now. I'm Salamon because like this most humans think I'm just a regular dog until they get closer."
"Or until they hear you talking!" she snapped. "Goodness, there's just no controlling a cat is there? Just stay silent, bark a little bit every now and then, you're a puppy, not the Cheshire cat." Gatomon or Salamon nodded her head affirmatively, yapping like a dog immediately afterwards. The trio and Salamon stopped outside a door in a fenced off enclosure just in the corner, the sign saying Café Arnold. Allison ran in front of Emily, stopping her from entering.
"Wait! Sure this place isn't as good as Benny's but I'll be the one paying for your ice-cream! No excuses! No buts! Just think of it as a sorry!" They entered through the door, the cool air blowing over their faces caressingly. The lights flashed momentarily, blinking spasmodically at them. Families and couples were all dotted at various points in the room, seated at tables with various meals from pizzas to milkshakes, nothing too expensive it looked like. A chill ran down Emily's spine, the tingling feeling travelling the full length of her back. Before Emily could comment on it, Allison strolled over to the counter and began rapidly relaying their orders, ordering what must have been enough food to supply an army.
"Hey, Lexi, am I the only one who thinks the lights are acting strange?" Emily asked, staring worriedly at a light that mysteriously flashed off.
"They're probably reacting to Salamon," she replied. "She doesn't come here much so the electric equipment probably isn't used to her. Stop worrying about Digimon so much!"
"Okay, if you say so…" They all joined Allison at the counter just as she finalised the order with "and a large soda!" A panicked shout interrupted them. Everybody's head turned to the sound. A man in a leather jacket held a girl in her arms, her chest heaving rapidly with each gasp for air. Her skin looked ghostly pale, unnaturally so. He carried her to a chair and sat her down, another individual joining him.
"I wonder what happened there?" Allison asked, instantly forgetting about collecting the spare change or receipt.
"It looks like they've got whatever it is under control," Lexi answered. "Let's go outside, it's less crowded there. There isn't really much we can do to help here at least." The man was busy talking calmly to the lady as she drank a glass of water. The girl smiled slightly, then laughed, the man shifting closer to her with a playful smile on his face, still calming her and telling her to breathe. Honestly it looked more like he was trying to get her number than help her out but at least he knew what he was doing. Emily shrugged her shoulders as they followed her outside.
The morning continued, with piles of food arriving shortly afterwards by their table, with two huge plates going to Allison with burgers and fries. Emily kept questioning where all the food actually went after that, and even Sam would be impressed by the amount of food she was stuffing. After eating their food (Allison going for some of theirs to) and Lexi paying for it they proceeded towards the jewellery store as originally planned.
Money wasn't even an issue here, as soon as the clerk, a flamboyantly dressed female with almost too much makeup, spotted Lexi she immediately brightened up.
"Ah, Miss Swan! So good of you to join us again! Is your mother not with you today?"
"Not this time, I'm just with my friends," Lexi said, flashing a credit card.
"I see. Do you want me to show you our latest items off the French line?" she asked, a posh accent clearly audible in her speech. "Perhaps you wish to see the German turquoise in summer items?"
"No, no, even with my mother I couldn't possibly afford those!" she replied with a smile. "And you know that best! I'll just explore on my own, we were just going to do some window shopping…"
"I want that one!" Allison yelled, pointing at a huge silver necklace. "No, this one!" she screamed as she ran towards a gold pair of earrings, then covered her mouth in awe as she spotted a great ruby dangling from the neck of a mannequin.
"Is she always like this around jewels?" Lexi asked.
"I think she's always like this around anything shiny," Emily replied, remembering their first encounter in the haunted house. "You're known here aren't you? You must have a lot of cash here if they know you so well. Even your surname sounds famous!"
"No, I'm not really that rich," she said. "Sure, I guess I have more cash than most, and my mother is an actress, but it's not like I can get whatever I want all the time. My mom isn't even that famous…"
"Yes she is!" Allison shouted out. "Everybody knows the famous Evelyn Swan! If you don't know her you're weird!"
"Uhh… Yeah, I guess you've got a point…" Emily laughed hollowly, feeling stupid that yet again she was the only one who was left out of the loop.
"Well still, I'm not that wealthy," Lexi said as she peered curiously as a necklace. Emily picked one out, the emerald diamond on it polished to perfection, her own face visible in it. Instantly she knew that she probably couldn't afford to even look at it and put it down, moving to another one at the end of the room. A white and gold lotus pendant hung from a gold thread, with a black pearl sat in the middle of the petals, staring back at Emily almost begging to be worn. Emily picked this one up instead and slipped it around her slim neck. She stared at the mirror that hung above it.
It was almost as if the beauty of the necklace was mocking at her enormous glasses and unremarkable eyes, and unremarkable hair, and unremarkable everything. If anything her freckles were too frequent and her skin was too pale. The necklace didn't make her look pretty, it just made her now look worse.
With repulsion she took the necklace off and placed it back on the rack. She turned around just to crash into somebody, tumbling onto the floor.
"Sorry," she said at the same time as the person she crashed into. The man extended his hand out and pulled her up, his grip firm but gentle. She looked up and caught her breath.
"What, did I surprise you with my good looks?" he said as he flashed a charming smile at her. The same charming smile he flashed in the Café.
"No, that's not it, it's just… I thought you were someone else, that's all," she said. His other arm was wrapped around another girl now, a slim blonde with a complexion just as pale, who was just staring at him with lust-filled eyes. The pair walked off, talking animatedly to each other. Emily stared at him as he walked away, the light flickering as he closed the door. Lexi walked up to her eyeing the necklace.
"Hey, you're alright?" she asked.
"Yeah I'm fine," Emily replied, rather distantly. "Just a faint buzzing in my ears."
"A buzzing in your ears? That's definitely not good!" Lexi exclaimed.
"Relax, its nothing big, I'm fine."
"Well anyway, I think that necklace looked good on you! Why don't you buy it?"
"No… I don't think so," Emily said. "My mom would keep asking me how I could even afford it. She doesn't like other people getting her expensive stuff, says it feels like charity…" Before she could say anything else Allison ran up to them with five golden rings and a necklace wrapped her neck.
"I want these ones! I want these ones! Then let's go to the arcade after this!" she screamed.
"I can't afford all of those!" Lexi yelled. After spending five minutes convincing Allison to only get two golden rings and a mood ring, they headed out for the arcade.
The first thing they heard as soon as they stepped inside was:
"Die, die, die! Die twice, die again! Hurry up and… Noooo!"
"Sam, calm down, you've still got two more lives."
"Right on, let's do this!" The trio stepped inside to already find Sam and Mighty on one of the machines, pushing buttons randomly and fiddling the joystick sporadically. Mwape was standing behind them watching until the girls appeared next to him. He gave them a thumbs up, not turning to face them.
"Your day off to?" Emily asked. Mwape shook his head.
"Maybe its Mighty's, but my D-Arc's been acting strange for a while and everything points to somewhere here, so I'm just waiting for it to go 'ding' and off I go to deal with it."
"So you think there's a digimon here?" Emily asked.
"Maybe, but it doesn't look like it's harming anybody," he added. "Still, digimon can turn violent really quickly if they stay in the human world long enough without a partner. Human emotions really affect them, so it might be a good idea to escort them back to the digital world." Emily nodded her head before turning her attention back to Sam again. It looked like him and Mighty hadn't even noticed them as a giant tentacle creature with guns appeared on the screen.
"Whoa, that looks like a Vademon!" Mighty squealed in delight.
"Not sure what a Vademon is but I know it doesn't look happy to see us!" Sam yelled, his thumbs twitching as he waited for the cutscene to finish. Allison stepped behind him, staring at the screen thoughtfully.
"Hey Sam, your gun isn't gonna work on that thing," Allison said.
"Oh great, it's you again!" Sam said with a barely concealed smile. "Here to give me another broken Digivice?"
"Are you still holding that against me? It worked so you've got no right to complain!" she yelled. "And besides, I think you're actually happy to see me!"
"Please! As if, and I still need to… beat… this guy…"
"Look, regular bullets don't hurt him. If you'd picked up the BFG you could blast him across two solar systems, but since you didn't, use the terrain instead. Exploding barrels, loose platforms, anything shiny!"
"Like the tank of radioactive stuff over there?" Mighty yelped as a bullet shot past his screen.
"Stop talking to the girl and help!" he screamed. Emily resisted the urge to go point out that the monster had a weakness in its left eye as she looked at her own Digivice.
"Well since you mentioned digimon, I've been feeling kind of funny ever since I got here, and I keep hearing a kind of low buzzing or humming sound, and every time I hear it the electronics start acting up." It was almost as if she was a jinx, because as soon as the words left her mouth outraged roars and screams came from the group gathered around the arcade machines. The screen had frozen completely and Mighty was busy banging the side of the machine aggressively. Mwape and Lexi didn't seem to notice however as their attention was immediately piqued.
"A low buzzing sound?" Lexi asked. "Was it kind of melodic? Did it have a tune?" Emily shook her head, then immediately clutched it, doubled over in pain as a sharp pain ran through her skull, right down to her skull.
"Hey, take it easy," Mwape said, pulling a chair to her. "What's happening?" Sam stopped what he was doing and immediately went up to her, concern on his face, followed by Allison and Mighty.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Emily lied. Her head felt like somebody was driving a hot poker into it, and yet at the same time she could hear something else to. A soft tune, perhaps a little melodramatic, synthesized instruments playing it. "I can also hear a melody now… Like a tune… It sounds kind of… creepy, but playful…"
"A Digi-Melody!" Mwape exclaimed. "You can hear Digi-Melodies!"
"Digi-Melodies?" Emily asked in confusion.
"A Digi-Melody is like the sound of a digimon's digi-core or soul," Salamon explained. "Not many people can hear them, and when they do it normally means that the digimon is about to die."
"You can even hear those? Goodness, you really are special!" Lexi said. "Can you tell where its coming from?"
"I think so…" Emily mumbled. As if in response as well, all the lights flashed on then off again before the screens on all the arcade machines turned blank, accompanied by the angry protests of all the gamers using them. Emily stood up and typed in a short sentence on her Digivice touch screen. "It feels like it's coming from the car park. Sam, you've got Yoshi?"
"Yeah, stored right in here!" he yelled. She nodded her head.
"Alright then. Let's go!" The troupe all ran out of the arcade as quickly as possible, Emily following her ears, trying her best to ignore the pain in her head.
So much for the day off, Lexi thought to herself as she pulled out her Digivice.
. . .
They gathered outside in the underground car park, but instead of signs of destruction it was just the same as usual, a few cars scattered everywhere and cool air conditioned air.
"Are you sure you head a digi-melody?" Sam asked suspiciously.
"I didn't even know what a digi-melody was, how should I know? Still though, I've got a gut feeling that something's not right…" Emily scanned the car park for a moment, her eyes resting on the same leather jacket wearing man by a red sports car, his arms wrapped around a brunette with hazel coloured eyes. He spotted Emily and flashed her a charming smile.
"Hey little lady, are you now a fan of mine?"
"What's wrong with the girl?" Emily asked, sparing no niceties.
"Em, don't be rude," Sam said. "I never thought I would be the one telling you that but still…" the man ignored him as he answered her question.
"She suddenly got all light headed and fainted up at the Food Court, not sure why really, but then we started to talk a little. We got to know each other and I decided to give her a lift home. Why do you ask?"
"Because I know that's not whats really all that's wrong with them…" Everyone looked at Emily in confusion. "Mwape, point your Digivice at this man, now." Mwape did as he was told, giving her a confused glance.
"I'm not sure why you're… Huh? Digimon match complete… But he's a…" The man's face turned pale while his girl looked at him with confusion.
"What's wrong? Do you know these kids?" she asked.
"No, he doesn't know us," Sam said, holding up his Xros Loader. "But soon he's gonna know us all too well. Who are you? Or should I say, what are you?"
"Hey don't be ridiculous, I'm a human already!" he exclaimed. "Look Trish, I don't know who these kids are, let's get out of here." He inserted his keys in the car, only to pull back his hand in alarm as sparks shot out of the keyhole.
"Your own interference won't let you use the car," Lexi said. "That's how panicked you are. You don't belong in this world, go back."
"This world? I'm from this world!" he shouted. "Leave me alone already!" As soon as he said the words the air suddenly turned stifling hot as a dark pulse of data and binary code shot out from him. Before their very eyes all the cars started to rapidly deteriorate, rusting and becoming covered in moss. The grey walls turned rust brown and the very entrance to the car park was letting in only purple light. A tiny bat-like creature with tiny wings was floating in front of him. The girl screamed in shock, the shrill cry rivalling a banshee splitting through the air before going limp, falling into the man's arms.
"Things aren't looking good for you huh?" the creature, evidently a digimon said.
"Demi-Devimon, what're you doing dragging us to this place?" the man asked. "I just wanted to pick up chicks, not got to a demon world like this!"
"Heh? So you're not a digimon?" Sam asked. "And why are we in Digi-Quartz?"
"Of course I'm not a digimon!" the man screamed, his cool composure replaced by rage.
"And we're in Digi-Quartz because I remember you guys!" the small Demi-Devimon said. "In fact, I remember you guys like it was yesterday. You tried to beat me up just because I wanted a tamer. Now how could you do something like that?" Mwape clutched his Digivice tighter.
"This isn't good, this is the Devimon you met at first isn't it?" he asked. "For some reason he has his memories, digimon that keep their memories after dying end up being way stronger than normal. Whatever he was doing to get them back has made him way stronger than normal!"
"That's right I'm stronger!" he screamed. "And still really ticked off to!"
"So if he wasn't a digimon and you actually were, what're you doing here?" Emily asked. DemiDevimon laughed to himself evilly.
"After you killed me at first I came back to the human world wandering around like a lost sheep, sucking people's blood when I met this guy over here." He gestured at the man in the jacket as he said this. "This sad sap was looking for a way to pick up hot babes, so we came up with a plan together. I'd drag a poor unsuspecting young lady into Digi-Quartz and suck some of their blood. Not too much of course. I'd make sure to place a little dark aphrodisiac inside them to turn up their hormone levels a little to, so they'd be a little more responsive to my friend here if you know what I'm saying! I'd send them back to the real world, swiping their memories of the whole experience and they'd faint and fall right into my buddy's arms. He can then pull his moves and badabing badaboom, he's got himself another babe! Meanwhile I feed off the blood of his victims and the lust of his desire of the ladies! I just kept getting stronger and stronger and the sucker thought I was actually helping him! Beautiful aint it?"
"You were doing this… Just to get stronger?" he asked, the realisation that he was used sinking in.
"Of course I did you moron! Did you think we were actually friends?" he said mockingly. Sam clutched his Xros Loader even tighter.
"You jerk… you just used this guy for your own selfish reasons! I can't forgive something like that!" Sam screamed. "We're gonna have to just beat you down again! And this time, it'll be way easier than before! Reload, Strikedramon!" A flash of blue light shot out of the Xros Loader as Strikedramon materialised in front of him. "I've decided! Since for some weird reason Emily could hear your digi-melody, I'm going to hunt you, even if I think you're a jerk!" Demi-Devimon started laughing as he started glowing dark purple.
"Please, I don't want you to be my tamer anymore! I've got my own power now!" His whole body transformed as he turned back into Devimon, fangs showing like a classic vampire. As if she were made of paper, he picked up the fainted girl, the man who was carrying her making little resistance, and dug his fangs into her neck, her whole body shuddering as the teeth pierced the skin.
"No!" Strikedramon yelled as he shot forwar, his fist held behind him ready for a punch. "Strike fi…" Strikedramon stopped in place as Devimon held up the girl like a human shield before batting him away with his hand. He tossed the limp girl aside, laughing maniacally as he charged up a wave of dark energy in his hand.
"Salamon, go!" Lexi yelled.
"You to Mighty!" Mwape added. Salamon leaped forward, pouncing on Devimon, taking him to the ground. Mighty tossed off the long brown cloak he'd been wearing, his hand transforming into a small cannon.
"Aura Pellet!" he yelled, firing a tiny blue energy blast at Devimon. The attack connected, Salamon and Devimon going up in smoke accompanied by Devimon's own evil laughter.
"What kind of weak attack was that?" he laughed, tossing Salamon out of the cloud of dust. Lexi and Allison both held up their Digivices.
"Digisoul, Full Charge!" Allison yelled, red energy radiating off of Allison's whole body as she slammed her hand on top of it.
"Digi-Modify, Digivolution!" Lexi screamed while white energy came off of hers.
"Salamon Digivolve to…" Salamon hovered into the air, data covering her before she landed on the ground again on two feet now. "Gatomon!"
"AxeHounmon Digivolve to…" AxeHounmon stood up on two legs this time, shredded black garments clothing him along with a suspicious blood red marking appearing on his neck. His eyes turned bright green and on his hips two sheathed blades appeared, even the sheaths glowing faint silver. Spiked blue boots appeared on his feet and his tail mysteriously disappeared. "Lycanthmon!"
Lycanthmon clenched and unclenched his fist.
"Lycanthmon again… Good! I don't like being Sangloupmon! I might as well just stay as rookie!"
"You try keeping up the energy to Digivolve an Ultimate!" Allsion retorted. "It's tiring I tell you!"
"Less talking, more fighting!" Strikedramon yelled, going for another punch. "Strike Fist!" he yelled, punching Devimon as hard as he could. Devimon simply caught the wildly aimed punch with ease, smiling evilly, blood dripping off a fang. He chucked Strikedramon into the air before shooting up after him, smashing him back to the ground with his claw.
"Strikedramon!" Sam yelled. "Reload, FlaWizardmon, Starmon, Kotemon!" The three digimon shot out of the Xros Loader, all of them holding up their weapons, or in Starmon's case, just snarling angrily.
"Digisoul, Charge!" Mwape added, charging up his own Digivice. Mighty grew to his full adult size, his gun reloading.
"AdultMegamon!" Adult Megamon and Gatomon both leaped forward, a charged blue ultra kick accompanied by a glowing cat paw. A dark aura set up in front of Devimon as he laughed with even more menace.
"What kind of pitiful strength is that?" he laughed, a gust of wind blowing them back. Yoshi leaped into the air, his sword burning with passion. "A Fire Men again? Useless!" Devimon put up a claw, stopping the attack dead in the air. "My turn... Death Hand!" Electricity coursed throught Kotemon's whole body as he shrieked in pain before finally going limp, collapsing on the ground.
"Yoshi!" Emily screamed, running up to him in shock. Lexi gritted her teeth in frustration.
"I can't believe I have to do this… Gatomon!"
"It's finally time!" Gatomon yelled. Lexi swiped another card through her Digivice, the card going blue as wind billowed around her.
"Digi-Modify! Matrix Digivolution!" Gatomon floated into the air, divine light shining on her.
"Gatomon Matrix Digivolve to…" Her whole body grew to that of a female, her eyes glowing pink before a helmet slotted itself over them. A white divine robe slotted itself over her body, perhaps being slightly too revealing, and four pairs of wings grew from her back. "Angewomon!"
"They're not the only ones who can go ultimate!" Sam yelled. "FlaWizardmon, Strikedramon, DigiXros! Starmon, AdultMegamon, DigiXros!" The four digimon shot into the air, clashing in two balls of light before falling as FlameDramon and Meteor Cannon Mode Megamon.
"Ha! Now we're all at my level of power!" Lycanthmon laughed. "Silver Dash!" Lycanthmon jumped forward, swinging his swords in a frenzy too fast for even Devimon to predict as he frantically parried the lightning fast strikes with his claws. Flamedramon leaped into the air over him, charging up his fists.
"Fire Rocket!" he yelled, firing the blasts. Devimon screamed as the flames scorched him. Megamon charged up his cannon, aiming it at Devimon's roaring face.
"Death the Cannon!" he yelled, blasting Devimon in a devastating wave. Devimon howled in pain as the attack shot him right through the wall, up and out of the car park. The attack died down as Devimon collapsed onto the floor, smoke coming off of his body. Emily could do nothing but stare as a bow formed through Angewomon's glove, an arrow materialising in her free hand. She could do nothing as she fired it, then several more at the howling Devimon. She could only watch, and stare at Kotemon, hoping he would awaken.
Kotemon opened his eyes slowly, the sounds of battle in the background.
"Sorry… Emily… That I'm so weak…"
"No, don't be," Emily said. "It's my fault really, if only I could make you Digivolve…" If only. Everybody else could somehow do it, and if they couldn't they could make up for it. Why couldn't she?
"Impressive," Devimon said, getting up from the crater in the ground. "It seems I underestimated you… A grave mistake I shall not make again!" eerie rifts in the air opened up to allow a battalion of Demi-Devimon to enter. "Behold, my Nightmare Soldiers! You shall soon all be very acquainted with one another. In the next world you shall all enjoy trading tells of how on this day they defeated you all!" Another line of them stepped forward, these ones being imps with red neckerchiefs instead of bats, and yet another line of larger, uglier, more distorted imps with enormous jaws.
"Impmons and Vilemons… Not a pleasant combination!" Lycanthmon snarled.
"I know, I know, already on it!" Allison yelled, charging up her Digivice. The group all charged outside, ignoring Emily as they went to finish the job. Emily looked at her own Digivice with disappointment.
"This stupid thing… Why can't it just go ahead and work already? It hasn't done anything useful for me once…"
"Don't worry Emily," Yoshi said. "I'm already much stronger than that Devimon."
"Yeah right, you got beaten in one hit," Emily said snidely. Her expression immediately softened when he saw Yoshi's crestfallen expression. "Yoshi, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way. I'm just upset that I can't help the others as I am now. If anything it's all my fault. You're probably the strongest rookie here, I just can't make you Digivolve, that's all. It's my fault, not yours…" Yoshi sat back up, leaning on his wooden sword.
"No, It's all mine," he answered back firmly. "Knightmon-sama said that it's a knight's duty to protect and serve their masters as long as their cause is just and noble, no matter what the cost. He said it's the same for samurais, and if I could think only about wielding my sword for that reason, then all of my training will make me more powerful than any opponent! I know more about fighting than that Devimon, and I know more about justice than him to. I'm much stronger than him!"
"Even if you're hurt like this?" Emily asked.
"Even then!" Emily was just about to sit him back down when he stared into her eyes. His yellow eyes looked down with a fire in them, the determination to win at all costs. Denying him there would have been too cruel.
"Okay then, you're right. I shouldn't worry about something dumb like digivolving! It will happen when we can both grow enough to match out ideals, right? For now we just have to do what we can, and serve our friends as best as we can!" Kotemon nodded his head, his momentary outburst in speech gone. "You're right. And besides, I'm a tactician! Even without the power, I can still outsmart my enemy!"
Back above the surface, everyone had degenerated back to their basic forms, huffing and puffing as the enemy flew and danced around them, laughing maniacally at their imminent defeat.
"We can't… Go on like this!" Strikedramon yelled.
"Yeah, anymore and I'm done for!" FlaWizardmon agreed. Devimon laughed at the downed opponents, the only one left who was still fighting being Angewomon.
"Give it up harlot! You can't hope to compare to me! If you surrender now, I may just take you as my bride!" Lexi shook her head as Angewomon kept firing.
"No… No I won't give up! Even if things look bad there's still a way out of this mess! Maybe it involves running away, maybe it involves beating you, but whatever it is I know that Emily will pull through and think of something! Because as quiet and distant as she might seem, that's the kind of person she is, or at least I hope she is. The kind who will pull through when it really counts!"
"I was talking about marrying your digimon you know," Devimon snarled. "You however may make a lovely little snack to go as an appetiser to…"
"Fire Men!" Yoshi yelled, slamming his kendo stick down on Devimon's head. Devimon crashed into the ground mid-speech, his minions gasping in surprise. Kotemon landed on the floor, flourishing his sword.
"Sam! This isn't going to work!" Emily yelled as she ran up to him by the sidelines. "There's way too many of them to pick out one-by-one, we have to be systematic! Use Greymon to destroy huge masses of them at once! Cover Greymon's lack of speed with AxeHounmon's speed, those two alone will be able to take out half the army! DigiXros the Pickmons, Kotemon, and FlaWizardmon together and focus them all in his sword, it should give him enough of a kick to take out the other half. Everyone else keep Devimon busy!"
"Right, this will work!" Sam yelled, reloading Greymon. "I was too scared to use Greymon because of how slow he is but after that I think we'll be fine! Let's go!" Greymon yelled aggressively, flames spewing from his mouth. A mass of DemiDevimon surrounded him, only to be beaten back by AxeHounmon. Allison and Sam got closer together, back to back as the digimon surrounded them and their partners. A bunch of Pickmons rained down from the sky like meteors, smashing into the enemy force to cleave open a path for Emily to escape through to Kotemon.
"Twenty against two, the odds don't look that even," Sam said as he flicked his goggles.
"Maybe if they add ten more to their side it'll be a fair fight!" Allison added with a smile. "Although I gotta admit, I'm a little bit nervous right now. I feel a little more calm with you here though."
"Same here," Sam said. "Although AxeHounmon's smile is kinda creeping me out…"
"Sam!" Emily yelled.
"Right! Kotemon, Pickmons, FlaWizardmon, DigiXros!" They all fused together, Kotemon falling to the ground with red armour and a wizard hat instead of a helmet, still obscuring his face, his wooden sword now a gigantic silver claymore or zwëihander.
"Xros up Kotemon, BURNING SWORD MODE!" Kotemon roared. His sword grew even more enormous, stretching to five times his size. "Everybody get down! GETSUGA, TENSHOU!" He swung the blade horizontally, slicing half of the car park in half as he did so, a gigantic black and red wave coming off of the sword. The enemy digimon didn't even have the time to scream as the sword and its wave tore them apart.
"Nova Flame!" Greymon roared, destroying his half of the army in the process. Devimon looked around him in panic as his army fell to pieces before him.
"What? My Nightmare soliders…" Kotemon's fusion broke apart as he collapsed onto one knee. He stared Emily in the eyes then nodded his head.
"FlaWizardmon, Strikedramon," Emily said.
"AxeHounmon, Starmon," Sam added. Then, clashing their Digivices together they yelled:
"DOUBLE XROS!"
JOGRESS EVOLUTION ACTIVATED, Emily's Digivice beeped. DIGIVICE 01 LINKING WITH XROS LOADER. INITIATING SYSTEM PROGRESSION. XROS CODE ANALYZING.
The mentioned digimon shot into the air, more fire building up around them before they clashed again, flames shooting through them.
"DOUBLE XROS!" They all yelled together, flames incinerating everything around them. Devimon had to shield his eyes, staring in horror as his enemies gained even more power than himself.
Strikedramon's head appeared on the new digimon's left shoulder, larger than before. AxeHounmon appeared on the other, his smile just as disturbing as ever. It had Strikedramon's torso and arms but with a more metallic sheen to it, and its legs were a bipedal version of AxeHounmon's legs. Wizardmon's head was visible for a moment hovering near the torso before getting absorbed inside, a large yellow V forming on its torso. Its head formed, being mostly blue armour with a black lower jaw, ash white hair escaping from the back and what looked like a crown with a red gem in the centre.
Starmon sat himself on one of FlaWizardmons matches as twelve Pickmons piled up on top of him.
"Flamedramon, X4!" he screamed, brandishing his sword.
Flamedramon X4
Level: Unknown
Attribute: Unknown
Family: Nature Spirits
Type: Composition
Tamer: Sam Gospel, Emily McKenna, Allison Radium
Attacks: Three Victorize, Burning Star Crusher, Celestial Boomerang
A Composition Digimon whose name comes from "Flame Dramon Cross 4." It is a FlaWizardmon that has achieved something previously thought to only be possible for Shoutmon species digimon and attained a "Victory Mode," born from their desire to gain absolute victory. If all ground based Digimon, it has the potential to be the most powerful, and its ability to wield the "Star Blade DX" should not be taken lightly, especially when linked with its magic power.
"Whroooooaaaarr! I shall not lose!" Flamedramon roared, steam coming off of his whole body.
"Whoa! What is that?" Lexi screamed.
"Wow Handle, you look so cool now!" Allison yelled, hearts almost visible in her eyes.
"I know right? This is awesome!" he yelled, before turning his attention to Devimon.
"This can't be possible… You should be dead right now!" Devimon screamed, hurling dark energy balls at him. Flamedramon X4 walked right through them, the blasts having no effect on him.
"Such a petty attack can't possibly harm me!" he yelled, his sword catching fire.
"Alright then, its time to finish this!" Sam yelled.
"Yeah, you're right!" Emily added. "Go, Flamedramon X4! Use your strongest attack!" His sword lit up with power as he clutched it with two hands.
"Burning, Star, Crusher!" he yelled, swinging the blade down with all of his might. A gigantic red flaming V coming off of the sword, tearing up the ground beneath it as it travelled to Devimon. Devimon roared in horror as it ripped right through him, his clothes burning and shredding to pieces along with his body. Red rings wrapped around him as he collapsed to his knees. Sam swiped his Digivice, sealing the deal.
"Digimon capture, complete!" he yelled, before sighing. "But is this okay? Capturing such a horrible digimon…"
"Don't get upset about it now!" Allison yelled, squeezing him tightly. "We won! We won! I haven't had a battle that close in a long time! I thought I was going to die but you and Emily saved us all!"
"And you're… gonna kill me… if you keep… squeezing… so… hard…" Allison let go apologetically. Emily looked up at Flamedramon with a bit of pride.
"I know, that this time, we definitely did something here!" he said. "Xros open guys, It's time to go." The gigantic Flamedramon broke apart into each different component, FlaWizardmon lying on his back looking exhausted.
"I think it took the biggest kick out of this guy," Strikedramon said. "He was the base and all. So I think we should call it a day…"
. . .
Everybody said their farewells as they all split up, walking their separate ways. The woman couldn't remember a thing that had happened, and somehow the government seemed to have somehow heard of the battle, suspicious looking men and women with badges saying 'DATS' coming to take care of the man. Emily didn't get to see whether or not they arrested him as they had to make themselves scarce before they could be called suspects for some odd unrelated crime. Everyone had already gone their separate ways and the last two people were Lexi and Emily, hanging outside the mall.
"Hey, Em," Lexi said.
"Hmm?" Emily replied, not really focused.
"How did you get so strong? I mean, yeah how did you get so powerfully when you just started being a tamer, but also to get such a strong character? You don't care about trying to be someone you're not. You like video games and eat loads of pizza, almost as much as Allison even! And you don't let things get you down! Sure you're a little shy, but you don't let it stop you being you. And you're also so brave… I wanted to give up and cry when I saw Devimon, if I were you, between saving a bunch of people you hardly even know, and saving my own skin, I would have chosen the second option." Emily chuckled to herself softly. "What's so funny?"
"Lexi, I'm the one thinking I should be more like you! You're pretty and rich, and yet so down to earth. You can relate to people from Allison to me, and even to the upperclass I bet, I can only relate to other video game junkies and anime addicts like myself. I'm not all brave, I actually get really nervous about what people think about me, even if I don't say it, and I nearly did give up when fighting Devimon! It was only because of Yoshi that I came back!"
"Really… I guess people see you differently than you think," Lexi said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, I guess…" There was an awkward silence for a while as Emily desperately searched for something to break the ice with.
"Thanks for saving us out there," Lexi finally said, beating Emily to the punch.
"No problem, you would have done the same."
"I'm not sure, but I hope so." Lexi turned and left, leaving Emily alone as she also turned back for home. Lots of feelings swirled around in her head, but the first one this time, was the feeling that she had been useful today…