Uber sorry for the late update! I've been pretty busy with stuff (A-Levels suck...) In any case, I've posted a thread following this story on the Digital Connections forum where people can ask questions about the story and its characters and the world its set in and all that, though so far it isn't very busy. So onwards!
AN: This chapter is rated kinda bloody, for violence, sociopathic behavior and awesomeness, (I was really ticked off when I made this chapter for some reason but I can't remember what...) so if you're squeamish or don't like the thought of excessive beatings, then just alerting you now. Not that it's gonna stop you reading the chapter, but it's worth a shot.
Chapter 13: Farewell, my Friends
One hour prior…
The group marched through the forest, the smaller partner digimon watching the rear as they talked amongst themselves, while Yoshi and Cho-Hakkaimon roamed just ahead, Devimon flying as Demi-Devimon just by Sam's head in place of Starmon. FlaWizardmon and the others were inside the Xros Loader to avoid attracting unwanted attention from deeper within the forest. Emily hadn't really thought about it earlier, but choosing to enter the Digital World meant that there would be long hours of walking ahead of them without rest. Ryuga seemed to be forgetting that he was travelling with children, because even as they trooped up a steep incline and Emily's chest felt like it would burst, he didn't once bring up the topic of a break, barely breaking into a sweat. Emily turned her head to her side to see Lexi wasn't in much better condition than her, doggedly dragging her feet through the dirt.
"This… is… really… tiring!" she moaned. "Can't we take a break yet? I'm thirsty, and hungry, and my feet… my feet are crying!"
"Already? We've barely started!" Ryuga pointed out with a smile. "Honestly, don't you guys exercise or do stuff or something? You're kids, you're meant to have infinite energy!"
"Not all of us are made of steel, Ryuga," Emily stated, her expression as dark as thunder.
"What you are made of is flesh, bone and muscles! Muscles that make you move, so use them!"
"Yeah, listen to the man," Allison said as she turned around to face them, marching backwards as she spoke. Emily already knew he shouldn't question where Sam got his energy, but how was Allison also equally unaffected by the marching? The two of them had already made some distance between themselves and the rest of the group. The only thing tying them down were Ryuga's sharp words warning them that it was too easy to get lost alone.
"Yo, guys," Mwape began. "Anybody else noticed that the forest is starting to look a little… strange?" Everyone looked at Mwape questioningly before taking in their surroundings. True enough, the bark on the trees were beginning to peel off, revealing wiring and computer chip-like designs beneath them, green and white moss eroding away at the bark. Not just the trees either, all the rocks were covered in moss of varying shades to. The air around them turned humid, the heat and moisture sapping the strength from their limbs. The group slowed to a halt as the sky began turning an eerie shade of red. The howl of wind could be heard from all sides, coming from everywhere at once as it winded its way around the trees. "Something's wrong here…"
"I think we've noticed by now," Emily replied. "Yoshi, you can sense someone to can't you?"
"A digimon correct?" Yoshi replied, his hand hovering over the hilt of his sword. "I'm no longer a reptile so I cannot sense them as easily, but my warrior spirit can still feel the presence of company…"
"This is bad," Ryuga said. "We somehow stumbled into Digi-Quartz. My guess is that somebody's been dragging us in for a while now, and the changes in scenery were too subtle at first for us to notice. It's a little bit late to go back now. DexDorumon, get ready." Nobody responded. In confusion, Ryuga turned around. In the distance catching up to them, the group of rookie digimon walked, still talking like nothing had happened. Ryuga frowned. "Huh? Dorumon? Where'd he go?"
"What're you talking about?" Emily asked. "Dorumon and the others are right there." Everybody else stared at Emily in confusion before following her own gaze, their eyes scanning the area as if they were seeing right through their digimon. "Wait, you guys can't see them? They're like, right in front of you. If I've got better eyesight than you then you should really see an optician…"
"Yeah, I'm with Emily on this one," Sam said. "I can see Starmon just fine. Well, sort of fine. He looks a little… fuzzy?" Starmon didn't look like he'd even noticed Sam's words in the slightest, flying around Bitemon's head as Bitemon tried swiping at him to get him to stop. Oddly enough, all of them looked rather odd, strange lines like you'd see on an old AV television set running through them occasionally.
"Oh no, I think I get it," Jay said with worry. "Emily, Sam, try touching one of them." Emily reached her hand out at Mighty. His head phased right through it, the feeling of static electricity running through her hand and up her arm. She yanked it fearfully back towards herself in an instant. At least it was just her hand. In horror, she witnessed Starmon float right through Sam's chest and out the other side, leaving no damage at all other than Sam's high pitched scream as his chest was pierced.
"Okay, what just happened?!" Sam yelled in shock.
"Oh great, our partners got left behind," Jay clarified. "While we were being phased in, they were far enough behind that they weren't included in the process. Emily can hear Digi-Melodies because she has a Xros Code signature, and since Sam has one to he can probably interact with Digi-Cores and melodies as well. You could say that what you guys just saw was a solid representation of their Digi-Melodies that you can see but we can't. Sort of like… seeing their sounds?"
"That still doesn't explain why we can't see, hear or touch them," Allison piped up. "Or why they can't see us either."
"Because we're in Digi-Quartz and they aren't. Digi-Quartz is between the human and digital worlds, but beings in Digi-Quartz can't interact with people on either side. Whoever or whatever dragged us this side has to be dealt with by us."
"Don't worry about a thing," Sam said. "I've still got all my boys with me to take on anybody who comes our way, and now we've got Cho-Hakkaimon's strength to! Reload, FlaWizardmon, Strikedramon, Greymon!" Light spewed from Sam's Xros Loader along with the sound of all of the digimon's melodies, the Champion level digimon looking around them suspiciously.
"Let me guess, you got yourselves in a mess already," Strikedramon mumbled impatiently. "I leave you alone for five minutes, five minutes, and already you get us all lost!"
"Wait, Strikedramon," Flare cut in. "This wasn't Sam's horrifying lack of direction this time."
"What do you mean 'this time'?" Sam interjected. Flare ignored him as he continued.
"We're in the middle of Digi-Quartz. From what I heard you just suddenly appeared here didn't you? This is the same thing that happened to me. Whoever brought us here might be the same person who brought me to your world. They might know something about the Bio-emerging digimon."
"Wow, you're so smart Flare!" Cho-Hakkaimon yelled, wide eyed in admiration. "So we find them, and beat them up right?"
"Not right, that's dangerous. Can't you smell it? The signs of magic, and it's not Eve either… I can never forget this smell. Is that… no way!" Flare yanked his matches out of their holster on his belt, holding them up defensively.
"Huh? Flare what's up?" Sam asked. "You look really tense. Who's coming at us?"
"You speak as if I'm some kind of criminal," a sly sounding voice said. "I'm actually rather hurt actually, especially coming from family." The voice echoed around them with no discernible source.
"Uh… Flare? What's going on?" Flare didn't respond, simply making his matches glow faintly yellow.
"Still working at your fire FlaWizardmon? I was always better than you at it, but I think by now you've surpassed me in that field. It's a shame that's all you've beaten me at."
"Will you just come down and talk like a normal person?" Flare shot back. "You're really freaking my friends out right now." As if to emphasise his point, Cho-Hakkaimon grabbed Flare's arm, squeezing it nervously in fear. Snowflakes fell from the sky, swirling as they circled around in the sky, floating gently to the ground.
Wait a second, Emily thought to herself. Snowflakes? I don't know how seasons work here but why are there snowflakes? All the snowflakes drifted with the wind, gathering in one point in front of Flare, swirling rapidly in an icy tornado, powerful gusts of chilling wind whipping their skin with the sharp sting of ice. The tornado solidified with a muffled popping sound, a digimon standing in place of the tornado.
The digimon partially resembled FlaWizardmon, having a grey complexion a mouth that was stitched together, much like a scarecrow, the straw blonde hair increasing the resemblance. He wore a light blue jumpsuit with a purple collar and turquoise shoulder pads, and protecting his feet were a pair of worn brown boots hinting at long and hard journeys. A magenta cape filled with ominous symbols sat on his back, swaying in the gusts he was creating. Completing the wizard theme was a tall and pointed light purple wizard hat. He held in his hand a long black pole-like staff with a large snowflake designed gem on the end.
"There, I stand before you now, better?" the digimon said.
"I suppose, but dragging us here isn't exactly the warmest of welcomes."
"Sorry about that, I perfected that technique just to use on our reunion. It's not quite as cheerful as I had hoped. Shame since this technique takes the combined powers of Aquarius Fill and Ice Illusion to do…" Cho-Hakkaimon clutched Flare's arm even tighter, edging backwards slightly.
"Flare, I don't like the aura that guy's giving off… Who is he?"
"That's an important question," Sam agreed. "Is this the cousin you said you were looking for when we first met?"
"No, this isn't him. This digimon is Sorcerymon. He's… he's my brother." Cho-Hakkaimon gasped in shock.
"Your… brother?"
"Indeed," Sorcerymon confirmed. "Twin brothers for that matter. Good thing he Armour Digivolved, else the resemblance would be uncanny. Emily's Digivice went off as it automatically began doing a scan of Sorcerymon.
Name: Sorcerymon
Type: Demon Man
Family: Nightmare Soldiers, Wind Guardians
Attribute: Vaccine
Attacks: Aquarius Fill, Crystal Cloud, Ice Illusion
A deviation of Wizardmon and literally the polar opposite of FlaWizardmon. While FlaWizardmons are loud and passionate, Sorcerymon retained its traits from Wizardmon and is reserved. Hailing from Witchelny, a separate zone of the digital world, it's a master of ice and to a limited extend fire magic, and can heal wounds through its prayers.
"Okay wise guy, what do you want with us?" Sam demanded with a false sense of authority.
"Calm yourself child, I'm not here to cause any harm, just to talk to my brother where no prying eyes can watch us."
"He's right Sam, cool it," Ryuga added. "We don't know if he's a friend or foe yet."
"He just dragged us into Digi-Quartz! And if what Flare's saying is correct, he might even be the guy dragging all the other digimon in to! He might've sent Greymon after us with that dark ring!" Greymon shook his massive head in disagreement.
"No… the one who sent me was not him. Though I can remember little, I know that whoever did send me smelt and sounded very different. This figure is different. However…"
"It's okay if you don't trust me," Sorcerymon said. "I wouldn't really trust me either. In fact, you would live longer if you didn't trust me I bet. In any case, I mean you all no harm. I pursue knowledge, not battles. Now, FlaWizardmon, there is a gem I must retrieve from you, I believe you are familiar with its abilities but not with how to repair it." FlaWizardmon flinched in reaction, tapping his toes on the floor nervously.
"Which gem exactly? I don't really collect jewels…"
"The green crystal orb. Don't try to lie to your brother, I know all about it and Greymon's mission to destroy you and retrieve it. Calm down, I told you I don't seek fights, especially when I'm outnumbered. I simply wish to retrieve the gem, that's all. If you hand it over nicely, I'll tell my current employer that you were defeated and went into hiding, maybe even that I lost the rock, I really don't care for his goals anyway. You won't be chased, and I can research the orb."
"Flare, don't give it to him!" Sam said. "Who knows what he'll use it for?! We've got to stand our ground and fight!"
"Don't be stupid, we literally have no reason to fight," Flare retorted. "He's just asking for a rock, and he's not even going to hand it over to this Lord Bane figure."
"Flare's right," Jay said. "Why battle for no reason? Although I'm not sure I feel comfortable giving something that traverses worlds to this guy…"
"It's broken anyway so it's not too bad. Besides, he's my brother. We may not look eye-to-eye but we're still family. This is just his job. Find magic stuff, figure out how they work, see if he can make them better." Flare pulled out the broken green crystal orb from his shorts and tossed it at Sorcerymon.
"Glad we can come to terms. In return for your generosity, you may like to know a bit of information about the path you travel."
"How about who Lord Bane is for a start." Sorcerymon nodded his head.
"Lord Bane is a tyrant that has made himself known on File Island. In a matter of days he apparently took over the entire File Island with only one digimon by his side, and within a few months his fingers stretched to the mainland with an army of digimon by his side. Information on him is sketchy at best and his goals are unclear, even for those who work under him. I'm only for hire to do a few odd jobs so I know little, but what I understand is that he's trying to dethrone the king and all the separate smaller kingdoms, however he hasn't officially declared war with anybody yet."
"Well, that's not too bad right? I mean, it's just all the higher ups and politicians arguing with each other, they duke it out and everything's sorted right?"
"Unfortunately, if it were so simple I wouldn't care to even tell you this information, and besides, when those with power battle, it's those below them who are sacrificed. What worries me is the lesser known half of the story… However, that's a tale for another day. The message I'm giving you is that the mainland is dangerous as of now, so stay away."
"We don't have much of a choice about that, we're going there just now. There's been a lot of Bio-emerging digimon in the human world, and we want to ask why." Sorcerymon's eyes widened in surprise.
"Really? There has? This is the first I've heard of it. I need to do some investigating… In any case, that means you should take care. The king may be known for being a benign ruler, but many of his subjects can be rather zealous. Also…" Sorcerymon glared at Cho-Hakkaimon, his intense gaze making her squirm and shiver as she hid behind Flare. "Such a powerful digimon… You've got quite the taste in girls, brother…"
"She's not my girlfriend!" Flare yelled angrily while Cho-Hakkaimon's face turned bright red."
"I never suggested such a thing!" Sorcerymon laughed. "What I am saying is be careful around her. It's not darkness that scares me, it's the light this time. Far too much holy energy than is good for one's soul…" With that, Sorcerymon's image faded, dispersing into numerous large snowflakes again as he floated away. Sam glared angrily at the spot where Sorcerymon formerly stood, his arms shivering from his encounter, then up at Flare.
"Why did you let him just take it?!"
"It was broken, why hang onto the gem?"
"Because he could fix it and make something new! He's evil!"
"Sam, life isn't black and white you know, just because he's not allied with us doesn't make him evil."
"But didn't you feel the… creepiness coming off of him?"
"Hey kid, what about me?" DemiDevimon said from Sam's shoulder. "I give out a creepy feel, little kids vamoose when they see me coming, does that make me evil? Though being evil sounds kinda fun though…"
"Well no, but…"
"Besides kid, if we were forced to fight him, at least half of us would've gone down trying, I guarantee it. Look at your surroundings, and you haven't stopped shivering either, doesn't it seem kinda weird?" Sam drank in his surroundings with wide eyes. The trees that were formerly covered in moss looked frozen over, a thin layer of ice layering the floor. Small snowflakes still fell from the sky, drifting in the frigid wind.
"The forest… he was freezing this place the whole time?"
"Bingo, he was already building up power. Remember the moves he was talking about at first? My guess is we were already caught in them. If we fought, things would've taken a turn south for us. He might've only been a Champion level, but my guess is he's almost as tough as Persiamon."
"We… would've died," Emily said. Everyone turned to her questioningly. "Well, I've figured out digimon have a whole bunch of stats showing their strength, and this Digivice can scan them. At first glance Sorcerymon looks like a regular digimon, but when I scanned him in detail, I saw his spirit stat was through the roof."
"That's normal, he's a wizard digimon," Flare said. "Even my spirit is pretty high, right? Right Em?" Emily shook her head.
"Yours is at one hundred and fifty, exceptionally high for Champion levels, but Sorcerymon… his spirit… it's over three hundred!"
"What?! Emily, are you sure? That's the spirit of a mega level! That means if he so much as touches us with his ice we'd be vaporized!" Emily held up her Digivice, and sure enough, on screen were numerous numbers, three hundred and fourteen being visible. Emily let out a little chuckle. "What? What's so funny?"
"Sorry, it's just that I've always wanted to say that line! Well, something similar at least. Don't ask, sorry… Sam, get us out of here, its freezing." Sam nodded his head, holding his Xros Loader in the air.
"Time-Shift," he said, the portal opening up in front of him. Still feeling unnerved by Sorcerymon's appearance, they exited Digi-Quartz and resumed their march, now looking for their partner digimon as well…
. . .
Present time…
"So that's how you guys all got split up from us," Bitemon said. "I thought I got lost again!"
"We figured that we'd find you eventually if we started cooking something. It'd at least attract you," Jay said as he stuffed down a hot dog himself.
"Well it worked!" Bitemon swallowed two hot dogs at once, not bothering to savour the meal as he reached for a third. Cho-Hakkaimon slapped his wrist sharply.
"No more for you!" she scolded. "You've already eaten half of them, save them for the rest of us!"
"But I'm still hungry…" Bitemon's stomach growled loudly, the sound like that of an earthquake. Now the whole group was reunited, all the digimon had returned to their partners as they finally took a long awaited break, Cho-Hakkaimon and Ryuga cooking up batches of hot dogs. Emily sat slightly removed from the others as she nibbled on her hot dog, her appetite gone.
"What's wrong, Lady McKenna?" Yoshi asked in concern.
"Stop calling me Lady McKenna!" Emily yelled.
"M-my apologies. It just slipped from my tongue. In any case, is there an issue?"
"Apart from me wondering how to turn you back to normal, there is one thing I'm wondering. Flare doesn't know how he got to Digi-Quartz the first time, or how he got that crystal ball that let him travel in and out. Greymon didn't look like he really understood how that crystal worked either, yet Sorcerymon understood it perfectly. I don't think this Lord Bane guy would've bothered explaining how it worked to the hired help, meaning Sorcerymon knew what it was already. Also, he's got the power to send people in and out of Digi-Quartz without any kind of special items."
"Indeed, that was most unusual. FlaWizardmon was also capable of transporting from place to place with little effort, so perhaps strong magic power is hereditary in their family?"
"But Flare's magic is limited. He can't transport to somewhere he's never been before, he can't do it multiple times in a row, and he can't carry too many people at a time, but Sorcerymon had no problem bringing the whole area into Digi-Quartz with him… What if it was him who pushed Flare to our world?" Yoshi's brow furrowed in deep thought as he tapped his head rhythmically.
"Sending his own brother to another world… Why would he do such a thing? They didn't seem to have the best relationship, but I don't think Sorcerymon would willingly hurt Flare unless he was in the way of his job…"
"So that means whatever Flare was doing before he came to our side must've been a threat to Sorcerymon and Bane…"
"But not big enough that he had to be eliminated…"
"But unless we can find out Flare's missing memory from his journey here…"
"We'll never be able to learn what it was that he discovered."
"Umm… Emily?" Sam said, staring at them in concern. "You two are finishing off each other's sentences…"
"Huh? Really?" Emily asked in confusion, the realisation of what she was doing only just hitting her. "Wow, maybe we're just thinking too hard on this. This isn't some kind of detective novel or something. We should relax, try and take things easy and all." Yoshi nodded his head, popping an entire hot dog into his mouth in one go.
"Major trouble to the highest degree!" DemiDevimon cried as he flew down to the group below. He transformed back into his full Devimon form, his face still slick with sweat. "We've got bad news one-o-one!"
"What's wrong Devimon?" Sam asked, pulling out his Xros Loader already.
"I'll give you three guesses and a hint; it's nine lives of pure pain!"
"Aw heck no!" Mighty yelled in fear, his limbs trembling as if he hadn't quite gotten over the first experience. "It can't be her can it? There's no way it'd be her…"
"You fly up and check for yourself," Devimon said in a panic. "The lean mean, clawing machine herself is back! Persiamon's coming from the northeast, and from the speed she's going at she must know we're here!"
"How'd she find us so quickly?" Mwape asked. "Was it the smell of the roasting meat? In that case how'd she know it was us?"
"Sorcerymon!" Flare yelled. "She either knew he was going to meet us and traced his tracks, or he outright snitched on us! I don't think anybody can track that guy so it's probably the latter! How're we gonna fight if we can't Digivolve or DigiXros?"
"Don't worry, I've still got SuperStarmon!" Sam yelled. "Yoshi's also permanently stuck as Musyamon, so it should be a lot harder to turn him back to a rookie!"
"Harder, but not impossible," Greymon added. "I'm proof of that."
"No, you don't have SuperStarmon," Emily said. "You don't even know if you can Super Digivolve again! We're wasting time like this! None of the rookie digimon can battle against Persiamon so you guys retreat now. There's no way we can outrun a cat digimon anyway but if me and Sam stall for time you should be able to make it."
"Not a chance Em," Allison said. "We stick together no matter what!"
"Yeah, we've got fight in us to!" Gatomon added.
"Look, we don't have time for this!" Emily yelled sharply, her eyes flaring in anger. "If you guys fight you'll only make easy targets and end up holding us back! Gatomon, your evolution though stable is still only a temporary one as well, you'll be sent back to Salamon in a split second if you fight to! I don't want Persiamon having any more ammunition to use against us than she already does. If I were her, I'd be using you guys as human shields, so don't let that happen and run!"
"I can't stand for this, being protected by kids," AxeHounmon mumbled.
"Go! No questions asked!" Emily screamed. AxeHounmon backed off warily before growling menacingly at Emily.
"Look, she's right," Ryuga said. "We'll just get in the way. Allison, call your digimon off, we've gotta get out of here now."
"R-right…" The group all turned on their heels and ran, their digimon following close behind them or even leading the way outright. Allison took one last look at Emily, and then a lingering gaze at Sam. "Don't act reckless." Without waiting for a reply, she turned and ran off into the forest. Not a moment too soon either. A flash of brown fur rocketed out of the bushes, crashing straight into Greymon in a flurry of claws and teeth. Greymon howled in pain as Persiamon stood on his head, clawing furiously at his face. Greymon desperately grabbed her, trying to push her off, Devimon flying to his assistance only to gain a swift kick to the stomach.
"Flame Ignition!" Flare yelled, clicking his fingers. Fire exploded on Persiamon's back as she howled in pain, leaping off of Greymon frantically. She glared at Flare evilly before spinning rapidly, the flames wrapping themselves around her in a burning tornado as she spun towards him. Flare leaped back as her claws were just moments away from shredding him to pieces. Her momentum carrying her forward, she crashed into a tree, the flames on her body setting the tree alight. Rage melding with pain, she spun even faster, the flames on her back dying out before she came to a standstill, glaring at the digimon and tamers before her.
Well that was sudden, Emily thought to herself, but didn't dare waste time uttering them aloud.
"You!" she spat, her voice like venom. "I remember you too well! As if seeing your ugly mugs in my nightmares wasn't bad enough, I had to run into you in my world as well!"
"Persiamon! Long-time no see huh?" Devimon said cockily. "Listen doll face, I'd love to tango with ya, really I would, but I wouldn't want my life to be cut short if ya catch my drift. A face as sweet as yours doesn't come 'round everyday either, so why don't you cut us some slack and let us walk out of here eh?"
"If you're trying to sweet talk me, you're not very good at it," Persiamon said, her eyes scanning across the digimon before her. "Besides, I set aside time in my busy schedule of revenge just to organise this little date of ours anyway! Especially some alone time with you two…" she glared at Sam and Starmon as she said this.
"No thanks," Sam said, holding his Xros Loader up, light shining from it. "I don't date older women! Or anyone at all actually… Anyway, go Starmon!"
"Right!" Starmon shot towards Persiamon rapidly, spinning like a shuriken as the Pickmons all joined him. Persiamon swatted them all back to the ground with no problem at all.
"Yoshi, you join in to!" Emily yelled.
"As you wish!" he yelled, leaping forward. "Kirisute Gomen!" He sliced down on her head with his blade, the edge glowing blue. Persiamon smirked, catching the sword between her paws. "Nani?!"
"What?!" Emily echoed. "Is that even physically possible?!"
"Not for a human," Persiamon explained as she kicked Yoshi away, Yoshi rolling roughly through the dirt before coming to a standstill by a tree. "With my reflexes and cat paws, I've got not only the reaction time, but the grip to do it as well. Wanna try that again?" Sam growled under his breath.
"Okay guys, let's attack all at once instead!" Sam yelled. Devimon, Strikedramon, FlaWizardmon, Cho-Hakkaimon, Greymon, Musyamon and the Starmons all charged forward at once. Persiamon leaped out of danger with ease, all the digimon crashing into each other in a heap. Strikedramon was the first to leap out of the mess on the ground.
"Strike Claw!" he yelled, swiping his draconic claws at her. Persiamon countered with her own claw, the attacks clashing, releasing sparks from the impact. Strikedramon reeled backwards from the force of the blow only to take a swiping claw straight to his chest. He collapsed to the ground, heaving as red data flecks poured out of his chest.
"Strikedramon!" FlaWizardmon yelled before Persiamon was upon him as well, an evil gleam in her eyes.
"Don't you dare hurt Flare!" Cho-Hakkaimon yelled, thrusting her palm at Persiamon, the force feeling like an earthquake even through the ground. Persiamon's eyes widened in surprise at the force of the blow, bowling over backwards through the ground. Cho-Hakkaimon's nostrils (both the pig ones and her own) flared in anger, flames coming out of the pig ones in her helmet. Persiamon got up slowly, glaring at Cho-Hakkaimon.
"Ugh, what an irritating digimon… It looks like I'm going to have to teach you some humility myself…" Persiamon leaped towards her in rage. Cho-Hakkaimon crouched down with a smile, FlaWizardmon stepping on her back as he launched through the air. Persiamon's face twisted in shock as Flare slammed his matches into her, sending her straight into the ground.
"Strike!" both Cho-Hakkaimon and Flare said at the same time.
"Now Greymon! Finish her while she's down!" Sam roared. Greymon stepped forward, fire spilling out of his mouth even as it was shut.
"Nova Blast!" Greymon roared, spitting a massive fireball at her. The flames engulfed her whole body, consuming her form. Yellow arcs of electricity sparked around Greymon's horns. "Nova Flame!" Greymon roared again, more flames now accompanied by electricity spewing from his mouth.
"You stupid little…" Whatever Persiamon was going to say was drowned out by the sound of tearing roots and shifting earth. A gigantic mound of dirt rose into the air above Persiamon, the cat digimon holding up the wad of dirt and rock like a shield.
"Like that'll help you!" Sam yelled. "Greymon, turn up the heat! Flare, add some more firepower! Devimon, use a long ranged Death Hand!" FlaWizardmon held up his matches, flames streaming forth from them while Devimon held up his hands, darkness shooting out of them and mixing with the fire. The three attacks all combined, swirling together in a black and red drill. Persiamon let out a short shriek as the attacks crashed into her earth shield breaking it apart.
"What the hell? You guys can't even Digivolve! How did you get stronger?"
"Cause this time we're not just hunting you down!" Sam yelled. "We're fighting to protect all our friends! If we get taken out here, there's no telling what you'll do to them! So we just won't let ourselves lose!"
"Exactly!" Yoshi yelled, charging for Persiamon again, his sword gleaming in the sunlight.
"Yoshi, she can catch your blade if you attack normally!" Emily yelled. "Don't go for power, just go for speed! Intense, ridiculous, blow your head off speed! Just like Lycanthmon! Show her how much tougher we've gotten from fighting with everybody else!" Yoshi grinned, his blade glowing silver.
"As you wish it! Grim Blade Silver Dash!" Yoshi swung his sword haphazardly, the blade singing as it sliced through the air, silver tracers left behind wherever it cut. Persiamon parried each blow with her claws, the sword and her claws dancing together at speeds far too fast to be understood by the human eye. Cuts and scratches appeared all over both combatants, getting stamped onto their bodies at lightning speeds. Persiamon stepped backwards, still parrying the blows frantically. "Now Starmon, while I have her distracted! Don't worry about me!"
"I'll trust you on this one, Meteor Squall!" Silver Pickmons began raining down from the sky, tearing through both Yoshi and Persiamon in a rage. With a roar, Persiamon swiped the back of her hand through the air, knocking Yoshi back with a start. She dived for the ground, spinning her legs in a cyclone around her in a mess of claws, the Pickmons all getting blown backwards.
"No matter how much more feisty you've gotten, there's no way you can win! I'll show you!" Persiamon launched forwards, punching Yoshi hard in the gut. Not even using her claws, she slugged him twice more before kicking his feet out from under him. She turned to Cho-Hakkaimon, swinging her arms crazily at her. Cho-Hakkaimon stumbled over backwards on a rock, collapsing on her rump as Persiamon loomed over her.
"No!" FlaWizardmon screamed, grappling Persiamon's arms from behind.
"A full nelson? Really?" Persiamon shook her head, breaking the submission hold with ease before spinning on her heel, her claw digging sharply into Flare's stomach. Flare's eyes widened in shock, coughing out globs of blood. Cho-Hakkaimon stared in horror as Persiamon turned her hand inside his gut, data streaming out of it in excess.
"You… you monster!" Cho-Hakkaimon roared, tears gushing from her eyes as she charged at Persiamon, her wrath clouding her judgement. She thrust her palm out at her, flames enveloping the gauntlet. Persiamon gave her a sadistic smile before tossing Flare at her. Cho-Hakkaimon couldn't stop herself as she planted her gauntlet in the same gaping wound. Flare went hurtling through the air and into a tree, his back making a loud crunch as he stopped dead in his tracks. Cho-Hakkaimon covered her mouth in shock and horror, more tears streaming down her face.
"Flare no!" she cried. She didn't even notice Persiamon's claw heading for her neck. Devimon dived forward, his own claw extending and pushing her out of the way, Persiamon's claw passing just over her head.
"Now that's not very friendly is it?" Devimon said. Persiamon hissed angrily at him.
"The weak should just cower in fear and let me play with them!" She charged for Devimon, slicing in fury. Devimon howled in pain as her claws tore through his chest, followed by another claws, and yet more cuts layered one after another on top of each other.
"No! We were winning this time!" Sam yelled as he returned the wounded digimon back to the Xros Loader. "Fine then, Cho-Hakkaimon, Greymon, DigiXros!"
Pink and orange light filled the forest as they clashed together, even more flames lighting up the already burning forest.
"DigiXros!" the digimon yelled as they fused together. Cho-Hakkaimon stepped out of the fusion circle, now covered in orange scales and sprouting a thick reptilian tail. Her pig helmet was gone now, replaced with a slightly over-sized brown dragon-like skull and the rest of her armour was also orange. In her hands she held an enormous brown sword the same colour as Greymon's helmet, the hilt looking roughly stylised as a dragon head with the blade coming out of its mouth.
"G-Hakkaimon!" she yelled.
Name: G-Hakkaimon (GeoHakkaimon)
Type: God Man
Family: Dragon's Roar, Nature Spirits
Attribute: Data
Attacks: Dramon Buster, Beast Impulse, Mega Burst +, Dragon's flame grill
A Cho-Hakkaimon that has accessed limitless draconic energy due to dragon DNA flowing through her veins. Her Dramon Buster sword is forged from the bones of a Greymon and has the power to vanquish any Dramon type digimon.
With a roar, she charged at Persiamon, swinging her sword angrily. Persiamon leaped to the side as the sword whistled past her ear, crashing into the earth next to her. The ground caved in beneath the sword, the rumbling vibrations even knocking Emily and Sam off balance.
"What the hell kind of crazy attack was that?!" Persiamon yelled. She clasped her hands together before shaking her hips seductively side-to-side. G-Hakkaimon halted in her tracks, clutching her sword tightly with sweat dripping down her face.
"What's going on?" she asked.
'It's Helter Skelter!' Greymon said within her mind. 'Those who feel positive feelings towards her of any kind, be it admiration, lust, love, respect or anything of the sort become paralyzed and degenerated back to their basic form! I'm sorry Hakkaimon, this is all my fault. If you weren't Xrosed with me you could continue battling, but right now…'
"Starmon!" Sam yelled.
"Way ahead of you!" Starmon yelled, him and all of the Pickmons glowing with a flash of every colour imaginable. "Wish Upon a Star!" The Pickmons all floated in the air, spinning around Starmon before they all shot towards Persiamon, spiralling like a drill. They crashed head-first into Persiamon, smashing her deep into the ground, keeping up their momentum as they dragged through the dirt and into a tree, dust clouds erupting as they all crashed. G-Hakkaimon shook away the paralysis as she found herself able to move again.
"Argh! Why won't you give up?!" Persiamon yelled, kicking away a Pickmon angrily.
"I thought I already told you, we're protecting our friends!" Sam yelled. "As long as we're doing that, I'll keep on fighting you, no matter how much guts it takes!" Sam's Xros Loader began glowing with power. Sam looked at its screen, blue rings appearing on the monitor. "Digi... volution…"
"Sam, that's it!" Emily yelled. "Super Digivolution! That's the power right there!"
"It's working now… I get it. Super Digivolution only works with certain conditions. Last time it was the courage I got challenging Persiamon, and now it's the feeling of friendship from protecting them. Courage…" A yellow ring appeared around Sam's wrist as he said the word. "And Friendship!" He swiped the Xros Loader in front of him, a thick pipe-like blue tracer coming out of it, yellow rings surrounding it as the tracer wrapped itself around Sam's body. "That's what evolution is made of! Starmon, SUPER DIGIVOLVE!"
"Starmon Super Digivolve to…" Starmon and all the Pickmons hovered in the air, yellow rings surrounding them as they all broke down and reconstructed again, transforming just like last time. "SuperStarmon!" SuperStarmon stood before Persiamon next to G-Hakkaimon.
"You again?" Persiamon asked in shock.
"Oh right, the man with the plan is back in action!" SuperStarmon yelled energetically. "SuperStarmon is here!" Persiamon's eye twitched in sheer unbridled fury.
"I've just about had it with all of you… I was just going to rough you up a little at first, but now I'm really gonna kill you all! Forget Helter Skelter, I'm ripping you apart!" An enormous red aura built up all around Persiamon's body, the digimon all shielding their eyes from the gale swirling around her.
"Emily… what's going on?!" Yoshi asked in horror.
"This kind of power… We can't really fight that can we?" Persiamon didn't give her a chance to receive an answer, darting forward towards SuperStarmon. SuperStarmon put up his arms, blocking each of her strikes, his feet digging into the earth with each blow. G-Hakkaimon charged into the fray, swinging her blade wildly at her foe. Persiamon easily sidestepped each blow, planting her foot in G-Hakkaimon's stomach before swinging her claws at her neck. Hakkaimon, while still dizzy, just barely put up her blade in time to stop the blow, toppling to the ground from the impact. SuperStarmon didn't even get a chance to move before Persiamon had floored him to.
"Yoshi, move in and support them!" Emily yelled. Yoshi stepped into the fray, swinging his sword down on Persiamon's neck. Right before their eyes, she vanished, Yoshi's blade passing right by where her neck was only moments ago. Yoshi looked around himself frantically, Persiamon nowhere to be seen.
"Emily, where is she?!" he cried in confusion.
"Calm down, she's still nearby," Emily said. "I just can't pinpoint her location… Wait, above you!" Yoshi snapped his head up skyward just in time to see his enemy, her claws crossed over her body defensively. He didn't even know what hit him…
. . .
"Okay, I think we're safe here," Ryuga said, slowing to a stop. "Let's take a break for now, collect our thoughts."
"We're not gonna just leave them there are we?" Mwape asked. "I mean, the kids have skill, but Persiamon took out all of us combined in under five minutes, what hope do they have of doing any better alone?"
"They don't." The cold sting of the truth weighted Jay's words. "Even if they can somehow DigiXros, that Persiamon's on a whole other level."
"So what're we just standing around and waiting for?!" Allison screamed. "We've gotta go back and help them!"
"Sure, why don't you? You'll just end up getting beaten to and that wouldn't help anyone."
"So you're gonna just leave them there?!"
"I didn't say that either, just cool down for a minute."
"No! Why'd Sam and Emily get stuck fighting her anyway? We have way more experience than the two of them combined!"
"They're fighting because as far as we know, Persiamon can't degenerate Sam's digimon very easily and he has lots of them. Better odds of buying time while we think of a plan, get help, do something useful."
"Yeah, something useful like sitting around yelling at each other!"
"Just calm down for a second!" Mwape stepped between the pair of them as they glared at each other, sparks flying between them.
"Cool it, both of you. Jay, I understand where you're coming from but that sounded just a little bit cold. Allison's got a point so don't just brush her off like that." Allison stuck out her tongue at Jay with a ridiculous smile on her face. "And you, Allison, stop being such a little kid. Jay's right, if you go there on your own she'll make dog food out of you." Allison's head lowered.
"Sorry," she mumbled with an apologetic look on her face.
"I also got caught up, my fault," Jay said. "I'm still not really used to this whole team thing. But what are we gonna do anyway? She's strong even for an Ultimate level, and not trying to offend you or anything, Mwape, but none of us have even seen you go Ultimate level before. Can you even do it?" Mwape stiffened up momentarily before regaining his cool composure.
"That's not the issue, right now we've gotta focus on stopping Persiamon. Anybody got any bright ideas besides charging up at her with a battle axe?"
"We could try sneak around," Ryuga began, his eyes glinting as a plan formulated behind them. "Persiamon's attention should be turned towards them right now. If we creep round with all of us in Rookie or Champion stage we should be safe. It'll be hard for her to notice us when her attention's on Cho-Hakkaimon. It's hard to miss an Ultimate level presence. Once we get close we hit her with our best attacks and finish the job."
"What guarantee do we have that she won't just dodge our hits?" Lexi asked. "She's faster on her feet than Gatomon, it won't be that easy."
"We can flank her," Jay piped up. "Surround her from all sides and fire. Even if she dodges a few shots, she won't be able to evade them all."
"Yeah, attack the flanks," Ryuga said contemplatively. "Allison, you and AxeHounmon go around the right while Dorumon and I will go left. Jay and Mwape go down the centre as our main offence while Lexi stands just behind them as support. Digivolve Gatomon to Angewomon and fly overhead to rain arrows down on her. We're clear on that?" Everybody nodded their heads affirmatively. "Good. Now, let's roll out!"
. . .
It was almost comical how quickly the tide turned for them. Starmon lay on the floor, scratches and dents lining his body, and all of the Starmon Armies had degenerated back to Pickmons. G-Hakkaimon was leaning heavily on her sword, a trail of blood dribbling down her lip. Yoshi was trading blows with Persiamon, his sword clanging uselessly against her claws, none of his attacks making any impact at all.
"Keep it up Yoshi!" Emily yelled. "You've got her on the ropes! Try another Silver Dash attack, she can't stop it!"
"Emily… I don't have the power… for another Ultimate technique," Yoshi complained before he interrupted himself with his own scream as two large claws embedded themselves in his shoulder.
"Yes you do, my Digivice says you can do three more of those! You've got to Yoshi!" Yoshi grabbed Persiamon's arm, crouching low on the ground as he flipped her over in true judo fashion. She simply sprung back onto her feet, charging for Yoshi again. In a rage, Yoshi swung his blade rapidly again, his eyes screwed shut in pain as his muscles bulged from the exertion, veins popping in rage. Persiamon leaped right over him, dodging the attack altogether.
"Yoshi look out!" Hakkaimon yelled, willing her body to move. With a mighty roar, she swung her blade at Persiamon before she could even attack. All it took from Persiamon was some quick footwork and suddenly she wasn't there anymore, gone from sight. Hakkaimon's blade kept swinging though, even as she saw in horror where it was heading. There wasn't a thing she could do to stop it as the blade ripped right through his back. The impact of metal tearing through flesh couldn't possibly be ignored, and neither could Yoshi's horror filled screams of pain. Yellow flecks of data sprung off of Yoshi's back as he collapsed to his knees. Hakkaimon stared in horror at the damage she'd just caused, frozen in place with her blade pointed towards the ground.
"Yoshi!" Emily screamed in terror.
"Y…Yoshi…" Hakkaimon uttered. "I'm… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Her apology was cut short as Persiamon appeared behind her, her claws held up.
"Xros Open!" Sam yelled just before Persiamon's claws could come down on her digimon. Greymon and Cho-Hakkaimon split apart, Persiamon's claw slashing through thin-air as the two digimon collapsed to the side, both of them still staring at Yoshi in horror. Persiamon strolled with cat-like grace towards Yoshi slowly, her hips swaying side-to-side with each step, without a care in the world.
"You really were quite the troublesome one weren't you?" Persiamon said, a sadistic gleam in her eyes. Slowly, Yoshi turned his head towards her, glaring at her with pure hatred.
"Witch… I'll kill you… your friends… your family… all of your kind, burn you to the ground with my blade if you so much as touch Emily…"
"Oh don't worry, I'm not going to harm the little brats. After all, I need people who can tell everybody how glamorously cruel I can be don't I?" She stepped on Yoshi's back, her claws digging into the open wound. Yoshi howled in agony, more data flying out of the cut.
"Leave him alone!" Emily cried, horror rooting itself inside her. "You've already won, please just stop!"
"Stop? Why should I?" Persiamon asked, shifting her foot around on his back. "I've won haven't I? That means it's my right to do as I wish with the losers! Besides, when I lost you didn't leave me alone, you tried to capture me! Why should I show mercy to you?"
"Then pick on me instead!" Sam yelled. "I'm the one who you're mad at, so attack me! Go on, take your best shot at me, just leave Yoshi out of this!"
"But that's too easy! Just imagine the guilt you'd feel knowing that the death of this Musyamon was all your fault! The joy I feel just thinking of you squirming in your bed as you try to sleep at night, the suffering and guilt tearing you apart, it's wonderful!"
"You… you monster!" Sam took a hesitant step forward, hatred plain on his face.
"Mmm… Yes, that hatred… It feels amazing, it's food for my soul! Give it to me, give me more, more, more!"
"Shut up!" Sam sprinted towards her, roaring wildly as he did so. Persiamon didn't bother turning away, facing him head on. Sam swung his fist at her, only to see her hold out the palm of her hand like a shield. Enormous golden rings spread out from the impact zone, not unlike the Super Digivolution rings earlier.
A Digi-Soul punch? Emily asked herself, and yet even with that blow, Persiamon didn't look fazed in the slightest.
"Aww, was that supposed to be a punch? How cute." Persiamon held out her other hand in a fist, flicking one claw out sharply at Sam's forehead. Sam went sailing backwards through the air, rolling in the grass as soon as he hit the dirt, stopping against a large rock. "You're still just a human though. You can't touch this, don't you get it?" She stamped down hard on Yoshi's back. Yoshi's mouth stretched wide in a silent scream, his body in too much pain to even make sound anymore.
"Stop it please!" Emily cried, tears welling up behind her glasses. "Anymore and he'll die!"
"That's the plan sweetheart, make you all suffer as you watch your friend die, knowing there's nothing you can do about it! Knowing you're just helpless little babies watching him twist and turn in agony beneath my heel!" Sam held up his Xros Loader.
"Return, Musyamon!" he yelled.
"I knew you'd try that," Persiamon grumbled, sticking her toe claws deep into his back. She stood just between Sam's Xros Loader and Yoshi. "Like this you can't get a clear connection can you? Even if you could somehow, as long as part of me is inside of him, if you try to call him inside you'll be taking me to, and trust me on this, you do not want me in there with the rest of your half dead buddies, do you?"
"I thought that would work for sure this time…"
"Persiamon, why?" Emily asked. "Why're you doing this?"
"Didn't I say? I love to tango with strong opponents, and then suck them dry of all their power." She grinned evilly, a pair of cat fangs showing, her violet eyes narrowed down to slits. Piercing, murderous slits, filled with glee at the thought of tearing its foes to shreds. "I feed off of their pain and suffering, and it's so much fun to! Watch, and learn…" She turned Yoshi around, strangling him with her left hand as she picked him up off the ground. She hissed at him, her eyes piercing into his very soul. To everybody's surprise, she planted her lips on his own, Yoshi's eyes stretching wider in surprise. Then, the pain. Excruciating pain. Black lightning coursed all around Yoshi's body, concentrating around his wounds the most. Persiamon released his lips, smiling seductively before moving to the side of his neck. She sunk her fangs deep inside it, Yoshi's screams accompanying the action. He howled in pain, blood dribbling down his neck. Flecks of red and black energy poured out from all over Yoshi's body.
"Y-Yoshi?" Emily asked in horror, tears streaming down her face as she watched the whole thing. Sam clenched his fists tightly.
"Greymon, Cho-Hakkaimon, do something!" he roared.
"I… can't," Greymon said slowly. "My body's refusing to move… I'm sorry…" Cho-Hakkaimon couldn't even speak, trembling in terror as she watched the show unfold, tears welling up behind her eyes. Persiamon removed her mouth from his neck, blood still on the side of her lip as she gave him a sadistic smile. Yoshi's eyes widened in shock, then pain. He looked down at his stomach, only to see her claw stuck inside it. She smiled one more time before yanking it out. Yoshi went limp, his broken and drained frame collapsing to the ground.
"Yoshi!" Emily screamed, sprinting towards him. No, no, no, no, no, no, no! This is all wrong, all totally wrong! Yoshi can't actually die right? As soon as I get close to him he's just going to get back up again. He's practically made of steel! Persiamon didn't even bother trying to stop her, letting her kneel down by Yoshi's side. "Yoshi, are you all…" Emily stared at his wounds. Cuts everywhere, lacerations, stab wounds, bruises and blows. Both of his eyes were swollen over and data was leaking out of his shoulder. That wasn't even the worst part however. Emily could barely take her eyes off of the gaping wound in his stomach, a mixture of blood and data pouring over it. A fresh torrent of tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Do not be alarmed Emily," Yoshi said in a raspy tone, his voice like sandpaper. "It is only a flesh wound…"
"A flesh wound the size of Texas? That needs treatment Yoshi, now! Sam, put him in the Xros Loader!"
"I'm trying, it's not working!" Sam yelled back.
"That's because of my Enraptured Kiss," Persiamon explained. "My kiss doesn't simply drain the foe's power, but it damages a digimon's very Digi-Core. Nothing can interact with his soul until it wears off, Xros Loader included."
"Even if I could go inside, it wouldn't do any good. My time has come…"
"No, I don't want you to die Yoshi, you're my partner and my friend! I… I can heal you! I'll use my Digivice! It worked once before, it'll work again!" Yoshi shook his head as Emily furiously pushed buttons on her Digivice.
"You know it doesn't work like that. It transfers data, not repair it. Whatever you did to heal me at first must've been some kind of medicine that came with it, used up from the first time. Just accept it. I have to go." Tears streamed down Emily's face, snot dribbling down her nose as well. Movies lied, crying didn't look beautiful, it was horrible, but Emily couldn't care less about what she looked like. She just didn't want her friend to leave. "Don't worry Emily, I'm a digimon. I'll be reborn elsewhere again, and grow once more…"
"It's not the same!" Emily screamed. "I don't want you to become somebody else, I want you to stay with me! Kotemon, don't die on me! That's an order, a samurai always listens to orders from their master, please don't die!" Grief wreathed Yoshi's face as he stared up at Emily's tearful one.
"Don't give me an order I cannot follow. I've already failed to stay with you, I don't want to go to the grave with anymore regrets…"
"Please Kotemon. Please…" Her voice trembled with her words, tear drops falling onto Yoshi's chest. Was this what Digitamamon meant when he said they didn't understand? That it wasn't just a game to be played? The bushes all rustled slightly, adding to the sound of the wind blowing through the trees. Persiamon looked behind her in annoyance.
"Don't even bother. Your friends have already given up. I won't harm anymore of them. I'll let you all go. This encounter has dealt far more emotional harm than any physical damage I could dish to you now." The Tamers all revealed themselves from the bushes, watching the scene unfold with grim expressions. Just a moment too late to change the course of events, and without the power to change either the past or the future…
"Please," Emily whispered again. Yoshi raised one hand slowly, cupping Emily's face within it. With his thumb, he wiped away a tear slowly.
"Don't… cry. Be strong, Emily. For the sake of your team. For the sake of your friends. For the sake of me, your Nakama. Not just comrades…"
"And not just allies," Emily recited.
"But family," they both said together. Emily wrapped her arms around Yoshi, even as his data began to spread apart, from the toes and rising, black particles rising into the air.
"Goodbye, Emily…" With those last words, he vanished. Hideyoshi the Musyamon, apprentice to Knightmon of the Wise Sword, partner of Emily McKenna, disappeared from their lives…