Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon… You know the routine…
*word* - thoughts
Legend of the Holy Dragon 2
The Fate of the World
Chapter 2
The eight emerged into a dazzling display of pulsing threads and orbs of light. The threads were interconnected in what appeared to be a huge web while orbs zoomed within the strands. Upon closer inspection, the DigiKnights discovered that they were in such an orb and was speeding along a ribbed tunnel.
"Oh man! This is totally cool!" Sacchi exclaimed. Pekomon agreed, bouncing lightly on her head.
"This is a web that connects all the different realm and levels of the Digital World," Takeshi read off his D-gadget.
"Its so pretty…" Kei said softly.
"Hey look! We're approaching a junction!" Rick said suddenly. The others turned to look ahead. Sure enough, they were speeding towards a three-way junction. The orb didn't even slow down, but immediately sped down the tunnel on the right hand side.
"I think that this transport knows where to go," Kangamon commented. "I--"
Shaulamon interrupted. "This thing knows where it's heading. Otherwise it wouldn't have chosen this route so quickly. Besides, we don't even know where we're supposed to go let alone control it. I say we should just sit back and enjoy the ride."
"Shaulamon, don't interrupt Kangamon." Takeshi chided, rapping Shaulamon on its shell.
Kangamon smiled faintly. "Its ok, he said what I was going to say anyway."
"All right! Nap time!" Pekomon said happily and promptly curled up on Sacchi's lap. Sacchi gently stroked the cat Digimon as she reclined against the wall of the orb. Kangamon curled up on the floor and dozed off. Kei fell asleep soon after, her head resting on Takeshi's shoulder.
Takeshi smiled at her and resumed his quiet bickering with Shaulamon.
Rick observed these silently. He and Vipermon sat side-by-side, finding comfort in their companionship, but not the need to talk. Personally, he was fine with that, not being a very talkative person by nature.
Sometimes, though, curiosity overcomes nature.
"Hey Vipermon… You knew Gearamon right?" He asked tentatively. Vipermon's head jerked up in surprise, eyes shooting to his partner's face.
"Er… you don't have to tell me if you don't want to…" Rick said, surprised at Vipermon's reaction and more than a little creeped out by his eyes.
Vipermon sighed. Then he spoke.
"…We were best buddies in the old days when everyone shunned Viruses. We swore to stand by each other no matter what. Then one day, he suddenly changed totally. He went on a massacre. Ultimately, he was exiled from the Central Sector…" Vipermon trailed off, reliving the pain of betrayal and the loss of a friend.
"I'm sorry, Vipermon… I should never have asked…" Rick said apologetically.
"…Its all right… Just don't pity me… I hate being pitied." After a pause, Vipermon said. "…I relived the entire thing when they became Kakodramon… It was horrible the first time but the second was far worse, with me knowing exactly what was going to happen but powerless to stop it… I never want to experience that again…"
Rick was about to reply when the orb burst through a portal into dazzling sunlight and pinkness.
The others all jolted awake, grumbling at the sudden sunshine. The portal closed and the orb dissolved around them.
"Where are we? Are we in the North Sector?" Sacchi asked sleepily. On her lap, Pekomon yawned and began washing herself.
"I suppose so… Why don't you check your D-gadgets?" Kangamon suggested.
Reminded, the DigiKnights activated the map function on their D-gadgets. Sure enough, the words 'North Sector' flashed above the current map.
"Right, we're in the North Sector. So… where do we go?" Takeshi asked.
This stumped all of them. They had never thought of how to actually find the Sovereign once they got here. Kangamon was about to speak when a couple of strangely familiar voices drifted out from behind the shrubbery.
"—Told you there's nothing here."
"I swear I saw a flash of light! There's something there!"
"Can we just go check it out?" A third, unfamiliar voice rang out.
The DigiKnights rounded the corner and came facce to face with three very familiar faces and one unfamiliar one.
"Kei?" A pretty blond girl with aqua eyes exclaimed.
"Tammy? What…?" Kei stuttered. The girl was Tamsin Johnson, her fellow cheerleader.
"Well, well, well. Rick, Sacchi, Takeshi. What a small world." A silver haired teen with black eyes drawled, managing to make Takeshi's name sound like an insult.
"Satoshi." Takeshi practically snarled. Satoshi Taikashi had been Takeshi's rival since he transferred to their school two years ago. The two were constantly competing in everything and anything.
"Yo, Tammy, Ice-boy!" Sacchi exclaimed. Rick merely smiled before turning to the third member of the group. His name was Azane Gyano. He had almost white hair and clear blue eyes that belied his shy and gentle personality.
"Nice to see you, Zane." Zane nodded in greeting.
"Who's your friend?" Kei asked Tammy, referring to the last member of the group. The girl had long red-streaked black hair tied up in a high ponytail and pale-red eyes that seemed strangely reminiscent of Vipermon's.
Pulling the girl forwards, Tammy introduced her.
"This is Chira Kameshi. We met her when we first came here." Tammy paused, gesturing at the Digimon behind them. "These are our Digimon, Cosmomon's my partner, Siberiamon's Zane's partner, Paladinmon's Satoshi's partner and Antlermon's Chira's partner. They're all at Ultimate."
The DigiKnights looked over their friends' partner Digimon. Cosmomon was a fairy Digimon wearing a skintight sailor suit in red, blue and yellow. She had a visor over her eyes. Two pair of fairy wings sprouted from her back.
Siberiamon was a large white humanoid tiger wearing samurai armour. He carried an exceptionally long katana with an elaborate hilt.
Paladinmon was a warrior Digimon with golden knight armour. He carried a sword with intricate carvings and a shield with 'Aku Soku Zan' engraved on it.
Antlermon was a large black reindeer with golden antlers and hooves. It had fiery red-tinted black eyes which gave it an unholy look.
Rick raised his D-gadget and scanned the other Digimon. "Cosmomon. Data type Ultimate. Attacks: Kawaii Kiss, Celestial Meditation, Cosmic Tiara.
"Siberiamon. Vaccine type Ultimate. Attacks: Siberian Sword, Tiger Star, Slashing Embers.
"Paladinmon. Vaccine type Ultimate. Attacks: Final Judgment, Heaven's Shield, Evangelic Order.
"Antlermon. Virus type Ultimate. Attacks: Tornado Blast, Fire Globe, Black Sun."
"You guys have D-gadgets too?" Zane asked. The DigiKnights nodded.
"Cool! Look!" Tammy exclaimed, stretching out her arm. Covering her arm all the way up to her elbow was a four segment black metal glove. A pink orb decorated the hand segment and pink lines radiated from it to cover the rest of the glove. There was a sigil of a snake circling a tortoise on the third segment.
Kei looked at the other D-gadgets. All were identical except for different individual colours. Satoshi's was yellow, Zane's was red and Chira's was black.
"Hey! Isn't that Ebonwumon's sigil?" Takeshi asked suddenly.
Satoshi looked up. "Glad to know that you actually know something after all…Keshi."
"Hey! That's for my use only!" Kei said, while restraining Takeshi from attacking Satoshi.
"Can you take us to Ebonwumon?" Kangamon spoke up. The humans looked around in surprise; the Digimon had not spoken until then.
"Ok, we were just heading there anyway… By the way, why do you need to see Ebonwumon?" Tammy asked curiously. "Is it about this…pinkness?"
Kei and Takeshi both blanched. Rick saw it and hurriedly spoke to cover it up, making up a story of wanting to ask Ebonwumon to show them how to go home. However, this did not escape Satoshi's eye and a slight frown creased his forehead as he tried to figure out what exactly was the real reason of the request.
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The open-aired hall was huge. Every single plant in the Digital World grew along the perimeter of the hall. Clinging plants spiraled up huge pillars situated around the edge of the hall. In the midst of all these sat what resembled a good-sized forest.
Ebonwumon surveyed its plants. The task of planting each and every plant in the Digital World here had been difficult, and this 'garden' was its pride and joy. Unfortunately, what used to be in different shades of green, making up a magnificent picture, was currently pink. Ebonwumon sighed, preparing to enter the realm where the palaces of the four sovereigns were connected to discuss this new look of the Digital World. However, it did not get the chance.
A brilliant portal appeared out of thin air. Ebonwumon smiled indulgently, knowing that its beloved DigiKnights, or 'Children of Fate' as it called them, had come calling. True enough, Satoshi, Tammy, Zane and Chira stepped out with their Digimon, followed by the Central DigiKnights.
The sixteen of them all bowed to Ebonwumon. The two headed turtle Sovereign nodded, and they returned to a standing position.
Satoshi spoke. "Lord, these DigiKnights appeared from a portal and requested to see you about returning to the Real World."
"I see…" Ebonwumon said thoughtfully. "Step forward, children, let me take a look at you."
The Central DigiKnights exchanged a look before walking closer towards Ebonwumon. Ebonwumon looked them over. * They have that look… is it possible… have the gates between the Sectors opened again..? *
"Children… have you come from the Central Sector?" The group collectively nodded. Ebonwumon breathed in sharply. "Then it is true? The gates have opened again? The prophecy is being fulfilled?"
The group once again exchanged a look before Rick stepped forward and told Ebonwumon a brief summary of what had happened.
Ebonwumon sighed. "I see… So Desdemon is really back… We were fools not to listen to Jinlingmon all those years ago. Thank heavens the Shrine was not destroyed!" Ebonwumon paused and again looked at the DigiKnights and their Digimon. "So you are the ones chosen to revive the Holy Dragon… Jinlingmon has chosen well. I see the determination in you. Very well, I will help you."
The air in front of Ebonwumon shimmered and a large jewel appeared. It had a symbol of a leaf on it. The jewel split into four parts and one went to a D-gadget each. The fragments glowed black beside the golden fragments of the Central Backup Crystal
"This is the North Backup Crystal. Now, receive my strength and blessing. With it you will be able to digivolve to Ultimate stage."
Once again, the Digimon felt raw power running through their veins and combining with their own strength. Ebonwumon smiled and bade them goodbye.
The DigiKnights, both Central and North, and the Digimon all bowed, before they disappeared into a portal.
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"So it was you!" Satoshi jabbed a finger into Takeshi's chest. "You were the one who did this!" He gestured around at their pink surroundings.
Takeshi just stared at the ground wordlessly.
"Don't forget, I did it too." Kei snapped. "You think we enjoyed being possessed and blowing up the world? Hell, I didn't even know that I blew up the world until Rick and Sacchi told us! At least we were trying to get rid of that three-headed thing. From what I heard you guys have been in here just as long as we have. Well, what have you done to give you the right to criticize us?" She spat into the other group's faces. Tammy's mouth was open from shock.
She continued. "Welcome to the real world, people! It's eat or be eaten out there! You think we have a choice? You think we like fighting? Get real!"
By now, Satoshi was livid. "Eat or be eaten? Well said… Lets see who exactly is eaten!" As he spoke, he threw his fist forward in a punching gesture. In response, Paladinmon leapt forward, his sword held in a battle stance.
Seeing Satoshi take the offence, the Central DigiKnights reacted in unison.
"Chip Activate! Ultimate Digivolve!" Four different coloured flashes of light lit up the area as the Digimons' Ultimate forms were revealed.
"Dracomon. Virus type Ultimate. Attacks: Fire Cannon, Dragonus Slash."
Dracomon was a large dragon warrior Digimon. He wore armour with flame designs and whatever skin that wasn't covered was covered with green scales. He had sharp black claws and a pair of dragon wings. His formerly blood-red eyes had turned into a striking blue.
"Metalnekomon. Data type Ultimate. Attacks: Metal Storm, Cat's Eye."
Metalnekomon was a larger form of Synekomon. She still had a pair of wings and two bushy tails, but now she had armour on her forelegs, head, chest and back. Her front claws were coated with a thick layer of metal, making them larger and more fearsome than before.
"Scorpiodramon. Data type Ultimate. Attacks: Hammer Claw, X Slash, Tranquil Bloodstorm."
Scorpiodramon was a large gold scorpion with black patterns on his claws. His exoskeleton was thicker and stronger than before. There were barbs on his stinger and his tail was longer and more flexible. A pair of feelers waved from his head. On his head was a symbol consisting of two diamonds and an oval.
"Marsupimon. Vaccine type Ultimate. Attacks: Laser Horn, Horn Toss, Ray Spike."
Marsupimon was a white kangaroo with pale blue stripes. Her form was slender but rippling with cable-tight muscles. She stood upright and had relatively large forepaws with long, dangerous looking claws. A row of milky spikes decorated her back and she had a small but sharp horn on her nose. A five-petal flower decorated her chest.
Siberiamon attacked first. Snarling, the part human, part tiger Digimon drew its katana and slashed forwards.
"Siberian Sword!" He roared, executing a set of 72 subsonic speed slashes. The vacuums created by the katana sliced forwards and were countered by Dracomon.
"Dragonus Slash!" Four fiery dragons erupted from a red sword that appeared in Dracomon's hands. Screeching in unearthly tones, they spiraled towards Siberiamon, gouging the ground deeply. The two different sword attacks met in mid attack and exploded with a small shower of sparks.
In its wake, Metalnekomon leapt high above the ground and released her attack on Cosmomon.
"Metal Storm!" Metalnekomon's twin tails got even bushier and the hairs turned silver. In a flash, the silver hairs detached from her tails and shot down on Cosmomon. The fairy Digimon had no time to evade and the needles hit home. In pain, Cosmomon retaliated.
"Celestial Meditation!" She called out in a silvery voice. Her body started glowing and gave off streams of pinkish light which formed an orb around her. The outer surface of the orb cackled with electricity.
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Meanwhile, Scorpiodramon and Paladinmon were facing off.
"Final Judgment!" Paladinmon's sword glowed and a ball of light formed at the tip. It shot at Scorpiodramon and Paladinmon executed several slashes simultaneously. The attacks slammed into Scorpiodramon but some were blocked by his thick exoskeleton, effectively cutting down the damage.
"Hammer Claw!" Scorpiodramon sped forwards and opened his claws wide. He clamped down just as Paladinmon raised his shield to protect himself. As a result, the two Digimon ended up with one of Scorpiodramon's claws clamped on Paladinmon's shield and another on his arm. Paladinmon howled in rage and pain.
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To gain the upper hand, Marsupimon immediately attacked Antlermon.
"Laser Horn!" Her horn burst into light, before emitting multiple strands of thin yet extremely intense light. The strands cut into Antlermon, causing her to let out a bone-chilling cry as her red-tinted black eyes became fully blood-red, uncannily resembling Vipermon's.
"Fire Globe!" She called out in an unearthly voice.
A shimmering globe of angry red surrounded Marsupimon. Before she could escape, a wave of intense heat radiated from the globe, drawing a cry of pain from Marsupimon and producing a whiff of burnt flesh.
*Damn… this is no good…* Kei thought. "Hey, guys!" She yelled, waving her D-gadget-ed arm. The other Central DigiKnights turned to look at her, and, catching her drift, nodded.
"Chip Activate!" They shouted at the same time, each slotting different chips.
Marsupimon felt a healing power course through her veins, coupled with boosted attack power and an attack called Shadow Edge.
Snarling, she attacked.
"Ray Spike! Shadow Edge!" Her spikes glowed and created multiples made of light. Orbs of darkness formed around the spikes and tapered into razor sharp blades. On command, the spikes and blades flew, spinning around Marsupimon like a bladed whirlwind before slicing into Antlermon.
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Rick had slotted Speed Boost and Water Power for Dracomon. As the dragon warrior Digimon received the new strength, Siberiamon attacked.
"Tiger Star!"
As Rick and Dracomon watched, Siberiamon seemed to shift in and out of focus as he raised his katana towards the sky. From high up, a single beam of light shot down and bathed the katana in its glow. With a roar, Siberiamon slashed forwards, sending the beam of light shooting towards Dracomon.
Dracomon tried to block the attack with his arms, but the beam of light slipped through and hit him square on the chest. He bit down a cry of pain as he prepared to retaliate.
"Fire Cannon!" Dracomon held his arms together in front of him, hands open wide. Between then, a ball of fire formed, circulated with water due to the Water Power Rick slotted. Thrusting his arms forwards, he shot the fire-and-water-ball at Siberiamon, causing a roar of pain from the humanoid tiger.
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Metalnekomon was enjoying herself. It had been quite some time since Sacchi had last slotted a chip. As she felt the new defense and attack power circulating through her body, she attacked.
"Cat's Eye!" She purred as her green eyes lit up. They quickly gained intensity and fired a pair of emerald beams straight at Cosmomon. Cosmomon's protective orb held for a while, then shattered as the beams continued drilling into it. Without the orb, the twin beams pummeled into Cosmomon.
Cosmomon gasped, then threw out her attack.
"Cosmic Tiara!" Cosmomon removed the tiara that she was wearing and it elongated into a glittering boomerang. A soft chime sounded as she threw it at Metalnekomon.
The tiara spun as it flew and cut sharply into Metalnekomon. The cat Digimon let out an angry meow as the tiara left a large dent in her armour.
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As Scorpiodramon felt his speed and attack power increase, he did not waste time in attacking before Paladinmon could recover.
"X Slash!" He cried as he slashed his claws in a cross, making a large 'X' gash on the front of Paladinmon's armour.
Paladinmon doubled up in pain before countering with an attack of his own.
*Time to get nasty!* He thought as he yelled out his attack.
"Evangelic Order!"
The beautiful music of a harp rang in the air as a shimmering arch appeared in mid-air. Ten angles floated out from under it and surrounded Scorpiodramon. Then, in unison, they each shot out a beam of light from their hands. The ten beams fused together above Scorpiodramon and pounded down on him. There was a dazzling flare of light.
When the light faded, Paladinmon was shocked the see Scorpiodramon injured but still standing. Scorpiodramon saw the look on his face and smirked.
"Hey Goldy! Did you forget that I have the type advantage?" He taunted, "How about I show you a real attack? Tranquil Bloodstorm!"
A deep blue aura surrounded Scorpiodramon. It rippled along his body, concentrating at his tail. Then, without warning, his tail flashed forwards, striking Paladinmon where his armour was ripped. Deep blue streams of light spiraled down Scropiodramon's tail and onto Paladinmon.
The knight Digimon writhed once before slumping onto the floor.
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"Time to end this! Dragonus Slash!" Dracomon yelled as he leapt up high above Siberiamon.
Holding up the glowing red sword that had appeared in his hands, Dracomon slashed downwards, and the four blood red dragons appeared again. Once again, they screeched and hurtled towards Siberiamon, this time surrounding him and wrapping onto him. Dracomon finished the attack by slashing at the temporarily immobile Siberiamon.
As Dracomon executed a perfect landing, Siberiamon crashed onto the floor.
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"Kawaii Kiss!" Cosmomon announced as she flew towards Metalnekomon. Her lips glowing a pale pink, she coyly planted a kiss on her fingers and blew the kiss at Metalnekomon. Pink lip-shaped bubbles floated down and burst against Metalnekomon, causing waves of pink electricity to flicker over her.
Metalnekomon growled and attacked.
"Metal Storm!" She waved her twin tails as they doubled in size and bushiness. The outermost hairs stiffened and turned silver. With a flick of her tails, the thin silver needles flew at Cosmomon.
Cosmomon flew higher to evade the attack, but had not expected a second wave. She was too slow to escape the second barrage and was knocked to the ground, her wings flapping weakly.
Metalnekomon ended the fight with yet another wave of needles.
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Antlermon shuddered and struggled to her feet. Before she could do anything, however, another row of spiraling blade and spikes cut deep into her body and she fell, giving out a last unearthly cry.
There was a long uncomfortable silence. Finally Sacchi spoke.
"Erm… guys… we should be going now… and…" She hesitated, looking around.
"Sorry." Rick completed her sentence for her. Turning to each other, the Central DigiKnights joined their D-gadgets once again and disappeared into the portal, leaving behind a Full Heal chip.
TBC…
Author's notes: Woohoo~~!!! Finally done! Actually this chapter went a lot longer than I expected… so I ended up cutting off a sub-plot that was supposed to happen. Don't worry, though, because it's going to happen in another chapter.
Up next: South Sector coming up! Stay tuned!