Card Hazzard

by Clzh and Clzh-x

Dukemon rises from his defeat, but the finish of his battle might leave him in a dark despair. Card Hazzard has finally ended, but will the story go on. Please forgive us, time ran out.

4. Royal Knight Rebirth

Clzh-X: Merry Christmas! Here you go! A new chapter that I wrote on my own! It has the songs: Slash (Card Slash theme); Evo (main Evolution theme); and One Vision (Matrix Evolution theme).

Clzh: clears throat

Clzh-X: On second thought, I didn't do anything, it was Mr. chef boy who took two months to write this chapter. Sees Clzh advancing slowly Start the fic! StartTheFic! StartTheFic! StartTheFic! StartTheFic! StartTheFic! StartTheFic! StartTheFic! StartTheFic! StartTheFic! Please, Oh Please Just Start The Fic!

Card Hazzard chapter 4

While the group moved down the hall, Takato grinned gaily, until he felt a strange burn course through his system. Guilmon apparently felt it, too, as he fell to the ground, panting.

Ruki and Renamon rushed to their comrades, asking constantly if they were all right. Takato felt another burn, although it was small and temporary, compared to the last. He looked at Ruki, and noticed something very odd. Although the girl gave every sign that she cared, Takato saw that her aura was slightly out of whack, as if the girl in front of him wasn't Ruki. Guilmon noticed the same with Renamon; however, the two couldn't dwell on this, as Takato and his reptilian partner experienced a burst of pain, much stronger than the first two, and longer.

Takato fell to the floor, eyes closed. He stayed still for a bit, and then opened his eyes. One thing was immediately apparent: Takato could not say how, but there seemed to be something seriously wrong with the girls. Brushing it off, he stood up, shrugged off Ruki's hand and walked down the hall, ignoring the bursts of pain coursing through his system.

Once downstairs, everyone saw that the Matsuki bakery was wreathed in utter chaos. His parents saw him, and pointed at the sign on the door. Well, Mie did; Takehiro just smiled and shook his head. The Closed for Repair sign graced the bakery's front door. Over the next few minutes, Takato learned that the noises from his room had sent the customers into a frenzied panic.

"Should I help?" Takato asked slyly, already knowing the answer.

"What? No!" his mother cried. "You've done enough! Just- just go..."

"Okay..." Takato grinned, and ran out the door, beckoning to the others.

Mie watched as the odd group left, she noticed an odd essence surrounding the female and kitsune. She shrugged it off, and went back to cleaning.

Now, Takato's idea consisted of a trip to the park, and the gang didn't find anything better, so they agreed. About halfway through the park the group met Ryo, Jenrya, and their respective digimon. Takato was in a seriously good mood, so he forgave Ryo easily, and even let the others come along. For some reason, Takato and Guilmon were burning like crazy, but they ignored it.

Takato continued forward, but Ruki's hand stopped him.

"What is it? Is something wro..." Takato turned around to see Ruki grinning sinisterly. He backed up a little, startled by her behavior. He looked around and saw Cyberdramon, Terriermon, and Renamon strangling Guilmon.

"What the... Ruki?" Takato stared at the girl next to him, whose grin had even grown larger, if possible. Ryo and Jenrya moved in on either side of the boy, and knocked him into a tree, wearing grins identical to Ruki. Takato stood up woozily, and was punched in the gut. Winded, Takato felt a serious burst of pain, and, instead of ignoring it, he acknowledged it, and felt a strange breed of power course through his system.

"Fire... BALL!" Takato roared, spitting forth a flaming ball of destruction, straight into Ryo's face. Guilmon grinned, and froze. He began to glow a bright red, and the three digimon dropped him instantly, their claws and paws masses of burned and rotting flesh.

Looking back at Ryo, he felt like throwing up. Where Ryo's face had once been, there was this small, slightly smoking pile of red, rotted flesh. The flesh bubbled and quivered, and suddenly it reassumed the shape of Ryo's head. The digimon were also healing their injuries.

'Oh, man... These things aren't human!' Even as Takato thought about the word human, he felt changes happening to him. The claws that now replaced his arms now felt dull and numb. He watched as said claws fell to the ground, leaving torn stumps for his arms. Said arms began to grow back into human hands, fingers exploding from the quivering masses that became his palms. He felt his tail deaden, and fall off, and the area became his butt once more.

He watched as the transformation affected Guilmon, though in an opposite manner. Instead of falling off, his tail and claws grew larger. They continued growing until the human skin couldn't take it, and tore apart.

Growling softly, Guilmon stepped over the dead husk that was once his skin. He stood next to Takato, who pulled out his digivice. He fished through his ever-present deck until he found the one card he had been searching for.

Ichimai no kaado hanatsu hikari ga oh

Kono monogatari no hajimari tsugeteru oh

Kimitachi wa sude ni shujinkou nan da alright?
Get up'n fight! aaku wo kazasou

Yuuki wo riaraizu shiro
Geeji wo fukkiru kurai ni
Evolution suru kimi ga teimaa

"CARD SLASH!" Takato roared. "Imperialdramon's MEGA DEATH!"

Slash the life! Pawaa wo ageyou
Kaado surasshu! Yuujou no tame ni
Slash the life! Kimitachi wa nareru sa
Muteki no paatonaa

Kimi no yume ga moshi makete shimaeba oh
Noizu ni kawatte ubawareru dake sa oh

Mamoritai kimochi nigirishimetara ready?
Get up'n fight! ima sugu ni surotto in!

Namida wo shinjiru real world
Suuchi de kanjiru digital world
Futatsu no fiirudo kimi wa hashire

Guilmon felt the familiar sensation as the attack found its way from his heart to his mouth.

Slash the life! yasei ga mezameru
Wairudo wan! kakusareta enajii
Slash the life! kimitachi no mirai wo sono te de tsukame

Slash the life! pawaa wo ageyou
Kaado surasshu! yuujou no tame ni
Slash the life! kimitachi wa nareru sa
Muteki no paatonaa

Slash the life! yasei ga mezameru
Wairudo wan! kakusareta enajii
Slash the life! kimitachi no mirai wo sono te de tsukame

Slash the life! pawaa wo ageyou
Kaado surasshu! yuujou no tame ni
Slash the life! kimitachi wa nareru sa
Muteki no paatonaa

Opening his mouth wide as possible, he shot the blast at, not Ryo or Cyberdramon, not Jenrya or Terriermon, but at Ruki and Renamon. It didn't matter, though, as the resulting explosion engulfed them all. Guilmon and Takato knew no more, as they were blown backwards by the large blast. The last thing either of them remembered was pain as they smashed through twin glass doors face first.

AN: From here on out We're going to refer to the Ryo, Ruki, and Jenrya above in a different style.

"Are they okay?"

"That was a pretty harsh fall..."

"They are going to be alright, Shuichon... (I hope)..."

"Yamaki-san... we've got them into a rehab center..."

"Come back, Takato..."

"Guilmon... come back to us..."

"Unngghhh..." Takato moaned as he listened to the conversations going on around him. He felt something soft and warm caress his face lovingly. His eyes opened slowly and saw Ruki, who didn't remove her hand until it was too late, blush and turn away. He smiled and held her hand. She didn't put up much of a fight.

He looked around and saw Guilmon sit up and take in his surroundings. Renamon was hovering over the red dinosaur, asking him if he wanted water, food, etc. Guilmon was too dazed to answer. Looking around, Takato saw the other Tamers, but the only Digimon present were Guilmon and Renamon.

"Takato?" Ruki asked. Takato turned to her, puzzled. He then remembered where his hand was, and removed it, blushing embarrassedly.

"Where is this?" He asked.

"Hypnos' healing and rehabilitation center," said a new voice. Takato turned and saw Yamaki enter the area, Hirokazu, Jenrya, and Ryo stepping in his wake.

"How are you doing, Takato?" Yamaki asked.

Takato noticed that Yamaki seemed tense, and was sweating lightly.

"Umm... Takato," he said finally. "Why did you crash through the front doors of the building? Covered in this?"

Yamaki held out his hand and showed a small vial filled with a red gel-like substance. Upon seeing it, something in Takato's mind clicked.

He leapt off the bench upon which he was resting, and backed away from Ruki. Guilmon must have remembered, too, for the Saurian joined his Tamer. He bared his teeth at Renamon, who paused in her attempt to follow.

"What... What are you doing here?" Takato demanded, staring at Ruki. "We blew you up!"

Yamaki sighed, and shook his head. "I was afraid of this."

Takato started, he had forgotten about the old man.

"Takato, listen to me. You didn't blow up Ruki, or anyone else, for that matter. What you did blow up was an escaped experiment. And I thank you for it."

This bit of info had a surprising affect on Takato. "A-An experiment?"

"Yes. Code-named: Symbiote; we attempted to make it by emulating the process that created Guilmon. It was designed to become one with any bit of focused matter on the planet, it developed a level of... how should I put this... instinct."

Takato looked around the room; everyone was listening intently.

"Instinct?" Kenta asked.

"Yes. It had absorbed most of the data attached to it, and became intelligent, intelligent enough to understand the meaning of deception for its own gain. It broke out, but not before we had locked on to its signature. Then, about an hour later, it came across a re-opened portal..."

"That would be Takato's fault, right?" Hirokazu grinned, turning to his long-time friend.

"Re-activated monster-maker file," Takato explained sheepishly to Yamaki.

"That would explain why Renamon and Guilmon are here. Anyway, something blew it up."

"Mine and Guilmon's fault again, Yamaki. Gomen." Takato scratched the back of his head.

"I won't ask how you blew up $1,000,000 worth of government science," Yamaki smiled sardonically, "but I will tell you that you were unsuccessful. It was split into three parts."

"Apparently, the pieces separated, and spread to various parts of Shinjuku, where they came upon Ryo Akiyama, Jenrya Wong, and Ruki Makino," Reika interrupted. "We found them lying on the ground, covered in symbiotic residue. They took the shapes of said people."

"But that still doesn't explain why Ruki, Ryo, and Jen were acting strange at the party. This, by the way, was earlier then the separation."

"We think it already was able to split, gather data, then reassemble," Reika explained. "Takato and Guilmon probably just made the separation permanent, and erased all other data, making the symbiote have to repeat itself."

"Once it regained the data necessary, the three pieces retook the forms of said humans. Now that it had found a digimon, the pieces of the Symbiote split into both Tamer and Digimon. The one that we think assumed the shapes of Ruki and Renamon entered Takato's house this morning."

"But who moved us back to the bakery that night? We had fainted."

"That was our fault, Takato." Ruki blushed as she admitted it. "We broke out of Hypnos around midnight. Yamaki wasn't too happy."

"Oh."

"Anyway, it followed you to the park."

"And it deceived us, played us like a child's game, attacked us, and ripped out our hearts," Takato spat, tears pouring. Guilmon didn't say anything, but the others could tell from his expression that he was hurt badly. Renamon put her paw on his shoulder, but it was shrugged off.

"And it was unsuccessfully blown up once more, but you got blown back to here."

"Nani?! But... we hit it with a Mega Death."

"We made it to withstand the force of a Garuru Cannon."

"It's... still... alive!?" Takato roared.

"Y-yes. It is..."

"Where?" Takato demanded. Grabbing Yamaki's lapels, he proceeded to shake said industrialist like a rag doll. His anger grew, as well as his arms, and pretty soon, Takato dropped him because of his recently developed claws.

Calming himself down at the sight of his claws, Takato willed himself to become human, and his hands reformed themselves. He ignored the looks that the other Tamers gave him.

"Sorry, Yamaki... I lost control..." Takato admonished, helping the man up.

Once Yamaki had smoothed himself over, he proceeded to explain that...

"We don't know where it is."

Takato shouted in frustration. He proceeded to advance on Yamaki again, but Ruki slapped him across the face, and then punched him in the gut.

"Get over it, Gogglehead," she ordered. "I know you're mad, but that doesn't mean you have to beat Yamaki up! Now stop acting like a baby!"

"You d-don't know... wh-what its like...YOU DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL!" Takato screamed in torment, and fell to the floor, sobbing. Guilmon joined his partner, crying silently.

Ruki paused in mid-rant to see Takato on the floor. She shook her head in disgust and turned, only to see Hirokazu, Kenta, Jenrya, and Juri glaring at her.

"Can't you see his pain?" Juri asked in a deathly calm voice.

"He paid his heart out... to a look-alike of you!" Hirokazu added.

Ruki backed up, and started looking for help. Yamaki backed away slowly. Even Ryo didn't help; he shook his head scoldingly

She backed up into Takato, who was rising from the floor.

"It- it's okay, guys. I'll get over it."

"T-Takato? I'm sorry for hurting you..." Ruki apologized. "I... I was hurt badly when I was a child... and I was selfish when I told you not to cry. I just couldn't imagine you crying, so I insulted you to stop you, but I only made things worse. I apologize."

Takato smiled softly, and took her hand. She blushed, and hugged him.

A shattering noise ripped through the air, bringing Takato and Ruki back to reality.

Takato glared at the entrance to the room. At the doors that made a whirring noise as they opened. Revealing the symbiotic look-alikes, sporting Ruki's, Jen's, and Ryo's D-Arcs.

'Takato was right! They're- they're perfect copies of us!' Ruki thought, sweating bullets.

Yamaki paled, and slowly backed up, shielding Reika.

Renamon leapt forward and joined Guilmon.

"Takato! We can't fight without both a D-Arc and our digimon!" Jenrya cried.

"Don't worry. We have plenty of fight to spare." Takato grinned.

"Guilmon, Evolve!"

"GUILMON EVOLVE..."

The dinosaur's skin peeled off, revealing Guilmon's data code. The code began to shift greatly, and a new appearance began to take form.

"GROWMON!"

Naritai jibun yume ni miru no wa
Dare ni mo tanomenai sa

Takato grinned as the much larger dinosaur, now sporting more markings, side claws, horns, and a seriously awesome hairdo, appeared and roared loudly.

"D-Arc! Activate battle systems! Monitor all battle variables!"

Orders complied

"Exhaust Flame!" Growmon roared, spewing forth an extremely hot flame. It melted through the floor, revealing an extremely large underground cavern. Takato braced himself as the Tamers, Symbiotes, Yamaki, Reika, and the two digimon fell to the ground in a heap. Smoke took too long to clear, putting the Tamers at a disadvantage.

Try kiba wo muita yasashisa mo arun da
Mamoritai mono no mae de wa

"Erase Claw!" CyberDramon roared. Takato realized that it was one Adult vs. two Children and an Ultimate.

Multiple targets closing

"... Damn..." Takato groaned as Growmon took a nasty hit.

"Takato!" Yamaki cried, and tossed the boy's game cards to him.

Sekai ga kawaru kitto kono itami wo norikoetara
Mayotteru hima wa nai sa tatakawanakucha

Keshiki ga kawaru sora mo osorenai yuuki motta kara
Chigau jibun wo sagashite tobitateru hazu sa

"Yes! Growmon! Up and at 'em! Evolve!"

"GROWMON EVOLVE..."

Iiwake bakari kangaete mata
Nanika no sei ni suru no ka?

This time, instead of skin peeling off, it stretched and refitted as Growmon grew, and gained armor.

"MEGALO GROWMON!"

Cry kizu tsuitari atsuku naru kara koso
Ikiterun daro omokiri

"Ready to put your new power to the test, buddy?" Takato shouted over the explosion of rippling power.

"How does this answer your question?" Megalo Growmon grinned. "ATOMIC MEGALO BLASTER!"

If Renamon ever thought Megalo Growmon was powerful before she stood corrected as she witnessed a blast that would have put an atomic-fusion bomb to shame. The blast shot forward, knocking the symbiote back to the main lobby.

Sekai ga kawaru kitto kono itami wo norikoetara
Mayotteru hima wa nai sa tatakawanakucha

Keshiki ga kawaru sora mo osorenai yuuki motta kara
Chigau jibun wo sagashite tobitateru hazu sa

Sekai ga kawaru kitto kono itami wo norikoetara
Mayotteru hima wa nai sa tatakawanakucha

Following the trail of destruction, Takato glared as he saw the symbiotes standing, unharmed.

"What's it going to take?" Takato yelled in frustration.

Multiple Targets Closing

"Shit."

But, this time, the targets weren't the symbiote. A tall shadow, grouped by several other shadows stood in the doorway, framed, but hidden, by the sunlight. The tall figure pointed an arm at the symbiotes and shouted two words that brought hope to the Tamers...

"DOUBLE IMPACT!!!"

The Tamers and Megalo Growmon cheered as Beelzebumon's blast exploded toward the imposters.

"Here comes the Cavalry! GATLING ARMS!" shouted another familiar voice.

"CHARM PLUNDER!"

"WARNING LASER!"
"VIOLENT ROCK RABBIT!"

"CYBER NAIL!"

A great blast was met with a great cheer as Tamers and Digimon reunited. Kenta didn't see where Marine Angemon was, but Mermaimon explained that she was Marine Angemon's Perfect form. He was rather excited about that.

Juri's momentary happiness and hope were soon replaced by sadness and a little bit of jealousy.

"So... you got your stupid partners... You still won't win," Ruki glared.

"So you say..." Beelzebumon grinned, winking at Juri. "Takato!" he roared.

"You got it! D-Arc! Override partner limitations! Beelzebumon CARD SLASH!"

Beelzebumon nodded, and spread his arms.

"DATA SEPERATION!" The two roared. A great rift appeared in front of the Demon Lord.

"RETURN OF THE KING!!!" The three voices roared.

'Wait... THREE?' Ruki thought.

"FIST OF THE BEAST KING!"

A lion-head-shaped force exploded out of the rift slamming into Ryo, followed by the long-gone, but still impressive figure of...

"Leomon!" Juri squealed and ran forward into her Digimon's arms as the rift closed.

Tapping on Leomon's shoulder, Beelzebumon grinned sheepishly.

"Uh... Sorry about your deletion."

"I forgive you, Demon." Leomon turned to the symbiotic copies. "So what have I missed?"

"Tell you later. Now, we fight!"

"Agreed!"

The multitude of digimon ran forward, only to be blasted back by JigokuJustimon, Kuzuhamon, and Black Saint Galgomon.

"Shit! They used the time to evolve."

"Then let us do what they do best. Let's copycat them!" Galgomon grinned.

"HAI! MATRIX... oh wait... we don't have our D-Arcs..." Jen admitted.

"You could've let us know that earlier."

"Great... Just great... The only Final levels we have access to are a demon lord, a knight, and an insane dragon on steroids with some super serious mental issues," Ruki groaned.

The last digimon on her list made Takato think. The D-Arc picked up his thought and relayed the question. Takato relayed the question to Megalo Growmon, who nodded.

"D-Arc! Accept Operation! Final Evolution activated."

"MEGALO GROWMON EVOLVE..."

Everyone watched, some in surprise, some in awe, but all in horror. Juri most of all. Leomon wasn't present at the first time it happened, but even he quaked in fear of the overwhelming power.

The Prime Level dinosaur's armor melted and rearranged into the spiked, lethal to the touch armor of the great dragon. The Prime's body was ripped to shreds, revealing data code. The code shifted to remove the legs, but he grew wings instead. The canines grew into saber-like fangs, his claws expanded to monstrous inflamed fists, his tail grew long and ended in a deadly stabbing blade, and ridges ending in spikes grew out of his back, from the neck to the tail point, ripping through the skin in their way. The eyes narrowed and slanted, and the pupils dilated to slits. The transformation had been completed revealing...

"MEGIDRAMON!"

Ruki turned, horrified, to Takato. He had brought the monster back to life? She started toward him, but Leomon caught her mid-stomp. Indicating to Megidramon, Leomon showed both Ruki and Juri that it was not insane. In fact, it seemed to be just Guilmon in the dragon's body. Apparently, the tamers noticed this, too. They all stood stock-still as Megidramon grinned, which in-itself was pretty scary.

"Symbiote! You found us, played us, ripped out our hearts, and came back for more. Well, we won't take it! Prepare to die!" Takato roared.

"DARK... SOUL... BLAST!!!" Megidramon screamed. He released from his mouth a blast that ripped the very color from the area and ate through the air. It was a vacuum that tore toward the many forms of the symbiote. Upon impact, the blast ripped the symbiote to shreds, and continued to burn the floor surrounding them.

When the blast dilated, red piles of quivering ooze were seen.

"No... It can't be! Not even Megidramon can take them down," Takato grimaced.

"What do you think?" Ruki screeched at him. "If Beelzebumon can't beat them, then how…" Ruki paused as Takato's face changed from worry to joy.

"Megidramon!" Takato grinned. "The D-Arcs are still on the floor! Get 'em boy!"

"You got it!" Megidramon sneered as he dove toward said objects. Picking them up, he swooped back, and dropped them into their respective owner's hands.

The tamers all watched in satisfaction as the symbiotes returned to their assumed forms. As the shape-shifters had none of the five basic senses in their natural state, it would be needless to say that they were pretty cocky.

"Oh… Do the widdle Tamers wanna go home because they know we're invincible?" Ruki snickered in a baby voice. She… um… It continued to gloat. At least until it saw the D-Arcs in the Tamer's hands.

"Let's try this again!" Jenrya grinned as Galgomon resumed his Child form. "MATRIX EVOLUTION!"

Hikari wo hanatsu karada ga
Toke au matrix evolution
Sono toki subete wakaru sa
Futari deaeta imi

Jenrya, Ruki, and Ryo grinned as they felt the familiar sensation. They bodies were stripped to their raw elements as they merged with their partners to become the living fortress and shaman priestess known as…

"SAINT GALGOMON!", "SAKUYAMON!", and "Justimon!"

Takato smiled and looked up at his partner. The giant dragon nodded.

"MATRIX EVOLUTION!" The two fighters roared.

Kokoro no katachi kimi wa kami ni kakeru kai?
Ichibyou goto ni iro mo kaeru mono da yo

Shinjiru koto ga donna koto ka wakaru kai?
Kimi no subete ga tamesarete irun da yo

Takato knew that this particular evolution was going to be different as he watched Megidramon curl and coil into a shapeless, glowing mass. The mass shifted and changed and fitted itself around Takato. As the transformation continued, Takato felt Guilmon's mind converge with his. The armor that now covered the two continued to shift and change beyond its normal form, until it was not simply Dukemon standing there. Instead, Takato and Megidramon found and formed a new branch of the Hazzard's power.

Yuuki dake ja todokanain da
Osore made hitotsu ni natta sono toki

Leomon had never been present for any prior matrix evolutions and stared in awe at the three legends told by the great warriors of the digital plane. He recalled the one of the legends as he watched Takato and Megidramon transform.

'A Royal Knight born from one of the Four Great Dragons, Megidramon. He reigns as the guardian deity of Virus-type Digimon, and belongs to the Royal Knights, the highest grade of network security. If his perfect balance collapses, he will completely change and become a dangerous existence... His sword Gram, and shield Aegis, are made from ChronDigizoit.'

Looking at the priestess, he recalled another legend.

'The work of the Ying Yang philosophy is the favorite of the Shaman Priestess. Her role is to execute the will of god by proxy, and she uses four foxes for information gathering and other purposes. When she hears the will of god, she transforms into another form. She demonstrates her power by sending out foxes of four types: fire, water, wind, and lightning to attack and gather information!'

As Leomon looked up to Saint Galgomon, he recalled one last legend.

'He's equipped with a megaton gun as a weapon! His firepower and strength are equal to that of a fortress. He forms an uncrossable line with his barrage of bullets, a green berserker warrior! He blasts open the front gates! This amazing guy's whole body is a weapons storehouse!! He's equipped with megaton class weapons! His firepower and strength are like a fort!'

True, they were more descriptions and stories than legend, but they sounded like legends nonetheless.

Hikari wo hanatsu karada ga
Toke au matrix evolution
Subete ga michita shunkan
Ima sore ga ima!
Zero e to kawaru kokoro ga
Toke au matrix evolution
Sono toki subete wakaru sa
Futari deaeta imi

Leomon turned back to Takato's transformation as he finally completed the change. Apparently, the symbiote didn't think that this transformation would be any different from the normal matrix evolution. They were very wrong.

Takato felt the mass surge of power explode through his system as he roared…

"MEDIEVAL DUKEMON!"

Kodou de sae mo onaji rizumu kizameba
Afureru chikara kanjitoreru hazu darou

Tatakau tame ni hitotsu ni naru koto yori
Wakariau tame hitotsu ni natta hazu sa

Slightly taller than the original Dukemon, he wore a cape made of polymerized ChronDigizoit, 10 times stronger than the original metal. His armor was much more impressive, and Jenrya realized that this form of Dukemon could survive living in the sun's core. There was also this sense of true regality. Looking over the assembled, his eyes rested on Sakuyamon.

Inside said Priestess, Ruki felt a blush creep up her face. She could sense Takato gazing at her from within Medieval Dukemon. 'Is he… is he sizing me up? No… Takato wouldn't do something like that. He wouldn't… not Takato…'

Kasanete kita jikan no tsubu ga
Kiseki no tobira wo hiraku sono toki

'How do you know that?' whispered a nasty little voice in her head. 'Your father left you at the age of six. How do you know he won't either?'

'Because Takato isn't like that… I know he isn't.'

'You can't prove it.'

'S-so?'

'How do you know he's trustworthy?'

'I- I don't…' Ruki paused. She didn't know how trustworthy Takato was. This whole mess might've been a play staged by the symbiote. But…

'RUKI! You know perfectly well Takato wouldn't do something like that!' Renamon's voice sounded in her head. 'He's a nice boy and you know it. Don't listen to that other voice. It's not yours!'

Ruki couldn't decide what to do. She swayed back and forth, unsure of what to do or who to believe. She watched; a prisoner in her own mind as the Tamers battled with the Symbiotes. Throughout the battle, she noticed that Medieval Dukemon didn't really battle, but continued to move toward her, deflecting attacks with his hands. He continued to move forward, until he stood right in front of her, staring down at her imperiously.

Mirai wo erabu chikara ga
Mezameru matrix evolution
Kimitachi ni shika dekinai
Saa me wo hirake!

Sagashitsuzuketa kotae ga
Riaraizu suru evolution
Kokoro no katachi awasete
Nido to hanasanaide

Something foreign, something feral rose up inside Ruki, and the urge to attack him became almost unbearable. She raised her staff and swung it at his face while it was loaded with her magic. For all the effect it had on him, she might as well have tried to knock over a tree with a toothpick. The blow glanced off of his armor, and he smacked her hand, automatic reflexes causing her to drop the staff. He then slowly placed his hand upon her face and whispered unintelligible phrases that somehow calmed her. She felt some foreign essence being removed from her system, and waited for it to be finished. As the strange aura was totally removed, she held on to Medieval Dukemon for support as she slowly stood up.

Once she regained her footing, Ruki noticed that the nasty voice in her head was gone. She looked up at Medieval Dukemon, whose eyes seemed to breathe sympathy into her soul. With a start she had realized that he had seen the memory of her father leaving. He now shared that knowledge. She blushed and tried to pull away, but soon realized that struggling would be useless.

It wasn't that Medieval Dukemon held her too tight. She just simply didn't want to leave the comfort of his arms. She realized that, even though Takato had his own emotional problems, but he still comforted hers. She placed her head against his and cried. She cried and cried, feeling the tears spring, unbidden, to and from her eyes. Like a brook moving slowly, and like a river, rushing madly. She cried and cried some more, letting her pent up emotions run wild.

Dou naru no ka ga wakaranai
Michi no chikara no kowasa mo
Futari de koete yukun da
Saa me wo hirake!
Mirai wo erabu chikara ga
Mezameru matrix evolution
Kimitachi ni shika dekinai
Sore ga saigo no shinka

After what seemed to be an eternity, Sakuyamon lifted her head, and brushed away her tears. "S-sorry you had to see that, Taka… Gogglehead," Ruki smiled strangely, halfway between sheepish and grinning. From within Medieval Dukemon, Takato grinned. "Meh. I've seen weirder."

"We've all seen weird things, now can we get with the program?!" Leomon roared as he deflected a shot meant for the pair. Ruki started, she had totally forgotten about the symbiote when Takato evolved. Looking at Takato, who smiled back at her from within the Royal Knight, she raised her staff, and struck the ground.

"Vajra Mandala!" The attack moved forward with great force. It slammed into the symbiote, but did next to nothing except blow up a limb or two, which soon healed.

Hikari wo hanatsu karada ga
Toke au matrix evolution
Subete ga michita shunkan
Ima sore ga ima!
Zero e to kawaru kokoro ga
Toke au matrix evolution
Sono toki subete wakaru sa
Futari deaeta imi

Medieval Dukemon stood still, not attacking, and not getting hit either. He seemed to be waiting to for something. But nobody could tell what.

He raised a single hand.

"SUMMON! CULUMON!"

There was a bright flash, and suddenly the small, semi-rotund digimon appeared, floating in the air.

"Dukemon!" The huggable Digimon squealed. "You got a… what was the word… a MAKEOVER!"

"Not quite, my friend…" Medieval Dukemon chuckled. "Now I need you to do something for me, Culumon. I'm going to give you some of my power, okay? We're going to make a super Evolution, all right?"

"O.K.!"

"Infuse! Shining Evolution!" Medieval Dukemon and Culumon roared!

A burst of holy power exploded through the Hypnos lobby, and set everyone's D-arcs off like crazy. Jeri drew a card from her deck, and watched with amazement as it turned to a blue card. She noticed similar happenings with Shuichon, Hirokazu, and Kenta. Taking the initiative, she swiped the card through her D-arc. Shuichon, Hirokazu and Kenta did likewise.

"CARD SLASH! EVOLUTION!"

"LEOMON EVOLVE…"

Leomon's body began to shift and change. He grew taller, and felt his mane grow longer, each hair ending in a long, sharp spike. He gained blue-gray armor over a section of mail that worked smoothly together; not a kink in the works. His arms were supple, and easily able to lift a trailer.

"GRAPPLEOMON!" he roared, letting the surrounding forms to be bathed in his light.

"GUARDROMON EVOLVE…"

Guadromon's armor also began to shift. Some parts lengthened to fit his new body, others disappeared entirely. His body grew to about seven feet tall, a rather lengthy stretch, but his modified armor was meant for this, and fitted itself to his arms, legs and head as he completed the transformation to…

"ANDROMON!"

"TURUIEMON EVOLVE…"

Turuiemon's excavation claws exploded into data, and her outfit transformed into the armor of the Deva warrior whose title she used to hold. The light-purple fur darkened into a strange sort of dark tan. She now sported large arms and powerful limbs, easily supporting of her acrobatics.

"ANTIRAMON!"

"MERMAIMON EVOLVE…"

Mermaimon's 'skin' peeled off, showing her data code. The code itself began to compress itself, and assumed the form of the ocean fairy called…

"PI PU RIRU MI (MARINE ANGEMON)!"

The new unit of fighters sprung forward, in tandem with the Matrix forms of the others. The battle seemed to go well, until something unexpected came into play. The Digimon could only be swept away by the analytic ocean of red slime that emanated from Kuzuhamon's staff, Jigoku Justimon's arm, and Black Saint Galgomon's multiple turrets.

"Oh, silly us," Kuzuhamon sneered. "We forgot to tell you… We're D-Reaper Second Generation."

"What?..." Takato gasped. Everyone else stopped trying to escape and froze. Even GrappLeomon, who had never experienced the deadly deletion program before, knew not to struggle. So this was the mindless thing that even the Ultimate Digimon spook about in hushed whispers in the middle of the night? The ooze scanned them all, and then broke apart into menacing copies of the non-Matrix Digimon.

"Oh, don't worry. We won't merely erase you," JigokuJustimon (J.J.mon) grinned haughtily as he walked for ward. Sakuyamon struggled, but it was no use. The Reaper grabbed her, and lifted her forward, toward the evil incarnation of Justimon.

J.J.mon grinned, and placed his humanoid hand on Sakuyamon's cheek. He began to slowly caress it, and whisper seductively in her ear. To say Sakuyamon tried to kick his ass to Hell and back would be the understatement of the millennium. She struggled for everything she was worth, but without her Mandala, she was useless. No one was coming to her rescue, and she doubted that the Royal Knight was even paying attention. Eventually, she just gave up trying altogether.

Juri watched with unquenchable rage as JigokuJustimon continued to whisper in Sakuyamon's ear. She barely noticed that Medieval Dukemon had positioned himself like Son Goku, from the Dragon Ball Z show, did when he was charging up. Ignoring this totally, she watched as J.J.mon continued something similar to a temptation.

"You could always be my queen, Ruki-chan…" J.J.mon grinned seductively as he stroked Sakuyamon's cheek. "Power beyond imagining would be yours. The finest of anything you wanted would be yours. Your merest whim would be served as top priority. You would truly be the Digimon Queen."

Ruki had to admit, it was a tempting offer. She offered no resistance against J.J.mon as he continued to entice her.

"All you have to do is…," J.J.mon continued as his hand slid down her neck, slowly removing her right hand-based armor, and then removing her left arm armor. "…Give up Takato and the others…"

'Wait… Give up Takato? Give him up after all that he's done for me? GIVE UP TAKATO?'

She smiled seductively right back at JigokuJustimon. Medieval Dukemon lost his passion for a moment, and watched with downcast eyes as Sakuyamon tilted her head upwards.

And then nailed JigokuJustimon's right eye with a loogie.

"Never in a million years, loser!" She roared, her energy back. She began to thrash vehemently against the D-Reaper Claw that held her captive. Getting one arm free, she managed to summon her Mandala.

"Hey, FREAK!" Sakuyamon shouted, breaking free of the claw that held her. "First off, I would never be your queen. I'd rather be a piece of Hirokazu's shit!"

"Now that's not nice!" Hirokazu complained.

"Second, I already like someone." Ruki was seriously ticked, but she paused to glance at Takato, and walked over to him, intertwining her arm with his, her face red as a cherry, knowing exactly what she was doing. This got some responses from the Tamers: Hirokazu and Kenta gasped audibly; Andromon was slightly confused; Marine Angemon, Shuichon, and Lopmon broke into giggling fits; Juri, GrappLeomon, Justimon, and Saint Galgomon sighed with relief, they had been forced to endure weeks upon weeks of "I don't know what I should do… Does he/she like me?" speeches. And Takato just stood stock still.

"And third…" Sakuyamon continued, but her train of thought had been interrupted, and without it to keep her fervor going, all she could do was watch, and prepare for battle.

"And Third," Medieval Dukemon continued. "You would have to go through us! RAGE OF WYVERN!" He cried.

A genki-dama about the size of one of Sakuyamon's pieces of shoulder armor shot out of Medieval Dukemon's hand, and instantly evaporated the D-Reaper sludge that covered the floor.

Once everyone was free, Takato released Ruki's hold on his arm, and walked slowly forward.

"Takato, what are you doing?" Ruki asked. She placed her hand on his arm.

"I'm going to stop them." Takato shrugged her hand off, and walked slowly forward.

"D-Reaper!" Medieval Dukemon called. "You hold the advantage by beating the weaker digimon, and then copying them. Your strength lies in self-interest and gain, whereas ours lies in Teamwork!"

The symbiotic copies exchanged puzzled looks.

"Let me show you. CULUMON!" Takato shouted. The rotund Digimon hopped onto the knights head.

"FINAL CREST!" They both shouted. Takato felt the energy explode from his body, and with that explosion he felt a new train of thought, one that had lain dormant for millennia on end…

In a place where steel formations jutted out in the oddest of places, three figures stood, overlooking the Internet from their lofty perch. They shared a sense of regality that made one want to bow before them. But there was also a sense of sadness; one was missing from their number.

In shining armor, the trio looked down upon the world in which they were raised.

The largest one, named Omegamon, searched for something, anything, to take his mind off his sadness. The lights below showed Digimon celebrating a holiday that had been declared as "Karite Oujou Kyuuka". The lights reflected off of his blue and white armor, glancing off of his Garuru Cannon and Grey Sword; each weapon was roughly the size of a tree. His cloak swirled in the wind that nipped at his heels. Finding nothing, he drew back and turned to the other two.

One adorned white-grey ChronDigizoit armor with yellow point tips. From his back two great, blue wings flapped silently in the darkness. Dynasmon carried the look of a lazy, insolent fool, but the last Final level Digimon who had considered him a tasty snack found themselves making their excuses to the Three Great Angel Digimon, after turning around and running from his Breath of Wyvern.

The last member of their triad, Rhodo Knightmon, wore pink armor, but did that stop him from cleaning up Demon-incited rebellion after Demon-incited rebellion of Perfects and Ultimates on his own? It most certainly didn't! In fact, the armor was to make his opponents underestimate him. He had easily beat down the resistance and cleansed the souls of the mindless beasts with his Argent Fear and Spiral Masquerade attacks.

Pausing slightly, Omegamon picked up what seemed to be a whisper of sound. It didn't come from his comrade knights, but soon he didn't really care about that, as his main focus was to keep from falling off his perch as the whisper was turned into a blast of light and force. It was soon over, and Omegamon peered over the edge of the Royal Knights' lookout.

Down below, almost every single light had been blown out. But the citizens of Digiworld didn't mind. They thought it was all a part of the celebration.

'Good,' thought Omegamon. 'No need to worry them over some freak occurrence.'

"Omegamon, did you feel that?" asked Dynasmon, who was shaking his head clear. Rhodo Knightmon barely escaped the blast by using lightning reflexes to hide behind a particularly thick spire, but was still seriously shaken.

It took a while for Omegamon to answer. Something about the blast had been extraordinarily familiar. Visions of past battles where not three, but four Royal Knights battled side by side. Breathing deeply, he smiled from within his helmet as he felt the familiar essence of the 4th Royal Knight. He was back! But… something was wrong. It wasn't a blast of heraldry and glory, as Omegamon originally thought, but a final desperate defense and call of help.

Turning to the two others, who weren't as skilled in battle as him, and therefore looked to him as their leader. It was already his honorary title, but their respect for him would cause them to follow him against every Digimon in existence.

They would've shared this respect with one other, but he had been sealed within the Hazzard when he solely went up against the Demon Corps for insulting his friends and his dignity. Rhodo Knightmon remembered that Dukemon didn't make the move until after Lady Devimon had made the crack about Sakuyamon (Dukemon did have a tendency to chose odd friends, and even Dynasmon figured out about Dukemon's "illness" about Sakuyamon) and his honor. That was his snapping point. He could've withstood the crack about his honor, he had been getting better at that, but it was the dual insult that got him.

He had unleashed his power, only to have The Great Demon Lord Belphemon: Sleep Mode rebound it against him, trapping him within his own power. The rebound also had the nasty effect of sealing the other monsters that were Dukemon's friends: Sakuyamon (Omegamon had been forced to endure long journeys full of his horrid love poems; Dukemon may have been a good fighter, but poetry wasn't exactly one of his strong points, especially when it came to a certain Shamanic Priestess who worked for the Sovereigns), Saint Galgomon (not only a walking fortress that made horrid jokes, but a martial artist master to boot; Dukemon sure could pick them), Saber Leomon (A strange mix of fighter, beast, and healer who the Royal Knight had known from the stage of Baby II), High Andromon (A loyal child-hood friend of Dukemon's that had always wanted to work with technology; who knew that the 'mon would become the Guardian Deity for all technological Digimon), Cherubimon (Rhodo Knightmon didn't know how in the Dark Ocean that Dukemon could've befriended an Angel Digimon, let alone one of the famous Trio), Marine Angemon (Dynasmon couldn't believe that the Deep Savior Angel had to use a Holy Ring to keep his head on her shoulders, literally, that freaked him out), Justimon (did Dukemon have a knack for weird friends or what?), and lastly Beelzebumon (Dukemon had gotten a few nasty knocks on the head trying to free him from the viral disease that had gotten the Demon Master drunk on power).

The Royal Knights wanted to help, but Dukemon couldn't let them be sealed away, so before the seal finally was completed, he used the last bit of magic that he could, and forced the Royal Knights to the peak of Mt. Infinity.

Supposedly, the Digimon were sealed away until the need for heroes to arise in their forms, and go through similar situations that the originals had been through, in order to gain the necessary experience. Apparently, now the time was dangerous enough to waken the Royal Knight, and that was reason enough for Omegamon, Dynasmon, and Rhodo Knightmon to find their friend.

Using his Grey Sword, Omegamon sliced through the very fabric that separated the Real World from the Digital. Stepping through the vortex, the Trinity of Knights prepared themselves for battle; if it was something to make Medieval Dukemon need help, then they must be ready for anything.

In Hypnos, a giant rift opened in the center of the ravaged wasteland. Three regal Digimon stepped from the portal.

"Dukemon! You have called for our help. We have traveled from the Soul of the Digiworld, to assist you. We will help fight your enemies TO THE DEATH!!!"

………………………………………………………………………………………………

CLZH: Man, that was a long chapter!

CLZH-X: It took us about two months to write this one.

BOTH: Well, read and review. And please keep Shuichon out of your kitchens. Who knows what'll happen.

Guilmon is running away from Chef Shuichon, who is determined to have the Saurian for dinner.