I do not own Digimon or Sailor Moon. Those belong to their respective creators and not me. As much as I would love to own such things, I sadly cannot. Anyhow, I suppose you are all here to read a fic so let's get reading!
-Ten-Faced Paladin
Legendary Celestial Warriors
By Ten-Faced paladin
Chapter 8: Loewemon Casts his Shadow
When the scouts had heard of the 'bombing' of an apartment complex and recognised the address, they were all out in force to see if Lita and her houseguests were safe. Even Setsuna had joined them because with Daemon's men causing havoc, there was no way to know if Lita had survived or not. The entire sidewalk around the building was taped off while people were crowded on the other side of the street. Serena had her hands over her motuh in a gasp with Luna staring on with fear in her eyes. Rini and Diana were equally shocked and scared. Raye, Mina, Amy and Artemis were down the street and were terribly afraid that their friends had been hurt. Setsuna, Haruka, Michelle, and Setsuna were all shocked to see the destruction. Setsuna was very unnerved at this point. The future was very uncertain now. A Sailor Scout being attacked only drove that point home quite nicely.
"I hope Lita's okay," Serena whispered quietly.
"I'm sure she is," Luna reassured her quietly.
"Yeah!" Rini agreed. "Lita's tough. I'm sure that no stinky Digimon could get the best of her!"
"He almost did," a new yet familiar voice added.
"AHHHHHHH!" Serena and Rini screamed when they were caught by surprise and yet again showing the family resemblance. They both looked behind them to see Lita with Bokomon and Neemon in her arms. The two tiny Digimon were pretending to be dolls when they were brought through the crowds.
"Litadon'tscaremelikethatit'sbadenoughthatSetsunadoesthat!" Serena screeched in her rapidfire words that no one could make sense of. Of course, when she saw that it was the friend that everyone was worried about, Serena's attitude did a complete one-eighty.
"WAAAAHH!" Serena cried as she hugged the three. "I'm so glad you're okay! I was so worried about you!"
"What happened up there?" Rini asked curiously.
"I'll tell you all at the temple," Lita replied with seriousness in her voice. "Let's find the others first."
Later, everyone was gathered at the Hikawa Shrine for their latest meeting. Even Darien was in attendance since the girls caught him just arriving at the scene.
"All right Lita," Setsuna spoke calmy. "Would you please tell us what happened? I'm assuming that this wasn't terrorists or a gas main."
"It was Andromon!" Neemon squeaked.
"Another Digimon?" wondered Artemis.
"Yes," Lita nodded. "He blew a hole in my apartment! I don't know how but he somehow knew that I was Sailor Jupiter."
"WHAT?!" everyone cried in disbelief before Darien tried a more specific question. "How do you think he found out Lita?"
"I don't know," Lita replied with a sigh. "He somehow recognised me and next thing I know he's blowing the wall off my apartment."
"Oh dear," Michelle gulped. "How'd you beat him?"
"Almost didn't," Lita shivered. "He would have killed me if Beetlemon hadn't shown up"
"You mean your Legendary Warrior appeared?!" Mina sqealed excitedly. "Was he cute?"
"Oh he was soooo hunky!" Lita gushed. "Broad shoulders, lots of muscle, and he thinks I'm cute!"
"Oh you are so lucky!" Mina pouted. "Lobomon never said something like that to me!"
"Ahem" Setsuna coughed, bringing everyone's attention to her. "Thank you. Now, I am assuming that this Andromon was on a higher level than the rest of Daemon's soldiers that we fought before. Am I correct Bokomon?"
"Yes," Bokomon nodded. "The others that you have come up against were champon level Digimon. Andromon, on the other hand, was a level higher than them. He was an ultamite level Digimon."
"Ultamite? Champion?" asked Luna. "Could you explain?"
"Certainly," Bokomon nodded as he pulled out his book. He opened it to a page that depicted a small Digimon growing through stage of growth until it became a very powerful Digimon. "Each Digimon has been classed on a certain level of evolution. It begins at the rookie stage. Digimon like myself and Neemon can be found there. The champion level is the next stage. Digimon like the ones we have been fighting are on that level. Next comes the ultamite stage. Andromon easily qualifies. Finally, there is the mega level. It's as high as one can go. I believe that Daemon himself can be found here."
"So he's as tough as they come," Haruka frowned. "Anything else?"
"Well, there are the baby and in-training stages before rookie but Digimon don't battle in those stages," Bokomon admitted. "There is a level beyond mega that is rumored to exist but no one has ever seen it."
"Ooooh!" Serena shivered. "I don't wanna face Daemon."
"We won't have to do it alone Serena," Raye smiled, trying to encourage her friend. "We'll have our friends and the Legendary Warriors to help us!"
'I only hope so Raye,' Bokomon hought darkly to himself. 'Only Koichi is without his spirits now. After that is anyone's guess on what's going to happen. I just hope we'll have all ten warriors there to help us this time.'
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The day had passed and everyone had gone home for the night. Lita was staying over at Raye's until her apartment was repaired. It turned out that her landlord had insurance against monster attacks. It sort of made sense to have it since Juuban had a high concentration of them. Bokomon and Neemon were relocated to Haruka and Michelle's house until further notice. Right now though, the sun was rising on a new day. In one certain home, a certian dark-haired girl was awakened by her alram clock. She mumbled a little before she managed to shut it off. Shaking herself awake, Hotaru pulled herself out of bed. She yawned and stretched before looking to her calander. Today's date was circled in red pen. This caused the young woman in question to smile brightly before cheering.
"Yay!" she cheered. "It's today!"
In another room of the house, Haruka and Michelle were waking up from a pleasant sleep. Haruka groaned before she looked to the clock and tightened her hold on Michelle.
"It's too early for this," she sighed sleepily.
"Mmm," Michelle sighed. "This is a field trip you know. We got a day off to chaperone."
"Yeah yeah," Haruka sighed as she sat up, her bedclothes clinging to her. "Does it have to be so early though?"
"If we want to get there in time for the bus then yes," Michelle smiled as she slipped out of bed. Haruka took a moment to admire her curves that were nicely put on display with her nightgown.
"Like what you see?" Michelle smiled as she saw Haruka's wandering eyes.
"Of course," Haruka smiled as she got out of bed. "I always do."
"Well if you behave today you might get a closer look later," Michelle smiled as she went into the bathroom.
"Sounds good to me," Haruka smirked.
Hotaru was already wide awake and dressed, ready for her day. She was currently dealing with her morning ritual in another bathroom. She was excited since this was the first time that she would be going on a field trip. She hadn't been on one before because of her illness. This time, they were going to the museum so everyone figured that her weakness wouldn't be a problem. Haruka and Michelle had volunteered to help chaperone. Since they were Hotaru's adoptive parents, the faculty figured they would be the people to go to in case anything concerning Hotaru came up.
After finishing in her bathroom, Hotaru practically skipped to the kitchen where Bokomon and Neemon were enjoying breakfast.
"Good morning!" Hotaru smiled.
"Morning," both tiny Digimon waved. Early mornings were nothing to them. It was late night where they would be attacked by something that made for bad mornings.
"You seem cheerful this morning Hotaru," Bokomon smiled. "Is something special happening?"
"Yep!" Hotaru smiled. "We're having a field trip to the museum today. I've been wanting to go there for so long!"
"What's a museum?" asked Neemon.
"It's a huge building where history is displayed," Hotaru explained. "It has all these really cool displays where you can see dinosaur bones, Egyptian mummies, all sorts of caveman tools, it's great!"
"My word!" Bokomon gasped. "It does sound wonderful, doesn't it Neemon?"
"Huh?" Neemon asked, having lost interest in the conversation.
Bokomon just grumbled and gave Neemon a brief pants snap, sending the little orange Digimon into a dancing frenzy. Hotaru giggled brightly. This was the scene that Setsuna had walked in on when she came for breakfast.
"Oh! Good morning Setsuna-mama!' Hotaru smiled.
"Good morning to you Hotaru," Setsuna smiled before turning to the two Digimon, Neemon to be precise. "An interesting dance if I must say so myself."
Both Michelle and Haruka walked in after her. Michelle giggled at seeing Neemon move. Haruka just shook her head. Michelle had gone over to the oven to prepare breakfast while Haruka scooped up Neemon before sitting him back down on his chair.
"I'd ask if you were ready but I think you are," Michelle smiled after looking to Hotaru.
"Yes!" Hotaru smiled.
Setsuna smiled at seeing this. She liked it when Hotaru was smiling like this and happy. The poor child had enough hardships in her life and friends for her were tough to come by. As things were right now, a boyfriend was completely out of the question. Those brats in her school just wouldn't give her a moments peace.
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Koichi was feeling pleasant for the day as he waited for the bus to take him and his class to the museum. There was a history project on the line and he didn't want to mess it up. He regretted that his brother couldn't come with him but Koichi knew that he and Koji didn't go to the same school. Otherwise they would have met a lot sooner than their travels in the digital world.
Thiniking about his first meeting with his brother reminded Koichi of Duskmon. That dark side of him and his life still gave him nightmares some nights. He regretted every action he had done while he was under the corrupted Cherubimon's control. Even if his friends have long since forgiven him, he still felt bad for the pain he caused them.
'No, forget about that,' Koichi shighed inwardly as he shook his head. 'Duskmon is long gone. Dead and buried. He's never coming back. Just remember that.'
The sound of a bus driver's horn caught his attention as he saw the other kids piling onto the bus. Quickly catching up, Koichi followed them and managed to find an empty seat. Luckily, he seemed to be by himself. As the bus began moving, his thoughts turned to the current crisis.
'Having the Sailor Scouts to help would be great,' he thought absently. 'Each of us seem to find ourselves paired up with one of them. I'm a little worried about how they'll view me. Will they try to be objecteive or will they assume I'm evil just because I'm the Warrior of Darkness? I guess a lot of people would wouldn't they? I suppose that if I get a chance to fight alongside them I'll have to prove that darkness isn't always evil. That is, if I ever get the Spirits of Darkness back.'
The bus ride went smoothly all the way to the museum. Hoichi clutched his backpack and followed his class to the front gate. He admired the building and could see that theere was another class heading inside already. If he recalled right, they were the unifoorm of the kids going to Mugen Academy. As he watched them going in, Koichi thought he saw Haruka Tenoh from the racetrack and the blue-haired girl that was with her. When he had blinked though, they were already gone. Shrugging, Koichi began following his class as they entered.
The entrance hall was HUGE!! Koichi smiled as he saw all the ancient artefacts that were on display. They were mostly just small things that would get people interested in seeing what else the museum had to offer. In Koichi's case, they had done their job well. He really wanted to see just what this place had on exhibit.
He wasn't the only one either. With the rest of her class, Hotaru smiled brightly as she saw everything that was there. She felt the excitemnt bubbling up inside her when the teacher started calling out names for the groups. The teacher had called everyone to attention and pulled out a list. Hotaru wasn't paying attention until the teacher got around to her group.
"Okay," Miss Obito called. "Group five under Mr Ayase will have Jin, Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, and Hotaru."
It wasn't lost on Haruka that a few kids that had just been called had groaned quietly. She had frowned when they did. Michelle was just concerned that she and Haruka wouldn't be able to keep the kids from giving Hotaru a hard time. She had just hoped that they would leave her adopted daughter alone and let her enjoy the trip.
---------------------------------------------------
Deeper within the museum, the Egyptian exhibit to be exact, there were few people around. Just a random guard or a person taking a mild interest in the ancient items. A centre piece was a large carcophogus that housed an ancient pharaoh that had ruled over a minor kingdom of Egypt. His mummy was on display in another case not too far away. A guard walked past and glanced at the acient coffin before he continued on his shift.
The case remained still for a moment before a white mist began to leak from the case for a brief moment. it wafted closely on the edges of the display before it slowly vanished into the air. The carcophogus then shook slightly as the lidwas slowly moved. It was slow moving because the being inside was struggling, it was because he didn't want to blow his cover. When the lid had been crack open a bit, long fingers that were black with white bandages snaked their way out of the case and gripped it. Inside, a large eye with a yellow iris could be seen from within. There was also a toothy grin on the inhabitants face.
It was grinning becuase it was excited at the upcoming mission it was put on. The inhabitant couldn't wait to taste the destruction of his masters enemies. Oh yes, it would be a wonderful victory in the name of master Daemon.
Now if the inhabitant could only get the feeling back into his legs.
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Koichi walked slowly past the exhibits of the dinosaurs that everyone else mas crowding around. The teacher had given them free reign of the museum so they could pick out a subject for their projects. Almost every boy had gone straight for the dinosaur exhibits. The former Warrior of Darkness had considered it but eventually decided against it when he saw the number of classmates that were already there. He would just find another exhibit and do his project off of it.
Making his way down another hallway, he came into a room based off Roman history. The various suits of armor all shined in the light that was coming from the lights. Koichi made his way past the weapons and armor, he started hearing something. Witht he room as quiet as it was, it was rather simple to hear it. The size of the room however made things a little harder to discern just where the noise was coming from. Taking a few more steps, Koichi found that this noise sounded like quiet sobs. When it got louder, Koichi found the source to be a girl with violet hair sitting on a step leading away from the exhibits. When he got a better look at the girl, he recognised her from the racetrack. Deciding to see what the problem was, Koichi began walking over to her.
Hotaru herself had been in better moods. This was the one day that she hoped that nothing would happen between herself and her classmates and it did. She had been in the bathroom for one minute and when she had come back out, her entire group was gone. Sure they might have gotten seperated by accident but Hotaru knew her classmates. They had probably tricked the chaperone into going without her. Why couldn't anyone beyond her 'parents' and the other scouts be nice to her?
"Hi." a gentle male voice spoke up.
Hotaru stopped her quiet sobs for a moment and looked up to see who had been talking. She was slightly surprised to see a boy her age with deep blue hair and gentle eyes looking at her in concern. Hotaru wiped her eyes before she took anotheer look at him. She recognised him as that boy from the track that Mina and Lita knew. They hadn't gotten around to introducing themselves before Haruka-papa had to race.
"Hi," Hotaru whispered as she tried to get herself under control.
"Is something the matter?" the boy asked as he took a seat next to her.
"I got seperated from my group," Hotaru sighed. "I don't know where they are now."
"Oh," the boy nodded. "Well that's not too bad. We can just look-"
"No," Hotaru whimpered as she ineterrupted him. "They lost me on purpose. They're always doing things like that to me."
"What?" the boy frowned. "Why?"
"It's because I'm different," Hotaru frowned as more tears threatened to come. "They think I'm a freak."
There was a silence for a moment before the boy spoke again, "You don't look like a freak to me. I think you look pretty normal."
"Thank you," Hotaru smiled.
"You know," the boy grinned. "You look pretty cute when you smile. You should do that more often."
Hotaru immediately broke into a red blush that covered her face. Had the boy just called her cute? No way. She had to have been hearing things. She glanced over to him and saw his face. He had a slight redness on his cheeks but it was enough to tell Hotaru that she had heard him right.
'Did he just call me cute?' Hotaru squeaked inwardly. 'I can't remember the last time a boy or anyone called me that.'
"Thank you," Hotaru squeaked shyly, repeating her last sentance. "Who are you anyway?"
"Koichi Kimura," the boy replied with a smile. "Who are you?"
"H-Hoataru Tomoe," Hotaru managed to get out. "My class is here for a trip."
"So is mine," Koichi replied as he stood up. "Well, if those jerks in your class don't want you around then would you like to come with me? Maybe we'll see your teacher or something."
Hotaru blinked before she smiled brightly, "Okay!"
She then stood up before the two of them began walking towards one of the exits to the room. Hotary herself was feeling rather happy. It wasn't everyday that she made a new friend, especially a cute guy like Koichi. Her cheeks reddened when she stole a glimpse at him. She just hoped that she wouldn't have to tell him about her abilities. She really wanted to have Koichi as a friend. Maybe even more if she was lucky.
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Michelle may have been calmy walking through the halls of the museum but she was aything but calm. She and Haruka had been walking with their assigned group when Mr. Ayase and his group went past. Hotaru was not with them. When Haruka calmly asked (by use of the evil eye) them were she was, the kids said that she had gone ahead. Michelle could tell that they were obviously lying. After Haruka pressed a little harder, one of the little brats had finally cracked and confessed that they left her back near the Roman exhibit. That led to now as Michelle had just entered the Egyptian room.
She had a keen eye for art and ancient art was no exception. She normlly would have stopped to admire such work but now wasn't th time. She was worried about her 'daughter' and she wanted to make sure that she was safe.
As Michelle walked past a golden casket, she did not notice the gaze from inside that had followed her. The being inside grinned in anticipation of what was coming up. He had a job to do and he might as well get it started. If his eyes weren't decieving him then he was looking at te civillian identity of one Sailor Neptune. From past battles that Daemon had told him about, wherever there was one of the outers at least two others were were goig to be close behind.
'Three for the price of one!' the inhabitant laughed.
Opening the casket wide, he began his attack.
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Koichi and Hotaru had made their way through the museum until they found themselves in the room dedicated to the shogun era. Hotaru's weakness was beginning to show as she was slightly short on breath after climbing the stairs.
"Are you okay Hotaru?" Koichi asked in concern.
"I'm fine," Hotaru huffed. "I'll be okay in a few minutes. I'm just so weak."
Koichi smiled before the two of them took a seat on a ledge overlooking one of the battles during the Meiji revolution. Both of them took out their backpacks when they came to an unspoken agreement to eating a snack. The former Warrior of Darkness pulled out a bento that his mother put together while Hotaru shrugged off her own backpack. She unzipped the main pocket but what she found was surely not a bento box and her books.
"Hi!" Neemon squeaked before waving in the pocket. Bokomon was crammed under him at the moment.
"What was that?" Koichi asked, hearing the familiar voice.
"Nothing!" Hotaru quickly replied before closing the backpack and standing up. "Um, I have to go to the bathroom. Wait for me?"
"Uh...sure," Koichi nodded. Hotaru didn't even wait for his nod before she darted towards the nearest washroom.
Hotaru ducked inside the washroom before checking the stalls. When she was positive that the room was empty, she opened the backpack and let Bokomon and Neemon scrambled out of the crammed space.
"What are you two doing here?" Hotaru fretted. "Haruka-papa and Michelle-mama will be mad if they find out that you two came with me!"
"We wanted to see the museum," Neemon replied.
"I'm afraid that it's true," Bokomon sighed. "I'm a scholar by heart and seeing a place such as this was just too much to resist."
Hotaru frowned as she tried to think of something to do. She just wished that her parents were there. This day was proving to be more hectic than she thought. It wasn't necisarily bad, but it wasn't what she had been expecting. Looking to her backpack, Hotaru found an empty bento box with broken chopsticks.
"What happened to my lunch?" she asked suspiciously as she turned to face the two Digimon.
"Yummy!" Neemon smiled as he patted his tummy.
"I tried to stop him," Bokomon frowned guiltly. "But he had the upper hand over me. Quite literally I might add."
Hotaru groaned sadly as she slumped. Now she didn't have a lunch and her two Digimon friends were in danger of having their secret exposed. Of course, that had become small potatoes when the muffled sounds of an explosion rippred through the halls of the museum. A ringing noise followed right after which was obviously the fire alarm. Acting quickly, Hotaru scooped Bokomon and Neemon back into her backpack before scrambling out of the washroom.
"Hotaru!" Koichi called, catching her attention.
The quiet boy ran up to her and took her hand, "We gotta get out of here! I think there's a fire escape this way!"
The two raced to the exit ofthe room but their path was cut off by the mass of people that were running for the same exit. Both Hotaru and Koichi knew that there was no way that they were going to get to that fire escape without being trampled.
"Can't we take the normal stairs?" asked Hotaru.
"We can but they might be crowded too," Koichi replied. "But it doesn't look like we have a choice at the moment."
A new destination was set and the two heroes(though the other didn't know it) went back the way they came and towards the main stairs that would let them get to the first floor. When they got to the banister, their plans were railroaded once again. The only difference was that it wasn't a group fo people that had stopped them.
"Necrophobia!" a haunting voice roared.
Koichi turned to where the voice had called and his eyes widened when he saw a stream of white and red energy ripping through a wall from another exhibit and straight at them.
"Look Out!" Koichi shouted before he pushed Hotaru out of the way and following her to dodge it. The energy collided with the doorway to the stairs and caused another explosion. Rubble fell from the explosion and crashed into the stairs, destroying a number of them.
"Koichi?" Hotaru gasped.
A groan of pain was all Hotaru got for a reply. Looking to her rescuer, her eyes widened when she saw that Koichi clutching his arm with some blood running down his arm. A burn from that attack that had cut through the air had managed to nick his arm.
"Koichi!" Hotaru cried in shock, leaning over to examine the wound.
"It's okay," Koichi groaned, trying to hide the pain he was feeling.
"No it's not!" Hotaru frowned. "Let me see."
Hotaru was a little reluctant to show her healing abilities but she didn't want Koichi to be in pain either. Gently letting her fingers touch the burn, a glow began eminating from her fingertips and into Koichi's arm. Before Koichi's amazed eyes, the burn and open wound began to close and shrink.
"Wow," Koichi gasped. "Is this why the kids in your class don't like you?"
"Yes," Hotaru nodded sadly. "Do you think I'm weird too?"
"Not really," Koichi replied as he helped Hotaru stand up. The naturally shy girl gasped in surprise at Koichi's response.
"Really?" Hotaru spoke, hoping that she wasn't in some kind of dream.
"I've seen wierder believe it or not," Koichi smiled.
Hotaru was in a personal state of shock. Someone that saw her use her powers and they didn't think that she was weird or a freak or anything. This was something that she didn't think was going to happen today or anyday really. Of course, the tender moment was broken when the one who fired the last attack decided to see who he had managed to hit.
The loud footsteps could be heard coming before stepping into the hallway. He was wrapped entirely in white bandages. fro the shins down he was wearing some kind of metal braces. Black belts were wrapped around his waist, chest, and wrists. Egyptian canes wereadorned on the chest belts while black horns were jutting from his shoulders. His face was also wrapped in bandages so only his left eye and mouth were visible. The most intimidating thing about him though wasn't his eyes, razor teeth, or even the sharp claws. No, the most intimidating thing about him was the large gun that was gripped in his right arm.
"Well, well, well," he smirked. "What do we have here?"
Activate Digimon Analyser
Mummymon
Mummymon is a ghost type Digimon of the ultamite level. He has the ability to harness the energy of those who have passed on in his Necrophobia attack. He can also leave you hanging with his Snake Bandage. Neither attack is something you would want to hang around to experience.
"Oh no," Koichi frowned. Hotaru clutched his arm in fear. Even though she was Sailor Saturn in secret it didn't mean that she was courageous all the time.
"Two little lovebirds out on a romantic stroll," Mummymon snickered. "Well it ends here!"
"Neptune Deep Submerge!" a female voice called.
Mummymon was then hit from behind with a surge of magically charged water. The force slammed him into the wall opposite of him but he didn't utter any kind of groans of pain. No doubt that he did feel the attack, but he only said a few words that would have caused a sweatdrop or two if the situation wasn't anymore serious.
"That was cold," He growled as he got his senses back.
Koichi and Hotaru looked to see where the attack had come from and they both saw the form of Sailor Neptune standing there. She looked over to see Hotaru clinging to Koichi. Despite the seriousness of the situation, her eybrow rose slightly seeing her 'daughter' with a boy. A motherly instinct can raise it's head at any given moment despite what was going on around the person who was feeling it.
'You two better get out of here!" Sailor Neptune called. "This is going to get ugly."
"Oh my dear Sailor Neptune," Mummymon chuckled as he he regained his footing. "You have no idea how ugly this is going to get! Necrophobia!"
Another beam of energy fired from Mummymon's gun straight at Sailor Neptune. The Sailor Scout leaped out of the way as the bean blew through the wall, but Mummymon just continued firing as he followed her, leaving blackened trails wherever he went. Koichi had gripped Hotaru's hand as they tried to get away from the battle as fast as they could. Koichi silently despaired that he didn't have his spirits while Hotaru wanted to transform but couldn't in front of her friend.
They were running through an airplane exhibit when Mummymon's attack came crashing through the walls after he had fired his gun again. The ectoplasmic energy ripped through a number of support cables. Those cables were holding up a large number of airplanes and without the cables, they went crashing to the ground. Hotaru looked up to see the descending models and she gasped.
"Look out Koichi!" she cried, deciding to repay him for saving her life and push him out of the way. She then dodged the planes as they hit the ground. Dust clouds came rising up from the impact.
"Hotaru!" Koichi coughed as he stood up. "Hotaru where are you?"
"I'm okay!" he heard Hotaru call from the other side of the junked aircraft. "The planes are blocking the way! I'll find another way out! You keep going!"
"I can't leave you here!" Koichi argued. "What if that monster comes back?"
"Please Koichi!" Hotaru begged. "I'll be fine! Honest! Just please get out of here!"
Koichi was reluctant, but he knew that Hotaru was right. He made his way out of the exhibit room btu that didn't mean that he was just going to leave and wait for word that Hotaru had lived or died. Taking an immediate left, he started tring to find a way around the exhibt so he could find Hotaru. After that they could both get out of there before that crazy Digimon brought the roof down on everything!
Hotaru had other ideas besides escape when she got her backpack off and put it down on the ground. Unzippping the main pocket she released Bokomon and Neemon.
"Oh heavens!" Bokomon gasped as he saw the wreckage. "Hotaru, what's happening? I thought I heard a Digimon attack."
"You did," Hotaru nodded. "You two had better go hide until me and Michelle-mama take care of it. I only hope Haruka-papa can find us."
Raising her henshin stick above her head, Hotaru cried out the words to her transformation, "Saturn Planet Power!"
With a burst of magical energy, Hotaru was engulfed in her magic before re-emerging as Sailor Saturn. Gripping the Silence Glaive in her hands, she began heading back to the source of the battle. She was only worried about her 'mother' at this point. Hopefully she would get there in time.
---------------------------------------------------
Neptune was still alive and kicking in her struggles with Mummymon. His aim was absolutely terrible with his weapon. It seemed like he was more interested in destroying things rather than actually hitting her. Numerous artefacts and artpieces were reduced to rubble as Mummymon continued on his gunslinging ways.
"Have you even heard of a thing called aim?" Neptune asked as she avoided another Necrophobia attack.
"Heh," Mummymon smirked. "Have you ever heard of anything called a stall tactic?"
Neptune blinked at his reply but then began to notice her surroundings now that she had a moment to look. All the statues and display cases had been destroyed and there was nothing left for her to hide behind to take the wrath of the Necrophobia attack.
"I have studied how you Sailor Scouts fight," Mummymon laughed. "You use your environment to conceal yourselves on occasion before sending magical attacks at your opponents. I also happen to know that there is no single scout anywhere. If you have found one, then like a roach, there are more somewhere nearby."
Neptune cringed at the roach comparison. It was a little demeaning to be seen like the insects that Setsuna absolutely despised.
"Anyhow," Mummymon laughed. "You honestly thought that I was aiming for you while I was actually clearing out the room and assesing your dodging abilities. I happen to know that the Outers like yourself are slightly more powerful than the Inners. I think I have a fair assesment of you now."
Neptune frowned deeper when she heard this. She had let herself get played when she assumed that Mummymon was like the other goons that Daemon had sent to this world before him.
"Oh don't look so down Sailor Neptune," Mummymon grinned. "I'm not one of Daemon's generals for nothing you know. Snake Bandage!"
Neptune was caught off guard by the sudden action. Mummymon had lunged out his left arm as a number of his bandages erupted from the limb. Neptunes legs were securely snagged before Mummymon tugged on them and forced her to the ground. Looking up, Neptune found herself staring down the barrel of Mummymon's gun.
"Don't worry," Mumymon snickered. "Your fellow scouts will be joining you soon. Necro-"
"Uranus World Shaking!" a new voice called.
Mummymon immediately turned to the source as he held up his gun in defence as an orb of yellow energy slammed into him. The bandages on Neptune's legs snapped as ummyon was forced back several feet before the attack disapated. The ghost Digimon lowered his weapon and looked to see the frowning face of Sailor Uranus.
"About time you got here," Mummyon smiled. "You never are too far away from Neptune during times like these."
Mummymon stood straight before popping his neck joint. When he was finished he took a ready position while staring down Uranus.
"Let's see if you are any better than your lover over there," Mummymon challenged.
Uranus was a little surprised by the comment, but decided that it was supposed to be an insult aimed to get her angry. Staring down the Digimon opposite of her, both of them set off a battle cry before charging to meet in battle. Mummymon wasn't using his gun as he ran while Uranus was content to use her own two fists at the moment. She was confident that her own magic energies would give her the physical power needed to stop the crazed cadaver.
When they were in striking distance, Uranus let loose a haymaker that would leave lesser men sprawled on the ground seeing stars. Mummymon amazingly saw it coming and caught the fist in his left hand. Uranus then felt the barrel of the gun poking her abdomen.
"So predictable," Mummymon laughed. "Necrophobia!"
Uranus gave a cry of pain as she was sent hurtling back from the blast of energy. She crashed into a broken display case. She was lucky that the glass was tempered and would make shards that would cut her. Mummymon just shook his hand to get the numbness out. From what Mummymon had determined from past battles, Neptune was strong enough for an average Sailor Scout but didn't have training in fighting. Uranus was another story. To beat her though one just had to determine how she fought.
"Well that was simple enough," Mummymon sighed as he stepped back to aim at Neptune. "Might as well finish this up."
"Hold it!" yet another voice cried.
Mummymon sighed as he turned around to see yet another Sailor Scout standing ready to fight him, "Just where do you people keep coming from?"
Sailor Saturn stared down the mummy Digimon in front of her. She personally found him a little scarier than the mummies from the movies that would kill people in all sorts of scary ways. Now she just wished that she had had the courage to stay to see the end of the movie to see how they got rid of it. That might help her out right now.
"I won't allow you to hurt my friends any longer!" Saturn frowned, trying to look intimidating.
"Well tough little girl," Mummymon grinned. "Want to do something about it?"
"I will!" Saturn replied as she got ready to attack,
"But first," Mummymon spoke as he turned to look at the other two Sailor Scouts. "A captive audience would be nice and I do mean captive! Snake Bandage!"
Mummymon threw his bandages from his left arm. The bandages snagged both scouts and wrapped them both up in cocoons of white linen. Throwing the other end of the bandages over one of the overhanging lights, Mummymon hoisted Uranus and Neptune into the air before tying the other end to one of the display cases.
"Let them down!" Saturn demanded.
"Oh I will," Mummymon smirked as he turned to face Saturn. "If you can beat me then the bandages will dissolve when my fractal code is scanned."
Satrun gulped as she stared into the golden eye of Mummymon. The look in his eyes was not one that she liked. The more experienced Scouts would recognize it from the eyes of various youma, daimon, cardians, droids, etc. Above them, Uranus and Neptune could only watch helplessly as their 'daughter' was forced to fight a Digimon that they guessed was to be at an almost perfect stage of it's evolution.
"You leave her alone!" Neptune shouted at Mummymon.
"If you touch her I swear nothing will protect you!" Uranus swore.
"Enought talk!" Mummymon roared as he rised his weapon. "Necrophobia!"
Mummymon unleashed a blast of energy from his gun. Sailor Saturn dodged and began trying to get closer to him. Mummymon just continued to lay on the barrage as he followed the younger scout. Going past a decimated statue. Readying herself, Saturn prepared to unleash her attack as she stepped out from behind the ruined artefact. When she was in full view, she found herself looking into the wrapped chest of Mummymon.
"Satu-!" Sailor Saturn tried to get out before she felt her arm grabbed and the rest of her body get thrown across the room.
"Ahhh!" Saturn cried as she hit the wall.
"No!" Neptune cried in dismay at the spectacle.
"Too easy!" Mummymon laughed as he raised his weapon. "Necrophobia!"
Another blast of energy ripped through the air towards Saturn. Reacting quickly, Hotaru raised her weapon and collected her energies.
"Silence Wall!" Saturn cried as she brought up the wall of energy. The Necrophobia collided against the Silence Wall with an electrified crash. It didn't last long before Mummymon relented and Saturn fell to her knees gasping for breath. Healing Koichi along with using an attack like the Silence Wall put a serious drain on her.
"Not bad," Mummymon nodded as he raised his weapon again. "But it ends now! Necrophobia!"
Saturn didn't have enough energy to try another Silence wall. The stream of ectoplasmic energy that was flying at her was looking more like an omen of death at the moment.
-----------------------------------------
-Minutes Before-
Koichi was dashing through the halls trying to find Hotaru. He realised that all the halls were beginning to look the same. He had stopped to catch his breath when he started hearing more explosions. Fearing for Hotaru's safety, he started heading towards the source of the noise. His fears grew when he heard the sound of a girl screaming. He began racing for the source even faster than before. When he started getting towards the source of the destruction, he saw what Mummymon was doing from one of the doorways to the room in question. He saw two Scouts tied up and hanging from the roof and Sailor Saturn panting on the ground. He idly noticed that when he saw her, she looked a little familiar for some reason. Of course, that was pushed from his head when he saw Mummymon taking aim at her with his gun.
'No!' Koichi's thoughts roared as he raced forward, being forcibly reminded of when he was Duskmon and was towering above Agunimon, preparing to slice him in half.
Inside the room where Bokomon and Neemon were hiding, Bokomon's book was reacting. Pulling it out, the two Digimon found that the lights in the room were beginning to dim and all the shadows being cast were growing bigger.
"Koichi must be nearby!" Bokomon cried happily.
"Yay!" Neemon cheered.
From the pages of the book, two spirits that were pitch black rose into the air. The one on the left was sleeper and was smoother with a lion theme. The one on the right was a deeper black with a more savage look to it. It was also in a lion theme of it's own. These were the Spirits of Darkness.
The two spirits were still before the flew off in a black bur of energy. As Koichi started moving, he unknowingly drew out his cellphone as it changed into a black and silver D-tector. He raised it above his head as the spirits of darkness found their bearer and entered the device. The familiar blue ring of fractal code also appeared around his opposite hand.
Execute! Spirit Evolution! Loewemon!
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Mummymon's attack appeared to collide with Saturn before an explosion of loose rubble and smoke flew through the air. Mummymon smiled victoriously at the result. Uranus' eyes widened as she saw what happened. She was struck speechless as it all come down on her. Neptune was having a different reaction. When the explosion happened, she was still for a moment before tears started running from her eyes. Her motherly senses mixed with her grief was making for an interesting mix.
"My baby...my baby," she quietly sobbed before she turned her glare to Mummymon. "YOU MONSTER! YOU KILLED MY BABY!!"
"Now don't cry," Mummymon grinned. "You'll be seeing her soon enough."
"Of course she will," a gruff but seemingly gentle voice replied, catching everyone's attention. "She right here."
The smoke dispelled and Mummymon's jaw dropped as he saw that Saturn was fine. Still a little tired but very much alive. In front of her though, was a warrior donned in black lion-like armor with a shield fashioned after a cat's face held out in front of him.
"Loewemon!" Mummymon roared. "Where did you come from?!"
"THAT is the Warrior of Darkness?" Uranus gaped. "He's not what I was expecting."
Neptune didn't care what this new warrior looked like. All she cared was that this angel had save their 'daughter'. He could have had three heads for all Neptune cared at the moment. Her daughter was safe and that was all that mattered.
Loewemon lowered his shield and turned his head so that he could see if Sailor Saturn was all right. The young Sailor Scout was staring at him in amazement. He had just leaped into the fray out of nowhere and blocked the attack Mummymon had shot at them. She also found that she was feeling a little odd when she was around the Legendary Warrior. She knew it was a feeling of darkness but it was nothing like Mistress 9 or Pharaoh 90. This darkness was warm and caring. Saturn had noticed that the temperature of the room had risen slightly.
"Good to see that you're okay," Loewemon spoke with a smile in his voice. "I wouldn't be much of a partner if I just let you get hurt."
Hotaru just continued to look at him while she noticed a symbol on his back glowing a deep purple. The glow was being matched by the bow on the centre of her outfit. The centre of that bow was glowing a deep purple to match Loewemon's symbol.
Turning back to Mummymon, Loewemon's gaze turned cold, "Your battle is with me now Mummymon!"
"Humph!" Mummymon frowned. "One scout, one warrior. It makes no difference to me!"
Loewemon didn't reply as he summoned his Monk Staff and charged at Mummymon. The ghost Digimon unleashed anouther barrage of Necrophobia but Loewemon spun his staff and blocked the attack. When he was cose enough, he jumped, using Mummymon's face as a springboard, and slashed at the bandages that held Uranus and Neptune, freeing the both of them. All three warriors landed on the ground lightly. Saturn smiled brightly before she managed to get up and run over to her guardians.
"I won't let you leave this place alive!" Mummymon growled as he aimed his gun again. "Necrophobia!"
Now that the three Sailor Scouts were together with Loewemon, that attack didn't seem all that intimidating anymore.
"Uranus World Shaking!"
"Neptune Deep Submerge!"
"Saturn Silence Glaive Surprise!"
"Shadow Meteor!"
The three scouts unleashed their powerful attacks while the lion head on Loewemon's chest opened before unleashing a blast of solid darkness. The World Shaking and Deep Submerge had managed to dissapate the Necrophobia attack, leaving Mummymon wide open. The Silence Glaive Surprise had fused seamlessly with the Shadow Meteor to create a dark orb that had purple and black bolts of energy trailing it. Mummymon could only gape at the combined attack before it made contact with him. The force of which was so great, it plowed him through several walls. The Outers and Loewemon dared a few moments of silence before they followed the trail of destruction.
At the end of the trail, there was only a pile of burnt bandages that littered the ground. Loewemon kneeled down and dismissed his staff before plucking a few of the burnt rags.
"We got him," Uranus smirked victoriously.
"No we didn't," Loeweomn frowned from behind his faceplate. "There's no fractal code or anything that would hint at him having been destroyed. The bandages would have dissolved if he was destroyed. We may have won the battle but he still got away."
"That in itself is still a victory," Neptune reminded him.
"I guess so," Loewemon nodded.
Things were quiet for a moment between the Warrior of darkness and the three Scouts. The Scouts weren't sure what to say while Loewemon was hoping that they weren't going to treat him unfairly because he was dark. Those fears however were quickly crushed when Sailor Neptune stepped up to him and wrapped her arms tightly around the Warrior of Darkness.
"Thank you for saving my baby," she whispered to him before planting a gentle kiss on his cheek. Loewemon was just glad that his faceplate had hidden the blush that was growing.
Uranus smirked as Neptune stepped back, "Y'know, I used to think that darkness was nothing but evil...but I guess if it has guys like you in it then it can't be all bad. Give our regards to the other warriors."
Loewemon nodded with a smile but it was cut off when something glomped around his waist. He looked down to see a beaming Saturn with a small flush on her cheeks. She remained embracing him for a moment before she stepped back, still smiling.
"Thank you for saving me," she spoke in a shy whisper.
"You're very welcome Saturn-chan," Loewemon chuckled. Sailor Saturn caught the use of her name and blushed crimson. She then tried to unsucessfuly hide her face. Loewemon smiled at this before he looked back to the two older Scouts. "I suppose this is where we'll part paths for now. Even though I'm sure that we'll be seeing each other again very soon."
"Count on it," Uranus smiled as Neptune merely nodded.
With that little speech out of the way, the assorted heroes went their different ways. The girls found a private spot the transform back to normal and find the rest of their classmatee. Loewemon did likewise so he could de-digivolve back to his human form and find his class.
Within the masses of people trying to find out just what had happened, one figure was making his way from the cowds. He was donned in a lond deep blue trenchcoat that had silver lines on the cuffs and shoulders. It also sported yellow spots on the shoulders. He walked in heavy black boots and wore black gloves. In his right hand he clutched a gray cane. His head was covered by a deep blue hat that was in the same style as his jacket. The only thing that could be seen an this individuals face was his single yellow eye. everything else washidden by the folds of his jacket and hat.
"Round one goes to you Defenders of Earth," he spoke to himself quietly. "Commend yourself for this victory because it only gets harder from here on out!"
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Inside the museum, Bokomon and Neemon were still sitting on the floor near the destroyed airplanes. Neemon was snoozing away while Bokomn amused himself with his book. The explosions had ended a while ago so they had both asumed that it was safe. So far, no signs of life were there beyond them.
"I wonder if they remembered that we're here," Bokomon wondered idly to himself.
To Be Continued...
A/N: Finally done!! YAY!! It was just hard trying to put this one together because I wanted it to turn out right. So now shy little Hotaru has her Legendary Warrior partner and a possible love interest. We have also seen one of Daemon's generals. Don't confuse this Mummymon with the one from 02. You don't become a general by being a moron. Next we'll see the face of Grumblemon and the shocking revealation of who will wield the Spirits of Earth! Until next time!