"Wow..." Veemon couldn't contain his enthusiasm, taking in the sites of the buildings that stood out over New York Bay. "This reminds me of Lake Ryutei along the Northeastern border!
"And there's the Staten Island Ferry. Milo should be on that." Kaden pointed, directing Veemon's attention. The small hologram turned, and his jaw nearly dropped as the orange vessel came into view. For Kaden, being a native New Yorker and all, the ferry boat wasn't anything special; but to many tourists visiting the big apple—and Digimon included—it was a spectacle.
"Can we ride it?" Veemon asked, eager to earn that experience.
"Not today, bud," Kaden said. "Remember, we're here to pick up Milo."
"Yeah, but maybe afterward?"
Kaden thought about it. It's a 25 min ride to and from Staten Island. Would he be willing to take an extra hour to entertain Veemon? Principal Richardson might appreciate it if he rode back with him… "I'll think about it."
"You do that," Veemon said, imagining his upcoming experience.
"Attention passengers, 1:30 PM Staten Island Ferry boat to St. George will be docking at slip #1 Door #1. Once again, the 1:30 PM Staten Island Ferry to St. George will be docking at slip #1 Door #1."
The announcement came from the speaker, and almost immediately, the large crowd of people heading for Staten Island, who was standing at Door #3, let out a collectible groan and shifted over to the door on the other side of the room. Kaden chuckled, enjoying that he lived here in Manhattan and had little reason to ride the boat, unlike others.
Eventually, the ferry crew addressed the docking ship, people already on its deck, eager to race for the trains or busses they would have to follow up with to get to their destinations. Kaden instructed Milo to meet with him outside the second he touched down. It took a minute of staring at the sea of people flooding the hall, but eventually, he saw Milo's curly bush of hair. He knocked on the glass to get Milo's attention; upon noticing him, the pair united downstairs on ground level.
"What's up, Milo?" Kaden asked as he reached out his hand.
Milo greeted Kaden with a fist bump before they approached the train. "Thanks for inviting me."
"Thank Sierra. She texted me last night about it. I'm glad you could come, so I'm not the only guy."
Hearing that warmed Milo some. Scanning the turnstile with their phones, they went through and went down another staircase and onto the train awaiting them.
"Sierra and Riley are gonna meet us there, right?" Milo asked, leaning over to see if the train was coming.
"Yup, that's the plan. The restaurant isn't far from Times Square on West 43rd. Sierra said they have a guest chef there that she knows from high school. They reached out, and when she mentioned the situation about Riley, they invited them to lunch. And then she was able to get us seats as well.
"That's nice of them. Y'know, I don't think I've had authentic Japanese food before..."
"Then you're in luck!" Kaden gave him a thumbs up. "My mouth was watering thinking about their curry. When I was a kid, my parents used to take what little free time they had, and we'd like restaurant hop."
"I guess it's hard to spend time with them because of their jobs?"
"It is what it is," Kaden shrugged. "That's why I have you and Veemon to keep me company."
Milo couldn't help but blush at that one. No one outside his family had spoken about him like this before, and he'd be remiss to say that Kaden hadn't been like an older brother since they met.
"Wish I could try curry…." Veemon whimpered from Kaden's device.
"Shame you can't exist physically IRL; otherwise, that would be cool if you did."
"I'm sure there has to be something similar in the Eastern District, being it has Asian themes and all, right?"
"Honestly, I never bothered to look. We should explore some time."
"How about this evening?" Milo suggested.
Kaden pondered. He did have an essay he still needed to work on, but… "I'm down."
"Nice, sounds like a plan." Milo grinned.
The train car chimed, and the doors slid closed. "Next Stop: Rector St."
Kaden and Milo felt the subway car shift and begin moving. They continued their conversation as they made their way to their destination…
Chapter 5: Kizuna
Once the train arrived in Times Square, the pair mixed themselves into the crowd that spilled onto the platform like an open wound. Following the sea of patrons, they climbed a nearby staircase and made their way topside, where the sounds of train cars and hot, stuffy air were replaced by buses, taxis, and cool breezes.
"The store is expected to be open tomorrow, right?" Milo asked.
"I'll double-check with Sierra, but I'm pretty sure I'll be good to go in tomorrow," Kaden answered.
"I never really got to ask, did I?" Milo thought for a second. "How are you doing since then?"
"You were with me in Omnia, remember? You know that I'm past it, more or less."
"You sure? You still seem bothered about something…"
"Y'know, now that you mentioned it…" Kaden stopped, prompting Milo to turn back reactively. Milo hesitated, realizing that Kaden suddenly had a serious look. "Why did you lie to Riley about what happened to her?"
Milo took a second to answer, relaxing as he did so. "Oh, that? Sorry, given her condition, I was afraid that if we told her the truth, she'd spiral. I know what it's like to have a mental breakdown; not fun."
Kaden held onto his gaze and accepted Milo's claim. "If you say so."
Milo knew Kaden wasn't for it entirely from his body language. "I'm telling the truth; I wouldn't—!"
"Dude, I believe you." Kaden insisted. "I imagine Riley probably knows the full story now anyway from Sierra."
"Yeah, probably…"
"Just next time, let me in on what you plan. I'm not a fan of sneaking around like that, and it's a bad habit to get into." He warned.
"…understood." Milo nodded solemnly, feeling the counsel on him. It reminded him of his real brother. What an unpleasant feeling…
Looking over, Milo caught a glimpse of Sierra waving at them from across the street. "There they are."
Kaden's tone changed upon seeing them and the restaurant sign. "Curry, here I come!"
The pair jogged across the street to meet with the two girls; Sierra was clearly happy to see them, whereas Riley was unusually reserved.
At least, more reserved than usual.
"What's up?" Kaden asked as they came up to them.
"How are you guys? Thanks for coming!" Sierra said, taking it upon herself to hug both boys.
"How are you feeling, Riley?" Milo asked, causing the spaced-out girl to tense.
"I—I'm good…" she stuttered slightly, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "T—thanks for asking…"
Riley's sudden shyness took Milo aback. It was kind of cute, he thought to himself. Forced-sounding but cute. Kaden looked over at the blushing boy and jabbed him. "You're staring, dude."
"I AM NOT!" Milo quickly snapped, resulting in Sierra and Kaden laughing at their expense.
"Shut up!" Riley quickly discarded her timidness and growled at Kaden.
Sierra inserted herself before they went at it. "Try not to tease her so much. It's been a long weekend for all of us."
"Of course, just harmless fun," Kaden replied, still smiling.
Both Riley and Milo didn't find it all that amusing, however. Fortunately for him, Kaden was quick on the uptake and apologized for saying anything, to begin with.
Sierra opened the door, saying, "Let's head inside before we lose our table."
"Didn't you place a reservation?" Milo asked.
"Still wouldn't put it past Homura to mess with me," Sierra replied.
Going into the restaurant, the bustling establishment had quite a few patrons for the lunchtime scene. At first glance, it was a neat but high-quality interior, with a sushi bar down the middle and booth seats on each side. The holographic menus hanging on the walls were written in English, Japanese, and Chinese, depicting food items and their prices.
"Hai, Irasshaimase! (Welcome!)" a waitress approached them. She had a petite frame, the uniform she wore hung snuggly on her, and she also had her hair in a bun.
"Hi, we had a reservation for four," Sierra spoke for the group. "Oh, and can you tell Oda-san that 'Sierra Levan' has arrived?"
"Ah, you are Sierra-san?" the waitress asked with her heavy Japanese accent, grabbing menus from her stand. "Please, follow me then."
She then led them to the back of the restaurant. The trio of teens was wondering where they were going, but after a moment, they found themselves going through the kitchen and into a private dining room. By this point, Sierra was surprised, as she wasn't anticipating such treatment.
"Oda-san will be out shortly. Until then, would you like anything to drink?"
"Um…maybe we can just start with water?" Sierra asked, trying to process things.
The waitress nodded and left through the swinging door. The moment she disappeared, all eyes came on Sierra. Not only did she have to figure out what Homura was planning, but she also had to come up with a way to articulate that to them.
"So…" Riley leaned over, "Got something you're not telling us?"
Sierra cleared her throat, her cheeks flushing. "As I said before, Homura and I are just old friends, nothing more."
"Mhmm…" Riley wasn't buying that.
"I mean, I've been to this restaurant several times before. We were never brought to a private room like this," Kaden pointed out.
"Right? Suddenly I feel underdressed…" Milo tugged on his hoodie.
"You two are fine the way you are…" Riley off-handedly commented. She looked at them, and now their gazes were fixated on her. Her cheeks flared immediately, and her heart started racing. "Stop staring at me!"
Kaden glared, "Who are you, and what have you done with Riley Ocasio?"
Riley grits her teeth, "Shut up! Is it that surprising to get a compliment?"
"From you? A little, yeah." Kaden replied. "No offense."
Riley turned to Sierra for support, and Sierra went to vouch for her, "Riley's trying to become friendlier going forward, so try to be patient with her. Don't tease her so much, okay?"
"Friendlier?" Kaden repeated. "You're like a rose, thorny but not hostile."
"You don't think she's pretty like one?" Sierra suggested, causing Riley to jerk her head back to her.
"I mean…"
"DON'T ANSWER THAT!" Riley yelled. "Look, all this means is that I'm trying to be a better person," she stated, "not for you so much as for myself. So please…"
Kaden realized that he had pushed a bit far and retreated once again. "Sorry."
Milo was the only one who didn't say anything, opting to be observant. To say the teasing wasn't familiar would be a lie. But he was keeping those thoughts to himself. "Not to change the subject but…Kaden got to show me Omnia for the first time yesterday."
"Really?" Sierra asked as a different waiter returned with a water pitcher and glasses. "What did you think?"
"As far as first impressions go, it was really fun," Milo said as the glass was set before him. "Though the second we got there, we ran into some thug who picked a fight."
"I see…" Sierra said as a glass was set before Riley.
"That aside, we explored the Central District for a while and soon ran into some of Kaden's online friends. We got to explore the Eastern District as well, thanks to them."
Kaden was quiet, receiving a glass of water. He was staring at Sierra as she listened to Milo, and Riley quickly noticed his expression while doing so.
"What's with you?" Riley asked.
"Huh?" Kaden asked, snapping out of his trance. "I'm just listening in on the story."
"What did you do in the Eastern District?" Sierra continued.
"We ran into the representative there," Kaden answered. "And I got to battle her."
"Really?" Riley blinked.
"Which leads me to ask, Sierra…" Milo began. "Are you…Lady Azurena, by chance?"
Sierra hesitated. Milo continued, "It's just that…during the battle, she called Kaden by his real name towards the end."
"Not only that, when battling her…I couldn't help but notice that you two are similar in personality. You two have that same sense of motherly concern and stuff."
"I see…" Sierra said, having the glass put before her. "Well, I've never met the representative personally, so that could be a coincidence that we're so similar. Also, I've been with Riley all weekend in Jersey. I haven't had time to think, let alone do anything pertaining to Omnia."
"Yeah, but…before she left, she said she was in the middle of something before and had to get back to it." Milo pointed out. "Assuming you stepped away from Riley to handle Kaden's situation…"
Sierra went quiet. How this conversation turned into an interrogation was beyond her. She went to take a sip, only to be startled by the fact that she was drinking air. "Um…why is my glass empty?"
"My apologies," the waiter said, taking the glass from her. "I became engrossed in listening; I was wondering if you were going to crack."
The waiter's words drew attention to him. After setting the glass down, he met their weary gazes. "Are you ready to order yet?"
"Hold on a second," Sierra growled, being the last to look up, "who are you to—Homura?!"
The three teens gasped and held their stares on the waiter—who wasn't a waiter—but the head chef, evidenced by his white uniform and a red scarf around his neck. He was a tall Japanese man with a wolf-tail haircut, his hair tied in a small bun while the rest draped over his neck. His eyes were on Sierra, and he had a smirk on his face.
"W—when did you get here?!" Sierra stammered.
"I heard the commotion from the kitchen and decided to pop in early," Homura answered.
"Sorry about that…" Riley apologized.
"That's my bad too…" Kaden added.
"Don't mention it," Homura told them. "Sierra can tell you we were just like that once upon a time. Right, Azure-chan?"
"You idiot!" She backhanded his side.
"So, you are Lady Azurena!" Kaden exclaimed.
Unable to deny it, Sierra nodded. "Yeah… I am."
"Why keep that a secret?" Milo asked, not understanding.
"Because she's sworn an oath to secrecy as one of the Sovereign Four," Homura explained, filling her glass. "STREAM Corp. put it in place for security reasons."
Riley asked, "How do you know about STREAM Corp.'s policies?"
"Homura streams in his downtime as well," Sierra answered. "Though between school and work, it's probably hard for you to grab even five minutes, right?"
"You're right. Which is why I'll be happy to grab your orders and be on my way."
The four looked at the menus, though Kaden quickly stated what he wanted, "Chicken Curry."
"Tonkotsu Ramen, I guess..." Milo answered, picking the easiest option.
"Ramen sounds good; make that two," Sierra said.
Riley studied the menu and looked at Kaden, "Is the curry that good?"
"Are you kidding? It's amazing." Kaden confirmed for her.
"Okay, then I'll have that." Riley nodded.
Homura collected the menus. "I'll also bring some matcha green tea for the table." With them in agreement, he took his leave to get the staff on the orders.
Kaden took the chance to bring the conversation back to STREAM Corp.'s practices. "I didn't know STREAM Corp. did all that."
"Really, you didn't know?" Milo asked.
"I was always independent," Kaden explained.
"Even though you streamed with Syl and have been affiliated with Lady Azurena?" Milo pressed.
"Uh-huh," Kaden answered plainly.
"How does that even…"
"It's because of Syl," Sierra answered. "Syl talked me into letting her collab with Kaden when he was new and upcoming, and the higher-ups at STREAM Corp. allowed it, hoping to recruit him."
"But I didn't take to it," Kaden added.
"Why not?" Milo asked, not understanding the decision. "V-Streamers make a killing, especially if they're sponsored or tied to an agency."
"I've always streamed for fun, not as a profession."
"So, you're calling me a sellout then?" Sierra crossed her arms.
"Of course not!" Kaden quickly defended, only realizing afterward that she was teasing.
"Then what's your goal then?" Riley asked, inserting herself back into the discussion. "As Cobalius, you were always striving to go pro someday. Do you still intend to since you came back, or did that change after that mess with Gurenmaru?"
"I guess. I wanted to believe I could still go pro, but after what happened with Gurenmaru, I could only think about how I had lost everything. All I wanted was justice somehow; to do that, my goal's become to beat him." He paused before continuing, "You guys have seen my new deck. Back when facing Gurenmaru, cheating accusations aside, I was going to lose; that was a fact. I severely underestimated him, as Sierra warned me. So ever since I've been trying to devise a new strategy to beat him finally, I think I might've..."
The group continued with their conversation, and eventually, Homura returned with the waitress, carrying trays of food for each of them. Their eyes were lit; the food smelled wonderful and fragrant and looked beautifully prepared.
"Please enjoy," Homura and the waitress bowed after setting the table.
"Are you not going to join us?" Kaden asked, arming himself with a spoon.
"He has other customers to tend to," Riley answered. She took the spoon and found herself hesitating suddenly. She had never had curry before, and upon inspection...
"Is this...spicy?" she asked.
"It may have some heat, but not a tremendous amount."
"Okay..." Riley looked down at the food again.
"What's wrong? Can't handle a little spice?" Kaden asked, shoveling some food into his mouth. With the different restaurants around the city that Kaden's family visited, many of which specialized in a different cuisine, Kaden grew up with a rather expansive—and daring—palate. What followed was a grin as he happily chewed away. "This tastes way better than usual!"
Upon hearing that, Sierra smiled. She broke apart her chopsticks and slurped some noodles. She had the same reaction, but even moreso, "Homura, did you cook?"
"Why? Does it taste familiar?" He smirked.
"Are you kidding?! It tastes like your Grandmother's cooking. It's been years since I've had it!"
Riley and Milo looked at each other and took bites out of their own meals. Like the former two, they were overwhelmed by the flavors hitting their taste buds.
"It seems by the looks of it that you all are enjoying the food."
"It's amazing!" Milo confirmed for him. "I never had Japanese food before today. This was well worth coming for."
"I'm glad I was able to make your first experience worthwhile," Homura replied, appreciating the compliment.
"Well?" Sierra looked at him.
"What is it?"
"You're not doing anything, so sit." She instructed him. "You're not busy at the moment."
"Why so eager?" Riley side-eyed her.
"Hush you!" Sierra snapped, making Riley snicker. Kaden wanted to add to it but kept silent to avoid getting yelled at again.
As they continued eating, Homura conceded to Sierra's request and procured a chair from the outside. After sitting between Sierra and Milo, Sierra muttered a small 'yay' under her breath that no one caught except Riley and Homura, judging by their smirks.
As they neared the end of their lunch, they found themselves lost in conversation. Homura was very warm and appealing, making him very easy to get along with. The three teens enjoyed learning about him, his culinary training, and the people he met.
"You haven't changed much, have you, Azure-chan?"
"What about you? Sounds like you're still the same pain in the neck as back in school," she replied.
"Is 'Azure-chan' like a pet name or something?" Riley asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
Kaden looked at the two adults, "wait, are you guys dating?"
"No!" Sierra quickly responded while blushing at the same time. She then turned to Riley, who continued to enjoy Sierra's torment, "WE ARE NOT!"
Homura chuckled and leaned back in his chair, "It's nothing like that. When I first came to Fiona Academy during the foreign exchange program, I had an art class with her. She got into it with another girl and knocked over blue paint all over my drawing."
"So, you got mad at me and threw red paint on mine," Sierra added. "And then we started fighting and ended up in Headmaster Fredriano's office.
"And from there, we ended up in detention and met Xander.
"Xander?" Riley asked, hearing the unfamiliar name. Who's that?"
"Another exchange student from Europe. Got detention for something unrelated, but regardless, the three of us misfits became friends that day." Homura explained.
"Your Uncle Gabe was the teacher assigned to do detention that day; it so happened. That's when we first met and got to know him."
Homura paused and turned to Riley in surprise. "Huh, now that you mentioned it, I can see the resemblance."
"I told you they were related, dummy." Sierra hit him.
"So that's—ah, I see." Homura was making connections in his head.
"What?"
Sierra side-eyed him before he opened his mouth. "It's nothing; truly is a small world, isn't it?"
"Guess you could say that..." Riley said, reactively shying away a bit.
The previous waitress came with new menus and began to hand them out. "Thanks, Kiyomi. Would anyone like dessert?"
"Maybe to go," Sierra said, looking at it. "It's been a long weekend, and tomorrow starts anew."
"That's fair," Homura nodded. "I can imagine. After all, if Cobalius seeks to challenge me, he would need all the practice he could get."
Sierra chuckled, only to process what he said and pause as the other three did. Homura smirked, taking in their shock, "It's only fair, is it not?"
"There's no way..." Milo uttered, fearfully curious.
Homura turned to Kaden, whose surprise turned into an excited smirk. "As you said, it is a small world, right, Gurenmaru?"
Homura nodded in agreement. "With that in mind, I accept your challenge, Kaden Grant, both as Homura Oda and Gurenmaru, the Crimson Blade…"
"So cool!" Veemon's small hologram sat on the windowsill of the ferry boat, gazing out across the harbor. "Hey, Kaden! There's a bridge over there!"
"That's the Verrazano Bridge; it goes from Staten Island into Brooklyn."
"What's 'Brooklyn?'"
"Another borough besides Manhattan where we live," Kaden explained. "Along with Queens and the Bronx, all five boroughs make up New York City."
"Huh, kinda like the four main districts and Central, right?" Veemon compared.
"...yeah, pretty much," Kaden said, looking out the window. After they split from the girls, Kaden followed Milo back to the ferry and offered to see him over. Though Milo assured him he would be fine going back on his own, Kaden did point out that Veemon wanted the experience of being a tourist.
"Aren't there seven altogether?" Milo asked, sitting across from them. "The Zenith and Nadir districts aren't included in that?"
"It's because the Zenith District resides in the clouds, hovering above the northern-most point of Omnia, and the Nadir district itself is more like an island way south on the southern pole, disconnected from the main Omnian continent almost entirely," Veemon explained. "A Sovereign Digimon governs neither of those two Districts, not that they need to, really."
"I see..." Milo pondered. "I guess the Digimon that come from there are incredibly powerful, so much so that a Sovereign isn't needed to govern them. They don't even have representatives?"
"If they did, they never made themselves known to anyone. It's rare to see any normal Zenith or Nadir users."
"But Syl was a Zenith, right? After all, her main color was Yellow. And as for me..."
"Though your deck is a mix of yellow and red, did you get the option to choose Zenith when building your Saibatar?"
Milo thought about it, though the answer was obvious. "I was wondering why the option was grayed out. Kinda makes sense now that you bring it up."
"Since Syl was a Zenith user, I just always chalked it up to her being a part of STREAM Corp. I never questioned it further because it never mattered to me if I was being honest."
"Still surprised that all this time you've just been doing it for fun, not that there's anything wrong with your decision."
"It's cool. I mean, going pro and all is my dream, but my parents want to make sure I have a stable goal on the side. So, with them both in the criminal justice system, my interests lean into that."
"Well, I could've figured that," Milo said.
"I can see you being a detective, too, if I'm being honest." Kaden pointed out.
Milo blinked. "Me? Really?"
"Yeah, I mean you're observant, inquisitive...you notice a lot of things that we miss; take Salan and Sierra for examples."
Milo blushed upon being praised. "I come from a family of academic minds, so..."
"All the more reason."
"I don't know; I have time to think about it, I guess."
"Trust me, you may be a freshman now, but when I say High School went by fast for me, it went fast!" Kaden chuckled, "Like it feels like I lived several lives in the span of like 30 seconds."
"Guess that's what it means to grow up," Milo said, imagining that for himself.
"Yeah, pretty much..." Kaden agreed.
"Hey, can we explore the other boroughs sometime?" Veemon asked, finally breaking away from the window.
"Not today, that's for sure!" Kaden quickly replied.
"We can probably look into it," Milo pointed out, sitting across from Kaden. "Maybe some events are coming up before the holiday season."
"Yeah, maybe. Until then, though, I need to prep for my battle with Gurenmaru."
"You guys didn't set a date yet, though."
"Doesn't matter. The opportunity is here, so I don't have a moment to lose. Plus, with my new deck, he won't know what hit him..."
[Central District, Omnia…]
"Veemon, Final Security Attack!" Kaden announced, sending his Digimon forward. His opponent trembled as his security broke but quickly grew excited at the sight of the Option Card.
"Security Trigger: Gaia Force on Flamedramon!"
Kaden braced for impact as the giant sun-like energy ball crashed into his Digimon, causing the colosseum floor to fill with smoke. His opponent cackled, eager to take the game's next turn. "Looks like all that smack talk about making a comeback were just empty threats, huh?!"
"One would think that wouldn't they?" Kaden smirked. "Armor Purge! Flamedramon reverts to Veemon and attacks you directly!"
His opponent paused and grew shocked as a second Veemon launched from the smoke and into the sky. His opponent stood shocked as Veemon lined itself up and came down like a meteor, knocking his opponent back and ending the match.
"LET'S GOOOOOO!" Volcanomon howled along with the crowd. "COBALIUS TAKES ANOTHER ONE!"
The crowd applauded and cheered, stomping their feet and chanting "Cobalius" repeatedly. Kaden whistled and waved, eating the praise while laughing at the quick turnaround. In less than a day, the cheers of "cheater" were almost an afterthought, as the ones who still chanted it were muffled by the adoring fans who were happy to see him dominate once again.
Milo was amongst the crowd, watching and observing as he did. He himself didn't really want the day to end, so the moment Kaden returned home, they both jumped onto Omnia. It was cool to see matches happen "live" instead of through a livestream. It helped with the immersion of Omnia in that sense.
"Enjoying the show, I see?" Milo heard the familiar voice and then felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, Desniper smirked, Terriermon waving as well.
"Hey!" Milo quickly greeted, "Didn't think you'd be here."
"Yeah, well, I'm with a friend of mine this evening. They got some stuff going on and needed some time here to escape. Venting wasn't enough, it seems."
"I see." Milo acknowledged. "I'm guessing they're gonna battle?"
"Yup. With Cobalius stirring up trouble, they said he's perfect for getting their frustrations out."
Milo chuckled, "I can imagine he's up for it. After all, he's trying to get as much practice as possible in."
"Practice?" Desniper asked, taking note of that. "Practice for what?"
Milo hesitated to say, "It's a surprise, trust me."
Desniper shrugged and scooted over in the row, taking the free seat next to Milo. After sitting, he noticed that Milo was staring a little.
"What's up?" Desniper asked.
"I was just thinking…you and Kaden have partner Digimon."
"As most Omnia users do."
"Is there…like a special way to get them?"
"Lady Venusmon takes care of that," Terriermon answered. She's the caretaker of the Central District Nursery and can provide the information on how to obtain one."
"Lady…Venusmon?" Milo repeated.
"Though, I heard that recently she's been making trips to the Zenith District. So, there's no telling when she's available." Desniper mentioned. "Best just try your luck with that."
The news of that somewhat disappointed Milo. "It's not super important, but having one would've been nice anyway…"
"Can anyone topple the Imperial Knight, folks?!" Volcanomon asked the crowd. "After taking some time off to lick his wounds, he's come back swinging!"
As if on cue, the next challenger walked out. Milo looked down and noted Kaden's next challenger as they made their way out, the crowd stirring up again. The user was dressed like a ninja, their feminine figure covered by purple garments tied along with their long black hair. Their face was covered with a mask from their nose, only showing their purple eyes.
"Well, this is a surprise, isn't it, folks?! Been a while since we've seen some purple action in these parts!" Volcanomon said as the challenger took their stance before Kaden.
Kaden smirked, clearly excited. "Got a name?"
"Raven," They replied stoically. The sound of the voice was deep, somewhat mature for her appearance. Like Volcanomon said before, it's been a while since the Zenith and Nadir users have popped up in the Colosseum, so it was cool that he was getting the opportunity to battle one. After dealing with Salan, he hoped the tiny bit of experience would pay off here.
"A…Nadir user?" Milo said, curiosity lingering in his voice.
"Go get him, Raven!" Desniper cheered. "Kick his butt!"
"You know them?" Milo turned.
"Yup. She's pretty shy, so she modeled her Saibatar off of a ninja, but she's guaranteed to give Cobalius a run for his money."
"I see…" Milo looked back down. "She must be one of the few Nadir users, then."
Desniper grinned, with Terriermon getting eager to see the clash unfold. Meanwhile, a cloaked figure came out from the entrance and blended in with the other standing spectators, finding themselves curious at the pairings below. They didn't say anything, nor did anyone acknowledge them. Silently, they briefly surrendered themselves to the entertainment taking place.
"You two ready to rock?!" Volcanomon lowered between them.
"Always!" Kaden exclaimed.
Raven nodded without saying anything.
"Okay! Security Set! And now the countdown! Say it with me!" Volcanomon flew up and circled the arena to hype the crowd.
"3…2…1…!"
"DIGI-GATE: OPEN!"
The blue and purple gates expanded overhead, sending the crowd into an uproar. Both opponents stared one another down and prepared themselves for what was to come.
"I'll begin by hatching Kokomon. It will digivolve into Lopmon, and then I will play the Tamer Koichi Kimura from my hand to end. Raven stated, summoning a brown and pink variant of Terriermon and a young boy with short black hair, wearing a mahogany long-sleeve, an open green button-down, white pants, and dark green/yellow sneakers.
Kokomon (BT7-006)
Color: Purple
Level: 2
Lopmon (BT7-068)
Color: Purple
Level: 3
DP: 2000
Koichi Kimura (BT7-091)
Color: Purple
MEMORY
0-3 (Turn Change: Kaden)
"When Koichi enters play, I'm allowed to draw and then discard a card from my hand." She drew and flashed the card she was discarding, "I discard Lucemon and end my turn."
"Purple and yellow, huh? Interesting combination." Kaden commented, finding himself a bit intrigued.
"It's your move, Raven told him, prompting him to draw.
"All right, let's go! I hatch DemiVeemon, Digivolve it into Veemon, and then play another. The Veemon played will reveal the top three cards of my deck, and let me add a card with 'Free' in its traits to my hand while the rest go to the bottom."
The pair of Veemon appeared on Kaden's side, and the top three cards of his deck were: Flamedramon, Lightning Blade, and BT3 Veemon. From them, he swiped Flamedramon and sent the rest to the bottom.
DemiVeemon (BT2-002)
Color: Blue
Level: 2
Veemon (BT2-021)
Color: Blue
Level: 3
DP: 2000
Veemon (ST9-02)
Color: Blue
Level: 3
DP: 2000
MEMORY
3-0
"I end by playing Davis Motomiya; he's gonna reveal three more cards for me to choose from my deck," Kaden stated, summoning Davis.
Davis Motomiya (BT3-093)
Color: Blue
Davis appeared, holding up his personal Digivice to reveal the top three cards of Kaden's deck: Magnamon, EX1 ExVeemon, and Ice Wall were among them. Kaden grabbed Magnamon and ended.
MEMORY
0-4 (Turn Change: Raven)
"And both our combatants start well!" Volcanomon commented. "Raven started with a basic setup, while Kaden got an additional body and a Memory Tamer. However, with the loss of Ice Wall, his defense crippled some. What do you think, folks? Do you think he can manage without it?"
"He better hope," Raven answered. That earned remarks from the crowd, a positive reaction to her trash talk.
Kaden scoffed and motioned to her, "Bring it on then. Show me what you got, Nadir."
"Gladly," Raven drew. "Lopmon moves into the Battle Area, then Koichi Spirit Digivolves into Loweemon!"
Kaden was caught off guard by her sprinting Tamer. Koichi flipped into the air as he was covered in purple light, transforming into a tall, black-armored knight Digimon with a lion theme, his shoulder pads and chest plate resembling lion heads.
Loweemon (BT7-071)
Color: Purple
Level: 4
DP: 5000
MEMORY
4-2
"A…Hybrid?" Kaden was honestly surprised. Hybrid users were rare, at least where he was concerned. Not only that, but he didn't think purple hybrids were a thing until that second.
"And Raven comes through with a Hybrid Digimon!" Volcanomon grew excited. "For those at home, Hybrids are Digimon who inherit the powers of their ancient predecessors, Level 4 and higher Digimon that can digivolve off of Tamers. Some of them even gain benefits from going that route. Not long ago, one of the strongest Hybrid users was the Zenith District's Syl, who commanded AncientKazemon and her sky battalion. Since her graduation, Hybrid users are increasingly far and few in between."
Upon the name drop, Milo turned to Desniper, "Hey, I was wondering…"
"Hm? What's up?"
"Did…you happen to know Syl before?"
"Yeah, of course," Desniper confirmed. "We started streaming around the same time before Cobalius debuted."
"So you knew her for a while then, huh?"
"Yeah, guess you can say that."
"So then…how did you take the news of her passing?"
"Well, when I got the news, I didn't take it well. Cobalius…he was gone for a minute. Anyway, why ask?"
"He keeps avoiding the question whenever I try to ask about it. Knowing she died but not the reason for it bugs me."
"he's likely sensitive about it. They spent the entire summer together on Omnia, pretty much. Those two and Lady Azurena were basically family, so I can understand that he's still grieving, even if he says he's over it.
Milo turned his focus back on the match. "Yeah, well, he's not the only one still grieving…"
"What's wrong?" Raven asked, noticing Kaden's hesitation.
"Nothing; just thinking how much more interesting things are getting," Kaden grinned.
"Well, I'm far from over. Loweemon digivolves into Rhihimon and Security Attacks! Since I have a Tamer in its sources, its' cost is reduced by 2!"
Loweemon roared as a purple binary surrounded him. Over his obsidian lion armor came a second layer of bulky brown armor, including a pair of gold wings and a staff. Two small cannons also extended from its shoulder pads as well.
Rhihimon (BT7-075)
Color: Purple
Level: 5
DP: 7000
MEMORY
2-1
Rhihimon shot forward towards Kaden, swinging its staff towards him and triggering the Security Card to intercept. From it, ExVeemon appeared and caught the staff.
Rhihimon: 7000 DP
ExVeemon: 4000 DP
Though ExVeemon could keep a firm grasp on the weapon, Loweemon aimed its shoulder cannons and fired at close range, staggering ExVeemon long enough for Rhihimon to swing and cut it down.
Kaden
Security: 5-4
"I end my turn by digivolving Lopmon into Devimon," Raven stated, transforming Lopmon into a tall, lanky devil Digimon dressed in black.
Devimon (ST6-08)
Color: Purple
Level: 4
DP: 5000
MEMORY
1-0
0-3 (Turn Change: Kaden)
"And Raven lands the first Security Break of the match! Instead of building her board, she plays it safe and passes the counter to Cobalius. Is this a chance for him to make a comeback? Just how is he going to respond to her Hybrid and Blocker?"
"We'll just have to see, won't we?" Kaden drew. "Veemon moves into the Battle Area; then I play Hammer Spark for an extra Memory."
MEMORY
3-4
"My initial Veemon will Armor Digivolve into Flamedramon, while the one that moved out will Armor Digivolve into Lighdramon."
The Veemon twins embraced the red and green streams, transforming into their armored counterparts. Both stood defiant, in direct opposition to Raven's Digimon.
Flamedramon (BT8-012)
Color: Red/Blue
Level: 4
DP: 5000
Lighdramon (BT8-053)
Color: Green/Blue
Level: 4
DP: 5000
MEMORY
4-2
2-0
"Lighdramon, suspend Devimon, and Flamedramon, take out Rhihimon! Flamedramon gains +3000 DP when attacking," Kaden pointed out. "Go get 'em!"
Flamedramon: 5000-8000 DP
Rhihimon: 7000 DP
Rhihimon fired its lasers at Flamedramon, though the latter sidestepped each of them, flipping into the air. Lining itself up, Flamedramon pulled its ignited fist back and crashed down on Rhihimon, causing a small explosion, the aftermath hitting Raven, so she reactively shielded herself.
"Now, Lighdramon—!"
"Not so fast!" She countered. "First off, Koichi's IE gains me a memory. Secondly, when Rhihimon is deleted, I can revive one Purple Tamer from my trash if I have a Hybrid in its sources. I revive Koichi back to my field, then draw and discard Kari Kamiya from my hand."
MEMORY
0-1
Kaden smirked nervously as Koichi reappeared on Raven's side.
"Ooooh! It looks like Cobalius walked into that hook, line, and sinker!" Volcanomon commented. "Tough luck, amirite?"
"That was dumb of him," Desniper remarked, "He should know by now that Purple benefits when their stuff gets wasted. What was he thinking by doing that?"
"Maybe he wasn't?" Terriermon quipped.
Milo rubbed his chin. "He must be gauging her ability."
"Why say that?" Desniper asked.
"Assuming that this is the first time he's facing a Hybrid user in a while, and a Purple one at that, maybe he's trying to see what it can do before he gets serious."
"Well, if that's the case, he better hurry up before she stomps him flat. The second she picks up on him actually tryingis the moment she'll flip her switch, guaranteed.
Raven drew. "Not taking out Devimon was a mistake, you know."
"Trust me; I realize that," he admitted. "Still, it could be worse."
"That it can," she agreed. "I hatch Kokomon, digivolve it into Gabumon, and Devimon into NeoDevimon to end."
Kaden watched as Gabumon appeared in her raising area and as Devimon transformed into a larger devilish Digimon with a bare grey torso lined with red orbs, matching crimson wings, and a gold mask lined vertically with several eyes.
NeoDevimon (BT4-084)
Color: Purple
Level: 5
DP: 7000
MEMORY
1-2 (Turn Change: Kaden)
Kaden wasn't necessarily regretting anything at the current moment. Raven was forced to trade a blocker for Rhihimon's replacement. That left her open for attacks. "Davis sets my memory to 3; then I'll hatch DemiVee and digivolve it into another Veemon.
MEMORY
2-3
Veemon (ST8-04)
Color: Blue
Level: 3
DP: 2000
"Time for a counterattack, you two! Flamedramon, Security Attack!" Kaden ordered, sending Flamedramon taking off like a rocket. Appearing from it was a feminine devil Digimon looking more like a human than its counterpart, Devimon.
Flamedramon: 5000-8000 DP
LadyDevimon: 7000 DP
LadyDevimon sent out a swarm of bats, all of which were burned down by Flamedramon as it landed a clean strike on her.
Raven
Security: 5-4
"Lighdramon!" Kaden continued, his Digimon calling lightning down to strike. Piercing the Security with its horn, it electrified and shattered, revealing an armored lion Digimon resembling Loweemon and Rhihimon, known as KaiserLeomon.
Lighdramon: 5000 DP
KaiserLeomon: 6000 DP
KaiserLeomon pounced back and tackled Lighdramon, so they both crashed onto the arena floor. Both beast Digimon stared each other down and struck one another, KaiserLeomon succeeding in getting under Lighdramon to fling it in the air. As it went up, KaiserLeomon aimed its cannons and fired darkness energy that swallowed Lighdramon, the overhead explosion sending Veemon crashing back down.
Raven
Security: 4-3
"High risk, high reward!" Volcanomon exclaimed. "Taking the risk last turn has given Cobalius the lead! I'd tell ya; Armor Purge is Dope!"
"Got that right," Kaden chuckled. "Now then, Veemon, Armor Digivolve into the Royal Knight of Miracles, Magnamon!"
Veemon got back on its feet and stared Raven down as yellow binary codes spiraled around it. Flashing in a bright light that rivaled the sun briefly, Magnamon appeared, sending the crowd cheering.
Magnamon (BT8-038)
Color: Yellow/Blue
Level: 4
DP: 7000
MEMORY
3-0
"Magnamon when digivolved into unsuspends. Veemon's IE draws me a card, and DemiVeemon boosts it by +1000 DP. And since Lighdramon is in my trash, it gets another +2000 DP, turning it into a 10k blocker." Kaden explained. "I end by playing Rina Shinomiya from my hand."
"Wha—is he serious?!" Milo reacted upon Rina's deployment.
"Ooh hoo hoo, man, he screwed up bad!" Desniper chuckled, covering his mouth. "Raven's going to punish him for that for sure, jeez!"
Rina Shinomiya (BT2-086)
Color: Blue
MEMORY
0-3 (Turn Change: Raven)
The green-haired teenage Tamer materialized, eager as ever to fight. However, upon her appearance, NeoDevimon's stoicism ceased, its eyes illuminating. Rina suddenly tensed and felt the creepy nature of the Digimon suffocate her in fear.
Kaden noticed and was about to question it when Raven interjected his thought process, "You don't think, do you?"
Kaden was taken aback, "what was that?"
"Someone like you should know about NeoDevimon's effect, right?"
"For the sake of it, enlighten me," Kaden told her.
"When you play a Tamer during your turn, I gain 3 Memory."
Kaden's eyes widened. "That's oddly specific, don't you think?!"
"Not when the goal is to punish opposing hybrid users…" Desniper answered, with Milo picking up on that subtle comment.
"And it looks like Cobalius bit off more than he can chew, sending sixMemory over to Raven as a result!"
Kaden clicked his tongue as the counter shifted. It wasn't the end of the world; he figured he could still pull this off so long as he kept focused. "In any case, when Rina is played, she reveals the top 3 cards of my deck and allows me to pick one with 'Vee' in its name to add to my hand."
BT3 ExVeemon, Flame Rocket, and Armor Texture were among them. He took his only option and passed the turn, hoping he wouldn't regret what was coming.
MEMORY
3-6
Raven drew. "Gabumon moves out, then I pay 6 Memory to play the Option Card Schwarz Lehrsatz! I can delete one of your level 5 or lower Digimon for each Hybrid and Tamer on the field. With Koichi, I delete Magnamon!"
"Give me a break!" Kaden reacted, shielding himself from the impending purple energy cluster forming before Raven. The condensed energy fired towards Magnamon, the latter reluctantly taking it head-on. Little by little, the armor covering it eroded and peeled off before the last completely overtook it, reverting Magnamon into Veemon.
"Gabumon, Security Attack!" She followed up, sending her Digimon charging. From Kaden's Security came UlforceVeedramon, whose 11,000 DP effortlessly rejected Gabumon with no trouble.
Kaden
Security: 4-3
"I end by digivolving NeoDevimon into the Fallen Beast King: Cherubimon!" Raven declared, causing the arena to quake. NeoDevimon rose from the ground and hovered in the air as purple binary codes came down onto it, transforming it into a massive beast Digimon, with a purple body with a green vertical stripe going down its torso, massive, veiny arms, and a sinister grin and gaze.
Cherubimon (BT7-079)
Color: Purple
Level: 6
DP: 12,000
MEMORY
0-4 (Turn Change: Kaden)
"With Cherubimon's effect, I revive the Kari Kamiya from my trash. Then, I delete one of your Level 4 or lower Digimon for each tamer I possess afterward.
Kari Kamiya (BT4-097)
Color: Purple
An innocent-looking tamer with brown hair, a yellow shirt, and suspenders materialized on Raven's side, standing beside Koichi. Cherubimon drew from them and conjured a bolt of red lightning, aiming for Kaden's two Digimon. Spearing it, the energy raced across the floor and made contact, electrocuting both Digimon. Veemon was deleted, while Flamedramon was forced to regress into Veemon itself due to Armor Purge.
"Finally, Lopmon's IE effect triggers; Since I played a tamer during my turn, I gain a Memory. With that, I end my turn."
MEMORY
4-3
"Yikes, looks like this newcomer is keeping a tight leash on Cobalius!" Volcanomon shuddered.
"Wow, I thought you were on my side," Kaden remarked.
"Sorry, Cobalius, but with Syl gone, someone needs to rein you in."
That one comment sent Volcanomon cackling and Kaden blushing hard. "Real funny," Kaden said, drawing. "Veemon moves out; then I play Hammer Spark to gain an extra Memory!"
MEMORY
3-4
Kaden playing the card to increase his memory to 4 grabbed Raven's attention. What did he plan to do with that?
"Let's see if you're laughing after this! Veemon, Warp Digivolve into UlforceVeedramon!"
Raven's expression switched as soon as the wind blew past them. The new Veemon drew in the massive gust of wind and grew empowered by it. "How...?"
"Because youhave that big lug out." Kaden pointed to Cherubimon. "While you have a Level 6 out, this Veemon can warp into Ulforce by paying 4 Memory for it."
Raven gazed up as the azure dragon knight appeared, using its glowing blade gauntlets to slash the tornado surrounding it. As she was, the crowd was left in awe, and Kaden reveled in the moment.
UlforceVeedramom (ST8-10)
Color: Blue
Level: 6
DP: 12,000
MEMORY
4-0
"Ulforce, Security Attack! Thanks to its effect, it unsuspends since I have eight cards in hand! I'll also suspend Rina to add +1000 DP!"
Ulforce vanished from Kaden's side and appeared in front of Raven like an oppressing force. Shaken by its sudden appearance, she quickly reacted, realizing she could save herself. "NeoDevimon's IE-!"
The Security broke, the noise from the impact cutting her off. A tall, bipedal rabbit Digimon with long arms and baggy-footed feetappeared and swung back, though Ulforce sliced its lanky arm, spewing binary all over before the dragon cut it down totally.
Raven
Security: 3-2
"Now, Ulforce, Security Attack-!"
"I said,NeoDevimon's IE triggers!" Raven exclaimed, cutting off Kaden as he did her. "Since you suspended your tamer, I gained a memory for it."
MEMORY
0-1 (Turn Change: Raven)
"Not only that, but I suspend Kari to gain another Memory for the Security you broke."
MEMORY
1-2
"You've..." Kaden didn't bother to finish the thought, sighing in annoyance.
"Had I not been paying attention, that would've screwed me..." she said, drawing. "I hatch Kokomon, then digivolve it into Lopmon."
As Lopmon appeared, Raven cast her arm forward, "Cherubimon, Security Attack!"
The hulking beast growled as it raised its arm, swinging its large limb to conjure energy between its palms. The gust made Kaden shield himself as the Security broke.
Kaden
Security: 3-2
"Security Trigger: Hammer Spark!" Kaden countered, "I'll take those two Memories back, thank you very much!"
MEMORY
2-0
"I'm not done!" Raven continued, "You said you wanted to see what the Yellow cards in my deck can do, right? Well, here they go! By deleting my Cherubimon, I can play this Cherubimon For three Memory instead of eleven! I play Cherubimon from my hand!"
Kaden hesitated, looking up at the dark beast. It closed its eyes and embraced the yellow binary code that rained over it, and the crowd watched as the menacing creature purified into a cream-colored variation of itself.
Cherubimon (BT8-043)
Color: Yellow
Level: 6
DP: 12,000
MEMORY
0-3 (Turn Change: Kaden)
Kaden could only blink, rendered confused by the soft-looking creature. He almost wanted to hug it.
"The old Cherubimon's On Deletion effect revives one Level 4 or Lower Digimon for each Tamer I have. Thanks to Kari and Koichi, I revive KaiserLeomon and Lucemon from my trash."
A pair of pillars, purple and yellow respectively, rose from the ground and appeared KaiserLeomon, and an angelic Digimon resembling a young boy with six wings.
Lucemon (BT4-115)
Color: Yellow
Level: 3
DP: 10,000
KaiserLeomon (BT7-045)
Color: Purple
Level: 4
DP: 6000
"Cherubimon's effect: For each tamer, I have in play, one of your Digimon gets Security Attack –2 until the end of your turn. I apply both instances onto Ulforce, giving it Security Attack –4. In addition, Lucemon, when played, recovers one security.
Raven
Security: 2-3
Kaden felt the pressure come on him now moreso; Ulforce was useless for the turn, which meant he was screwed next turn if he didn't come up with a rebound. He still had a Veemon and the BT3 ExVeemon in his hand to unsuspend itself, but that would require luck that it wouldn't get itself deleted. Thinking hard, he drew, leaving it up to chance...
"I hatch DemiVee, and then digivolve it into Veemon..."
As the new Veemon appeared, he drew hesitantly. Looking at his card, his eyes widened. He may have a shot after all, so long as luck kept blessing him.
Turning his attention forward, he declared his move, "Veemon, Security Attack!"
The Veemon acknowledged the command and rushed forward, headbutting her Security.
Raven
Security: 3-2
Raven snickered and revealed their security: Glaive Memory Boost. Kaden's eyes lit up, ecstatic that it wasn't a Digimon to take out Veemon. He kept up the momentum, "I digivolve Veemon into ExVeemon, using its effect to unsuspend itself!"
ExVeemon emerged from where Veemon stood, its white wings extending outward with a ferocious and triumphant roar.
ExVeemon (BT3-025)
Color: Blue
Level: 4
DP: 4000
MEMORY
3-1
"ExVeemon!" Kaden exclaimed, sending his dragon to shoot a white laser from its torso at Raven. The attack connected, and another Security was blown past her.
Raven
Security: 2-1
Reactively, Raven roared back, echoing the savage Digimon that flew out of her Security known as Wendigomon. The Digimon pounced on ExVeemon as it scrambled to defend itself, taking a hit to the face. As the opposing Digimon began to pummel it into submission, ExVeemon managed to hold it back long enough to blast it point blank, taking them both out.
"I end my turn by playing one more Veemon." He stated, summoning it.
Veemon (BT3-021)
Color: Blue
Level: 3
DP: 2000
MEMORY
1-2 (Turn Change: Raven)
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE IMPERIAL KNIGHT REFUSES TO GO DOWN!" Volcanomon exclaimed, sending the crowd into a frenzy. They began to chant Cobalius' name, Kaden feeling encouraged by it. Up in the stands, the cloaked figure gasped and was swept with admiration and fear. The conflicting feelings made him turn and leave.
"They're so strong…" they uttered, shrouded in the hallway's darkness. "…too strong…"
"Don't chicken out now…" Dracmon's voice spoke. The cloaked figure stopped walking and raised their D-Streamer. "Now that I know what you're dealing with, I don't see any problems going forward."
"R—really?" the cloaked figure asked, almost thrilled to hear that.
"So long as you keep your end of the bargain, we got this. It looks like they've already beat me to it…"
The cloaked figure silently nodded and continued to walk down the hallway, taking Dracmon's words as gospel for the moment.
Raven meanwhile steeled herself. On her part, it was now or never. This was the last turn. Drawing her card, she went into action. "Lopmon moves into the Battle Area, then Glaive Memory Boost's delay effect activates, regaining two memory.
MEMORY
2-4
"You're really good, by the way," Kaden commented before she could continue. "I would love to battle you again sometime."
Raven visibly paused, her mask hiding her flustered expression. She shook it off and continued with her turn. "Cherubimon, waste him!"
Cherubimon nodded, holding its arms up to the sky to summon a ring of light, which it cast down towards Kaden. Kaden braced for it, and his Security took the attack head-on. "Come on, give me a miracle…!"
"Lucemon, Final Security-!"
"SECURITY TRIGGER!" Kaden exclaimed, followed by sudden balls of plasma firing at each of Raven's Digimon.
"What the—?!" She began to ask as her Digimon were struck. They each cried out from the electric impulses, with KaiserLeomon and Lopmon deleting as a result. Cherubimon and Lucemon remained, though visibly weakened.
KaiserLeomon; 6000-0 DP
Lopmon: 2000-0 DP
Lucemon: 10,000-7000 DP
Cherubimon: 12,000-9000 DP
Finding herself two Digimon short, Raven looked at Kaden, who was full of glee at the results. "Just what was that?!"
"Plasma Shot." He smirked.
"Plasma…what?" she repeated.
"Allow me!" Volcanomon chimed, "Plasma Shot is an option card that gives one of the opponent's Digimon -4000 DP, in addition to -1000 DP for every Armor Digimon in the user's trash."
"But…you never had that card in your deck before…" She muttered out loud.
"How would you know what's in my deck or not?" Kaden furrowed his brow.
Raven continued her offense, ignoring his question, "Lucemon, Final Security Attack!"
The angel Digimon was seething from being blindsided and cast its own energy bolts forward to take out Kaden's Security. Flamedramon responded, though the angel clearly wasn't having it, using its wings to take off into the sky and fire an additional volley down on Flamedramon, covering the arena in smoke.
"Could this be it, ladies and gentlemen?!"' Volcanomon asked as the smoke billowed. "Has Cobalius avoided the brink of defeat once again?!"
Kaden smirked, "That was close…Plasma Shot really saved me there. But like I said, this was fun, and I hope—what the?!" Kaden was cut off by the sudden appearance of Loweemon cutting through the cloud of dust. With a swift jab, Kaden flew out of the dust cloud, crashing on his back and rendering the crowd silent.
Raven was finally revealed on her end; noticeably, Koichi was nowhere to be seen. In addition, the counter was ticked down to 2. Loweemon leaned up and looked to Volcanomon before punching the air in victory.
"…The winner is RAVEN!" Volcanomon announced, causing the crowd to roar and cheer her name.
Kaden meanwhile continued to lie on his back and process what hit him. It then dawned on him that she must have kept a Loweemon in her hand for an event like this. A basic hybrid strategy that he overlooked thanks to his hubris. He began laughing, taking his broken win streak like a champ. He guessed he wasn't so lucky after all.
Raven made her way over to Kaden, who was chuckling to himself. Smiling like an idiot, he looked up at Raven, who seemed to be processing whether to help him up or not.
"That was awesome! Been wondering if anyone was going to break my streak."
"Not for nothing, but I think Lobomon should be added to your deck," Raven stated.
Kaden perked upon the mention of the hybrid, "You think so?"
She nodded. "An additional finisher wouldn't hurt, especially in a rush deck like this. Plus, you have several tamers that become extra rookies for that purpose."
Kaden couldn't argue with that. "I'll keep that in mind, thanks."
"Once again, give it up for our competitors, Cobalius and Raven!" Volcanomon announced, stirring up the crowd more. Kaden waved back and, noticing Raven's shy attempt at raising her arm, grinned, grabbed it, and waved it for her. She grew incredibly flustered, pulling back and racing out of the stadium. Somewhat taken aback, Kaden gave chase.
Back in the stands, Desniper stood from his seat, "We should meet up with them." As he began to move, he noticed Milo still sitting there. "You coming?"
Milo perked up upon hearing him. "Sorry, kinda zoned out for a sec."
Desniper chuckled, "Match ended a few minutes ago, bro."
"Yeah, sorry…" he apologized, following him outside. Milo pondered his thought silently, thinking of Raven's behavior. If his hunch was correct, this was a small world, if there was one.
"Hey, wait up!" Kaden called as they reached the outside of the stadium. The both of them were out of breath, panting from the sudden sprint they did. Raven looked at Kaden and then at her device. She'll apologize to Nico later for dipping on him so abruptly. However, before she could issue the command to log out, an invitation chimed on it.
It was a friend request.
Blinking, she looked up at Kaden, who could do it before she got away from him. She looked at it again and felt hesitant to reply to it. Ultimately, she sighed and looked toward him, "Sorry, but I don't do friends…"
Kaden, upon hearing that shook his head, "After everything we've been through, you're not allowed to say that, Riley."
Raven blinked, rendered speechless. "How—huh?!"
"Seriously?" Kaden asked, surprised by her surprise. "The deck knowledge gets you a pass since I've been playing all weekend, so everyone knows what's in my deck at this point. But the fact that you shot out of there like a wet cat and have me out of breath for it…? Yeah, you can't fake that."
"…I hate you." She said, dropping the deeper voice for her normal one. By this point, Milo and Desniper arrived and ran up to them.
"Milo!" Kaden waved.
"Nico," Riley said, crossing her arms.
Milo turned to Desniper, "That's your IRL name?"
"Yup. Nice to meet you, Milo," Nico replied.
"Nico…" Kaden pondered. "Aren't you the dude who works at the Starbucks on the second floor of TCG Tower?"
"Bro, seriously?" Nico asked in surprise, "It's me, Nico Woods; we had Dawson for Math last year."
Kaden took a moment. "Oh! Right, okay, I remember you now!"
"Yeah," Nico nodded. "Speaking of Riley, how are you doing in his class?"
"I was right! You are Riley, aren't you?" Milo exclaimed.
"To be fair, she made it pretty obvious…" Kaden noted.
"Shut up!" She snapped. "Anyway, to answer your question, I'm doing fine; why?"
"Really? The man's a slave driver when it comes to homework. Don't tell me he mellowed out once we stopped having him."
Riley shrugged. "Don't know what to tell you. Speaking of which, I had my fun, logging off for the night."
"Bet, same here." Nico yawned. "I just got back home from helping my grandpa, so it's back to school tomorrow."
"That's fair. Before I forget," Kaden pressed a button, sending Nico a friend invite. "We gotta get a game in when we have time."
"Oh yeah, definitely. It's been a while. Now that we know each other IRL, we can even play a game during our breaks."
"Looking forward to that," Kaden smiled at the thought. "Milo, be sure to send Riley an invite too."
"Okay, how do I—?"
"You don't have to," she interjected. "I'm barely on Omnia, to begin with."
"Well, in that case, we'll just see you tomorrow at work then." Kaden shrugged.
"Yup." She pressed a button on her device. "Night."
"Good night." They replied as she vanished.
"I'll catch you guys later, too," Kaden saluted. "I still have an essay to finish before midnight."
"See you later, and thanks for earlier," Milo smiled.
"Anytime, bud," Kaden nodded before vanishing. Nico followed, leaving Milo all alone. With that, he turned and narrowed his gaze, the cloaked figure staring back at him. Upon making eye contact, the cloaked figure slowly began making their way toward Milo…
Homura found himself sitting in the dining room where he had spent time with Sierra and the three teens. The restaurant was wrapping things up for the night, and his duties were done. As he waited for everyone to wrap up the last-minute duties, he replayed the livestream of Kaden and Riley. A small hologram of a black Agumon projected from his black and crimson D-Streamer, watching the match alongside him.
"Salan's intel matches up; It's different…" Homura commented on Kaden's playstyle. "But its weakness is prevalent."
"Have you decided when we're doing this?" The Agumon asked, a gruff voice coming from the small dinosaur Digimon.
"Soon. Lord Vermil's gonna want to make this a spectacle to rub it in Azure's face."
"Do you think Cobalius is going to dishonor us once more?"
"We'll find out. I gave him a pass before as a favor to Azure. But mercy can only be given once. If he decides to cross me again…you have my permission to go nuts."
The Agumon grinned, its sharp teeth lining the side of its muzzle. "I suggest we begin preparing."
"Agreed. If he's going to have new tricks up his sleeve…then it's only fair that I don't hold back either."