Chapter 15: Being a Hero Part 1
A laser bolt came zooming straight towards the two Pokemon trainers and their partners. Everyone else, except the one who shot it, watched in horror as the laser stream headed right towards Ash, Dawn and their Pokemon. It moved closer and closer, ready to vaporize them.
"Quick, Pidgeot! Dodge it!" Dawn ordered her bird Pokemon to fly away from the incoming projectile. Ash could only hang on to Pidgeot's feet as it flew sharply away from the blast. The laser hit the sky above and blew up in a bright flash. And with that flash, Pidgeot was partially blinded and lost its focus. Ash began to feel its grip on his shoulders loosening. Eventually, the bird Pokemon could hold no longer. It opened its talons and let go of Ash.
"Ash!"
"Pika Pi!" Everyone, save for Starscream, could only gasp helplessly as Ash fell from the sky. Diving down, he could only scream and do nothing while under the mercy of his fall.
"Quick, Charizard. Save him!" yelled Serena, as she directed the dragon Pokemon towards the falling boy. Charizard flapped his wings with all his might and flew swiftly for his master. He made a really straight vertical dive down for Ash while Serena and Pikachu grabbed on for dear life. The boy was still dropping fast as Charizard managed to keep in level with him. When the moment was right, he began to pull up a little to reach Ash. Inching closer, he used his claws to try and catch Ash. After a few seconds, the giant lizard was able to have his arms around him. With a good pull, Charizard finally caught Ash before he pulled out of the dive and flew right past the road. Ash was saved from a terrible fate. Ash opened his eyes to find that he was no longer falling. He looked up to find his faithful Pokemon holding him in his arms.
"Phew. Thanks, Charizard." thanked Ash. Charizard roared back. Serena let out a sigh of relief while everyone of his other comrades calmed down for a while. As they flew off to safety, Star Saber prepared to strike Starscream again. The Decepticon was holding his arm that had a fusion cannon cut from it. Star Saber was still as furious as ever, panting in exhaustion and rage. But given the situation, Starscream gave a small grin at him.
"Tsk tsk tsk. Well, would you look at what you've done, Star Saber." he teased. You've nearly caused me to take the life of your friend there. Oh, tsk. How shameful it must be. Your own actions could've done him real harm." Star Saber stood back. His face was now filled with pure regret as if something like this had happened before. He began to look down at himself.
"Not again." said Star Saber. Just then, his wrist communicator began to beep. He answered the call and the screen showed Jazz and an injured Bumblebee moving slowly away from the alley they were hiding at.
"Sir…" called Jazz. "…we're relocating to a new position. This old street is finished." Star Saber looked at the area and then at Starscream. He snapped out of his regret and returned to take charge for the Autobots.
"A-Alright. Make haste. I don't know how much more damage Starscream will inflict next. I'll hold him off while you and everyone else get to safety."
"Roger that." The communicator is switched off. Star Saber stood up and readied his fists for another round at Starscream. Despite the determination, Starscream remained at ease. He hovered above Star Saber, seemingly ready to poise another strike.
"Oh, this is just sad, isn't it?"
"What is?"
"Despite all the devastation we caused, you're still wanting to come at me?"
"What's your point?"
"What's my point? What's my point?! HAHAHAHA! Just listen to yourself. Look around you. All of this destruction and harm on the humans and you still want to do more? Just so you can finish me off? HAHAHAHA!" Star Saber began to understand Starscream's point. He knew exactly what he meant. Star Saber was an Autobot and many would not associate one with destruction. He could not afford to do more. After laughing hysterically for a few seconds, he lowered down to a slow and steady descent. "Well now. I don't really think you want to do further damage to this planet… and your reputation. So… I'll let you and your friends live today."
"What?"
"I will take my leave and give you time to recuperate. That way, you will look back at all the things you've done today." Star Saber lowered his arms, but he wouldn't take any risk disarming himself completely. He continued to observe Starscream cautiously. "But the next time we meet, I assure you that it will be the last you will ever see me again. Now, if you'll excuse me, I got plans to tend to." Starscream soared to the air and looked back down for a brief moment. "Tata. HAHAHAHAHA!" And off he went…
Down below, Star Saber walked towards his blade, stuck on the surface of the road from the toss earlier. He held the hilt with both of his hands, kneeled down and putting his forehead on the end of it. He was feeling the guilt from what he had nearly done. He thought Ash was nearly killed because of him.
Meanwhile, Ash, who was now on Charizard's back with Serena and Pikachu, and Dawn, Piplup and Pidgeot watched the final moments of the drama with worried faces. The smoke drifted up to the sky; cars and buildings destroyed and the roads completely filled with crates. It was a disaster zone. With the sudden sounds of emergency sirens in the distance, everyone had left the scene in a hurry.
After an hour since the end of the epic battle, Yolei and Clemont were on their way to search for Bonnie and Fennekin who both had run off into the business of the city. They were both atop of Aquilamon as they surveyed from the skies. Clemont began to grow extremely worried for Bonnie as he believed that he was failing to be the big brother for Bonnie.
"No. This is not good." he panicked. "What if something terrible had already happened to her? I'm such a horrible brother!" Yolei turned to face him with a strict face.
"Would you relax back there?" snapped Yolei. "We'll find them even if it'll take us all night!" But she soon realized that she exaggerated with that last statement. "Um, well, at least until my mum calls." Soon, she began to hear low coughs from Aquilamon. He was not feeling so good flying over the urban jungle.
"Yolei, I…" He coughed again. "… don't think the city air is helping with my flight pattern. Do you think I should fly low?"
"Of course, Aquilamon. We need you flying strong." And Aquilamon did as he was told. Descending down low enough, Aquilamon allowed Yolei and Clemont to search on. Just then, Yolei began feeling a vibration in her right pocket. She took out her D-Terminal from it and flipped it open. She soon shot a nervous face when she saw a call from T.K. was seen in the screen. She didn't want everyone to know what had happened given the weight of their own situation, but she knew she can't ignore the call for it would raise suspicion. Thus, she'll need something to say to T.K. Pressing the button to accept the call, Yolei began to think quickly.
"Yolei." called T.K. "We're back here at the Autobot base." T.K being at a different place to rest was relieving for her. But the ease was not to last. "Is everything alright at Ken's house?" Yolei began to panic again. She spoke up immediately.
"Um… uh… everything's fine. Fennekin's… taking a nap… in her cozy basket. And um, Bonnie is… ah, taking a nap… too… Clemont is… He is…" With all that stuttering, she knew T.K. wasn't going to be convinced at all.
"Yolei, what happened?" T.K. spoke in a serious manner enough to give Yolei the chills.
"Um… well…" Finally, she sighed in defeat. "T.K. We have a problem."
Back at the warehouse, everyone was taking a much-needed break from all that fighting with Starscream. The DigiDestined and the Trainers were tending to their partners. Some were injured in the fight while the rest just needed some time to be with their partners. A robotic orb was hovering over Jazz and Bumblebee, as it used its mechanical arm and scanner beam to initiate repairs to their wounds. T.K. was in the middle of his conversation with Yolei.
"What?! What do you mean they're gone?!" T.K. could only rub his forehead in frustration. It was bad enough that the battle against Starscream was near fatal, but now a little girl and a Pokemon are now running around in the busy city.
Meanwhile, Serena was lying down on a couch. She was resting from pure exhaustion from her time as a hostage of Starscream. Ash and Pikachu arrived to check on her as Ash sat on the opposite chair.
"Hey, you holding up good?" asked Ash.
"Pika?" Pikachu followed. Serena looked up and gave a small nod.
"Hmmm…" She soon turned her head back straight. She really looked beat up after being tied up atop a skyscraper for days. "To think, that I was finally going to become a Pokemon Trainer and the next thing you know it, this happens."
"Well, it's kinda the same for us. Right, buddy?"
"Pika Pika!"
On the other side of the room, Star Saber was sitting at the other end. He was cleaning his dirty sword, wiping clean all the dirt and road bits from the blade. He then took a good look at the now shiny blade and the reflection of himself that was seen. He began to feel a sudden feeling of guilt and regret, especially from what had happened before. Ash was nearly killed because of his actions so he thought. Soon, he began to have a flashback of an event in his past. Something that had haunted him the same way.
Millions of years ago, on his home planet of Cybertron, there was a military base somewhere in the middle of a war-torn city area. Inside, Star Saber was sitting down on the floor. A few other Autobots were also seen, tending to what appeared to be wounds. More bots surrounded him as they seemed worried of his condition. Just then, a whoosh of the doors and came a large winged Autobot walking right in. He stormed in an angry fashion as he headed towards the wounded Star Saber. Stopping in front of him, he looked down at Saber, while the other looked up to face him. A stare-down had started between them.
"I hope you're happy, Saber." said the crossed Autobot. "You may have won the battle for us, but what you did, you sacrificed tens of our bots out there!" Star Saber struggled to get back up to face him.
"Look, Atlas. The Decepticons were closing in. Something had to be done!"
"Well, did you even think of another way?! Did you even think of those bots back there?! You could've saved them the trouble and sacrificed yourself." Star Saber turned around as if he wanted to ignore Dai Atlas.
"Spare me your ramblings, Atlas. This isn't the time nor the place for an argument."
"Maybe not. But your actions cannot go unjustified! You call yourself a soldier? Well guess what! You're nothing but a joke!" Star Saber felt a pang of hurt inside of him. His fist clenched real tight.
"I've heard enough. If you'll excuse me, I must go." He walked off deeper into the base, passing through the crowd of astonished Autobots. Dai Atlas still stood there, continuing to criticize Star Saber.
"That's right, Saber! Go on! Walk off like you don't care! One day, I shall have you court-martialled and placed behind bars. I'll avenge our lost comrades; the ones you left there to die! You hear me!"
The doors shut behind him as Star Saber stopped in his quarters. He reached for his head and lifted it out. Out with the head, we see another head from underneath, a more innocent one with goggles and a mouth instead of a mouthplate. He looked at his helmet and the face of the military genius. Despite all the anger he felt, he knew one is for sure. Dai Atlas was right. If he had thought of a better way to repel the said Decepticon assault, perhaps he would've saved those other Autobots. Only then, he would gain the recognition and respect of the other Autobots. He had always felt a bloodlust against the Decepticons for their tyrannical ways. He had always put his duties ahead of his comrades' lives. But somehow after the battle is won, he soon regretted from his actions. Star Saber sat down on his bunk, still looking at his battle helmet. He began to feel extremely guilty over his actions, having second thoughts of him being on the frontline.
"How can I save Cybertron if I can't even watch out for a few lives?"
The flashback ended as Star Saber still stared at his reflection on his blade. He was looking real depressed. It was bad enough he had to go through the drama millions of years ago, only for him to have faced the same thing again. He drew his sword back into his holster and rested his forehead on his fist. Suddenly, Jazz appeared behind him. He seemed fully repaired from his recovery. Jazz noticed that Star Saber was not in a good mood and wanted to help.
"Hey, uh, boss?" he called. "Is something the matter?" Star Saber looked behind to find Jazz behind him, but soon turned away.
"What's the point of all this fighting, Jazz?" Star Saber mumbled. "Why must more lives get in the way of our war with the Decepticons?"
"Well, boss. If I know one thing about the Cons is that they…?" Star Saber cut him off.
"I mean, there's always a chance someone could be in danger. And I'm always the last to realize it. And when I do, the damage had already been done. Worse, it's usually because I was the one who had dealt the damage. I fight so hard that I don't know the consequences of my actions. Then, that's when you begin to lose a lot of good bots." Jazz was pretty sure what Star Saber was talking about. What he did not know was that there was a curious boy and his Pokemon companion watching the drama unfold.
"Sir, if this was what happened to Ash earlier, about how it reminded you of the Battle of Nova Cronum, then you gotta put the past behind…"
"I don't think I can go any longer, Jazz. They say I'm a great leader. Strong, responsible, disciplined, always ahead of the game. But I'm just too reckless to care for others enough. This war has brought me more shame and sadness. Ash would've been killed because of me." He took off his battle helmet, like he had done on that fateful day on Cybertron. "I could've just stayed at the library. I guess I was just meant to be a records clerk. I'll never be like Optimus Prime."
Jazz could not find any other words to say. Star Saber was just too pained to speak with. But he knew Star Saber needed some time to think his problems through. So, without saying another word, he walked off with a sigh. Ash heard the whole thing and soon he looked at Pikachu. He was feeling sorry over what had happened earlier. If he had not paid attention to the situation at hands, maybe he would've not gotten in the way.
Star Saber just had his head down the entire time. Soon, he began to hear tiny footsteps heading his way. He looked behind to find Ash and Pikachu looking up at him.
"You okay, Saber?" asked Ash. Star Saber turned to face him.
"Hey, I just want to say I'm really sorry for earlier. If I had not cut off Starscream's cannon and thought of another way to stop him from hurting you, you would have not fell off."
"Come on. It wasn't your fault."
"Pikachu."
"You can't just blame yourself. I was the one who got in the way."
"No, Ash. You were doing what you had to do. And you did great. As for I, I'm just a reckless soldier who always cares more about dealing with the enemy than the safety of others. I can't go on like this. I'll just have to resign as Autobot leader."
"Wait! You can't!" Saber's eyes lit up. The sudden yells from Ash suddenly caught him off guard. "You can't just quit! Not when we're facing Starscream. We don't even know this guy. We can't do this without you. You're a great leader. We know that. You can't just blame yourself for what happened to me." Ash climbed on top of Star Saber's palm. "You need to stop thinking about the past. This Starscream problem is something we humans, Digimon and Pokemon can't take on alone. And Jazz and Bumblebee can't fight this without your leadership. Please, sir. Don't give up on us now." Star Saber began to feel impressed by Ash's sincerity. Never before has anyone stood up for him when he was feeling unsure of himself. It was as if Ash was rekindling the fire within his Spark.
"He's got you there, boss." Soon, they were joined by Jazz, who returned to help out with reassuring. "Come on, sir. You may be a bit over in your head when it comes to slagging Cons, but you are still the leader we need right now. Remember how we were able to beat up all those bad Digimon across the human world? You led us to defeat those suckers because you knew what to do. And let's not forget. Optimus trusted you to lead us in his absence. Remember?" Star Saber began to look back again. This time, he was remembering the time he was able to get a second chance following his failure. The time he knew he can try and make amends to his errors. It was all thanks to Optimus Prime.
Back on Cybertron, in a long corridor, two Autobots, one being Star Saber, walked along it talking to each other. The other was the previous Autobot leader, Optimus Prime. They were discussing about Star Saber's position in the ranks of the Autobots after what had happened at Nova Cronum.
"Saber, I understand you were doing your part in stopping the Decepticons." said Optimus with his calm but firm voice "But you must learn when to value the lives of your comrades as well. All of life is sacred."
"I know, sir." said Star Saber. "I should've found another way. They didn't ask for me to do it and I should've thought it through before jumping in." Optimus Prime turned around to face Star Saber. He placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You are a wise and powerful Autobot, Star Saber. You are more than capable of handling the Decepticons even on your own. But when it comes to doing it with others by your side, you must learn to appreciate their presences. One day, they could save your life." Star Saber nodded. "Being a hero does not mean you can save the day, but being a hero is when you can save the lives of those around you, even when the battle is lost." Do you think you can try and learn from your mistakes?" Again, Saber gave a nod in agreement. "Then, that is why I want you to come with me, Saber." Star Saber's eyes widened. It's not every day you get to be on board in Optimus Prime's crew. He never had been before.
"Sir?"
"I will teach you how to be a great leader. I will teach you what it takes to be a mighty soldier. You can lead my men in case of any absence, but you must remember to not jump the gun and think about your comrades first." Star Saber thought about it for a while. "Are you in?" Star Saber nodded. The two exchanged handshakes, confirming Star Saber;s position in the crew of Optimus Prime. A chance to redeem himself.
"Then it's settled. Star Saber. I welcome you to the crew of the Ark." Star Saber was elated by Optimus' support for him. Back then, he felt like he can be a great soldier again. Under the guidance of Optimus Prime, he can learn on how to redeem himself.
Back at Earth, Star Saber began to feel more at ease again. Optimus Prime had assigned him as a successor because there was still hope and potential in Star Saber. He knew that he can pull it off and be the leader he needed to be. He looked at Ash and put him down. Standing back up, Star Saber put his battle helmet on and bent down to face the boy who had managed to give him the spirit to fight on again. He had put aside the memories of his mistakes and went to thank Ash.
"You know, for a human…" said Star Saber. "…you know when to assert a good amount of faith in this giant robot." He stood back up. "Thank you." Ash smiled and nodded.
"Yeah." complimented Ash. "Just keep on fighting and never give up until it's over!"
"Pika Pika!" Star Saber nodded as well. He walked towards Jazz and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"These humans. They must really know when to kick it into you."
"You got that right, boss."
All the while, someone else was watching the conversation. Serena was peeking at them, listening into all the words that came out of Ash. One bit of them was the most interesting to her. The words "Never give up until it's over" swam in her mind. Not only was it a sense of admiration, but somehow, there was something different in them. It was as if… she had heard these words before. A distant memory that had been kept in her head for a long time.
"Never give up until it's over?" she thought to herself. "Where have I heard such words?"
While the gang were taking their break, T.K. was about to finish up talking to Yolei about the new situation.
"Alright. Go and find them. And quick. I don't think Serena's going to like this. Okay. Keep in touch. We'll see you later." He closed his D-Terminal. He'll need to come up with a way to let Serena know of the situation without causing much distress.
Hours later, up in the city skies, a plane was seen zooming over the bright lights of Odaiba. It flew a little lower until it was nearly at the same level as a skyscraper. From the strange marking on its wings, it was obviously Starscream, cooking up another scheme for the next day. He scanned the city to find what mischief he could cause next. Then, at an instant, he found something very curious. He opened his visor to view what appeared to be a runaway fox scurrying away along the sidewalk. Close behind it, was a little girl with blonde hair. Though he did not know who the girl was, he began to look at the fox with great interest. He remembered that he encountered that fox before at a warehouse when he kidnapped Serena. It didn't take long for him to find out that that fox was hers.
"Ahhhh…" growled Starscream. "It looks like I know what I'm going to do next."
Down at the city, Fennekin was running on, followed closely by Bonnie. She was starting to run out of energy real quick. For a little girl to run this much, it would've been a wonder to even her worried big brother. But for now, she was starting to slow down. Fennekin ran on and on until she turned right at a corner turn. Bonnie followed her to find Fennekin caught at a dead end of a brick wall. She slowly approached Fennekin with care. Fennekin looked back to find Bonnie closing in, but she didn't make the run for it. She scurried towards Bonnie, stopping in front of her legs and sat at attention. Bonnie bent down to stroke her.
"Fennekin!" she exclaimed while panting from all that running and searching. "You shouldn't run away like that. You have been a bad girl!" When she looked around, she realized that she too had run off from the safety of her big brother. Tears began to form in her eyes. Finally, Bonnie cried as loud as she could, terrified about the fact that she was now lost.
"What am I going to do?! Clemont! I'm so sorry!" She cried and cried.
Suddenly, the crying stopped when she heard a loud metallic stomp behind the wall. She froze in fear and trauma. Fennekin perked up her ears to hear a series of metallic footsteps closing in from behind them. She turned around to find the source and when she did, she growled with anger. Bonnie turned around very slowly. She looked up to find a pair of glowing red eyes beaming right at her. As they got closer, every bone in her body began to shiver and shiver intensely. Finally, when they were at point blank range, she began to scream while Fennekin barked and barked at the pair of eyes. Soon, what appeared to be a robotic hand reached out for them, as if it was about to grab them shut.
Elsewhere, Yolei, Clemont and Aquilamon were still searching for Bonnie and Fennekin. Suddenly, something caught Aquilamon's eye.
"Yolei!" called Aquilamon. "Look over there!" When they looked at front, they saw what appeared to be a giant silhouette zooming from the city ground.
"What was that?" wondered Yolei. "Let's follow that, Aquilamon. Whatever it is…" Aquilamon flew on as ordered.
Back at the Autobot warehouse, the teams have finally recovered from their wounds and what not. Now all they were doing was chatting around and having something to eat. Star Saber was watching the computer monitor for more activity from corrupted Digimon and Starscream. Just then, the screen began to flash red as the words, "Incoming Transmission" appeared. Everyone ran for the screen and paid attention to what was about to happen. The screen went to "Loading" and when done, it was not from a welcome face.
"Starscream…" sneered Star Saber.
"Had a good rest, Star Saber?" teased Starscream. "I was sure you must have had quite a rough day. Well thanks to me anyway."
"What do you want at this hour?" T.K. looked at Davis.
"Davis, contact Yolei." he told. "She might want to hear this."
"Um… Sure." Davis complied and sent a message to her.
Yolei, Clemont and Aquilamon were tailing the mysterious figure when she received another message. She got it from Davis, telling her "that a mean old robot is talking to them and she might want to hear this." She complied and patched in to the same transmission with her D-Terminal. She was listening to the same video from Starscream.
"I hope your audio receptors are tuned to its best frequency because I just found a nice little… game we can play."
"What game?" asked Star Saber.
"While you were slacking around recharging your batteries, I was cruising along the city skies just hatching up ideas of what we wish to do. Or… what I wish to do. And as it so happened, I was able to find two extra playmates for us to play the damsels in distress." Star Saber clenched his fists, aware that Starscream had done something wicked to two more innocent bystanders.
"Starscream. What have you done now?"
"Why. I was able to snatch them up when they were lost in the middle of the streets. How can anyone be so irresponsible for such poor young ones?"
As Aquilamon reached above a building known as the Fuji TV Station, he spotted the same-shaped silhouette from before. Yolei and Clemont spotted it too. When he flew slowly towards it, the humans at the back were able to see its real form clearly. The winged figure was none other than Starscream!
"Hey! That's the same robot from the transmission." clarified Yolei.
"Let's see what he's up to." added Aquilamon.
"Okay but let's not jump the gun now. Let's hear him through the D-Terminal. He doesn't know we're here so we have to maintain our stealth." Clemont seemed disappointed.
"But what about Bonnie and Fennekin?" he asked, growing extremely impatient.
"Just calm down. We'll find them after this." Clemont could only nod.
"Okay. By the way, is that robot over there a Digimon?"
"I don't think so. He seems to… um…"
"Not so Digimon-like…?" suggested Aquilamon.
"Uhuh…" Yolei did not want to spoil the whole Transformer crisis thing to Clemont yet. She could tell that Starscream was clearly not a Digimon. She continued to listen to Starscream's conversation with the others.
Star Saber and everyone else at base were getting concerned. Who did Starscream kidnap this time? All they could do was watch and wait for the answer.
"So, let's start with the casting of this play, shall we? You, the heroes of the day; I, the villain, and here are the two damsels now." Starscream pointed at what appeared to be two smaller beings tied up against a wall. When the camera zoomed in, everyone's expressions began to show a whole amount of horror. They saw that the two trapped hostages…
…were Bonnie and Fennekin!
"Fennekin!" yelled Serena, in real fear. It was horrible enough that she was Starscream's captive, but now it was her own Pokemon who had been taken hostage. Plus, there was also Bonnie, who was sobbing unstoppably.
"Bonnie!" Clemont yelled. He was extremely in agony, watching helplessly as his sister was crying and struggling to get out. "Oh no! We got to help her!"
"Hang on a moment." assured Yolei, equally shocked but still firm. "We need to hear the robot's demands."
Star Saber was real mad now. Starscream had the nerves to kidnap innocents again.
"You are a terrible fiend!" yelled Cody. "Let go of them!"
"Yeah!" added Armadillomon.
"Ah ah. Not until you accept my offer to play our little challenge." Star Saber thought about it properly. Despite diagnostics confirming that his fellow Autobots are fully repaired, they still needed a little mind recovery from the last fight. But still, he needed to do something to save Bonnie and Fennekin. After a few seconds, he made his decision.
"Alright, Starscream. I accept. What's your deal?" Starscream grinned.
"Good. Now hear this. I shall meet you at the construction site at the far side of the city. I challenge three of your Autobots to fight me. A classic Autobot-against-Decepticon clash of oil and metal. If you win, I will release the hostages and leave this planet unharmed. But if I win and if you somehow survive, you will have to submit to my power as leader of this planet." The deal seemed risky, but it was a common routine to fight a Decepticon in order to save a planet. It was simply an offer the Autobots could not refuse. "Remember, meet me at the construction site in five Mega-Cycles. Don't disappoint me. If you know what's good for you and the hostages, you might as well be very punctual. I can change the terms if I want to. So do be quick." Starscream scratched Bonnie's chin gently, causing her to panic a little. "Or you'll never see them again…" The screen went off. The room fell silent for a long minute.
"So…" Davis broke the silence. "Any ideas how we're going to do this?"
"Davis, have you been paying attention or something?" scolded Iris. "We're going to save them. That's our idea!"
"Axew!" Her partner added.
"I know that! I just wanna know how!" Jazz looked at T.K.
"T.K. Call Yolei to fall back for now." he ordered. T.K. nodded and opened his D-Terminal to contact Yolei.
At the same time, Yolei answered T.K's call to retreat back to HQ.
"Roger that. We're on our way." But Clemont was far from accepting the order. He grew more and more anxious for his sister's safety.
"Wait! We can't leave her! Not now!"
"Look." Yolei snapped. "This is a little hard to explain, but we're dealing with a force we can't possibly handle in one go. We can't just fly there and fight that guy. As far as I heard, the others could not fight that guy together. We need to come up with a plan and fast. And we're going to do that at base."
"But… but…" Yolei soon changed expressions and placed her hand on Clemont's shoulder, silencing him for a while. She smiled and reassured him.
"We'll save her. I promise. We just need help from some very special allies."
"Who?"
"You'll see. It's going to be hard to believe until you see it for yourself." Finally, Clemont nodded.
"Aquilamon, take us home." The bird Digimon followed her command. Clemont looked back at where Bonnie was held hostage. He began to shed a tear, worrying dearly of her safety.
"Don't worry, Bonnie. Big bro will come get you. I promise."
As Yolei was returning to base, everyone else in the warehouse gathered around to formulate a plan to combat Starscream.
"We need to come up with something to save Bonnie and Fennekin." said Ken.
"But how?" pondered Kari. "We can't even beat him all together."
"I think I just wasted one of my nine lives to that guy." added Gatomon. Everyone began to worry again. How can they beat Starscream if they couldn't even demoralize him. Serena, however, was desperate to save her Pokemon from him.
"Come on, guys!" she yelled. "We can't just quit now! We have to save Fennekin and Bonnie!"
"She's right!" agreed Davis. "It's not like us to give up like this."
"Yeah!" added Veemon. "Let's take that lean mean nasty robot baddie right now!"
"No." A firm voice from Star Saber silenced the scene again. He drew his blade and looked at his reflection again. This time, he was determined to put a stop to Starscream's schemes, but he had to make sure no one gets hurt in this one.
"We will take him on. And when I mean "we". I mean me, Jazz and Bumblebee. Starscream challenged me to a duel of the fates. A challenge of honour and dignity. There is no interference in this whatsoever." Kari grew worried.
"But Star Saber…" she said. "… will you be able to beat him?" Star Saber withdrew his blade back in and bent down to her.
"There's no reason for you all to get hurt in this." Star Saber stood up and faced his comrades. With everyone's support, he felt braver and more determined. "We will face Starscream…" He looked towards the overhead window at the ceiling. With a fist swung to the air, he rallied his comrades together for a final battle cry.
"…and win!" Everyone somehow felt a lot better from their depressions. They felt more confident in Star Saber's abilities again and were willing to support him. So, everyone cheered on with high spirits. Serena could only admire everyone's willingness to help her reunite with Fennekin and Clemont with Bonnie. She joined in the cheers, ready to support the Autobots all the way.
The next day will decide the outcome. The fate of planet Earth, and possibly the entire galaxy depended on Star Saber and his allies. Will they be able to defeat Starscream and save Bonnie and Fennekin? Find out next on the next episode!
A/N~ I'm really sorry for months of not uploading a new chapter. I recently added two more fanfic stories while I was working on this one, so I got caught up with clashes between them and this story. To make things more tiresome, I am thinking of doing another one. So much work to be done!
But fear not, I have finally managed to find time to complete a chapter and hopefully I can devote more of my time to continue before my current holidays end.
Thank you for reading!