Mercuremon smirked as he looked at Seraphimon. "Really, Seraphimon, you think
you can do better against me than last time? I assure you, I have become much
more able while you were frozen in that block of ice."
If Seraphimon's face were visible, it would have scowled back. "You've become
a thief and a bully. Even frozen I was aware of your many misdeeds in this
world. What do you hope to accomplish by aiding Cherubimon? He will destroy
everything."
----------------------------
Digicross Frontier episode 5:
'Wild Trailmon ride. Meet the rest of the gang!'
----------------------------
==The past
Seraphimon sat at the table, not speaking. Cherubimon had been gone for
several days now, and Seraphimon was regretting his actions.
A hand touched his shoulder. "Seraphimon," Ophanimon said quietly, "you
cannot blame yourself for this. Give him time, and he will return to us."
"We were trusted with the guardianship of this world." Seraphimon replied
grimly. "And already Cherubimon is being driven away from us. Where have I
failed?"
There was an explosion in the castle. The two angels quickly flew to the
source of the blast. When they got there, Seraphimon was the first to speak.
"The Spirit Chamber!" he gasped.
"There!" Ophanimon yelled, hurling her javelin at a shadow. The attack just
missed, but the force of the strike made the intruder appear.
"Ch...Cherubimon!"
"It has been a while, Ophanimon." Cherubimon taunted. Seraphimon and
Ophanimon stepped back, stunned. Cherubimon's body had darkened, what was once
pink and white turning into shades of black. "It appears the jester has become
the new ruler of the digital world!"
"You've been corrupted!" Seraphimon whispered. "Listen to us! A virus has
invaded you, but we can cure you of it!"
"You speak as if I were sick! Rather, I see things much more clearly now. I
will take the Spirits of the Legendary Warriors and use them to cement my rule
over this world! Join me!"
Mentally, Ophanimon summoned another lance to her hand. She hurled that at
Cherubimon, striking him and forcing him back to the wall of the Chamber.
"I...I will not be your clown anymore! You will RESPECT ME!" With a howl,
Cherubimon dropped the Hell's Judgement he had been readying at his feet,
destroying the chamber.
Seraphimon staggered to his feet, helped up by Ophanimon. The hole in the
wall led to the outside, where five small bubbles of energy could be seen
floating beside him. "I shall return for the rest!" Cherubimon yelled, fading
away.
==Present
"Armadillomon, digivolve to...Ankylomon!"
"Digiarmour energize!"
"Sneasel, armour digivolve to...Yashamon, swordsman of light!"
"Spirit Evolution...Agnimon!"
"Spirit Evolution...Wolfmon!"
"Spirit Evolution...Fairymon!"
"Spirit Evolution...Blitzmon!"
"Spirit Evolution...Chakmon!"
Ranamon's eyebrow arched as she saw Sneasel digivolve into Yashamon. "Ooh, I
like him. Can I have him when we're done?"
"Please," Mercuremon answered, gaze not leaving Seraphimon for an instant,
"indulge yourselves, both of you."
Yashamon blinked. He was about to ask what that meant, when he noticed one of
his arms was different. "Hey, where'd my shield go?" he asked.
Bokomon walked over and inspected Yashamon's arm. "Interesting. It would
seem that your digiegg has been affected by its exposure to Kouji's spirits;
this part here looks like his laser attachment."
"Are we fighting or what?" Petaldramon roared. The leaves around his head
started spinning, and he launched a wave of leaves and wind at the hybrids (the
good ones -ed).
"Plant boy's MINE!" Agnimon yelled (temporarily dipping into Dub mode -ed) and
attacking Petaldramon. Chakmon followed suit.
"Then I'll take Mercuremon!" Blitzmon yelled, ignoring Seraphimon's warning.
"Lightning Blitz!" he yelled, trying to shoulder-check Mercuremon.
Mercuremon smirked, and brought one of his arm shields up. "Offset
reflector." was all he said. The shield glowed, and Blitzmon stopped only
millimeters from the shield, then was flung back, slamming into a wall near
where Fairymon was.
"We get him, Zoe...?" was about all Blitzmon could manage before passing out
and reverting to Junpei (hit so hard his dub VA felt it. Ouch. -ed).
"It's like fighting Mary's Wynaut. All we need is that stupid Team Aqua chant
to go with him." Ryoko growled.
"He's got Reed's arrogance down." Hiroki whispered. He looked around;
Sorcerimon was already attending to Junpei.
"Enough." Seraphimon snarled, preparing to attack.
==The Past
Sorcerimon looked up at Seraphimon and Ophanimon. "Are you certain of this?"
Ophanimon nodded. "Yes. Cherubimon will be back as soon as he has found
digimon willing to follow him and that can be bound to the Spirits he stole.
We must hide the other spirits before he gets them too."
Sorcerimon nodded. "I will start at once, then. But once I cast the spell,
even I will not know how to find them."
"We know." Seraphimon replied. "I have prepared this. Add it to your spell;
when people worthy of carrying these spirits appear in the digital world, the
spirits will call to them and give them the means of calling on the power the
spirits hold."
Sorcerimon nodded. "I will tie this spell to the H-spirits, then. They are
easier to handle then the B-spirits." Sorcerimon left the room, and headed
down to the Spirit Chamber.
Ophanimon looked out of the window, over the wide field. "He will be here
soon. I can feel it." Seraphimon nodded. "I never thought we'd be fighting
Cherubimon. After Lucemon was sealed away..."
"We may be able to save him." Seraphimon replied. In the distance, the two
angels spotted a large cloud of dust. It was Cherubimon, leading a large horde
of digimon of all levels.
==Present
"Like Ryoko said," Yashamon replied, "it's like fighting a Wynaut. You either
overwhelm it, or go around it."
Mercuremon, grappling with Seraphimon, snarled. He had not counted on these
interlopers having experience fighting opponents who could reflect attacks.
Still, he had other options. "It would seem my reputation precedes me. But be
assured I have an array of new tricks to amuse you, child!"
"You're fighting me!" Seraphimon snapped. He grabbed Mercuremon by one of his
arms and hurled the digimon away. He then landed by Wolfmon, who was getting
ready to attack Petaldramon as soon as Agnimon and Chakmon were clear.
Fairymon and Yashamon were attacking Ranamon. "You must leave, I will fight
these enemies myself."
"I don't recall asking for your protection." Wolfmon replied. "We can take
care of these guys."
Ryoko glared at Wolfmon. "Are you two out of your minds? Let's just work
together!"
Wolfmon's eyes narrowed. "We don't need his help; he already got defeated by
Cherubimon."
"I think I know a bit more about what's happening than you do, boy."
Seraphimon scolded Wolfmon.
"Do you two have to be so...so...arrogant?" Ryoko tried not to yell. Chakmon,
Hiroki, and Ankylomon weren't quite sure what to do yet.
"Perhaps we should come back?" Ranamon teased.
"Stay out of this!" Ryoko snapped.
"Touchy, touchy! If I didn't know better, I'd say we just walked in on a
lover's spat, Petaldramon." Mercuremon and Petaldramon started to snicker, as
Ryoko and Wolfmon blushed uncontrollably.
"NOW!" Hiroki yelled. While the three hybrids were distracted, Ankylomon,
with Chakmon riding on him, tackled Petaldramon, sending the beast hybrid
flying. Chakmon launched a volley of snow from his launcher, trying to freeze
Petaldramon.
"Well played, children." Mercuremon muttered, impressed. In a louder voice:
"Seraphimon! Let us finish what we started!" Mercuremon charged the angel,
dodging around Wolfmon as he ran.
"So be it, lackey of Cherubimon!" Seraphimon snarled, trying to grapple with
the steel hybrid. "Your tricks will not work this time! I remember your
powers."
==Past
Energy surged between Cherubimon and Seraphimon; Ophanimon was handling the
other attacking digimon. "Your tricks will not work this time!" Cherubimon
yelled, casting another bolt of energy at Seraphimon
"Cherubimon, we were friends! Why have you turned against us?"
"To be free of your scorn!" Cherubimon replied. "I came in friendship, but I
was always ignored and ridiculed. Just a jester, someone to be pitied and
laughed at! Well, NO MORE!" Anger filling his voice, Cherubimon span and
hurled another javelin, aimed at Ophanimon. Distracted by an attacking
Machinedramon, she had no time to defend; the attack struck her, and she fell.
For a second, Seraphimon's anger took over, and he summoned his strongest
attack. "Seven Heavens!" The attack shot towards Cherubimon.
Before it hit, however, there was a flash of light, and another digimon
appeared between Cherubimon and the incoming blast. Mercuremon raised his
shields up, called "Generous Mirror!" and caught the attack. Seraphimon
stepped back, stunned at the sight. "Mercuremon, I am called." the digimon
introduced himself. "And I believe this is yours." His mirrors glowed, and
the attack reappeared, coming straight back at Seraphimon with double the
intensity! The bolt tore into him, ring of digicode appearing. "It is done,
master." Mercuremon said.
"Excellent. Once I have his digicode, I shall-"
"Sephirot Crystal!" The blast struck Cherubimon, almost knocking him onto
Mercuremon. Ophanimon, hand still extended, summoned up her own lance, ready
to attack. One hand was over her side, where Cherubimon's bolt had struck.
She said nothing, only shaking her head as Cherubimon got back up. Her message
was clear: she was no longer holding back.
Cherubimon grimaced; that attack had dome some damage. He knew that
Seraphimon would hold back, still clinging onto the hope that their
'friendship' might have prevailed. Ophanimon, however, was much more
pragmatic. And powerful, judging from the pain he felt. Snarling, he and
Mercuremon teleported away.
Sorcerimon came running in. "The spirits are away. I...Seraphimon!"
Sorcerimon ran over to Ophanimon. "What happened?"
"Cherubimon was able to find someone to use the H-Spirit of Steel." Ophanimon
replied. "We are both badly injured. Can you heal Seraphimon?"
Sorcerimon looked over the angel. "No. His injuries are too grave for my
power. I can place him in stasis, with your help."
Ophanimon nodded. "This place may no longer be safe. Once Seraphimon is
taken care of, I must leave. When I do, I will seal it against Cherubimon and
his minions, until the time when the chosen ones who can use the spirits come."
"I understand." Sorcerimon raised his staff, and began chanting.
==Present
Fairymon and Yashamon circled Ranamon, waiting for the moment to attack. "Two
on one? My, I didn't know you humans were into this sort of thing." Ranamon
said coyly. "Still, if you're in the mood, handsome." she said to Yashamon.
She's HITTING on me? Yashamon thought to himself, not sure how to respond.
"Snap out of it Romeo!" Ryoko yelled.
Ranamon sniffed haughtily. "Oh, stay out of this. What would someone as ugly
as you ever know about dealing with attractive digimon like me?"
Hiroki winced. He knew what was about to happen.
Ryoko's fist, tightly clenched, was trembling. "Yashamon...NO PRISONERS!"
Yashamon moved to attack Ranamon. Fairymon started to join in, but was waved
back by Yashamon.
Ranamon dodged around the armoured digimon's swings. "That's (duck) no
(dodge) way (jump) to treat (roll) a lady!" Ranamon managed to evade the rest
of Yashamon's attacks, then rolled away. "Oh, whatever shall I do? This evil
(but handsome) digimon is attacking poor defenseless little me!"
Yashamon was about to attack again, when a fireball exploded in front of him.
The caster, a digimon resembling a red version of Sorcerimon, pointed his staff
at Yashamon. "Do not menace our beloved angel, foul creature. Never fear,
beloved Ranamon, we shall defend you! I, Flawizarmon, red thunder of the
digital world, so swear it!" Flawizarmon had a headband wrapped around his
hat, with Ranamon's picture on it.
"A fan club?" Fairymon asked, confused by this development. As she spoke, she
saw several dozen other digimon approaching, all similarly dressed.
"Like I said," Ranamon taunted, "only someone as beautiful as me could attract
so many loyal followers." She cast a sidelong look at Ryoko. "Not that you'd
know about that."
Ryoko's frustration took over for a second. "You....tramp!" she yelled.
It was Ranamon's turn to go wide eyed. "How...how dare you! Everyone, forget
the swordsman...GET THE GIRL!" Ranamon pointed at Ryoko.
==New Bark Town
Izzy kept working on the portal. This was the crucial phase; an error might
lose the signal he had established to the digital world Ryoko and Hiroki were
on, meaning he would have to start all over. He was being careful, however.
"Izzy!" Ken called from the opposite side of the lab. "I've finished the
initial programming, but I can't guarantee that the portal will open near the
kids. The best I can do is place it within a day or two of them, and hope for
the best."
Izzy nodded. "That should do. As long as they're not being chased by several
hundred digimon, they should have no problem opening the portal. I'd better
call them and see how they're doing."
Izzy dialed in the number for Ryoko's pokegear, sent the signal through the
portal, and heard it ring. There was a click, indicating that someone had
answered. "Ryoko? How are-"
"We're a bit busy!" Hiroki's voice said over the speaker. In the background,
the sounds of a huge battle could be heard. "Ryoko just insulted a digimon and
Yashamon's fighting off its fan club. I'll call back when it's over!" Another
click signified Hiroki had hung up.
"What's going on there" Izzy almost yelled.
"Izzy!" Ken said, trying to calm his friend down. "He said Yashamon was
fighting. That means Ryoko must have gotten Sneasel's digiegg back."
"But-"
"They'll be fine. Sneasel's one of the best fighters among the kids' digimon.
He can easily hold off a dozen attacking digimon, especially if Ryoko's in
danger. All we can do now is get this portal working and get them home." Izzy
nodded, and went back to work.
==Frontier Digital World.
Hiroki placed the pokegear back in his pocket. He watched as Yashamon fought
off several of Ranamon's fans. Then, the attackers parted, leaving an open
space between Yashamon and Flawizarmon.
"I see you possess some skill, whelp!" Flawizarmon mocked. "But no matter. I
shall avenge the insult that human has made against our fair Ranamon! You will
fall before my fiery technique!"
"While I live, you will not touch Ryoko." Yashamon crossed his swords, daring
the wizard to attack.
Flawizarmon, pushed by delusions of how a grateful Ranamon would reward him
(ones I won't describe in a PG fic, thank you VERY much -ed) charged, screaming
as he did and calling up a
fireball in his hand. Focussed as he was on Yashamon, he was unable to react
when the armoured digimon stepped aside and let Ankylomon dispatch Flawizarmon.
Via air mail.
"This is not over, whelp!" the wizard yelled as he rocketed away, struck full
force by Ankylomon's Tail Hammer.
Another digimon, a Musyamon, leaped out, spinning his sword in a dramatic
series of twirls and twists. Getting annoyed, Yashamon decided to try out his
new attack. He raised his arm, pointing it at Musyamon. "Shadow Laser!" A
grayish bolt of energy struck Musyamon, knocking out the digimon. Impressed,
Yashamon looked at the laser on his arm. "I am definitely keeping this." he
said, grinning. He looked up at the remaining horde, wooden swords at the
ready. "Who's next?"
Fairymon concentrated on Ranamon; the two battled back and forth, exchanging
blasts of wind and water. Not caring who was beneath Fairymon, Ranamon snapped
her fingers and called up a rainstorm. Fairymon tried to figure out what this
would accomplish, then winced in pain and flew out from under the cloud Ranamon
had summoned. She grimaced as she saw the red skin on her arm from the acid in
the rain. Below her, there were several screams as some of Ranamon's 'fans'
were also caught in the downpour.
"You're not much of a role model if you'll hurt your own fans!" Fairymon
called to Ranamon.
"Oh, I am EVER so sorry." Ranamon replied, utterly insincere. She summoned up
another rainstorm, trying to trap Fairymon.
Let's see how SHE likes it, Fairymon said to herself. "Balle delle Spade!"
Powering up, she flew behind one of the acidic clouds, lining up with Fairymon.
"Brezza Petalo!" The wind attack struck the cloud, and forced it to where
Ranamon was standing. The water hybrid, well aware of the acid rain's effect,
quickly got out of the way.
"Ranamon is endangered! We must save her!" one of the digimon attacking
Yashamon yelled. "Quickly, we must carry our goddess away from this place!"
"What? HEY, PUT ME DOWN!" Ranamon yelled, as her devoted fans promptly
grabbed her, lifted her up, and started carrying her away. "You'll pay for
this!" she yelled. "I swear you'll - HEY, WATCH THE HANDS!"
Ryoko blinked. "High price of fame." she muttered, shaking her head.
"Yashamon, go help with Petaldramon!" Hiroki told Ankylomon to do the same.
Wolfmon watched as Seraphimon and Mercuremon battled, waiting for an opening
to strike. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ankylomon and Yashamon move
towards the giant plant-dragon...thing. He relaxed a bit; despite what he
said, he knew those two digimon were more than able to help deal with
Petaldramon, leaving him a chance to focus on the third hybrid, Mercuremon. If
Seraphimon would just let him in.
"You're being selfish." Mercuremon taunted Seraphimon. "Unseemly behavior for
an angel of your stature."
"The boy is not your concern." Seraphimon replied. with a swing, he managed
to knock one of Mercuremon's arm shields off, the mirror falling to the ground
by Wolfmon. "And your powers appear to be failing. Testament!" The energy
ripped through Mercuremon, who dropped to the ground.
"Very...impressive, angel." Mercuremon grunted, getting up. "A pity you
yourself designed the H-Spirit of Steel to have the best defenses." He brought
his remaining mirror up, catching the Seven Heavens that Seraphimon launched,
then sending it back. Hastily, the angel dodged, then closed for another
Testament attack.
Wolfmon glanced at the discarded shield, seeing that the item had split down
the middle. "Split?" Wolfmon wondered, examining the broken mirror.
"This...this is just painted wood. But why...?" He saw Seraphimon charging,
and Mercuremon's sick grin. There was a shadow forming on the two shields that
made up Mercuremon's head and torso. "Seraphimon! Don't!"
Seraphimon grappled with Mercuremon, before noticing the same shadow on
Mercuremon's head and torso mirrors. The shadow resolved into a form the angel
recognized. "Cherubimon!"
Back in his lair, Cherubimon gave a sick laugh. "You always were the slow
one, Seraphimon. Did you know that I can use my powers through Mercuremon?
HELL'S JUDGEMENT!" The bolt tore through Seraphimon, unprepared for the
powerful attack. He roared in pain, bringing all the other fights in the
remains of the Forest Terminal to a stop. He fell, digicode ring appearing
around him. "Mercuremon, seize his digicode now!"
Landing, Mercuremon nodded. "Yes." With a sick leer, Mercuremon brought his
remaining shield up, and the digicode was drawn to Mercuremon.
"Wolfmon, slide evolution...Garmmon! SPEED STAR!" Mercuremon was unable to
bring his shield around, and was caught by Garmmon's attack, knocked away from
Seraphimon. "If you want him, you'll have to get through me!" Garmmon snarled.
Mercuremon got up, wincing as he did; the fight with Seraphimon had taken a
lot out of him, as had the energy requirements of acting as a conduit for
Cherubimon's attack. "I still have not finished absorbing Seraphimon's
digicode." he replied evenly. "My power is still intact, even with one less
shield; and who knows when Cherubimon might decide to lend a hand?"
A grey bolt of energy struck the ground beside Mercuremon. Looking behind
him, he saw Yashamon standing behind him, and was aiming his laser at
Mercuremon's unprotected rear. Also, Junpei had recovered and digivolved,
joining the armour digimon.
"How about all three of us?" Wolfmon asked sarcastically. There was a yell;
Agnimon had slide evolved to Vritramon and, with Fairymon adding her power, had
set Petaldramon on fire while Chakmon had made the ground around the giant
digimon too slippery to move. "Make that seven." he corrected.
"Nine!" Patamon yelled, as he and Kotemon ran over (well, Patamon flew, but
you get the idea -ed). All of the digimon there got ready to attack Mercuremon.
"This isn't over." Mercuremon snarled. He pointed his remaining mirror at
himself, and vanished in a flare of light. Petaldramon reverted to Arbormon,
and ran away. None of the children or other digimon were concerned about him,
as they had gathered around the fallen Seraphimon, switching back to their
human forms as they did.
Sorcerimon ran over to his master, as did Bokomon and Neemon. "I can heal
you." Sorcerimon said. "And he can help, if he digivolves to Sorcerimon as
well!" he added, pointing to Yashamon.
"No. My injuries are too severe, and Mercuremon did get some of my digicode."
Seraphimon's form started to flicker. "Patamon. You have the ability to
become an angel digimon."
Patamon shook his head. "No. I digivolved into Airdramon. I'm sorry."
"It is alright. I must transfer what is left of my digicode into a compatible
digimon, or it will be lost."
"No!" Sorcerimon yelled. "There must be another way! Aquarius-"
"Stop!" Seraphimon shouted, then shuddered. "Even if you did heal me, the
effort would destroy you. And this place is no longer sealed against
Cherubimon's forces. There is no place for me to recover enough to battle
Mercuremon, let alone Cherubimon." He looked at Kouji. "It seems you were
right." Kouji said nothing, face grim. "I started life as a Patamon, so you
should be able to absorb my digicode and keep it safe." Patamon nodded, and
landed by Seraphimon. The angel laid his head back, then his form blackened,
digicode ring reappearing. The digicode entered Patamon, and Seraphimon
vanished.
Izumi gasped. "Where's his digiegg?"
Sorcerimon pointed at Patamon. "All of Seraphimon's digicode that was not
stolen by Mercuremon was placed in Patamon. In effect, he is Seraphimon's
digiegg."
Ryoko looked around. "We'd better get going." she said quietly. "Those other
hybrids will be back soon. Everyone nodded.
==
Sorcerimon led the group to an underground Trailmon station, and everyone left
the Forest Terminal. They took a trip that lasted several hours, the Trailmon
making several turns left and right, before finally surfacing underneath a
cliff. Everyone, still silent, got off.
"This place was commonly used by those who lived around the Forest Terminal
came to rest from their duties." Sorcerimon explained. "We should be safe here
for the night."
"I can't believe it." Tomoki said, lip trembling. "We couldn't save
Seraphimon. And now he's ...he's..."
"As long as Seraphimon's digicode is here." Sorcerimon said quietly, "he will
live. You must understand this, and understand it fully. Seraphimon's
digicode is very powerful, and if Cherubimon ever takes it, he will become
unthinkably powerful. It will also make Patamon a target, if Cherubimon knows
Patamon holds the digicode."
"Well, he can try to take it from us!" Takuya said fiercely. "We know what
Mercuremon can do now, so we'll be ready for him, next time."
"Don't be so sure." Junpei replied. "Hey, Bokomon, isn't there still one
spirit unaccounted for?" He flipped though a small notepad. "This one." he
said, indicating one of the symbols.
"The symbol for the legendary warrior of Darkness." Bokomon replied,
recognizing it. "That could be dangerous. That spirit is extremely powerful."
Sorcerimon nodded. "But hard to control. Cherubimon does retain it, but it
is unusually difficult to control."
"Why would three angels make a spirit for evil?" Tomoki asked.
"Darkness isn't the same as evil." Hiroki replied. "Sneasel's a dark type
pokemon, but he's not evil."
"Correct." Sorcerimon nodded to Hiroki. "Sphinxmon, the Ancient Warrior who
created the two Spirits of Darkness, was a very wise and cunning fighter."
Sorcerimon looked up. "Speaking of darkness, it is getting late, and I think
we could all use some rest. This hut here should be fine." Everyone entered
except for Sneasel and Patamon.
"What is it?" Sneasel asked.
Patamon looked down, then sat back. "It's weird, I can feel Seraphimon's code
inside me, but I think it's just lying there, like it's waiting for something."
Patamon looked at the pokemon. "I think I'd like you to take part of
Seraphimon's digicode."
"What?"
"Listen, you heard what Sorcerimon said, and I'm pretty sure that sooner or
later, they'll find out I have the digicode in me. But if I give some of it to
you, Cherubimon will have to find two digimon, instead of one." Patamon
waddled over to Sneasel. "It'll be our secret, OK? Don't even tell Ryoko, at
least until you're back home. OK?"
Sneasel thought about it for a few seconds. "Alright. It is a sound idea.
What do I do?"
"Just stand there. I think I know..." Patamon closed his eyes,
concentrating. A second later, a ring of digicode spiraled around him, then
entered Sneasel's body. The pokemon shuddered, dropping to one knee.
"Th...that's strong stuff." Sneasel gasped.
Patamon grinned. "It'll settle down. Why don't you go rest with the others?
I'll be inside in a minute." Sneasel nodded, and entered the hut.
Patamon sighed, and landed on the ground again. There was a footstep behind
him, startling Patamon.
"I got curious when you held Sneasel back." Kouji said, walking up. "Smart
move. But you gave Sneasel the lion's share of the digicode, didn't you?"
"It'll be safer with him when he's home, away from this world." Patamon
replied. "You can't tell him. If anyone found out-"
Kouji shook his head, smiling. "I won't. Like you said, it's better if
Sneasel stays in his world, away from here." With Ryoko, he added mentally.
==
Wendimon sniffed around the wreckage, scowling. The humans had been here, as
had those other 'Legendary Warriors' he had put up with before. The place had
been totaled, nothing left standing except for a few walls, and a lot of
upturned earth, rocks....rocks, he thought. He reached for his neck.
Cherubimon had been kind enough to return one useful item to him for his hunt,
one that was about to become very, very handy indeed. "Wake up, my brethren!"
he yelled, casting the dust inside into the air. The dust was drawn to the
rocks and debris, infusing it with digicode and power taken for a very special
set of digimon...
==Next day
Junpei rubbed the back of his head, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. "Hey,
what was with the light show last night, you two?" he asked Ryoko and Hiroki.
"You trying to draw everyone to us or something?" Sorcerimon had gone on ahead
to check the area, he being a little less distinctive than a group of seven
human children.
"We just had to do it. We told you, a friend of ours needed our help, and
this was the only thing we could do." Ryoko replied. Ever since last night,
when she and Hiroki had used their digivices to send power to Hitomi's digivice
(see Digicross Tamers #13 -ed), she had been worried about her 'little sister'.
Certainly, Hiroki was.
"It's been done," Kouji said to Junpei, "what's the point of going on about it?"
"Sticking up for Ryoko?" Izumi asked sweetly. "Anything we should know about?"
"NO!" Ryoko and Kouji shouted, both blushing a bit. Mercifully, the pokegear
chose that moment to ring. Ryoko pulled it out. "Hello? Dad?"
"Good news!" Izzy's voice replied. "We managed to set up a link to home for
you; however, it's a bit of a distance away, and you'll need your digivices to
open it when you find it."
"You can't open it from where you are?" Hiroki asked.
"It'd take too much power, and there's a risk of something from where you are
coming through and wrecking the portal here. Your D-3s should be able to find
it when you get close. From where I read you, you should travel northwest, and
it should be about two days travel from where you are now."
"That's great." Ryoko replied, though she didn't sound very enthusiastic.
"Actually, that's not all." Ken cut in. "Were you up last night, and did you
use your digivices?"
Hiroki answered into the speaker. "We thought Hitomi might be in trouble, so
we used our digivices to send her some energy. Did it help?"
The smile in Ken's voice could almost be heard over the series of clicks that
started coming from the phone. "Why don't you ask her?" There was a sound of
another pokegear ringing, then another voice spoke up. "Hello?" it asked.
Ryoko and Hiroki stared at the pokegear, not believing what they heard.
"H...Hi...Hitomi?"
"Ryoko? Hiroki? Is that you?" Hitomi's voice asked.
Hiroki grabbed the digivice. "Hitomi? Where are you? Are you alright? What
happened?" He didn't notice Tomoki, Junpei, and Takuya start giggling at
Hiroki's reaction. Ryoko had been all too eager to tell the other digidestined
about the crush that Hiroki most certainly didn't have on Hitomi (nudge, nudge,
wink, wink).
"Hiroki? Papa told me what happened. I'm so sorry about this-"
"Don't apologize!" Ryoko said automatically, then started laughing. Hitomi
hadn't changed one bit. "We were brought here by something completely
different. Where did you wind up?"
"In another Tokyo in 1999." Hitomi answered. "And there are digimon here too.
Uncle Izzy said that you were in another digital world?"
Sneasel looked up. "Is Eevee with you?"
"You bet!" another voice answered. "And Noctowl's here too. Good to hear
your voice again, teach!"
Sneasel smirked. "Probably slacking off."
"I'll have you know I digivolved just last night to Jolteon!"
Armadillomon cut in. "So? Sneasel and I digivolved too! I became Ankylomon,
and Sneasel turned into Sorcerimon. So there!"
"Yeah?" Eevee's voice called back. "But can you call up Skull Greymon's Dark
Shot on command?"
"Say again?" Sneasel asked, curious.
The conversation went on for another half hour, Ryoko and Hiroki introducing
the other digidestined with them, Hitomi introducing Ms. Asaji. There was a
quick elbow courtesy of Izumi when Junpei expressed horror at being trapped in
another dimension with a school teacher. Eventually, Izzy cut back in, told
everyone that they had to sign off now, and that they'd call Hitomi again when
Ryoko and Hiroki were home safe.
"She sounds nice." Tomoki said while Ryoko finished talking to her father.
"She is." Hiroki replied absently, then reddened again when Izumi looked at
him, inviting Hiroki to elaborate on that.
Sorcerimon came back to the group. "I found a Trailmon track, and a station
within a few hours' walk. If we hurry, we can make it there and catch a
Trailmon. I think it goes in the direction we need to go. Once there, we must
split up."
"Huh?" Takuya asked.
"Patamon carries Seraphimon's digicode; it is vital that he remains hidden."
Sorcerimon replied. He missed the look that Patamon and Kouji shared. "I know
my way around the digital world. It will be easier for us to become lost that
way."
Tomoki started to object, but Junpei cut him off. "Yeah, I guess we are
pretty distinctive." he replied, grinning. "So we take off one way while you
make for cover. Well, I guess that means we'll just have to take your share of
the glory." Junpei sighed, mock-depressed. "We heroes have such a hard life,
don't we?"
"I think you will manage." Sorcerimon replied.
Eventually, they made it to the station, and found that the next Trailmon
would be by in an hour, and that the track would take them in the direction of
the portal. The group's pace was not too fast; everything was under control,
and what could possibly happen to them now? An army of Golemon charging them?
==
Wendimon and the Golemon that were following him picked up the scent and kept
running. Cherubimon would not give Wendimon another chance, and he knew that
to slow down his pace to rest, even for a moment, might be enough to bring down
the fallen angel's wrath on him.
Fear was driving him now. However, he had the scent of the humans now, and
knew that they would catch up within the hour.
==
"There's the train!" Izumi yelled. Everyone looked where she was pointing.
Closing in was Worm, the Trailmon that Takuya, Izumi, Junpei, and Tomoki had
ridden into the digital world; it what seemed like a lifetime ago that they had
all gotten that strange cellphone call...
"We should be going then." Sorcerimon said. "We'll backtrack and make our way
to Soyokaze station. The Floramon and Mushroomon should be able to give us
shelter for a time. Beyond that, I cannot say." He turned to Ryoko and
Hiroki. "It was an honour to meet you. I hope we will cross paths again some
day, when the world is not threatened."
"Me too!" Hiroki answered. Ryoko nodded, not saying anything.
"See you around, Sneasel!" Patamon said. In a quieter voice he added
"Remember, don't forget our secret!"
"How could I?" Sneasel replied. Patamon and Sorcerimon started to leave, just
as the Trailmon pulled up.
Everyone else was about to board the train when one of the walls of the
station was blasted out by Wendimon's attack. A small group of Golemon stomped
in, surrounding Worm and the humans. "Spirit!" Wendimon demanded.
"Not now!" Ryoko gasped. She didn't know how long the portal to her home
would last.
Kouji's eyes narrowed. "That voice..."
Izumi nodded. "That sounds like Grottomon's voice. But we destroyed him!"
"Master Cherubimon has revived me." Wendimon replied. "Return my spirit, and
give me the other spirits, and I won't destroy you." His eyes shifted to
Sorcerimon. "I remember you. You were at the Forest Terminal. And that
Patamon...smells of Seraphimon's digicode!" With a wild roar, Wendimon reached
for Patamon.
An Ice Beam shot between the two digimon. Sneasel stood there, arms still
stretched out. "If you want Seraphimon's digicode, then you're going after the
wrong digimon." Sneasel concentrated for a second, and a ring of digicode
appeared around him. "Well? Do you want the prize, or not? Choose now!"
Wendimon roared again, and he and the other Golemon lumbered towards the
pokemon. "RUN!" he yelled at Patamon and Sorcerimon. They nodded, and did.
"Ryoko!" he yelled, dodging several wild swings.
"Digiarmour energize!"
"Sneasel, armour digivolve to...Yashamon, swordsman of light!"
"Everyone, help him out! I'll clear the rails!" Takuya shouted. "Spirit
Evolution! Vritramon!" The beast hybrid flew to the front of the train and
started grappling with the two Golemon blocking the railway.
Armadillomon tackled one Golemon, bounced off, and landed near Hiroki.
"Digivolve me to Chameleonmon; I can't get on the train as Ankylomon!"
"Digiarmour energize!"
"Armadillomon, armour digivolve to...Chameleonmon, kindly forest spirit!" The
armoured digimon faded out, reappeared on the top of the train, and started
sniping with tongue lashes and eye beams. "Feel free to join in!" he yelled
between shots.
"Spirit Evolution!"
"Fairymon!"
"Chakmon"
"Blitzmon!"
"Wolfmon!"
Chakmon and Blitzmon went forward to help Takuya, leaving the rest to fight
Wendimon and the rest of the Golemon.
"About time!" Vritramon grunted; one of the Golemon had the hybrid pinned,
while the other one was taking shots at him. Blitzmon and Chakmon double
teamed one of them, allowing Vritramon to get free of the second one, and toss
him away. "Worm, you're clear!" Vritramon yelled. The Trailmon started to
smoke, lurching forward.
"Everyone, on the train!" Wolfmon yelled; he leaped on, covering Ryoko and
Hiroki as they ran on board one of the passenger cars.
"You're not getting away!" Wendimon yelled, leaping for the train.
"Balle Delle Spade!" Fairymon yelled, powering up. She then launched a huge
blast of wind, catching Wendimon mid-leap and knocking him to the ground. The
train picked up speed, and quickly left Wendimon behind.
Exhausted, Wendimon's fist slammed into the ground. Two of the Golemon he
created came over to him, intent on helping their master up. In his rage,
Wendimon slammed his fists into them, absorbing their digicode into his own
body. That, and the desire to destroy the humans for this latest humiliation,
was enough to power the digivolution that started. The process only took a few
seconds to complete. When it was done, a new figure stood up, fangs protruding
from under blood red lips, body wrapped in a long cape. The digimon stood,
jumped into the air, and flew after the Trailmon.
==
Ryoko looked at her digivice. "We're getting close." she said. "Dad said
Hiroki and I have to open it with our digivices, so we'd better go forward."
Kouji looked up. "I'll go with you." he said, and walked with the other two.
"So," he said to Ryoko, "I guess this is it then?"
Ryoko nodded. "Yeah. I guess you'll head back here after we're home?" Kouji
nodded. Ryoko looked at him, wanting but not daring to ask.
"No." Kouji said quietly. "If Cherubimon finds out Sneasel's got Seraphimon's
digicode, both you and he will be targets. You're better off at home."
Ryoko blinked. "Is...is that the only reason?"
Yes!, he wanted to shout. Yes, that's the only reason! It makes sense for
you to stay here with the door shut between the two worlds forever. You can
just go on with your life without...Kouji sighed. "No." he said quietly, but
wouldn't continue.
Hiroki looked between the other two humans, then at Armadillomon and Sneasel.
"When you're older." Sneasel whispered to Hiroki. "Just...don't ask them about
it now, alright?" Starting to understand, Hiroki nodded.
Bokomon and Neemon came up. "Are we near the portal yet?" Neemon asked. "I'm
getting hungry." Ryoko and Kouji stared at Neemon, mood broken. Then they
both started laughing.
"Trouble!" Worm yelled, just as the train shook, knocking everyone over.
The roof of the passenger car tore open, and a leering face stared at the group.
Bokomon stared back, wide eyed. "V...Vamdemon!" he said, without checking his
book.
Sneasel's claws extended. "We know him by a different name. Myotismon!"
Without another word, Sneasel leaped, attacking the digimon head on!
"Night Raid!" Sneasel was knocked back by a wave of bats, the pokemon slammed
to the floor near Hiroki. "I...I'll distract him, and you get around somehow;
we have to open that portal." he whispered to Hiroki. He nodded, waiting.
Sneasel and Kouji shared a glance, then got ready.
"I won't ask again." The undead digimon demanded. "The spirits and
Seraphimon's Digicode! Whether you give it to me or I tear what I want from
your lifeless bodies is no concern!"
"Spirit evolution...Garmmon!"
"Sneasel, digivolve to...Sorcerimon!" The two attacked, Sorcerimon's ice and
Garmmon's laser shooting at Vamdemon (Frontier setting; Japanese names -ed).
With one fist glowing a sickly red, Vamdemon blocked the attacks.
"Bloody Stream!" A red whip appeared, and Vamdemon brought it down on
Garmmon, knocking the hybrid through one of the walls; Garmmon held on, slide
evolving to Wolfmon as he struggled to get back into the train. Seconds later,
the other hybrids came in, already having evolved.
"What IS that?" Blitzmon asked. Chakmon, a bit intimidated by Vamdemon's
appearance, stepped back.
"Vamdemon," Bokomon replied, "a universally hated and despised Ultimate level
virus digimon. His special attacks are Night Raid and Bloody Stream."
"He's also someone who doesn't know when to quit!" Ryoko snapped.
"Like you?" Vamdemon asked, pointing one fist at Ryoko. "Bloody Stream!"
"Licht Seiger!" Wolfmon caught the attack on his sword blades. "Get up
front!" he yelled, not taking his eyes off of Myotismon. Nodding, Ryoko ran up
front with Hiroki. All the other hybrids joined in, everyone attacking
Vamdemon with all their attacks.
Ryoko crawled up front, on top of Worm, Hiroki joining her. "There it is!"
Hiroki shouted, pointing. Ahead, Ryoko saw what looked like a faint
disturbance, a ripple that was fast approaching them.
"Then let's do it!" Ryoko shouted, holding out her digivice.
"Digiport Open!" they both shouted, D-3s glowing white.
==New Bark Town, Pokemon research labs
"The portal's opening!" Ken yelled. "They're coming through!" There was a
cheer from everyone in the outdoor lab. A light started blinking, getting
Ken's attention. "That's odd, I'm getting a disturbance in the portal.
There's an unusual amount of mass coming through." As he spoke, the familiar
Digiport graphic appeared on the screen. As it did, everyone heard a faint
noise.
"A digimon of some kind?" Ken wondered.
Kyle, who had also come, shook his head. "It sounds big. A Dragonite?"
Davis shook his head. "No, it sounds too...mechanical. Maybe it's a car."
Takeru, his son, shook his head. "No, bigger. Like a truck."
Kyoko snapped her fingers. "It's a train whistle!" she exclaimed.
June looked up. "You're right! But why would a train whistle be coming
from..." She trailed off, and everyone stared at the Digiport, which was
starting to glow more brightly than normal. Quickly, Izzy grabbed the monitor
the portal was forming it on, pointed it towards the open field, and yelled
"EVERYONE GET CLEAR!" Everyone piled out of the lab, followed a few seconds
later by a very large Trailmon. The train plowed through dirt, fence, Kari's
flower garden (won last year's prize, more's the pity), and eventually stopped
short of the Tauros pen.
"Wh...WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?" Takeru yelled. "She nearly flattened us!"
Beside him, Veemon nodded.
"It'd be an improvement in your case!" Asuka yelled back, then gasped. They
saw Ryoko and Hiroki, still gripping tightly onto the Trailmon's engine.
Everyone started to run over, when the other passengers decided to debark.
Kari gasped. "Myotismon!" She ran to get Hawkmon and Yolei. She stopped
when several other digimon appeared, all fighting him. "Who are they?" she
asked.
Takeru took out his pokedex. "They don't show up." he replied. "I can't even
get a type reading on them. I-" he stopped as he caught sight of Fairymon,
then started drooling.
Kyoko, standing beside him, sighed. "You pervert!" she snapped, smacking him
in the back of the head for effect.
"Balle Delle Spade!" Fairymon powered up again, then flew at Vamdemon, who was
distracted trying to fight Blitzmon and Chakmon. "Doppio Perfore!" she
shouted, slamming several hundred kicks into the back of Vamdemon's skull. In
the din of battle, they missed several shouts from some of the other people
watching the battle.
The digimon tried to stagger away, head ringing. He was outnumbered, he had
to retreat and recover his strength. He was about to turn and run when there
was a hard tap on his shoulder. Turning, he saw two digimon standing there,
both with grim expressions.
"We've been waiting for this for a LONG time!" Sylphimon snarled. "Static
Force!" The bolt of energy slammed into him, driving him back.
"Don't forget me!" Paildramon added, guns aimed at Vamdemon. "Desperado
Blaster!" The assault drove Vamdemon back to the Trailmon.
"No...this can't be happening again!" Vamdemon shouted. He spun around, just
in time to see Agnimon and Wolfmon slide evolving into their Beast Spirit forms.
"Corona Blaster!"
"Solar Laser!"
Vamdemon howled as the attacks tore into him, digicode ring appearing around
him. "This time, for keeps!" Fairymon said, flying forward. "Digicode, SCAN!"
Fairymon scanned Vamdemon's digicode, and the undead digimon vanished.
Chakmon and Hiroki ran around to the front of the Trailmon that had brought
them here. "Are you alright?" Chakmon asked.
"Check please." was all Worm could manage before passing out.
"I think he'll be fine." Chakmon said, inspecting the train. "I don't see any
damage."
All the other hybrids switched back to their human forms. Ryoko climbed down
the side of Worm, helped by Kouji, and joined the group. There was a half
minute of silence before Kari and Izzy yelled, ran forward, and bear-hugged
Ryoko. Cody and Noriko did likewise for Hiroki.
"Wow." Takuya breathed. "It's real. There really is a pokemon world."
"I think I just saw a Heracross." Junpei said, pointing. "I gotta be dreaming!"
"I know I am." a voice beside Izumi said. Turning and going 'Eep!', she saw
Takeru standing there. "Hi, my name's Takeru Motomiya. I'm very pleased to
meet you."
Another girl walked over, smacked Takeru on the head, and dragged him away.
"Don't mind him, he's just a pervert." Kyoko muttered, dragging the boy away.
"Oookayyy..."
==Later
All the other children and adults sat there as the Chosen Children, along with
Ryoko, Hiroki, and Bokomon, took turns explaining about the digital world they
were from.
Davis rubbed the back of his head. "Man, what is it with Cherubimons and
turning evil?" Yolei smirked, shaking her head.
"I do not wish to appear ungracious, but we must return as soon as possible;
our digital world is still in peril, and the Legendary Warriors must help put
the world right again."
"Come on!" Takuya said to Bokomon. "We just got here. Can't we at least stay
a day or two? It'll be nice to be in a place where digimon aren't gunning for
us, the ground isn't exploding around us, and we don't have to eat those weird
apple things again!"
"I could use a nice long bath." Izumi said. Beside her, Junpei blushed, but
didn't say anything. "An uninterrupted one." she added, glaring at Junpei.
"I would like to look at these spirits in action." Izzy added. "I am curious
about the changes to your digiegg." he said to Sneasel. "And why we couldn't
get a type reading."
Hiroki took out a pokeball, and released Kotemon. "Tyrogue turned into
Kotemon while we were there too, remember? Did you want to check him out as
well?"
Izzy nodded. "Yes. It's very unusual for a pokemon to turn into a digimon,
especially at such a young age."
Kotemon nodded. "I will help in any way that I can."
TK looked up. "Besides, it'll take a day to lay down some tracks for your
train friend so we can get him home, too. To say nothing of turning him
around."
"Then its settled!" Takeru yelled. "We're on holiday!"
==
Cody walked over to his son. "Hiroki? They're here, and I brought you what
you asked for."
Hiroki got up, excited. "Thank you!" he said, taking a small box from Cody.
"Come on, there's someone who you have to meet!" he said to Hiroki, leading him
outside. Curious, Junpei and Izumi followed the two.
Outside, Tomoki was led to a pair of adults, standing there, waiting for him.
He looked up, thinking that they looked oddly familiar. He was about to ask
who they were when a Pikachu walked in front of the two adults, and bowed to
Tomoki. "No way..." he gasped.
Hiroki nodded. "Himi Tomoki, this is Mr. and Mrs. Ash Ketchum, from Pallet
Town."
Ash smiled. "So, I have a TV series where you're from, huh? I hope they got
my good side."
"You don't have a good side." Misty replied playfully. On her shoulder was a
small white bird. "Tomoki called us and told us about you, and that you wanted
to meet us." Speechless, Tomoki nodded. "So, how badly did they mess up Ash's
performance in the Johto league?"
"Hey!"
Izumi and Junpei came over, stunned at who they were meeting. The group
talked for about half an hour, Tomoki telling them about how the television
series had gone, Misty remarking that they got Ash's intelligence about right,
Ash sighing how he never got any respect, even across the dimensions.
"Is that a Togetic?" Izumi asked.
Misty nodded. "He evolved not too long after the Johto league ended. It was
when Ash...asked me out." (Yes, I'm tossing out the Advance League series -ed)
Ash nodded. "I had to go back and finish school. I was going on 12 and,
well, I was sick of making all those dumb mistakes you saw me make."
"The show left off after the Johto league." Tomoki said. "Did you ever join
the Elite Four?"
"Nahh...After two years of travelling, I just wanted to go home for a while.
I made a lot of friends, and I wanted to see them again. Plus, when Giovanni
was brought up on charges..."
==
Ryoko sat outside her home, looking at the stars. She was home, with her
family again. Sneasel was in the lab with Izzy, as were Takuya and Kouji.
Izzy was still interested in how Sneasel's digiegg had changed during its
exposure to Kouji's spirits.
The door opened, and Kouji walked out. "I thought the school nurse like to
poke and prod people...I-Ryoko?"
Ryoko stood up. "Kouji. I'd better go inside, I have-"
"Wait." Kouji said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Ryoko stopped in her
tracks, then slowly turned to face Kouji. "Ryoko, I...I wanted to say thank
you."
"What?" Ryoko replied weakly.
"You and your friends, you showed up and changed everything. And you did save
Takuya's life. And mine..."
"That was Hiroki and Ankylomon." Ryoko protested. "I just made things worse."
"No you didn't." Kouji replied. "It's just...I'm glad I met you."
==2 days later.
(You might want to start playing 'Hoshi wo Sora ni' from Tales of Phantasia.)
"Thanks for everything!" Takuya said to Izzy. "I can't remember the last time
I've been able to relax like this."
"Hey, we've all been there." Izzy replied, shaking Takuya's hand. "You just
be careful, alright?"
"He'll be fine!" Davis said. "He is the leader, right? He's even got the
goggles to prove it!"
June sighed. "Do everyone a favour. Don't act like him, alright?"
"Don't worry." Junpei replied. "I can keep hero-boy in line."
"So long, Tomoki." Hiroki said. Tomoki nodded, near tears. "Oh, I almost
forgot! Here, I want you to have this!" Hiroki handed Tomoki a small box.
Tomoki opened it. Inside was a small badge with what looked like a feather on
it, the tip split in half. "A Silver Wing badge?"
Hiroki nodded. "I got it when I visited the Whirl Islands a few years ago. I
want you to have it, so you won't forget about this place."
Tomoki sniffed, wiping his tears away. "Not a chance." The two hugged, then
Tomoki stepped away, fastening the badge to his shirt.
Ryoko walked over to Kouji. "I guess I'll never see you again." she said,
trying not to start crying.
Kouji smiled. "Well, we'll have to come back for Seraphimon's digicode,
right? Maybe we can stay a bit longer then." Kouji stopped, voice nearly
cracking. "Good bye, Ryoko."
Ryoko leaned forward and kissed Kouji, getting a gasp from Takuya and Junpei.
Izumi smiled, nodding as she watched. "Don't forget me." she whispered to
Kouji. Dumbly, Kouji nodded.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure he doesn't forget." Izumi said to Ryoko. "Take
care."
"You too." Ryoko replied, recovering a bit.
Trailmon, now pointed at the portal and with a solid rail underneath him,
roared, ready to enter the portal. The Chosen Children got on the train, then
leaned out the windows, waving to the digidestined native to this world. Kouji
got one final look at Ryoko before Worm entered the portal, then everything was
lost in a bright flash of light. He leaned back in and sat down. As he did,
he felt something in his jacket pocket. Reaching in, he found a piece of red
cloth, wrapped around a small photo. Unwrapping it, he found a small picture
of Ryoko, and realized that the cloth was in fact the handkerchief she wore on
her head. He looked at the picture, fixing the image of Ryoko's sad smile and
bright eyes in his mind. On the back was a short message.
'Don't forget me.
-Ryoko'
The end
Next Episode
While Ryoko and Hiroki were in the Frontier digital world, Kyoko, Sam, Asuka,
and Takeru had their own adventure. Meet them as they try to rescue a Serebii
from the clutches of Team Aqua and are transported to the digital world, where
they meet a familiar set of digidestined children. Next time, on Digicross
Frontier episode 6 -
'Serebii and the Digimon Emperor!'
you can do better against me than last time? I assure you, I have become much
more able while you were frozen in that block of ice."
If Seraphimon's face were visible, it would have scowled back. "You've become
a thief and a bully. Even frozen I was aware of your many misdeeds in this
world. What do you hope to accomplish by aiding Cherubimon? He will destroy
everything."
----------------------------
Digicross Frontier episode 5:
'Wild Trailmon ride. Meet the rest of the gang!'
----------------------------
==The past
Seraphimon sat at the table, not speaking. Cherubimon had been gone for
several days now, and Seraphimon was regretting his actions.
A hand touched his shoulder. "Seraphimon," Ophanimon said quietly, "you
cannot blame yourself for this. Give him time, and he will return to us."
"We were trusted with the guardianship of this world." Seraphimon replied
grimly. "And already Cherubimon is being driven away from us. Where have I
failed?"
There was an explosion in the castle. The two angels quickly flew to the
source of the blast. When they got there, Seraphimon was the first to speak.
"The Spirit Chamber!" he gasped.
"There!" Ophanimon yelled, hurling her javelin at a shadow. The attack just
missed, but the force of the strike made the intruder appear.
"Ch...Cherubimon!"
"It has been a while, Ophanimon." Cherubimon taunted. Seraphimon and
Ophanimon stepped back, stunned. Cherubimon's body had darkened, what was once
pink and white turning into shades of black. "It appears the jester has become
the new ruler of the digital world!"
"You've been corrupted!" Seraphimon whispered. "Listen to us! A virus has
invaded you, but we can cure you of it!"
"You speak as if I were sick! Rather, I see things much more clearly now. I
will take the Spirits of the Legendary Warriors and use them to cement my rule
over this world! Join me!"
Mentally, Ophanimon summoned another lance to her hand. She hurled that at
Cherubimon, striking him and forcing him back to the wall of the Chamber.
"I...I will not be your clown anymore! You will RESPECT ME!" With a howl,
Cherubimon dropped the Hell's Judgement he had been readying at his feet,
destroying the chamber.
Seraphimon staggered to his feet, helped up by Ophanimon. The hole in the
wall led to the outside, where five small bubbles of energy could be seen
floating beside him. "I shall return for the rest!" Cherubimon yelled, fading
away.
==Present
"Armadillomon, digivolve to...Ankylomon!"
"Digiarmour energize!"
"Sneasel, armour digivolve to...Yashamon, swordsman of light!"
"Spirit Evolution...Agnimon!"
"Spirit Evolution...Wolfmon!"
"Spirit Evolution...Fairymon!"
"Spirit Evolution...Blitzmon!"
"Spirit Evolution...Chakmon!"
Ranamon's eyebrow arched as she saw Sneasel digivolve into Yashamon. "Ooh, I
like him. Can I have him when we're done?"
"Please," Mercuremon answered, gaze not leaving Seraphimon for an instant,
"indulge yourselves, both of you."
Yashamon blinked. He was about to ask what that meant, when he noticed one of
his arms was different. "Hey, where'd my shield go?" he asked.
Bokomon walked over and inspected Yashamon's arm. "Interesting. It would
seem that your digiegg has been affected by its exposure to Kouji's spirits;
this part here looks like his laser attachment."
"Are we fighting or what?" Petaldramon roared. The leaves around his head
started spinning, and he launched a wave of leaves and wind at the hybrids (the
good ones -ed).
"Plant boy's MINE!" Agnimon yelled (temporarily dipping into Dub mode -ed) and
attacking Petaldramon. Chakmon followed suit.
"Then I'll take Mercuremon!" Blitzmon yelled, ignoring Seraphimon's warning.
"Lightning Blitz!" he yelled, trying to shoulder-check Mercuremon.
Mercuremon smirked, and brought one of his arm shields up. "Offset
reflector." was all he said. The shield glowed, and Blitzmon stopped only
millimeters from the shield, then was flung back, slamming into a wall near
where Fairymon was.
"We get him, Zoe...?" was about all Blitzmon could manage before passing out
and reverting to Junpei (hit so hard his dub VA felt it. Ouch. -ed).
"It's like fighting Mary's Wynaut. All we need is that stupid Team Aqua chant
to go with him." Ryoko growled.
"He's got Reed's arrogance down." Hiroki whispered. He looked around;
Sorcerimon was already attending to Junpei.
"Enough." Seraphimon snarled, preparing to attack.
==The Past
Sorcerimon looked up at Seraphimon and Ophanimon. "Are you certain of this?"
Ophanimon nodded. "Yes. Cherubimon will be back as soon as he has found
digimon willing to follow him and that can be bound to the Spirits he stole.
We must hide the other spirits before he gets them too."
Sorcerimon nodded. "I will start at once, then. But once I cast the spell,
even I will not know how to find them."
"We know." Seraphimon replied. "I have prepared this. Add it to your spell;
when people worthy of carrying these spirits appear in the digital world, the
spirits will call to them and give them the means of calling on the power the
spirits hold."
Sorcerimon nodded. "I will tie this spell to the H-spirits, then. They are
easier to handle then the B-spirits." Sorcerimon left the room, and headed
down to the Spirit Chamber.
Ophanimon looked out of the window, over the wide field. "He will be here
soon. I can feel it." Seraphimon nodded. "I never thought we'd be fighting
Cherubimon. After Lucemon was sealed away..."
"We may be able to save him." Seraphimon replied. In the distance, the two
angels spotted a large cloud of dust. It was Cherubimon, leading a large horde
of digimon of all levels.
==Present
"Like Ryoko said," Yashamon replied, "it's like fighting a Wynaut. You either
overwhelm it, or go around it."
Mercuremon, grappling with Seraphimon, snarled. He had not counted on these
interlopers having experience fighting opponents who could reflect attacks.
Still, he had other options. "It would seem my reputation precedes me. But be
assured I have an array of new tricks to amuse you, child!"
"You're fighting me!" Seraphimon snapped. He grabbed Mercuremon by one of his
arms and hurled the digimon away. He then landed by Wolfmon, who was getting
ready to attack Petaldramon as soon as Agnimon and Chakmon were clear.
Fairymon and Yashamon were attacking Ranamon. "You must leave, I will fight
these enemies myself."
"I don't recall asking for your protection." Wolfmon replied. "We can take
care of these guys."
Ryoko glared at Wolfmon. "Are you two out of your minds? Let's just work
together!"
Wolfmon's eyes narrowed. "We don't need his help; he already got defeated by
Cherubimon."
"I think I know a bit more about what's happening than you do, boy."
Seraphimon scolded Wolfmon.
"Do you two have to be so...so...arrogant?" Ryoko tried not to yell. Chakmon,
Hiroki, and Ankylomon weren't quite sure what to do yet.
"Perhaps we should come back?" Ranamon teased.
"Stay out of this!" Ryoko snapped.
"Touchy, touchy! If I didn't know better, I'd say we just walked in on a
lover's spat, Petaldramon." Mercuremon and Petaldramon started to snicker, as
Ryoko and Wolfmon blushed uncontrollably.
"NOW!" Hiroki yelled. While the three hybrids were distracted, Ankylomon,
with Chakmon riding on him, tackled Petaldramon, sending the beast hybrid
flying. Chakmon launched a volley of snow from his launcher, trying to freeze
Petaldramon.
"Well played, children." Mercuremon muttered, impressed. In a louder voice:
"Seraphimon! Let us finish what we started!" Mercuremon charged the angel,
dodging around Wolfmon as he ran.
"So be it, lackey of Cherubimon!" Seraphimon snarled, trying to grapple with
the steel hybrid. "Your tricks will not work this time! I remember your
powers."
==Past
Energy surged between Cherubimon and Seraphimon; Ophanimon was handling the
other attacking digimon. "Your tricks will not work this time!" Cherubimon
yelled, casting another bolt of energy at Seraphimon
"Cherubimon, we were friends! Why have you turned against us?"
"To be free of your scorn!" Cherubimon replied. "I came in friendship, but I
was always ignored and ridiculed. Just a jester, someone to be pitied and
laughed at! Well, NO MORE!" Anger filling his voice, Cherubimon span and
hurled another javelin, aimed at Ophanimon. Distracted by an attacking
Machinedramon, she had no time to defend; the attack struck her, and she fell.
For a second, Seraphimon's anger took over, and he summoned his strongest
attack. "Seven Heavens!" The attack shot towards Cherubimon.
Before it hit, however, there was a flash of light, and another digimon
appeared between Cherubimon and the incoming blast. Mercuremon raised his
shields up, called "Generous Mirror!" and caught the attack. Seraphimon
stepped back, stunned at the sight. "Mercuremon, I am called." the digimon
introduced himself. "And I believe this is yours." His mirrors glowed, and
the attack reappeared, coming straight back at Seraphimon with double the
intensity! The bolt tore into him, ring of digicode appearing. "It is done,
master." Mercuremon said.
"Excellent. Once I have his digicode, I shall-"
"Sephirot Crystal!" The blast struck Cherubimon, almost knocking him onto
Mercuremon. Ophanimon, hand still extended, summoned up her own lance, ready
to attack. One hand was over her side, where Cherubimon's bolt had struck.
She said nothing, only shaking her head as Cherubimon got back up. Her message
was clear: she was no longer holding back.
Cherubimon grimaced; that attack had dome some damage. He knew that
Seraphimon would hold back, still clinging onto the hope that their
'friendship' might have prevailed. Ophanimon, however, was much more
pragmatic. And powerful, judging from the pain he felt. Snarling, he and
Mercuremon teleported away.
Sorcerimon came running in. "The spirits are away. I...Seraphimon!"
Sorcerimon ran over to Ophanimon. "What happened?"
"Cherubimon was able to find someone to use the H-Spirit of Steel." Ophanimon
replied. "We are both badly injured. Can you heal Seraphimon?"
Sorcerimon looked over the angel. "No. His injuries are too grave for my
power. I can place him in stasis, with your help."
Ophanimon nodded. "This place may no longer be safe. Once Seraphimon is
taken care of, I must leave. When I do, I will seal it against Cherubimon and
his minions, until the time when the chosen ones who can use the spirits come."
"I understand." Sorcerimon raised his staff, and began chanting.
==Present
Fairymon and Yashamon circled Ranamon, waiting for the moment to attack. "Two
on one? My, I didn't know you humans were into this sort of thing." Ranamon
said coyly. "Still, if you're in the mood, handsome." she said to Yashamon.
She's HITTING on me? Yashamon thought to himself, not sure how to respond.
"Snap out of it Romeo!" Ryoko yelled.
Ranamon sniffed haughtily. "Oh, stay out of this. What would someone as ugly
as you ever know about dealing with attractive digimon like me?"
Hiroki winced. He knew what was about to happen.
Ryoko's fist, tightly clenched, was trembling. "Yashamon...NO PRISONERS!"
Yashamon moved to attack Ranamon. Fairymon started to join in, but was waved
back by Yashamon.
Ranamon dodged around the armoured digimon's swings. "That's (duck) no
(dodge) way (jump) to treat (roll) a lady!" Ranamon managed to evade the rest
of Yashamon's attacks, then rolled away. "Oh, whatever shall I do? This evil
(but handsome) digimon is attacking poor defenseless little me!"
Yashamon was about to attack again, when a fireball exploded in front of him.
The caster, a digimon resembling a red version of Sorcerimon, pointed his staff
at Yashamon. "Do not menace our beloved angel, foul creature. Never fear,
beloved Ranamon, we shall defend you! I, Flawizarmon, red thunder of the
digital world, so swear it!" Flawizarmon had a headband wrapped around his
hat, with Ranamon's picture on it.
"A fan club?" Fairymon asked, confused by this development. As she spoke, she
saw several dozen other digimon approaching, all similarly dressed.
"Like I said," Ranamon taunted, "only someone as beautiful as me could attract
so many loyal followers." She cast a sidelong look at Ryoko. "Not that you'd
know about that."
Ryoko's frustration took over for a second. "You....tramp!" she yelled.
It was Ranamon's turn to go wide eyed. "How...how dare you! Everyone, forget
the swordsman...GET THE GIRL!" Ranamon pointed at Ryoko.
==New Bark Town
Izzy kept working on the portal. This was the crucial phase; an error might
lose the signal he had established to the digital world Ryoko and Hiroki were
on, meaning he would have to start all over. He was being careful, however.
"Izzy!" Ken called from the opposite side of the lab. "I've finished the
initial programming, but I can't guarantee that the portal will open near the
kids. The best I can do is place it within a day or two of them, and hope for
the best."
Izzy nodded. "That should do. As long as they're not being chased by several
hundred digimon, they should have no problem opening the portal. I'd better
call them and see how they're doing."
Izzy dialed in the number for Ryoko's pokegear, sent the signal through the
portal, and heard it ring. There was a click, indicating that someone had
answered. "Ryoko? How are-"
"We're a bit busy!" Hiroki's voice said over the speaker. In the background,
the sounds of a huge battle could be heard. "Ryoko just insulted a digimon and
Yashamon's fighting off its fan club. I'll call back when it's over!" Another
click signified Hiroki had hung up.
"What's going on there" Izzy almost yelled.
"Izzy!" Ken said, trying to calm his friend down. "He said Yashamon was
fighting. That means Ryoko must have gotten Sneasel's digiegg back."
"But-"
"They'll be fine. Sneasel's one of the best fighters among the kids' digimon.
He can easily hold off a dozen attacking digimon, especially if Ryoko's in
danger. All we can do now is get this portal working and get them home." Izzy
nodded, and went back to work.
==Frontier Digital World.
Hiroki placed the pokegear back in his pocket. He watched as Yashamon fought
off several of Ranamon's fans. Then, the attackers parted, leaving an open
space between Yashamon and Flawizarmon.
"I see you possess some skill, whelp!" Flawizarmon mocked. "But no matter. I
shall avenge the insult that human has made against our fair Ranamon! You will
fall before my fiery technique!"
"While I live, you will not touch Ryoko." Yashamon crossed his swords, daring
the wizard to attack.
Flawizarmon, pushed by delusions of how a grateful Ranamon would reward him
(ones I won't describe in a PG fic, thank you VERY much -ed) charged, screaming
as he did and calling up a
fireball in his hand. Focussed as he was on Yashamon, he was unable to react
when the armoured digimon stepped aside and let Ankylomon dispatch Flawizarmon.
Via air mail.
"This is not over, whelp!" the wizard yelled as he rocketed away, struck full
force by Ankylomon's Tail Hammer.
Another digimon, a Musyamon, leaped out, spinning his sword in a dramatic
series of twirls and twists. Getting annoyed, Yashamon decided to try out his
new attack. He raised his arm, pointing it at Musyamon. "Shadow Laser!" A
grayish bolt of energy struck Musyamon, knocking out the digimon. Impressed,
Yashamon looked at the laser on his arm. "I am definitely keeping this." he
said, grinning. He looked up at the remaining horde, wooden swords at the
ready. "Who's next?"
Fairymon concentrated on Ranamon; the two battled back and forth, exchanging
blasts of wind and water. Not caring who was beneath Fairymon, Ranamon snapped
her fingers and called up a rainstorm. Fairymon tried to figure out what this
would accomplish, then winced in pain and flew out from under the cloud Ranamon
had summoned. She grimaced as she saw the red skin on her arm from the acid in
the rain. Below her, there were several screams as some of Ranamon's 'fans'
were also caught in the downpour.
"You're not much of a role model if you'll hurt your own fans!" Fairymon
called to Ranamon.
"Oh, I am EVER so sorry." Ranamon replied, utterly insincere. She summoned up
another rainstorm, trying to trap Fairymon.
Let's see how SHE likes it, Fairymon said to herself. "Balle delle Spade!"
Powering up, she flew behind one of the acidic clouds, lining up with Fairymon.
"Brezza Petalo!" The wind attack struck the cloud, and forced it to where
Ranamon was standing. The water hybrid, well aware of the acid rain's effect,
quickly got out of the way.
"Ranamon is endangered! We must save her!" one of the digimon attacking
Yashamon yelled. "Quickly, we must carry our goddess away from this place!"
"What? HEY, PUT ME DOWN!" Ranamon yelled, as her devoted fans promptly
grabbed her, lifted her up, and started carrying her away. "You'll pay for
this!" she yelled. "I swear you'll - HEY, WATCH THE HANDS!"
Ryoko blinked. "High price of fame." she muttered, shaking her head.
"Yashamon, go help with Petaldramon!" Hiroki told Ankylomon to do the same.
Wolfmon watched as Seraphimon and Mercuremon battled, waiting for an opening
to strike. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ankylomon and Yashamon move
towards the giant plant-dragon...thing. He relaxed a bit; despite what he
said, he knew those two digimon were more than able to help deal with
Petaldramon, leaving him a chance to focus on the third hybrid, Mercuremon. If
Seraphimon would just let him in.
"You're being selfish." Mercuremon taunted Seraphimon. "Unseemly behavior for
an angel of your stature."
"The boy is not your concern." Seraphimon replied. with a swing, he managed
to knock one of Mercuremon's arm shields off, the mirror falling to the ground
by Wolfmon. "And your powers appear to be failing. Testament!" The energy
ripped through Mercuremon, who dropped to the ground.
"Very...impressive, angel." Mercuremon grunted, getting up. "A pity you
yourself designed the H-Spirit of Steel to have the best defenses." He brought
his remaining mirror up, catching the Seven Heavens that Seraphimon launched,
then sending it back. Hastily, the angel dodged, then closed for another
Testament attack.
Wolfmon glanced at the discarded shield, seeing that the item had split down
the middle. "Split?" Wolfmon wondered, examining the broken mirror.
"This...this is just painted wood. But why...?" He saw Seraphimon charging,
and Mercuremon's sick grin. There was a shadow forming on the two shields that
made up Mercuremon's head and torso. "Seraphimon! Don't!"
Seraphimon grappled with Mercuremon, before noticing the same shadow on
Mercuremon's head and torso mirrors. The shadow resolved into a form the angel
recognized. "Cherubimon!"
Back in his lair, Cherubimon gave a sick laugh. "You always were the slow
one, Seraphimon. Did you know that I can use my powers through Mercuremon?
HELL'S JUDGEMENT!" The bolt tore through Seraphimon, unprepared for the
powerful attack. He roared in pain, bringing all the other fights in the
remains of the Forest Terminal to a stop. He fell, digicode ring appearing
around him. "Mercuremon, seize his digicode now!"
Landing, Mercuremon nodded. "Yes." With a sick leer, Mercuremon brought his
remaining shield up, and the digicode was drawn to Mercuremon.
"Wolfmon, slide evolution...Garmmon! SPEED STAR!" Mercuremon was unable to
bring his shield around, and was caught by Garmmon's attack, knocked away from
Seraphimon. "If you want him, you'll have to get through me!" Garmmon snarled.
Mercuremon got up, wincing as he did; the fight with Seraphimon had taken a
lot out of him, as had the energy requirements of acting as a conduit for
Cherubimon's attack. "I still have not finished absorbing Seraphimon's
digicode." he replied evenly. "My power is still intact, even with one less
shield; and who knows when Cherubimon might decide to lend a hand?"
A grey bolt of energy struck the ground beside Mercuremon. Looking behind
him, he saw Yashamon standing behind him, and was aiming his laser at
Mercuremon's unprotected rear. Also, Junpei had recovered and digivolved,
joining the armour digimon.
"How about all three of us?" Wolfmon asked sarcastically. There was a yell;
Agnimon had slide evolved to Vritramon and, with Fairymon adding her power, had
set Petaldramon on fire while Chakmon had made the ground around the giant
digimon too slippery to move. "Make that seven." he corrected.
"Nine!" Patamon yelled, as he and Kotemon ran over (well, Patamon flew, but
you get the idea -ed). All of the digimon there got ready to attack Mercuremon.
"This isn't over." Mercuremon snarled. He pointed his remaining mirror at
himself, and vanished in a flare of light. Petaldramon reverted to Arbormon,
and ran away. None of the children or other digimon were concerned about him,
as they had gathered around the fallen Seraphimon, switching back to their
human forms as they did.
Sorcerimon ran over to his master, as did Bokomon and Neemon. "I can heal
you." Sorcerimon said. "And he can help, if he digivolves to Sorcerimon as
well!" he added, pointing to Yashamon.
"No. My injuries are too severe, and Mercuremon did get some of my digicode."
Seraphimon's form started to flicker. "Patamon. You have the ability to
become an angel digimon."
Patamon shook his head. "No. I digivolved into Airdramon. I'm sorry."
"It is alright. I must transfer what is left of my digicode into a compatible
digimon, or it will be lost."
"No!" Sorcerimon yelled. "There must be another way! Aquarius-"
"Stop!" Seraphimon shouted, then shuddered. "Even if you did heal me, the
effort would destroy you. And this place is no longer sealed against
Cherubimon's forces. There is no place for me to recover enough to battle
Mercuremon, let alone Cherubimon." He looked at Kouji. "It seems you were
right." Kouji said nothing, face grim. "I started life as a Patamon, so you
should be able to absorb my digicode and keep it safe." Patamon nodded, and
landed by Seraphimon. The angel laid his head back, then his form blackened,
digicode ring reappearing. The digicode entered Patamon, and Seraphimon
vanished.
Izumi gasped. "Where's his digiegg?"
Sorcerimon pointed at Patamon. "All of Seraphimon's digicode that was not
stolen by Mercuremon was placed in Patamon. In effect, he is Seraphimon's
digiegg."
Ryoko looked around. "We'd better get going." she said quietly. "Those other
hybrids will be back soon. Everyone nodded.
==
Sorcerimon led the group to an underground Trailmon station, and everyone left
the Forest Terminal. They took a trip that lasted several hours, the Trailmon
making several turns left and right, before finally surfacing underneath a
cliff. Everyone, still silent, got off.
"This place was commonly used by those who lived around the Forest Terminal
came to rest from their duties." Sorcerimon explained. "We should be safe here
for the night."
"I can't believe it." Tomoki said, lip trembling. "We couldn't save
Seraphimon. And now he's ...he's..."
"As long as Seraphimon's digicode is here." Sorcerimon said quietly, "he will
live. You must understand this, and understand it fully. Seraphimon's
digicode is very powerful, and if Cherubimon ever takes it, he will become
unthinkably powerful. It will also make Patamon a target, if Cherubimon knows
Patamon holds the digicode."
"Well, he can try to take it from us!" Takuya said fiercely. "We know what
Mercuremon can do now, so we'll be ready for him, next time."
"Don't be so sure." Junpei replied. "Hey, Bokomon, isn't there still one
spirit unaccounted for?" He flipped though a small notepad. "This one." he
said, indicating one of the symbols.
"The symbol for the legendary warrior of Darkness." Bokomon replied,
recognizing it. "That could be dangerous. That spirit is extremely powerful."
Sorcerimon nodded. "But hard to control. Cherubimon does retain it, but it
is unusually difficult to control."
"Why would three angels make a spirit for evil?" Tomoki asked.
"Darkness isn't the same as evil." Hiroki replied. "Sneasel's a dark type
pokemon, but he's not evil."
"Correct." Sorcerimon nodded to Hiroki. "Sphinxmon, the Ancient Warrior who
created the two Spirits of Darkness, was a very wise and cunning fighter."
Sorcerimon looked up. "Speaking of darkness, it is getting late, and I think
we could all use some rest. This hut here should be fine." Everyone entered
except for Sneasel and Patamon.
"What is it?" Sneasel asked.
Patamon looked down, then sat back. "It's weird, I can feel Seraphimon's code
inside me, but I think it's just lying there, like it's waiting for something."
Patamon looked at the pokemon. "I think I'd like you to take part of
Seraphimon's digicode."
"What?"
"Listen, you heard what Sorcerimon said, and I'm pretty sure that sooner or
later, they'll find out I have the digicode in me. But if I give some of it to
you, Cherubimon will have to find two digimon, instead of one." Patamon
waddled over to Sneasel. "It'll be our secret, OK? Don't even tell Ryoko, at
least until you're back home. OK?"
Sneasel thought about it for a few seconds. "Alright. It is a sound idea.
What do I do?"
"Just stand there. I think I know..." Patamon closed his eyes,
concentrating. A second later, a ring of digicode spiraled around him, then
entered Sneasel's body. The pokemon shuddered, dropping to one knee.
"Th...that's strong stuff." Sneasel gasped.
Patamon grinned. "It'll settle down. Why don't you go rest with the others?
I'll be inside in a minute." Sneasel nodded, and entered the hut.
Patamon sighed, and landed on the ground again. There was a footstep behind
him, startling Patamon.
"I got curious when you held Sneasel back." Kouji said, walking up. "Smart
move. But you gave Sneasel the lion's share of the digicode, didn't you?"
"It'll be safer with him when he's home, away from this world." Patamon
replied. "You can't tell him. If anyone found out-"
Kouji shook his head, smiling. "I won't. Like you said, it's better if
Sneasel stays in his world, away from here." With Ryoko, he added mentally.
==
Wendimon sniffed around the wreckage, scowling. The humans had been here, as
had those other 'Legendary Warriors' he had put up with before. The place had
been totaled, nothing left standing except for a few walls, and a lot of
upturned earth, rocks....rocks, he thought. He reached for his neck.
Cherubimon had been kind enough to return one useful item to him for his hunt,
one that was about to become very, very handy indeed. "Wake up, my brethren!"
he yelled, casting the dust inside into the air. The dust was drawn to the
rocks and debris, infusing it with digicode and power taken for a very special
set of digimon...
==Next day
Junpei rubbed the back of his head, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. "Hey,
what was with the light show last night, you two?" he asked Ryoko and Hiroki.
"You trying to draw everyone to us or something?" Sorcerimon had gone on ahead
to check the area, he being a little less distinctive than a group of seven
human children.
"We just had to do it. We told you, a friend of ours needed our help, and
this was the only thing we could do." Ryoko replied. Ever since last night,
when she and Hiroki had used their digivices to send power to Hitomi's digivice
(see Digicross Tamers #13 -ed), she had been worried about her 'little sister'.
Certainly, Hiroki was.
"It's been done," Kouji said to Junpei, "what's the point of going on about it?"
"Sticking up for Ryoko?" Izumi asked sweetly. "Anything we should know about?"
"NO!" Ryoko and Kouji shouted, both blushing a bit. Mercifully, the pokegear
chose that moment to ring. Ryoko pulled it out. "Hello? Dad?"
"Good news!" Izzy's voice replied. "We managed to set up a link to home for
you; however, it's a bit of a distance away, and you'll need your digivices to
open it when you find it."
"You can't open it from where you are?" Hiroki asked.
"It'd take too much power, and there's a risk of something from where you are
coming through and wrecking the portal here. Your D-3s should be able to find
it when you get close. From where I read you, you should travel northwest, and
it should be about two days travel from where you are now."
"That's great." Ryoko replied, though she didn't sound very enthusiastic.
"Actually, that's not all." Ken cut in. "Were you up last night, and did you
use your digivices?"
Hiroki answered into the speaker. "We thought Hitomi might be in trouble, so
we used our digivices to send her some energy. Did it help?"
The smile in Ken's voice could almost be heard over the series of clicks that
started coming from the phone. "Why don't you ask her?" There was a sound of
another pokegear ringing, then another voice spoke up. "Hello?" it asked.
Ryoko and Hiroki stared at the pokegear, not believing what they heard.
"H...Hi...Hitomi?"
"Ryoko? Hiroki? Is that you?" Hitomi's voice asked.
Hiroki grabbed the digivice. "Hitomi? Where are you? Are you alright? What
happened?" He didn't notice Tomoki, Junpei, and Takuya start giggling at
Hiroki's reaction. Ryoko had been all too eager to tell the other digidestined
about the crush that Hiroki most certainly didn't have on Hitomi (nudge, nudge,
wink, wink).
"Hiroki? Papa told me what happened. I'm so sorry about this-"
"Don't apologize!" Ryoko said automatically, then started laughing. Hitomi
hadn't changed one bit. "We were brought here by something completely
different. Where did you wind up?"
"In another Tokyo in 1999." Hitomi answered. "And there are digimon here too.
Uncle Izzy said that you were in another digital world?"
Sneasel looked up. "Is Eevee with you?"
"You bet!" another voice answered. "And Noctowl's here too. Good to hear
your voice again, teach!"
Sneasel smirked. "Probably slacking off."
"I'll have you know I digivolved just last night to Jolteon!"
Armadillomon cut in. "So? Sneasel and I digivolved too! I became Ankylomon,
and Sneasel turned into Sorcerimon. So there!"
"Yeah?" Eevee's voice called back. "But can you call up Skull Greymon's Dark
Shot on command?"
"Say again?" Sneasel asked, curious.
The conversation went on for another half hour, Ryoko and Hiroki introducing
the other digidestined with them, Hitomi introducing Ms. Asaji. There was a
quick elbow courtesy of Izumi when Junpei expressed horror at being trapped in
another dimension with a school teacher. Eventually, Izzy cut back in, told
everyone that they had to sign off now, and that they'd call Hitomi again when
Ryoko and Hiroki were home safe.
"She sounds nice." Tomoki said while Ryoko finished talking to her father.
"She is." Hiroki replied absently, then reddened again when Izumi looked at
him, inviting Hiroki to elaborate on that.
Sorcerimon came back to the group. "I found a Trailmon track, and a station
within a few hours' walk. If we hurry, we can make it there and catch a
Trailmon. I think it goes in the direction we need to go. Once there, we must
split up."
"Huh?" Takuya asked.
"Patamon carries Seraphimon's digicode; it is vital that he remains hidden."
Sorcerimon replied. He missed the look that Patamon and Kouji shared. "I know
my way around the digital world. It will be easier for us to become lost that
way."
Tomoki started to object, but Junpei cut him off. "Yeah, I guess we are
pretty distinctive." he replied, grinning. "So we take off one way while you
make for cover. Well, I guess that means we'll just have to take your share of
the glory." Junpei sighed, mock-depressed. "We heroes have such a hard life,
don't we?"
"I think you will manage." Sorcerimon replied.
Eventually, they made it to the station, and found that the next Trailmon
would be by in an hour, and that the track would take them in the direction of
the portal. The group's pace was not too fast; everything was under control,
and what could possibly happen to them now? An army of Golemon charging them?
==
Wendimon and the Golemon that were following him picked up the scent and kept
running. Cherubimon would not give Wendimon another chance, and he knew that
to slow down his pace to rest, even for a moment, might be enough to bring down
the fallen angel's wrath on him.
Fear was driving him now. However, he had the scent of the humans now, and
knew that they would catch up within the hour.
==
"There's the train!" Izumi yelled. Everyone looked where she was pointing.
Closing in was Worm, the Trailmon that Takuya, Izumi, Junpei, and Tomoki had
ridden into the digital world; it what seemed like a lifetime ago that they had
all gotten that strange cellphone call...
"We should be going then." Sorcerimon said. "We'll backtrack and make our way
to Soyokaze station. The Floramon and Mushroomon should be able to give us
shelter for a time. Beyond that, I cannot say." He turned to Ryoko and
Hiroki. "It was an honour to meet you. I hope we will cross paths again some
day, when the world is not threatened."
"Me too!" Hiroki answered. Ryoko nodded, not saying anything.
"See you around, Sneasel!" Patamon said. In a quieter voice he added
"Remember, don't forget our secret!"
"How could I?" Sneasel replied. Patamon and Sorcerimon started to leave, just
as the Trailmon pulled up.
Everyone else was about to board the train when one of the walls of the
station was blasted out by Wendimon's attack. A small group of Golemon stomped
in, surrounding Worm and the humans. "Spirit!" Wendimon demanded.
"Not now!" Ryoko gasped. She didn't know how long the portal to her home
would last.
Kouji's eyes narrowed. "That voice..."
Izumi nodded. "That sounds like Grottomon's voice. But we destroyed him!"
"Master Cherubimon has revived me." Wendimon replied. "Return my spirit, and
give me the other spirits, and I won't destroy you." His eyes shifted to
Sorcerimon. "I remember you. You were at the Forest Terminal. And that
Patamon...smells of Seraphimon's digicode!" With a wild roar, Wendimon reached
for Patamon.
An Ice Beam shot between the two digimon. Sneasel stood there, arms still
stretched out. "If you want Seraphimon's digicode, then you're going after the
wrong digimon." Sneasel concentrated for a second, and a ring of digicode
appeared around him. "Well? Do you want the prize, or not? Choose now!"
Wendimon roared again, and he and the other Golemon lumbered towards the
pokemon. "RUN!" he yelled at Patamon and Sorcerimon. They nodded, and did.
"Ryoko!" he yelled, dodging several wild swings.
"Digiarmour energize!"
"Sneasel, armour digivolve to...Yashamon, swordsman of light!"
"Everyone, help him out! I'll clear the rails!" Takuya shouted. "Spirit
Evolution! Vritramon!" The beast hybrid flew to the front of the train and
started grappling with the two Golemon blocking the railway.
Armadillomon tackled one Golemon, bounced off, and landed near Hiroki.
"Digivolve me to Chameleonmon; I can't get on the train as Ankylomon!"
"Digiarmour energize!"
"Armadillomon, armour digivolve to...Chameleonmon, kindly forest spirit!" The
armoured digimon faded out, reappeared on the top of the train, and started
sniping with tongue lashes and eye beams. "Feel free to join in!" he yelled
between shots.
"Spirit Evolution!"
"Fairymon!"
"Chakmon"
"Blitzmon!"
"Wolfmon!"
Chakmon and Blitzmon went forward to help Takuya, leaving the rest to fight
Wendimon and the rest of the Golemon.
"About time!" Vritramon grunted; one of the Golemon had the hybrid pinned,
while the other one was taking shots at him. Blitzmon and Chakmon double
teamed one of them, allowing Vritramon to get free of the second one, and toss
him away. "Worm, you're clear!" Vritramon yelled. The Trailmon started to
smoke, lurching forward.
"Everyone, on the train!" Wolfmon yelled; he leaped on, covering Ryoko and
Hiroki as they ran on board one of the passenger cars.
"You're not getting away!" Wendimon yelled, leaping for the train.
"Balle Delle Spade!" Fairymon yelled, powering up. She then launched a huge
blast of wind, catching Wendimon mid-leap and knocking him to the ground. The
train picked up speed, and quickly left Wendimon behind.
Exhausted, Wendimon's fist slammed into the ground. Two of the Golemon he
created came over to him, intent on helping their master up. In his rage,
Wendimon slammed his fists into them, absorbing their digicode into his own
body. That, and the desire to destroy the humans for this latest humiliation,
was enough to power the digivolution that started. The process only took a few
seconds to complete. When it was done, a new figure stood up, fangs protruding
from under blood red lips, body wrapped in a long cape. The digimon stood,
jumped into the air, and flew after the Trailmon.
==
Ryoko looked at her digivice. "We're getting close." she said. "Dad said
Hiroki and I have to open it with our digivices, so we'd better go forward."
Kouji looked up. "I'll go with you." he said, and walked with the other two.
"So," he said to Ryoko, "I guess this is it then?"
Ryoko nodded. "Yeah. I guess you'll head back here after we're home?" Kouji
nodded. Ryoko looked at him, wanting but not daring to ask.
"No." Kouji said quietly. "If Cherubimon finds out Sneasel's got Seraphimon's
digicode, both you and he will be targets. You're better off at home."
Ryoko blinked. "Is...is that the only reason?"
Yes!, he wanted to shout. Yes, that's the only reason! It makes sense for
you to stay here with the door shut between the two worlds forever. You can
just go on with your life without...Kouji sighed. "No." he said quietly, but
wouldn't continue.
Hiroki looked between the other two humans, then at Armadillomon and Sneasel.
"When you're older." Sneasel whispered to Hiroki. "Just...don't ask them about
it now, alright?" Starting to understand, Hiroki nodded.
Bokomon and Neemon came up. "Are we near the portal yet?" Neemon asked. "I'm
getting hungry." Ryoko and Kouji stared at Neemon, mood broken. Then they
both started laughing.
"Trouble!" Worm yelled, just as the train shook, knocking everyone over.
The roof of the passenger car tore open, and a leering face stared at the group.
Bokomon stared back, wide eyed. "V...Vamdemon!" he said, without checking his
book.
Sneasel's claws extended. "We know him by a different name. Myotismon!"
Without another word, Sneasel leaped, attacking the digimon head on!
"Night Raid!" Sneasel was knocked back by a wave of bats, the pokemon slammed
to the floor near Hiroki. "I...I'll distract him, and you get around somehow;
we have to open that portal." he whispered to Hiroki. He nodded, waiting.
Sneasel and Kouji shared a glance, then got ready.
"I won't ask again." The undead digimon demanded. "The spirits and
Seraphimon's Digicode! Whether you give it to me or I tear what I want from
your lifeless bodies is no concern!"
"Spirit evolution...Garmmon!"
"Sneasel, digivolve to...Sorcerimon!" The two attacked, Sorcerimon's ice and
Garmmon's laser shooting at Vamdemon (Frontier setting; Japanese names -ed).
With one fist glowing a sickly red, Vamdemon blocked the attacks.
"Bloody Stream!" A red whip appeared, and Vamdemon brought it down on
Garmmon, knocking the hybrid through one of the walls; Garmmon held on, slide
evolving to Wolfmon as he struggled to get back into the train. Seconds later,
the other hybrids came in, already having evolved.
"What IS that?" Blitzmon asked. Chakmon, a bit intimidated by Vamdemon's
appearance, stepped back.
"Vamdemon," Bokomon replied, "a universally hated and despised Ultimate level
virus digimon. His special attacks are Night Raid and Bloody Stream."
"He's also someone who doesn't know when to quit!" Ryoko snapped.
"Like you?" Vamdemon asked, pointing one fist at Ryoko. "Bloody Stream!"
"Licht Seiger!" Wolfmon caught the attack on his sword blades. "Get up
front!" he yelled, not taking his eyes off of Myotismon. Nodding, Ryoko ran up
front with Hiroki. All the other hybrids joined in, everyone attacking
Vamdemon with all their attacks.
Ryoko crawled up front, on top of Worm, Hiroki joining her. "There it is!"
Hiroki shouted, pointing. Ahead, Ryoko saw what looked like a faint
disturbance, a ripple that was fast approaching them.
"Then let's do it!" Ryoko shouted, holding out her digivice.
"Digiport Open!" they both shouted, D-3s glowing white.
==New Bark Town, Pokemon research labs
"The portal's opening!" Ken yelled. "They're coming through!" There was a
cheer from everyone in the outdoor lab. A light started blinking, getting
Ken's attention. "That's odd, I'm getting a disturbance in the portal.
There's an unusual amount of mass coming through." As he spoke, the familiar
Digiport graphic appeared on the screen. As it did, everyone heard a faint
noise.
"A digimon of some kind?" Ken wondered.
Kyle, who had also come, shook his head. "It sounds big. A Dragonite?"
Davis shook his head. "No, it sounds too...mechanical. Maybe it's a car."
Takeru, his son, shook his head. "No, bigger. Like a truck."
Kyoko snapped her fingers. "It's a train whistle!" she exclaimed.
June looked up. "You're right! But why would a train whistle be coming
from..." She trailed off, and everyone stared at the Digiport, which was
starting to glow more brightly than normal. Quickly, Izzy grabbed the monitor
the portal was forming it on, pointed it towards the open field, and yelled
"EVERYONE GET CLEAR!" Everyone piled out of the lab, followed a few seconds
later by a very large Trailmon. The train plowed through dirt, fence, Kari's
flower garden (won last year's prize, more's the pity), and eventually stopped
short of the Tauros pen.
"Wh...WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?" Takeru yelled. "She nearly flattened us!"
Beside him, Veemon nodded.
"It'd be an improvement in your case!" Asuka yelled back, then gasped. They
saw Ryoko and Hiroki, still gripping tightly onto the Trailmon's engine.
Everyone started to run over, when the other passengers decided to debark.
Kari gasped. "Myotismon!" She ran to get Hawkmon and Yolei. She stopped
when several other digimon appeared, all fighting him. "Who are they?" she
asked.
Takeru took out his pokedex. "They don't show up." he replied. "I can't even
get a type reading on them. I-" he stopped as he caught sight of Fairymon,
then started drooling.
Kyoko, standing beside him, sighed. "You pervert!" she snapped, smacking him
in the back of the head for effect.
"Balle Delle Spade!" Fairymon powered up again, then flew at Vamdemon, who was
distracted trying to fight Blitzmon and Chakmon. "Doppio Perfore!" she
shouted, slamming several hundred kicks into the back of Vamdemon's skull. In
the din of battle, they missed several shouts from some of the other people
watching the battle.
The digimon tried to stagger away, head ringing. He was outnumbered, he had
to retreat and recover his strength. He was about to turn and run when there
was a hard tap on his shoulder. Turning, he saw two digimon standing there,
both with grim expressions.
"We've been waiting for this for a LONG time!" Sylphimon snarled. "Static
Force!" The bolt of energy slammed into him, driving him back.
"Don't forget me!" Paildramon added, guns aimed at Vamdemon. "Desperado
Blaster!" The assault drove Vamdemon back to the Trailmon.
"No...this can't be happening again!" Vamdemon shouted. He spun around, just
in time to see Agnimon and Wolfmon slide evolving into their Beast Spirit forms.
"Corona Blaster!"
"Solar Laser!"
Vamdemon howled as the attacks tore into him, digicode ring appearing around
him. "This time, for keeps!" Fairymon said, flying forward. "Digicode, SCAN!"
Fairymon scanned Vamdemon's digicode, and the undead digimon vanished.
Chakmon and Hiroki ran around to the front of the Trailmon that had brought
them here. "Are you alright?" Chakmon asked.
"Check please." was all Worm could manage before passing out.
"I think he'll be fine." Chakmon said, inspecting the train. "I don't see any
damage."
All the other hybrids switched back to their human forms. Ryoko climbed down
the side of Worm, helped by Kouji, and joined the group. There was a half
minute of silence before Kari and Izzy yelled, ran forward, and bear-hugged
Ryoko. Cody and Noriko did likewise for Hiroki.
"Wow." Takuya breathed. "It's real. There really is a pokemon world."
"I think I just saw a Heracross." Junpei said, pointing. "I gotta be dreaming!"
"I know I am." a voice beside Izumi said. Turning and going 'Eep!', she saw
Takeru standing there. "Hi, my name's Takeru Motomiya. I'm very pleased to
meet you."
Another girl walked over, smacked Takeru on the head, and dragged him away.
"Don't mind him, he's just a pervert." Kyoko muttered, dragging the boy away.
"Oookayyy..."
==Later
All the other children and adults sat there as the Chosen Children, along with
Ryoko, Hiroki, and Bokomon, took turns explaining about the digital world they
were from.
Davis rubbed the back of his head. "Man, what is it with Cherubimons and
turning evil?" Yolei smirked, shaking her head.
"I do not wish to appear ungracious, but we must return as soon as possible;
our digital world is still in peril, and the Legendary Warriors must help put
the world right again."
"Come on!" Takuya said to Bokomon. "We just got here. Can't we at least stay
a day or two? It'll be nice to be in a place where digimon aren't gunning for
us, the ground isn't exploding around us, and we don't have to eat those weird
apple things again!"
"I could use a nice long bath." Izumi said. Beside her, Junpei blushed, but
didn't say anything. "An uninterrupted one." she added, glaring at Junpei.
"I would like to look at these spirits in action." Izzy added. "I am curious
about the changes to your digiegg." he said to Sneasel. "And why we couldn't
get a type reading."
Hiroki took out a pokeball, and released Kotemon. "Tyrogue turned into
Kotemon while we were there too, remember? Did you want to check him out as
well?"
Izzy nodded. "Yes. It's very unusual for a pokemon to turn into a digimon,
especially at such a young age."
Kotemon nodded. "I will help in any way that I can."
TK looked up. "Besides, it'll take a day to lay down some tracks for your
train friend so we can get him home, too. To say nothing of turning him
around."
"Then its settled!" Takeru yelled. "We're on holiday!"
==
Cody walked over to his son. "Hiroki? They're here, and I brought you what
you asked for."
Hiroki got up, excited. "Thank you!" he said, taking a small box from Cody.
"Come on, there's someone who you have to meet!" he said to Hiroki, leading him
outside. Curious, Junpei and Izumi followed the two.
Outside, Tomoki was led to a pair of adults, standing there, waiting for him.
He looked up, thinking that they looked oddly familiar. He was about to ask
who they were when a Pikachu walked in front of the two adults, and bowed to
Tomoki. "No way..." he gasped.
Hiroki nodded. "Himi Tomoki, this is Mr. and Mrs. Ash Ketchum, from Pallet
Town."
Ash smiled. "So, I have a TV series where you're from, huh? I hope they got
my good side."
"You don't have a good side." Misty replied playfully. On her shoulder was a
small white bird. "Tomoki called us and told us about you, and that you wanted
to meet us." Speechless, Tomoki nodded. "So, how badly did they mess up Ash's
performance in the Johto league?"
"Hey!"
Izumi and Junpei came over, stunned at who they were meeting. The group
talked for about half an hour, Tomoki telling them about how the television
series had gone, Misty remarking that they got Ash's intelligence about right,
Ash sighing how he never got any respect, even across the dimensions.
"Is that a Togetic?" Izumi asked.
Misty nodded. "He evolved not too long after the Johto league ended. It was
when Ash...asked me out." (Yes, I'm tossing out the Advance League series -ed)
Ash nodded. "I had to go back and finish school. I was going on 12 and,
well, I was sick of making all those dumb mistakes you saw me make."
"The show left off after the Johto league." Tomoki said. "Did you ever join
the Elite Four?"
"Nahh...After two years of travelling, I just wanted to go home for a while.
I made a lot of friends, and I wanted to see them again. Plus, when Giovanni
was brought up on charges..."
==
Ryoko sat outside her home, looking at the stars. She was home, with her
family again. Sneasel was in the lab with Izzy, as were Takuya and Kouji.
Izzy was still interested in how Sneasel's digiegg had changed during its
exposure to Kouji's spirits.
The door opened, and Kouji walked out. "I thought the school nurse like to
poke and prod people...I-Ryoko?"
Ryoko stood up. "Kouji. I'd better go inside, I have-"
"Wait." Kouji said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Ryoko stopped in her
tracks, then slowly turned to face Kouji. "Ryoko, I...I wanted to say thank
you."
"What?" Ryoko replied weakly.
"You and your friends, you showed up and changed everything. And you did save
Takuya's life. And mine..."
"That was Hiroki and Ankylomon." Ryoko protested. "I just made things worse."
"No you didn't." Kouji replied. "It's just...I'm glad I met you."
==2 days later.
(You might want to start playing 'Hoshi wo Sora ni' from Tales of Phantasia.)
"Thanks for everything!" Takuya said to Izzy. "I can't remember the last time
I've been able to relax like this."
"Hey, we've all been there." Izzy replied, shaking Takuya's hand. "You just
be careful, alright?"
"He'll be fine!" Davis said. "He is the leader, right? He's even got the
goggles to prove it!"
June sighed. "Do everyone a favour. Don't act like him, alright?"
"Don't worry." Junpei replied. "I can keep hero-boy in line."
"So long, Tomoki." Hiroki said. Tomoki nodded, near tears. "Oh, I almost
forgot! Here, I want you to have this!" Hiroki handed Tomoki a small box.
Tomoki opened it. Inside was a small badge with what looked like a feather on
it, the tip split in half. "A Silver Wing badge?"
Hiroki nodded. "I got it when I visited the Whirl Islands a few years ago. I
want you to have it, so you won't forget about this place."
Tomoki sniffed, wiping his tears away. "Not a chance." The two hugged, then
Tomoki stepped away, fastening the badge to his shirt.
Ryoko walked over to Kouji. "I guess I'll never see you again." she said,
trying not to start crying.
Kouji smiled. "Well, we'll have to come back for Seraphimon's digicode,
right? Maybe we can stay a bit longer then." Kouji stopped, voice nearly
cracking. "Good bye, Ryoko."
Ryoko leaned forward and kissed Kouji, getting a gasp from Takuya and Junpei.
Izumi smiled, nodding as she watched. "Don't forget me." she whispered to
Kouji. Dumbly, Kouji nodded.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure he doesn't forget." Izumi said to Ryoko. "Take
care."
"You too." Ryoko replied, recovering a bit.
Trailmon, now pointed at the portal and with a solid rail underneath him,
roared, ready to enter the portal. The Chosen Children got on the train, then
leaned out the windows, waving to the digidestined native to this world. Kouji
got one final look at Ryoko before Worm entered the portal, then everything was
lost in a bright flash of light. He leaned back in and sat down. As he did,
he felt something in his jacket pocket. Reaching in, he found a piece of red
cloth, wrapped around a small photo. Unwrapping it, he found a small picture
of Ryoko, and realized that the cloth was in fact the handkerchief she wore on
her head. He looked at the picture, fixing the image of Ryoko's sad smile and
bright eyes in his mind. On the back was a short message.
'Don't forget me.
-Ryoko'
The end
Next Episode
While Ryoko and Hiroki were in the Frontier digital world, Kyoko, Sam, Asuka,
and Takeru had their own adventure. Meet them as they try to rescue a Serebii
from the clutches of Team Aqua and are transported to the digital world, where
they meet a familiar set of digidestined children. Next time, on Digicross
Frontier episode 6 -
'Serebii and the Digimon Emperor!'
