DISCLAIMER: I do not own Digimon, but I do own the plot, and DRAGOON.

Digimon Continuity

Quest for the Digimon

Chapter 12

The Saviour & Cerberumon's Defeat

:. Digital Plane - Desert Plane

02:05 PM JST

Cerberumon growled at the new Digimon that had come to aid them. Rika did not know who that Digimon was, none of her knowledge of the Digimon Card Game revealed anything of this new ally. Nevertheless, she was glad of any help at the moment.

Cyberdramon continued its own attack on the black dog, but Cerberumon ignored him. All its attention was focused on the new enemy in the sky. Rika turned to her D-Power, waiting for the relevant data on the new Digimon to appear. It was not to be. Exactly like the time with Guilmon, the D-Power failed to provide any information.

Lopmon answered her question before she even thought to ask. "That is a Digimon I have never seen before." She yelled from her perch on Guilmon. "I know most of the Digimon around the planes due to me being a former Deva, but this Digimon has never appeared before this."

She frowned before she took out another card, jumped off Kyuubimon and swiped the card though her D-Power. "Digi-Modify! High Speed Plug-In B! Activate!" I may not know who this Digimon is, but I am glad he is on our side. She thought back to the time when she fought Guilmon. Renamon's Diamond Storm attack that could easily delete a Champion only ricocheted off the saurian. Remembering the power that Megidramon wielded, she was glad that the adult-sized dino was on their side.

Kyuubimon rushed toward Cerberumon with heightened speed just as the new Digimon released another barrage of lasers, this time, the multiple beams materializing from different parts of it combined into one powerful one. Cerberumon dodged as Kyuubimon used her own attack.

"Fox Flame Dragon!" she exclaimed as she curled into a ball, launching a blue dragon into the place where the enemy would land. Her aim was true, Cerberumon's feet touched the ground after its dodge and the attack collided into it. She had intelligently aimed for the location where it would land. The unexpected attack sent him sprawling to the ground.

Cyberdramon took use of this new development to stop its current attacks and strike Cerberumon up close. "Cyber Nail!" Cyberdramon cleared the distance between them in one leap and dug his claws deep into the three-headed dog's prone form. Cerberumon let out a cry of pain that hurt the ears to hear.

Halfway though the cry, Cerberumon opened his mouth to reveal emerald flames, "Hell Fire!" The attack hit Cyberdramon at point blank range, causing a deafening explosion. The dragon's limp body sailed out of the smoke, though the air.

Henry watched the battle, nerveless. Cyberdramon was the best option that they had against Cerberumon. Henry himself could not do much. The Rookie Digimon would not stand a chance. MarineAngemon looked too frightened by the ferocity of the intense had both gun barrels stuck in the ground to prevent himself from getting sucked into the portals earlier. Gargomon may be out of action, but his mouth wasn't.

"Henry!... Henry!..." He yelled as he attempted to pull his hands from the ground, but to no avail.

Henry in return snapped himself out of his self pity. Thinking that having Gargomon yell at him like that was not making it easier to collect his thoughts, plus the noise from the battle, he was already missing his Digimon-free days where deep thinking was all too easy. Too late to regret now. he sighed as he took out a Modify card.

"Alright Gargomon." Henry grumbled, swiping a card through the slot. "Digi-Modify! Offense Plug-In O! Activate!"

"Why did you..." Gargomon started, before the power of the upgrade overwhelmed him. He blew himself from the ground as his guns went full auto on overcharge. "Whoa!" he quickly turned his now rampaging turrets onto Cerberumon. "Gargo Lasers!"

The black Digimon was just getting to its feet. Cerberumon did not even see it coming. He took the attack full force. The raw power of the attack drove Cerberumon away, feet skidding on the sandy ground.

Guilmon appeared charged for Cerberumon despite the disapproval of his fellow Digimon. Takato's Digimon produced a lop of red energy in his mouth. "Pyro Sphere!" The superheated blast struck Cerberumon from behind. The hell dog could not dodge. He could not stop himself from skidding straight into the blast. Another explosion occurred as Gargomon's and Guilmon's attacks collided into each other with Cerberumon at the centre of impact. The other Rookie Digimon and MarineAngemon followed Guilmon's example, seeing their fellow friend successful in aiding the two Champions and Ultimate.

Lopmon struck first. "Lop Twister!" The bunny spun, producing a twister that hit the flying black Digimon. Cerberumon flipped to the ground after getting hit.

Impmon followed, a fireball materializing in his hand. "Ha! This will show you!" He scoffed. Henry sweat dropped. He surely knows that he is wasting time, right? But because he had done so, he missed his turn to strike Cerberumon.

MarineAngemon quickly took Impmon's place, not allowing Cerberumon the time for him to recover. "Kahuna Wave." The red heart attacks swarmed over Cerberumon and burst, causing unimaginable pain to his already open wounds.

When the attack cleared, Henry winced as he imagined the amount of damage Cerberumon had received. His data was following out of the cut that Cyberdramon inflicted more than ever. In other areas, he seemed to be unable to hold his data together. They threatened to break apart from the main body.

Ouch. Henry thought. The unknown Digimon swooped down and finished with its own assault of lasers, fusing the multiple beams of light once again into one powerful blast. The attack made Cerberumon lose grip of his data and Henry watched as bits and parts of Cerberumon was blown away with the flow of the laser.

"This is not over! You will pay, TRAI..." Cerberumon's last words became echoes as he vanished into bits of digital dust before he could complete his sentence. Henry was certain that Cerberumon's last word was traitor. But... I don't get it. Why would Terriermon and the others be traitors? We did save the DigiWorld... Maybe we should look for Azulongmon and ask.

He came out of his thoughts as the new Digimon landed in front of them. It had a head that looked an awful lot like Grani's. It only seemed right to compare this Digimon to Grani. They held many similarities. This Digimon had hands that looked like they could have really hurt him when it scooped him up. The claws were... not so blunt. His entire body was a dull grey color, with strange patterns all over. The Digimon stood on its hind legs, as its sapphire blue eyes gazed at them, studying them. On closer examination, Henry noticed that this Digimon had the same kind of mechanical look that Grani had. Maybe he is a cyborg Digimon like Guardromon. Wait... He counted the Digimon. There was one missing. Guardromon.

"Are any of you injured?" the unknown Digimon inquired.

Henry abruptly shook his head, scrambling his vision. That was not the only reason his sight lost focus. It was because he could have sworn that the voice that came out from the Digimon was none other than Grani's own. Memories of Dukemon's former steed rushed back.

Gargomon dedigivolved back to Terriermon and gazed at the Digimon in awe. Most likely because of the impressive machinery that the unknown Digimon held. Rika and Renamon approached, both Tamer and Digimon arguing with Impmon about not attacking at the right time and the latter rebuking about his being unable to land his own attack. Upon reaching Henry, Rika withdrew herself from the conversation.

"Alright Brainiac." Rika said. "Who or what is that? I can't get anything on him."

The Digimon turned its eyes to Rika. No sooner had it done that that she felt a shiver run up her spine. She had seen Grani up close before, when the Monster Makers and Yamaki were trying to further improve his performance back in the temporary labs, while the D-Reaper was still out in the open. Guilmon was there, staring into the same eyes she saw now... Grani's eyes. Things were really messed up.

Guilmon apparently saw the same thing. "Hey! Is that Grani?" He had what she presumed was a huge smile on his face as the dino attempted to jump on the 'Grani' just like he did Takato. Guilmon, however, failing that, settled with hugging the legs of the creature.

The other Digimon quickly averted their attention from whatever they were doing to Guilmon, and then to the creature. Even Impmon and Renamon fell silent. All of them kept their eyes on the creature with the Grani-like head, with a single long carved horn and two little wing-like fins protruding from the main head, giving it a helmet-like appearance. The creature shook its grey head, its long neck twisting left and right, proving more flexible than Grani would have ever been.

"No, young one." All the Digimon took a step back save for Cyberdramon. The voice of the new Digimon had shocked them all. Suddenly Henry's silence became clear. "I am not my previous predecessor. I have been named by my creators as Dragoon. I am here to help you."

Henry regained his voice on hearing 'creators'. "Wait! You mean that... Dad created you?"

"No. I was created by not one person, but your father Janyu Wong was the one that provided some aspect of my programming. Namely, the one that is most important."

"Which is?" Rika considered keeping silent, this was the conversation for Brainiacs like Henry.

"I have the ability to learn. I have the ability to care. I am still able to understand the importance of life beyond my programming. My programming indicates that I have to obey your every command, but am able to question each command if I want to, perhaps provide a better alternative. Giving me the ability to learn and care gives me a conscience. That will ensure that I do not become a mindless machine with too much power, ensuring that I do not turn into another D-Reaper. Nevertheless, I believe that it is unnecessary, as I believe that you are people who will not do such things. This limits my ability to aid you if I hesitate, which could result in undesirable results."

Henry nodded, clearly understanding the science behind Dragoon's words. The only things she managed to discern from the conversation so far was that this Digimon was not a Digimon and that he was another Ark turned weapon like Grani by the Monster Makers which went by the name Dragoon. In her opinion, it was a good name. He looked like a dragon for one thing.

"No, Dragoon." There was a sense of uneasiness when Henry spoke the name. As if he was trying to get used to saying it half willingly. "My father was right to program that in you." Henry lowered his voice, speaking in a whisper. Rika had to strain her ears to hear the words. "So that's why he had been out so late. How long have you planned on keeping this from me, Dad?"

Rika felt lost. She made a mental note to ask Henry what all this was all about sometime soon. Very soon.

"What do you wish for me to do now? Shall I find a shelter in case the evening data streams arrive?"

Henry replied with a nod, still deep in his thoughts. Dragoon swept up sand as he took off into the skies, leaving two humans and seven Digimon on the ground awaiting his return.

"No." A Digimon that only had a head for his body whispered a great distance from the original battlefield, behind one of the only rocks that remained in the Dessert Plane. "Cerberumon you fool. I told you there were more coming." A single tear fell. He quickly wiped it away as he witnessed his friend Cerberumon blown apart by the laser from the unknown Digimon. He had attempted to aid his partner, approaching as quickly as he could. But still he was too late, Cerberumon was nothing but unidentifiable data now.

He quickly drew away, making a promise to return to this location and bringing his friend's data to a better place to rest... assuming that the traitors have not already loaded his data. He also had a duty to report this. Report Cerberumon's loss and the location of the traitors.

:. Digital Plane - Unknown Location

08:23 PM JST

Inside an enormous city, many Digimon scrambled around, doing their daily activities. A warrior clad in dark navy blue armor with yellow strips made his way through them, trying his best to avoid looking hurried. The Digimon he passed would halt whatever it was they were currently doing to bow to him. He would reply with a nod and they would return to their work.

I wonder, what is the hurry? Have the traitors been found?

Nevertheless, he made certain to seem calm, despite panicking inside. He was never summoned unless it was extremely important. He continued to stroll thoug the city streets, regretting doing so after the messenger arrived. He would have made much better time flying there. On other days he would have gladly enjoyed meeting civilization once again, breathing and listening to the sounds of a city life as before the True Enemy ever surfaced.

He could not find the ability to enjoy the sights and sounds this day, his sweaty palms due to his lack of speed already making him uncomfortable.

After many agonizing minutes, he finally arrived at the heart of the city, the meeting place. Upon entering, he met his fellow comrade and ally, a Digimon that wielded two blades by his side and wore gold Chrome Digizoid armour. It was mixed with black Chrome Digizoid armour, striping each other, giving a balance between offense and defence, with offence slightly more.

The bug warrior looked up when he approached. "You have arrived at last, Darkdramon."

"TigerVespamon," Darkdramon greeted. "It has been a long time since we have met. Any idea why we were summoned?"

"Yes," TigerVespamon answered. "We have a report on the whereabouts of the traitors. I have not personally heard it yet. None of us have."

He nodded. It was only respectable to wait for all three of them to assemble before listening to a report as important as this. It was an unspoken code of honor.

"Shall we?"

Both opened the great doors that lead to the main hall. This was one of the few areas where the True Enemy had not brought the battle to, amazingly, not even a single blob of the red mass ever came close to this area. He doubted it was because it was well hidden. But if so, the lord chose well to pick this area for the refugees and as headquarters.

Inside, their third companion, the leader of them, and the Savior of the Digital World stood. There had only been three Megas, excluding the Sovereigns that survived the battle of the True Enemy. Darkdramon himself and TigerVespamon were two. The last was the one that sat before them behind an enormous circular table was at least 18 feet in diameter.

He waited for them to cross the hall's distance, calm as ever. In front, a Ninjamon stood, albeit looking nervous. That, he presumed, was the Digimon doing the report. Once they were within reasonable distance, both bowed to the third Mega. But he had made it clear that the only bows he ever wanted was a slight inclination of the head. So that became how the Digimon in the city bowed. Darkdramon and TigerVespamon did the same, despite him stating that it was unnecessary. It was all about respect.

Their leader returned the courtesy with a bow, or a nod. Darkdramon could no longer tell the difference. The two Megas took their respective places one opposite sides of the third one at the table. At last, Ninjamon began his report.

He spoke of how Cerberumon initially only trapped a single human, then another human arrived, followed by the traitors. He spoke of a new Digimon he could not identify. Finally he ended by requesting to have a chance to fight against the traitors himself.

The entire hall was shrouded in silence. As there were only the four of them present, the entire hall echoed with Ninjamon's last words.

Tension built as Ninjamon glanced from one Mega to the other, clearly worried that he had broken some kind of protocol. The lord finally broke the silence with his deep, knowing voice. "You may leave, Ninjamon. I will have someone to inform you of our decision." Ninjamon slowly bowed, and exited the door.

Once Ninjamon left, Darkdramon quickly voiced his opinion. "We have to learn more of this new Digimon, assemble a strike team, and attack before more humans arrive."

TigerVespamon shook his head. "No," he said. "We have to think over this carefully. If we rush things, the result might be the same as Cerberumon's fate."

"TigerVespamon is right." Their leader said, turning to Darkdramon, "You must not be as rash as your speed in battle, Darkdramon. But we shall also do as you say. First, we must recall the search teams. We shall only assemble the main strike team after they return." The leader returned his gaze to TigerVespamon. "That should be sufficient time for you to plan out necessary details."

TigerVespamon nodded. Darkdramon struggled to remember his training to calm down. A few deep breaths later, he was calm once more, but still eager for a battle once again.

"That is all for now. You may leave." The third Mega finished. Both Darkdramon and TigerVespamon bowed, before making their way to the exit. Before they fully exited however, the lord spoke once more. "Also, add Ninjamon to the new strike team. I believe that he should have a chance at revenge." Both Megas nodded their reply and left the hall, leaving their leader the one being inside.

After his fellow Megas left, he stood up and made his way from the table to the back of the hall, where his quarters lay. He spoke into the silence, emerald eyes glistened in the darkness of the room making them look eerie. "So you have come at last Tamers. I have been waiting for you for a very long time..."

In the shadows, a shutdown Guardromon stood...

Definitely the most I have ever written for one chapter and arguably the best. A lot of things are revealed here. The big question on everyone's minds is most probably who this 'Savior' or 'leader' is. I am not going to be revealing it anytime soon. But the side story I will be introducing should focus on this... amongst other things. Check my profile page for more info if you want.

Please review.