DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or any video games, books, films, TV shows or pieces of music referenced in this story. Original characters owned by me are stated in my profile.
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Sage
Saturday 13th November – 8:59a.m.
Digital World, Forest Level
Takato groaned as a ray of light shone down on his face, shielding his eyes with one arm and shifting in his bed in an attempt to get into a more shaded position. After a few seconds, something clicked in the boy's mind and he opened his eyes suddenly.
What happened? he thought groggily as he glanced around at the unfamiliar surroundings. He was laid on a bed covered with pristine white sheets in a room that looked it had been carved out of the centre of a tree. A small bedside table and a window were to his right and there was a door a few metres from the foot of the bed. We were in the cave, it was cold, Guilmon climbed under the blanket and then…what happened?
The brown-haired Tamer blinked rapidly and tried to sit up, frowning in confusion as he realized that there was something holding him down. He shifted to the side and rolled over a little to get a look at what was restraining him, his eyes widening in shock as he saw what – or, rather, who – it was.
Rika was laid fast asleep next to Takato, hugging him like he was some kind of oversized teddy bear.
Ohgodohgodohgod… the boy jabbered mentally, completely out of his social comfort zone. What do I do? If I wake her up, she'll freak out and break my legs. If I leave her like that and she wakes up on her own, she'll break my arms and my legs! And how the hell did we get here anyway?
Eventually, Takato decided on a course of action. "Rika?" he called out hesitantly, shaking her gently in an attempt to wake her.
The redhead merely mumbled incoherently and hugged him even tighter, making the boy wince in pain. She looks so peaceful, he thought idly, suppressing a pang of guilt as he tried once more to wake her.
"Rika!" he called out in a much sharper voice. "Wake up! We're in trouble!"
"Leave me alone…" Rika grumbled and buried her face in the warm, soft object next to her. When the object began to move, however, she half-opened her eyes and was horrified to find herself staring at a distinctive blue hoody.
"WAH!" she yelped and threw herself out of the bed, her face flushing crimson. "What the hell?"
"Uh, hey Rika!" Takato greeted her with a nervous grin. "Nice morning, huh?"
"Gogglehead…" she growled in reply, her look of embarrassment quickly transforming into a furious glare. "You've got five seconds to explain exactly why we were in bed together!"
The redhead's face flushed crimson again as she spotted the double entendre in what she had said and Takato quickly pulled himself to his feet, throwing the silky-soft covers off of himself.
"I have no idea!" he protested and raised his hands defensively. "I just woke up and we were…um…like that."
"How did we get here?" Rika snarled, taking a menacing step towards her fellow Tamer.
"I don't know! The last thing I remember was being in the cave with the blankets, and then we were he-"
"TAKATOMON!" an exuberant voice cheered as a red blur burst through the door, flying into the boy and knocking him to the ground. "I'm so glad you're awake Takatomon! You and Rika looked so sick when we put you in that bed – you were all blue and cold and shivering – but now you're okay!"
"YOU put us in that bed? TOGETHER?" Rika shrieked as she pounced on the red dinosaur, throttling him two-handed. "What were you THINKING?"
"It wasn't…just me…" the saurian croaked.
"Then who-"
"Get…off!" Takato wheezed from beneath his partner and Rika released the childlike Digimon as she realized that the boy was being crushed by the combined weight of Guilmon and herself.
"Oops, uh, sorry Goggles. Didn't see you there…" she mumbled with a small blush as the Tamer climbed to his feet, clutching his ribs.
"No…harm done…" he gasped and slumped back onto the bed.
"So, Dino Boy…" Rika began, cracking her knuckles loudly. "Who did help you put me and Takato in that bed?"
"I did," a man's voice replied from the doorway with a hint of amusement.
The two humans turned to the newcomer with a look of suspicion, Rika reflexively reaching for her D-Arc before realizing that it would be useless without Renamon. The stranger was easily eight feet tall and was shrouded in cream and black hooded robes. His face was obscured by the shadows cast by the hood, but a set of perfect white teeth could be seen smiling out at them, along with a pair of glowing green eyes. The newcomer raised his right hand in greeting, the long sleeves of his robe slipping down his arm to reveal a human-like hand with leathery brown skin and five digits.
"And you are?" Rika asked him tersely, fixing him with a hostile glare.
"Ah, where are my manners?" the stranger chuckled in a deep, baritone voice with the slightest hint of a German accent. "Allow me to introduce myself! My name is Sage."
"Sagemon is the one who got us out of that nasty ice cave!" Guilmon piped up with his usual good cheer.
"My name is Sage, not Sagemon," Sage laughed and shook his head.
"So, you're not a Digimon?" Takato asked the man with a puzzled frown.
"What? What on earth gave you that impression? Of course I'm a Digimon!" the hooded man replied with another laugh.
"But if you're not a mon…" the boy began, his confusion deepening.
"I am unlike any Digimon you have ever encountered – or ever will encounter, for that matter," Sage declared with a grin. "Just try scanning me with that D-Arc of yours."
Rika obliged, a bewildered scowl crossing her face as she read off the stats displayed.
Name: Sage
Level: Sage
Attribute: Sage
Special Attacks:
Sage
"Sage, Sage-level, Sage-type," she read off. "Is this some kind of a joke?"
"No, Rika, it is not. I am a unique creature. So unique that I appear to have confused your little gadget there."
"So, what do you want with us?" Takato asked hesitantly, his hands moving slowly toward his D-Arc and card holder. "Why did you take us out of that cave?"
"Because if I had not done so you would have frozen to death," Sage replied evenly.
"So why save us? What's in it for you?" Rika asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"You really are a cynical little girl, aren't you?" the hooded Digimon remarked, sparking the redhead's legendary temper.
"Don't. Call me. A little girl!" she spat, clenching her fists.
"My apologies," Sage chuckled, sounding anything but apologetic. "And to answer your question, I saved you because I need you. The whole Digital World needs you."
"What do you-" Takato began, but was quickly interrupted.
"I know of your quest to rescue Zhuqiaomon's latest captives. I also know their identities and relation to you. The sovereign is a blood-crazed madman, unworthy of holding such a noble title. He has committed atrocities in this world as well as yours."
"So you want him gone? What is this, revenge?" Rika asked with a small frown.
"No," Sage replied with a shake of his head. "Zhuqiaomon has not harmed me or anyone I know personally, but it is my wish to see the balance of the Digital World maintained. His evil upsets this balance."
"So…that's it?" the redhead snorted, obviously not believing his story.
"Oh, the youth of today…" the Digimon muttered and shook his head. "Tell me, why do you fight against evil Digimon that enter your world? To protect your homes, your friends, your families. I fight for the Digital World in my own way, but I fight to protect not the individuals or places of my world but the world itself. The Digital World is to me what Sam is to you."
Rika was suitably chastised by Sage's speech and fell silent, glaring moodily out of the window.
"So, Mr Sage," Takato began, breaking the uneasy silence. "We'd really like to be getting back to our friends as soon as possible…"
"I wouldn't bother trying to meet up with them yet," the hooded Digimon replied and waved his hand towards the window. "We are in the Forest Level. Between us and your friends lies the Swamp Level. You'd be insane to try and cross it with just you two and Guilmon. Besides, they'll be passing by us in a day or two anyway. You may as well wait until then."
"But what if they need our help?" Guilmon whined.
"I am monitoring the entire route through the swamp. If they require any assistance I will let you know."
"So, what are we meant to do for the next two days?" Rika asked in a frustrated tone.
"I have no idea," Sage replied simply with an enormous grin. "You can do whatever you like, but I recommend that you do not leave the grounds of my property. The forest can be quite…inhospitable at times."
"I have one last question," the girl began in a menacing tone. "Whose bright idea was it to put me and Takato in the same bed?"
The twin glowing green orbs in Sage's hood blinked twice rapidly in surprise.
"You mean you don't normally do that?" he asked, receiving a swift head-shake from Takato. "But I saw lots of people do it on TV! Everyone seemed to be sharing a bed with everyone!"
"Wait, you have a TV?" the goggle-wearing Tamer piped up, his curiosity peaked.
"Yes, but I only get these strange shows called 'Soap Operas'. And I only seem to get the ones made in America…"
"That explains it…"
Fortunately for the trio, Sage's property was enormous. They quickly discovered the reason that their bedroom had looked like it was carved out of the centre of a tree – because it was. A colossal tree thirty metres wide and three hundred tall sat at the southern end of a bowl-shaped valley that measured over a mile across. This tree had been hollowed out and converted into a home by Sage and entrance could only be gained through a doorway concealed beneath one of its massive roots. The valley was surrounded on all sides by mile-high walls of sheer rock with only one narrow tunnel on the northern side leading to the outside world. Most of the valley was covered with forest or grassy fields, with a narrow path made entirely of marble cutting through the woodland from the tree to the exit tunnel. At the western end of the valley, water cascaded down from the cliff tops in a mile-high waterfall that created a constant rainbow. A winding stream led from the falls through the centre of the valley and fed into a beautiful azure lake at the east side.
In short, the view from atop Sage's tree was the most beautiful sight any of them had ever seen.
Swamp Level – 10:22a.m.
"Well…" Cam began as he waded through a pool of knee-deep mud. "This is nice…"
"Don't you dare complain," Gaomon shrieked at his Tamer as he struggled to keep his head above the surface. "You don't have fur! Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get mud out of fur? DO YOU?"
"It's times like this I'm glad I've got Henry," Terriermon chuckled from his usual perch.
"Terriermon, I'd throw you into that mud if it wasn't for the fact I'd probably lose you in there," the blue haired boy teased the rabbit on his head.
"I'm not seeing how that's a bad thing…" Gaomon muttered to himself.
"I'd offer you a seat up here, but…" Leomon shrugged, nearly throwing Jeri and Kenta from his shoulders. "Oh, sorry, my bad…"
"Yeah, and I don't think Cyberdramon is about to let anyone ride him," Ryo chuckled humourlessly.
One by one, every member of the group started staring at Kazu, who finally noticed after over a minute.
"What?" he asked indignantly, turning to glare at as many people as he could. The effect was ruined, however, by the black eye he had been gifted with by Ryo. "What? Why are you all staring at me?"
"Could we perhaps have a lift?" Henry asked politely, rapping his partner on the head to cut off his sarcastic comment.
"Let me rephrase that," Gaomon growled menacingly. "Either you and Guardromon give us a lift or I show you exactly why pit bulls and children do not mix."
"Gaomon? You're not a-"
"Don't contradict me!" the blue-furred Digimon snapped at his Tamer. "If you think I'm going to walk any further in neck-high mud then you are ins-"
The canine was cut off by a loud hissing noise that echoed through the swamp and he turned along with the rest of his group to see a seemingly-infinite number of glowing red eyes glaring out at him from between the trees. A series of ripples began emanating outward from a point in the middle of the liquid mud lake about fifty metres from Gaomon and s colossal shape slowly reared up out of the swamp, mud cascading off of its form to reveal a twenty-foot long silver stag beetle. The beetle looked to the sky, seeming to taste the air as it clicked its antlers, before looking straight at the Tamers and Digimon and letting out an ear-piercing shriek.
"RUN!" Ryo shouted as over two dozen insectoid Digimon – most of them Champions with a few Ultimates dotted around – charged at them.
Forest Level, Sage's Tree
Sage watched all of this from a chamber underneath his tree, images of the unfolding events displayed on the surface of a pool of crystal-clear water. They'll be fine, he thought to himself idly. And even if they did need help, they're too far away for Rika and Takato to get to…ah, well! It'll all work out in the end.
Forest Level, Sage's Valley – 12:32p.m.
Takato glanced uneasily over at Rika as she stared silently out over the lake. In an attempt to relieve the boredom of their perfectly-tranquil settings, the two children had decided to go exploring through the valley. The girl had barely spoken a dozen words in the whole three hours they had been out and Takato could clearly see that what had happened with Kazu was still bothering her. He decided that he should talk to her, and made his move while Guilmon was off chasing a butterfly.
"Rika? You okay?"
"I'm fine," she replied in a flat voice without even looking at him.
"Look, what happened with Kazu-"
"I don't want to talk about it," she spat through gritted teeth. "It's in the past. Over and done with."
"But it's not, is it?" Takato retorted. "You've been messed up all day. Why are you letting what he said get to you?"
Rika whirled around, fixing the boy with an angry glare. "Why am I letting it get to me? Look at me Gogglehead! Do I look fully Japanese to you?"
"I…I don't know. I guess I never really thought about it…" Takato replied and was shocked by the response he got.
Rika's fury dissipated instantly and was replaced by a tiny smile. Not a cold smirk, not a sadistic grin, but an honest, warm, happy smile.
"Of course you didn't," she muttered quietly, her smile disappearing within seconds. "Well, I'm not. My dad was English and my mum's part Canadian."
"Okay…" the boy said slowly, not quite getting where she was going with this.
"A lot of people have a pretty backward view of race in Japan. They're racist to practically everyone and mixed race people…people like me get it the worst. It's not so bad in the working and middle classes, but when you got sent to a private school like I did…"
"Ah," Takato winced. "I…I'm sorry."
"What I'm trying to say is that I got enough crap like that back in Japan!" she snapped, her fists clenched at her sides. "I thought I'd gotten away from it and I thought…I thought Kazu was better than that."
"Look, I'm pretty sure he didn't mean it," the boy said softly. "I think when you started laying into each other and you were winning, he just grabbed the first thing he thought of. I mean, I'm not trying to excuse what he did or anything, but…you know…"
"I know," Rika sighed and gazed back out at the lake. "I know it was probably just a heat of the moment thing, but…"
"It still hurts."
The redhead merely nodded. It's strange, she thought idly. Not long ago I'd never have thought of admitting that. But since I met Jeri…no, it was after that. Since I came to England and met Goggles and Brainiac and Goldilocks…hell, even Cam…
"Thanks, Goggles," she said eventually.
"No problem. Not that I thought I was much help, but whatever," he chuckled in reply.
"You helped," Rika reassured him.
Swamp Level – 7:42p.m.
Jeri let out a tiny sigh of relief as the thunderous sound of footsteps faded slowly into the distance. The children and their Digimon had spent the entire day on the run from the horde of insect Digimon despite Kazu and Cyberdramon's near-suicidal insistence on trying to stand and fight.
"There's just too many of them," Henry had argued. "If we had WarGrowlmon and Takato around, and if Renamon could Digivolve to Taomon, then we might have a chance. As it is, we're just too heavily outnumbered."
In the end they had only managed to escape using an ingenious strategy cooked up by Henry and Ryo. Rapidmon and MachGaogamon had launched a surprise attack on the insects, spreading confusion through their ranks with help from their Tamers in the form of a pair of Cherrymon's Mist modify cards. As soon as the enemy force was shrouded in the fog, the rest of the Tamers and their Digimon had suddenly changed direction, guided to a small cave that Ryo assured them would be safe. Cam and Henry withdrew a few minutes later, their partners activating another mist attack to conceal their escape route. They met up with the rest of their group (with the obvious exception of Takato, Rika and Guilmon) just after nightfall, having taken many precautions to ensure that they would not be followed. In short, the insect horde had no idea which way the Tamers had gone.
"They're gone," Terriermon whispered as the footsteps receded beyond the range of even his impressive hearing.
"This is ridiculous," Gaomon muttered as he climbed to his feet. "We can't just sit here doing nothing! The enemy has split up into search parties to find us. We could pick them off a few at a time until there were few enough of them left for us to beat!"
"Oh, yeah?" the rabbit snorted and shook his head. "We've been on the run all day. We're too exhausted to fight anything! We'd just end up slipping up and getting our butts kicked!"
"He's right, mate," Cam added, placing a hand on his partner's shoulder. "I'm way too knackered for a fight tonight. Besides, it's not worth the risk of getting caught."
"Blue boy's right!" Kazu announced with a scowl. "I'm not gonna let these damn bugs scare me! We shouldn't be running – we're Tamers. We can take anything this world throws at us!"
"We would be standing and fighting," Ryo began, his voice dangerously quiet. "If somebody hadn't managed to take two of our Ultimates out of action."
"Hey, it's not my fault she got sucked into a Data Stream! And besides, she should get a sense of humour."
"Right, because I forgot how everyonetakes racism lying down…" the older boy spat sarcastically, getting to his feet and clenching his fists.
Kazu winced at this comment and a shadow of guilt passed across his face. "I didn't mean it," he protested weakly. "I just kind of…it just slipped out…"
"Oh, it just slipped out? Is that how you justify-"
Ryo's rant was cut off suddenly as Leomon leapt to his feet and drew his sword with inhuman speed, embedding it point-down in the ground between the arguing Tamers.
"That's enough," the leonine warrior growled and glared at each of the boys in turn, neither of them able to meet his gaze for long. "We do not have time for this bickering. Pointing fingers is helping nobody. If you have to carry out this exercise in futility, do it at a more appropriate time."
An uneasy silence descended on the group as Leomon sat back down next to his Tamer. The silence lasted for several minutes before Kenta broke it with a nervous cough.
"So…what are we gonna do?" the green-haired boy asked as he glanced around at the faces of his friends.
"We're too exhausted to try fighting them tonight," Ryo said simply. "And we won't have to keep running for much longer. The portal to the Forest Level is nearby – we should be able to make it there before lunchtime."
"It will be guarded," Cyberdramon growled, surprising even his Tamer. "The prey are not stupid. They know where we are going and that we have only one route available to us."
"So we're gonna end up fighting anyway," Jeri said quietly, slightly unnerved by the dragon's contribution. That had been the most consecutive words she had ever heard him speak. "We're gonna need a plan."
"What about a distraction?" Henry suggested. "Some of us could attack from one direction and lure them out of position, then have the rest of us attack from behind."
"Dividing our forces would be foolish," Gaomon replied with a shake of his head. "If one of the groups was detected they would be unable to survive an attack."
"Maybe a different type of distraction could work," Ryo added with a thoughtful frown. "If we sent out half of the group as bait and let them get spotted, we could have the rest of us waiting to ambush the enemy as they attacked. We could take out a lot of them that way."
"I guess it's as good a plan as any," the canine conceded. "How would we ambush the enemy, though? It's not exactly easy to hide Guardromon or Cyberdramon."
"Then we'll be the bait," Kazu declared with a grin. "We can lure them in while everyone else hides in the trees."
"I'll go with you," Kenta offered hesitantly. "If it all goes wrong, MarineAngemon can help protect you with his shield bubbles."
"It's settled, then," Cam nodded.
"Yeah, you three get to play rabbit while we do all the hard work kicking ass!"
"Terriermon…"
Forest Level, Sage's Tree – 8:22p.m.
Takato sighed contentedly as he swallowed his last mouthful of beef steak, glancing across at his partner who was currently polishing off his third helping. Rika, who had been eating in a much more civilized manner than her two companions, was still halfway through her first. Sage, meanwhile, was not eating at all.
"Thanks for the food Mr Sage," the boy said politely as he wiped the crumbs away from his mouth.
"Please, it's just Sage," the hooded Digimon chuckled in reply. "You certainly seemed to enjoy it."
"Would never have guessed with the amount he got all over his face," Rika muttered between mouthfuls, eliciting an embarrassed blush from her fellow Tamer.
"I've seen messier eaters," Sage reassured the boy with a pointed glance at Guilmon. "Guilmon seems to be doing his utmost to get it all over his snout and my floor."
"Oh, don't worry about that!" Takato laughed. "He'll clean up any mess he makes – probably by eating it…"
"Why am I not surprised?" the dark-skinned Digimon muttered with a grin as he climbed to his feet.
"So, how are our friends doing?" the boy asked in a concerned tone. "You said you were keeping an eye on them, so…"
"They are well, for the most part," Sage replied. "They spent the last day being chased by a horde of Zhuqiaomon's servants – and before you say anything, I would have told you about their predicament but they were too far away for you to reach in time."
"We could have tried anyway!" Rika shouted angrily from around a mouthful of steak.
"With one Ultimate? It would have been suicide. The enemy force has ten Ultimates in total, plus many more Champions."
The redhead's only response was a low growl as she tucked back into her meal.
"How does Zhuqiaomon have so many servants all over the Digital World?" Takato asked with a worried frown. "I mean, so far he's sent more Digimon against us than we can count! There was the Tuskmon, the Goblimon, Megadramon and Gigadramon…"
"Zhuqiaomon is the ruler of this quadrant," Sage replied with a touch of bitterness. "He has access to practically-limitless resources and an army of fanatical, brainwashed followers."
"I thought the Sovereigns were meant to be guardians, not rulers," Rika said, her sarcastic tone making it clear that she didn't believe that for a second.
"Yes, that is what they're supposed to be," their host sighed. "This would never have happened before Nova Ragnarök."
"Nova what?" Guilmon asked with a puzzled frown.
"Nova Ragnarök," the hooded Digimon said slowly. "If you're after an explanation then I'd rather give it somewhere that is more comfortable. It is a very long story."
Rika quickly finished her meal and began to gather up her plates, only for Sage to stop her with a chuckle and a dismissive wave of his hand.
"Oh, don't bother with that. The tree will take care of it."
Minutes later, the two children were sat on a ridiculously comfortable sofa, with Sage sat in the armchair opposite them. Guilmon, meanwhile, was curled up in front of the roaring fire, one eye open and watching Sage as he began his story.
"What I am about to tell you is known to only a select few Digimon. The story was forgotten bit by bit over the years until only the tiniest shreds remained as part of folk stories and myths.
"This is the story of the genesis of the Digital World."
When the Digital World was first created, it was ruled only by chaos and disorder. Digimon were nothing more than rabid animals and the very surface of the world was dangerously unstable. Eventually, the programmers who created the Digital World came up with a solution. They designed an advanced digital life form to watch over and maintain the functions of the Digital World. This program was a great success and it quickly set about its task of stabilizing the demented plane. It sent parts of its own programming to different parts of the world, separating large fragments of it into the four quadrants and then into the Levels that you know today – the desert, the ocean, the jungle and many others. This stabilization of the Digital World allowed the programmers to develop the intelligence of the Digimon to its current high level.
When the original programmers were forced to abandon their project, the ever-watchful program began to ponder the nature of its own existence. It spotted parallels between its own situation and a story from Norse mythology and decided to name itself Yggdrasil – the World Tree. As life continued in the Digital World, Yggdrasil was forced to take on more and more responsibilities. When the Digimon population began to run low, it took action, solving the problem by generating new Digi-eggs in specially-created nurseries whenever Digimon died. It created immensely powerful guardians in the form of the Sovereigns to watch over the quadrants and prevent full-scale wars from erupting. Three of the Sovereigns did their jobs admirably. The fourth, however…was less dedicated. This Sovereign was called Zhuqiaomon.
Not content with the power bestowed upon him by Yggdrasil, Zhuqiaomon began building an army in the Southern Quadrant, forcing Digimon to worship him as a god. Eventually Yggdrasil could tolerate the Sovereign's excesses no longer and it cautioned Zhuqiaomon that to continue his play for power would be to invite disaster. Zhuqiaomon, in his infinite arrogance, dared his creator to strike against him, believing it to be nothing more than a powerless old fraud that was no match for his might. Yggdrasil responded by unveiling its trump card – an elite force of thirteen Mega-level Digimon, each possessing a level of power never before seen in the Digital World. These Digimon were part of a martial brotherhood originally formed by the noble Imperialdramon, and each member had been recruited from the most horrific environments and circumstances imaginable. Before it sent them on their inaugural mission, Yggdrasil christened them with a name that would bring hope to the oppressed and strike fear into the hearts of the unjust. He named them the Royal Knights.
Each of the Royal Knights was a one-man army and though some of the details have been lost, we do know the names of eleven of the members. They were led by the wise and mighty Alphamon, who was gifted with the powerful Alpha inForce – a piece of code that allowed him to warp time itself, striking an enemy an infinite number of times with just one attack. His deputy was Omnimon, gifted with the Omega inForce that allowed him to see the actions of an enemy before they had taken them. Next in the chain of command was UlforceVeedramon, wielder of the terrifying Ulforce. The Ulforce granted him the ability to regenerate damage at unbelievable speed – faster than it was possible to actually cause damage, making him nigh-on invincible. The other members were not granted such powerful gifts, but were formidable nonetheless. There was Duftmon the master strategist, the noble Gallantmon, the passionate Dynasmon, Crusadermon the Indifferent Warrior, the honourable Craniamon, Examon the Dragon Emperor, the loyal Magnamon and the swift-footed Sleipmon.
When the Royal Knights were unleashed upon Zhuqiaomon's armies, the devastation was apocalyptic in scale. Thousands of brainwashed Digimon fell to the blades of the knights, even the Sovereign's Mega-level lieutenants being reduced to ash in the face of the knights' righteous fury. When only Zhuqiaomon himself remained, Alphamon stepped forwards and demanded his surrender. Outnumbered more than a dozen to one by opponents that, even individually, exceeded his own considerable power, the Sovereign submitted and pleaded for mercy. Yggdrasil heard his pleas and allowed the disgraced Digimon to retain his post as Sovereign, under the condition that he would be subjected to constant scrutiny from both Yggdrasil himself and Huanglongmon – a Digimon created specifically to lead the four Sovereigns. As the alternative was death, Zhuqiaomon quickly agreed and his ambitions were kept in check for many years by the watchfulness of Huanglongmon.
Unbeknownst to anyone – not even those who had created it – there was a flaw in Yggdrasil's programming. This flaw caused a madness that spread throughout Yggdrasil's systems and as the years passed it began to make itself known to the world. Yggdrasil called Alphamon into its innermost sanctum and demanded that he and the rest of the Royal Knights worship it as a god. When Alphamon refused, Yggdrasil destroyed him in a fit of rage and promoted Omnimon to the position of leader of the Royal Knights. The great tree lied to its knights, telling them that their leader had left to become a hermit and contemplate the nature of his existence. Yggdrasil then told Omnimon that his last order had been to recognize the undeniable divinity of their creator, even showing a falsified recording as "proof". Faced with such undeniable evidence and motivated by respect for their friend, the Royal Knights bowed their heads in worship.
Things proceeded in this manner for several years, the Royal Knights becoming less like warriors for justice and more like fanatical hired thugs for their god. Yggdrasil's madness peaked at the turn of the millennium when it initiated "Project Ark".
Ark was Yggdrasil's answer to the imagined problem of overpopulation in the Digital World. Instead of merely reducing the rate of creation for new Digimon, it opted for introducing a virus known as "X" into the general population. This virus killed every Digimon it came into contact with, and among its victims was the noble Huanglongmon. Only those few Digimon who possessed a special code mutation known as the X-Antibody were immune. The X-Antibody Digimon formed a resistance group and Yggdrasil was quick to send its Royal Knights after them, declaring them to be "abominations against the natural order". Their minds dulled by over a decade of indoctrination, the knights slaughtered these innocents wholesale. It was then, however, that an old face returned to the Digital World, one not seen since Yggdrasil's self-declared apotheosis. Alphamon had returned.
Somehow the great knight had returned from the planes of Anubismon and he revealed to his fellow Royal Knights the injustices that had been committed by Yggdrasil. With their eyes opened, the knights rose up in rebellion and destroyed their god in a bout of righteous fury in the great battle that came to be known as Nova Ragnarök.
Nova Ragnarök was to have far-reaching consequences that none could have predicted. With the death of Yggdrasil, the Digital World began to destabilize and no new Digimon were being born. Working as quickly as they could, the Royal Knights tried to atone for their mistake by creating a new, more limited program to replace the dead god. It was completed in less than a day and they named it Verdandi in honour of another ancient Norse myth. Unfortunately, they were not quick enough to prevent some damage being done to the Digital World, such as a fusion of large fragments of the Forest, Mountain and Industrial Levels to create the Hub Level. This system was not perfect even when completed, and there have been many errors both major and minor in its operating since then. The greatest tragedy of this saga, however, is the fate of the Royal Knights themselves.
With the death of Yggdrasil, the Royal Knights called a grand council in the ruins of Yggdrasil's fortress to discuss their next move. Alphamon, Omnimon UlforceVeedramon and Gallantmon believed that they should take no further part in the affairs of the Digital World as they had proven themselves to be easily-influenced by others. However, four of their fellow knights – Craniamon, Crusadermon, Dynasmon and Examon – believed that the Digital World would collapse without a strong ruler and argued that the Royal Knights should rule in Yggdrasil's stead. The dispute between the two sides quickly turned nasty as they fought for the vote of the three undecided members – Magnamon, Sleipmon and Duftmon. In the end, Magnamon and Sleipmon sided with Alphamon and his allies, while Duftmon remained undecided, walking out of the chamber in shame and renouncing his status as a Royal Knight as he saw what his brethren had become. The defeated minority led by Craniamon were ejected from the chamber soon after and were forcibly stripped of their membership in the Royal Knights.
It now fell to the remaining knights to plan their next course of action. After a long debate, it was decided that the three Great Forces held by Alphamon, Omnimon and UlforceVeedramon were far too dangerous to be allowed to survive. If another Digimon were to get their hands on even one of these forces, they could install themselves as a new overlord of the Digital World. Unfortunately, these forces had become a part of the Digimon they had been assigned to and removing or destroying them would result in death for the knight concerned. The three Digimon were more than willing to make this sacrifice for the good of the Digital World and the last six Royal Knights made their way to the great temple at the base of the Tree of Yggdrasil. In this temple, the three great knights committed ritual suicide, their Great Forces rising from their rapidly-disintegrating corpses and into the waiting hands of their brothers. As the last knights began the ritual to destroy the three Great Forces, disaster struck. The four rebellious knights broke down the doors of the great temple and attacked while their former allies were distracted, hoping to gain the limitless power of the Great Forces for themselves.
The battle that followed was short but intense. Sleipmon and Magnamon were immediately cut down, Gallantmon falling mere seconds later. As the holy knight was struck down by Crusadermon he was filled with holy zeal and he destroyed the Indifferent Warrior in a burst of crimson light. With his dying breath the mighty warrior lashed out at the three forces, robbing them of the majority of their power and scattering them to the far corners of the Digital World.
The rebellious knights were furious – not only had their plans been foiled, they had also lost one of their number. They began another round of petty bickering, which quickly turned into an all-out battle for control of the Digital World. Their fighting was interrupted by Zhuqiaomon who, sensing the death of Yggdrasil, travelled to his great realm accompanied by an army he had raised in secret with the intention of claiming the dead god's throne. The Sovereign had taken a piece of code called The Catalyst of Digivolution and implanted it into a Digimon. This Digimon was enslaved and forced to use its powers to create an army of Ultimate and Mega-level Digimon for Zhuqiaomon to use in his dreams of world domination.
A pitched battle erupted between the four factions, ending in a four-way tie as a stray attack tore a hole in the fabric of Yggdrasil's realm. Dynasmon, Examon and Zhuqiaomon were thrown into the Southern Quadrant, while Craniamon was slain in the resulting chaos along with most of Zhuqiaomon's army. The three Digimon emerged in different parts of the Southern Quadrant and were horrified to find that the damage to Yggdrasil's realm had caused the walls between quadrants to solidify. Their dreams for conquest of the Digital World were over before they had even begun. The Catalyst had escaped from Zhuqiaomon's fortress in the Sovereign Level, leaving him unable to recreate his grand army. In the meantime, Dynasmon took over command of the Knightmon Orders that had previously been ruled over by his lover, Crusadermon, while Examon founded the Dramon Kingdom deep inside the Mountain Level.
"The three factions were locked into a stalemate that has lasted to this day. While Zhuqiaomon could easily defeat either of his rivals in a pitched battle, he dares not move against one in case he exposes himself to attack by the other."
"So, what happened to Duftmon?" Guilmon asked as Sage finished his story.
"Nobody knows," the hooded Digimon replied. "Some say he was hunted down and killed by Dynasmon, but there is no proof of that. Others say that he still lives on as a hermit in another quadrant, having escaped there via Yggdrasil's realm before it was so badly damaged in the fight."
"You said there were thirteen Royal Knights, but you only mentioned eleven of them," Rika began with a thoughtful look. "What about the other two? Don't we know anything about them?"
"No, but once again, there are theories. It is believed that they left the Royal Knights at around the same time as Alphamon, perhaps a little while before or after. It is possible that they were simply killed by Yggdrasil, but Alphamon's return from the dead brings about the possibility that they too may have been reborn, or could be in the future."
"Why did Yggdrasil let Zhuqiaomon keep his powers? Wouldn't it have been more sensible to turn him into a Rookie or something so he wouldn't be a threat?" Takato asked.
"I do not know why Zhuqiaomon was not completely deposed. It is possible that the flaw in Yggdrasil's system caused him to misjudge the situation, or he may have been unable to create another Sovereign."
"How did Alphamon come back from the dead? Wait, let me guess," Rika snorted. "You don't know."
"Correct. The secret died with Alphamon, or else every Digimon would do it," Sage replied with a grin. "Now, if there are no more questions, you should get some rest. Your friends are going to need your help tomorrow and you'll be leaving for the gate to the Swamp Level not long after dawn."