Okay, I originally thought this chapter would include another important part to it. But the chapter kept getting longer and more detailed, so I ended up post-poning that part for the next chapter. Hopefully, I get to the scene in the next chapter.
There are some interesting developments in this chapter though. Including an important one I've been waiting for. I hope you like it. Anyway, back to the story.
The Kuramon and Tsumemon emerging from the mist in an unyielding swarm kept moving forward, but they were now facing a new opponent. A leonine-like being stood firmly in their path, retaining the biped shape of his champion level while gaining a stronger, bulkier build. Most of his fur was a warm, golden color that sharply contracted with his snow-white mane and the silvery shape of a round shield in his left head and the sword in his right. Around his neck was attached was a cape that was red on the inside and white on the outside. Etched on his shield in gold was the teardrop shape of the Crest of Forgiveness. A pair of thick leather straps crisscrossed his chest and held a yellow orb. He wore a pair of brown pants and leather straps were wrapped around his wrists. His eyes were a golden-yellow with black vertical slits and his mouth held a set of predator-like fangs that conveyed a sense of deadly capabilities without seeming mindlessly savage. He was not just a warrior, however. He fought for honor, but not only that. He was a guardian, a protector, and would face anyone who threatened those he would defend.
Within a yellow orb inside the powerful mega, the brunette tamer stared at the invading Kuramon, Tsumemon, and the now-arriving Keramon she recognized from the card game. Just like when she'd Biomerged in the past, she gained an increase in confidence along with the sense of incredible power. This time, the effort seemed even more intense and she couldn't help but smile at the experience.
Regulumon bared his teeth at the closest group of blue digimon, "I offer you one chance to retreat honorably. Take it or be destroyed. You will not harm this world or those who inhabit it."
"Bug Blaster!" called one of the Keramon, firing a bright ball of light at the mega.
Shifting the shield to deflect the rookie's attack, the leonine warrior stated, "As you wish." He leapt into the fray, swinging his sword while announcing, "Lion-heart Blade!"
The slash extend far beyond where the edge of the weapon reached, cutting through the lower leveled digimon easily. The attack continued to travel after the arm movement ended, leaving behind dissolving creatures behind. By the time the destruction ended, the mega was in the middle of a large empty space.
"Wow," Jeri whispered. "We'll have to be careful with that one."
"Destroy one or destroy one thousand," hissed another Keramon, emerging from the blue mist with reinforcement. "It does not matter. We are many. Everything shall be destroyed."
A Tsumemon added, "Nothing can destroy us. We will find the Programmer, bring him to Diaboromon, and he will be pleased. Do not interfere. You will be destroyed."
"They have a hive mind," Leomon's voice commented to her. "They don't even seem to have much of an individual personality. They have no fear or instincts to survive."
"Sort of like those D-reaper drones," she muttered, briefly recalling the events described by the others. "They protect their power and mind in the center, but not the individual parts." Her eyes narrowed within her sphere of consciousness. "Let's see if we can 'interfere' a little."
Regulumon changed his grip on his shield. The golden symbol of Jeri's crest began to glow against the silvery background of the round discs.
With a powerful toss, he hurled his shields towards the returning masses of digimon while shouting, "Defensive Power!"
The spinning, flying projectile struck one Keramon, ricocheted off to hit three more rookies, glanced off a wall, hit one final Keramon before coming back to the Biomerged mega's waiting hand. Numerous baby and in-training digimon were destroyed in the process without even slowing the shield. Only the slightly-stronger rookies lasted long enough after being struck for the disc-like object to bounce off them before the digimon vanished in an explosion of data. Repeating the same attack, Regulumon hurled the shield around the battlefield again in a series of ricocheting strikes reminiscent of a game of pool. The leonine creature caught his shield once more, as easily as if they were playing a game of Frisbee.
"Do you think Jay and Devidramon managed to get everyone away yet," the girl asked within the yellow orb.
Her partner assured, "I'm certain they are safe."
"Then we need to find a way inside," she stated. "Any ideas?"
"The boy, Kyo, and his sister said that you can't touch the digimon for long since they can have the same effect as the Guardian program," Leomon's voice stated. "But they are vulnerable to attacks."
Realizing what he was thinking, Jeri nodded to herself, "We'll conduct an experiment then."
"Lion-heart Blade!" the dual-voiced being shouted, slashing at another blue Keramon who wandered to close.
The slice continued to destroy the digimon, but also extended to the unnatural mist they came from. Breaking the usual physics of normal weather, sections of the fog shattered into data and a large gap opened up. Regulumon actually managed to push back the advancing Guardian program. The lower level digimon produced angry growls and hisses at the action, but it worked.
"Looks like we can just fight our way in," the girl muttered. "It won't be easy, but it should work."
"Bug Blaster!" another blue creature shouted, racing out of the fog with a number of Keramon.
Regulumon charged forward, roaring, "Lion-heart Blade!"
She opened a portal, once more connecting the digital world and human one. She was leading those she was supposed to find. Tamers, Digidestined, partner digimon, and digimon furious to learn the truth had been all together, practically waiting for her. They wanted a way to face their common enemy, but only a few understood how to cross the border between the worlds in a reliable manner. That was why she'd come to them. Not only did she explain what had transpired in the human world during their absence, she also provided transportation.
Destiny's portal, far larger than those she normally created, opened close to the border of the Guardian program. A very few humans remained in the area and those who did spot the colorful portal's arrival increased their speed of departure. First to step through was Destiny herself, wearing her borrowed jeans and t-shirt. Next, Davis and Veemon followed, moving swiftly out of the way of the opening. Ken, Kari, and T.K. stepped through after him, with JewelBeemon arriving shortly afterwards. There was a pause before the next members came from the Digital World. Eventually MegaGargomon, Sakuyamon, MagnaAngemon, and Angemon appeared through the portal. The two megas stared towards the blue fog for a moment and the angels glanced down towards their partners before they moved out of the way as well. Finally, several digimon arrived through the portal before it closed, finished the collection of back-up Destiny was supposed to bring.
"So this is the human world," grinned Minervamon. "It's kind of deserted. I thought there should be more humans here."
"And that is the work of that lying traitor," Marsmon growled, pointing towards the blue mist.
Valkyrimon nodded, "If the human girl speaks the truth, yes."
"Destiny hasn't lied to us yet," remarked Sakuyamon. "She may not say everything she knows, but she hasn't lied. If she says that thing is connected to Diaboromon, then it is."
Her weapon twirling in her hand, Dianamon stated, "He used us as pawns. He spun lies with just enough truth to seem real and used us as his tools." Her voice darkened and her blue eyes narrowed, "He shall pay for his deceit."
"And he took advantage of our kindness when he was hurt. He turned us against those who wished to be our allies. He lied and tricked us. He used us. Diaboromon broke our trust and that is unforgivable," finished GuardiAngemon.
"Go get him," ordered Terriermon's voice cheerfully. "Just try not to break the city too much. And no taking out the humans either. That tends to make them grouchy."
"Terriermon," his partner's voice scolded.
"Momentai."
The five pure digimon megas were already heading forward, eager to repair the mistakes of the past and deliver justice to the creature that used them for his own purposes. The partnered angels and the Biomerged megas glanced down at the human children, assuring themselves that they would be out of harm's way, before following. Destiny had already described the dangers of Guardian and the plan to head for the DADP building. She also volunteered to help protect the Digidestined themselves while the digimon flew into battle. She was not supposed to battle this enemy directly. The final results were still hidden from her, but the dark-haired prophetess knew that Diaboromon would not be defeated on a single front. His blue mist and Guardian-infused clones were already being slowed and even forced back. Others were uniting and charging forward, preparing for a direct fight against the physical enemy. And some would find a lost power from the past that would unlock a way to win.
A hissing sound provided a small warning before several shapes emerged from the blue fog. They were shaped like sharp-edged cocoons with a red horn and long, thin limbs. Around their heads were a collar of spikes and their small yellow eyes glowed dangerously. Each of their six tentacles ended in dagger-like tips. Finally, bottom of their blue bodies was a deadly, ivory stinger.
"Chrysalimon," Destiny identified. "Diaboromon's champion form."
"On it," nodded JewelBeemon, vanishing from sight. A second later, the closest blue champion stumbled backwards at the same time that a disembodied voice announced, "Spike Buster!"
Davis glanced over at his partner, "I guess we should try ExVeemon this time. We're not going to be able to reach close to ultimate power without a miracle. You can't DNA digivolve while JewelBeemon is dashing around." He grinned ruefully, "I wish we did have a miracle."
These words barely left his mouth before a bright, golden light erupted in front of the boy. Originally flinching back from the brilliance, Davis put his hands out to hold the forming object. The box-like object bore a series of lines that formed the symbol for the Crest of Miracles. While no one they had met actually possessed that crest, the symbol itself was one the boy obviously recognized. The goggle-wearing youth simply stared at the Digi-Egg of Miracle.
Before he could react or activate the golden object, his D-terminal responded by absorbing it the same way it did the Digi-Eggs of Courage and Friendship. In the past, this particular item would be nearly impossible to obtain and would vanish almost immediately afterwards. Now, it was stored with all the others. He could actually use the Golden Digi-Egg when he needed it.
T.K., Kari, and Ken stared at him in surprise while Davis grinned at his friends, his partner, and his D-terminal. Finally, he looked skywards and laughed.
"That wasn't what I was thinking when I asked for a 'miracle,' but it works." He glanced at Veemon, "Ready to show those Chrysalimon who's boss."
"You've got it," the blue rookie nodded, running forward.
Davis held out his blue and white D-3, "Golden Armor Energize!"
"Veemon Golden Armor digivolve to… Magnamon!"
The blue-skinned reptile was now covered in covered in golden armor. His radiant form actually floated off the ground, furthering the impression of amazing power abilities. While technically only an armor-level digimon, those who saw him knew that his power was at least equal to that of an ultimate.
Turning his attention to the emerging champions, Magnamon announced, "Magna Blast!"
Round-shaped shots of plasma began firing at the Chrysalimon at a rapid rate. The blue creatures flinched back from the strikes, but quickly swarmed back.
"Unconnect Buster!" one hissed, his arms shooting forward to slice at the digimon, but failing to scratch through the armor.
Another one announced, "Data Crusher!"
He fired a yellow orb of energy towards Magnamon, but he was already out of the way. The blue digimon tried to re-aim, but an invisible force struck the champion. JewelBeemon chuckled slightly before becoming a nearly silent attacker once more.
Destiny glanced over to the four Digidestined beside her. Davis and Ken watched the battle intently, though Ken was far less loud in his demonstration of support. Kari and T.K. stood closer together, observing the fight in a distracted manner. Undoubtedly, their minds were on their angelic partners and were worried for their safety. They would have preferred to go with Angemon and Angewomon, but it was too dangerous for a human to enter the fog unless they could Biomerge. Some would try to find a way anyway, but these four would remain with her.
Focusing on a particular ability of her crystalline D-arc, the prophetess formed a protective shield around the group. On the outside, it would appear they simply vanished. Magnamon and JewelBeemon were already forewarned about this, however, and would not panic. The blue digimon, on the other hand, would not try to attack the humans since they couldn't see them anymore.
The dark-haired girl looked up and caught sight of motion and heard a faint giggle. She smiled slightly, unable to do anything else when faced with the overwhelming happiness of a Digi-Gnome. They made very valuable allies and could turn the tide with their wish-granting capabilities. But Davis wasn't the only person it would help today. In fact, it should be heading for the next individual right now.
And maybe she could have her own wish granted soon. She knew that she should gain Fate back in the very near future, but it also felt like she was no closer than before. Still, she needed to remain hopeful. It had to work out.
It giggled softly, leaving the group behind. The boy with the goggles was a wonderful wisher. His mind and heart would focus completely on a single concept and desire. When he even stated that he wanted "a miracle," it was clear that no other wish would achieve his happiness as absolutely as that one. He knew what he wanted and no other wishes distracted him. The Digi-Gnome knew it had found the perfect wisher.
Even though the phrasing of his wish sounded vague, it was perfectly clear that he wanted a better way to help stop the fog creatures. But the word "miracle" caught its attention too. Various powers clung to the children. Four held crests similar to those it helped create. Actually, the dark-haired girl possessed one of the card-like crests, though it hadn't been activated yet. The dark-haired boy also wore one around his neck, only in a different shape. The blond boy and the other girl didn't have the physical manifestations, but still possessed the power. Three of the children also carried a different, older power. The blond boy and the light-haired girl each held one of these old powers, but the goggle-wearing boy carried two of these powers and a third one seemed to echo around him, waiting. This old power spoke of traits similar to the crests and the echoing, nearly-absent, third one whispered of the concept of miracles. Amazingly, it seemed the wisher knew of his potential to use the power of miracles, but just couldn't access it. The Digi-Gnome simply helped this power regain a physical form.
When he received his wish, the boy seemed surprised at first. But he quickly became very cheerful and that made it happy. It watched for a few moments before it left, simply enjoying the smile it had created. Still, it knew that there would be other wishers the Digi-Gnome could help. The city was vast and the people in need were many.
The small business owner persona that he portrayed just that morning was completely forgotten by now. He still wore the glasses, navy polo, and khaki pants, but his neatly combed hair was tumbled by the wind and his face filled with manic excitement. Ren never realized how much he missed riding Youkomon until he gained the opportunity once again.
Rounding a sharp turn, the giant fox slid to a halt. Ahead of them were countless small Kuramon and Tsumemon emerging from the fog. The grown man hadn't expected to encounter that, but that wasn't the end of the surprising developments.
"Izzy, look," instructed Tentomon, landing on the ground beside the violet vulpine.
"Are we on a stable surface and remaining inert?" the boy asked suspiciously.
Youkomon shook her back, knocking her passengers off lightly, "You're fine. And we have company."
The Digidestined of Knowledge opened his eyes hesitantly, examining the view from his new location on the ground. In addition to the swarm of blue digimon of the Diaboromon digivolution line, he seemed to notice what already held Ren's attention. Three larger shapes were attacking the small creatures, destroying large numbers without really trying.
One was a large green and white anthropomorphic rabbit with blue pants. On his hands were what seemed like machine guns and a brown bandolier crossed his chest. Under his beady black eyes were a couple of red lines, like war paint, and a red diamond lay on his forehead below a horn. He was currently shooting at everything that moved with extreme accuracy.
Another one, also rabbit-like, wore a yellow jumpsuit over his almost purple fur. His head sported a trio of horns and long, floppy ears. He moved agilely through the swarm, his red-gloved hands equipped with silver blades that could fold back against the hands or flip forward to slice with each punch. His beady black eyes flickered swiftly across the area, examining the moving group of blue digimon. He also wore a blue bandana around his neck and a confident expression.
The third one flew over the group, her powerful attacks contrasting with her delicate features. She seemed like a plant-based fairy, a pink flower nestled on her head with only her normal-looking face and large, black eyes visible. Her dress was made of another pink flower and her four wings were made from giant green leaves. Around her wrists were yellow flowers that turned into a single yellow flower and fired like a cannon.
"Let's see. 'Gargomon, Terriermon's champion form'," muttered Izzy. Ren looked down to find that the younger Digidestined had managed to swiftly pull out his computer and run searches on the digimon after being tossed to the ground by Youkomon. "'His attack 'Gargo Laser' will blast you out of the park.' The purple one is 'Turuiemon, Lopmon's champion form.' At least, his non-corrupted one. 'His 'Gauntlet Claw' will slice his enemies to ribbons.'" The boy looked up and blinked in surprise, "And 'Lillymon, Palmon's ultimate.' Does this mean…?"
"Same as always, Izzy," a female voice commented cheerfully. A tall, brunette girl ran into view and yanked the boy sitting with his laptop to his feet. Izzy stiffened in surprise at her arrival in front of him, but she seemed unaware of her reaction, "Focusing on the computer screen when you should be looking at what's in front of you."
"Mimi?" he choked out. "When did you get here? How did you know to come? And… why are you in your pajamas?"
Ren saw that the reddish-brown haired boy was correct. The teen girl was standing in the middle of the street in a pair of pink pajamas, her hair displaying signs of "bedhead." And Izzy definitely noticed her unusual state.
A second later, a blond boy with bright blue eyes joined the pair, "Hey, Izzy. We got here as quickly as possible. And when we found these Diaboromon copies… the twins decided to take out some frustration on them."
"Glad to see you too, Willis. I'm just surprised," he answered. "Be careful of the fog. It's some kind of physical manifestation of the Guardian program Diaboromon is using. It's been reported to be serious damaging to the health of anyone who comes in contact with it."
"We've been staying away from it anyway," Mimi explained. "It didn't look safe. Besides, they are coming out of the fog. We haven't had to chase them in there yet."
"The others are heading for a building in the center of this mess," Ren described, feeling slightly uncomfortable intruding on this group of close friends. "If possible, we should try to follow."
The two digidestined looked at the adult oddly before nodding slowly. The girl seemed to take Ren's presence more in stride than Willis. He seemed uneasy, watching the blue digimon and mist with a hint of dread and the rabbit-like creatures with concern. The addition of another unknown element, even one on his side didn't seem to help him feel comfortable.
"If we need to go anywhere, I think we need to clear a path," remarked Youkomon. She ran towards the swarm, laughing, "If you aren't evil, I suggest moving. Evil Flame Dragon!"
Turuiemon, Gargomon, and Lillymon jerked out of the way of the black flames she fired from her tail. She leapt nimbly over the destroyed baby and in-training digimon before moving straight into her next attack.
"Fire Ball!" she announced, setting flame to another group of Kuramon and Tsumemon.
"She's good," commented Gargomon. He gestured at a cluster of Keramon emerging from the fog bank, "But we have a few more problems. Gargo Laser!"
Flipping backwards, Turuiemon sliced at the blue digimon and shouted, "Gauntlet Claw!"
"Flower Cannon!" the floral fairy added, firing her large, yellow, flower cannon at the closest cluster of Keramon. The green energy destroyed her targets, but two more for each she killed rapidly took their place. Changing tactics, she began to zip around the enemies, tying them in vines and flowers while announcing, "Flower Wreath!"
"That's a beautiful floral arrangement, Lillymon," Mimi called as her partner pulled her trap tight, destroying large numbers of the digimon. "You should help Sora's mother some time."
"Izzy, I'm going to help," Tentomon remarked.
He nodded, "Right. Time to go on the offensive."
"Tentomon digivolve to… Kabuterimon!"
The large insect took up more space than any of the other digimon present, but remained smaller than many Ren had seen in his lifetime. Like Lillymon, he possessed four wings on his back, though his was less vegetative in nature. His head was protected by a black, hard covering with a long horn. His mouth split into a frighteningly strange set of mandibles with the addition of sharp teeth. His six limbs ended in angular long fingers. The champion's exoskeleton might be blue, but the shade was far darker than the Guardian program or the lower stages of Diaboromon currently emerging.
"Electro Shocker!" the insect announced, firing a burst of electricity at the group of digimon. The low level creatures disappeared in an explosion of data and screams. Even more surprising was the fact that the blue mist shattered upon being hit by the lightning as well. He tilted his head curiously, "That was unexpected."
"Since the fog is a physical manifestation of a computer program, it is made of data like a digimon and the digital world. Thus, it would make sense it would be more vulnerable to a digimon's attacks than anything else," theorized Izzy.
"And that's our ticket inside," Ren stated. "Simply blast our way through the fog and digimon."
"Sounds like a plan to me," his partner grinned. "Evil Flame Dragon!"
Lillymon swiftly added, "Flower Cannon!"
The combined attacks blasted away more of the blue digimon and mist, opening a larger gap. Before they could respond, another Keramon emerged. This one stared at them with intense focus, especially the blond boy and the two rabbit-like creatures.
In a hissing, amazed voice, he remarked, "The Programmer… is here. Good."
Then, not waiting for one of the digimon to react, he dove back into the fog bank. This left the blond digidestined shaking slightly.
They were interfering. The children and their partners were fighting back. Some were even forcing Guardian backwards. The original timeline of destruction would no longer be correct. He would still succeed, but it would take longer.
But the digidestined who fought back was no longer his sole focus. Diaboromon wasn't currently considering the mystery of the children who could combine with digimon, the return of Davis Motomiya and Ken Ichijouji, or even the fact his earlier rescuer and his followers seemed to have learned the truth. Instead, he was thinking of a specific blond child.
Willis. The Programmer. The boy who would have been his partner. He was here. He was in Japan with those… other partners. He came all this way. He wouldn't have to wait for the opportunity to destroy the digidestined. He could do so almost immediately.
First, he would need to leave the DADP computer system. He needed to be the one to physically destroy the boy. But how should he do it? His current long-limbed form had quite a bit of history behind it. He fought as Diaboromon against Omnimon twice. On the other hand, Armageddemon made quite an impression last time.
After a moment, he made his decision. Willis deserved to be destroyed by a brand new, unique form. He could simply manipulate the data from the Guardian program with his own, virus-infused data to create a new mega form. He would invent something specific for the boy's destruction.
Nothing felt more right than the knowledge he would soon destroy everyone and everything. Especially his creator. He wanted to bring his death more than anything.
Okay, originally I wanted to include a scene with Tai, Takato, Impmon, Agumon, and the twins. Unfortunately, there was so much to add to keep things on track, I had to post-pone that until the next chapter.
On the other hand, I did get to have Davis with his own moment. When everyone was trapped in the dream world by MaloMyotismon, he was the only one who was able to escape by not being distracted by their ideal fantasies. While he probably has plenty of dreams (and wishes), I figure he is able to simply focus completely and utterly on a single desire when he wants something. This allows him to temporarily shove aside smaller wishes (like Kari as a girlfriend, being treated nicely by his sister, etc.) and not be trapped in a dream like everyone else. At that moment, he truly wanted nothing more than to see MaloMyotismon defeated. This kind of focus makes him very interesting to a Digi-Gnome.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please tell me what you think. Thanks.