THE VOID BETWEEN ZONES_ _ _| FIVE DAYS AFTER TAIKI FIRST ENTERED THE DIGITAL WORLD_ _ _|
MailBirdramon, a digimon with a rare trait among digimon, was able to fly across the space between zones, hence, at this moment, he was carrying Kiriha, and all of Xros Heart across the space on his back and metallic wings.
"You never mentioned that MailBirdramon could cross the space." Akari noted.
"You never asked." Kiriha replied with a frown. "But now that you mention it, I've been wondering how you all are still outside."
"That would be thanks to Bagura." Dorulumon replied as he glanced to Cutemon, currently holding a glowing red gem. "They give all their subordinate generals a Portal Key that allows them and their armies to travel the space unhindered." With a wry smirk he added. "I kept mine when I left, but let Cutemon hold onto it when we began traveling Zones."
Cutemon nodded. "That's how I got to Green Zone after Dorulumon did!"
Taiki looked at the crystal. "MadLeomon had something like that on his chest."
"Now that you mention it." Kiriha looked over at the long, angled, red horn that sprouted off of MailBirdramon's back. "That looks more crystalline than it does metallic."
Jijimon took a glance at the gem, then at the horn, and concluded. "They are indeed the same material!"
"Huh." Akari blinked as she glanced over at ChibiKamemon. The child from Island Zone was staring in awe at the glowing green air-space around them. She quickly climbed over to him. "Hey."
"Akari-Onee-chan!" ChibiKamemon smiled. "Is this what it's always like?"
She nodded. "Pretty much."
"Wow..." he smiled, and turned back towards the wavering space around them.
"Why'd you sneak into the Xros Loader?" Akari asked after a moment.
ChibiKamemon blinked. "Erm...I..."
"We're almost here!" MailBirdramon called out suddenly.
"About time!" Zenjirou and Lila commented in unison, causing both to jump, then glare at eachother.
And, suddenly, a glowing pinpoint of light in the distance grew suddenly and rapidly, and then...
*cue Title theme*
Taiki! Become a Knight!
LAKE ZONE_ _ _|
High up in the sky, a digital gate opened and Mail-Birdramon came out.
Upside down.
"Huh..." Zenjirou frowned. "Is it just me or is the sky looking awfully green?"
And then, Gravity took hold.
"WAAAHHH!"
"You Just Had to Say it!" Lila cried out in horror.
MailBirdramon quickly jumped into Kiriha's Xros Loader, then back out again, underneath them. It was this split second decision that caught all those falling from hitting the ground and "splat"ing. "You can stop screaming now."
"Thanks, MailBirdramon." Lopmon smiled.
"I hope we don't make a habit of that..." Shoutmon grumbled as he placed his hand on the bump on his head from where he landed. "It'd be pretty annoying."
After a slightly rough landed, everyone took a few moments to re-organize themselves and to check their surroundings.
"So, where is everyone?" Shoutmon commented as he looked around the forest they'd landed in. There wasn't a native digimon in sight. "It's really too quiet." Indeed, not even the birds were chirping, much to RedPickmon's delight.
("No crazy birds to steal my pumpkins! Delightful!" He grinned.)
"Agreed." Kiriha narrowed his eyes. "Of all the rumors I've heard of Lake Zone, it's silence wasn't one of them."
From within the Blue Xros Loader, Gureimon rolled his eyes. "Gee, I wonder why. What with the constant invasions and what have you."
Taiki frowned as a faint musical melody floated through the air. "Did anyone else hear that?"
There was silence for a moment, then Lila asked. "Hear what?"
"It sounded like..." Taiki closed his eyes as he listened.
...There!
"Music!"
"I didn't hear anything." Shoutmon crossed his arms.
"I didn't hear anything either, brother!" Starmon added.
Suddenly, the whole world seemed to shift around them, from a vast forest to a grassy plane.
"What in the...!" Dorulumon growled. "Not again!"
Indeed, it was the same sub-space ripple that had occurred back in Green Zone, the very same one that had dragged Dorulumon from the Digital World to the Real World.
And I mean it literally.
It was the same exact rift.
"Look!" Shoutmon pointed to the sky. "There!"
In the sky were two blurred, distorted beams of energy that were arching up into the air, set for a collision.
Akari and Lopmon Digi-Xrossing, only in the past.
Then, they were all in a city, somewhere in Japan.
There were ghost like Mamothmon all around them, and, once more, you could see a static-ized Dorulumon jump infront of a ghost like pair of Taiki and Zenjirou to block an attack from a Ghosty-MadLeomon.
There was a flash, and the world seemed to stabilize again.
"Just...What was that?" Kiriha frowned as a gust of air flowed through the forest.
"The same thing that happened before Taiki entered the Digital World." Shoutmon commented.
"Now that I actually saw what happened..." Akari frowned.
"That was like Dejavu, only worse." Cutemon shivered.
"De ja vu." Ballistamon confirmed.
Suddenly, something fell from the sky and hit Zenjirou on the head. "Ow! What the...!" He quickly reached down and picked up the object: A pink Cellphone. "Now how'd this get here?"
But, before he could open it, something else fell down near by- Only this shattered upon impact.
"Why do things keep falling for?" Lopmon groaned as Hangyomon quickly went to investigate.
"It's a bird!" The diver reported, causing RedPickmon to freeze in terror.
"A BIRD! LE-GASP! Get it awayyyyy! Killl iiiitttt!"
"It's already dead." Hangyomon continued as he impaled a part of the bird on his spear to hold it up- The poor thing had been frozen solid in it's perch, and the zone destabilization had knocked it loose, somehow. "And it's not the only one..."
Just within the forest were towers of ice- with Digimon stuck inside. Pandamon and ToyAgumon. The poor things...
From within the Blue Xros Loader, MailBirdramon grimaced. "I have a Bad feeling about this."
"Taiki, what do you...?" Akari stopped.
Their General and Dorulumon were gone.
But, not far away, in reality.
The moment that the Zone had warped through space and time was like a warning flare to Taiki- That faint musical note that he had heard moments earlier was stronger than ever- The soul-song-Melody of a Digimon.
This time, Dorulumon had heard it too. And so, now they both were running off towards the source of the melody.
"It's almost exactly like when we met!" Taiki started. "I didn't realize it at first, but when we were talking, there was a melody!"
"Mine?" Dorulumon narrowed his eyes.
"Exactly!" Taiki nodded.
"Now that you mention it, I do remember hearing something similar, but I thought it was because of whatever sent me through to your world." Dorulumon confirmed.
"I didn't even figure out what it was until now!" Taiki continued. "There's either a portal back home, or a Digimon that needs our help!"
They quickly reached their destination, one of the many lakes that made up Lake Zone, there were more frozen ToyAgumon and Pandamon, but there was a squad of Eight PawnChessmon, all of whom were crying at the edge of a frozen lake- of which had a portion of it smashed open.
"Oi! What's wrong!" Taiki called out.
A few of the PawnChessmon looked up suddenly. "K-Knightmon-Sama!" one immediately burst into tears.
"It's Knightmon-sama!" Another continued. "Knightmon-Sama got thrown into the lake right before the sky changed!"
"We don't know if he's allright!" A third started sobbing.
Taiki pulled out his Xros Loader and aimed it at the lake. "Knightmon!" he called out. "Knightmon! Can you hear me?"
There was a faint burst of static via the speaker in the Xros Loader, and then Knightmon's voice came out. "Eh...? Who are you...?"
"Kudo, Taiki!" he replied. "I've come to save you!"
"Y-You're the General we've all be waiting for!" the voice was getting fainter by the second. "I'm only sorry I won't be able to be of any assistance..." there was a bit of regret. "Please take care of the PawnChessmon for me..."
The group of Eight started crying again.
"I won't accept that!" Taiki called out again. "I won't let you die!"
"Oi! Knightmon!" Dorulumon started. "He means it too! Wouldn't let me die in peace at all!"
"...A true warrior...I suppose..." the recieved signal was breaking up.
"Knightmon! Hold on for just a few more seconds!" Taiki narrowed his eyes in determination before shrugging off his Jacket, pulling his goggles down over his eyes, and jumping into the freezing lake.
"Taiki!" Dorulumon groaned. "Oi... What is it with you...?"
"DORULUMON!" Cutemon called out as he- and the rest of Xros Heart- came running up. "Where's Taiki!"
"In the water!"
"I'll go get him then!" Zenjirou tried jumping in, but the water was already so cold that he jumped back nearly a foot away from the shore. "COLDDDD!"
Taiki swam as fast as he could towards the orange static like burst now sinking towards the bottom. 'Just Hang on, Knightmon!'
"You don't have to do this for me!" The Knight Pleaded.
'Yes I do!' Taiki aimed his Xros Loader at the yellow burst of static, and it was sucked into the Xros Loader. A smile broke out on his face... And he realized that was a bad place to do so; being under water after all.
All of the air in his mouth rushed out and he choked, nearly drowning on the water...
'Idiot!' he cursed himself as he blacked out. 'Dumb! Dumb! Stupid! Dumb!''
The last thing he saw, however, was a glowing shimmer of broken space where Knightmon's Melody had been.
Moments later, ChibiKamemon pulled their General out of the murky depths of the ice-water. "He's alive!"
"Thank you, ChibiKamemon!" Akari smiled at the Digimon as she helped him pull Taiki out.
"What was he thinking?" Kiriha frowned. "That was borderline suicidal!"
"He wasn't." Dorulumon grimaced. "He did the exact same thing when I almost died, too."
"Eh?" that was news to the General of Blue Flare.
And so, while Shoutmon quickly got a fire started to dry off their General, Zenjirou set off to investigate the cell-phone that had fallen from the sky.
From the outside cover alone it was easy enough to deduce that it was a girl's phone- one of the latest models, actually, judging from the brand and shape of the phone. The inside cover didn't hurt that fact at all- There was a girl on the background screen- looking a suspicious amount like Akari (excluding the fact the phone owner's eyes were brown, and not yellow; her hair was black, not red; and she looked a bit older too. But the hair style and facial features were practically identical!), she was posed infront of a tower, with a blimp off to the corner.
"She looks happy." Lila noted. "I can practically hear her saying 'I got it!' at the timing."
"Yeah, me too..." Zenjirou frowned as he looked the main screen over. "NO SERVICE" was flashing brightly on the screen, just below the clock- incidentally set to two days earlier. There was a "Call History" that seemed to be password locked, same for the Address Book, but the "My Photos" Gallery was unlocked.
Entering that showed more of the girl, with her family, classmates, and her pet cat. Then came the abnormal.
It was a blue car- Stuck half way into a wall- Half way up a building's surface- and still containing it's shocked passengers. There was a clear green outline where the car met the building, and it suspiciously looked like the space between the Zones of the Digital World.
The next picture was no better: It was Tokyo Tower, bent and twisted and stretched high into the sky. Worst of all? There was a flaming bird, barely visible, blurring across the screen- And there was a DeathMeramon on the tower as well.
"And here I thought we'd seen the last of him." Zenjirou frowned.
The next picture showed several red streaks in the sky- Meteors. The next was of a crater that appeared to have once been a bakery. The next was of a devilish, purple imp throwing a fire ball at a parking meter. And the next...
The Last was of Digital Space itself, barely showing the rapidly shrinking portal that had been the exit from Earth.
"That's..." Lila gulped.
"Yeah."
That the Bagura army was already moving onwards to the nearby Castle was painfully obvious, and Akari could not- would not- let the PawnChessmon's home be destroyed.
"We're going to stop them from reaching the castle!" She smashed her left fist into her right hand. "Bagura won't be able handle one general, let alone three!"
Kiriha nodded. "We'll make sure your castle remains in one piece!"
"Thank you, Chessu!" One PawnChessmon beamed in delight.
With that, MailBirdramon was reloaded from the Xros Loader, and- once Kiriha, Akari, Shoutmon, and Lopmon were on board- he launched off after the Bagura army.
"We'll wait here for when Taiki wakes up!" Zenjirou called out.
"Okay!" Akari grinned.
The Attacking forces of IceDevimon and his Icemon brigade were fast approaching the Castle of Bastila, the crown Capital of Lake Zone. The Icemon- who were essentially Gotsumon but were made of ice instead of rock- froze any resistance they came across.
"Yesss...!" IceDevimon grinned in delight. "Lilithmon-Sama shall be pleased with our progress!"
Unfortunately...
*cue Blazing Blue Flare*
"NIGHT HAWK!"
FWHAM-BAM-K-BLAMM!
MailBirdramon was already descending upon them.
"What the!" IceDevimon's eyes widened in shock as random pockets of his Icemon brigade exploded into data.
"ROCK DAMASHIII!" Suddenly, Shoutmon jumped off of MailBirdramon's back, flinging twin spheres of musical fire.
Two of the Ice-Catapults that were to be used in the oncoming assault were set ablaze and deleted instantly.
Akari and Lopmon came off next, the former performing a back flip as she sung into her Mic stand, and the latter spinning like a top.
"TINY TWISTER!"
"SOUL CRUSHER!"
The fire attack rushed out, and merged with Lopmon's air attack, creating a burning twister that wound its way across the battle field.
aoku moeru honoo ni
"PLASMA CANNON!" Kiriha ordered, and, instantaneously, a beam of plasma shot down from the sky, smashing it's way through several more catapults.
yurameku
IceDevimon growled as Shoutmon, Lopmon, and Akari landed on the ground infront of his invading forces. "Just who are you!"
sanretsu no yuushi
"He doesn't know?" Shoutmon blinked in mock horror. "He really doesn't know!"
"It seems he doesn't." Akari shrugged in mock amusement. "Shall we introduce ourselves then?"
tekijin koete todoroku
"Let's then!" Shoutmon spun around and struck a pose. "The 'Mon who will one day become King: Shoutmon!"
tsume to kiba no SYMPHONY
Akari winked then swung her Mic-Stand through the air. "The Girl with fire in her heart: Akari Hinomoto!"
daremo yatsu wo tometari dekinai
Lopmon jumped up into the air with a backflip, then landed on Akari's head. "The Tiny Tornado of Ice: Lopmon!"
"Engrave it onto your hearts!" they chimed in as Shoutmon held up the red Xros Loader.
susume michi naru sekai wo
"Oname wa...!" Shoutmon spun the white circle on the Xros Loader, summoning a screen of Akari, then summoning a screen of Lopmon.
unmei no GENERAL
There was a flash of Light as Akari and Lopmon fused together into Turuiemon Xros Two. "TEAM: XROS HEART!" upon that introduction, she jumped into battle. "XROS CUTTER!"
tachi hadakaru mono subete kami kudake
"I Am Kiriha Aonuma!" Kiriha smirked as he Reloaded Gureimon and Golemon right ontop of a few catapults. "Lead General!"
"I am MailBirdramon!" The flying bird chimed in. "Flying Ace!"
doko ni kieta no darou
"Gureimon's my name!" The Dinosaur grinned as he stomped on a few Icemon. "I need no other introduction!" he roared.
"We are BLUE FLARE!" Kiriha finished. "The Blazing fire that will restore the World!"
yasashiku amai kinou wa
With that, he spun the white ring on his Xros Loader, selecting MailBirdramon and Golemon. "Digi-Xros!"
"GOLEMON!"
"MAILBIRDRAMON!"
"DIGI-XROS!"
takanaru ryuu no ibuki ga
With a second flash, the Golemon Tail Hammer had once again been formed.
An icemon gulped. "We're toast..."
yatsu wo kaeru SIGNAL
Actually, they were pancakes as MailBirdramon squashed them with a flip and a hammer.
ao no gun ga daichi wo yurugasu
IceDevimon gulped as his forces were decimated by Shoutmon's Rowdy Rocker attack, and X2's Burning fire blades, as well as being squashed by the Tail-Hammer and Gureimon's massive feet. "Th...NO FAIR!"
"Fair? You wan't fair?" Gureimon smirked.
misero tsuyosa no akashi wo
"Wait! No! I-!"
saikyou no DIGI-XROS!
"MEGA FLAME!" A Roaring purple blaze launched out and seeked to melt evem more Icemon, IceDevimon barely managed to avoid the 4000* Kelvin flames by jumping into the air.
yurusenai ima wo subete kami kudake
"I'll be Back!" He cried in anguish. "Just you wait! I'll be back!"
"Well." Turuiemon X2 grinned as the remaining Ice forces retreated after the leader. "I Think that went well!"
Creatures born in the digital realm: Digimon. Although made of data, they laugh, fight, and cry just like us! They're our special friends! Let's gather up as many teammates as we can! Come along with us on this marvelous adventure through the world!
"DIGI-XROS!"
*Cue Never Give Up! (Tv Size) By Sonar Pocket*
THE CASTLE OF BASTILA_ _ _| CROWN CAPITAL OF LAKE ZONE_ _ _|
Knightmon and his forces had obviously been stopped by Bagura. That much could be seen via the approaching mass of white from the North.
"Prepare the fortress for bombardment!" Princess Bastemon, the leader of her Zone, told a ToyAgumon. "IceDevimon's forces will be here within striking range soon!"
"Toy!" The Plastic-Block Agumon nodded, then headed off to inform the rest of the troops.
Princess Bastemon was the eldest of two daughters, and, after the death of their parents, was the one to succeed as ruler of the Zone. She wasn't taking it very well.
For one thing, she didn't have time to put on those fancy and silly dresses that she liked to wear; instead setteling for simple military jeans and jacket. Bagura was invading too often these days to waste time with such things. Even her hair style had suffered, instead of being able to tie it up in a long, winding brade, she had cut it short to save on the time required on combing it.
Secondly, despite her self-defence training and all of the sword techniques she had learned to use in the fight against Bagura, her loyal subjects couldn't stand the thought of her going out to fight and possibly dying- or worse, getting captured.
'Knightmon...' she gripped the railing overlooking the Zone in worry. 'Did you finally...?'
Her question, however, was cut short as a large, blue and silver metallic bird flew over the invading Ice forces and dropped several explosives on them.
"What the-!" she gasped as, moments later, there were several flashes of red light, and- suddenly- a spiraling fire tornado appeared out of thin air.
Princess Bastemon quickly grabbed a passing Pandamon. "Quick! cancel my previous order! Tell everyone: the General has finally arrived!"
BACK AT THAT ONE FROZEN LAKE_ _ _|
"Thanks again, Chibi-Kamemon." Taiki smiled at the computer mouse.
"It was nothing!" he smiled. "I'm just glad I was finially able to help out!"
"You risked yourself for Knightmon-Sama!" a PawnChessmon bowed. "You truly are our awaited General!"
Taiki jumped slightly. "Oh, Speaking of..." He held out the orange Xros Loader and called out: "Reload: KNIGHTMON!"
There was a flash, and a quick beat of a musical melody, and the armored warrior rematerialized. "Knight!" he cried out as the world re-appeared for him. "I've returned!"
"Knightmon-Sama!" the PawnChessmon quickly swarmed their massive companion with lots of hugs. "You're back! You're back!"
"Yes..." Knightmon turned his blue eyes towards Taiki. "Thanks to him."
"Ah, it was nothing!" Taiki tried to shrug the compliment off. "I'd have done it for anyone!"
"But I am not just anyone!" Knightmon started. "I am the Sub-commander of the Independent forces of Bastila!"
"Bastila?" Zenjirou frowned. "What's that?"
Lila elbowed him in the chest. "That's the name of the Kingdom that rules over Lake Zone! Don't be an idiot!"
Ignoring their comments, Knightmon continued. "If I were to die and you were not here, the Princess would be alone in her defence, and Bagura would soon over-run us all!"
"Speaking of Bagura." Dorulumon commented as a burning tornado began to form in the distance. "I'd say they're getting thuroghly trounced."
"That... is your might?" Knightmon stared at the ferocious battle quickly eradicating the Icemon forces.
"Yeah, Our combined strength with Blue Flare." Taiki nodded. "Kiriha's our ally."
"Blue Flare...?" Knightmon narrowed his eyes. "And what is the name of your team?"
"Akari-Onee-chan's team is called Xros Heart!" Chibi-Kamemon added. "Her father started it a long time ago to fight Ba-!"
"Xros Heart?" Knightmon and a few PawnChessmon exclaimed in shock. "Your team is Xros Heart!"
"Yeah." Taiki nodded. "Why? Is there something wrong?"
Knightmon shook his head. "No! But we at Bastila thought that Hinomoto's legacy had ended with his final conflict with Bagura! That he has a daughter...?"
"We never knew that, Chessu!" one of the PawnChessmon noted. "Our Luck has just doubled tremendously!"
A few moments later, Kiriha and MailBirdramon arrived to pick up those that had not gone to fight Bagura's approaching army, and to take them all to the castle of Bastila.
Yes, I really couldn't come up with a better transition than this.
Stop staring...
Please!
A short time later (yes another one of these "A BLANK TIME later" transitions), The Xros Heart and Blue Flare teams had arrived at the main Castle of Bastila.
"A short time ago, a commanding officer of Bagura took on the King and Queen at once." Knightmon started as he lead them through the winding passage ways past the various ToyAgumon and Pandamon that were scurrying about. "They sealed him within a mountain at the farthest reaches of this Zone. Unfortunately spending their life forces in the process."
A PawnChessmon decided to pick up where Knightmon left off. "The Princess took over in commanding the armies against Bagura's invading forces, Chessu. She's had a hard time keeping up pace however..."
{Zenjirou's eyes widened slightly. "A Princess?" excitement began to flood his voice. "Is she-OOF!"
Lila cut off his sentence before he could finish it with an elbow to the gut. "Oi! Don't say such things out loud!"}
Knighmon grimaced under his helm'. "Yes, The Princess has not been taking the stress very well, as the Code Crown has still not yet been found."
"That's why Bagura's still invading." Kiriha surmised. "The Code Crown has not even been taken by the owners of the Zone."
Knightmon nodded. "Exactly. But now that you've arrived...!"
Another PawnChessmon let loose a cheer. "The Code Crown is sure to be taken by you and we won't have to deal with Bagura's mean ol' ice brigades anymore!"
"It's a good thing we came then." Akari nodded, casting a glance at Taiki. 'We really came here because of something a Bagura General said... Can that really be called luck?'
Unknown to the group, however, was a pair of glowing, feline eyes staring at them from the shadows. Or rather, one particular form in the group.
BAGURA EMPIRE_ _ _|
"Oi! Tac-chan!"
Tactimon groaned as he entered the main chamber. "Yes? What is it, Blastmon?"
"You're back early is all." The hulking mass of shimmering stone noted. "What happened to Magma Zone? Did you kill that filthy traitor?"
"No." Tactimon tossed his encased sword onto the lounge chair that Lilithmon usually sat on before colapsing next to it. "AncientVolcamon went insane from the heat."
"Eh?" Blastmon blinked, confused. "What?"
"It was a ruse." Tactimon stared at the still confused General. "A Trap."
"Oooohhh! So he made up Dorulumon being there?"
"Yes. Exactly." A thought struck him then. "Where's Lilithmon?"
"Ah, something about Lake Zone, you know how she gets when she's about to get a Code Crown." Blastmon chuckled as he went to monitor one of his Zones. "Or rather, not get one."
Tactimon's reply was cut short as he caught the sight of a certain Assassin vanish into a teleportation spell. 'Hmm, what did he want?'
LAKE ZONE_ _ _| BAGURA BASE CAMP_ _ _|
"Oi!" Icedevimon sneered as he marched into the frozen cave. "Where's my special ice Slushie drink?"
"I'm drinking it." A female voice briskly replied from his left.
IceDevimon's head twirled so fast that ice chips snaped off of his frozen leather suit. "L-Lilithmon-sama!" his eyes widened.
"Yes? What is it you miserable excuse for a general?" The female asked as she let the emptied frozen glass smash against the ground. "Come to report another failure?"
"N-N-no! Not at all!" IceDevimon was floundering. And, of course, who wouldn't. Lilithmon was not your average General. She had a keen eye for Fashion, and was always wearing just the right thing to suit a particular Zone. For example, instead of the standard Japanese Kimono she wore inside the main head-quarters, she was now wearing a black, somehow-heat-retaining, skin-tight leather jacket over a knee-length Purple dress; and instead of the sandals she wore in base were now a pair of knee-high leather boots with fancy golden straps.
To summarize, She dressed for the occasion, where as her fellow Generals had a one-outfit wardrobe.
And IceDevimon both loved and hated his commanding officer for that.
"Oi!" She snapped. "You were drooling again."
IceDevimon blinked, then brushed the forming ice-sicle off of his chin. "S-Sorry, Lilithmon-Sama!"
"So, what was it you came to report?" She leaned forward, almost pressing her nose against his. "Something about failing to capture the Code Crown?"
"I-ItWasn'tMyFaultISware!PLEASEDON'TKILLMEEEEEE!" he started sobbing.
Lilithmon stared at the iceman as he got down on his knees and started begging for his life. 'What a waste of a perfectly scary General.' she grimaced.
THE CASTLE_ _ _| THRONE ROOM_ _ _|
"Princess Bastemon!" a ToyAgumon saluted as he rushed up from the main chamber doors. "Knightmon-Sama has returned! And he has the Generals with him!"
The Feline cat princess looked up suddenly. "Generals?" As in Plural? "Let them in!"
At that order, the Pandamon that worked Door controls undid the lock on the gate, and swung it open. "Presenting now; Knightmon-Sama with Teams Xros Heart and Blue Flare!"
"Knightmon!" She smiled as the Knight and his brigade of PawnChessmon entered the room, immediately followed by the two armies he had recruited. "I'm glad to see that you're not hurt!"
"My Lady." he bowed. "I apologize, but I fear I might have been dead had Taiki-Dono not arrived on time!"
{Taiki blinked. "Dono?"
Shoutmon grinned. "Hey, if he puts you in a good standing with the princess, don't compla-OW!"
Akari growled as she lightly whacked her fellow General on the head. "Hmmf."
Shoutmon glanced upwards at her. "What was that for?"}
"Which one is Taiki?" The Princess asked as she glanced over at the gathered crowd. "I want to give him my thanks."
Zenjirou went to take a step forward, but instead was tripped up by Lila's foot, sending him crashing into Taiki and pushing the boy forward a few steps. "Erm..."
"Yeah! That's Taiki!" Shoutmon grinned. "Always helpin' even if it Kills him!"
"Thank you very much for saving Knightmon." She smiled at him.
"Ah, it was nothing, I'd have done it for anyone, really." He smiled back, slightly nervous.
Concurrently, while the Generals and fighters began conversing about defence and attack strategies with the Royalty of the Zone, ChibiKamemon found himself trying to count the individual rocks in the floor.
Yes, something clearly much more important and time consuming than defending a Zone from Bagura.
He sighed. 'Why did I even come along for? I can't fight... And the most I've done is help Taiki out of a lake...'
Meanwhile, those feline eyes from the shadows narrowed upon their target: Feet were pressed against the wall, legs coiled back in preparation to jump.
ChibiKamemon looked up as one of the PawnChessmon started looking around nervously. "Erm, excuse me..."
"Eh? Yes? What is it?" The Chessmon was exceedingly nervous.
"What's wrong?"
"You'll see soon enough." The PawnChessmon noted as he glanced around now. "Soon enough indeed. Always. Always Four Minutes and Thirteen Seconds after we get in. Always always always. Except for when it's six minutes twelve seconds..."
...Ooookay...
ChibiKamemon carefully took a step back away from the PawnChessmon. There might possibly be something wrong with that one...
And then, with a happy-go-lucky grin, the owner of the pair of eyes jumped out of the shadows, already diving for her target. "CHESSUUUUU!"
GLOMP!
The PawnChessmon braced himself for the impact that always struck him... Except for the fact that it HADN'T hit him...
Instead, the younger of the two Princesses, Chibi-Bastemon, had decided to glomp the unsuspecting Chibi-Kamemon.
The PawnChessmon blinked at the younger princess, currently dressed in a black T-shirt with the symbol for Leo on the front and a pair of slightly too wide pants. "Woah! She Didn't hit me! She Didn't hit me!' he cheered and started laughing. "oh Finally she didn't hit me!"
"Erm..." The poor Computer mouse blinked. "What just happened...?"
"Don't worry." The cat-princes that was now pinning him to the floor grinned. "He's always like this!"
"Oh..." He blinked again. "And you are?"
"The purr-rincess silly!" she rolled the "r" for some odd reason, that strange grin never leaving her face.
Meanwhile, the only member of Xros Heart that was fully paying attention to the sudden 'glomp' was RedPickmon, who meerly whistled at the spectacle. "Well, atleast it was a cat and not a bird."
"Oh oh oh oh oh! Tell me about it!" The PawnChessmon nodded. "They're always swarming in my armor when I get it back from the cleaners! It's like some sort of electro magnet to them!"
"Oooh! Right right!" RedPickmon nodded. "They're always stealing my pumpkins too!"
"Pumpkin?" The Chessmon asked in return. "What Pumpkin?"
"EXACTLY!" RedPickmon grinned in return.
As the two conversations wore on, Zenjirou sighed. "I hope he doesn't decide to join us, One crazy 'mon is more than enough."
A SHORT TIME LATER_ _ _|
All of Bastila Castle was cheering and celebrating, for not only was the Legendary General here, but there were two others also! Truly, Bagura would soon be forced out of their fair kingdom.
"DIGI-NOIR!" Shoutmon grinned with glee as he beheld the spread of the festive treats spread out before them.
"Fell free to eat whatever you like, Toy!" A ToyAgumon started. "It's all fair!"
With that said, the Starmonz, Shoutmon, Lopmon, and Cutemon dove into the feast. Dorulumon shook his head at the antics. "Yare Yare..."
Now where had Taiki wandered off to again...? With Finding the General in mind, Dorulumon started off down the hallways to try to find the boy.
The castle itself wasn't so much of a maze as it was winding staircases. The Bastila Castle was tall and thin, unlike most Castles that one would think of upon hearing the word. And, fortunately enough, it was easy to locate the three Generals.
They were out on a balcony, conversing about something.
"You saw our world?" Kiriha frowned.
"Yeah." Taiki nodded. "It was strange."
Through the rift was a city. A city somewhere on Earth.
"It was distorted though." Taiki continued. "Like when the Cable signal gets corrupted."
"Cable?" Akari blinked. "What's that?"
"Television." Kiriha rolled his eyes. "He means that it looked like a broken TV set."
(Un-noticed by them, a Monitamon jumped slightly when that was said. Elsewhere in the Zone, another sneezed. And in another Zone entirely, an elder Monitamon just nodded wisely.)
"Oh... You mean those stray shows that float around?" Akari mused the thought over for a minute. "Yeah, those do get corrupted sometimes..."
"But what caused it in the first place?" Kiriha narrowed his eyes. "The only thing that could possibly affect the Digital World like that would be the..."
"The Code Crown." Dorulumon interjected.
"Right." Kiriha turned his head towards the wolf. "The Code Crown."
"What do you mean?" Taiki asked. "I thought the Code Crown was split up into different pieces?"
"It was." Dorulumon started. "But Bagura's been collecting for a long time now. Before I split, Bagura roughly had ten spread between the Three Generals. I suspect it's double that now."
"Ten times two, times three..." Akari quickly did the math. "That's nearly Sixty code Crowns!"
Kiriha brought up his Xros Loader. "I have Ten Code Crowns."
Akari counted hers as well. "Only three."
"That'd be almost Seventy Code Crowns all together." Taiki reasoned.
"There are even more than that." Dorulumon continued. "I don't know the exact number, but rumor was that it's somewhere over One Hundred."
"One Hundred Zones..." Taiki started. "And Bagura has the Majority of them?"
"We've got our work cut out for us then." Akari commented. "If one of us takes out even just one General, then that's twenty Code Crowns right there!"
"It won't be that easy though." Kiriha frowned. "Tactimon has an ulterior motive, I've never met Blastmon, and Lilithmon's..."
The shock wave of a spontaneous explosion cut his sentence off.
"Bagura!" Zenjirou cried out as he ran up to them, followed by Knightmon and Ballistamon. "Bagura's attacking!"
"Taiki-Dono!" Knightmon started. "Please lead us in this battle!"
"Of couse!" Taiki grinned as he pulled out his Xros Loader. "I can't turn my back on you!"
Yes, Indeed, Bagura had returned, and they brought their catapults with them once more.
The Lead Icemon sneered in triumph as the first wave of Ice boulders smashed onto the island's shore. "Forwards! Onwards! Press the advantage!" he ordered. "General Ice-Devimon and Lilithmon-Sama want that Code Crown!"
"Uh... Sir..." One of his companions pointed skywards.
"Yes? What is it..." The Lead Icemon glanced up to the sky, and gulped. "Oh... Dear..."
Charging right towards them with all of his might was noneother than MailBirdramon.
"NIGHTHAWK!"
*Cue BLAZING BLUE FLARE!*
A Symphony of explosions riped through the front lines once more as MailBirdramon barrel-rolled through the sky. He Swooped down, snatched up several Icemon into his claws as Kiriha dismounted.
aoku
"Oi! Remember me?" He smirked as he held out the Blue Xros Loader. "Reload: GUREIMON!"
moeru honoo ni
There was a flash of light as Gureimon squashed several more Icemon under his claws. "Hello Boys! I'm BA-AAAACK!"
yurameku
"MailBirdramon! Gureimon!" Kiriha ordered. "DIGI-XROS!"
sanretsu no yuushi
The two digimon in question transformed into beams of light that shot back towards behind Kiriha as they merged together.
tekijin koete todoroku tsume to kiba no SYMPHONY!
The dazzeling light show of blue light and electricity then vanished spontaneously.
daremo yatsu wo tometari dekinai
"METALGUREIMON!"
SMASH!
That is, until the massive, Hulk of a brute called MetalGureimon landed once more in the middle of the battle field.
The lead icemon's jaw dropped. "Oh frell."
susme michi naru sekai wo
"It's Lunch Time!" With that, MetalGureimon took to the air on the wings given by MailBirdramon, flying at such an angle that the visor on the helmet he wore reflected the sun violently back down upon the Icemon.
unmei no GENERAL
"GIGA DESTROYER!" he roared, and, upon opening all missile ports, rained Overkill down upon the poor Icemon.
tachi hadakaru mono subete kami kudake
Meanwhile...
"HEAVY SPEAKER!"
doko ni
Those Ice-boulders contained a nasty surprise- They were filled with Icemon!
"DORULU TORNADOOO!"
"Have I mentioned how much I HATE Bagura right now!" Akari growled as she smashed her microphone stand over an Icemon's head.
kieta no darou
"I agree!" Knightmon slashed through an Icemon. "Whole Heartedly!"
Yasashiku amai kinou wa
But something about this didn't sit right with Taiki. "Where's their general?"
takanary ryuu no ibuki ga yatsuu wo kaeru SIGNAL
"TRIDENT CLAAWW!" MetalGureimon smashed his cyber-enhanced left claw into a catapult, shredding it with MailBirdramon's tail blades.
"You there!" Kiriha called out as he pressed his foot down on one of the Icemon's chests. "Where's your general?"
ao no gun ga daichi wo yurugasu...
Deep within the castle, inside the water treatment center, several of the "Iceboulders" that had landed in the moat had floated down within the castle, including among them, IceDevimon and several Icemon.
"Heh... We're in..."
Princess Bastemon clenched her fists tight around the railing as she watched the Icemon attack her castle once again.
misero tsuyosa no akashi wo
"Knightmon... Please..." she frowned.
"Now now, princess, didn't they ever teach you not to fall in love with your body guard?" A cold, chilling voice started behind her. "After all... They might just fail to protect you while protecting you."
saikyou no DIGIXROS...
Bastemon turned around. "IceDevimon, I presume?"
"Yes..." He sneered. "We meet at last..."
yurusenai ima wo subete...
"Now then..." An Icemon stepped forward. "Give us the Code Crown Or Else!"
"Or else what?" The princess shot back.
"Or else...!" The Icemon held up his fist...
Kami Kudake!
"ROCK DAMASHIIII!"
...Only to spontaneously explode in a burst of flame and music.
"What the-!" IceDevimon glared at the free floating data. "Who Dares...?"
"Oi!" Shoutmon called out from a nearby ledge. "Didn't you ever learn that it was rude to pick on defenseless princesses?"
"What!" IceDevimon glared. "How did you know about our brilliant attack Stratagey!"
Shoutmon puffed mightily. "As if! I saw through it immediately!"
Suddenly, Lopmon, Cutemon, Starmon, and the Pickmonz surrounded the lot of them.
"Give up while you still can!" Lopmon ordered.
"We won't let you hurt any more innocents, Kyu~!" Cutemon added was a fist punch.
"Prepare for a massive smack down, brother!" Starmon grinned.
"Hah!" Icedevimon laughed. "As if!" And with that, he slashed through his Icemon brigade and absorbed their data immediately.
There was a flash of light, and, suddenly, he grew in size, immediately ripping through the roof with his massive, club like hands. For some odd reason, he decided to yell "HOOOONK!" As he took to the air. "HONK HONK HONK!"
Shoutmon paled. "What... The... Heck..."
The RedPickmon jumped up. "He's Gamzee! He's Gamzee! Take him down! Take Him Down!"
"Who's...?" Cutemon started.
"Nevermind who!" Lopmon grabbed his hand and raced off for the stairs. "We have to stop him!"
asu no yukue ga kietemo
Shoutmon threw a patented "ROCK DAMASHIIIII!" at the massive Ice beast as he ran along the roof tops. The attack just bounced off the frozen 'mon's arm. "Damn it! I can't hit him!"
"BLAZING ICE!" Lopmon let loose a stream of burning Ice at IceDevimon.
"You impudent little...!" he swung at her as the attack grazed his face, but, easily, she dodged.
tatakai wa kienai
"KYUUU!"
"WISH UPON A STAAARRR!"
Shooting Stars, and a super powered fist impacted the Demon in the back of his head.
"Why you...!"
Suddenly...!
"EVERYONE!" Taiki cried out as He, Dorulumon, and Ballistamon ran up from the ground floor. "Sorry we're late!"
"Better Late than never!" Shoutmon grinned.
"DRILL BUSTER!" Dorulumon launched a barrage of Drills out at IceDevimon.
Actual scratches appeared on his form.
Sono hate ni aru
"HEAVY SPEAKER!" Ballistamon launched a wave of sound.
This only drove IceDevimon to thrash towards the blue beetle, managing to ensnare him in one of his fists.
"N'GAH!"
"Ballistamon!" Taiki gasped in horror.
nanika wo oitsuzuke
"ROWDY ROCKER!"
"TRIDENT CLAW!"
Suddenly, diving off of the top of MetalGureimon was Akari, swinging her Mic-stand right at IceDevimon's head, while the Dinosaur lunged for the arm.
IceDevimon was blindsided, and suffered a broken wrist from the impact, Dropping Ballistamon to the ground- but in no condition to Digi-Xros.
Spontaneously, before MetalGureimon could do anything more in the battle, a shadowy form burst from nowhere, slammed into his head, and sent him flying down towards the ground.
"Taiki! We Need Xros Four!" Shoutmon started. Just what they needed. ANOTHER bad guy to fight!
Oi. Wait! Didn't I just say...!
"Ballistamon's no good!" Dorulumon roared as he activated his "Drill Blader" Attack.
And then, Shoutmon blinked. "Right..."
susme michi naru sekai wo
"AKARI!" he held out his hand. "The Xros Loader!"
"Right!" With that, Akari threw the Digivice at her co-General.
unmei no GENERAL
Shoutmon Caught it with ease, and, just as Dorulumon landed next to Taiki, he cried out the magic phrase. "DIGI-XROS!"
tachi hadakaru
"DORULU-CANNON!"
The fusion once again formed, and aimed directly at IceDevimon's chest. "LOCK ON!"
mono subete
IceDevimon couldn't even react, the attack came so suddenly and powerfully. "NOOO!"
F-WHAMMMM!
Kami Kudake!
Data flew into the air, and IceDevimon was no-more.
Now, the mystery remained... What was the shadow that sent MetalGureimon flying with one hit?
BAGURA BASE_ _ _|
"That went about as well as I could have expected." Lilithmon sighed as she watched the burnt and scathed form of IceDevimon teleport in from the epicenter of the explosion.
"S...Sorry...Lilithmon-sama..." he murmured. "I..I failed..."
"Yes. I see." Lilithmon placed her hand on her face. "So many times."
It was then that Ba'almon teleported into the base. "Lilithmon."
"Oh, it's the Shinigami." Lilithmon narrowed her eyes. "What do you want?"
"Just to offer my humble services." The assassin replied. "My dear General."
Lilithmon raised an eyebrow. "Oh...?"
THE CASTLE_ _ _|
"Thank you all for helping us." The princess smiled at the gathered warriors. "The Bagura Army nearly had us all there."
"It was nothing! Really!" Akari smiled back. "We'd do it again in a heart beat!"
Kiriha nodded. "Blue Flare will remain as long as necessary."
"Bagura won't dare come at us again!" Shoutmon smashed one of his fists into his open hand. "Especially with Three Xros Loaders against them!"
The princess smiled. "Thank you all. I Don't think there's any way I can show my gratitude any more!"
"Hey! Didn't you say you were going to make Taiki A knight?" Shoutmon grinned. "Maybe you could..." he trailed off. "Eh, Taiki?" He turned around to lightly nudge the boy. "You've been a bit quiet..."
It was then that the combined stress of the recoil from the Dorulu Cannon and the general lack of sleep from the past three days finally caught up with our poor general.
"Taiki!" came the mass cry as the goggle wearing boy slumped to the ground.
ONE HOUR SPECIAL: BE CONCLUDED IN THE NEXT CHAPTER.