A/N: Wow, it's been a long time. Sorry for the wait. I've just been busy. But, I'm hoping to finish this really soon. I would like to thank Cardfighter By Heart, J-Jwolfx2.5, Cathrinejennings2015, and YamazakiHikari for reviewing chapter 23.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for Jade.
The Warrior of Hope
Chapter 24
It Can't Be! Lucemon Reappears
"What's happening?" A voice yelled, interrupting my sleep.
"The data was scanned!" Another voice yelled and I was suddenly aware of my hair moving in a harsh wind.
"Could Cherubimon still be alive?" I now knew that the voices were shouting to be heard over the wind.
"It can't be!" The first voice yelled in reply.
"Let's go see." The second voice, who I now identified as Takuya said.
The wind died down, giving me a chance to open my eyes. I looked around in confusion, everyone was standing in a line, looking away from where I was lying on the ground. I sat up slowly, but still felt a head rush. "Ugh, what's going on?" I asked.
Everyone turned to look at me in surprise, "Jade?"
Koji knelt down next to me, "How are you feeling?"
"Pretty well rested, actually. That is, for a girl who just found out that the greatest enemy of our spirits is going to try to kill us." I said.
"What?" Everyone asked.
I explained all that Hope had told me while I was asleep.
"Lucemon is back? How is that possible?" Takuya demanded.
I sighed, "Takuya, weren't you paying attention? Lucemon wasn't completely destroyed when he was defeated by the spirits. He has been regaining his power and even manipulated Cherubimon to collect data for him. Now, Lucemon has sent out two warriors to collect the remaining data from the Digital World."
Takuya pouted, "I was paying attention, I'm just saying, we defeated Cherubimon, so why didn't the data go back to where it belonged?"
I shrugged, "Probably because Cherubimon was only a pawn. The data was never meant for him."
"That was one powerful pawn." J.P. said, looking at the destruction around us.
I nodded, "And it looks like Lucemon is about to bring his knights into play."
We watched as some mountains in the distance began to vanish, two figures flying around gleefully were the collectors.
"Well, looks like the knights are ready to play. Should we go?" Zoe asked.
"We have to." I said. "Unless you guys would rather go home, leaving this place to be destroyed by the likes of Lucemon."
"Never." Takuya said.
I grinned, "That's what I thought you'd say. Now, who's ready to kick some butt?"
Everyone cheered and Koji helped me up. "Have you been taking lessons from Takuya?" He asked with a smirk.
I rolled my eyes, "Takuya wishes he was cool enough to tell everyone that someone is coming that is twice as strong as Cherubimon and still get them to fight. By the way, I'm glad that you're okay." I kissed his cheek and smiled at him.
He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight, "Speaking of, don't ever do something that reckless again."
I hugged him back, "No promises."
"Um, sorry to interrupt this little love scene, but I thought we were going to go kick some butt." Takuya said, making Koji and me turn to face him.
I laughed, "Alright, we can go kick some butt now."
We all got out our D-Tectors, "Execute, Fusion Evolution!"
"Execute, Spirit Evolution!"
"Aldamon!"
"Beowolfmon!"
"LadyBlackGatowomon!"
"Beetlemon!"
"Kazemon!"
"Kumamon!"
"Loweemon!"
We quickly made our way over to the place where the mountain used to be. What we found were two digimon laughing, just as gleefully as they had been flying. The first digimon had pink and gold armor and was holding a rose. The second digimon had white and gold armor, along with black, tattered wings.
"Ah, look who it is!" The pink digimon said.
"Yes, it is just as Lord Lucemon predicted!" The second digimon exclaimed gleefully.
"The Legendary Warriors are here to greet us." The pink digimon laughed.
"Hey, you big bullies! We aren't going to let you destroy anything else!" Kumamon said.
"Yeah, who do you think you are, anyway?" J.P. asked.
"I am Dynasmon, the passionate warrior!" The digimon with gold and white armor said.
"And I am Crusadermon, the indifferent warrior." The pink digimon said.
"We are here for Lord Lucemon's justice." The two warrior digimon said together.
"We have come to fulfill Lucemon's destiny as his emissaries of evil!" Dynasmon exclaimed.
"We are supporters of his right to become this world's supreme ruler. We serve Lord Lucemon by collecting fractal code." Crusadermon said.
"And we are known to all as the Royal Knights!" They exclaimed.
Aldamon looked at me, "So, Lucemon is sending in his knights, huh?"
"That's sort of creepy how right you were." Kazemon said.
"Hey, it's not my fault! I was just comparing this to a game of chess!" I exclaimed, feeling annoyed with their pestering.
"Hey, you have to admit that it is kind of creepy." Beetlemon said.
"Well, I guess it is sort of creepy." I admitted.
"Um, hello? We weren't done with our introduction to destroying the world!" Dynasmon complained.
"Yes, what horrid manners you children have." Crusadermon said.
"Wait a minute, Royal Knights? Shouldn't the Royal Knights be protecting royalty? Such as her?" Kumamon asked, pointing to me.
"This world is disordered. The Princess of the Digital World may have returned, but she has done nothing to make things right." Crusadermon said.
"The only one who can fix this world is Lord Lucemon!" Dynasmon exclaimed.
The two Royal Knights dug their hands into the ground, immediately drawing out the fractal code.
"This is our task, and we shall complete it!" Dynasmon exclaimed.
"Stop! Stop it now!" Aldamon shouted.
We began circling the duo, waiting for Adamon's signal to attack.
"You can't keep up your destructive ways!" Aldamon shouted.
"The Digital World belongs to everyone!" Beowolfmon said.
"You have no right to wreck it!" Kumamon said.
"Don't you understand what will happen here if Lucemon is revived?" Kazemon asked.
"Now there is only chaos, but Lucemon will restore order!" Dynasmon exclaimed.
"Putting things into their natural order is necessary and beautiful." Crusadermon said, almost happily.
"Lord Lucemon will be the supreme salvation for this world!" The two Royal Knights said together.
I could feel the other Legendary Warriors getting antsy and I knew it was only a matter of time before one of them attacked.
"Not quite!" Beetlemon attacked with his Thunder Fist.
"So it begins…" I said, watching from the shadows. While everyone else always seemed to jump head-first into a battle, I knew it was better for me to watch and wait for an opening.
Aldamon and Beowolfmon both attacked Dynasmon, but Dynasmon didn't even seem to be trying that hard. "Crusadermon, proceed with the data collection, while I take care of these nuisances."
Loweemon, Kazemon, and Kumamon all attacked Crusadermon at once. Crusadermon was easily able to hold back their attacks.
"Thunder Fist!" Beetlemon tried to bring his fist down upon Crusadermon, but she just jumped out of the way.
"And now I will take my leave of you so I can gather more data. I bid you ado with all my heart." She waved her hand and red petals fell in a shower over Loweemon, Kazemon, Kumamon, and Beetlemon.
I took this as my time to strike, "Darkness Noose!" I took the chain from my waist and wrapped it around Crusadermon.
"Ah, so the Princess has chosen to make her appearance? To what do I owe this pleasure?" Crusadermon asked.
I glared at her, "Stop this! Hasn't this world been through enough?"
"No, this world is still very disorderly. Surely you must understand what must be done in order to make this world perfect. Or are your emotions clouding your judgment?" Crusadermon asked.
I pulled her closer and held my hand back, "Wicked Claws!"
She broke free of the chains and grabbed my wrist, "Don't get in my way. Lucemon doesn't want to see you get hurt, dear Princess."
"Oh, no you don't! Shadow Meteor!" Loweemon attacked her from behind.
"Blizzard Blaster!"
"Hurricane Wave!"
"Thunder Fist!"
The attacks merged together, heading straight for Crusadermon's back.
"I warn you, do not interfere!" Dynasmon pushed Aldamon and Beowolfmon away, "DNA Disintegrator!" He sent blue and red light beams out of his hands, right at Loweemon, Kumamon, Kazemon, and Beetlemon.
They began to fall to the ground. "Yes, strength is justice." He began to laugh.
"Solar Wind Destroyer!"
"Frozen Hunter!" Aldamon and Beowolfmon took this chance to attack while Dynasmon was distracted.
Dynasmon laughed as the attacks hit him, "You think to challenge me with such weak attacks? Dragon Thrower!" Bullets of blue and red energy shot out and hit my two friends directly.
"No!" I screamed as they began to fall, their digivolutions falling away. I turned toward Crusadermon, "Poison Fang!"
"Fist of Fear!" Crusadermon shot me before I could dig my fangs into her. Each blow came in a new spot, my stomach, my right arm, my left wing, and, finally, my chest.
I coughed and felt my spirit dissolve from my human body. Crusadermon laughed as she held my arm, preventing me from falling, "Stupid girl. You may have the spirit of Hope, but you are far from ever beating me. Lucemon will be quite pleased with your weakened state. Dynasmon, take this annoyance." She threw me toward her comrade.
I winced as I hit his hard armor, coughing as I did. Crusadermon flew down to the ground and dug her fingers in, draining the land of its fractal code.
"Slide Evolution!" I heard my friends say.
"JagerLoweemon!"
"Zephyrmon!"
"Korikakumon!"
"MetalKabuterimon!"
"Ebony Blast!"
"Hurricane Gale!"
"Frozen Arrowheads!"
"Bolos Thunder!"
My friends once again tried to combine their attacks against Crusadermon. Crusadermon laughed as she dodged each and every one of them. "Spiral Masquerade!" Golden sashes came from her armor and began slicing at my friends.
They all fell to the ground, and out of their evolutions. Crusadermon laughed, "Justice is beautiful!"
"How does it feel, knowing that you're precious Legendary Warriors can do nothing against us?" Dynasmon asked me.
"You haven't seen anything yet! Just you wait, they will defeat you!" I replied, squirming in his grasp.
He held me tighter, squeezing my arms, "Just hold still. We wouldn't want you falling to your death."
"Why not? After all, you believe that I am useless as a princess." I replied.
"Yes, but Lord Lucemon wishes to meet with you." Dynasmon replied.
"Unity Execute! Unified Spirit Evolution!" Two voices shouted at once from below.
"EmperorGreymon!"
"MagnaGarurumon!"
"Oh, a new challenge. This may require us to get serious!" Dynasmon said gleefully. "Now, I'll just check their reflexes really quick." Dynasmon threw me towards my two friends.
I screamed, "Koji, Takuya, you better catch me!"
"Jade!" MagnaGarurumon caught me in his arms, "Are you okay?"
I nodded, "Kick his butt for me, okay?"
"Don't worry; we're tired of these creeps." EmperorGreymon assured me.
MagnaGarurumon set me down beside the others, "Don't do anything stupid."
I stuck my tongue out at him, "Kick their butts and I won't have to!"
"Dominating our enemies for Lucemon is truly a thing of beauty." Crusadermon said.
EmperorGreymon went at Dynasmon with his sword, jabbing at him as quick as he could. Then, EmperorGreymon swung his sword toward Dynasmon.
"You missed." Dynasmon said.
"Oh, did I?" EmperorGreymon's sword opened up for, "Dragonfire Crossbow!" The blast of fiery light sent Dynasmon into the ground.
"Magna Missile!" MagnaGarurumon fired at Crusadermon.
Laughter came through the fire. "Dragon Thrower!" Dynasmon went for EmperorGreymon, hitting him directly.
"Disc of Athena!" Crusadermon drove her shield into MagnaGarurumon's stomach.
"Come on!"
"I know you can do it!"
"Don't give up!"
"You can do it, you two!"
We watched as our only hopes fell. I couldn't process the words of the others. My body was shaking and I felt tears welling up in my eyes. "No."
The shouts of my friends were getting louder, "We won't let you get away with this!"
"There is no way that Lucemon will win!"
"Shut up, humans!" The two Royal Knight Digimon merely waved their arms at us and bursts of power came from them.
I grabbed my D-Tector, "Execute, Spirit Evolution! DeviAngewomon!" I stood in front of my friends, attempting to block them from the attacks.
"Jade!" I heard the screams from behind me.
The attacks hit and I dug my feet in, taking every bit of pain that they would give. After a moment, I felt myself fly back and heard a thump as my human body hit the ground. I realized that I was barely conscious and that my vision was blacking out. I looked around to see that, despite my attempts, everyone else was on the ground and their fractal codes were showing. I frowned, why did they have fractal codes? I noticed that Koichi didn't have a fractal code and was sitting up slowly, holding his arm in pain.
I blinked to get the dark spots out of my vision and I heard a child-like voice say, "Hurry my Royal Knights. The data. Bring me the data! All of it. Now!"
I saw a little angel boy with wings standing before me. "So, you're the new Princess?"
I frowned, "Who are you, little boy?"
He laughed, his voice sounding musical and enchanting, "You must be confused. I am not a little boy."
I nodded, "So, you're an angel?"
He shrugged, "I suppose that's what you humans would call me."
I frowned, "Wait, did I die?"
He shook his head, "No. You are here because I called you here."
I blinked, "What do you want with me?"
"I'm telling you to leave the Digital World. You do not belong there." He replied.
"What do you mean? Of course I belong there!" I exclaimed.
"You're friends do not need you. Did you not notice that your spirit was not needed when they combined with each other? That is because you were never meant to be here with them. It is only by chance that you received the message to come here." He said.
"No, I was called here because I'm a Legendary Warrior!" I said.
"Hundreds of children were brought into the Digital World. They were sent back because they weren't the Legendary Warriors. You should have been sent back with them." He replied.
I swallowed, "But I can transform into a Digimon."
"There are others like you that can also turn into Digimon, but they were sent back, because they were not a part of the Legendary Warriors." He said.
"So, it was only a fluke that I was able to get my spirit? I don't actually belong?" I bit my lip. I had never truly belonged anywhere, had I?
The angel smiled at me, "Don't worry, it will all be over soon. You will come upon a chance to go home. Take it."
I nodded and my vision blurred as a familiar voice sounded around me, "Jade, please wake up."
I blinked until I was looking up at Koji.
He gasped, "Jade? How are you feeling?"
I swallowed, "I'm fine. What happened?"
"Dynasmon used a really powerful attack and we were sent flying to the moon. Now we are trying to find a way back down to the Digital World in order to defeat Lucemon. Right now, everyone is outside brainstorming in their digivolutions." Koji explained.
I put my legs over the side of the bed and stood up, "Shall we go help them?"
He laced his fingers through mine, "Sure."
We walked outside before digivolving, "Execute, Beast Spirit Evolution!"
"Gatowomon!"
"KendoGarurumon!"
We saw the others, each trying different ways to get off the moon. Agunimon caught sight of us, "Finally! Now we can put my big plan into action! On my signal, everyone fire that way!" He pointed off into space.
"Alright!" We said.
"Now!"
"Midnight Eyes!"
"Lupine Laser!"
"Tempest Twist!"
"Bolo Thunder!"
"Blizzard Blaster!"
"Shadow Meteor!"
"And last, but certainly not least, Pyro Punch!"
I watched as all our attacks went over the horizon. I frowned, "So, why did we do that?"
"Well, that ought to take care of whatever we were shooting at." MetalKabuterimon said.
"What exactly were we shooting at, anyway?" KendoGarurumon asked.
"Well, nothing specific. We were just firing that way." Agunimon replied.
"For what purpose?" I asked.
"Now I'm confused and annoyed." KendoGarurumon said.
"What were you trying to do, genius?" MetalKabuterimon asked.
"I don't know. I thought if we all fired in one direction maybe we could move the moon." Agunimon replied.
A laugh escaped from my lips. Then another, then another, before I knew it, I was rolling in the moon dust, laughing as hard as I could. I stood up, "Call me back when you actually come up with a productive plan."
"Hey! That was a good plan!" Agunimon exclaimed.
"Sure, sure." I walked away, still chuckling slightly at Takuya's idiotic idea.
I sat down on the ground once I was away from the others and sighed. Was the angel boy right? Did I really not belong here?
"Hey, how's it going?" I looked up to see Loweemon standing above me.
I shrugged, "Fine. What about you?"
"I'm good." He replied.
There was an awkward silence and I was just about to make an excuse to get away when he suddenly spoke, "You know, Koji was really worried about you."
I blinked, "Huh?"
"After the fight with Cherubimon and even just a little while ago when you hadn't woken up. Koji was really worried about you. You keep on doing risky things, and it's only going to make him worry more." He said.
I looked down, "What do you want me to do? I can't just stand by as my friends are being hurt. They would risk anything for me, so I don't see why it's any different for me to do the same. After all, we've been through a lot together."
He held his hands up in surrender, "I'm not criticizing you. I'm just letting you know that, as someone else who cares about Koji, I'm worried about you getting hurt and hurting Koji."
I winced, "Ouch. I get it. You don't want me around. I'll keep that in mind." I stood up and walked away.
"No, wait, that's not what I meant!" Loweemon called after me.
I waved him off, continuing to walk on my own. It seems that the angel was right. All I was doing was getting in the way and keeping Koji from his full potential. I frowned, if I wouldn't have been there, could they have beaten Dynasmon and Crusadermon?
I stared up at the night sky, wondering who the others who could digivolve were. Did they know that they could digivolve? Or were they simply sent back to earth, oblivious to the war going on here? I shook my head, it wouldn't do any good to sit and think about something that I couldn't change.
"Hey guys, come see what I found!" Loweemon's voice echoed across the moon.
I ran over to where everyone but MetalKabuterimon was gathered around a giant crater made by a rocket. "I just looked down and there it was." Loweemon explained.
"I can't believe it." Agunimon said.
"Amazing." KendoGarurumon agreed.
"Hey, you guys, check it out! I know how to get us back to the Digital World!" MetalKabuterimon called. "You're going to love this! All we have to do is build ourselves…"
"A rocket?" Agunimon asked.
"Yeah! How'd you know?" MetalKabuterimon asked. "Hey! Where'd that come from?" He finally saw the rocket in the ground.
"Our friends built it!" A group of Burgermon replied. "That's the one they used for testing, but as you can see it didn't work so good."
"Hey, can we use it?" Agunimon asked.
"Of course you can." The Burgermon replied.
"Then what are we waiting for?" KendoGarurumon asked.
"Let's get that thing out of the ground!" Agunimon exclaimed.
"It's pretty heavy. Maybe we can help!" The Burgermon said.
"Yeah, we'll help you, too!" A group of Digimon that looked like Gotsumon chimed in.
"Thanks guys, we'd appreciate it." Agunimon said.
"If we help you get back to the Digital World, maybe you can help our friends down there." The Burgermon said.
We built a lever and pulley system around the rocket, then proceeded to pull on the rope in order to get the rocket out. We pulled and pulled until the rocket finally came out of the ground.
"Yeah, we finally got it out of the ground!" Agunimon exclaimed.
"Now how do we launch it?" KendoGarurumon asked.
"We can answer that!" A group of Starmon came riding up along with SuperStarmon and Kumamon.
"Yeah, we know exactly how to get us into space!" Kumamon said.
"Alright, how?" Agunimon asked.
"We could use those!" Kazemon pointed at their vehicles.
"I get it; we glue those bands together to make a giant slingshot!" Agunimon exclaimed.
I shook my head, sometimes I wondered about the crazy ideas that my friends got into their heads. Using normal logic, there is no way that this should ever work, but in the Digital World, it just might be possible. After all, if we could turn into Digimon, then why should I doubt anything anymore?
We hooked the bands to two giant rocks that lined up perfectly with the Digital World. We got inside the rocket and prepared to launch. According to SuperStarmon, we would have to launch as soon as the moons lined up with the Digital World.
"Thanks for your help, everybody." Takuya was saying to the Burgermon.
"And thanks for your help to our friends in the Digital World." The Burgermon replied. "You will do that, won't you?"
"We promise." Koji said.
"And we always keep our promises." I said.
All the digimon waved to us as we boarded the rocket. "Okay guys, next stop, the Digital World!" Takuya exclaimed.
"We may not remember how we got here, but we're sure going to remember getting back." Koichi said.
"The moons are aligned." Zoe said.
"Yeah." J.P. said.
"Oh, wow, this is exciting!" Tommy said, but he looked worried.
"Don't worry, Tommy. I'm sure that we'll make it through just fine." I said.
"This waiting is unbearable." Bokomon said.
"Let's have a sing-along!" Neemon exclaimed.
"No!" I said immediately.
"You're no fun." Neemon pouted.
Without warning, we were flung into space, straight toward the Digital World. We braced ourselves as our bodies sunk deep into our seats.
The rocket began tipping downward, much to our dismay.
"We don't have enough speed!" J.P. exclaimed.
"Don't worry, I'm all over it!" Takuya said. "Execute, Beast Spirit Evolution! BurningGreymon!"
BurningGreymon got underneath the rocket and began to lift us up, using fire to propel us forward.
"We're gaining speed! Way to go, Takuya!" Zoe said.
"Nice Work!" Koji said.
We followed a stream right to the Digital World and Takuya got back in the ship.
"Now we're right back on target." Takuya said.
The blue stream sent electrical currents surging around us. We groaned as the currents coursed through our bodies. "We're almost through it!" Takuya said.
The currents stopped and we continued toward the Digital World. "All right! We're safe!" Zoe said.
"Not for long." Koichi said, pointing towards a group of asteroids in our way.
"Oh man, an asteroid belt!" J.P. exclaimed.
"More good news!" Takuya said bitterly.
"Focus on steering, Taky!" I said as he narrowly missed an asteroid.
"Hey, no backseat driving!" Takuya replied.
"Here comes a big one!" J.P. said.
Takuya dodged it, but now we were spinning out of control. We screamed as we exited the stream that was supposed to be our way back to the Digital World.
"We're out of the stream again!" Takuya announced.
"Really? I hadn't noticed!" I said.
"The sarcasm is not appreciated." Takuya replied.
We began to float around due to the low gravity in the rocket.
"Hey, this is fun!" Tommy exclaimed.
"Feets go up, head goes down!" Neemon said as he floated upside down.
"Yeah, this could be fun, but I'm over it already." Koji said, crossing his arms.
I smirked and pushed him, causing us to go opposite directions, "Don't act so mature. You know that you love this!"
"My skirt keeps falling up, I mean down, I mean up, I mean whatever! Just nobody look!" Zoe exclaimed.
J.P. and Takuya made efforts not to look at the blonde girl.
"You heard her, J.P." Takuya said.
"What are you looking at me for? You were looking way more than me!" J.P. argued.
"No way! I'm not a pervert like you!" Takuya replied.
"Let's just agree that you're both perverts." I suggested with a laugh.
"Hey!" They both glared at me.
The rocket shook around us. "What was that?" Bokomon asked.
"Excuse me, but you're in my way." A Trailmon tried to push us from behind again.
"Wait you guys, it's a Trailmon." Takuya said.
The Trailmon continued hitting us from behind.
Zoe banged on the window, "Um, excuse me! Would you mind giving us a little push home?"
"Well, I suppose that I could leap over you, but that seems like an awful lot of work." The Trailmon said before pushing us down the tracks at a steady rate.
"Graci, Mr. Trailmon!" Zoe exclaimed.
"My nose is gonna be so sore tomorrow." The Trailmon complained.
We watched as another section of the Digital World disappeared.
"Would you look at the damage they've done?" Koji said.
"With the rate that they're going, there won't be much of a Digital World left to save." J.P. said.
"Now that we're back, we've got a score to settle with those Royal Knights." Koji said.
"And Lucemon! We're not gonna lose twice! The whole Digital World is counting on us!" Takuya said.
I looked down at my feet, they were counting on them. The Legendary Warriors were expected to do this, but did I really deserve to be there with them?
A/N: Well, that's it. I'm sure that you are now thoroughly confused. Please review and I will try and get the next chapter up ASAP. :)