Chapter 17: Reliability

It seemed digivolving did little to help Sealsdramon, Datamon just kept hitting him, beating him into paste with ruthless efficiency, every blow seemed calculated to hit just the right spot to do just enough damage. "You seriously thought you could beat me?" Datamon said, raining another blow upon the helpless cyborg Digimon, "I created your kind! I know every one of your weaknesses, every one of your attacks, you could digivolve to mega and it wouldn't make a difference! You and your friends will die here, and there is nothing that you can do about it," Datamon just kept hitting him over and over, cackling like a mad man as Sealsdramon just laid there, motionless, I would have thought he was dead had I not known Digimon break apart into data fragments when they died.

I felt so helpless, after all I went through to get him here and digivolve him, it still didn't make a difference! He was still going to lose and I couldn't do a thing to stop it! I felt myself falling to my knees, the gravity of the situation hitting me so hard I couldn't even bring myself to stand. It was over… I lost… all that was left was to watch helplessly as my friend was ruthlessly beaten to death by his own creator.

I couldn't even bring myself to watch, all the confidence and courage I had just vanishing as cold reality began to set in. Why didn't I even think about this? Of course he knew Sealsdramon inside and out, he made them! How could I have been so stupid? So arrogant? Now all I could do was await the inevitable…

Meanwhile…

Me and Kate hung back in the infirmary, Jason's fight with Datamon was going horribly to say the least, things were looking bleak, "You sure you can't digivolve Psychemon?" I asked Kate, we needed another digivolution here, something to turn the tide.

Kate shook her head, "Sorry, and the other two who can are busy fighting off the factory's security force," She explained, well at least I knew Datamon wouldn't be getting backup, not that I thought he'd need it at this point but still.

I felt a pit in my stomach, the realization that our situation was basically hopeless didn't sit well with me, I never liked to lose, and it being to Datamon of all people didn't help matters. Perhaps this was penance for my crimes as the Digimon Queen? To die along with my former enemies to my most hated of former allies. "I… I give up..." I found myself saying out loud, despair began to swarm my mind again, a whirlwind of negativity raging like a tornado in my head.

Kate grabbed me by the shoulders, "We can't give up hope! There's always a chance, we just need to find it!" She said, she had a hint of anger in her voice, like I offended her or something.

I shook my head, "Don't you get it?! There's nothing we can do to stop Datamon! He's too strong, we can't digivolve either of our partners, and your other friends aren't coming any time soon! We're done, I don't want to try clinging to false hope," I said, I always hated people like Kate, hopeless optimists who thought there was always a light at the end of the tunnel, I had learned long ago that wasn't the case.

However Kate's response was to slap me right in the face, a hard, firm slap to my right cheek so fast I didn't even come close to seeing it coming, "ENOUGH!" She screamed at me, "I'm not going to sit here and watch you give up on everything because things look a bit bleak! For once can't you just have faith?" I could tell she wasn't going to let me give up, I'll admit I wasn't expecting her to hit me, but she just seemed so frustrated with me I guess it was inevitable wasn't it?

She looked me right in the eyes before shoving something into my hands, I looked to see it was my digivice, how she got this I had no clue, "Digidestined never give up! We find strength within ourselves, and we overcome adversity… I didn't come all this way just to die to some bucket of bolts! So stop it with the hopeless cynic act because it's getting old!" She said.

I was never one for optimism, I was always a bit of a cynic, ever since… that day… I'd always thought the worst of the world around me, "I… I can't! I'm not strong enough! I've never been strong enough! I'm too weak to stop Datamon! I'm too weak to do anything!" I broke down, my emotions had suddenly began to overwhelm me again, I never had it in me to hope, I simply buckled to my knees, weak and helpless.

"B… Bridget…"

My eyes shot open, I turned my head to a healing pod, inside was Okamon, how or why he was in there I had no clue but it seemed he had heard my breakdown, "You… are not… weak… Kate… is right… you can't give into… despair… you're… stronger than you realize..." He said, his voice weak and frail, "I've… always believed in you… why… can't you just believe in… yourself… for once?" he coughed, it was upsetting seeing him like this, the strong, and proud Okamon reduced to a coughing and beaten creature, barely able to talk.

And he was still more concerned about me than himself, using what little strength he had to try to help me find hope. He always looked after me, he defied the Digimon King himself just to rescue me, knowing full well he would not only betray him, but his faction the Nightmare Soldiers as well, all for me. I never knew how much I needed that… a friend to stand by me no matter what, I had spent my whole life trying shut other people out… refusing to get close to anyone… out of fear of being hurt again, when all I really needed was someone to stand with me… someone who was reliable… I could depend on when I needed it…

Suddenly Sealsdramon came crashing through the walls of the infirmary, hitting the floor with a loud metallic clang. Datamon approached us, "No more games Ms. Shuno… no more backup… no more chasing… no more digivolving… just you dying," He growled.

I stood firm, I knew if I tried to run he'd catch me, and I wasn't going to risk Okamon either, I knew Datamon would kill him if only just to get to me. "What's this? No screaming? No begging for mercy? It's good to see you can at least accept your fate with dignity Bridget," Said Datamon, mistaking my silence for me giving up.

Maybe the thought crossed my mind, but… what Okamon said… I did need to start believing in myself, find my own inner strength, my own… Reliability…

I suddenly felt something, a warmth in my hand, I looked to see I was still holding my Digivice, it's screen was shining a bright with a symbol in the center of a cross like design, the light shot to the healing pod, the pod began to rumble and crack as it filled with a bright light.

"Okamon digivolve too..." Okamon cried from the light… I took a step back, I had somehow finally done it… I digivolved him! "OKAMIMON!" He bellowed, before the light burst and the new creature emerged from the now destroyed healing pod.

This new form was a giant quadruped wolf, he still had his black fur and yellow markings, but now gained a yellow X on his forehead, on his back was a flaming disk of some kind, the white "fur" on his paws danced and crackled like flames.

Datamon stood in disbelief, "NO! You… you can't! You're too weak to digivolve him! This isn't possible!" He cried, it was so satisfying to see him so afraid, he knew Sealsdramon inside and out, but wouldn't be so knowledgeable of Okamimon.

Okamimon leaped into the air, landing softly in front of me, "She's stronger than you think Datamon," He said with a cool confidence.

Datamon stood firm, "It doesn't matter! I'm still a level above you! I'm still too strong for you to take down Okamimon!" He said.

However, "Maybe, but how about both of us?" Sealsdramon stepped in, standing right next to Okamimon, he was still a bit hurt from his beating, but still looked like he could fight.

The two champions then rushed Datamon, tackling him into the other room, however Datamon threw them off, "Add however many you wish, it makes no difference! You… will… DIE!" He screamed before blasting a laser shot at Okamimon who effortlessly dodged it.

The flaming disc on Okamimon's back began to flare, "FIRE DISC!" He cried before the disc flew from his back, right at Datamon, it got him right in the face, knocking him over and leaving a nice big scorch mark on his chrome digiziod hide.

Datamon was back to his feet rather quickly, "HA! Is that the best you can do you overgrown mutt?" He taunted, before firing more lasers at the two Digimon, both managing to get out of the way in time.

Sealdramon turned to Okamimon, "His hide is too strong, we need to find a weak point," Said Sealsdramon, Okamimon nodded, before the two scattered to dodge another laser blast from Datamon.

I then noticed Jason was still in the same position he was before, and dangerously close to the fight. Without thinking, I quickly rushed over to him, grabbing him by the arm and forcing him out of the way before one of Datamon's stray laser blasts could vaporize him.

I dragged him into the infirmary with Kate and Psychemon, Jason seemed to snap out of what ever funk he had managed to get himself into, "Wha? What happened?" He asked, he noticed the fight rather quickly, "Y… you digivolved Okamon?" He said, I guess he hadn't noticed Okamon's digivolution while he was in whatever self induced trance he had found himself in.

I nodded, "But they seem to be struggling to get through that digizoid hide of his," I said, there had to be a way for them to break open that shell of his, otherwise he was just going to keep deflecting every attack they threw at him.

Jason thought for a moment, studying the fight to see if he could spot any weaknesses, "That armor is pretty resilient, but it can't be invincible, it had to be molded into the shape it's in after all," He theorized.

I then got an idea, "OKAMIMON! See if you can super heat his armor!" I told him, of course Datamon would be able to hear that, but even he wouldn't be able to predict my plan in time to counter it.

Okamimon nodded before leaping into the air, "FLAMMING DRAGON!" He cried, spinning in a wheel so fast it began to form fire around his body, the flames suddenly taking the form of a dragon and rushing towards Datamon, engulfing him in flames.

Datamon strained as the fire began to make his Digiziod armor glow a bright orange from the heat, "HA! You thought that would kill me? Go ahead and throw all the fire you want! It won't do a thing to me!" He boasted.

However, that wasn't the intent, his armor was slightly liquefied now, which meant…

"DEATH BEHIND!"

It seemed that Sealsdramon had caught on to my plan and took the opening, his knife pierced his back like it was butter, Datamon too shocked to even let out a pained scream, Sealsdramon ripped his knife out of his back, causing Datamon to fall over, revealing a rather large hole in his back with stray wires sparking and crackling with electricity.

Datamon struggled to get to his feet as his armor finally managed to re-harden, "Y… you clever little bitch!… I'm almost impressed! But it… still doesn't change a thing!… you will DIE!" He screamed before madly rushing the two Digimon.

Sealsdramon quickly leaped into the air, while Okamon threw his disc again.

"DEATH BEHIND!"

"FIRE DISC!"

The two attacks hit simultaneously, the damage Sealsdramon had done before, combined with the impact of Okamimon's disc, managed to tear Datamon in half. Sealsdramon landed on the opposite side from Okamimon as Datamon's destroyed body began to break apart.

We all rushed in to see the sight for ourselves, "This… isn't possible..." Datamon stammered as his body began to break apart pixel by pixel. "I've… calculated every… possible outcome five hundred and thirty six times and… came up with a counter for each one… how… how did you… beat me?" He asked.

I crossed my arms, "It's like Okamon said, you have the data, but not the instinct," I said, I was so glad to finally be rid of him, to finally beat him.

Datamon glared at me, "Don't… get over confident Shuno… you… may have beaten me… but… the others… will avenge me, and I will… have the last laugh…" he said before having one last laugh as his body faded into nothingness.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, I turned to see it was Kate, "See? You never give up, because there's always a chance," She said, I guess in a way she was right, I never factored in actually being able to digivolve Okamon, but still, I was just glad it was over now.

Okamimon approached me, "Come on, I think we've all had our fill of this place," He said, I couldn't disagree, if I ever saw another factory, it'd be too soon…

However, there was still one thing I wanted to do first, "Say, where did you find my Digivice anyway?" I asked, the two looked at me before saying they found it in his

office…

Later…

For some reason, Bridget wanted to find her Digimon Queen outfit, I thought after all that happened she'd never want to see the damn thing again, but apparently not. We all entered Datamon's office, surely enough she spotted her old robe and goggles, but strangely she only took the goggles.

She then approached me, "I know this might sound a bit… weird, but… since you seem to be the leader of this little group of yours… I think you need a little something to… show you're the, well leader," She said. "Consider it a thanks for helping me with Datamon," She added.

She then placed the goggles on my head, the elastic band snapping against the back of my skull with a loud snap. "Uh… thanks?" I said, it was a strange gesture to say the least, but then again, something about it felt… right… I couldn't quite place it though, besides, they might come in handy in case I need them, you never know what you'll find in this world.

Bridget then began to remove her jumpsuit, thankfully she was wearing clothes underneath, a red top with a star design on the side, black capri pants with black and red sneakers. I also just noticed she was wearing a black choker with a red gem pendant hanging from it. "Sorry, but I couldn't stand wearing that thing any longer," She explained.

We all left the office after that, thankfully, Okamimon knew the layout of the building better than any of us did, so we wouldn't end up getting lost again. We quickly found that Ethan and Ross were sitting in the room with their respective digimon waiting for us.

We then noticed something a bit… odd, the Commandramon were just sort of… frozen in place… standing straight and still like stone. "Your guess is as good as mine," Said Ross, "All of a sudden they just stopped attacking us," Ross's explanation didn't help much, I had no clue what this was about.

However, it seemed that Bridget had a theory, "It must be because Datamon is dead, he probably had some master program going, controlling the Commandramon, and when he died, they just sort of… deactivated," She theorized. It was about as good an explanation as any.

Ethan simply shook his head, "Let's just get out of here man, this place is giving me the creeps," He said, we all agreed and left the factory.

When we got outside we saw that some of the imprisoned Digimon had managed to somehow get out, they were all gathered in clusters, debating how to get back to their respective homes.

I noticed that Bridget was focusing on them a lot more than anyone else, I approached her, "You okay?" I asked her.

She seemed slightly startled but managed to quickly return to her usual calm demeanor, "I'm just… trying to process everything that happened back there is all," She said, this was the first time we really had time to digest everything since we didn't have Datamon trying to kill us anymore, so it made sense that Bridget was choosing now to be reflective. "Do I really deserve this? How many of these Digimon are here because I captured them?" She asked.

I shook my head, "That's in the past now, you're a part of the team now Bridget, together, we're going to stop the Digimon King, and undo everything you did," I said, trying to reassure her, I could tell she wasn't a bad person, she'd just been mislead by the Digimon King, and I knew in time, she'd realize that too…

Meanwhile…

I sat in my throne, I had left Datamon's factory long before the fight had began, I didn't want to be there any longer than I had too, I had some reservations about betraying Bridget like I did, but she hadn't proved as useful as I had originally thought, and became a liability more than an asset.

Suddenly a figure came into my throne, bowing to one knee, "My lord, I'm afraid we've… lost Datamon and the Metal Empire," He explained.

I should have known that Datamon wouldn't be able to handle them, but to be fair, I knew he was planning on betraying me, so really all they did was save me the trouble of killing him myself. But the loss of the Metal Empire was a problem, all I had now where the Nightmare Soldiers.

I stood from my throne, "It seems the Digidestined have shown to be much more of a threat than I originally thought," I said, "Alert the generals, it's time we dealt with these children… directly," I said, the figure nodded and left to do just that.

I sat back down in my throne, I had worked far too hard to keep this world under control, and I wasn't about to lose it to some kids and their pet Digimon. I was done playing games with them… it was time to end this before they undid everything, and I lose everything in this world as well…

A/N- And thus, finally, the Datamon arch ends!

I am so sorry this chapter took as long as it did to get posted, but I sorta got wrapped up in the holiday season, and all the stress it entails, but now that my Christmas Shopping is finally done and I finally have time to relax, I was able to get this chapter done.

I don't know if I'm going to post again before the holiday season ends, but don't rule it out either.